IN times long past in a glen between Darlington and Haughton-le-Skerne lived the Barquest.

This creature lived just off what is now Haughton Road in Throstle-nest when it was a thickly-wooded area. Its howls would keep anyone in the area awake all night, and it became known as the "roaring ghost". Usually it's howling preceeded some great calamity in the district. The name "barquest" comes from the Danish meaning "carriage for the dead" and the appearance of the barquest was a harbinger for the Grim Reaper. It's party trick was to accost luckless travellers. Like all good Darlington ghosts, it took on various forms in cluding a beautiful maiden, a cat, and the inevitable large shaggy dog.

In deed, it became known as Padfoot due to the quiet, stealthy manner in which it approached its victims. The Barquest has now sadly retired and the area it haunted has undergone substantial development in the last century. During building work many human bodies were discovered and these are believed to have been the victims of Scottish raiders.