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Lair of the Beasts: The Bodalog Monster
A Killer on the Loose By Nick Redfern
May 29, 2010
Did a snake-like monster roam the Welsh countryside?
© Bob Trate
Sometimes, in an investigation of the cryptozoological kind, not only do we not catch the critter in question, but we don’t even get a good handle on what it is, where it came from, or to where it ultimately went. Such are the trials and tribulations of a monster-hunter!
A classic example of this is the very strange – and now-largely-forgotten – story of what became known as the Beast of Bodalog that briefly captured the attention of the British public and the nation’s media in the late 1980s.
The oldest town in mid-Wales, and with an abundance of old standing-stones at the foot of which the ancients dutifully worshipped, Rhayader is, to this day, an atmospheric locale and one filled to the brim with rich history and magical folklore. For example, 5000-year-old Neolithic axes are periodically discovered there, and in 1899 a collection of gold jewellery was unearthed on nearby Gwastedyn Hill that was thought to originate with a legendary, 5th century princess named Rowena - the daughter of the Anglo-Saxon leader, Hengest, and wife to High King Vortigern; a powerful and brutal warlord in his own right.
Against this historic backdrop, between September and December 1988, a series of very weird animal-killings occurred in and around the vicinity of Rhayader that had the people of the area in absolute fits of frenzy and fear. The Bodalog Farm suffered greatly: no less than thirty-five sheep were mutilated and slaughtered in that particular time-frame by a highly stealthy, and unknown, predator whose modus operandi was always the same: a deep and fatal bite to the sternum.
Fox-hounds were quickly dispatched and even picked up the scent of the mysterious killer on several occasions; yet, on each and every occasion, it utterly thwarted and eluded them. Although both the local and national press made very big waves about a marauding and savage “black panther” being on the loose, the fact of the matter was that, in reality, something much, much stranger was afoot.
For example, on no occasion was any tell-tale paw-print ever found that might have led one to assume that a large cat of some type was indeed roaming the area, as the media had suggested might very well have been the case.
Instead, those whose sheep had been fatally savaged, found corridors of field and grassland that had been laid totally flat by whatever had been circling and stalking the sheep – something that suggested in the minds of many the image of a huge, heavy, slithering snake on the loose. This particular theory was given more credence when further areas of flattened grass were uncovered: they led to no less a source than the nearby River Wye.
The conclusion, for many of the farmers that worked the land, was near-inescapable and overwhelmingly ominous: something monstrous and unspeakable was surfacing from the dark waters late at night, was making its careful way to the fields, and was then – with truly frightening speed and precision - mutilating the sundry animal population of Rhayader. There was even talk of the animals at issue being drained of huge quantities of blood. No wonder, then, that the townsfolk were keeping their doors firmly locked at night.
The giant-snake theory was ingenious; however, as Richard Freeman, of Britain’s Center for Fortean Zoology, noted: “Britain’s only venomous snake, the adder – Vipera berus – is far too small to have killed all these sheep. This case begs many odd questions: why would an animal go to all the trouble of wasting venom and energy killing so many sheep, then not eat any? If it was a large, exotic, venomous snake that had escaped from captivity, how did it cope with October in Wales?”
Freeman was absolutely right: the cold, harsh Welsh weather at that time of year would certainly have rendered any large snake practically immobile – if not dead. The mystery, needless to say, continued. And, indeed, it was never resolved. Whatever the true nature of the Beast of Bodalog it vanished as mysteriously as it first surfaced; unless, that is, you know better...
Nick Redfern is the author of many books on UFOs, cryptozoology, and the paranormal, including his latest, Monsters of Texas, co-written with Ken Gerhard.
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I believe 100% that these creatures are real, I am not saying this case of the The Bodalog Monster is a true being, but like others, it could be. Folks need to understand that there are spiritual beings all around us, these creatures can take on physical flesh and blood form at will, and vanish at will. That is why there will never be any scientific proof of these cryptids of cryptozoology. You can read more about my views and read all about more of these creatures at: Unknown Creatures - http://www.unknown-creatures.com