Jan Tregeagle was a wealthy and influential man in Bodmin, yet his life and afterlife have become the stuff of chilling Cornish folklore. The story goes that he was a wicked man during his life, committing fierce acts of cruelty and deception, and thus, his soul could not find peace after death. Suspected of being a corrupt magistrate and accused of stealing a widow’s property, his name became synonymous with greed and injustice. The story goes that after his death, Tregeagle was summoned back from the grave to give evidence in a court case regarding a property dispute in which he was once involved. The legend says that he was set a series of impossible tasks to keep him occupied till judgment day. One such task was to empty Dozmary Pool with only a limpet shell with a hole in it. What makes this story even scarier is that Dozmary Pool is said to be bottomless along with many tales swirling around the pool, like King Arthur’s Excalibur supposed to be thrown into it. Yet, sometimes when the wind howls, it’s said you can hear the tormented cries of Jan Tregeagle around the fringes of Dozmary Pool. Today, Cornish people often use Jan Tregeagle’s name as a bogeyman character in cautionary tales to children about the consequences of wrongdoings. These tales also serve to explain seemingly inexplicable natural phenomena, encapsulating the pessimism and supernatural belief that pervades much of Cornwall’s folklore.