The ghosts of a true horror story

"We were quite powerless, and heard the German cavalry approaching ... I looked up and encircling the top of the pit was a ring of shining angels. As the cavalry rushed up, the horses saw them and there was a stampede.

Our lives were saved and the Germans were put to confusion."

So recalled a wounded British soldier from Mons after the initial battle fought by the British on August 23 1914. Or did he?

World War 1 generated many widely held beliefs that turned out to be false. One of the most famous is that of the Angel of Mons.

Such tales gained popular acceptance with such intensity that, even today, they are told.

This was an era when the word of newspapers and books was widely accepted as truth and confirming the accuracy of a story was far from straightforward. Tales were promulgated by word of mouth and an innocent comment, observation or joke could end up as "truth".

The Angel of Mons originated in a fictional short story by Arthur Machen called The Bowmen, published in 1914, recounting how phantom archers from the Battle of Agincourt repelled a German attack at Mons.

The story hit a nerve and variations on the idea of ghostly intervention began to appear in print - portrayed as fact. The angels story provided a comforting message that God was on the side of the Allies, so religious organisations spread it.

Linked to this idea of divine intervention was the notion that the Germans were godless and subsequent myths - such as the belief that German troops were raping nuns and bayoneting babies - fostered this and was useful propaganda for the British.

Atrocities were inevitable in the invasion, but the scale of accusations was out of proportion. And, of course, atrocity stories were spread by propagandists from both sides.

German "frightfulness" was, in the eyes of many, proved by the use of poison gas at Ypres, the sinking of the civilian liner Lusitania and the execution of British nurse Edith Cavell.

The British government had a channel for propaganda in official "reports" that were full of sensational stories of atrocities, which research has shown to be at best exaggerated.

One myth widely circulated was that the Germans had constructed a "corpse factory" behind their lines to extract useful body fats from dead soldiers in order to produce soap, fertiliser and animal feed.

Perhaps the most famous atrocity story concerned a Canadian soldier crucified against a barn door by bayonets thrust through his hands and feet. Research suggests there could have been an element of truth in it, but there is no real evidence.

Behind many myths was the comforting idea that there was an external force, either divine or earthly, on hand to ensure victory despite any initial defeat.

And desire for an explanation or solution to something disastrous or unexpected can still be seen regularly today in the conspiracy theories which circulate about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, or 9/11. After popular figurehead Lord Kitchener was drowned when HMS Hampshire sank in 1916, the belief spread that he had survived and was secretly planning the final Allied victory.

World War 1 is often characterised by the invention of new technology, and the novelty and uncertainty of it generated folklore. Zeppelin airships were supposed to be dropping poisoned sweets on Britain to kill innocent but sweet-toothed civilians.

Excitement at the first use of tanks during the Battle of the Somme in September 1916 led to outlandish rumours of massive vehicles manned by crews of hundreds that could travel at high speeds. The truth - that the tanks were very small and slow and liable to break down - was less exciting.

The trial and execution of exotic dancer Mata Hari in 1917, accused of spying for Germany, generated a rumour that she'd betrayed blueprints for the tank design to the enemy, though there was no evidence of it.

One of the most imaginative trench myths was that a band of "wild men" - deserters consisting of soldiers from both sides was living in no-man's land, emerging to loot the dead and finish off those who were wounded. There was even talk of cannibalism.

Actually, the looting of bodies was commonplace on both sides.

Modern forms of communication and the wide access to information that we take for granted today mean that myths and legends are unlikely to be believed as extensively as they once were. However, the First World War remains a fascinating snapshot of how myths can spread, aided by the inevitable confusion of conflict.