The story takes place in the 12th century, during the reign of King Stephen or King Henry II (around the 1150s), in the village of Woolpit, Suffolk, England. According to two chroniclers William of Newburgh and Ralph of Coggeshall villagers in Woolpit found two small children (a brother and sister) near a wolf pit (a trap used to catch wolves).
They were unlike any humans the villagers had ever seen. Their skin was green, they spoke an unknown language, and they wore strange, unfamiliar clothes made of an unknown material.
The children were taken in by Sir Richard de Calne, a local landowner. They refused all food until someone brought in raw green beans, which they eagerly ate — at first by opening the stalks instead of the pods, not understanding how to eat them properly.
Over time, they learned to eat other foods, and as they did, their green color faded. The boy, however, soon became ill and died. The girl survived, learned English, and eventually told her story.
Once she could communicate, the girl explained that she and her brother came from a place called “St. Martin’s Land”, where: Everything was green, including the people. There was no sun, only perpetual twilight. A bright land could be seen across a river. She said they had been tending their father’s cattle, followed a strange sound, and suddenly found themselves inside the wolf pit — disoriented and unable to find their way back.
The story has survived for over 800 years, retold in countless books, plays, and even science fiction stories. Woolpit itself still embraces the legend, the village sign even depicts two green children emerging from a pit.
The Bizarre Mystery Of The Green Children Of Woolpit
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