Into Thin Air

It was September 1873. September 3rd to be exact. The place - Leamington in Warwickshire.

A resident of Leamington was one James Worson who was by profession, a Shoemaker. Worson was well known for his sporting activities. He was an exceptional runner and could race from one town to another in record time and never seemed to tire.

The local people knew of James’s talents as a racer but even so, some of his friends were sceptical. After all they only had his word for most of his achievements. Was he really as good as he told them he was?

They challenged him to undertake a twenty mile run from Leamington to Coventry. James happily accepted. He considered this very easy and told them all he would show them. He invited a couple of people to go along with him so they could actually witness it for themselves and record his time.

James put on his running clothes and duly set out. His friends, Hammerson Burns and Barham Wise followed closely behind him in a horse-drawn gig. Burns had a camera with him.

The mood was very bright and happy. After doing a quarter of the run, James seemed to be as tireless as he had claimed. He ran with great ease and at a good pace. Occasionally he would turn and exchange banter and smiles with his friends. James was never, for one moment, out of their sight. He was running in the middle of a dirt road.

Suddenly, James appeared to stumble. He fell forward headlong and let out just one piercing scream. His friend Wise was later to say “It was the most ghastly sound either of us had ever heard.”

That was their last memory of him. James’s body never hit the ground - he vanished in the middle of his fall. He just disappeared. His friends searched for him but could find nothing.

Burns had been taking pictures. Later they clearly showed the runner's  footprints in the soft dirt which faltered and ended as abruptly as if James had crashed into a solid stone wall.

Burns and Barham returned to Leamington and organised a massive search. Every inch of the terrain was investigated between Leamington and Coventry with no success. Enquiries were made as to whether anybody had seen the runner. Again nothing. Bloodhounds brought in to assist with the search showed signs of fear and were very reluctant to approach the spot where James had vanished.

James Worson was never seen again.

However, for many years after his sudden and unexplained disappearance, people out at night reported seeing a ghostly glowing runner on the empty road that stretched from Leamington to Coventry.