The Fairlop Oak — the giant tree that became a death cult

London · United Kingdom · Naturplats · Scare 3/5

Daniel Day had his own coffin built from a fallen bough of the oak he loved — and feasted beneath it every year until he died.

On Fairlop Plain in Hainault Forest stood an oak said to be over 1,800 years old, its branches shading ground wide enough to hold thousands. In 1725 the Wapping engine-maker Daniel Day began treating his workmen to beans and bacon beneath it on the first Friday of July. The custom swelled into Fairlop Fair, drawing crowds of up to 200,000. Day grew obsessed with his tree: when a bough came down he had it sawn into his own coffin, which he kept ready and waiting. The oak was damaged by fire in 1805 and blew down in 1820, and the forest around it was felled. The fair limped on to 1900 before dying out. What remains on the plain is a marked spot, the absence of a giant, and an old custom rooted in one man's arrangements for his own burial.

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How scary is The Fairlop Oak — the giant tree that became a death cult?

The Fairlop Oak — the giant tree that became a death cult has a scare factor of 3/5 according to Haunted Places’ verified ratings.

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The Fairlop Oak — the giant tree that became a death cult is in London, United Kingdom.