The Burryman
Once a year in a Scottish town, a man covered head to foot in sticky burrs walks silently through the streets for nine hours, his arms held out by two helpers.
What was reported
Every August, in South Queensferry near Edinburgh, a local man becomes the Burryman. He's dressed in a costume completely covered in thousands of sticky burdock burrs, with only small gaps for his eyes and mouth, and wears a hat of flowers.
He walks slowly around the town for about nine hours, never speaking, supported by two helpers holding his outstretched arms on staffs. Residents give him whisky through a straw, and it's considered good luck to give him money.
Explanations offered
No one knows the origin of the custom, which has been recorded since at least the 1600s. It may be a survival of an old ritual to bring good fortune or drive out bad luck, perhaps linked to fishing. It's one of Britain's strangest living traditions.
- When
- Every August, for centuries
- Where
- South Queensferry, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
- Witnesses
- The people of South Queensferry
- Status
- Folk custom
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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