The Legend of Old Trash: The Phantom Hound That Haunts Formby Dunes on Halloween Night

They say something terrifying walks the Formby dunes after darkness falls. Something enormous. Something blacker than the night itself. A creature with burning red eyes that appears without warning and vanishes without leaving a single footprint. For generations, the people of Formby have whispered about a mysterious black hound known as Old Trash. But is it simply an ancient legend, or could something truly sinister be lurking among our sandhills?

Tomorrow night is Halloween, and as darkness descends over Formby, an old and terrifying legend will once again come to life.

There is something unsettling about Formby beach after dark.

By day, its golden sands, rolling dunes and peaceful pinewoods attract thousands of visitors. Families stroll along the shoreline, children play among the sandhills and the sound of the sea carries gently through the marram grass.

But when the last visitors have gone, the light fades and the darkness creeps across the dunes, Formby becomes a very different place.

The wind whistles through the pine trees. The sand shifts beneath unseen footsteps. The distant waves sound strangely hollow.

And sometimes, according to an old local legend, the wind stops altogether.

That is when you should be afraid. Because somewhere out there, beyond the trees and the lonely paths, something is said to be watching.

Something that has haunted these shores for generations.

They call it Old Trash.

The creature with the burning red eyes

For generations, stories have circulated about an enormous black dog that prowls the dunes and shoreline around Formby and Freshfield.

But this is no ordinary animal.

Those who claim to have encountered the creature describe a gigantic, muscular black hound, moving at incredible speed, with eyes that glow an unnatural, fiery red.

It is said to appear suddenly, sometimes accompanied by a terrifying sound resembling the heavy breathing of a steam engine.

And then, just as suddenly, it disappears.

No tracks.

No footprints.

No explanation.

According to folklore, seeing the creature is an omen of death or misfortune.

Some versions of the legend suggest that the hound has wandered the coastline for centuries, perhaps guarding something long forgotten beneath the shifting sands.

Others believe it is a restless spirit, condemned to roam the dunes forever.

Whatever its origins, the stories have one thing in common.

Those who claim to have seen Old Trash never forget the experience.

And some refuse to return to the beach after dark.

Halloween 1962: The night journalists went looking for Old Trash…

One of the most extraordinary stories associated with the phantom hound dates back to Halloween night in 1962.

According to an account recorded by the late Peter Underwood, a former president of the Ghost Club and a well-known writer on paranormal phenomena, journalists from a local newspaper ventured into the Formby sandhills to investigate the legend.

It was All Hallows’ Eve.

The dunes were shrouded in darkness, with only the moonlight illuminating the towering ridges of sand.

The reporters had gone looking for the mysterious black dog.

What they reportedly encountered was something they could never explain.

As they watched the deserted sandhills, an enormous dark shape appeared on the crest of a dune.

It moved backwards and forwards, silhouetted against the night sky, like a gigantic animal pacing restlessly.

The journalists watched in disbelief.

Determined to discover what they were seeing, they climbed towards the summit. But when they reached the top, the creature had vanished.

There was nobody there.

No dog.

No movement.

And most disturbingly, not a single footprint disturbed the smooth sand.

One journalist reportedly concluded that what they had witnessed was beyond anything they could explain.

The encounter became another chapter in the enduring legend of the Formby phantom hound.

But perhaps even more frightening are the accounts of ordinary people who say they have come face to face with the creature.

Steve Howe’s terrifying encounter near Fisherman’s Path…

One of the most chilling accounts was given by a man named Steve Howe, whose experience was later recorded by Peter Underwood.

Steve recalled spending weekends camping with friends in a secluded wooded area between the nature reserve and the golf course, reached from Freshfield Railway Station via Fisherman’s Path.

It was a familiar place to those who knew Formby.

Beyond the shelter of the trees lay an open sandy area, with a steep dune that had to be climbed to reach the beach.

On one particular summer evening, the moon was shining brightly. Steve decided to leave his friends at the campsite and walk alone towards the sea for a swim.

He had barely begun climbing the steep slope when he heard something.

At first, he could not understand what it was.

A strange, heavy, rhythmic noise was approaching from the other side of the dune. It sounded, he later recalled, like a steam train.

The sound grew louder.

And louder.

Steve stopped.

Whatever was making that noise was approaching at an extraordinary speed.

Then, without warning, something appeared on the summit directly above him…

An enormous black dog.

It was unlike anything he had ever seen.

The animal was gigantic, and in the moonlight Steve believed he could see its eyes glowing red.

Before he could react, the creature bounded past him and raced down the slope.

It happened in seconds.

Steve turned around to see where the enormous animal had gone.

But there was nothing.

The creature had vanished.

Even the terrifying train-like panting had stopped.

The dunes were silent once more.

Shaken by the encounter, Steve hurried back to his friends and told them what had happened.

Most laughed at his story.

But one young man from Formby did not laugh.

Instead, he told Steve about the local legend of the enormous black dog.

He explained that other people in the area had claimed to see the same mysterious creature.

Steve later described the animal as having a sleek, short black coat and being approximately the size of a very large St Bernard, but far more muscular, with the powerful build of a Rottweiler.

He estimated it stood around 90 centimetres high.

It was the speed of the animal, its extraordinary size and those strange red eyes that remained etched in his memory.

For Steve, the experience had been terrifyingly real.

And he was not the only person to report such an encounter.

Phil Taylor’s account: The enormous black dog that jumped over his head…

Another extraordinary account has been shared with Formby Bubble by Phil Taylor, who says he encountered a mysterious black dog on Formby beach during the mid-1980s.

His story bears an unsettling resemblance to Steve Howe’s experience. And what makes Phil’s account particularly chilling is that he had never forgotten the creature he saw that night.

Phil explained that he had a static caravan at Freshfield, where he regularly spent time with his family.

During the summer months, they would sometimes venture down to the beach around midnight.

On one particular evening, Phil was accompanied by his daughter, who was approximately ten years old.

They made their way onto the wet sand.

It was late.

The beach was dark.

Phil was standing beside a sandhill that rose approximately three feet above his head.

Then he heard something…

A snort.

He looked up.

And there, standing above him, was an enormous black dog.

It was glaring directly at him.

Its eyes appeared red.

Before Phil could move, the creature suddenly launched itself from the sandhill.

Straight towards him.

For one terrifying moment, he thought the animal was attacking.

But instead, the enormous dog leapt completely over his head.

It landed approximately fifteen feet away and raced back into the dunes.

Phil was stunned.

His daughter, who had not seen what had frightened him, asked what was wrong.

He tried to explain.

But she did not believe him.

When Phil returned to the caravan, he told the others what had happened.

The following day, he mentioned his experience to some of the older people at the caravan site.

Their reaction was unexpected.

They already had a name for the mysterious creature.

Strider. The Black Dog.

Phil was astonished.

The older residents apparently knew of the black dog and its association with the area.

Years later, the memory remains as vivid as ever.

Phil told Formby Bubble:

“I have told this tale many times to Formby residents but no one believes me! But I know what I saw.”

And the experience changed something for him.

He added: “And for that reason I never go down to the beach when it’s dark.”

Phil still has a caravan at the same Freshfield site today.

He also recalled that the caravan site has sometimes held Halloween ghost hunts in the nearby woods, although he admits they are far too frightening for him.

But the most intriguing detail of his story is the name given to the creature by those older residents.

Strider.

Could this be another name for Old Trash?

Could the enormous black dog Phil encountered be the very same creature described in Formby’s centuries-old folklore?

Or is there another explanation for these remarkably similar accounts?

Two men. Two encounters. One terrifying similarity.

What makes the stories of Steve Howe and Phil Taylor so fascinating is how closely their descriptions resemble one another.

Both men described enormous black dogs appearing suddenly among the Formby sandhills.

Both recalled the creatures moving at extraordinary speed.

Both believed they saw red eyes.

And both described animals that disappeared almost immediately into the dunes.

Neither man was deliberately searching for a ghost.

Neither was expecting to encounter anything unusual.

Both were simply enjoying the familiar surroundings of Formby’s coastline when something happened that they would remember for the rest of their lives.

Of course, there is no evidence that either man encountered anything supernatural.

Darkness, moonlight and unexpected encounters with animals can produce frightening experiences.

But for those who believe in the legend, the similarities are enough to raise an unsettling question.

What exactly were they seeing?

The ancient secrets beneath Formby’s sands

Perhaps part of the fascination surrounding Old Trash comes from the extraordinary history buried beneath Formby’s coastline.

Long before the village existed, people and animals roamed the land that now lies beneath the shifting sands and waters of the Irish Sea.

The famous prehistoric footprints discovered along the Sefton coast provide remarkable evidence of life thousands of years ago.

Human footprints have been found alongside tracks left by animals, including red deer, ancient cattle and other creatures.

Some of the animal tracks have been attributed to dogs or wolves.

These ancient impressions, preserved in layers of sediment, offer a glimpse into a world that disappeared thousands of years before modern Formby existed.

In 1999, an extraordinary discovery was made when red deer antlers, still attached to part of a skull, were found emerging from coastal sediment.

The antlers measured almost 80 centimetres and belonged to a magnificent stag.

It is a reminder that Formby’s coastline has been home to people and wildlife for millennia.

And perhaps that is why the dunes have inspired so many mysterious stories.

The landscape itself feels ancient.

The shifting sands conceal forgotten histories.

And on a dark night, when the wind blows through the trees and the beach lies deserted, it is easy to imagine that something from another age might still be wandering out there.

The legend of the lost church

Another strand of the folklore suggests that the phantom hound may be connected to a church supposedly swallowed by the sea long ago.

According to some versions of the tale, Old Trash guards the remains of this lost building, endlessly patrolling the coastline where it once stood.

There is no established historical evidence linking the phantom dog to such a church, but the story adds another haunting dimension to the legend.

Imagine a lonely black hound wandering the dunes, searching for a place that no longer exists.

A creature condemned to patrol the same stretch of coastline, night after night, century after century.

Always watching.

Always waiting.

And perhaps appearing only to those unfortunate enough to cross its path.

Tomorrow night, the dunes will fall silent once more

As Halloween approaches, thousands of people across Formby will be preparing for an evening of costumes, pumpkins and trick-or-treating.

But beyond the warm lights of the village, another world waits.

The deserted paths through the pinewoods.

The shadowy dunes beyond Fisherman’s Path.

The empty beach stretching towards the dark Irish Sea.

Places that are beautiful in daylight but can feel deeply unsettling after sunset.

And somewhere among those sandhills, according to the legend, an enormous black hound may still be wandering.

Perhaps it is nothing more than a story passed down through generations.

Perhaps Steve Howe and Phil Taylor simply encountered unusually large dogs in frightening circumstances.

Or perhaps there is something about Formby’s coastline that we do not fully understand.

Something that has inspired the same terrifying descriptions across different generations.

So tomorrow night, when the darkness settles over Formby and the wind begins to whisper through the marram grass, remember the legend of Old Trash.

And imagine, just for a moment, that you are standing alone on a moonlit dune.

The beach is deserted.

The sea is barely audible.

Then, somewhere behind you, comes a sound.

A low, heavy snort.

You turn.

Nothing.

Then you hear it again.

A strange, rhythmic panting.

Growing louder.

Closer.

Like a steam engine approaching through the darkness.

You look towards the top of the sandhill.

And there, silhouetted against the night sky, stands something enormous.

Something black.

Something watching you.

Two glowing red eyes stare down from the darkness.

And suddenly, the creature begins to move.

Because the most terrifying thing about the legend of Old Trash is not what people claim to have seen.

It is the possibility that something might still be out there.

And that one Halloween night, somebody else might see it too.

Have you ever encountered the Black Dog of Formby?

Do you remember hearing stories about Old Trash when you were younger?

Have your parents or grandparents ever mentioned the mysterious black dog?

Perhaps you have heard the name Strider, as Phil Taylor did, or know of another name for the creature.

Or have you experienced something strange while walking through Formby’s dunes, pinewoods or along the beach?

We would love to hear your stories.

Email info@formbybubble.com and tell us about your experience.

Because some legends never truly die.

And some say Old Trash is still out there, waiting in the darkness.

Happy Halloween from Formby Bubble. 🎃

This feature explores local folklore and personal accounts of unexplained experiences. The supernatural claims and historical sightings have not been independently verified.