THE MAGIC OF A MYSTERY
CATHI UNSWORTH talks to Jayne Harris, the director of a new documentary about the Hagley Wood murder
The Bella mystery is the focus of a compelling new documentary, Who Put
Bella in the Wych-Elm?, by Stourbridge resident, journalist and paranormal investigator Jayne Harris (pictured at right).
“I live just a few miles from Hagley Woods and have been familiar with the graffiti for some years,” she explains. “In late 2013, I decided I wanted to delve into a mystery for a 10-minute YouTube video. I was walking on Wychbury Hill one November afternoon, the sun was low in the sky and as it illuminated the obelisk, I suddenly realised that the best mystery of all was under my nose. When I got home, I began researching. It quickly became apparent that this needed to be longer than 10 minutes…”
The resulting film ended up taking three years to make, with many contributions from local residents, journalists and historians probing the case’s multiple complexities and contradictions. “I love the twists and turns, and people’s reactions to them,” Jayne says. “More often than not they are left not knowing what to believe, even when they thought initially that they knew which theory was correct. The more you hear about each, the more you begin to wonder... Just when you think you may have cracked it, something will spin you around and you find yourself facing in another direction.”
Some locals who weren’t so keen on revisiting Bella were the inhabitants of Hagley Hall. “Lord Cobham dislikes the whole story and does not allow any kind of permissions when it comes to visiting the woods. The opening shot of the documentary was shot using a drone from the public footpath which runs parallel. They were not happy, and the groundsman approached me to move on, but they couldn’t stop me using the footage, as I was on a public area. Hagley Hall is a wedding venue now and they probably feel it will impact on its appeal.”
Does she prefer any particular theory? “My favourite, in terms of pure imagination, is that she was involved in witchcraft, possibly part of a coven. However, I don’t think it’s likely. If I were being realistic, I’d put my money on her being a traveller. There are some coincidences which seem to point in that direction, and it would explain why no one came forward to claim her. Without her remains, I doubt we will ever have any solid clues to her identity. Chances are the killer is now dead, as would be any associates or confidantes, and so I’d say that the truth will remain buried. But maybe that’s the beauty of it. Often the magic of a mystery is in keeping it such.”
• For more information and to order a copy of the film, please go to www. hdparanormal.com/bella