0 Comments | Add

Rate & Share:

Info:

Series:

Lair of the Beasts: Monsters of Britain

Bigfoot on the Loose

By Nick Redfern September 26, 2009

THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE WOODS by Monster Hunter, Nick Redfern(2008).
© Anomalist Books

There can be few people fascinated by the mysteries of this world and beyond who have not heard of the North American Bigfoot. What is perhaps less well-known is the rich and diverse body of data that exists on sightings of similar creatures in the British Isles.

At first glance, the idea that Britain could be home to a hidden race of large, ape-like animals seems absurd: the country is less than 1,000 miles in length, it has a bustling population of sixty million; and although the British scenery is certainly beautiful, its forests and mountains are hardly of a size that would allow for a species of Bigfoot-sized creatures to flourish in stealth for millennia. And yet people have seen such animals with surprising regularity – and for centuries, too.

On the cold and moonlit night of January 21, 1879, a man was riding home with his horse-and-cart from Woodcote in the county of Shropshire to Ranton, Staffordshire. Enveloped in darkness, he pulled his jacket tightly around him to keep out the biting wind. Approximately a mile from the village of Woodeseaves and while crossing a bridge over the local canal, the man got the shock of his life. Out of the trees leapt a horrific-looking creature: jet black in color and with a pair of huge, glowing eyes, it was described by the petrified witness as being half-man and half-monkey.

The creature jumped onto the back of the man’s horse – which bolted out of sheer fright – and a fierce battle for life and limb began atop the cart. Incredibly, according to the man, when he attempted to hit the beast with his whip, it simply passed through its body. Suddenly, and without warning, the spectral ape-man vanished into thin air, leaving an exhausted horse and its shell-shocked owner in a state of near-collapse.

Ben Macdhui, at 1,309 meters, is the second highest mountain in the British Isles and lies in the heart of the Scottish mountain range known as the Cairngorms. Atop the mountain is a high plateau with a sub-arctic climate, often covered in snow for months at a time. Weather conditions can be extreme and unpredictable. Sadly, the Cairngorms have been defaced by ski-lifts and restaurants but until recently remained remote, and still require considerable physical effort and mountain craft to navigate successfully.

The wild nature and relative inaccessibility of the area has contributed to its popularity, and the Cairngorms have been a playground for climbers, walkers, skiers, naturalists, and those who love the high and lonely places for hundreds of years. And, according to some, the Cairngorms may be home to something far stranger, too.

While on Ben Macdhui, various witnesses to a phenomenon that has come to be known as the Big Grey Man have described hearing crunching footsteps; a sensation of a presence; sightings of a large, hairy, man-like animal; and an overpowering sense of panic. Sightings span more than a century and the experience has been terrifying enough to compel witnesses to flee in blind terror, often for several miles. Whatever the nature of the beast, it seems content to remain hidden deep within the safety of the Cairngorms and far away from civilization.

Mark Fraser is one of Scotland’s most respected researchers of unknown animals and mysterious beasts and has uncovered details of a fascinating encounter from Dundonald Castle that appears to have paranormal overtones to it.

Set on top of a hill that overlooks north Kilmarnock, the castle is visible for miles around. The hill was occupied as far back as 2000 B.C. In the 12th Century a timber fort was built by Walter, the High-Stewart of King David I, and a more substantial Dundonald Castle was constructed by King Robert II and remains standing to this day. In 1482, the castle was sold by King James III to the Cathcart family and was subsequently purchased by Sir William Cochrane in 1636.

Fraser says: "Josephine Aldridge from England says she will never go up the hill again as long as she lives." It was the summer of 1994 and while walking on Dundonald Hill, her two Labrador dogs suddenly "went berserk" as a truly immense gorilla-like creature appeared some distance to the side of her. The terrified woman began to pray, at which point the beast vanished – quite literally – into thin air.

A high plateau bordered by the Trent Valley to the north and the West Midlands to the south, Cannock Chase is a large and dense forest has been an integral feature of the Staffordshire landscape for generations. Following an initial invasion of Britain in A.D. 43, Roman forces advanced to the south to what is now the town of Cannock and along a route that would become known as Watling Street, a major Roman road. The surrounding countryside was heavily wooded even then, as can be demonstrated by the Romans’ name for the area: Letocetum, or the Grey Woods.

Jackie Houghton, who lived in Cannock for a number of years and worked in the nearby town of Stafford, had a truly remarkable encounter in February 1995, when she was driving across the Cannock Chase and along the main road that links the towns of Cannock and Rugeley. It was around 1.00 a.m. and he shift at the restaurant was over.

As she approached the turning for the village of Slittingmill, she was suddenly forced to swerve the car and narrowly avoided collision with a large, shambling creature that stepped out into the road at a distance of about 200 feet from her. Considering that she was driving at high speed, said Jackie, it was a miracle that she didn’t hit the thing.

The encounter lasted barely a few seconds, but she had caught sight of the animal and was certain that it was man-like and tall, very hairy, with two self-illuminating, glowing red eyes. It quickly vanished into the trees.

The mystery of the British Bigfoot remains…

Nick Redfern’s latest book is Science Fiction Secrets, published by Anomalist Books.