By listening for the drums and looking for the fire…

…you may get to experience the curious sight of Mr Fox. From the darkness of night they emerge; processing vermin with burning torches flickering, marching behind their banner and gathering crowds in their wake. Down to their arena they descend, putting the towering Crow to flight before their presence – claiming their space to begin the dance. To the beat of the drum and the tune of the band they enact their show, blending dance and story in a display as bewildering as it is fascinating. No two shows are quite alike, sometimes they’re alone, other times they duel the pale faced dogs. Whichever way, as the show closes and they rampage off to be swallowed again by the night, you’ll be left astounded and perplexed by what you just saw and heard.

But fear not, here we’ll give you a glimpse into – what we hear- is the myth of Mr Fox.

It is told that there was a great drought …

… in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the multitude of lakes, meres and ponds, for which that region is known, began to diminish and dry up. The squire of the manor of Langsett, Sir Rufus Fox, appointed a week of prayers to be offered by all his tenants and their families, while processing around Langsett Lake. On the third day of these prayers, an oaken chest was seen in the lake bed. The chest was drawn out, and striking the hasp off, it was found to contain an ancient tome, the Liber Rufus Clivuslongi, the Red Book of Langsett. Sir Rufus took this striking concurrence between his own name and that of the venerable book, as a mark of a special Providence.

That gentleman having returned to his hall, …

… he set himself to read & translate the book and its secrets from latin to the common tongue. However, due to a calamity that befell the family (connected to the book), Rufus was forced to flee from his home and into history, and the book was considered lost…

The estate was taken on by his cousin, …

… Sir Russell, who discovered fragmentary translations made by Sir Rufus. These describe the style and purpose of the Langsett fire dances, performed by the young men and women of the area, in leather masks, and robed and bearing fire with them, on various moonlit occasions especially the time of the full moon known as Hunters Moon.

The dances are now known as the Fox Dance, and their captain, the lord of their revels, is known as Mister Fox.

It is not known whether those pages are still held by the dancers, as the folk who take part are close, and will not even declare who is and who is not of their number, nor the true name of their Mister Fox.