Hairy Hands
The Hairy Hands is a local ghost story from Dartmoor in Devon, England. It centers on a stretch of road near Postbridge, now known as the B3212, where drivers and cyclists were said to be bothered by a pair of hairy or invisible hands that would suddenly grab the steering wheel or handlebars and push the vehicle off the road.
Beginning around 1910, reports described cars jolting or swerving as if something had taken hold of the wheels. The tale gained real attention in 1921 after several frightening incidents: a medical officer named E. H. Helby died on a motorcycle with a sidecar, two children riding with him survived, and a coach driver was injured in another crash. On August 26, 1921, an army captain claimed invisible hands forced his motorcycle off the road, and newspapers across the country picked up the story. A journalist named Rufus Endle also recounted an experience near Postbridge, though he asked that it not be published until after his death. There was even a 1924 case where a woman camping on the moor reported a hairy hand trying to enter her caravan; she said a sign of the Cross made it retreat.
Most versions of the tale do not explain where the hands came from or what their purpose is. Some local tellings connect them to a man who died on the road. Skeptics believe most accidents happened because drivers unfamiliar with the narrow, high-walled lanes drove too fast or misjudged the road. Later investigations suggested the road’s camber (the way the surface slopes) was dangerous in places, and the road was changed to improve safety. The Hairy Hands has appeared in various plays and TV appearances since, keeping the legend alive in popular culture.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 01:01 (CET).