Witch Hunting Around The Petrified Oaks of Mundon, Essex

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Summer is ending. Autumn is here. I can smell it in the air, feel it in the wind. Soon the leaves will start falling and it will become socially acceptable to drink gallons of pumpkin spice latte. Halloween is just around the corner.

This is a guest post written by Jelena from ‘Mate We’re Lost‘

This got me thinking about all the spooky places we visited in the last few years. The big one in Brasov, Romania, Bram’s Castle, the castle of count Dracula himself. Then there are a few places in Scotland like Mary’s King Close in Edinburgh. Scotland is full of haunted buildings and ghost stories. Lastly, there are the petrified oaks in the nearby Mundon, in the county of the most infamous witch hunt in Britain – Essex. 

What makes the petrified oaks eerie is not necessarily the look of them (even though they can look quote foreboding) but the story and mystery that surrounds them…

St Mary’s Church Mundon Essex

Dust behind our wheels, we follow a dirt road in the middle of the Essex countryside. Soon we approach a timber-framed, stubby tower, the entrance to a small, weathered 14th-century church hiding between the flowering trees. Like many a church, this one too is called St Mary’s Church.

Even after extensive refurbishment done by the Friends of Friendless Churches in the last 10 years, you can still feel the presence of old in the air. Maybe it’s the quiet of the surroundings. Or maybe it is just that this church has been here for over 600 years which obviously had to have left a mark.

Approaching the door, I touch the wooden door frame, feeling the harsh grain of the wood.  We have not picked our timing right, the door is locked and we cannot get in. Suddenly, there is a breeze and the musty smell of dusty, old wood comes through the cracks in the door. There must be a draft going through the church. 

We linger around the graves in the church courtyard. Some are so overgrown with cow parsley they are barely visible. The husband loves reading old tombstones trying to find the oldest one. “You learn a lot about the place by visiting graveyards and just checking the tombstones”, he says, motorcycle helmet in his hand, the visor on it reflecting the clouds in the sky. Don’t’ worry, he is not morbid, he just really loves history.

Essex Witches Tales

As we slowly progress to the back, we see a fenced meadow and a few people, all armed with Nordic walking sticks, coming back from their walk. With social distancing being the cultural norm now, we step away from the sturdy wooden gate and let the rosy-cheeked walkers pass:

“Oh thank you so much! Are you here to see the trees?” asked a middle-aged woman with a bright spark in her eyes and a big grin on her slightly red face.

“Yes, is it far to walk from here?”.

“Oh no, not at all, just across the field and over the pond and you’re there hahaha. You’ll be able to see the tops of their branches from this side of the pond as well. Marvellous they are, simply marvellous! I wish I knew what turned them to stone. There’s talk it was the witches hahaha! Well, have fun!”, she says in a breath and pulls her confused friend along the path with her. 

Ah yes, the old witches tale. You can’t throw a stone in Essex without hitting a place or house with a ghost story behind it. Crossing the field full of dandelions, we reach the aforementioned pond and stop. The path just ended. We can see the tips of the trees over the high bushes framing the other side of the water but the way across is hidden in the overgrown foliage to our right. A few scratches and twigs in my hair will not stop me now; I need to see these trees that were supposedly turned to stone by the witches of Essex!

Petrified Oaks

Once we stumble out on the other side, the trees take over the view. Big grey giants with the backdrop of green grass and a blue sky dotted with clouds. They are fenced off so we are forced to admire them from further away. Do they think an evil spell still lies on the land? Or maybe it’s just private property like the sign on the gate says…

As we walk around, the clouds become heavier, darkening the sky and giving the trees a more ominous presence. The crows cawing from the tops of bare branches, like gnarly fingers clawing at the sky, do not help this image.

The more you look at this other-worldly looking forest, the more you can see faces on trees. A general ordering his troops to attack. Three friends gathered around the campfire telling stories. A tree frozen in the midst of throwing something in its massive maw. A stubby stump screaming.  A tree with red eyes staring into the void. A two-headed calf being split in two by lightning. 

Witches In Essex

It is easy to see why the stories about witches found ground here. It does look like ordinary people have been turned into trees and frozen in time. Essex is labelled “The Witch County”; it was the home to Witch Hunter General Matthew Hopkins. Hundreds of men, women and children were affected by the atrocious Essex Witch Trials in the 16^th and 17^th century. It is also the home to one of the most haunted houses in England, Borley Rectory. However, do witches have anything to do with the petrified oaks of Mundon?

I doubt it. The trees are actually not petrified; they have not turned into stone. They are just dead and have survived in this state for centuries. Some say they are a part of the ancient woodland of Mundon Furze whose trees were used to build ships for the Royal Fleet but there is no distinctive proof. 

However, this should not dissuade you to visit the Petrified Oaks forest when in Essex. You can spend a whole day here, walking down the field or exploring Mundon. Or maybe you can turn it into one of the stops on your Haunted Essex tour, perfect to get you into that Halloween spirit.

The Petrified Oaks in Mundon Essex are around a 10-minute drive (4.5 miles) from Maldon.

About The Author

Jelena is the writer and photographer behind Mate We’re Lost. Whether she’s working on her latest creative project or doing her 9-5 job, her mind keeps going back to the places she visited or thinking of the places she is yet to discover with her husband. When not exploring the rest of the world, they are roaming the roads of the UK on their motorcycle. Check out their Facebook and Instagram account. 

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