Once, many generations ago, there was a double oak in the woodland near Hockley. The tree had grown into two independent trunks that sprouted from the same base. Unusual for oaks, the tree was cloaked in superstition. It was a common children's game to pass between the two trunks as the gap was just wide enough for a small child. It was common practice to purposefully split ash trees then bind them together again, allowing children to pass through this gap was a folk cure for rickets. The oak had completely different connotations, however. Soon the tree was considered haunted or as a gateway, and evidence to this was given in the sound of a shrieking boy that seemed to disappear when followed. The phenomenon became so widely known that visitors would come and listen, and at this time ventriloquists and entertainers were paid to give them what they came for. This didn't stop the hauntings, however, and locals still claimed to be tormented by the terrible sound. Eventually they discovered the sound was coming from an owl, which they then shot. But owls were plentiful in those days and it wasn't long before the shrieking boy returned another night.