The story of the Five Monks of Braughing is one of the shorter and stranger pieces of folklore recorded in this register, and it has a quality of dark comedy that sets it apart from most of the county's more solemn ghost traditions. According to the legend, five monks illicitly caught and ate trout from the nearby River Rib, breaking whatever rule of their order or of the local fishing rights governed the river, and were poisoned by the fish, dying as a direct result of their own minor transgression.
Rather than resting easy having already paid for their crime with their lives, the five are said to walk at Horse Cross in the village of Braughing once every five years, a recurring act of penance that, as noted by at least one local historian recording the tale, seems a considerably harsher punishment than the original offence would appear to warrant, given that death by poisoned fish might reasonably be considered penalty enough on its own.
No date, named individual or documented source has been traced establishing when this tradition began or whether any sighting has actually been reported on the specific five-year schedule the story describes. It is recorded here as dubious folklore, an entertaining local tale rather than a verified haunting, in keeping with the relaxed research standard applied throughout this register.
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