Doxey Pool, The Roaches

High on the Roaches above Leek lies Doxey Pool, a moorland lake said to be haunted by a mermaid or water spirit. In 1949, Mrs. Florence Pettit claimed that as she prepared to swim there, a towering figure rose from the water, twenty-five feet high, with weed-like limbs, long bony fingers, and malevolent eyes. It glared and pointed at her before dissolving back into the pool. The eerie story spread among locals, who warned that the lake was haunted by a spirit best left undisturbed.