THE LEGENDS of the Crank Caverns are told in a fascinating newly publicised book.

Written by former Star journalist Sue Gerrard, ‘Beneath the Surface: the Mysteries of Crank Caverns’ explores both the fact and the myths surrounding the former quarry site.

The caverns have been the subject of many intriguing and disturbing legends over the years.

From stories of being a hiding place from persecution Catholics during the 16th Century Reformation, to tales of the ‘Vicious Dwarves’ rumoured to have inhabited the caverns causing disappearances of children in the late 18th Century.

The book also tells of some more conventional history going back to the 1700s about the site’s use as a quarry, from which rocks have been used to build houses in the Rainford area and Holy Cross Church, in the town centre.

“I’ve done previous local history books and there seems to be a lot of interest in these stories,” says Sue.

“People had mentioned these Crank Caverns to me and the more I looked into it the more interesting it was and the book goes into the history of the caverns.

“And the kinds of legends surrounding it are quite fascinating.”

Also featured is some poetry from Sue based on the legend and horror stories about the caverns.

Sue has already published books about the Windle witch and the White Rabbit of Crank and has had more than 80 poems published in national anthologies.

The book went out on release on Friday, September 12, with Sue having held a book signing at Wardleworths book shop on Saturday.

The book costs £5 and is available at Wardleworths and Fir Tree Farm, Kings Moss.