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The Graffiti That Wouldn’t Die: Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?
Manage episode 490543759 series 3654248
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In 1943, a woman’s body was discovered inside a wych elm tree in Hagley Wood. Her identity was never confirmed. But what truly haunted the case was the graffiti: “Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?” It began appearing soon after the body was found and reappeared for decades.
The Bella mystery is more than a murder. It’s a cultural ghost story. From theories of Nazi espionage to occult rituals, every angle leaves chilling gaps. But one thing remained constant: the graffiti. It resurfaced on walls and obelisks, sometimes altered, sometimes exact—like a whisper from the grave refusing to be forgotten. Who wrote it? Was it someone with knowledge of the crime? Or just a public haunted by Bella’s silence?
In Murder in the Wych Elm, we explore this eerie phenomenon alongside the forensics, folklore, and theories that have kept Bella’s story alive for 80 years.
Want more strange stories from Britain’s shadowy corners?
Follow our podcast and explore the archives at https://peculiarbritain.wordpress.com – where folklore gets fierce.
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