Welcome to Found Fiction Friday! With authors’ permission, we’ll be posting stories from our issues online. Formatting is still unique to the books, but the story is free for all to read.
Today’s story is by Sarah Jackson. Sarah Jackson was researching her latest book 101 East End Cryptids at Newham Local History Library when she uncovered the disturbing secret history of Channelsea Island. Her short fiction has been published by Ghost Orchid Press, Ellipsis Zine, and Tales From Between. Her website is sarah-i-jackson.ghost.io and you can find her on Twitter as
@sarah_i_jackson or investigating monster sightings in Epping Forest on her trusty green tricycle, Ivy.
It originally appeared in Issue 2.
Warnings: Death and disappearances
Excerpt, A History of the River Lea and Surrounding Area, Rev. W. Alberthorpe, 1921:
Channelsea Island sits in the fork of Bow Creek and the river Lea, in a clutch of silt-formed islands and tributaries widely known as Bow Back Rivers. From the mid-1100s until the Reformation the island housed a water mill belonging to the nearby Stratford Langthorne Abbey, producing flour for the monks of that Cistercian order.
In 1652 the island received the curious honour of a mention in Gerald Stanwycke’s Discourse On The Practices of Devilles, which has proved an invaluable resource for modern English folklorists. Stanwycke records the testimony of a local baker who describes a peculiar reddish light visible on the island from the other side of the creek, accompanied by “strange shrekes and wails”. Stanwycke also notes that a “wild manne dressed in branches” had been seen roaming the island, perhaps recalling the tradition of the Green Man or woodwose.
Presently the island is unoccupied, save for a vast new storage facility recently created to support the nearby Abbey Mill Chemical Works’ production of vitriol (metal sulfates). One can but wonder how the gentle monks of yesteryear would view this encroachment of modern industry into their peaceful home.
TOP SECRET
18th February 1942
Memorandum for the attention of [REDACTED]
Re: Project [REDACTED] Site Incident Update
Clean up following the explosion is well underway, and major contaminants have been successfully contained on the island itself. However, during the incident a large quantity (approx. two gallons) of acid and other materials (including the [REDACTED] compound) were leached into the ground on the north side of the storage facility.
We have taken steps to ensure that this material does not reach the water table, but its effect on the flora and fauna on the island itself is as yet unknown.
The families of the three workers who died in the explosion have been contacted and compensated. All parties have signed the appropriate paperwork.
There is lingering unease among the workers following the incident, which is to be expected given the peculiarly horrible nature of the event. Reports of the unusual phenomena that I have mentioned previously (shadowy figures, glowing red mist, etc.) have also increased. As the workforce is almost entirely female some form of simple hysteria is likely to be the cause. However, we are keen to rule out the possibility of hallucination as a side effect of close contact with the [REDACTED] compound, and as such we are monitoring the staff closely.
As soon as clean up is completed we will resume the schedule of experiments. I will keep you apprised of our progress.
Regards,
[REDACTED]
Extract from United Chemical Workers Union (UCWU) Newsletter Issue 35 September 1971
ACTION AT ABBEY MILLS
UCWU London members: stand in solidarity with workers at Abbey Mills who are striking for better conditions, safety equipment and procedures. Join the picket line at the works gates off Angel Lane in Stratford from Monday 18th April at 9am.
Shop floor staff are calling for an independent review of health and safety measures, decent sick pay, and life assurance following a string of industrial accidents clustered around the works storage facility on Channelsea Island.
Management have repeatedly refused to accept responsibility for their negligence. Now, active UCWU member Anil Sangatha has been missing for several weeks, last seen at the storage facility. The Met has ruled out foul play but we are calling for the investigation to be reopened immediately.
Contact Abbey Mills steward Keith Bennett on 0181 566 788 for details or to arrange solidarity actions.
Extract from “East Ham Stories” Community Heritage Project Oral History Interview Transcript 16/A
Interviewer: Shona Osahon
Interviewee: Andrei Gradosielka
Date recorded: 19 August 2002
Recording length: 1:13:41
Transcribed by: Shona Osahon
…
AG: What was I… I was 15 in 1989. Me and the lads, we were always up to no good! [laughter]
SO: Can you give me an example? What sort of things did you get up to?
AG: Oh, you know. Nicking stuff. Nothing pricey. Getting into scraps with West Ham. Breaking into places we shouldn’t have.
SO: Like where?
AG: Ah… There was an old warehouse down Poplar. We got in but the roof had a big hole in it, and it was full of pigeon shit, excuse my language. Stank like nothing I ever smelled before! And one time we got over to Channelsea. You know it?
SO: No, I don’t think so.
AG: It’s an island in the Lea, but they built a factory on it, used to make gas for the war, acid, other nasty stuff. My mate Mick’s dad used to work there. They closed it down in ‘84 and he was laid off. Got something over in Dagenham I think. Anyway, one time Mick and me and Bashy got into the old factory and over onto the island. There was a bridge then, but it was already rusted to shit.
SO: Was it dangerous?
AG: [laughter] Yeah, ‘course! ‘Course it was. We wouldn’t have wanted to get over there if it wasn’t dangerous, that’s the point isn’t it? We wanted a good story for the girls.
SO: Did you get one?
AG: [silence] Uh yeah, I think we did, yeah. Though I don’t think we come out of it looking particularly brave. So it’s, what 8pm or so and the sun’s just going down. We’re climbing along this rusty old bridge – they’d taken the slats away, to stop people, so it was just the sides and the cross braces – and Mick says his dad told him that the island is cursed.
SO: Oh!
AG: [laughter] Right? So I’m hanging on to these rusty metal rails above the river that’s had god knows what pumped into it and its getting dark and I’m like “you what mate?” And he’s telling me how before the factory closed there were all these freak accidents, and then someone died.
SO: Someone died? At the factory?
AG: Well, they didn’t know for sure, that was the weirdest bit. He just walked onto the island and he was never seen again. So course we were, you know, speculating. Trying to scare each other a bit, right? Did he fall in the river? Did he get dissolved in one of the vats of acid? What if he never left? And he’s been living here all these years… We’re on the island now, and it’s getting proper dark. We’ve got a torch but we want to get inside first in case anyone sees us. So we broke a window in one of the old buildings and climb in. This one’s not full of pigeon shit, thankfully! But the plants have got in and there’s ivy and moss all over the place, and piles of old equipment, broken glass, real mad scientist stuff. It was creepy as fuck, excuse me. And sometimes these old places they’re not empty, there’s junkies, other lads… So I’m kind of, sort of highly strung at this point I guess, all tensed up. So’s Bashy too I think, but Mick’s just blundering around and laughing, and he’s the one with the torch. There’s just this one beam of light but he’s swinging it around wherever. We get out into the corridor and go into one of the other rooms. Mick goes to look at some old bench or something on the left-hand side of the room, and as he goes Bashy and me look over to the right and one of us yells out “Fuck!” I don’t know which of us it was but it doesn’t matter because we both saw it: standing flat against the wall was a man, or like, the shape of a man. But it’s dark so it’s just a shadow, we can’t see his face or anything until Mick turns round and swings the torch over. And when the light hits it we can see it’s just a pile of moss. It’s grown up the wall in, like, nearly a human shape, which is fucking weird but at least, you know, my heart’s started beating again.
SO: Wow. That would have scared me.
AG: Yeah, yeah so I just want to get out of there at this point and so does Bashy, so we start complaining. Mick wants to look at a couple more rooms and so we follow him around, both pretty jumpy still. But when we’re on our way back down the corridor towards the room with the busted window we got in at, I take a glance into the room where we saw the moss man and you know what I saw?
SO: What?
AG: Nothing. There was no shape on the wall, nothing.
SO: Are you sure it was the same room?
AG: Totally sure. And it was dark, but not pitch, you know? If it was there I would have seen it, even without the torch. It was gone.
SO: Ooh. That is a good story.
AG: [laughter] Yeah. Yeah. Still creeps me out just thinking about it. [silence]
From: Liz Davison <Elizabeth.Davison@SwanTaylorGroup.com>
To: Charles Amble <C.Amble@AmbleSurveyors.co.uk>
CC: Pura Hamidi <Pura.Hamidi@EastHamCouncil.org.uk>
Date: 17 April 2016
Subject: Channelsea
Hi Charles,
I hope all’s well with you and yours! Has Jasper started at St Mark’s yet? Elodie will be off to ‘big school’ next year, she can’t wait.
I’ve got a new job for you – what’s your availability like over the next couple of months?
STG are considering acquiring some land in East Ham, the site of the former Abbey Chemical Works.
Our guys have had a look over the main site but the packet includes the old storage facility out on Channelsea Island in the Bow Creek. Here’s a pin: https://goo.gl/maps/52JAujRYYZKqXRPGA
The bridge over there is unsound, so you’ll need to get your lifejackets on!
I’ve CCd our contact Pura at East Ham Council (the vendors) who can answer any questions about the history of the site and assist with getting you over there.
Let me know if this might be of interest and I’ll get the paperwork sorted out.
Liz
Elizabeth Davison
London and South East Survey Team Lead
Swan Taylor Group
Extract from Building and Land Survey Report Level 5
Preliminary site investigation conducted by:
Ben Farnham MRICS, MCIOB, CEnv
Charles Amble MCIOB, CEng, MRICS, PMP, FCABE
Report prepared by: Charles Amble MCIOB, CEng, MRICS, PMP, FCABE
Company name: Amble Surveyors LLP
Client name: Elizabeth Davison, Swan Taylor Group
Date of inspection: 4 May 2016
Weather conditions: Dry, following several days of showers.
…
Section 11.3.1 Environmental Hazards: Invasive vegetation
No incidence of Japanese Knotweed or Giant Hogweed was sighted around the property during the preliminary site inspection, although the habitat on the adjacent bank is likely to be favourable for Hogweed.
However, we encountered an unidentified plant species which exhibited a high level of toxicity. In appearance it resembled a common moss found in urban areas, Tortula muralis, but the sporophytes were purplish and much larger than those of T. muralis (Fig. 67). It also displayed a capacity for rapid movement typically seen in species such as Mimosa pudica (native to the UK) and Dionaea muscipula, commonly known as “Venus Fly Trap”.
The moss was present in large quantities throughout the site, both on the ground and in unusual vertical growth patterns on many of the walls of the remaining buildings (Fig. 68).
We collected a sample which we have sent to the British Bryological Society for analysis and, hopefully, identification. Unfortunately, in the process of collecting this sample my colleague Ben Farnham was seriously injured by exposure to this plant. It seems to have corroded the protective gloves he was wearing and on contact with the skin has caused extremely painful blisters and sores which have continued to spread from the contact site. At the time of writing he is receiving treatment at Whipps Cross Hospital.
Until more is known about this species and how it may be safely removed from the site further investigation is impossible. On this basis alone I would strongly caution against proceeding with the purchase, but combined with our other findings – of unusually high levels of radiation (p. 45), unexplained electromagnetic readings (p.47), and historical human remains (p.34) – I can only view Channelsea Island as a major health hazard in urgent need of containment and not a viable development opportunity.
In the case between:
Charles Amble (Claimant)
and
Swan Taylor Group (Defendant)
and
East Ham Council (Interested Party)
Exhibit 3b. Transcript of a telephone voicemail message left for Mrs Elizabeth Davison by Mr Charles Amble at 6:54pm on Tuesday 17th June 2016.
AMBLE: Liz, for god’s sake stop avoiding me. We have to talk about this. He’s getting worse. It’s really… it’s really bad. It’s… I don’t even know how to describe it. They won’t let me see him now. The doctor said it’s a precaution but I think they’re hushing it up. I think someone’s pulling some strings. I don’t know what to do, but we’ve got to do something. We’re responsible. Just – please, Liz – I need to hear you say you didn’t know anything about what was on that island before you sent us over there. Pura won’t take my calls either, the whole Council’s gone into lockdown, but you and me… We’ve always had a good relationship, haven’t we? STG are my best client, you know I wouldn’t push this if it wasn’t important, but [beeping, message cuts out]
Exhibit 3c. Transcript of a telephone voicemail message left for Miss Elizabeth Davison by Mr Charles Amble at 6:59pm on Tuesday 17th June 2016.
AMBLE: If this is about the other stuff I said, about the red lights and the… noises, just forget it ok? Forget about that stuff. Maybe it was, I don’t know, EM waves, or toxins from this bloody plant or something. I don’t think it’s important. What’s important is getting the island sealed off so that whatever the hell is happening to Ben doesn’t happen to anyone else. Please call me. Please.
Acknowledgement, published in the Swindon Sentinel, 3rd July 2016
Benjamin Nathan FARNHAM
Ben’s family would like to thank all friends and relatives for their kind words of condolence and beautiful floral tributes received at this sad time, special thanks to Rev. Sandra Hills for her kind words of comfort. Funeral Directors, L. McGraw & Sons.
Giant SWAMP CREATURE caught on FILM! CRYPTID sighting EPPING FOREST
Published 22/06/16 10:04pm
WhatTheEpp
5k subscribers
INCREDIBLE footage of a huge faceless PLANT MAN running across the road and into the trees around Hollow Ponds, captured on film two nights ago completely by chance. You can see clearly the THING runs out of James Lane, away from Whipps Cross hospital, and then it disappears. Does Epping Forest have a brand new CRYPTID??
86 Comments
J4mi33: oh mannn the way that thing moves, that is absolutely not human
KevDaddy: nah thas just a guy bruh
Windsorton: This is clearly a hoax. If you look closely at the top right hand corner at timestamp 00:43 you can see a flash of red, which is obviously where the film has been spliced together.
J4mi33: @winderton lmfao spliced? what century you from?
Judie: OMG that’s creepy AF!!! where are his *eyes*? Eww!!
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