of faith. Had he been there, he assured me, he would soon have got rid of it; but he nevertheless made me help him remove the bones from the kitchen, and we reinterred them in the very spot where we had found them, and where, for aught I know to the contrary, they still lie.”
Dr. Karl Shuker, who has made a careful study of this particular case, says: “Quite aside from its highly sensational storyline, it is rather difficult to take seriously any account featuring someone (Warren’s grandfather) who seriously believed that the Hebrides were ‘…once overrun with satyrs and were-wolves’! By comparison, and despite his youthful age, Warren’s own assumption that the skeleton was that of a deformed human would seem eminently more sensible—at least until the remainder of his account is read. Notwithstanding Warren’s claim that his account was factual, however, the arrival of what was presumably another of the deceased wolf-headed entity’s kind, seeking the return of the skeleton to its original resting place, draws upon a common theme in traditional folklore and legend.”
NATURE GONE MAD
BEAR-MONSTER
Neil Arnold, a noted authority on monsters, shared the following, which tells a story of very curious proportions: “For several decades Clapham Woods in West Sussex, [England,] has been the subject of many a dark whisper and wicked rumor. Tales of ghosts, murders and black magic often emerge from the ancient woods.
“My favorite and certainly, creepiest story pertaining to Sussex, and there are many, concerns a sighting of a truly dreadful creature. This manifestation even made the Littlehampton Gazette, in 1975, around the autumn. Even national radio and the popular, topical BBC program Nationwide, featured the story. At the time the area was caught up in a flap of high strangeness. News-crews, journalists, UFO investigators, and paranormal enthusiasts flocked to the area, but rarely after dark.
“Two dogs had gone missing in the area, and when researchers stumbled across a footprint measuring eight-inches long and almost four-inches wide, but showing four-claw mark indentations (and a fifth claw mark towards the rear of the main pad), it was clear that something bizarre was going on. Twelve inches in front of the print, was another, almost identical print. The investigators were equipped with a Geiger counter, as well as other paraphernalia. Suddenly, the needle of the counter began to act oddly when the counter was swept over the prints, and then, from the darkness a grey pillar of mist appeared. With the main A27 road in ear shot, the researchers decided it best to head for home, but then the monster appeared. The hazy shaft of mist before them took on the form of a great bear-like creature. The apparition then faded within ten seconds.
“It was once rumored that a bear cult operated clandestinely in the thickets.…
“From then on Clapham Woods would become known for its paranormal activity. It was once rumored that a bear cult operated clandestinely in the thickets, and maybe they’d raised some kind of tulpa-like energy forever to haunt the shadows of the ‘birdless grove.’
“Strange symbols, time lapses, animal sacrifice, phantom hounds, secret societies and several obscure cults: Clapham Woods is certainly one of those special places. Blue Bell Hill in Kent, and Cannock Chase in Staffordshire seem to offer similar bouts of high strangeness, whether in the form of strange animal sightings or peculiar activity and folklore. Whether by strange coincidence, the grounds of Verdley Castle, situated also in West Sussex, are supposedly haunted by a giant bear. It is alleged to have been the last bear in England.”
BLACK FOREST BEASTS
Robert R. Lyman Sr. (1870–1963) was someone who spent decades carefully collecting and chronicling reports of odd events, curious tales, and spooky legends, all from the Black Forest of north-central Pennsylvania. It was an area that Lyman had a particular fondness for. While many of the accounts were of the ghostly and supernatural variety, others were of a distinctly beastly kind. And they were varied and weird in the extreme.
Lyman said that “old timers” and “yarn spinners” in Potter County told him of the so-called “Sidehill Mootie.” A bizarre beast, it had one leg shorter than the other! Lyman explained that, according to his sources, “It was built for the county’s steep hills and could travel only in one direction around the hill. If alarmed, so that it turned around, it tumbled down the hill and could easily be captured alive.” It was, he added, “very ferocious.”
Lyman also recorded that local Native Americans told of “the most dreaded of strange, forest animals.” It was a creature with the very odd name of the “Hide-Behind.” Lyman explained: “No one ever saw one of the creatures because they always hid behind a tree. But everyone knew that they often followed travelers through the woods.”
He expanded further on the nature of this near-unique critter of the woods: “If a person was afraid of them and kept looking back, the hide-behind would torment him into a panic. It took a brave man to be the last in line with a group walking through the woods. Old woodsmen said the only way to overcome the fear of the hide-behinds was to ignore them.”
The Black Forest was also reportedly the home of a terrifying serpent, the “Hoop Snake.” Once again, Lyman had intriguing data to impart on the nature of this deadly thing, which moved across the ground by placing its tail in its mouth and rolling along like a wheel! He elaborated: “As it came close it snapped its tail loose and struck its prey with a poison stinger. Escape was possible by jumping into a tree. The snake would strike the tree with its stinger and, unable to pull it out of the wood, the snake could easily be killed. The stung tree usually died.”
Other unique creatures of the forest included the Fulleramo Bird, which flew in a very odd fashion: backwards, no less! Recognizing the humor in this, Lyman said: “It never saw where it was going and often hit people in the face! It could make a weird whistle through its tail.”
Far less humorous was the “Sharp-Tailed Hodag.” According to Lyman, “It was equipped with massive jaws and stout dorsal spines. It was very fond of live dogs which it sopped in mud before devouring. It could be tamed and taught to cut grain with its scythe-shaped tail.”
This undated photograph supposedly captures an image of a hodag in action. Of course, it’s pretty obviously not a real hodag.
Lyman explained that, according to his sources, “It was built for the county’s steep hills and could travel only in one direction around the hill.…”
Of course, Lyman was no fool, or uncritical commentator. In that sense, he recognized that these Black Forest tales had an air of the mythological and the folkloric about them. He didn’t, however, rule out the possibility that the accounts may have had some basis in reality. He closed his study of the bizarre beasts of the Black Forest with the following words:
“During
