In 1150, two small children with green skin allegedly appeared on the outskirts of the English village of Woolpit. There, the young boy and girl were found crawling out of a pit meant for catching wolves. According to at least two historical accounts, they were clad in strange clothing, appeared to speak only gibberish, and seemed repulsed by most food. Eventually, they discovered some green beans growing outside and gobbled them up, and after they gradually started to eat the other food that the villagers offered them, they began to lose their greenish hue. Though the boy later died of a mysterious illness, the girl lived long enough to learn how to speak English — and told the villagers that she and the boy had come from a distant land called St. Martin where the sun didn't shine and the people lived in perpetual twilight.
Who Were the Green Children of Woolpit? historydefined.net/green-children…
1150, residents of the English village of Woolpit made a startling discovery on the edge of town — two small children with green skin. Not only did the children look strange, but they also spoke a strange language and seemed perfectly repulsed by most food. Taken in by the villagers, the odd pair eventually lost the green tone in their skin and learned to speak English. They claimed that they’d come from a distant land called St. Martin where people rarely encountered sunlight. In the years since, the Green Children of Woolpit have become a baffling historical mystery. If they truly existed, what turned their skin green? What was the land of St. Martin? And could the explanation be extraterrestrial?
“If you could please keepy my family in your prayers. My fiance was diagnosed in April of this year with Acute myeloid leukemia he is 26 and we have 2 children. He has already had 1 round of induction chemo but remission was not achieved because his cells defragmented and the little fragments brought the cancer cells back and 80% of his RBC are cancerous. He is currently home and staying infection free and fever free and gaining weight. He has an appointment next month with his oncologist and we are just waiting to find out when he will be admitted for his 2nd round of induction chemo. The first picture was the first time he had seen his kids in 35 days. It's kills me knowing I can't stop this or change this or fix this especially when he just lost his mom 2 years ago to stage 4 colon cancer. My family is my whole world!” -Grace Gallops
The tale of the Green Children of Woolpit has been recounted by two different chroniclers: the 13th-century historian William of Newburgh and the 12th-century abbot Ralph of Coggeshall. They both tell a similar story of how two green children appeared in the village of Woolpit. As the tale goes, the two children were discovered by villagers around the year 1150. They were spotted crawling out of one of the pits meant for catching wolves that gave the village its name. The children were taken to the home of Sir Richard de Calne, who lived nearby. Though de Calne offered the green children food, they refused to eat anything. After a few days of this, the Green Children of Woolpit discovered some green beans growing in de Calne’s garden and eagerly gobbled them up. Before long, they reportedly took to eating the food the villagers offered them as well, and began to lose the green tinge of their skin. The girl seemed to flourish under the villagers’ care. Before long, she mastered the English language. She was considered to be "very wanton and impudent" after she adjusted to her new life. The boy, however, was sickly and died soon after his sister was baptized.
Where Did The Green Children Of Woolpit Come From? Though it’s unclear whether or the Green Children of Woolpit ever truly existed, their story has fascinated people for centuries. Today, there are a few possible explanations for the children’s skin, clothing, and language. As Mental Floss explains, they may have been poisoned with arsenic and left to die, which could explain their green-toned skin. Another explanation for their green skin could be chlorosis, which results from malnutrition and may explain why their green skin faded away as they adjusted to a better diet. As for their strange language and clothing? Historic UK notes that they may have been children of Flemish immigrants who were killed by King Stephen or King Henry II. Thus, what the villagers in Woolpit took as “gibberish” might actually have been Dutch. And the “twilight” described by the children could have been the leafy darkness of nearby Thetford Forest.