Battle of Barnet Battlefield

On Easter Sunday, April 14, 1471, the Battle of Barnet was fought in thick fog that turned the battlefield into a nightmare of confusion. Edward IV faced his former ally, the Earl of Warwick (“the Kingmaker”), in a desperate struggle for the throne. The fog caused Lancastrian forces to attack each other by mistake, leading to their defeat. Warwick was killed fleeing the field. The ghosts of soldiers lost in the fog still wander Barnet, eternally confused, fighting phantoms.

The History

The Kingmaker’s Gamble

Warwick’s attempt to control the throne:

• Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, was the power behind the throne
• He had made Edward IV king
• Then turned against him
• Allied with the Lancastrians
• Brought Henry VI back to power briefly
• Now Edward was back to reclaim his crown

The Fog

Weather that decided the battle:

• Dense fog covered the field
• Visibility was nearly zero
• Armies couldn’t see each other
• Formations became lost
• Friend couldn’t be distinguished from foe
• Chaos and confusion reigned

The Fatal Mistake

Lancastrian friendly fire:

• The Earl of Oxford’s men returned from pursuit
• In the fog, they were mistaken for enemies
• Fellow Lancastrians fired on them
• Oxford’s men thought they were betrayed
• They fled, shouting “Treason!”
• The Lancastrian line collapsed

Warwick’s Death

The Kingmaker fell:

• Fleeing toward his horse
• Caught and killed in the woods
• The man who made and unmade kings
• Died running from battle
• His body displayed in London
• The Kingmaker’s power broken forever

The Hauntings

The Fog

Supernatural mist appears:

• Even on clear days
• Thick, impenetrable
• Visibility drops to nothing
• Disorientation and confusion
• The fog of 1471 returns

Lost Soldiers

Men wandering in confusion:

• Calling for their units
• Unable to find their way
• Attacking shadows
• Realizing too late they’re killing allies
• The tragedy replays endlessly

Warwick’s Flight

The Kingmaker’s last moments:

• Running through the woods
• Desperate to reach his horse
• Pursued by enemies
• The moment of his death
• Arrogance brought low

The Friendly Fire

The tragic mistake:

• Oxford’s men returning
• Lancastrian arrows finding Lancastrian targets
• Cries of “Treason! Treason!”
• The realization of what they’d done
• The battle lost by accident

Edward IV

The victorious king appears:

• Rallying his men in the fog
• Leading from the front
• The moment of his restoration
• His throne secured again
• But the fog obscures all

The Easter Sunday Slaughter

Fighting on a holy day:

• Over 1,000 dead
• On the most sacred Christian festival
• The sin of it weighs on the field
• Prayers for forgiveness
• The dead seeking absolution

The Woods

Where Warwick died:

• Intense activity in the treeline
• Sounds of pursuit
• A man running for his life
• The moment the Kingmaker fell
• His power died with him

Monken Hadley Church

Near the battlefield:

• Used as a field hospital
• The wounded and dying brought here
• Intense paranormal activity
• Footsteps of armored men
• Moans of the injured
• Prayers for the dying

The Monument

Obelisk marking the battlefield:

• Erected in 1740
• Activity concentrates here
• The fog often appears nearby
• Cold spots even in summer
• The dead acknowledge their memorial

Anniversary Phenomena

April 14 brings peak activity:

• The fog almost always appears
• Sounds of confused battle
• Men shouting in the mist
• The friendly fire tragedy replays
• Warwick dies again

Modern Barnet

The town has grown over the battlefield:

• Houses built where men died
• Residents report phenomena
• Figures in period armor
• Sounds of combat in the fog
• The Wars of the Roses continue

The Curse of the Fog

Weather phenomena:

• Fog appears unexpectedly near the battlefield
• Even when conditions don’t warrant it
• Locals know the signs
• The fog of Barnet is different
• It carries ghosts within it

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The Battle of Barnet was fought in fog so thick that armies couldn’t see each other. Lancastrians killed Lancastrians by mistake, shouting “Treason!” as they realized their error. The Kingmaker who had made and broken kings was killed fleeing through the woods. More than 550 years later, the fog still descends, the soldiers still wander lost and confused, and Warwick still runs toward a horse he’ll never reach. The fog of Barnet never lifts.