Monster!: The A-Z of Zooform Phenomena 9781905723102, 1905723105

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MONSTER!

T H E A - Z O F Z O O F OR M P H E N O M E N A

Neil Arnold

Edited by Jonathan Downes Typeset by Jonathan Downes and Corinna James Cover and Internal Layout design by Mark North for CFZ Communications Using Microsoft Word 2000, Microsoft , Publisher 2000, Adobe Photoshop. First published in Great Britain by 2007 CFZ Press

CFZ PRESS Myrtle Cottage Woolfardisworthy Bideford North Devon EX39 5QR

© CFZ MMVII All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form of by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owners and the publishers of this book.

ISBN: 978-1-905723-10-2

THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY GRANDAD, RON, AND THOSE RESEARCHERS, WHO LIKE ME, PURSUE SHADOWS.

FOREWORD by Dr. Karl P.N. Shuker

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ne of the earliest books that beckoned me down the often-thorny, frequently-meandering, but ever-beguiling pathway of cryptozoology is one that may not be very familiar to many (if, indeed, any) other cryptozoologists - but it definitely should be. It was a thoroughly enchanting book of original poetry by James Reeves (and illustrations by Edward Ardizzone), first published in 1957, and entitled Prefabulous Animiles. As its title suggests, it was filled with captivating verses on such wonderfully whimsical, albeit totally fictitious monsters as the hippocrump, the chickamungus, the doze, and - my own personal favourite (evincing even at that tender age a particular interest in mystery cats) - the catipoce, a fiendish Cheshire cat doppelgänger that lured its hapless victims within reach of its lethal claws by virtue of its bewitching, irresistible grin. And this delightful book's superb introductory poem, ‘Let No One Suppose’ could have set the scene as effectively for any bona fide cryptozoology book as it did for its own collection of rhymes, containing such apposite lines as: Let no one suppose That the creatures he knows… Are ALL that the animal kingdom can show: NO! … At the corners of dreams, Round the edges of sleep, There’s a something that seems to be going to creep, To crawl or to climb, to lumber or leap… It must be – PREFABULOUS ANIMILES! … Then some day he’ll see them lurking in lanes, Or breaking down hedges and fences and stiles – He’ll see the Prefabulous Animiles. Moreover, those are words that apply even beyond the sequestered realms of cryptozoology. When I began seriously researching mystery beasts, it soon became evident that there were certain entities that seemed too strange to be accommodated comfortably even within the most open-minded or elasticated of cryptozoological frame-

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works. They were creatures beyond cryptozoology - in fact, they were quite possibly not creatures at all. Rather, they could well be 'things' or 'forms' that merely looked like creatures. In short, they needed their own term, and several years ago, UK cryptozoologist (and nowadays CFZ Director) Jonathan Downes coined an ideal one zooform phenomena. They also needed their own book, instead of being shoehorned awkwardly into odd corners and paragraphs within 'mainstream cryptozoology books' (assuming, of course, that any such book is not a contradiction in terms!). Now at last they have it, and so do we - and what a marvellous book it is! Books that are truly unique are rare today, but what Neil Arnold has produced is indeed unique. Just as my book The Lost Ark was the world's first to be devoted entirely to new and rediscovered animals, Neil's Monster! - The A-Z of Zooform Phenomena is the world's first to be devoted entirely to zooform phenomena - and (again like mine) it stands a very good chance of remaining the standard work on the subject. As someone passionately interested not just in cryptozoology but also in zoomythology, when I read through it I was both startled and delighted to discover all manner of extraordinary, astonishing entities listed and described by Neil that I had simply never heard of before - too bizarre for cryptozoology, too obscure for zoomythology, they had until now slipped between the shelves in the archives of zoological anomalies and enigmas. Now, however, Neil has done a timely, masterly job of gathering them up, dusting them down, and arranging them painstakingly like a vast series of exotic butterflies to be studied and preserved in the collective public memory for all time. Encompassing the mythologies and beliefs of cultures throughout the world, covering every imaginable (and unimaginable!) shape and size of zooform, and with entries arranged alphabetically, this fascinating book can be read from cover to cover at a single sitting or dipped into time and time again, and will guarantee to leave its readers spellbound and eager for more. From Aatxe to Zulu Basket Monster and the myriad of monstrous apparitions in between, this remarkable book offers you the chance to take part in (and all from the comfort of your own armchair) the most surreal safari of all time. Or, to put it another way, if you don't know your Melling Monster from your Melon Head, you need this book! Monstrous manifestations? Fabulous - or even prefabulous!

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“…a grove of trees and the gentle slope of a hill, with a very natural - in fact, I should say a real moon shining on it. Over this there rose an object which I soon perceived to be a human figure with something peculiar about the head – what, I was unable at first to see. It did not stand on its feet, but began creeping or dragging itself across the middle distance towards Punch, who still sat back to it; and by this time, I may remark (though it did not occur to me at the moment) that all pretence of this being a puppet show had vanished. Punch was still Punch, it is true, but, like the others, was in some sense a live creature, and both moved themselves at their own will. When I next glanced at him he was sitting in malignant reflection; but in another instant something seemed to attract his attention, and he first sat up sharply and then turned round, and evidently caught sight of the person that was approaching him and was in fact now very near. Then, indeed, did he show unmistakable signs of terror: catching up his stick, he rushed towards the wood, only just eluding the arm of his pursuer, which was suddenly flung out to intercept him. It was with a revulsion which I cannot easily express that I now saw more or less clearly what the pursuer was like. He was a sturdy figure clad in black, and, as I thought, wearing bands: his head was covered with a whitish bag. The chase which now began lasted I do not know how long, now among the trees, now along the slope of the field, sometimes both figures disappearing wholly for a few seconds, and only some uncertain sounds letting one know that they were still afoot. At length there came a moment when Punch, evidently exhausted, staggered in from the left and threw himself down among the trees. His pursuer was not long after him, and came looking uncertainly from side to side. Then, catching sight of the figure on the ground, he too threw himself down – his back was turned to the audience – with a swift motion twitched the covering from his head, and thrust his face into that of Punch. Everything on the instant grew dark. There was one long, loud, shuddering scream, and I awoke to find myself looking straight into the face of – what in all the world do you think? but – a large owl, which was seated on my window-sill immediately opposite my bed-foot, holding up its wings like two shrouded arms. I caught the fierce glance of its yellow eyes, and then it was gone. I heard the single enormous bell again – very likely, as you are saying to yourself, the church clock; but I do not think so – and then I was broad awake.” From The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance by M.R. James.

INTRODUCTION

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hat are ‘zooform phenomena’? Well, up until a few years ago, it wasn’t even a term, until monster-hunter and fortean zoologist Jonathan Downes coined the phrase as a descriptive extension to what authors Janet and Colin Bord described as “animals that aren’t”, in their classic book, Alien Animals (Granada, 1980). These are things that appear to be animals, but are not even animate in the truest sense of the word. Something, which is not classified by zoology, and hardly investigated by cryptozoology; the study of hidden animals - creatures that are thought extinct but continue to be found, or species completely unknown to science. Cryptozoology covers the seemingly very real, flesh and blood ‘monsters’, known as cryptids. Science often categorises these things as myth, until of course, the day comes when a few of these beasts turn up, and then scientists show an interest. The Yeti, Bigfoot, lake monsters and sea serpents are classic subjects of cryptozoology, and yet remain fringe subjects for much of socalled `serious science`. However, despite the evidence to the contrary, because these forms have eluded detection for so long, sceptics argue that they must simply be the stuff of folklore. In turn, paranormal researchers tend to then connect such mystical ‘critters’ to their own fields, whether they be ghosts or UFOs, which, in turn, does these fabulous ‘possible’ beasts no favours in terms of their realism to a public that quite simply loves a monster mystery. In my opinion, Bigfoot, “Nessie” (the Loch Ness Monster), the Yeti (Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas), sea leviathans, and lake dwellers, are quite likely to be real creatures, despite the mythical aura that surrounds them. Some may be discovered in the not too distant future, whereas others may be on the verge of extinction, or already a faded enigma. However, it would not surprise me at all if, in your lifetime - dear reader - that

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one, if not all, is proven to exist as a flesh and blood creature, just like the mountain gorilla, the okapi, and the coelacanth. The great oceans of the world are still cauldrons of unexplored possibilities that still can offer up a veritable feast of weird and wonderful beasts, and so could some of the lakes when you consider how large they are. In fact, many may scoff at the legend of the Loch Ness Monster of Scottish folklore, but there is every possibility that this enigmatic beast could well be a large race of eel, if not quite the living dinosaur many were hoping for. However, every year, there are thousands of reports made of strange creatures roaming the forests, swimming in the murky depths, and flying in the open skies. Things are still out there, evading the pursuit of man, but there are some animal forms which can never be explained, let alone caught on film, or in the nets of fishermen. They are the zooforms. Some are mere ghosts…should you believe in such things, whilst others take the form of animals, but, quite simply, are something else entirely, whether ethereal, supernatural, or part of tribal lore. Somehow, some zooform creatures, despite their seemingly ridiculous nature, seem to have been here for many years, longer in fact that some flesh and blood creatures! They are truly mythical greats, the gargantuan gods, and deities, which symbolise cultures and ways of life. Others meanwhile are fleeting, and confusing. Then there are those fictional ‘monsters’ created around the campfire; they are clandestine ‘critters’ born from childhood fear, bogeyman figures that are spoken of to keep the children well-behaved. Then there are the dark forms, the bad omens, the symbols of an impending disaster which we often don’t understand, but deep down understand that they mean trouble. They move like black mist, looking for an animal shell to inhabit, so they can exude their malevolence. ‘Zooform phenomena’ straddles a fine line between the flesh and blood, and the completely surreal. It also crosses that line, stepping from the mists of folklore into the bedrooms of teenagers, and from there it slinks into the darkness of the human psyche, and then thousands of years backwards, into our culture. It is the chimera figure, the ghostly animal, the trickster spirit leading a weary traveller to his death It can be mischievous and seemingly pointless, and then terrifyingly hideous and soul sucking. The zooform brigade comes from the mind, from the past, from the lakes, the woods, and the skies, and into the future. Some are half-human/half-beast, some are humans which transform into monster. There are those which are a sum of many monstrous parts that we vaguely recognise, and others that are only heard, but felt down the spine as a cold shiver. Zooform entities are men with wings, and animals with human faces. A majority of these humanoids, Manimals, spookforms and odd-bodies have blazing

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eyes. Is this because they want us to know how evil they are, or simply because they are different to us? From a void unknown, do they enter our time? Or do we enter their void, through a tear in the fabric of life? Who knows? What we do know is that somehow these things exist. We are not sure if we can call them ghosts. Some seem to be. Yet there are others that tease and torment, some which help and guide us, yet so many which are able to communicate with us as if they are flesh and blood. They can exsanguinate our pets, rock our vehicles, raid our dustbins, throw stones at our windows, and leave footprints in the mud, and yet, despite these rather down to earth activities, they can also somehow levitate, give off strange, pungent odours, as well as eerie bodily glows. They can also leap over houses and walk through walls, or vanish into thin air just as we are about to get a better glimpse of their psychedelic mish-mash of features. Many of the creatures herein are very unbelievable, but others are very valid…at least in the realm of zooform. To some readers, all of the entries in this book may appear entirely fictional, some even laughable, others downright nasty, but nearly every single one of them is believed in, in some way. Some are manifestations, thought forms created by accident that snowball out of control to the extent that thousands of people begin seeing them over the course of many years, such as the cases of the Mothman and the Jersey Devil. Some slip into ghostly folklore, i.e. Black Dogs, but then also intricately prowl into other territories as bad omens. Many of these inclusions could be deemed nothing more than urban legends, for example the Bunnyman or brief Noodleman, which seem to be nothing more than exaggerated ‘friend of a friend’ tales [FOAFtales], passed through generations, and gradually changing through each conversation, moulding themselves into our own belief systems of an ever-changing society. In tribal cultures, such urban chillers can also be similarly transferred. There are also a good few in this book that may well be a case of mistaken identity, and turn out to be flesh and blood animals after all. Could the Snarly Yow simply be an outof-place black leopard? Maybe. Is the Adlet an undiscovered species of wolf roaming parts of Alaska? Possibly. For as Jonathan Downes wrote: “…the very strange thing about these categories is that in nearly every case zoo-

form phenomena of a particular case live alongside actual flesh and blood cryptids of similar form and sometimes the definitions get muddied to such an extent that it

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is difficult to tell where one ends and the next begins. This is a phenomenon which is well known but which, until now has baffled all researchers in this particular arcane area of forteana.” This listing is pretty much exhaustive. I have trawled many sources, from magazines, to television documentaries, and from internet websites to thousands of books and pamphlets. All the information I have read, including eyewitness reports, some photographic evidence, sketches and cultural phenomena, seems to suggest that something very weird is going on with this planet. And it has been going on since the dawn of man. These creatures are not just the spirit of Aunt Agatha’s dog for example, or mass hallucination. Some of these things are being seen many, many times, by many, many people. Other monsters are being seen once, but making a strong, powerful impression, whereas other apparitions are like whispers on the tongue, and fade into obscurity. They all have their own place though, and not just deep within the mind of mankind, which is why I have attempted to assemble this unique menagerie of phantom animals, alien creatures, and truly disturbing, nightmarish monsters that will come for you in the night…because they can. In this book I have attempted to list a vast percentage of winged humanoids, unidentifiable bipeds, mystery spectral blobs, flying horrors, red-eyed wolfmen, satyrs, centaurs, and in some cases B-Movie ‘critters’, with only a fraction of these beasts having any relevance to alleged real animals. Only a small percentage also pertains to what we like to call ghosts. But at times, as you will read, there is also a fine line between these categories. To help you - the reader - understand, or at least, digest these ‘critters’, I have rated them, in my own personal way, on a scale of one to four stars. Neil Arnold Summer 2006

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ZOOFORM RATING SYSTEM *

One star represents a creature form that is most likely to be a hoax or legend that is backed up by mere rumour rather than eyewitness sightings. It reads as a zooform entity, but is truthfully nothing more than fabrication or complete myth.

**

Two stars mean the entry is a little vague, but its folklore background suggests that there may have been one or two sightings to back it up.

***

A three star creature could well be a zooform creature that has been muddled with, or can be explained by a flesh and blood known animal. There will be a number of sightings and a degree of evidence to give credence to its form, but it may also be a sum of many parts; being folklore, hysteria, misidentification and some basis in truth.

**** Four stars denote a classic zooform entry, a “creature” with staying power and lasting effect. It is the kind of monster to keep tongues wagging, and minds alert. Such a beast is a potent mix of folklore, eyewitness reports, hysteria, and decent evidence. It keeps eyes to the skies, ears to the ground, and hearts in the mouth.

ZC:

Zooform comment

Despite the huge presence of zooform phenomena in the world of cryptozoology, it remains a subject almost untouched by researchers, who - in most cases want to believe that every creature they are tracking is real. However, I strongly believe that even in some cases where ‘monsters’ leave livestock slaughtered and vehicles scratched, we are still dealing with zooform spectres, and not flesh and blood animals. Such claims made by myself, however, have resulted in quite hostile confrontation from those researchers who strongly believe that if Mothman, Lizard Man, Werewolves et al. are not flesh and blood, then they cannot exist at all. However, the strange facts clearly prove that these kinds of apparition do indeed exist, but not in the forests or the lakes, but deep down, within the human psyche; a place where no explorer will ever tread.

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“The ‘basic demon,’ as depicted, obviously cannot be the being that attracts a traveller; all these creatures enchant by shape-shifting into someone or something highly desirable to that special traveller. Some say the non-corporeal spirits hide within natural shapes. Others claim they never actualise by shapeshifting, but simply project illusory images like film stars, designed to ensnare and seduce. …..the basic demon can only be seen by the viewer who sees through its seductively packaged masks. It is when one finally sees through the ‘basic demon’ itself that it is utterly disempowered and vanishes without a trace.” Carol K. Mack, in A Field Guide To Demons.

A AATXE – this creature is a giant bull from the mythology of Spain. It is said to haunt various cave systems of the Pyrenees, but takes to the night when a storm is approaching. This spiritual animal is related to the Aatxegorri, (see below) this being a red steer. *

ZC: This apparition is regional folklore and could be considered a classic symbolic figure, often representing bad weather. AATXEGORRI – this creature is the younger form of the above-mentioned Aatxe, and appears as a red steer in mythology. *

ZC: A mythological creature that may well be perceived as a bad omen, but it is unlikely to resemble any kind of flesh and blood creature. ABABIL – these huge birds are mentioned in the Koran. When the Prophet Mohammed was born, in the year 571, the King of Yemen sent an army of elephants to attack the city of Mecca. However, the siege was not as straightforward as he’d hoped, for his charging elephants were bombarded with red bricks and molten rocks, which were dropped by the swooping birds. ***

ZC: This story is very much part of legend, and may well have involved flapping giants now unknown to man, as similar ‘big bird’ reports have become common the world over. However, there is also the possibility that these birds were not overly large at all as, in the Arabic world, the common swift (Apus apus), a small bird, superficially similar to the swallow, is known as the Ababil. ABADA – this is a small and elusive species of Unicorn said to have once roamed the depths of the Congo. In Dragons: More than a Myth (CFZ, 2005), Richard Freeman suggests that some of the Congo monsters may be explained by an unknown species of rhinoceros. Maybe the extremely shy rhino species known to science can explain some of this legend, or we are, perhaps, dealing with an unknown, and to date undiscovered, animal. ***

ZC: An early interpretation of the rhino.

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ABAIA – this is a lake bogey, in the form of a huge eel, which is said, in Melanesian lore, to protect all other fish. If anyone should dare to wade or fish the waters where this beast lurks, then they shall be washed away by a great wave caused by the waving of its great tail. ***

ZC: Many lakes around the world have guardian spirits, some of these being bizarre creations to keep trespassers at bay. There are others, however, that resemble known flesh and blood species, and the Abaia does appear to be a large species of eel. ABATH – this is a Malaysian interpretation of a female Unicorn. Reports of this horned beast originated from the 16th Century, when travellers to the Malay Peninsula spoke of a creature that may have been the rarely glimpsed Sumatran or Javan rhino*. However, little else is known of this creature. ***

ZC: The legend of this creature is all too vague. Rather than eyewitness reports and evidence backing up its existence, to some extent we could be dealing with a now extinct animal. ABHAC, ABAC – see ADDANC ABBEY HOUSE ANIMAL – as spoken of in Graham J. McEwan’s ‘Mystery Animals of Britain & Ireland’, this beast resembled a massive hare with close-cropped ears, which was sighted at a 16th Century Cambridgeshire building during the early 1900s. The children of the Lawson house named the peculiar animal ‘Wolfie’, and it was last seen around 1947. Whatever this manifestation was, it seems that the children in question were not frightened of it, and that its appearance may well have been connected to the youngsters, although various adults in the house had also heard the entity. In total, the Lawson family who lived there sighted the ‘thing’ over thirty times. **** * Though once widespread throughout Asia, by the 1930's the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus ) was nearly hunted to extinction in India, Burma, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra for the medical powers of its horn and blood. Now, sadly, only around 60 animals still survive and none live in captivity. The Sumatran rhinoceros, (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is the smallest extant rhinoceros species, as well as the one with the most fur, which allows it to survive at very high altitudes in Borneo and Sumatra. Due to habitat loss and poaching, its numbers have declined and it is one of the world's rarest mammals. There are three subspecies: Eastern Sumatran Rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni Once common throughout Borneo. Now only 50 indiviuals remain and all live in Sabah, Borneo. There are unconfirmed reports of animals surviving in Sarawak and Kalimantan. Logging and illegal poaching are responsible for its demise. Western Sumatran Rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis Only 300 animals are alive, mostly in Sumatra. The main threats against them are habitat loss and illegal poaching. There is a slight genetic difference between the Western and Eastern Sumatran Rhinos. Northern Sumatran Rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis Once it roamed in India and Bangledesh but now are believed extinct. However unconfirmed reports suggest that there may be a very small population still surviving in Myanmar.

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ZC: Likely to have been a ghostly manifestation pertaining to the history of the house or relevant to the children residing there. I’m unaware of any further investigations having taken place to unearth the spirit, but the last sighting was of a small, dog-like phantom. ABGAL – this is an early word to describe a ‘merbeing’, or ‘merman’, and is mentioned in Sumerian mythology. ****

ZC: See Merfolk conclusion to classify these fascinating folk, who are potent in folklore. ACHIYALATOPA – Pueblo Indians believed in this great bird which had two, large sharp wings, whilst Zuni mythology mentions how this celestial flapper could also kill with its pointed beak. ***

ZC: Possible relation to the Thunderbird legend, great birds of lore that may well have been real feathery wonders, but the only trace of their wonder now resides in folklore. ACRID CRITTER – this foul-smelling monstrosity was seen at Winterfold, in Surrey, by a motorist on 16th December 1967. It was around 140 cm tall and had a peculiar oblongshaped head, but little else is known. **

ZC: A surreal encounter with a road ghost, or a hoax? This vague entity must have made a telling impression on the witness in question, and yet this encounter remains rather obscure to judge. ADANDARA – this mythical wild cat of Azande lore is said to mate with women, who then give birth to kittens. *

ZC: Shape-shifting myth pertaining to a creature of ill luck. ADATI – a giant boar-like creature of New Guinea encountered in 1960 that was allegedly immune to gunfire. Explorer Bob Dimmock encountered a fierce tribe that had built stockades to prevent attacks from an unknown marauding beast. Upon investigation, the beast confronted him, and although badly wounded, Mr Dimmock fired five shots at it. The next day the bodies of five slain warriors were found, suggesting that the deceased were were-boars or shape-shifting shamen. See also Yipon. **

ZC: Possible undiscovered species, although more likely a mere tribal folktale. ADARO – a mer-creature of almost ridiculous stature said to shoot flying fish at its victims and travel on rainbows! This humanoid is said to have the pincers of a crab, gills be-

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hind its ears and a horn three-feet in length. *

ZC: Bizarre legend with no real background, despite the strong folklore of Merfolk. ADDANC – (also called adanc, addane, afanc, avanc, abhac, abac) a Welsh water monster, said to take on a handful of forms, such as a crocodile, a beaver and a dwarf. However, confusion may well arise due to fleeting glimpses of this murky beast, which, in turn, clouds any kind of identity or truth that may exist. **

ZC: A varying and confused legend. ADLET – the Adlet is a fearsome half-man/half-wolf beast that prowls the Inuit region across the frozen wastes of Northern Canada and Alaska. Legend claims that the first wolf was a friendly creature, but one that could not resist a human female, and one day kidnapped her and took her for his wife. She gave birth to ten pups, five being healthy red-furred wolves, the other five hostile, demonic wolves. The five beautiful wolves were sent on their way, and eventually crossed the oceans into Europe, but the five outcasts ate their mother, and went on a bloodthirsty rampage. They are said to still exist today, roaming the black forests where their eerie screams are still heard. ***

ZC: Possible unknown species of wolf, or simply an albino individual that sparked fear into a local community. A classic mythical tale that may have had some basis in a flesh and blood creature, greatly feared by locals. ADNE-SADEH – a peculiar beast of Jewish lore said to be fastened to the ground by its own umbilical cord, which, if severed, will destroy the monster. *

ZC: Strange, yet biologically unlikely, Biblical legend. ADROA – a vague humanoid bogey creature from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (previously Zaire, Belgian Congo). This form is a bad omen with two aspects: good and evil. *

ZC: Shapeless, faceless and pointless. AFANC, AVANC – see ADDANC AFRIT – are giants very much feared throughout the Muslim world. That are described as beasts with cloven hooves, and horns on their heads. They raid villages at night, dragging children off to their dark lairs. These humanoids inhabit quagmires, mud pools, and rivers, and have been known to lay in wait in these watery abodes to capture unsuspect-

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ing victims. **

ZC: Lord Byron, poet, (1788 - 1824) once briefly mentioned these hideous forms, but they appear to be nothing more than local bogeymen, used to warn parents not to leave their children unattended. However, an afrit also turns up in Job – A Comedy of Justice (1984) by Robert A Heinlein, and is portrayed as a sexy little imp, with carnal designs on the protagonist of the novel. AGNAN – in the book ‘The Discoverie of Witchcraft’ (1854), by Reginald Scot, he records this demonic creature and calls it a ‘Divell in America’. **

ZC: I am unsure as to where this creature came from, but it is interesting to note all the same. However, its vague outline could point to all manner of creatures, bogey, or flesh and blood. AGRIOGOUROUNO – this Macedonian vampire creature is a great wild boar able to shape-shift. **

ZC: A were-boar said to attack travellers, this is also used as a term to describe the fate of Turks who have led shameful lives. AGROPELTER – this is an American quirky, mythical little beastie said to hide in trees, and pelt lumberjacks with pinecones. Descriptions of these ‘critters’ are vague, but although many suggest these creatures to be nothing more than a hoax, those who have encountered them, describe them as being like a monkey, having strong, whiplash arms, and slinking bodies. It has even been said that woodsmen have been killed when hit by harder objects thrown by these animals, but there is little evidence to back these claims up. ***

ZC: Maybe these creatures were animals released into the wild from private collections, and were wrongly identified by woodsmen, who only saw their fleeting form. AGUAS BLANCAS CREATURES – sighted on 1st October 1965 in Argentina by three students, Santos Vallejos, Antonia Aparti, and Adela Sanchez, whilst walking to their General San Martin School. Arriving at school in terror, the children reported that small green-skinned creatures, which had emerged from nowhere, had attacked them. ****

ZC: Such ‘critters’ are still commonly sighted across Argentina, Chile and Brazil etc. Noone knows why they are here, but they exist. Often, such incidents are connected to extraterrestrial visitations, although I’m often hesitant to relate reports of strange monsters and alien craft.

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AHNIZOTL / AHUITZOTL – a zooform water creature said to have a hand protruding from the end of its tail and to resemble a dog/monkey hybrid. *

ZC: A general beast from Aztec lore. AICHA KANDIDA – is a river dwelling man-eater similar to the Afrit, but from Moroccan folklore. It is a female monster that inhabits the River Sebu, and preys on lonely male travellers. **

ZC: This is a trickster spirit, which - like so many others - preys on the opposite sex, by first appearing as a temptress in order to devour her prey. AITVARAS – a spectral black or white rooster with a fiery tail that, should it die, becomes merely a small spark. Such a beast, also said to resemble a cat, is said to reward folk who donate their souls to him. A similar evil creature is said to hide in trees and hedges. *

ZC: Lithuanian folklore but nothing more. AJATAR – the great Dragon of doom, which is said to be symbolic of coming disease, this beast is from Finnish lore and is said to inhabit waters and woodlands. **

ZC: Mere legend, like so many other portents of doom. AKA-SHITA – a freakish Japanese manifestation that appears as a dog-like head with long, red tongue, within a dark, brooding cloud. This kind of ghoulish tulpa* appears near floodgates. *

ZC: This is a water spirit of sorts, connected to flooding. AKHEKHU – this creature, originating from the Middle East, is a serpent of sorts with powerful legs and large, clawed feet. ***

AKA-SHITA

ZC: A beast from Egypt that may well have its

* A tulpa is, in Tibetan mysticism, a being or object which is created through sheer willpower alone. In other words, it is a materialized thought that has taken physical form (a thought form). The concept was brought to the West in the 19th century by Alexandra David-Neel, who claimed to have created a tulpa in the image of a jolly, Friar Tuck-like monk which later developed a life of its own and had to be destroyed. David-Neel has been cited by Wells (2006), follow website metalink in notes or references.

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originates in a now extinct beast. AKHLUT – a strange zooform, shape-shifting beast from Eskimo legend said to inhabit the sea as a killer whale, but then take the form of a great wolf to come ashore. **

ZC: Although it is alleged that this creature’s tracks have been sighted in the snow, it is certainly most unlikely that such a creature is flesh and blood, but rather, mere local fear. AKRON BAT CREATURES – leathery entities said to have been sighted in Ohio by several witnesses over the course of a few years in the 1960s. ***

ZC: Possibly giant bats or something more sinister? Descriptions seem vague of these fleeting things, and there is nothing to suggest that these forms were anything more than ordinary bats. AKUMA – a flying Japanese creature of utmost evil and a monger of doom. This hideous form has blazing eyes and a fiery head. **

ZC: Another of those vague folk beasts of no real description that may have a hint of reality, but as it is, remains a creature of no identity and reeks of mythology. AL – according to Persian legend, this swamp dweller, which feasts on new born children, is a shaggy-haired monster, with the tusks of a boar and eyes which burn brightly. Armenian legend speaks of a half-human/half-animal ‘critter’ with one single eye and snakes for hair. It is a creature that lives in damp areas, and is said to prey on pregnant women. **

ZC: Possible Sasquatch-type figure said to roam the forests, although this beast also takes on bogeyman form and seems connected to pregnancy or death in childbirth. ALABAMA WINGED MAN – in Northern Alabama, during April 2004, a woman, whilst studying for an exam, saw, in the blink of an eye, a tall humanoid being with black wings which she believed was an omen of doom. ****

ZC: Another winged wonder, even though this sighting was brief. ALAN – a rather ordinary name for something so strange from the Philippines. These birdmen hang upside down in trees, but little else is known about these humanoids. **

ZC: Vague, yet intriguing legend pertaining to the classic ‘birdman’ figure, although as stated above, little is known about these monsters, which immediately casts doubt on

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their zooform existence. ALBASTOR – eastern Russia has a bogeyman which is like a huge ogre, but which can take the form of any animal. However, its most frightening façade is of a white-skinned man with long hair, who is able to fly. Local folklore connects it to sexual overindulgence. **

ZC: Although terrifying in its appearance, this is nothing more than a local dread. ALBATWITCHES – slim, bipedal, hairy humanoids said to prowl Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and mentioned alongside other hairy bipeds such as Bigfoot and wolfmen. These ‘critters’ are known as ‘apple snitchers’, as they have been observed picking apples at Chickies Rock Park. ****

ZC: Common folkloric beasts. File alongside the Bray Road Beast and others. ALBERTSVILLE MANBIRD – a dark-coloured, bird-like figure seen in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1980 by a seven-year old boy called Fareed Hoosen, who was playing with friends in the garden. Fareed’s mother and father, also saw strange shadows, silvery flying balls, and a huge white ape, in the vicinity. ****

ZC: Further investigation revealed a presence in the home of the family. A local ‘holy man’ told the family to pray in abundance for the ‘things’ to go away. This is a classic poltergeist phenomenon, which often pertains to a variety of other strangeness. ALBINO WOMAN – a two-metre tall spectre sighted in Crimea, Ukraine in 2004 by a man and his six-year old daughter as they were camping north of Mishor, at a site overlooking the Black Sea. The figure, which appeared near a rocky hill, was described as densely furred and completely white. The humanoid seemed to try and hide between the rocks, and moved at quite a pace, before vanishing at an area where there appeared to be no place to hide. ****

ZC: An area of weird phenomena. ALECTO – Greek and Roman mythology speaks of this sinister apparition, which has bat wings, and the head of a dog. This beast is an omen of war and pestilence. *

ZC: Thankfully, such frightening winged marauders are nothing more than folklore. ALERION – the king of all birds, with razor-sharp wings, this is a magnificent bird the colour of fire and bigger than an eagle.

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***

ZC: Possible relation to Thunderbirds, yet exaggerated through folklore. ALICANTO – a trickster spirit-bird from Chilean legend, said to exist on a diet of gold and silver, which in turn - no doubt - attracts gold-diggers etc., who usually perish before finding any kind of treasure. *

ZC: Typical trickster phantom with no solid identity. ALIEN ANIMALS – the term used to describe animals that cannot, and may not, be! It is also the title of an excellent book by authors Janet & Colin Bord. In their chapter, ‘Animals that Aren’t’ they methodically cover several cases of zooform beasts and bizarre creatures that quite simply cannot be. In cryptozoological circles, the term ‘alien’ is often tagged to the ‘big cats’ that roam countries they shouldn’t, but this merely describes out of place animals, rather than weird humanoid figures and other fiery-eyed monstrosities that display ‘supernatural’ abilities. ****

ZC: Many of the creatures described as ‘alien’ are simply out of place, but there are many reports from around the world that clearly speak of ‘critters’ from some other place, whether in our minds or from somewhere else. ALKLAHA – a huge, Siberian ‘monster’ with great wings said to be able to swallow the moon. *

ZC: Such a mythical beast may well have been born from some kind of giant bird sighted throughout Siberia. However, the legend which pertains to it tends to throw doubt onto its existence. ALKONOST – a great bird of Paradise in Russian legend that is said to have the face of a woman. *

ZC: This may be a symbol of peace or something more ethereal, but sightings of such a creature seem non-existent, so this is very much a mythical creature. ALP – a German vampire beast, like a night terror, which is said to drink the blood and suck the nipples of its victims. This nocturnal spectre can take on several animal forms. ***

ZC: Species of vampire bat or mere foggy nightmare? ALPINE UNDERGROUND SERPENT – a great creature, which is said to have been encountered by workmen on a farm in Utah (USA), when they removed a great boulder in

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the centre of a field. Legend has it that the creature seen was guarding the entrance to a lower cavern, and the workmen were so terrified that they put the boulder back. Researchers argued that the men had encountered a large snake or lizard. *

ZC: This story has to be a legend and nothing more, as surely such an encounter would be followed up and we’d hear more about it? History seems riddled with such amazing encounters, that seem to cause a stir for a day or two and then dwindle into obscurity. ALU – a family of evil spirits of Babylonian lore said to take the shape of ghastly big, black hounds. ****

ZC: Classic zooform entities, Black Dogs exist in many countries and all have their own names and identity. It is a legend with great staying power, making these hellhounds some of the most feared ‘critters’ in the zooform world. AMAROK – a terrifying wolf-like beast said to be responsible for several deaths of travellers and explorers in the wastes of the Arctic. The Inuit people of the United States and Canada, often speak of this fearsome killer. ***

ZC: Whilst much of the Arctic tundra remains unexplored, there may still be an undiscovered species of wolf out there roaming and searching for blood. Unless of course, it is nothing more than a local fear. AMARYO – this Japanese Dragon of the skies is said to be responsible for the thunder and rain. *

ZC: Belief in Dragons may be strong, but when connected to the powers of the Earth they become folkloric leviathans and nothing more, as do so many other great creatures said to act as dire warnings of negative forces to come. AMAZONIAN MOTHER SNAKE – during the early 1990s, explorer Benedict Allen went in search of a secret lake deep in the Amazon said to have been inhabited by the `mother of all snakes`. This was a creature so huge and menacing that only oral tradition dared speak of such a monster; a beast that was actually never seen, except by a handful of natives…who never returned from the ‘lost lake’. Although Mr. Allen found the ‘lost lake’, as shown in his video-documentary for BBC2 entitled, ‘Raiders of the Lost Lake’, he merely reached its impenetrable banks where he sat quietly - pondering, with respect this magical yet eerie place. He hoped that the lore of the monster was true whilst – quite understandably - never daring to paddle in its undisturbed waters. ***

ZC: Tribal lore has often spoken of giant anacondas in hidden lakes of the Amazon, so it

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is very possible such a creature lurked in this secret water hole. However, such creatures are also perceived as spiritual entities. AMEMAIT – a bizarre hybrid of lion, hippo and crocodile, also known as ‘Devourer’ and potent in Egyptian lore. **

ZC: Whilst some creatures, even described as bizarrely as this, have turned out to be real animals, the Amemait is simply another vague, mythical beast. AM FEAR LIATH MOR – the ‘big gray (grey) man’ of Ben MacDhui, this is a huge, eerie figure said to haunt the Scottish mountain range known as the Cairngorms. Many who have scaled the frosty heights of this peak, describe an unnerving presence, or hear unusual sounds such as footsteps or music, and also speak of menacing shadows that seem to loom from the mist. Some researchers have connected such manifestations to sightings of hairy hominids, something akin to a British Bigfoot. However, such an apparition may well emerge from a fear caused by isolation and loneliness high up in the mountains. Reports of such phenomena date back to the late 1800s when travellers would describe how they’d encountered shadowy figures taller than a house, or having the eerie sensation that something unknown was lurking near. Similar entities and sensations have been experienced on the snowy peaks of Wales and also in Derbyshire. ****

ZC: Some cryptozoologists believe that the ‘grey man’ is a wild man of the mountains, but such a legend seems to relate more to the Wendigo as a frightening shadow, which represents the fear of the lonely traveller who becomes disillusioned on his journey. AMIKIRI – aquatic beings of Japanese folklore, which are also said to swim in the sky. These peaceful, fast swimming creatures have been known to cut through the nets of fishermen, which suggests that they are impossible to catch. They are said to resemble a snake, fish or lobster. ***

ZC: Some basis in fact as water creatures, although description seems vague. AMMUT – a hippopotamus-sized creature of Egyptian lore said to have the head of a crocodile and the body of a leopard. This beast is known as the ‘eater of hearts’, a fearsome ‘God’ of man-eaters. See also Amemait. **

ZC: An unlikely flesh and blood creature, but certainly a beast feared in the underworld of mythology.

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AMON – this is a demonic, mythical monster which has the head of an owl, the body of a wolf ,and a serpent’s tail. *

ZC: In 1818 this beast was depicted as a true demon, but has many characteristics that are relevant today in an abundance of folkloric beasts. AMORPHOUS BIRD – an elusive predator, possibly connected to other vampire monsters in Chile and South America, this particular zooform killer was named as responsible for the deaths of over thirty geese in Autumn 2001. Villagers claimed that this spooky creature, resembling a bird, sought cover in an overgrown cave in the Los Cipreses, Chile. Local farmers backed this up when they discovered more than forty separate claw prints in the soil. ****

Amon

ZC: This is another of those mysterious, shadowy figures from Hispanic lore. Some claim these creatures are the product of Government experiments, or forms released by alien craft. Cryptozoologists point to South America as simply being a hot-bed of strange activity, which involves mystery creature sightings, aerial phenomena and animal mutilations. AMORPHOUS BLOB – from bedroom visitors, to alien globules; amorphous blobs most likely exist as true psychic vampires feasting on those who sleep. They vary in size and shape and float aimlessly on the astral plain, and can vary in size, colour and aggression. Many traditions speak of such ‘vampires’, and this is where Hollywood and the like ‘cashed-in’ on the lore, but created their own shape-shifting bloodsuckers, instead of cloudy energy eaters. Such blobs can also be connected with the lore of the old hag, a phenomenon associated with sleep paralysis, and night terrors. **

ZC: Such ‘blobs’ relate more to vampiric manifestation, but can take the form of just about anything from figures to insects. Such blobs have been known to appear as foggy shapes that, as such, relate them to ghost lore, but zooform creatures such as Black Dogs have been seen to transform themselves into such hazy blobs. Much is yet to be understood about this phenomenon. ANASKELADES – this is a huge, monstrous donkey from Crete, which throws-off anyone should they dare to attempt to mount it. *

ZC: Legend states that this donkey is often of normal size until it is mounted, and then it inflates; suggesting nothing more than a trick animal.

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ANDEAN FAT STEALERS – see also Lik’ichiri regarding these fat-removing vampires. **

ZC: Urban legend. ANIWYE – this beast looks like a huge skunk. It is common within the lore of the Ojibwe tribe of the United States. This creature sprays humans, and its odour is so strong that it is deadly, and this is how the animal hunts. However, this creature is also able to communicate with people. **

ZC: Although interesting at first, it would seem that this animal is unfortunately not an undiscovered species of foul-smelling skunk, but a trickster animal. ANGEL OF COLORADO – a four-feet high winged entity seen on 5th November 2005 by a student at Wild Horse Mesa. The figure was flying over southern Colorado (USA) and appeared to glow gold in colour, and had black hair. It flew like ‘Superman’, the superhero, with one arm down by its side and the other fisted towards the sky. **

ZC: Very weird. Humanoids of this kind appear frequently in the pages of supernaturalrelated topics, and they seem to take on many guises. Some have the appearance of birds, whereas others take on more angelic forms. ANGONT – the Amerindian sorcerers believed in this beast; a creature of the rocks, the water, the forests and the caverns - a creature that brings death and resembles a Dragonlike monster. **

ZC: A classic mythical entity of no real identity that is a sum of various beliefs. Even if creatures of this ilk once existed, throughout time they have become muddled to the extent of appearing ridiculous. ANGRY COUGAR – this large, phantom felid is said to stalk hikers in the Sabino Canyon area of Tucson, Arizona. **

ZC: I’m unsure how eyewitnesses can tell if this animal is a spectre, as there are no reports of such a cat being able to vanish into thin air or appear transparent. ANHANGA – an Amazonian folkloric creature said to resemble a deer, but having fiery eyes. It is a creature said to protect all nature, and evade human hunting, hence the local belief that this apparition is a spirit. ***

ZC: A creature of legend that could well have it origins in a flesh and blood animal.

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ANJING AJAK – a fearsome werewolf, respected and feared by the people of Java. ****

ZC: This beast seems even more hostile than its `relatives`, and every bit as flesh and blood within localised folklore. ANKA – a massive bird from Arabic lore, with an almost immortal lifespan. This bird is able to carry elephants to its large nest. *

ZC: Possible real, giant bird although completely fictional in its lore. ANNEBERG – this is a German monster said to haunt mines and take the form of a spectral horse with shining eyes. **

ZC: Many ethereal creatures seem to guard, protect and curse local mines. Their motives seem unclear, unless of course they have been invented by the locals to prevent anyone strolling into dangerous, and at times, profitable areas. ANNEDOTUS – these are spiritual dragon-fish or Merfolk. ****

ZC: Featuring strong in Chadlean lore. ANOMALY OF AUCKLAND – it is June 2005 and something strange is stalking Auckland Park, New Zealand. Something that has left large tracks in the soil, scratches on trees as well as its droppings. Those who work in the vicinity claim its water source is the local duck pond, but this faceless and agile predator has failed to show up. This is probably because it’s all a hoax staged by Glenys Stacey, the spokesperson of the local museum who, in the Summer of ’05, put their new attraction on show - a prehistoric creature known as the Dryosaur, a dino-replica created for the park. However, the various traces of an unknown creature dotted around the park, fooled a lot of people, proving that bogeymen, zooform creatures and the like can be created very easily. *

ZC: The fact that this ‘monster’ appeared on a few websites showed how serious the story was taken…at first! Zooform phenomena often straddle that line between fantastic mythical creatures, flesh and blood possibilities, and quirky hoaxes. This is one of those. APE OF KING’S NYMPTON – a gorilla-like being with glowing green eyes seen in 1980 by three boys exploring their local English woodland. They reported also that the creature was muscular, yet had a muzzle. ****

ZC: This has been described as an encounter with an escaped animal, although reports of man-beasts across Britain exist in credible numbers, and animals with glowing green

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eyes do not! Incidents such as this suggest some kind of historical manifestation. APOTAMKIN – a bogeyman figure conjured up by Native American Indian tribes to scare the wits out of children. This is a fanged humanoid said to inhabit any dark area where no child should tread. **

ZC: Vague, nondescript phantom of no fixed address! APTALEON – this creature has two serrated horns, which it uses as a tool to cut down trees. Why its fells the trees is unknown, but once its work has been done, the creature, which has the body of a goat, would then be quenched by drinking from the waters of the Euphrates river. ***

ZC: This animal may well be something more real than just Babylonian myth, and remain an undiscovered species. AQUA MEN – silvery-coloured humanoids seen swimming in a lake in Leningrad, Russia. Witness, D. Povaliyayev, who was hand-gliding at the time, thought at first that he was watching peculiar, large fish until he swooped closer and observed the Reptile-men. **

ZC: Is there a possibility that the witness was mistaken? This seems to be a confused account that may, instead, have involved divers. ARASSAS – a strange lizard or Dragon, which is said to have a cat’s face, and which is said to roam the French Alps. This creature kills cattle and lives in caves. ***

ZC: Likely flesh and blood creature, undiscovered by zoologists. Such fearsome predators are connected to sightings of Dragons and large ‘wurms’ of folklore, and inhabit the remoter parts of Europe. In local areas these ferocious animals may have been considered as bogey monsters, but accounts suggest that these were once very real flesh eaters. AREQUIPA ANOMALY – this weird figure was observed by two men (Julio L. de Romana and Antonio Chavez Bedoya) in Peru, on the night of 29th September 1965, which was a good year for sightings of bizarre humanoids. The creature they saw was standing by the side of the road, reached about 80 cm in height, had one eye and its body was covered in gold and silver stripes. Shortly after the eerie encounter the men claimed their car was ‘buzzed’ by an unidentified flying object. **

ZC: Another of those confused UFO/zooform cases that are often difficult to comment on. These reports are either hoaxes, or if you believe in such things, alleged extraterrestrial encounters.

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AREYIAI – these are similar to the dreadful Harpy creatures, also of Greek mythology, and are just as vicious and vile. Their name means ‘tear’ or ‘slice’, suggesting what sort of damage their vile claws can do to human flesh as they seek humans to snatch for their meal. They have bat wings, hag-like faces and the ears of a bear. **

ZC: Possibly nothing more than mythology, these are chimera monsters, which are bogey terrors from the skies. ARGENTINEAN SHAPE-SHIFTER – a strange glowing light that landed in a field was to blame for the sighting in 1986 of a centaur-like humanoid, which seemed to alter its shape and then appear as a Virgin Mary type of holy figure. The witness claimed that a ‘UFO’ had dropped the apparition to the ground. **

ZC: Whilst shape-shifting creatures appear common, they take on an even more complex nature when they seem to transform themselves into unrelated disguises. The UFO connection is once again a little off-putting for cryptozoologists. ARIZONA SPECTRAL HOUNDS – these phantom dogs are said to stand over five-feet tall and linger around the Grand Motel in Jerome. This place used to be a hospital, and there have been many strange occurrences involving the electricity of the building. ****

ZC: I know little else about these hounds, but they may well be connected with the history of the place, where, of course, many people in the past will have passed away. ARKANSAS SNIPE – giant mosquitoes said to eat cows, and attack men in the river bottoms, these forms have been described as the size of racoons, with razor-sharp claws that they use to slice their prey. *

ZC: These nasty insects are nothing more than a local hoax. ARKAN SONNEY – these are fairy pigs from the Isle of Man, said to bring good fortune if ever caught. Quirky apparitions also known as ‘Lucky Pigs’. *

ZC: These are a strange local myth. ARMENIA SHADOW THING – sighted in 1961 in the countryside north of Necedah by several witnesses who described a phantom that emerged from a cemetery in the U.S. town of Armenia. The ‘thing’ screamed at the witnesses and fled into the darkness. ***

ZC: Whilst this ‘shadow’ may well have been an elusive animal, it is also possible that such an entity was ghost form. We can only make assumptions by the details we have

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and they are extremely vague. ARRANCALENGUS – or ‘tongue ripper’; this is a sinister creature mentioned in the same breath as the similar ‘tongue-eater’. Some claim these animals are like winged dogs with long tails and remove the tongues of their prey, and also exist in remote areas of Brazil. They were reported some forty-years ago, and may have connections to the Chupacabras, or be weird premonitions to the Goatsucker events. In Nicaragua this nightmarish oddity resembles a hybrid of a turkey and a cat, and attacks animals as large as cows. ****

ZC: Relative to the Chupacabras, or a genetic mutation or even perhaps an alien entity? This is a typical vampiric monster from South America, and one of many sighted from Chile, Argentina, Mexico and parts of the US. The theme seems to be that they are vampire-like entities of no fixed identity, but very much nightly terrors. ARROWHEAD FLYING MONSTER – at 11:00 am on 5th April 2004, a resident from Newport Tennessee, USA, saw a creature flying through the air that looked like an arrowhead flying backwards. It appeared to have a head on the front and stubby wings, and the witness estimated that the creature was around three-feet in length, and two-feet across at its shoulders. Appearing to glide with ease, it flew at great speed at an altitude of 150-feet. ***

ZC: Possibly a bat or unknown species of flying animal. This ‘thing’ also brings to mind the mystery flying creatures known as Rods, which never appear to the naked eye, but have often been seen on camcorders when footage has been slowed down. These strange aerial anomalies have been related to unknown insects, as well as ‘UFOs’, but their true identity still puzzles investigators. ASANBOSAM – a flying vampire-like entity of African lore, which is said to live in the trees and wait for unsuspecting victims, which it shackles with hook-like appendages, before eating the unfortunates with iron-teeth. These vampires, often reported from Ghana and Togo, are also common throughout Oriental lore, suggesting that their origins are widespread. ***

ZC: Such a legend may describe an undiscovered species of giant bat, or a ghostly, nightmarish creation, the product of local fear. ASHIMAGARI – bizarre tadpole-like trickster spirits of Japanese lore said to appear ahead of travellers on footpaths at night. If a rambler should step on one of these ‘things’, then their feet would become tangled in a thick, cotton-like material. Thankfully, these misty forms are harmless, and appear more as trickster spooks.

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**

ZC: These are typical of trickster phantoms, but how such legends have come about we may never know. ASHLAND WEREWOLF – this sixteen-feet tall, hairy, creature was seen in Kentucky in September 1991. Two witnesses were investigating reports of a haunted bridge when a tremendous roar alerted them. Something then rushed at them from the woods, and across the cornfield. It was a monster that ran on all fours and then stood erect to reveal its gargantuan size. The humanoid showed no fear and chased the men, who managed to get to their vehicle, before a car coming the other way frightened off the beast. ****

ZC: Some reports may become exaggerated over time, but there’s no denying that werebeasts roam the USA. The Bray Road Beast is the most known Werewolf legend, but these humanoids are certainly not restricted to certain counties. History is rife with tales of such beasts, whether running on all fours or bipedal, and they certainly do not seem to fear humans. However, it’s very unlikely that these creatures inhabit the local woods, but, instead, are connected to the human psyche. ASIN – this female cannibal has a sultry voice, which it uses to entice victims into the forest where it dwells. The Native American Alsea people believe in this entity, which is very much a bogey beast to keep children away from the dark corners. **

ZC: These kinds of monsters have a degree of repetition within their repertoire, they are all very similar nightmares that exist as cultural monsters. ASPIDOCHELONE – a zooform monster turtle, or whale, as big as an island. In fact, men often mistake its back for land and settle upon it, but when they light their fires they are tossed into the sea to drown. **

ZC: Typical folkloric water beast. ASIPATRA – a monstrous bird with razor wings. It hides in trees in wooded areas, and is very much feared in the hazy thickets of the Indian continent. ***

ZC: A remote possibility that this winged horror is a real bird with distinct wings, although such flying terrors seem common in mythology the world over. ASWANG – a Filipino beast and, to some extent, a female apparition that resembles the Goatsucker. It perches on rooftops, and - by inserting its straw-like tongue through the cracks in the building - it gains access to its victims’ sleeping bodies. Once the beast has feasted on the crimson blood, it hovers like a bloated ball to rest, and then vanishes into

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the dark of night. In 1998, it was alleged that a one-week old baby, David Nagawang was killed by such a creature in Caloocan City. ****

ZC: Again, another of those vampiric entities resembling those other levitating, winged, bug-eyed marauders from around the globe. The Aswang is a little nondescript, but typical in its attacks of other ethereal scavengers. Such a phantom can also take the form of a Black Dog with fiery eyes. ATLACH NACHA – a name originally coined by fantasy author Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961), and given to a menacing zooform, two-dimensional spider as conjured by cryptozoologist, Richard Freeman, whilst studying at Leeds University in 1996. The bizarre manifestation was formed as part of a practice which, over time, grew into a conjuration which eventually turned into the ‘Great Leeds Spider Plague’, in which several local people were attacked and bitten by apparently normal household spiders, albeit ones slightly larger than normal. Richard Freeman, who is part of the Centre for Fortean Zoology, began ritualistic activities and ceremonial chanting in order to produce his beast, which eventually took form as a white spider, four-feet across, and resembling a tarantula with thick legs. Such an experiment proved that such holographic ‘meanies’ could well be conjured if enough time, energy and effort was put into it. Some would argue that such a creature was raised by magic, but zooform is very much an astral place where the things that prowl are often accidental, yet worryingly consistent, which suggests that they have a purpose, however obscure. ****

ZC: The more detailed story of this zooform horror can be found in Richard Freeman’s book, ‘Dragons: More Than A Myth?’ ATMOSPHERE BEASTS – these are mysterious sky creatures said to resemble a jellyfish. See also Rods. **

ZC: These creatures are vague, but other sky serpents and rod-like forms appear to be more believable. AUFHOCKER – an interestingly named monster dog whose name translates as ‘Leap Upon’. This killer hound is feared in the German tradition, and is known to jump upon its victims, and become heavier before suffocating its prey. Strangely, many of the attributes of this creature resemble the killing technique of a black leopard, but such a creature is compared to the black dog of Britain, a ghostly companion to many a traveller on a foggy night although this particular animal can also take on the form of a black horse. Its folklore also resembles the Kelpie. ****

ZC: This beast is known to stand on its hind legs, and tear out the throat of its victims,

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whereas a majority of black dogs in folklore do not harm those they appear to but merely trick. The Aufhocker is a nasty shape shifter of the night that seems to have many cunning ways of trapping victims. AUNYAINA – certain tribes of Brazil, particularly the Pare natives, speak of this tusked humanoid, which resembles a giant but has the face of a boar. This is a terrifying maneater that resembles a were-creature of sorts. ****

ZC; This beast is so ferocious, that anyone unfortunate enough to encounter it will be torn to pieces and even their bones eaten. AWD GOGGIE – a British ‘critter’, or ‘nursery bogie’, said to haunt orchards, and to be a cautionary figure for children. It is said that should any child venture into the orchard at ‘an important time’, possibly when fruit is ready to fall, then the Awd Goggie would get them. This creature may be a caterpillar form, but over-sized. **

ZC: Regional spook tale. AWFUL, THE – in October 2006 a resident of Richford, Vermont, in the state of New England, U.S.A., saw a winged anomaly that echoed a similar dark wonder that author H.P. Lovecraft investigated some eighty years previous. The monster circled in the sky, and then honed in on a crow sitting on the upper branches of a tree, and in one fleeting swoop, plucked the poor crow from its resting place. Reports from the area during the mid to late 1920s, spoke of a similar flying creature dubbed ‘the awful’. It resembled a griffin-like beast, and was seen atop buildings, perched like some wretched gargoyle. Sightings of this ominous presence subsided after around three years. ****

ZC: This is another of those intriguing legends that embeds itself on the folklore of a place, and yet vanishes as oddly as it had come. Whether these are large birds, manbirds, or spectral omens is something we’ll never know. AXE-HANDLE HOUND – a true zooform of some surreal absurdity and obscurity. Such a beast, resembling a dog, is said to roam any woodland in the US where there is a logging community, and eats only the wooden handles of axes! It is a nocturnal predator said to hunt in packs, although it is such an animal as is likely to be as flesh and blood as the handles it consumes! **

ZC: Extraordinary mythical creature of woodland lore that may represent fear of redundancy in logging communities.

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AXEX – a Griffin-like creature worshipped by the ancient Egyptians. *

ZC: Whilst flying creatures are common in zooform lore, this beast has no real history or identity and so relegates itself to an almost fictional state of being. AYEW MONSTER – a West Virginia beast said to resemble a black ‘panther’ but having a squashed, bullAxex dog face and making a terrible screeching noise, hence its name, ‘a-yeeeeew’! Sarah Willis mentioned, on the ‘West Virginia True Ghost Stories’ website, that her father’s grandfather had sighted such a ‘critter’ in Erbacon, Webster County many years before. The beast stalked him whilst he was hunting and what alarmed him the most were the glowing red eyes of the animal. ***

ZC: We may, at first, have been dealing with a mystery cat, but those red eyes take it to another eerie level. However, I’m inclined to believe that this incident did involve a black leopard, possibly escaped from a private collection as there are no leopards native to the United States. Cougars (mountain lions) are the largest native cats, but they are not black in colour. AZEMAN – a shape-shifting, Werewolf/vampire figure in Surinam Negro folk belief. By day, this beast is a beautiful woman, but when hunting at night this predator is often a bat. **

ZC: Shape-shifters are common ‘monsters’ in zooform, born from the lore of the vampire or Were-creature. Some seem to appear as flesh and blood monsters, others, such as the Azeman are extremely vague. AZ-I-WU-GUM-KI-MUKH-TI – a scaled water monster with the legs of a dog said to resemble a walrus and live in the cold waters of Greenland. An explorer from the nineteenth-century heard many natives talk of this frightful sea creature also known as the ‘Walrus Dog’, and locals spoke of its powerful tail, which could kill a human with one swipe. ***

ZC: Although sightings of such a beast seem few and far between in the modern day, this may well have been an undiscovered species of walrus, or completely unknown sea creature.

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ZC: Local scare story that may be based on some grain of truth, but only as an old crone who lived in the woods and frightened locals. BACKAHASTEN – a Swedish form of the Kelpie. This horse-like lake dweller is said to trick victims into sitting upon its back, and then drags them to the murky depths for its meal. ****

ZC: Many lake monsters are pursued as flesh and blood creatures, yet it is unlikely that such beasts are anything more than but sinister shadows. Reports of such phantoms date back centuries, to suggest that these forms were once mere local dreads. BACOO – this is a stone-throwing ‘short man’ from the folklore of the Caribbean. These nocturnal spectres haunt areas of Guyana, and their mischievous ways resemble similar apparitions from Argentina. **

ZC: These humanoids, although vague, seem quite potent in local lore. Little else is known about them, but they probably fill the same psycho-sociological void as goblins and other trickster imps, in other parts of the world. BAGAT – this large, phantom hound of the Philippines, is said to be harmless despite appearing during stormy nights, or under the glare of a full moon. They wander dark lanes at night, and their aims are unclear. ****

ZC: Legend is strong concerning this phantom dog, although the less sinister hounds tend to be smaller. BAGIM – the Australian interpretation of the Harpy. **

ZC: Whilst the Harpy is a great creature of mythology, and could well be based on a real,

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winged creature, e.g. giant bird, or huge bat, the Bagim is an all too vague entity, and it is impossible to reach any firm conclusions on such meagre evidence. BAGINI – possible connections here to the above mentioned Bagim, the Bagini are menraping half female/half-beast entities from Australia, with clawed fingers and toes. **

ZC: Somewhat vague although many winged, female shape-shifting monsters are dominant in folklore across the world. However, these particular forms are extremely obscure. BAGODEMON – an oddity from Texas which is human in form, but has scythe-like hands, and hunts in the trees. This humanoid is glowing, often purple to white in colour, with red eyes and has skin like bubblegum, which enables it to move from tree to tree, sticking to the bark. The Bagodemon omits a strange grunting, chuckling noise and screams when agitated. *

ZC: This is an extremely weird entity that has only been sighted the once, in 2005, by a male witness and his girlfriend, and it remains to be seen whether it will make a reappearance. BAHAMUT – an Arabian folktale speaks of this enormous, mythical fish. ***

ZC: A real fish may well have explained this legend, but the rest of the story is typical of lore. With the oceans of the world being so vast, with many depths unexplored, some of the alleged mythical sea creatures could well be real leviathans awaiting discovery- perhaps even some on the verge of extinction. BAINBRIDGE BLACK DOG – strange balls of fire have been seen around the cemetery of the New Enterprise Freewill Baptist Church in in Bainbridge, Seminole County, Georgia. The graveyard is also prowled by a demonic hound, which can be recognised by its terrifying howl. ****

ZC: We all know the legends of the Black Dogs, and this graveyard dweller is pretty common in the United States. BAITAL – half-man/half-bat creatures of Indian lore, these beings are said to stand around four-feet tall and drink the blood of humans. **

ZC: Little else is known about these creatures to bring further comment. BAJADA GRANDE BEAST – on 28th July 1968, in Prana’, Argentina, whilst driving his motorbike through the district, a student was attacked by a three-eyed monster covered

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in white hair. ***

ZC: Bigfoot sightings are common in Argentina, a country of abundant monster lore. It is possible that the witness on this occasion saw a Bigfoot-like creature, but was mistaken with certain details such as the eyes, although reports do exist of many-eyed forms. BAJANG – a polecat-like creature from Malaysia, which appears as a man in the day. To feast on children, this shape-shifter takes on the form of the polecat. **

ZC: The reality seems to suggest nothing more than a mystery polecat-like animal, but the lore suggests another of those confusing shape-shifters. BAKBAKWAKANOOKSIEWAE – a man-killing giant bird said to exist in northwest Canada. Its name translates as ‘the cannibal at the North End of the world’, and such a predator is known for its powerful beak, which it uses to crush the skulls of humans. ***

ZC: Tales of frightening large birds exist the world over, but the remote possibility that such large birds once existed is now clouded in mythology. BAKE-KUJIRA – this is a skeletal, phantom whale, said to have been sighted, alongside many strange fish and ominous birds, off the coast of Japan’s Shimane Prefecture many, many years ago. *

ZC: This is a fascinating ghost tale, although its origins appear unknown. BAKENEKO – giant white (or black cats) said to inflate according to how much flesh they devour. These phantom felids are monsters of the Orient and can have several tails and walk on two legs. **

ZC: Typical Oriental weirdness, like something from a Chinese horror film, these creatures are shape-shifting forms whose legend is potent despite the exaggeration. BAKER’S POINT BIRDMAN – many of the weird creatures sighted across the USA could well be connected, and this Bigfoot-like man-beast is no exception. It was seen in 1993 near Allentown and sprouted a pair of large wings and took off. See also Batsquatch. ****

ZC: Reports across the United States of similar beings are alarmingly regular. BAKU – the ‘eater of dreams’ from Japanese folk tradition, this is very much a creature of nightmare, and appears horse-like in its bodily structure.

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**

ZC: A typical night terror of Japanese lore, which appear as vampire-like forms. BALAUR – in Romanian folklore this creature is like a Dragon, but with multiple heads and fins. *

ZC: Classic mythology. BALLYBOGS – quirky Irish creatures said to be mud-covered, and having bulbous heads bereft of a neck. These small, spindly-armed ‘critters’ are said to haunt peat bogs. **

ZC: Local sprites. BARDI – in Trebizond (northeastern Turkey), lore this creature is a feminine jackal-like creature said to eerily wail before there is a death. ***

ZC: The Bardi may be nothing more than a flesh and blood creature that has acquired this unfortunate tag as a sign of doom or misfortune simply because of its wail. BARDIN BOOGER – another name for Florida’s Bigfoot-like creature, also known as the Skunk Ape. Is this form a swamp-dwelling hominid or merely a local spook? Such a creature resides in the woodlands of little known Bardin, a few miles west from Palatka and has left a strange odour, as well as footprints on the creek beds. ***

ZC: The consistency of reports suggests an unknown species of ape. BARGUEST – a legendary spectral hound that is said to prowl Yorkshire’s desolate moorlands. At Appletreewick, such an entity is said to have a yellowish coat, while in West Yorkshire, near East Riddlesden, a donkeysized dog is often sighted, as well as an evil-looking scrawny monster cat. These ‘bogey’ creatures are often said to haunt dark lanes near churchyards. The Barguest’s presence is said to represent a forthcoming death, and although - allegedly -

Barguest

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it has rarely been seen, its eerie shrieks and howls have often been heard. Local lore also tells of a creature, said to transform from a headless man to a clawed goblin. ****

ZC: Hellhounds are one of the most consistent of all zooform creatures. The Barguest is every bit as common as Black Shuck, Padfoot, Striker and the like. Whether they are projections, warnings or ghosts, these Black Dogs are 100% ethereal beasts. BAR JUCHNE – another giant bird, from Hebrew lore. Its wingspan is said to eclipse the sun, and its eggs, if dropped from the sky, can shatter villages and towns. *

ZC: A creature of typical mythical description like the Phoenix etc. BARK – an extremely peculiar, twenty-feet tall humanoid said to be made completely of bark and sprouting branches from its ‘body’. Three men camping in the area saw this surreal figure in 1995 at Sierra Sky Ranch in California. They came ‘face to face’ with this ‘tree man’ after they had gone to investigate a loud rustling in the bushes! *

ZC: Rather comical, but hard to fathom, being which seems to have sprouted from the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic ‘The Lord of the Rings’ books. BARK CLAD MONSTER – a monster from Senegal said to be dressed head-to-toe in a deep-red, bark-like costume, whilst wielding knives. This monster is also known as the Kankouran, a nightmarish apparition and local bogeyman spectre, which is celebrated in local rituals. This monster is very much a frightening beast, but one used also to ward off evil spirits during a boy’s passage to manhood, as this creature has been connected to issues concerning circumcision. See also Kankouran. **

ZC: Localised fear, albeit a terrifying cultural phenomenon. BAR-LGURA – a roof-dwelling monster said to spring upon its victims. *

ZC: A demonic entity of little depth. BAROMETZ – The tale of the ‘Vegetable Lamb of Tartary’ comes from the Middle Ages, a traveller's tale from the Far East. Its full name was 'Planta Tartarica Barometz', ‘Barometz’ being the Tartar word for 'lamb'. The fruit of the ‘Vegetable Lamb’ was cotton, but travellers from Europe knew nothing about cotton in those times, and they reasoned that the material was wool - a fabric they did know. They assumed that since wool came from sheep, the plant was some kind of animal/plant. They thought that the puffs of cotton were tiny sheep attached to the plant by their navel, and it is said that the plant

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bent to let the sheep graze on the grass beneath it, and that when all the grass was gone, the sheep dropped from the plant and ran off, leaving the tree dying. * ZC: Strange legend that originates from Tartary. In Animal Fakes and Frauds (1976) Pe-

ter Dance suggests that it may have been a folk belief, which originated in tall tales told by merchants to explain Astrakhan fleeces, taken from the unborn foetus of karakul sheep. BASADAE – in Indian mythology, these are one-eyed dog-headed men with a single leg, suggesting that these humanoids were nothing more than shape-shifting myth. *

ZC: No further comment required. BA SHE – it is alleged that this fantastic Chinese monster is able to swallow an elephant. *

ZC: Vague Dragon lore. BASILISCO – a snake-like beast with a cockerel’s head, and very popular and widespread in monster mythology. This monster is a vampire-like beast said to haunt the night and enter homes, feeding off the phlegm and breath of its victims, who are then reduced to a quivering skeleton the next morning. Also known as the Basilisk. **

ZC: An old-timer’s vampire. BATHROOM BEING – Camuy, Puerto Rico, September 19th to 22nd, around 10:30 pm, and a seven-year old girl is in the bathroom of her grandparent’s house cleaning her teeth. Suddenly, two red eyes appear and terrify her, and an average sized humanoid yet darkly furred - creature with huge teeth, large, pointed ears and clawed hands confronts her. This was possibly the same presence she had felt over previous nights, but a search of the house found no sign of the intruder. ****

ZC: Even if we put aside the high strangeness that occurs regularly in Puerto Rico, this is still an incredibly strange incident, which we could either put down as the work of the young witness’s imagination, as a haunting, or the possibility that some kind of alien being was indeed prowling the house that night. How we can explain such an entity is beyond our comprehension. BATMAN – a leather-winged entity seen in the location of the Asteroussia Mountains of Greece during one afternoon in the Summer of 1986. Three men hunting in the woods were terrified by the low-flying winged-man, which displayed a long beak and very sharp, long claws.

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****

ZC: This creature was part-man and part-Pterodactyl. Why are so many of these birdmen leathery, like something from a comic book? BATMAN OF LA CROSSE – a new edition to the wild, surreal menagerie of Wisconsin, this time taking the shape of a horrid, leathery winged thing, which appeared to a Cherokee named Wohali, and his 25-year old son, on the night of September 26th 2006. The 52year old was driving on the Briggs Road in their four-wheel drive vehicle, when the headlights picked up a seven-feet tall creature that almost flew into the windshield. Wohali pulled the vehicle over, and was so disturbed by the creature that he proceeded to vomit by the roadside. After the terrifying ordeal both witnesses described the creature. They said it had a large muzzle, and sharp teeth, and seemed angry that it had been seen. Shortly after the sighting, investigators searching the area found a mutilated deer carcass, but whether it was related to the bat-human we may never know. ****

ZC: These fleeting nightmares still seem to have as much impact as some of the more lasting legends, such as the Bray Road Beast, but they remain a very confusing aspect to a puzzle that - at times - can be overwhelmingly complex and absurd. BAT MONSTER OF WEST DRAYTON CHURCH – in the Spring of 1922 it was alleged that a dark apparition was seen in this London cemetery, a phantom that roamed the dusty catacombs a handful of decades before the Highgate Vampire. Witnesses who saw the creature, with a six-feet wingspan, described how a policeman pursued it into the shadows, where it let off a scream and took to the air. The spectre often appeared under the glare of a full moon. **

ZC: Reports from the time are difficult to trace, but those who were fortunate enough to dig out the crusty tale, attempted to connect the activity to the vampire-like apparition of Highgate. However, such a case is too obscure to fathom. BATSQUATCH – giant winged humanoids and muscular manbeasts may well be related, at least in some ethereal way. In 1994 a bizarre encounter seemed to link the Sasquatch/winged humanoid reports. Columnist C.R. Roberts of the ‘NEWS TRIBUNE’, Tacoma, WA, covered it – on 1st May 1994, and his report reads as follows: “The engine died, and the dashboard’s lights fell dark. Although he hadn’t applied his brakes the pickup truck he was driving stopped suddenly, abruptly, square in the middle of the road there between the edge of the forest and a

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scrubby clear-cut field. His headlights cut a hole through the night. He sat wondering what was wrong. Then he saw the feet, descending. Bird feet. Claw feet. Then the legs, the torso, the chest. And the wings, folded, attached to the back of broad shoulders. Then the head. That face. The creature, nine-feet tall, thirty feet away. Blue tinted fur, yellowish eyes, tufted ears and sharp, straight teeth. With a dust raising thud it landed. Brian Canfield, 18, held tight the steering wheel. He was alone and on his way home – from Buckley to the isolated settlement of Camp One, located in the Mount Rainer foothills above Lake Kapowsin – at 9:30 a week ago Saturday night. He doesn’t drink. He doesn’t take drugs. He’s a high school senior known locally as an average, normal kid. “It was standing there staring at me, like it was resting, like it didn’t know what to think,” Canfield says. “I was scared. It raised the hair on me. I didn’t feel threatened. I just felt out of place.” We’re sitting in a camper outside the Canfield home a few days after the encounter. I’d heard Brian’s story from a neighbour and I’d asked for an interview. He is no fan of heavy metal music and he’s never played ‘Dungeons & Dragons’. He’s never seen a UFO. He remains baffled by what he saw. “It’s eyes were yellow and shaped like a piece of pie with pupils like a half-moon. The mouth was pretty big. White teeth. No fangs. The face was like a wolf,” he says. Can he smell anything ? Hear anything ? I ask him to close his eyes and remember. He can hear the wind. He smells gasoline – he’d been having trouble with his carburettor. “It’s looking right at me like in a deep stare, like right through me. It’s standing perfectly still.” It stood for - how long ? – a few minutes. Several minutes. Then its fingers twitched and its wings began to unfold. Those wings were as wide as the road. “It turned its head and looked back at me and started flapping its wings,” Canfield says. Then slowly it rose and so great was the turbulence the truck began to rock and sway. Slowly the creature flew off in the direction of Mount Rainer.

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“A few minutes later the truck just started,” Canfield says. “I took off as fast as I could.” He drove home. “I just flew in the house. I woke my mom and dad up. I told my dad to grab the gun and the camera and come with me. While he was getting dressed I told them what had happened, I almost couldn’t breath.” “I could tell something was wrong, the way he ran in,” says his mother. “He said, ‘Really, I gotta talk to you. We just gotta talk,’”. They went into the living room. He was shaking. “His mouth was dry, he was pale, his hair was still standing on end,” Sandra says. She handed him a tablet and he began to draw what he’d seen. A few minutes later they visited a neighbour – a man who knows the woods – and they soon drove to that spot on the road. Within the silence and the night, they found no trace of the creature. The neighbour says, “I know he saw something, but I don’t know what it was.” Canfield told his story at school early last week. Some friends believed him and some have begun to tease him. One friend helped him with the sketch and others have come up with a name for the creature. Batsquatch. “I’m not really into this stuff,” Canfield says. “It boggles my mind really hard core. I really can’t explain it. It’s weird, definitely weird. I don’t like it. Usually stuff like this happens to someone else.” The past week I’ve spoken with neighbours and with Canfield’s family. I believe his story. I believe he saw something that night a week ago. I have no idea what he saw. I’ve spoken with experts on legends and creatures and none knows of a being such as this. But I believe Brian Canfield. And I believe that we daily face so many real things fearful – drugs, gangs, AIDS, violence, divorce, poverty, Rwanda, Bosnia, tuberculosis, North Korea and so on down the list – that it’s almost pleasant to consider a monster no-one can explain. It’s pleasant to read for the rest of us, perhaps. But not for Brian Canfield. “It did happen. I’m willing to put my life on it,” he says. “I just have this picture in front of my head, the picture of it standing there. I can’t get rid of it. It’s just there. I kinda wish it didn’t happen.”

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****

ZC: Reports of giant, winged creatures are relatively common in the world of cryptozoology. Batsquatch was another of those moments of high strangeness from American lore, a leather-winged humanoid, covered in hair that seemed to appear without motive, and then hovered away, leaving another witness baffled and terrified. It seems unlikely that winged humanoids inhabit the forests, so such monsters must be seen as true zooform ‘critters’. BAU BAU – a Romanian interpretation of the bogeyman. **

ZC: A shapeless and faceless entity to frighten the children. BAUCAN – this word can describe any apparition from Scotland, but in some instances the Baucan also pertains to the appearance of a phantom black hound with a chain around its neck. See also Bochdan. ****

ZC: Scottish beast of lore. BAYONE MONKEY MAN – another urban legend, surrounding a mystery figure that is said to roam the trails of Newark Bay. It is a creature with no real identity, accept to say it is a furred, tatty, shadow said to attack anyone who ventures into the vicinity. **

ZC: Another of those vague urban legends, a shadowy tale based on local hysteria and campfire tale. BEAR MAN – this may be a Bigfoot relative said to roam a vast area of Mexico, from Chihuahua to Veracruz, but ‘Hombre Oso’ is often considered a supernatural entity. ***

ZC: Another of those South American wild-men, which may have its origins in Bigfoot and the like. BEARWOLVES – a hulking figure seen by two young sisters in April of 1994 in Wisconsin whilst they were playing behind their father’s barn. The beast emerged from the woods as a wolf-like creature, and appeared to walk right through electric wires. However, as it strolled, unaware of the girls’ presence, it gradually transformed into a bearlike form. Similar shape-shifters have been sighted in other parts of the USA, such as Green Bay. ****

ZC: It is impossible to discredit such sightings, due to the abundance of them. BEAST OF BAKU – sometimes this creature from Azerbaijan is a very tall, darkly furred,

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humanoid with glowing, red, eyes. But in December of 1989, in Baku, the entity had a glowing head, and appeared to be prancing across the rooftops. Beams of light from the being had previously blasted some witnesses, whilst on other occasions people spoke of hearing guttural growls. ****

ZC: Something prowls these parts, but deciding whether it haunts the remote back roads, or the human psyche, is another mystery. BEAST OF BELL LANE – see also Padfoot, this Yorkshire monster has one foot in the lore of hellhounds, and another in a more vague territory; that of a ghostly gorilla said to have escaped from a circus. ****

ZC: The Padfoot and other ghostly hounds have, at times, been connected to other lore, whether in the form of ley-lines, haunted churches, big cat sightings etc, and on this occasion, the lore of shape shifting becomes prominent. BEAST OF BLACK RIVER FALLS – a female witness and her boyfriend reported seeing this hairy creature in 2004 as they were on an evening stroll in a built up, well lit area of Wisconsin*. The beast they saw was running on all fours and then on two legs before it spotted the couple. It was like a wolf, mixed with a dog and a bear, although its coat suggested it had mange. The beast was muscular, had large teeth and was breathing hard, but the witnesses felt that the creature was more fearful of them. ****

ZC: Such a creature fits into the Bray Road apparition and other reports of American werewolves. BEAST OF BUENA – an eight-year old boy from New Jersey saw a three-foot tall, black, winged figure standing outside his window. ***

ZC: Could have been anything, as this report is so obscure. BEAST OF GREEN DRIVE –this mystery creature was stalking Lytham, in the UK during late Spring 2005, with its appearance being covered by the ‘Lytham St. Annes Express’ and a few major tabloids. What were the people seeing? Muntjac deer, exotic cats, * Those of you interested in the high strangeness surrounding this provincial town in Wisconsin should look no further than Wisconsin Death Trip ; a non-fiction book by Michael Lesy, first published in 1973. It has been adapted into a film. The book is based on a collection of late 19th century photographs from Jackson County, Wisconsin, mostly in the town of Black River Falls, and local news reports from the same period. It emphasizes the harsh aspects of Midwestern rural life under the pressures of crime, disease, mental illness, and urbanization. The film was directed by James Marsh and starred Marcus Monroe and released in 2000. In a docudrama style, and shot entirely in black-and-white (except for contrasting sequences of modern life in the area, in color), it combined re-enactments of some of the events described in the book with a voiceover narration by Ian Holm. The book also inspired an album by Cathal Coughlan, which is also worth investigation.

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wallabies, dogs? No-one really knows, but artist Sam Shearon’s sketch of the creature painted a picture of something akin to phantom ‘dog-come-chupacabra’, although his interpretation was inaccurate. ***

ZC: It’s very likely that what was being seen in the leafy location was a flesh and blood creature that witnesses clearly couldn’t identify as it may have been out of place, or an escapee. What this story did prove though, was that a number of creatures all of a sudden become the beast, a common theme in such mysteries. BEAST OF LE GÉVAUDAN – between 1764 and 1767, a mystery man-eater devoured its way through France, and was hunted by many, but to no avail. Whilst those that pursued it believed the creature to be a giant wolf, no-one is quite sure, and the puzzle was never solved. What we do know, is that many perished in the foaming jaws of this creature, causing some to believe that a Werewolf was to blame, or a great she-bear. Some even Beast of le Gévaudan claimed that a gang of bloodthirsty Leopard Men were to blame. The more flesh and blood solutions suggested a hyena, or a large cat such as a leopard or lion. ***

ZC: A classic case in cryptozoology that is steeped in mystery. It is very likely that the creature was a flesh and blood animal, but certainly something large and hungry enough to attack many children and women, yet seemingly avoiding capture. BEAST OF LETTIR DALLAN – an Irish water monster said to have a human head, its origins may lie in lake monster belief! ***

ZC: Ireland has many tales of lake monsters. Although the ‘human head’ description may well be down to misidentification, it is quite common knowledge in certain quarters that mystery creatures roam the waters of various deep Irish lakes. BEAST OF ST. MICHAEL’S – an all too vague legend pertaining to the appearance, during storms, of a mythical beast at St. Michael’s Church in Cornhill, London. **

ZC: Whilst legend is strong, no description of the ‘beast’ exists!

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BEAST WITH THE BLACK HEAD – see Beisht Kione. *** ZC: Sea monster legend. See conclusion as Beisht Kione. BEAUTIFUL CENTAURS – these dark-skinned, and very demonic beasts exist in Greek mythology and are also known as Kallikantzaros. ****

ZC: Strong folklore from the Aegean Islands. BEAVERINE – a creature, bigger than a grizzly, from the folklore of the Pacific Northwest. **

ZC: A fictional ‘critter’. BEAVER LAKE MONSTER – did a monster octopus-like beast attack a car with three men in it on the night of 6th August 1972 in Alberta, Canada? Apparently so. The men were in the area believing they had a chance of seeing a UFO, and - allegedly - they saw a strange orb descend into the forest, and then, not long after, the strange creature with tentacles rushed the car. The men left the woods quickly. **

ZC: This is one of those monster stories that starts well, but loses itself in UFO-lore. BEDFORD BEAST – this long-haired creature was sighted in broad daylight during October 1982 in Lawrence County, Indiana, USA, by a couple driving through the back roads after a picnic at Spring Mill State Park. The beast they observed was standing on two legs just sixty-yards away, as the driver, Derek Harrison, was slowing his 4x4 vehicle to adjust the radio. Mr Harrison, who had a rifle in his car, got out the truck and headed towards the creature, which sped off into the thick woods, leaving behind it a smell of rotten fish. ***

ZC: A possible man beast sighting. Bigfoot sightings are common around Indiana. BEIGORRI – the ‘Red Cow’ said to haunt the Pyrenees, and guard the woods. * ZC: Mythology of the Basque region. BEISHT KIONE – this water creature from the Isle of Man has frightened many a fisherman over the years, although sightings of such a leviathan seem hazy. *** ZC: There seem to be no solid descriptions of this creature so it could be anything from an undiscovered species, local legend, large fish, eel etc.

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BEITHIR – a serpent form of Celtic folklore, said to inhabit the cave systems near Loch a’ Mhuillidh, in the Scottish Highlands. Legend claims this beast can reach up to ten-feet in length, but sightings of the monster seem few and far between. Folklore also states the Beithir can be any wild beast, such as a bear or even a huge skate, which could explain some salt-water sightings. **

ZC: Local monster tale that can apply to any forest or water dwelling unknown form. BELL WITCH BUNNY MONSTER – during 1817 at Adams, Robertson County, Tennessee, the area which was to become the famous haunt of the eerie Bell Witch phenomenon, the Bell family had an encounter with a strange creature in one of the fields one day. John Bell came across an ‘animal’ that had the body of a dog but the head of a rabbit which alarmed him so much that he fired several times at the form, but with no effect. After this sighting, the family were plagued by weird phenomena such as odd ‘beating’ sounds outside, and also, at night, a sound as though some unseen creature was gnawing at the children’s bed posts. The high strangeness of the Bell Witch saga had only just begun. ****

ZC: Whilst this encounter may not have been directly related to the further disturbances in the vicinity, there is a slight possibility that the coming of this weird form may have been a monger of doom. BELO HORIZONTE BEAST – sighted by two young boys in the Summer of 1963, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, this bizarre robot-like creature descended from the sky, and appeared reddish in colour, had one eye, and zapped the terrified kids with a beam from its chest. **

ZC: Like something from a 1950s B-movie, the ‘robo-monster’ seems an unlikely creature, and is either the product of the imagination or a hoax. BENAGUACIL BURGLAR – in the April of 1986, a Spanish resident, searching for old nails and wood in an abandoned house near his home, thought he’d disturbed a burglar or intruder who was lurking upstairs in the dilapidated residence. However, after an eerie silence, a creature wearing a long, white cape that failed to cover its gnarled, goat-like feet confronted him. The monster had red blazing eyes, which bore into the eyes of the witness, so he made for a quick exit, leaving the spectre behind to continue its haunt. ****

ZC: Whilst such encounters may be hoaxes, it often seems unlikely, especially in remote areas that pranksters would lie in wait for victims to come by. This may well have been a ‘ghost’ or indeed a monster prowling the ruinous confines. BENBECULA MERMAID – although many mermaid legends are not covered in this

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book, simply see the Merfolk section. This particular form was allegedly washed up on a shore in the Outer Hebrides in 1830 after it was struck by a stone a few days previously, during a playful frolic. The creature was described as like a small child, but having the tail of a fish, although without scales. Rumour has it that the creature was given a proper burial in a coffin made by a local carpenter. ***

ZC: Was this merely an unidentified water creature washed up? BENNINGTON GIANT – this story is the stuff of fantasy – or maybe not! Such a creature was said to have attacked a stagecoach in southern Vermont during a powerful thunderstorm, sometime during the 19th Century. Several witnesses claimed that the coach was toppled by a huge creature that was obscured by the trees, but which left huge prints in the earth as it roared off into the darkness, leaving all in its wake petrified. Whether connected or not, another mystery creature was blamed for the disappearances of several campers and hunters in the 1940s. All of this strangeness has taken place in an eerie area known as the Bennington Triangle, where it is rumoured a serial killer is at work, as well as an unknown presence. ****

ZC: Sources and evidence suggest something very weird haunts the Glastenbury area, but what exactly has made its presence felt is unknown. The various disappearances may well have nothing to do with a ‘monster’ in the area, but a legend has been built over the years. BEN-VARREY – Isle of Man mermaid. **

ZC: Many have looked into the tales of mermaids, but it seems as though they are mere fictional entities, appearing in stories as omens or warnings to passing ships, in the same way banshees and the likes scream as eerie warnings. BETTEMBOURG WEREWOLF – a giant wolf-like beast was said to once haunt the old church grounds of this Luxembourg city, killing all that crossed its path. The ‘critter’ was eventually shot by a hunter with a silver bullet, but the corpse vanished overnight. Legend claims that the Werewolf was born when a crippled soldier, whilst resting in the area, destroyed a large cross erected in the ground, before spitting at it in blasphemy. He was cursed forever more. ***

ZC: Maybe a folktale was born from the presence of a real roaming creature here.

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BHAINSASURA – a huge creature resembling an elephant, yet with the head of a buffalo, strong in Hindu mythology. The appearance of this creature usually ties in with the rice harvest, where it destroys crops, but can be appeased if offered a pig. * ZC: Again, another of those bad omens set onto this world to cause ruin and chaos. Thankfully such creatures do not seem to actually exist but local tradition and community spirit is certainly wary of such a manifestation. BHUTA – Indian entity said to roam derelict graveyards and devour rotten corpses on foggy nights, the Bhuta is a spindly, white vampire monster - also known as a trickster spirit - which can take on the form of a glowing ball of light or an old hag. **

ZC: This weird vampire phantom is like so many other spooky, cemetery dwellers. Legends such as this are born so easily, like ghost tales, and one report can exist in local belief for many years. BIASD NA SROGAIG – this creature resembles the Unicorn but lived in the small lochs littering the Isle of Skye. It was said to be a large animal, clumsy in its nature due to its long legs. Its name means ‘the beast of the lowering horn’. ***

ZC: Possibly a wild horse, or strange fairytale. BI BI – a strange winged fox with a shrill cry said to inhabit the forests of China. ***

ZC: A possibility here that the Bi Bi is a real animal of the forests. BICHO PAPACIRCO – a Brazilian, rampant Manimal that eats children but is more of a bogeyman figure. **

ZC: All bogeymen-type figures hunt children, and are always the reason youngsters should never be naughty. Parents often invent such creatures and monsters for the closet, and rarely do they have a face. BICORNE – a plump ‘panther’ with a human face would be a terrifying sight for anyone, but in medieval Europe such a monster would only appear to a husband who had been nagged constantly by his wife. * ZC: A strange creature born from an even stranger legend! BIG APPLE BEAST – possibly a rare sighting of a New York Goatsucker! This winged entity was seen by a teenager in Highbridge, Bronx in August 1998 around midnight as

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the being was feasting on a dog on the corner of Grand Concourse and 172nd Street. The young witness watched the creature from behind a mailbox before it flew away. ***

ZC: Whilst Chupacabras reports seem to flitter across parts of the USA, unless more turn up in some states, I remain dubious as to such sightings in such a built-up area. BIG BIRDS – in many cases likely to be more cryptozoological than zooform, but in a few instances, i.e. Thunderbirds, Phantom Pterosaurs, Bird-men etc., possible zooform winged entities. There are several reports, especially from areas such as Texas and Arizona in the US, involving children who were plucked from the ground by giant birds. Experts at the time ruled out large eagles, cranes and condors, claiming that such birds would not be able to carry a ten-year old child very far. So, what are these huge, flapping creatures? ***

ZC: Huge birds, some as big as small planes, have been sighted for many, many years and most of these sightings are of flesh and blood birds. No-one has ever killed one or found evidence of one, but from parts of America to the deserts of the world, big bird lore is abundant. We refer readers to Ken Gerhard’s book on the subject published by CFZ Press. BIG EARS – this creature is a sinister huge ‘king cat’ which was once said to have appeared during the ritual of Taghairm in Scotland, during which live cats were roasted. **

ZC: Campfire tale. BIG HEAD – during the late 1970s, this humanoid was said to prowl Butler, in Ohio, USA, and may well have been related to the Sasquatch. In many areas the legend of Big Head had been debunked as a hoax, but sightings of a large-headed, hairy humanoid creature were pretty common in the Summer of 1978. This creature was said to have stood over seven-feet tall and had fiery, red eyes said to transfix those who saw him. Some witnesses claimed that the creature didn’t appear to have limbs, but just stood as a great, hulking mass. It let out horrific screams and emitted a repulsive odour. ***

ZC: As I strongly believe Bigfoot, Sasquatch and the Yeti to be real creatures, then this mystery biped may well fit into that category. However, Ohio is a strange place, so who knows what lurks in the woods. BIG HEAD OLD MAN – a woodland entity said to look after the creatures of the thickets. Such an apparition resembles the Wendigo. ***

ZC: Such a legend may well pertain to some kind of nature spirit or feared demon such

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as the Wendigo, but there is also a chance that such a whisper may melt into Bigfoot lore. BIG HOOT – some researchers claim that Mothman is actually an unknown giant species of owl, called Big Hoot. However, it seems unlikely that many reports describing a winged ‘man’ from Point Pleasant, West Virginia actually described a natural, flesh and blood bird. According to the Native Indians though, creatures known as ‘Flying Heads’ and ‘Big Head’ were commonly sighted; robust, four-feet high owls with large nails and hairy bodies which flew in the strong winds. The Wyandot Indians considered these enormous owls as more dangerous during heavy weather conditions which brought fog, rain and mist, and they perceived these elusive and cunning birds as vampire-like entities that caused sickness and stole children. Whilst such mystery birds may well be bereft of zooform qualities and actually drift into the realm of cryptozoology as unidentified birds, it is still odd that such birds, often associated with evil, have been put alongside the likes of Mothman and Owlman. Some reports of the West Virginia winged figure do seem to speak of massive owls; creatures whose eyes remain piercing through a thick layer of feathers. At Rocky Fork Lake, Ohio, in 1982, a female witness saw a huge owl-like figure with wings which, when unfolded, had a span greater than most small airplanes. ***

ZC: Is there a giant species of owl undiscovered by science? Possibly. Reports of big owls and massive birds always seem to infiltrate into the weird world of winged humanoids, i.e. Mothman etc. However, in cases such as the Mothman saga, it is clear that we were dealing with a strange humanoid creature. Strangely, though, some witnesses described seeing owls standing over four-feet high. BIG MUDDY MONSTER – during the early to mid-1970s, near Murphysboro, Illinois (USA), this strange creature obtained quite a cult following after it was observed on several occasions crossing roads and prowling local woods. Since the sightings, many cryptozoologists and folklore researchers have connected the eyewitness reports to that of Sasquatch, although some people who spotted the creature called it the Big White Ghost, suggesting something different altogether. ****

ZC: There is every possibility that this beast was a Bigfoot, but, like so many of these cases, they seem to drift into other forms and local panics. BIG OWL – Cree Indian legend speaks of this bogeyman figure which is said to drive all the game animals from the forests in order to starve the tribes. This creature panics the tribes to the extent that as they flee their homes it plucks them from the ground and de-

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vours them. See also Big Hoot, for similar legends, as well as Thunderbirds. ***

ZC: A winged creature of legend that may be some kind of nature spirit and at times relates to the previous section of new species of giant owl. BIG TEETH – see also Dientudo. ****

ZC: South American humanoid. BIG WHITE GHOST – another name for the Big Muddy Monster seen around Illinois during the 1970s. ****

ZC: A mystery creature that loitered in the area for a while. BILINGTON BEAST – a hairy man beast sighted in Kent (UK) woodlands in May 1961. Two schoolgirls said that the creature was in a nearby field and when it ran towards a thicket they could see its tail. *

ZC: If this isn’t a supernatural encounter then it’s complete fiction. There are no manbeasts in Kent. Well, not flesh and blood anyway! BILLDAD – the lore of North America is peppered with quirky forest creatures, and the Billdad is no exception. This is a creature the size of a beaver, but with the hind legs of a hare and webbed feet. They inhabit murky areas such as reed beds and kill small prey such as fish by swatting them with their wide tails. ***

ZC: I would suggest a real creature is behind this animal because the traits and descriptions of this creature do not seem that implausible, but no-one has yet come forward with any evidence to suggest that the woods of north America are inhabited by such a thing. BILLIWACK BEAST – Californian giant, which is said to appear in the Aliso Canyon of Santa Paula, California. This grey apparition is said to have long claws, and also horns on its head, and attacks hikers before vanishing into thin air. This humanoid became quite popular around 1964, when it allegedly harassed a group of campers throughout the night. ***

ZC: Another Bigfoot-like apparition or a ghostly monster of Amerindian lore.

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BILLY BLIN – this Cornish monster is said to have been a multi-headed beast that despised King Arthur. **

ZC: Pure local legend. BILOKO – terrifying ogres with the snouts of a crocodile, which live on this planet just to devour humans. They feature in the nightmares of Zaire mythology. **

ZC: Fetid bogeymen. BIPEDAL DOG BEAST – in February 1996, on a remote lane in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whilst out for a stroll, two men were distracted by eerie noises from behind them. Thinking nothing of it, they continued on their route and came across the carcass of a dog, which had its jaw ripped open. One of the men had a flashlight that illuminated the carcass of another animal, a cat, which had the same wound. Only then did they see what kind of animal had inflicted this horror upon its victims, for out of the woods came a dog-like creature, but on two legs. One of the men noticed, as they fled the area, that the humanoid had two claw-like protrusions on its chest, like small horns. One of the witnesses bravely returned to the area the next day and found the dead dog still lying there, but the cat body was missing. There had also been reports of several attacks on chickens on one of the local farms. ****

ZC: These beasts may well leave gory victims in their wake but they are, even as predators on this planet, very much from somewhere else. This may well have been a Lobizon, a Werewolf-type entity common in South America. BIRDMAN OF FRANCE – a twenty-one year old student named Nadia saw this bristlehaired oddity near the local cemetery in Tenay, France in 1991. The figure had a large head, a strange beak and black eyes, although no wings were evident, despite the fact the form looked like a spindly, mutant birdman. ****

ZC: Even the more absurd reports of weird flying, bird-like men are difficult to discount. BIRDMEN – these winged horrors exist in many forms, (see Owlman, Mothman, and the likes), and have appeared from Vietnam to Devon, and from Russia to Brazil depending on who is there to see them in all their freakish splendour. These figures could, on occasion, be confused with equally mysterious Big Birds, however, ‘big birds’ may well represent true cryptozoology as unknown species, but Birdmen are a different kettle of fish! A majority of reports do describe humanoid figures with wings, certainly unlikely to inhabit the local woods; it seems that their habitat is something from some unseen void.

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In his chapter entitled, ‘The Man – Birds’, in his classic book, Strange creatures from Time and Space,(1970) John Keel wrote about various winged weirdo’s, brief in nature, from all over the world. One of the most bizarre creatures described was the eight-foot tall thing at Hubbell, Nebraska, sighted by William C. Lamb on 22nd February 1922 at 5:00 am. The monster left tracks in the snow, blotted out the stars and was never seen again. Such humanoids are popular in mythology and have, over the years, played a major part in lore throughout the world, and continue to do so to the present. What they are is anyone’s guess, and their motive seems equally cloudy. ****

ZC: Zooform phenomena is rife with creatures so vague and shadowy, but Birdmen are something else entirely. They are impossible as flesh and blood creatures, and yet sighted so often, but nothing can explain why they exist. BISCLAVERET – Werewolves of Brittany. ****

ZC: Early French romances, dating back as far as 1165, speak of such man-beasts to add weight to their legend. BISTERK DING – this demonic creature has black, woolly fur and huge shining eyes. It is considered a bad omen. *

ZC: A brief portent. BLACKBEARD – legend has it, from parts of Europe, this grotesque beast was born from the ruins of an old tree, for it appears as a black, tangled mess of an abomination. *

ZC: General name for something hideous and shapeless. BLACK BIRD OF CHERNOBYL – a dark, giant bird seen over the nuclear power plant on 26th April 1986; the day of the disastrous explosion at the plant which caused subsequent radioactive contamination of the surrounding geographic area. ***

ZC: This flying enigma may have been coincidental in its appearance, but like so many other dark-coloured creatures, they take on a form of awe and strike fear into those that see them. BLACK BLOB – a nightmare of sorts, involving a Californian woman who was awoken one night in 1971, whilst sleeping in her Chatsworth home, by a black, blob-like creature, which had glowing red eyes. The apparition had the woman in a vice-like grip by way of

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shimmering, quivering, arms wrapped around her, and engulfing her chest. ****

ZC: A very common ‘hag’ attack, or psychic vampire spectre. These kinds of apparitions are common throughout the world. BLACK BULL – various ruins and shores across Ireland are haunted by bull-like manifestations. At the shore of Lough Derg, a ghastly bull with fiery eyes is said to roam the eerie, winding roads. There is also a phantom bull at Clonlara, but it was observed last in 1890. See also Water Cattle.

**** ZC: Although these fiery animals are scarce, legends of such beasts are reasonably common in Irish folklore. BLACK DEVIL – the cannibal stallion of the Shoshones, born from a time when the Indians were said to have mistaken horse and rider for a singular beast, as a possible centaur. **

ZC: Classic ghost story material with its genesis in a confused legend. BLACK DOG OF PEEL CASTLE – a spectral hound sighted on the Isle of Man. ****

ZC: Another of those spectral hounds with a fair history behind it. BLACK DOGS – hellhounds, spectral omens of doom etc, etc. The term ‘black dog’ literally covers any kind of phantom-looking dog often said to lead travellers to their death, disappear into mist, and have glowing eyes. Smaller hounds are said to represent good fortune but their darker relatives can appear as headless, floating, having more than one head and also carrying chains around their necks. Some who fear the dogs believe that such creatures are the Devil himself, but these creatures can be connected to any lane, stream, pool, churchyard, ancient pathway or stile. On occasion, such spectres are said to be harmless, especially the smaller variety, but a majority of these hounds do seem to at least omit an ominous presence about them. ****

ZC: Whoever sees a true Black Dog is always positive that what they are seeing is supernatural, or evil. Black Dogs have existed for centuries, their form is not always so simple, but they exist as ghostly manifestations, tied often to haunted roads and ancient pathways. BLACK DOGS OF FRANCE – near the Black Mountains of Brittany is rumoured to prowl the form of a ghastly black hound. Folklore belief states that the Gates of Hell are to be found at the town of Brennilis, where foggy moors stretch for miles, and it was once believed that young girls were thrown there to satisfy the Devil.

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ZC: As many tales which are tied to the Devil do, this misty, eerie, legend fuels the imagination and creatures such as phantom hounds are often connected to the fiery gates of Hell as guardian spirits, but whether these sightings have ever taken place is another thing. BLACK FAIRY – an Irish, yet somewhat obscure, banshee-creature said to haunt remote areas of Ireland. Such a manifestation is said to visit households in order to take a soul away, or symbolise death. **

ZC: Ireland has many tales of wailing horrors, and the Black Fairy is no different, although a little vague - as it appears to be a ghost of family legend. BLACK GOAT/BLACK PUCK GOAT – an Irish phantom, said to be a fairy, that haunts tombs and bestows a hunchback upon anyone should they threaten the land. The Black Puck Goat is a sinister apparition that appears by the roadside. A woman in the Cratloe Hills sighted one such spectre in 1870. Similar apparitions also take the form of black horses. ****

ZC: A local bogey animal, similar to the Pooka (Puca) BLACK GOD CHERNOBOG – this ‘God’ is a black hound of Slavic lore. ****

ZC: See below, and many other phantom hound entries. BLACK MERE MERMAID – Lancashire in the U.K., is haunted by several merfolk. Doxey’s Pool is another location. ****

ZC: Common folklore although records of more recent sightings seem extremely scarce. BLACK SHUCK – the mystery hound of Norfolk first sighted during the early nineteenth century, Black Shuck is probably the most ‘famous’ of all hellhounds. Cromer is the resort at the centre of this Black Dog phenomena, with Shuck’s Lane running by the town of Runton to Overstrand. The spectral dog is said to be the sign of death, and anyone unfortunate enough to encounter the calf-sized creature, will surely die within the year. Reports seem to originate from the 1840s, and describe a shaggy dog said to terrify pet dogs and horses, but a few, more obscure reports, suggest a harmless beast which deters travellers going certain routes so that they may avoid injury, or even death. ****

ZC: One of the most famous zooform creatures, and the King of the Black Dogs.

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BLACK SHUG – haunting Holwell Mouth and its bluebell wood, this is one of Leicestershire’s eerie dogs, and like many hellhounds it is considered a bad omen. ****

ZC: Another of the Devil’s legion as such. BLACK SWAMP CREATURE – as witnessed by two men in an unnamed US location, where they were both attacked by a tall, scaled, creature with blazing red eyes, and metal claws, which threw the men to the ground, scarring one of them. The beast hopped off into a tree, and then - by leaping between the trees with ease - it exited the area. ****

ZC: Was this an unknown swamp creature? Or a ‘critter’ from the minds of men? BLACK WINGS OVER BRISTOL – a strange, and sinister triangular form, observed by several witnesses in August of 2004 as it glided silently over Bristol, in the UK. A local man, Victor Harris, saw the aerial object on two consecutive days, and observed it for several minutes. He claimed that the ‘thing’ had a negative vibe and that, “…it was jet-

black and very matt, it didn’t reflect the sun…it wasn’t a craft for it was too flat to have any occupants…it was about thirty-feet across…it seemed to be slowly flapping what appeared to be two rear points of the triangle”. The second day of the sighting brought attention from the local police helicopter, but as it approached the mystery thing, the ominous sky invader vanished. Despite more than fifteen people seeing the strange form, the encounter never made the local news and has, so far, faded into obscurity. ****

ZC: The male witness was sure this was no plane, no alien craft, and no big bird; just a featureless form that remains unanswered. BLAUTSAUGER – this is another graveyard dwelling creature whose name means ‘bloodsucker’. This shadowy form is rife in the lore of Bosnia, and also roams burial grounds of Germany. **

ZC: A rather vague apparition that could pertain to any bogeyman figure or ghost. BLOB, THE – a featureless, legless form that a Joanne Pearson, of Birch Avenue, in Whitby, spotted in the Autumn of 2006, at around 10:30 pm. She was walking her dog home with her friend Phil, when they caught sight of the thing that was around four-feet in height and three-feet wide. She told the press later that it resembled an over-sized bean bag! She commented, “It certainly was not a badger or a deer as it was too big, fat

and round.

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If this was an animal then it would have scampered off but it seemed quite content to sit and stare back at us. We stopped where we were and let the dog investigate it as we were not prepared to go any further until it budged. The dog spotted it and went racing up to see it off so it was obvious by her natural chasing instinct that this was some wild animal”. As she approached it, the odd thing was that there was no scuffle or running involved. The black thing seemed to glide sideward very gracefully and quietly like a ghost into the grass. The dog then ran up through the hedge and she gave a yelp. Only the dog will know what it was, I suspect. **

ZC: Despite the details given by Joanne, nobody seems none the wiser to explain this apparition. At the time numerous possibilities were put forward from black sack to black leopard, but until further sightings occur this kind of incident will fade just like the entity did into the grassy verge. BLOOD CEMETERY BEAST – Pine Hill Cemetery (aka Blood Cemetery) in Hollis, New Hampshire (USA), is said to be haunted by a fuzzy animal, possibly a giant ghostly cat, said to slink between the gravestones. On one occasion, the night before Hallowe’en in 1999, a woman walking through the cemetery spotted the creature as it disappeared through a headstone. The form has been described as standing over two-feet at the shoulder. ****

ZC: This may well be passed off as a local haunting, but concerns a creature out of the ordinary. BLOODY BONES – a creature which dates back to the fifteenth century, and roamed parts of Northern England in search of children to drown. See also Rawhead. **

ZC: A bloody legend. BLUE BEINGS OF SAMOA – strange, humanoid creatures seen in the village of Pagai. These beings are described as being bluish-green in colour, having webbed hands and feet, and eyes that glow green. These apparitions are excellent swimmers, but are said to be supernatural. **

ZC: This is a legend worth further investigation, because yarns describing such creatures are rife in Samoan lore.

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BLUE BELL HILL PHANTOM DOG – a whitish hound sighted in the vicinity of the haunted ‘hill’ in Kent, where several road accidents and reports of a phantom hitchhiker have occurred. The spectral dog was sighted in January 2001 by a motorist not far from Aylesford, but also has its origins in several reports dating back to the 1600s. These reports regard a lean, grey, hound which was known to have savaged several peddlers and was said to haunt the Pilgrim’s Way. Charles Igglesden’s ‘Saunters in Kent’, from the 17th century, speaks of the ‘great dogg’, [sic] commenting: “July 1654, today a man was found

dead on the upper road, the Great Dog having been seen again.” Such a beast was also sighted by two peddlers in 1745 who were walking on the Pilgrim’s Way towards Medway when one of the men saw a, “…great lean hound with prick’t ears”, on the path behind them. The creature later appeared ahead of them, savaging one of the peddlers, who was allegedly buried on the spot where he died. A similar creature is also mentioned in a Victorian account from a Revd Edward, who, whilst with a friend, returning from Boxley to Burham… “…at a point where the road

ascends…in its course, we paused to take breath, and look’t back and were surprised to see some distance behind us, and standing on the way we had come, a lean grey dog with upstanding ears…I was struck by its size…it appeared as big as a calf.” It may be worth connecting such reports of these animals to sightings of large exotic cats in the county. If such ‘dogs’ were of a ghostly nature, then surely an attack on a human would be impossible. Were these people seeing ‘big cats’? A large hound is said to haunt the Pilgrim’s Way, and another haunts Skull’s Gate Farm of Cranbrook High Street. A nocturnal ‘hound’ is said to roam the marshes of Sheerness near Shurland Hall, and Leed’s Castle, near Maidstone is said to be haunted by a Labrador-sized phantom hound. A stocky black hound was seen in 2000 by a carload of friends driving through the haunted Kent village of Pluckley. The dog emerged from the heavy fog, and - as the witnesses slowed the car - it approached, standing alongside the door, staring in. Terrified, the driver sped off. Referring back to the 2001 sighting, a Mr. Flynn was on his way home, when he sighted an Alsatian-sized dog at around 10:30 pm. It was a wet night, and another car was approaching on the other side of the road, when the animal appeared, and bounded out in front of the two cars, narrowly missing the bumpers. Mr. Flynn skidded to avoid the creature, which headed off across the dual carriageway. It appeared as though the other driver never saw a thing. ****

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ple. The old Pilgrim’s Way path has often been linked with tales of giant dogs, although a majority of reports seem to suggest a flesh and blood creature, possible an exotic cat such as a black leopard. BLUE BELT BIGFOOT – many reports in this book describe hairy humanoid figures, even though I firmly believe that the creature that we know and love as `Bigfoot`, is very flesh and blood. However, there is no denying that some reports of these man-beasts are unusual in the sense that they describe creatures disappearing, or connected to UFOs, or having a glowing body. In some instances, we may blame the witnesses for misinterpretation, but there are cases out there which deserve investigation, even if they suggest that Bigfoot are more than what we hope them to be. During the October of 1974, in the Santa Clarita Valley, USA, two teenage boys observed a hulking, hairy creature, which was carrying a pig off for a feast. The most unusual thing about the humanoid was the glowing blue belt around its waist. Then, during the November of ’74, three boys heard a strange, buzzing noise ahead of them as they entered the valley. They thought they’d be seeing a motorcycle any moment, but were instead greeted by a parade of the damned; a group of hairy humanoids that had grinning, dog-like, faces. In the distance, spots of light seemed to suggest a further procession approaching. Other Bigfoot wearing belts, were also sighted near a UFO in California during the late 1960s. ****

ZC: Reports of this ilk must be taken seriously, even if we are hesitant to connect these different phenomena. BLUE BEN – this beast was, according to local lore, a Dragon-like monster from Somerset; Putsham Hill to be precise. However, any truth dissipates when we learn of the creature’s feuds with the Devil, although the legend almost gained some credibility, when fossilized remains of an Ichthyosaurus were discovered near Glastonbury. Unfortunately, a prehistoric fish-like reptile is hardly fuel to fire a Dragon story. *

ZC: Confused lore. BLUE DOG – possibly nothing more than routine haunting, this particular character is seen at Peddler’s Rock in Port Tobacco, Maryland, in the USA, where it allegedly guards the spot where its master was murdered. **

ZC: This vague shade has no connection to the ghostly Black Dogs, and only appears every now and then. A local legend states that the dog is guarding a sack of hidden gold.

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BLUE DONKEY – according to local legend, this eerie form often appears near St Andrew’s Church, at Cobham, in Kent. **

ZC: Extremely obscure legend. BLUE MEN OF THE MINCH – quirky and hostile characters resembling mermen said to have inhabited undersea caves in Scotland. Such bearded irritants were often feared, as they were known to wreck ships that drifted through the Minch*. **

ZC: A rather strong legend that has ties to the mermaid legend, but its origins may be deep-rooted in Viking lore, when slaves were abandoned in the area. Such people wore blue robes, and throughout time, their presence may have become confused in lore. BLUE SPECTRE – a tall, spindly ‘critter’ seen at night at a summer camp in Quebec, Canada by two youths during the 1990s. *

ZC: Anecdotal report, possibly a hoax or campfire creation. BLUFF MAN – a creature said to haunt the Bluff Road area between La Grange and Palmyra in Wisconsin, with possible connections with the Bray Road Beast. Some claim that the creature is a Sasquatch, but others point to its long muzzle as being something far different. ***

ZC: No-one really knows what the Bluff Man is, or looks like. It could well be another of those long muzzled ‘werewolves’ or a relation to Bigfoot. BLURRY BEAST – an ‘out of focus’ man-beast seen by Evan Canoose whilst he was camping at Larch Mountain Honour Camp, near Vancouver, BC. The figure appeared about thirty-feet away, but seemed hazy as it moved. Evan stated that the creature was red in colour and like an orang utan. **

ZC: A relative of the Skunk Ape of Florida?

* The Minch (Scottish Gaelic An Cuan Sgìth/Cuan na Hearadh), also called The North Minch, is a strait in north-west Scotland, separating the north-west Highlands from Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. The Lower Minch (an Cuan Canach) is to the south and separates Skye from the lower Outer Hebrides: North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Barra etc. It opens into the Sea of the Hebrides. The combination of the Minch, the Sea of the Hebrides, and a stretch reaching Ireland consitutes the Inner Seas [of the West coast of Scotland] (IHO Spec. Pub. S-23 (3rd ed, 1953), Limits of Oceans and Seas, #18; also Draft 4th ed., 1986), also known as the Inner Scottish Sea. The Minch ranges from 20 to 45 miles (30 to 70 km) wide and is approximately 70 miles (110 km) long. The Lower Minch is about 15 miles (25 km) wide.

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BLUTSCHINK – neither Werewolf nor vampire, this water demon does have the characteristics of both. In the darkness, by the lake where it haunts, the Blutschink prowls as a bear-like creature with blood-soaked feet, while waiting for its victims. **

ZC: This monster is common across European folklore. BMONA – the Abanaki Indians believed in this great bird which was said to signify the coming of great winds. ***

ZC: Very likely a real bird similar to the Thunderbirds of lore. BOCA DEL TIGRE BEAST – as observed by Remo dell’ Armellina on the night of 27th May 1958 whilst driving through this Argentinean town in his truck. En-route to Santa Fe, he saw a three-metre tall creature blocking the road. With a metal bar, Remo emerged from his lorry, and approached the figure, but the stench and blinding phosphorescent light was all too much to bear. Remo collapsed, and when he awoke, there was no sign of the fetid thing. All Remo could remember was that the monster had a scaly body with long arms and seemed to be wearing a flight overall. ****

ZC: This is classic zooform in the sense that it is brief and fairly unique, yet it clearly involves a creature displaying animal characteristics. The incredible stench often pertains to Bigfoot encounters, although the mention of blinding lights or flashing beams often places such a creature into UFO territory. BOCHDAN –a black spectral hound said to roam parts of Scotland. See also Baucan. ****

ZC: Common spectre. BOCKMAN – this figure comes from the dark corners of German folklore, and is something akin to Goatman and similar Satyr-like monsters. It is a bogeyman character that carries off children and so youngsters are warned not to enter the woods. **

ZC: A prime example of local dread. BOITATA’ – this legend from Brazil takes on two forms; one a bull-like, fire-spitting creature, the other a massive serpent of fire. *

ZC: One of those unlikely monsters born from a mythical void.

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BOKY HOUND – Orcadian lore speaks of this great spectral dog of Noltland Castle, Westray, the Orkneys, and it is said to haunt a black pit under the castle’s main staircase. The scream of the hound is always heard to forewarn of a coming death within the Balfour family who resided there. See also the Varden. ****

ZC: Another obscure hound, proving that they are indeed everywhere. BOLAM BEAST – the name which appeared in many Northumberland newspapers during 2003 when visitors to Bolam Lake reported several sightings of a tall, dark figure resembling a Bigfoot that left huge tracks in the soil and tee-pee like twig formations in the woods. However, it is unlikely that any species of ape, known or unknown, exists in the woods of Northumberland. Fact. So what were the people seeing? Investigator Jonathan Downes saw the creature one night whilst parked in the car park area with a group of felBolam Beast low researchers. Someone heard a noise in the trees ahead, and when the car headlights were switched on to illuminate the area, Jon saw a tall, muscular figure running through the trees. Such an apparition is a prime example of how cryptozoologists and general enthusiasts get carried away with their beliefs. Jon was ridiculed for his statement, stating that the Bolam ‘beast’ was ethereal, because so many of these so-called researchers desperately wanted to believe that what they were seeking was a flesh and blood Manimal. However, as already mentioned, no ape - known or unknown - would inhabit this particular area, or in fact, any woodland in England. Bigfoot and the Yeti may well be `real` creatures, but such unknown primates do not exist in England, and the Bolam creature remains a prime example of zooform phenomena. Even if no-one else agrees. In 2003, Jon Downes sent out the following press release in reference to the Bolam strangeness:

“EXPEDITION A GREAT SUCCESS, SAY MONSTER HUNTERS” “The four-man investigation team from the Exeter-based Centre For Fortean Zoology have returned to base following a week-long expedition to rural Northumberland to investigate reports of a Yeti-like creature seen roaming the woods around

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Bolam Lake. ‘The expedition was a success far beyond our wildest dreams’, said expedition leader Jonathan Downes (43). ‘Not only did we conduct a thorough photographic and electromagnetic survey of the area, but we interviewed all but one of the witnesses. However, the most exciting thing to have happened during our sojourn at the lake was that five people – at the same time – saw the beast. I was one of those people.’ Since the news broke on Monday, various reports, both in newspapers and on the internet have published wildly inaccurate accounts of what happened. ‘What I actually saw was a dark, man shaped object approximately seven-and-a-half feet tall. It had a barrel chest and thick muscular arms and legs.’ , says Jonathan. ‘I had a very clear sighting, but despite reports in the press, I saw no glowing eyes and was not able to tell whether or not it was covered in hair.’ When asked whether the creature seen could have been an unknown species of giant ape similar to the Yeti of the Himalayas, expedition zoologist Richard Freeman said: ‘It is completely impossible for an unknown species of higher primate to live undetected in these woods. It seems certain to me that what ever it is that these witnesses have seen – is not a flesh and blood creature.’ ‘Although our initial investigations have been very interesting,’ says Jonathan Downes, ‘it is far too early to make an attempt at a definitive conclusion!’ The giant ape is a legend found in many countries, most famously the Yeti of Asia but few realise that our tiny, overcrowded island is home to such a tradition. In the dark ages such figures were referred to as trolls (via Norse influence) or Woodwoses (from Anglo-Saxon). They are found in folktales right across Europe. The Wildman was a familiar figure in the mummer plays of medieval times, but could these stories have some substance behind them ? The CFZ team intend to follow up their investigations in Northumberland with expeditions to Sussex and to Sherwood Forest to investigate other recent sightings of similar phenomena.” ****

ZC: Genuine zooform manifestation that, like so many other creatures, appears for no reason but gets stronger in form as more hysteria is created around it. On this occasion Bigfoot-like wildmen have to be ruled out. Evidence, or indeed lack of it, points more to a manifestation.

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BOLLA – an Albanian snake-like beast said to sleep all year! After twelve years it mutates into another form. *

ZC: A legend lacking in logic, 100% myth. BONELESS – a local spook-like figure from the dark, rural lanes of Oxfordshire, UK. Boneless lives up to its name by being a white, misty blob-like entity with no apparent motive except to drift aimlessly through the corridors of the countryside. *

ZC: A short-lived ghost tale. BONHAM SKY SERPENT – in June 1873, the ‘Enterprise’ of Texas reported an enormous serpent floating above the farm of a local resident. The strange aerial phenomenon was as long as a telegraph pole, and had yellow stripes along it. The ‘creature’ often coiled itself up in mid-air, and occasionally lunged forward as a snake would do in order to strike. ****

ZC: Some sky serpents and dragon-like floaters could be put down to misinterpreted natural phenomena, but we could well be dealing with unknown organisms or bizarre tulpas. BONNACON – a buffalo-like ‘monster’ said to discharge lethal chemicals from its body in order to defend itself. ***

ZC: It is possible that the Bonnacon is a flesh and blood creature, but little else is known about the legend to propel it into reality or even into the world of folklore. BOO BAGGER – a bear-like humanoid said to haunt north-western USA and western Canada. ****

ZC: This beast could fit somewhere into the murky unknown world of Bigfoot and Werewolves. BOOBOOSHAW – a legend pertaining to a strange, tall, dark skeletal figure said to roam areas of Port Washington in the 1960s and ‘70s. ****

ZC: Campfire stuff at times, the Boobooshaw flits in-between Sasquatch lore and ghost tale. This creature seemed to create quite a stir during its haunt and that’s what saves it from relegation into urban legend.

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BOOBRIE – a fabulous water bird said to haunt the rivers of the Scottish Highlands. ***

ZC: The Boobrie is a mythical bird, but may well have origins in a real, winged creature. BOOGER DOGS – these spotted, spectral hounds are said to roam the Ozarks of Missouri. They are bigger than a cow, and leave huge tracks in the mud and snow. Sceptics argue that such creatures are tales of folklore, but the Ozarks are rich in yarns of such beasts. ****

ZC: Very much in the land of Hellhound, Black Dog and spectral hound territory. BOO HAINTS – nasty entities mentioned in Carolina (USA) lore, said to cause harm, mischief, and trouble. It is said that to keep these night monsters away one must paint their door ‘robin’s egg blue’! *

ZC: Ghost tale. BORREGO PHANTOM – a spectre said to inhabit the desert lands of New Mexico, between the aptly named Superstition Mountains and Seventeen Palms. One dark night, so they say, a few years ago, a prospector by the name of Charley Arizona, was settling down for the night on remote land four miles south-east of Borrego. During the early hours, he was suddenly awoken by a disturbance in the surrounding darkness. He went to investigate, thinking someone had intruded upon his campsite. However, in the distance he could make out the faint glow of something, possibly a torch, and he thought that maybe someone had been lost in the mountains, and found his camp. As the light approached Charley could see a figure, and as it got closer the sight traumatised him. What he saw was a tall, thin skeletal figure stumbling across the track, and from its ribcage a light shone, like that of a lantern, casting a dim glow in the still night. The skeleton must have been over eight-feet in height, and it passed right on by, disappearing behind some rocks, as Charley remained transfixed by its eerie presence. A couple of years later, two more prospectors in the area caught a glimpse of the mysterious and eerie figure whilst they were camping. One of the men claimed that he’d first seen the dim light in the blackness, and had then been approached by a spindly skeleton, but the other witness dismissed the story, claiming that all he’d seen was the glow of their fire reflecting on the rocks. However, a year after the incident, a man travelling through the mountains also encountered the Borrego apparition, and he described the same wandering figure stumbling across the desert with a glow in its bony structure. He reported the encounter at Vallecito Station, where rumours spread like wildfire, and the legend was born. Intrepid enthusiasts would take to Superstition Mountains in the hope

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of catching a glimpse of the eerie glow which was said to signify the arrival of the spook in the locality. One search party believed they encountered the ghastly shape one evening when they set up a nightly vigil in the vicinity. One of the men in the small group of hunters fired a shot at the thing, but to no avail as it passed on by, awkwardly stumbling and tripping across the desert like a drunken ghost. A few of the other men attempted to follow the figure, but eventually lost it in a valley. Many believe the skeletal figure is the ghost of a prospector who worked at the local mine, whilst others believe that only those connected with the mine are susceptible to seeing the weird figure, and they believe that he guards the entrance to a mythical goldmine, leading anyone astray who comes near the treasure, which he himself is seeking. ****

ZC: A good ghost tale, probably nothing more, but it is one of some potency. Although the creature hardly took on animal form, it is one of those classic cases that sit nicely alongside the Spring Heeled Jacks of this world. BOULEY BAY BEAST – an eerie black, spectral dog with eyes like saucers said to haunt the Jersey coast. Some say the creature is a spook story created by smugglers to prevent any intrusion upon their mischievous deeds. ****

ZC: The usual Black Dog formula here, but the rating loses a star simply because this story may well have been a hoax which, in time, may relegate this hound to one star! BÖXENWOLF – in German lore the name applies to a Werewolf. **

ZC: Depending on what you believe about Werewolves, this beast may well be nothing more than a spook story, or indeed something very ethereal lurking in the woods. BOZHO – early Potawatomi (a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region) tribesmen used this word to describe trickster spirits. **

ZC: Such a word could loosely relate to any type of booger or beast! BRAHMAPARUSH – a creature of Indian lore said to devour its victims via a hole punctured in their skull. ****

ZC: A probable supernatural entity with a killing method that seems popular among many vampiric creatures worldwide, especially in Asia and South America. BRAXTON BEAST – another creature spotted in weird West Virginia, this time around 1952, in Charleston, and described as having a fiery red face, a green body and a head

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shaped like the ‘ace of spades!’ **

ZC: An unlikely monster tale that has somehow urged several investigators to further their research despite its vagueness. BRAY ROAD BEAST – a ferocious, marauding beast which roamed Wisconsin’s woodlands during the late 20th Century, and terrorised motorists, who often described the creature as a wolf-like ‘monster’ that often ran on two legs and stood over six-feet in height. The beast was often sighted feasting on road kills, but sceptics argued that such a creature was a mere coyote, but try telling that to the motorists who had close encounters with the frothing beast. Such a beast may well have been connected to the Skinwalker legends. Wisconsin is one of the weirdest areas in the US, second only to New Mexico for its UFO activity, as well as having a high rate of occultism. It also has its own Werewolf. The basis for the legend seems to originate from around 1991, although there are several reports beforehand of a snarling ‘critter’ haunting the heavily wooded roadways. A creature known as the Elkhorn Werewolf has been stalking the roadsides and shaking up motorists ‘like it’s Hallowe’en every day’. People from the weird vicinity were not talking about Bigfoot, but a long-snouted, upright-walking wolfen monster that attacked cars under the full moon, and feasted on road kills. Originally such appearances were connected to the sightings of strange lights in the sky and the American Indian lore of the Skinwalkers. Originally the reports of the monster were met with laughter. The local press and radio stations were quick to leap on these stories of frightened motorists, believing that such tall tales would soon fade away….but they didn’t. The ‘Beast of Bray Road’ rapidly became serious news. One of the first clear reports of the creature involved a female motorist who, whilst driving along Bray Road one night, saw a peculiar creature by the side of the road near the trees. As she approached she could make out the form of a grey humanoid figure facing away from her, almost kneeling on the grassy verge. She slowed the car and drew level with it, at once noticing its long ears, its huge claws, and the road kill in its gory hands that it was slurping down. The creature suddenly gazed at her, its eyes aglow in the headlights. It was the size of a man, covered in brownish-grey fur and had large fangs. Its face had a long snout, its slender jaw line plunging into the carrion meal. In the autumn of 1991, also on Bray Road, a female witness thought she had tyre problems. At first she thought she’d run over something on the foggy lane, and so - upon

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reaching Sitler Road - she stopped the vehicle, and got out to take a look. She looked along the lane, her eyes seeking out whatever she thought she’d run over, and as the fog enshrouded her she saw it – a huge, muscular and hairy beast running towards her. It approached at quite a speed, and she scrambled to the car, and clambered inside just in time, because the beast was tugging at the door. Her foot hit the accelerator pedal, and she sped away from the menace, leaving the frothing monster as a shadow in the misty night. These reports became frequent, all around the same area, all involving terrified witnesses left shaken by a creature that they all described the same. A Werewolf. Some said it was able to run on all fours; others said it growled. It was a mean apparition that attracted several youths to the area; teens who began to build the beast legend up. Every rustle in the trees became the creature, every snapped twig in the dark woods turned into the eerie footfalls of the new midnight marauder. Sightings emerged from witnesses who said they’d seen this beast in the ‘60s and ‘70s, a, “…big creature in the car headlights”, and, “…an eight-feet tall, hairy monster”. In 1936, a night-watchman at an institution in the Jefferson County area saw a tall, hairy creature kneeling on a mound of earth clawing at the soil. As the witness approached the beast ran off, but the man returned to the area on the following night and saw the scratch marks in the ground and discovered the ground was an Indian burial mound. The next night, the man saw the beast again, but this time it stood in a confrontational manner, and gave off a strong odour. Could such a monster have connections with the Skinwalker legends spoken of in Navajo lore? Author Loren Coleman believes that a primitive wolf-like creature exists in the wilds of the Upper Midwestern United States, a beast only known to the Indians and early Western pioneers. It is known as the ‘shunk warak’, or ‘shunka warak’in’. The name means, “…carrying-off dogs”. The stories of such a beast have their origins from the 1880s, when it was sighted in the lower part of Montana with other sightings taking place in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. The creature was described as dark in colour, wolf-like, and ferocious. A mounted specimen was once on show at a museum near Henry Lake in Idaho, but its whereabouts are now unknown. Many witnesses who have seen the beast at first thought it was an escaped hyena, or a mutant coyote, but either way, such a beast does not walk on its hind legs or chase cars, so it appears as though the Bray Road ‘critter’ is certainly very different - and nastier than the shunka warak’in, but both remain intriguing, unknown creatures. See also Elkhorn Werewolf and Manwolf.

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****

ZC: One of zooform phenomena’s all-time greats, the Bray Road ‘critter’ is horror film material, and a class above so many other beasts because it has been around for so long. Such a Manimal may well slip into that Skinwalker lore, but whatever it was, it remains a powerful enigma and something that cannot be explained away as flesh and blood creature, hoax or spectre. BRECON BEACON BEAST – another name for the Gray King, an abominable, bear-like manifestation said to haunt Snowdonia in Wales. See also Gray King and Brenin Llwyd. ****

ZC: Manimal apparition of the mountains. BRENIN LLWYD – this creature is also known as ‘the Lord of the Mist’ and is said to haunt parts of Snowdonia in Wales. It is pretty much a non-existent spectre, with no real face or form, but a common dread amongst travellers, although some do believe that it is a bear-like creature. Reports, however, are few and far between. **

ZC: This is a very similar fear to the Wendigo and Grey Man-dread reported in Scotland. BRENTFORD GRIFFIN – Brentford in England is not recognised as any kind of window area to strange phenomena, but during the middle of the 1980s, a creature known as the Brentford Griffin became a popular legend, whether the tale was true or not. This particular West London district was caught up in a peculiar flap during 1984 when Kevin Chippendale spotted a weird looking creature on the roof of the aptly named Green Dragon apartment building on Braemer Road. It appeared as a dog-like animal with large wings, and had a long face, or beak-like snout and claws on its feet. During the February of the following year he claimed to see the creature again, in the same street, and a chill was sent down his spine when he recognised the creature on the sign of the Griffin Pub. Now, Brentford is very much ‘Griffin’ country, in the sense that it has a football team who play at Griffin Park, various pubs, buildings etc., with the ‘Griffin’ symbol and the area’s coat of arms boasts a Griffin. Indeed, this all seems quite a bizarre affair, but – allegedly - others had seen the creature too. A friend of Mr. Chippendale saw a ‘giant, black bird’ near the local Arts Centre, and a small pamphlet was, in turn, written about the winged creature, but there were also several claims that a hoax had caused the panic. And let’s face it, ‘Griffins’ do not exist anyway. Do they?

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Naturally, the ‘creature’ attracted a lot of attention from the press, who flocked to the scene of the alleged eye-witness reports, and whilst the legend faded into obscurity pretty quickly, we can draw some comparisons between this particular phantom and the Jersey Devil, which, as a winged wonder, has become a state symbol in the same way the ‘Griffin’ has for Brentford, although the suburbs of West London are hardly comparable to the woodlands of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Even so, had the symbol of the county literally come to life, and had the historical symbol proved itself to be more than just a mere coat of arms, breathing itself into the psyche of the townsfolk? Well, many of these creatures do. And legend has it that many years ago, King Charles II gave his mistress a real ‘Griffin’ as a gift, but it escaped, and swam the Thames, before allegedly living undisturbed for years. Another legend claims that a Joseph Banks*, a scientist who journeyed with Captain Cook, brought back a live ‘Griffin’ from an exotic island, which - in turn - escaped and met up with the runaway ‘royal’ ‘Griffin’ previously mentioned. The legend continues that these two escapees produced young which then disappeared into the leafier confines of London! All quite ridiculous in reality, but then again, so are tales of flying men, bat-women, and child-snatching demons, and this book is fullof those! **

ZC: A confused monster that probably never happened, despite the hysteria at the time. It is likely that the Brentford Griffin was a hoax. BRIGDI – a monster said to roam the cold waters of the Shetlands. This water beast has great fins, and is the bogeyman of the murky depths, and is a presence greatly feared by local fishermen. Legend has it that some of these men who braved the waters, often carried axes to hack at the leviathan, which was known to cause great waves and drive the men ashore. ***

ZC: A flesh and blood mystery creature may well be behind this legend. BROLLACHAN – this beast has no real identity; it is a shadowy bogeyman that lurks in the Western Highlands of Scotland, and it can take on the form of whatever you fear the most. **

ZC: This is very much typical of your local legend, a pure manifestation with no real face that it moulded by society.

* Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, PRS (February 13, 1743 – June 19, 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist and science patron. He took part in Cook's first great voyage (1768–1771), and around 80 species bear Banks' name. He is credited with the introduction to the West of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa, and the genus named after him, Banksia.

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BROWN FROG – a child-sized entity seen in Carlisle in 1972. **

ZC: Considering someone had sighted a truly monstrous frog, you’d have thought that more details would’ve been available. BROWN MAN OF THE MOORS – the ‘History of Durham’ written by Robert Surtee is the earliest account of this strange figure said often to have been encountered on misty nights on Elsdon Moor. This humanoid was said to resemble a dwarf, adorned in bracken-like dress and having glowing eyes. Such a quagmire spook was often perceived as a bogeyman figure, which often verbally scolded travellers who trespassed on certain areas of boggy land. Those who allegedly ignored his warnings were said to have met their death soon after. **

ZC: A classic campfire tale which brings to mind several of the trickster spirits said to haunt dark, foreboding lands. BROXA – a phantom bird of Jewish lore said to feast on the milk of cows and goats at night. ***

ZC: There doesn’t seem to be anything mysterious about such a bird, which is why I believe the Broxa could well be a flesh and blood animal. Some claim the monster was a basking shark. BRUSCAS/BRUXSA – female vampire monster from Portugal, which is said to sap the blood of its own children. **

ZC: One of those campfire legends to scare the children. BRUSH MONKEY – this word pertains to mystery monkey-like creatures spotted across the USA. These creatures appear to be more than just flesh and blood, out of place animals, and they have evaded their pursuers thus far. ***

ZC: The Devil Monkeys of the world fit into this category, which describes thick-furred, yet very unknown, primates said to inhabit areas of Michigan. BRYN-YR-ELLYON – the ‘hill of goblins’ barrow at Mold, in Clwyd, Wales, is said to be haunted by an ominous, gold-coloured presence. The legend was backed up when a skeleton, adorned in a gold-coloured cape, was dug up during the middle of the 19th Century. Spooky! **

ZC: A ghost story that seems to speak of some kind of guardian spirit.

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BUBUS – Hungarian lore speaks of the ‘being that lives in the caves’. Legend is vague, but could relate to any kind of hairy, humanoid figure. **

ZC: This is all too obscure to deserve any kind of rating at all, but it may suggest a Bigfoot-like creature. BUCCA BOO – the bogeyman term for the Bucca, a Cornish spirit that is treated with great respect locally. **

ZC: Although a much feared and known spook, this spectre is rather nondescript. BUGBEAR – an imaginary terror used to scare the children and to prevent them from misbehaving, the Bugbear can be moulded into any kind of nightmarish closet monster and stems from Europe. **

ZC: Although this particular non-entity, like the Bogeyman, is faceless, it’s what it can actually transform into that becomes so horrifying. BUIN MONSTER – another Chilean ‘critter’ with the muzzle of a wolf, a humped back, and red eyes, said to stand over a metre-and-a-half tall, and bear some resemblance to the Chupacabras. On Saturday 7th February 2004, source ‘La Cuarta’ (Santiago) reported:

“PROSECUTOR, SPOUSE SEE MONSTER!” - A creature similar to the one in Buin was seen less than 20 metres away by prosecutor and spouse in Romeral. Hector Cossio wrote, “…a state prosecutor and his wife have returned to Santiago after having spent a week in La Serena, where they ran into a hairy monster that made their blood run cold as they took an alternate route to the main highway. They say it wasn’t a creature made by the Lord. The beast was nearly identical to the one seen in early January by driver Juan Berrios in Buin. Roberto Ayar Rojas, Maribel Arnaiz Cazaux and their young daughter Daphane left La Serena around midnight on Wednesday toward Highway 5 North. ‘We wanted to take our time and take scenic routes through inland towns, partly to avoid the recurrent tolls and traffic and partly discover non-tourist destinations, even if it was already night time.” At 6:00 am, as they took an alternate route, on a road flanked by vegetation, they saw the ‘thing’. “It wasn’t a dog, rabbit or any other known animal. It was halfway in the middle of the road, standing on two feet. It was completely covered in hair and had red

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eyes”, said Roberto a day after the incident. They described the beast as similar to a kangaroo in body form and having two small hands and deep-set eyes. The couple were struck by its gaze and the two long fangs protruding from its jaw. It was also claimed that around the same time, hairs - possibly from a similar creature were being examined by the GEO Group, but witness Roberto Ayar Rojas had only one word to describe the creature, “…supernatural.” The hairs examined were said to be over ten centimetres long, black on the ends, and white in the centre. They were taken from the vehicle of Juan Berrios, who allegedly ran into the beast on 5th January 2004, whilst driving in the same eerie alley that the family had seen the creature. Berrios claimed that the creature brushed his microbus as it leapt across the road, leaving strands of hair on the windshield. He described the animal as over a metre-and-a-half in height, but with black eyes. He watched the thing for more than twenty seconds, noticing how its muzzle was longer than that of a wolf, and it also had a hump on its back. See also Viluco Monster. ***

ZC: When such stories do the rounds, the Goatsucker is always mentioned, despite the fact that these creatures may well have been a flesh and blood animal wrongly identified. Descriptions seem vague for this creature and there is nothing to suggest it is a paranormal ‘critter’. BULBOUS HEADED MONSTER – UFO investigator John Stuart, along with Doreen Wilkinson, were at Mr Stuart’s house in Hamilton, New Zealand on a cold November night in 1954, when they came face to face with a freakish being. They saw an eight-feet tall humanoid outside the house, which gave off an odour as if something was burning. The body of the thing was long and spindly, but its legs were abnormally short. Its skin was green, and its features minimal. The creature vanished on the spot after it had sent “sexual thoughts” to Doreen! **

ZC: Just what are these aliens up to? BUNDLE BEAST – a ghostly, possibly vampire-like, spectre seen at Jicotea Las Villas, in Cuba in 1915, this alarming thing appeared to two men patrolling a sugarcane field on horseback. As they rode down a track, the horses wouldn’t venture any further, and snorted at a whitish shape on the ground up ahead. The ‘bundle’ then began to approach the horses and the men, who in turn fired at the apparition. However, every bullet that struck the thing seemed to mysteriously inflate it, until it was the size of the horses. The men fled the area.

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****

ZC: This almost sounds like some absurd ghost story, and may well have been, but it fits in nicely with the zooform crowd. BUNNYMAN – like the more popular Goatman legend of Maryland, the Bunnyman lore is one of hazed horror, and is perfect campfire fodder for frightened teens frequenting the railroad overpass of Fairfax County, Virginia. Every year many drunken youths congregate at ‘Bunnyman Bridge’, visualising their own paranormal experiences, which are quite often misinterpretations of natural phenomena, i.e. fog, atmospherics, and show no real understanding of the legend. Over the years, the tales have become distorted and anecdotal, often rendering any factual evidence as circumstantial, and debatable, but behind the myth and the scare stories Bunnyman is - to some extent - real, although many students expect to loiter in the fog, and be drenched in the blood from dangling corpses, or chased by a creature waving an axe, with their terror reflected in the shining blade. The rumours which concern Bunnyman’s origins are unfortunately far more eerie than the truth, although the facts are bizarre enough! For many college youngsters and amateur investigators who dwell at the bridge, Bunnyman is, or was, one of the following: a) A satanic recluse who performed sacrifices, and was admitted to a psychiatric ward, only to escape into the Fairfax woods. From there the lunatic would remain hidden, feeding off the local rabbit population and using their skins to clothe his body. He would become known as Bunnyman to the local children, whose parents became concerned, as they frequently heard tales of the sinister ‘giant rabbit’ that gave their offspring candy! Bunnyman’s revenge on the community came when the children he entertained were found hanging from the trees in the nearby woodland, where they were found pale and bloodless, the crimson fluid used for another of the madman’s sacrificial rituals! It was said that after being pursued by the police, Bunnyman was hit by a train, but his body was never found. b) Bunnyman was born from grisly events which involved the eldest son of a family who dressed up as a rabbit one Easter, and slaughtered his kin before hanging himself from the bridge. It is said that the legend of Bunnyman originates from the early 1900s, although many of the tales stem from the last thirty years, but it is alleged that almost thirty deaths have been reported from the area, many involving victims who have been found hanged at the site! c) A local hermit killed a couple of children in the area for trespassing, and left their corpses hanging from the bridge, and other tales emerged involving an escaped inmate who bumped off youngsters whilst dressed as a rabbit!

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d) Bunnyman was allegedly born after a few murders in the area that had no real ‘bunny’ connections, but which gradually evolved into local spook stories. e) Bunnyman was actually an (ether)real, unidentified monster of the backwoods - similar to Mothman - who plagued the area, only to fade into obscurity after its cycle expired. Strangely enough, whilst many of these options echo other legends such as Goatman, there appears to be some actual recorded evidence of who Bunnyman, or at least the legend of Bunnyman, was. From the ‘Washington Post’, around the Autumn of 1970, Bunnyman was born. The headline read

“MAN IN BUNNY SUIT SOUGHT IN FAIRFAX” “ Fairfax County police said yesterday (22nd Oct.) they are looking for a man who likes to wear ‘white bunny rabbit costume’ and throw hatchets through car windows. Honest! Air Force Academy Cadet Robert Bennett told police that shortly after midnight last Sunday he and his fiancée were sitting in a car in the 5400 block of Guinea Road when a man “dressed in a white suit with long bunny ears” ran from the nearby bushes and shouted: “You’re on private property and I have your tag number”. The ‘rabbit’ threw a wooden-handled hatchet through the right front car window, the first-year cadet told police. As soon as he threw the hatchet the rabbit skipped off into the night, police said. Bennett and his fiancée were not injured. Police say they have the hatchet but no other clues in the case. They say Bennett was visiting an uncle who lives across the street from the spot where the car was parked. The cadet was in the area to attend last weekend’s Air Force – Navy football game.” A fortnight after the unusual event another report appeared in the Post, this time claiming:

“THE RABBIT REAPPEARS”: “A man wearing a furry rabbit suit with two long ears appeared – again – on Guinea Road in Fairfax County Thursday night, police reported, this time wielding an axe and chopping away at a roof support on a new house. Less than two weeks ago a man described as wearing a rabbit suit accused two persons in a parked car of trespassing and heaved a hatchet through a closed window of the

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car at 5400 Guinea Road. They were not hurt. Thursday night’s rabbit, wearing a suit described as grey, black and white, was spotted a block away at 5307 Guinea Road. Paul Phillips, a private security guard for a construction company said he saw the ‘rabbit’ standing on the front porch of a new, but unoccupied house. “I started talking to him,” Phillips said, “…and that’s when he started chopping.” “All you people trespass around here,” Phillips said the ‘rabbit’ told him as he whacked eight gashes in the pole. “If you don’t get out of here I’m going to bust you on the head”. Phillips said he walked back to his car to get to his handgun but the ‘rabbit’, carrying the long-handled axe, ran off into the woods. The security guard said the ‘rabbit’ was around five-feet eight, 160-pounds and in his early twenties.” Bunnyman may well have been born from this obscure yet weird incident, which has, down the years, escalated into some nightmarish urban legend, and like so many other bogeyman figures, the fear remains. **

ZC: Complete campfire creation, it’s difficult to determine as to where the Bunnyman legend really originated, but the spooky legend suggests nothing more than shadowy figure for teens to explore on foggy Hallowe’en nights. BUNYIP – an almost infinite variety of legends fit into the Bunyip lore, from tales of water monsters to strange, nondescript ‘critters’ roaming the Australian bush. Those that have seen the creatures in swamps such as Lake Modewarre, near Melbourne, spoke of feathery water beasts, creatures which acted as local bogeymen to deter children from water-holes, whilst elsewhere these ‘critters’ were perceived as dreadful, punishers of people said to lurk in Kulin country. From creatures said to resemble aquatic emus, to evil spirits said to lurk in billabongs, the lore of the Bunyip remains as potent as ever, and it has become a creature of immortal status. Whilst some sceptics argue that such encounters may simply involve stray seals, Aboriginal stories about the creature may reflect oral traditions of the Diprotodon, a rhino-sized herbivore believed to be the largest marsupial ever to have existed, which died out some twenty-thousand years ago. Those who believe that a flesh and blood creature is behind the legend look towards a bull-sized animal of darkish colour, said to have hoofed feet, a flat, wide tail, sharp teeth and walrus-like tusks. Locals often speak in fear of its deep

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roar, but those who see and hear the monster feel that ill luck will be bestowed upon them. Locals say that the Bunyip represents the natural world’s retaliatory nature, and that it is no different to the Kelpie and such beasts. The main lore of the creature seems confined to New South Wales, parts of South Australia and Victoria, where it has been known as ‘moolgewanke’, ‘kajanprati’ and ‘dongus’. During the early 1800s, several published reports of the creature spoke of a black, seallike creature that caused panic and fear amongst the blacks. Sceptics argue that natives could not identify natural animals, but the Aboriginal folk also spoke of winged humanoids rising from the murky water-holes and taking to the night. Several old sketches of the Bunyip dating back to the 1800s, appear to show emu-like, or bird-like creatures, whereas reports of seemingly flesh and blood creatures from the first settlers around Lake Bathurst, Sydney, mention sheep-dog sized animals making sounds which resemble the noise made by a porpoise. These ‘marsh monsters’, as they were referred to, may well have been very real, unidentified species of creature that today are long extinct. However, large, mysterious beasts in some relatively shallow lakes seem to suggest frightful spirits akin to several of the water entities mentioned elsewhere in this book. Whilst the local fisherman throughout Australia’s outback may have glimpsed hairy, aquatic creatures they took to be real animals, to the natives such monsters represent dread, and occasions of sickness, disease and other such ill fortunes. ***

ZC: The Bunyip legend is strong and the lore of the creature of the water hole has remained for several years. It is likely that the Bunyip is indeed some kind of unknown aquatic animal. BURATSCHE-AH-ILGS – a bit of a mouthful to say the name of this monster from Switzerland, and even harder it is to actually see, for this beast is nothing more than a misty, blobby mess of limbs, eyes, and blubbery tissue. Some say this fetid creep of a creation lives in the lake of Luschersee, which, not surprisingly, is one of the gateways to Hell, so only a form as shapeless and ugly could dwell in such a domain. It is no wonder that fishermen avoid the area like the plague and not flocks dare graze the eerie slopes surrounding the lair of the monster. **

ZC: A local legend, which actually boasts a degree of potency considering it’s nothing more than folklore. Or is it ? BURCULACAS – this is a Werewolf-cum-vampire from Greece. **

ZC: These types of legends seem rife across Europe but rarely are they backed up by actual sightings of such man-beasts.

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BURLAP MAN – a dog-faced humanoid seen by Angie Beaudoin on Highway 67 in Waukesha County (USA) in 1993. The man-beast was coming out of the woods and heading towards her. She reported it as being covered in heavy fur, muscular in form, and standing around six-feet. ****

ZC: See also the Bray Road Beast. BURNING EYES OF BICKNELL – red, piercing, eyes appear to be the common theme throughout this book, and such eerie glows were encountered by a couple walking through woods in Indiana. Although undated, but possibly around the 1980s, the report mentions two crimson orbs belonging to a dark figure, which came from a thicket, and approached the terrified couple. ****

ZC: Reports of this nature may seem too vague for inclusion, but red eyes are very much the classic characteristic of many a zooform bogeyman. BURNING MAN, THE – sighted around A.D. 1125 in Germany, this was a winged, fiery ‘apparition’ seen on three consecutive nights in the district of Frenstein. *

ZC: A non-entity that has never been backed up. BURNT SWAMP BEAST – this boggy creek on the Delaware-Maryland border is inhabited by a monster of ape-like form, which feasts on local dogs, leaving their bodies halfeaten and strewn around the swamp. ****

ZC: Several strange creatures have been sighted around these woods, from hairy hominids, to a satyr-like form and also a scaled humanoid. Therefore, another freak to add to the already brimming cauldron of curiosities, is nothing new! BURU – the Buru may well be one of the last living dinosaurs; a reptilian creature said to have walked the forests of the Himalayas as recently as the 1940’s, when it was spoken of by the Apu Tani people and investigated by explorer Professor Christopher van FunerHaimendorf. The beast in question is said to reach up to twenty-feet in length, and has a triangular head with flat teeth, except for the four long fangs on its upper jaw. The creature has a set of plates along its flanks and has short legs. Only the natives have seen the animal, hence the reason it has become clouded by folklore. ***

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ZC: The vast mountain ranges and forests of the world could still hide many a flesh and blood wonder, but before such things are discovered, they often remain myth as explorations often fail to uncover such rumours. Cryptozoologists Richard Freeman and Jonathan Downes have suggested that the buru may have been a giant species of lungfish. BUSHMAN – Aboriginal legend speaks of a bipedal hair-ball known as Bushman, an enigma said to resemble the Wendigo, which roams heavily wooded areas of Northwest Canada. This has possible Sasquatch connections, although locals believe the entity is supernatural. ***

ZC: Tales from Australia and the US often speak of giant wildmen in the Bush and forests respectively, so it’s possible that the dreaded Bushman is another of these bipedal creatures. BUTATSCH-CUN-ILGS – a Swiss legend pertaining to a creature described as a cow’s stomach with eyes which spit fire. *

ZC: Utterly peculiar monstrosity that just doesn’t exist. BWBACH LLYWD – the ‘brown hobgoblin’ – an entity said to prowl Snowdon in Wales. **

ZC: The United Kingdom is rife with tales of sprites, fairies, elves and the like. These are nature’s figures, often projected to mystical status yet powerful in lore.

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ZC: The substance of fairytales. CABBAGE HEAD MAN – a rather unflattering name given to a Bigfoot-type creature said to roam parts of Maryland in the US, although such a nickname could apply to any woodland prowler said to spook youths during lonely nights at Lover’s Lane. **

ZC: Goatman, Sasquatch et al, all fit into the equation. CABIN HILL CRITTER – on 8th May 1977, two men walking in the marshy area of Hainault Forest, in London, saw a bizarre, dark-blue coloured man ‘thing’ that stood over eight-feet tall, and was four-feet wide. The creature appeared to give off an eerie glow, and sloped off into the trees. There had also been reports of possible UFO activity, and other strange humanoids seen. **

ZC: It’s difficult to look into this sighting, unless the witnesses are tracked down once again, and can confirm their encounter. Such a beast doesn’t appear to have been sighted since, so may well have been a hoax or a product of their psyche. CABYLL USHTEY – this creature haunts bodies of water on the Isle of Man, and is similar to the Kelpie in that it lures people to their watery deaths. **

ZC: The legend of the Kelpie is vast and strong, but the lesser-known versions barely break into the zooform bracket. CACTUS CAT – another of those quirky beasts said to inhabit the forests of America. This felid is said to drink juice from cacti, in order to boost its splendid coat of thorny hair and spines. **

ZC: Little else seems to be known about this cat, suggesting it is a creation of someone’s imagination rather than a true animal native to the U.S.

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CADEJO – black and white phantom dogs representing evil and good, which are said to exist in Costa Rican folklore. ****

ZC: Black Dogs are common the world over, and the Cadejos are no different. These are often-sighted, powerful beasts. CAILLEACH BHEUR – this fanged entity from Scotland is a hag-like monster also known as the ‘blue hag’. **

ZC: Local boggart figure. CAIT SITH – a fairy cat from the Highlands of Scotland which is said to be the size of a large dog, jet-black in colour except for a white marking on its chest. See also Cu Sith. ***

ZC: This phantom felid may well be a flesh and blood melanistic leopard, although local legend connects such a beast to witches.

Cait Sith

CAJUN WEREWOLF – a swamp-dwelling monster said to have the characteristics of a fox or dog. It haunts areas of New Orleans in the US. ****

ZC: The above details may describe a smaller animal, something as yet undiscovered by science or something supernatural like a predatory man-beast. CALADRIUS – a great, white heron-like bird that refuses to look into the eyes of a sick man. ***

ZC: May be nothing more than a heron or an overly large, mystery bird. CALAMA VAMPIRE – a creature connected to the Goatsucker entity of Puerto Rico. This particular beast has been blamed for many attacks on livestock in Chile, and appears to resemble the vampire of South America. Some terrified villagers have related the monster panic to UFO sightings, with most reports describing a smallish figure with large eyes and wings, whilst some sightings mention a large, dark bird. The ‘critter’ is said to bound away from its leftovers, usually chickens, dogs and cats. ****

ZC: This South American panic may well concern one species of creature being identified incorrectly although there is every possibility that several ethereal scavengers inhabit each country.

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CALCHONA – this creature resides in the folklore of Chile, and appears as a large, woolly dog, white in colour, and only appears in the darkness to weary mountain travellers. ****

ZC: Another variation of the phantom hound. CALIFORNIA GOATSUCKER – in 1996, as the Chupacabras was causing chaos in Puerto Rico, an American man and his friend were forced off the road by a creature that bore eerie similarities to the Goatsucker. On the night of 18th February, Marcel (surname unknown) and his friend, were travelling on the 101 West Road, when they spotted a beast running alongside the vehicle. To avoid hitting the creature, which they couldn’t recognise, they drove into a ditch. Two other cars in the vicinity also stopped, probably curious about the commotion, and they must have seen what Marcel and his friend saw – strange bipedal figures heading toward an eerie glowing orb in the nearby field. The ‘critters’ they observed were grey in colour, and almost scaly on their backs. But the main detail were those ‘spikes’ – ‘spikes’ that ran down the spine of the monsters. The animals had bright red, tear-drop shaped eyes and resembled goats, but were bipedal. On the 24th May, a woman in Magalia, CA, swerved to avoid a weird creature as she was taking her son to work. Sheila Charles claimed that she saw a creature similar to a dog, about four-feet in length, with a thirty-inch neck and serpentine head. Its eyes were reptilian, and it bore no tail. ****

ZC: It’s fair to say that the Chupacabras has always been with us, so reports such as this, although not from the more well-known territory, are not exactly unusual. CALOPUS – a Persian monster said to resemble wolf, boar, feral cat, and reptile, as well as having ram-like horns. **

ZC: Creatures that seem to exist as mythological chimera creatures are not as absurd as one would believe. Some may simply be exaggerated creatures that do, indeed, roam the forests. In the case of the Calopus, however, the jury is still out. CAMAZOT – possible zooform creature of Mayan lore said to resemble a monster bat. Whilst giant bats of unknown species may inhabit some of the remote caves and caverns of the world, some legends speak of such flying horrors in the same breath as surviving pterodactyls, and other giant, leather-winged ‘swoopers’ from the sky. ***

ZC: It is likely that the Camazot is an undiscovered species of giant bat, although folklore suggests otherwise.

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CAMOODI – a greatly feared serpent of Guiana, South America, and possibly the same creature encountered by explorers in 1896, when they reached a path blocked by a fallen tree, only to realise shortly after that the ‘tree’ was in fact the body of a huge beast that slithered off. ***

ZC: Reports suggest this monster may have been a giant snake such as an anaconda. CAMP OKUBO BIRDMAN – Sinclair Taylor, a Private in the US Air Force, who was stationed in Japan, spotted and fired at this winged creature in 1952 whilst he was on guard. He described the humanoid as over seven-feet tall with a seven-foot wingspan. ****

ZC: Reports of weird winged entities are often fleeting, and not many of these oddbodies seem to linger, which seems to suggest that these monsters are etheric beings. Winged monsters are classic zooform fodder. CANADA’S VAMPIRE CATS – these bizarre, black creatures are said to resemble cats, but have wings, and drop down from the sky on to unsuspecting cattle, which roam parts of Ontario. ***

ZC: Legends of vampires from the sky are dominant across the world, especially in parts of South America, so ‘flying vampire cats’ may well be connected to such lore, or they may be some form of undiscovered species of animal with blood-drinking tendencies. CANNA CRITTERS – a handful of spooky critters haunt the hillsides of Scotland; one is an invisible dog that brushes past hill walkers, the other - slightly more eerie - is a goblin-like figure, which was sighted in 1991 by campers. After several strange feelings and the glow of a weird purple light, one couple noticed they were being watched by a being two-feet in height, that was sitting on a boulder. Reports of the odd glowing lights persist but the goblin remains unseen.

**** ZC: A number of mountain ranges across Britain are extremely isolated places, and many hikers and climbers have noted feeling uneasy, and - at times - not alone, but descriptions of what they see remain varied; from hulking figures to wispy phantoms, so the goblin of Canna seems to be just another of those complex characters. CANYON CRITTER – a tall, hairy monster from West Virginia’s Tucker County. **

ZC: A shadowy hominid said to spook motorists.

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CAPED CRUSADER OF CAPE COD – in the Fall of 1938, a Spring Heeled Jack-type figure prowled the streets of Massachusetts, blowing blue flame from his mouth, staring with sinister eyes and leaping great heights. The figure was shot at several times, but often mocked its pursuers, and was also blamed for attacks on women in built-up areas. See also the Maryland Marauder. **

ZC: Whilst not exactly zooform, these caped strangers are enigmatic, sinister and also elusive, flapping their way into our dimension to confuse. CAPED FIGURE – in Dourdan Woods, France in 1936 a lone witness was shocked by the appearance of a three-metre tall humanoid in dark garb, wearing a black cape. **

ZC: This only gets a ‘two star’ rating because it’s so vague, but these kinds of beings are very common in UFO and zooform lore. CAPELTHWAITE – the spectral hound, as big as a calf, localised to Westmorland. ****

ZC: Phantom dog. CAPILLA DEL MONTE IMP – another absurd humanoid from Argentina, this time in the Cordoba region, where fourteen-year old Juan Pablo saw a weird, short being wearing a red jumpsuit, a red cap and carrying a staff. The ‘imp’ was heading towards Aguas de los Palos. One very interesting thing to note also is that one sighting of such a being took place at ‘Camino de los Duendes’: translated – ‘path of the Goblins’! ****

ZC: These incredibly wacky imp-like humanoids appear all over Argentina quite frequently and refuse to be pigeonholed. Whilst not zooform or extraterrestrial, there seems to be a bizarre abundance of sightings and yet they seem so difficult to take seriously. CAPPEL – the name for the talking, guardian spirit dog of Cumbria, said to be incredibly ferocious and to have glowing eyes. Another Black Dog haunts Cumbria, and is said to carry chains around its neck, whilst at Shap, one particular hound is said to haunt the A6, and appears when a bad accident is about to occur. ****

ZC: One of several names for Cumbria’s black hellhounds; spiritual manifestations that seem to cross borders, and haunt so many back roads of Britain. CAR SCRATCHER OF GRANITE FALLS – in 1981 a witness sat in a restaurant with police, shaken by terrible events that had taken place on Washington State’s Mount Philchuck. He described how that two carloads of people travelling on a remote stretch of the mountain, were attacked from above by a winged creature that left deep scratch marks

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on their vehicles. The military were called to the scene, and escorted the terrified witnesses away. Whatever the critter was, it was described as being eight-feet in height, with large, leathery, wings. It had a humanoid appearance, with a lizard-like face. The witnesses - all in their sixties - were taking photographs of the scenery, when they spotted what they first took to be a hand-glider above in the sky. The thing then got closer, and the witnesses ran for their cars. Rumour has it that one vehicle crashed into a ditch, causing the driver to have a stroke, and the other car left the scene to call for help. Local officials arrived, and fired at the flying serpent before military officials arrived.

**** ZC: To many, this tale is the stuff of local legend, and what makes it more so is the rumour that after the events took place the whole affair was hushed up, and any records that existed concerning the encounter were destroyed in a fire that went up in the local police department. Such ill luck tends to pour suspicion on such an incident, but, according to a 1980 book called ‘A Geo-Bibliography of Anomalies’, there were several cases of such creatures recorded from the area dating back to the 1940s. CARBUNCLE – little is known, for little has been seen of this mystery animal that was named by the Spanish conquistadors of South America in the 16th Century. Some say that this animal was “…with a shining mirror upon its head, like a burning coal”, but no-one is quite sure as to the true identity of this mysterious form. The Carabuncle of Ireland is said to be a water beast with a similar mirror – or jewel – on its head **

ZC: Mythical beast. CARNEROS, LOS – an alternative take on the bogeyman legends of the world. This particluar creation is a horned ram from the Canary Islands, used to warn children that if they are naughty, then the ram will appear. *

ZC: Spook tale. CASPIAN MERMAN – an amphibious creature resembling Lizard Man that is said to have been observed by fishermen and various other witnesses in 2004 and 2005 around coastal areas on the southern and south-western shores of the Caspian Sea. Captain Gafar Gasanof of the Baku, an Azeri trawler, said he’d seen the merman on several occasions swimming a parallel course near the boat. It seems that sightings had increased in regularity since off-shore oil production began in the Caspian. To begin with, the so-called ‘man of the sea’ wasn’t taken seriously, but after a few sightings reports flooded in to local newspapers describing a marine, gilled humanoid, roughly 168 cm in height, and having a strong, muscular build with a protruding

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ctenoid* stomach. He was also reported as having four webbed fingers and pinniped feet. His skin was described as ‘moonlight colour’, with the hair on his head described as being black and dark green. His face has a dolphin-like beak, large eyes and a fairly large mouth. ***

ZC: Legends in the Caspian date back thousands of years regarding underwater humans. Descriptions of this creature seem extremely detailed, and either describe an unknown creature, part-human/part amphibious ‘critter’, or we are dealing with a spectral entity, possibly related to some of the activity business-wise on the coastal region. The creature is also known as the ‘runan-shah’, meaning ‘the master of the sea and the rivers’. CATAZONON – 2nd century (BC) writer Aelian spoke of this creature, said to resemble the unicorn but have a yellow and red coat, and black horn and mane. The animal lived in the remote mountains of India and would feast on its greatest enemy, the local ‘lion’, but such a creature often avoided hunters, and when it was caught it would die before being taken captive. ***

ZC: An unusual legend and interesting take on the Unicorn theme suggests there may have been a real creature behind this. CATH PALUG – a mysterious phantom felid of Welsh legend mentioned in the obscure poem ‘Pa gur’, in which the creature perishes by the sword of King Arthur’s lieutenant. ***

ZC: Possible real, out of place ‘big cat’ that, over the course of time, turned into a ghost story, yet now makes more sense as more and more large cats are sighted across Wales. CATMAN – this bogeyman figure haunts an area near Wicomico River in Maryland, USA, and is known to peer into the vehicles occupied by courting couples. In November of 1980 many frightened witnesses spoke of the yellow eyes that stare through the steamy glass like two cat’s eyes, and those who have been unfortunate enough to actually observe Catman, describe a black beast that, at first, walks on all fours and has long claws. However, this spooker could well be a real black leopard prowling the woods. ***

ZC: What sounds like a campfire story, may well be flesh and blood, especially considering some reports that suggest that pumas can occasionally walk bipedally.

* Ctenoid 1.

Having a toothed margin, usually fish scales

2.

Comb-like in shape.

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CATOBLEPAS – a strange creature quite popular in monster mythology. the Catoblepas allegedly lived in Ethiopia as a large-headed and clumsy form, of little body. Such a beast resembles a buffalo with a head that is always lowered to the ground. ***

ZC: Legend may conceal something very real or such a creature may be nothing more than a misunderstood fairytale. CATTLE KILLER – a mysterious and giant bird said to hunt cattle in Honduras. This tongue-eating predator appeared in 1950 as a fleeting shadow over the homes of residents of Nacaome. Cattle were often found mutilated in the mornings, picked off by a creature with a long tail, which it used to strangle its victims. ***

ZC: This was obviously a very powerful creature and probably a very real one. CAT WITCH – in Britain, France and other parts of Europe, these creatures appear as large black cats, rumoured to have transformed from witch form. **

ZC: There are many spectral forms related to the ‘darker side’ and whilst the legends of witches have become glamorised by Hallowe’en, the connections between such figures and black cats are strong. Shape-shifting lore is evident across the world, and there are those who believe that mystery cats and other strange beasts have this ability. CAVEMAN – a grotesque being which seemed to play its part in the stalling of Christian Talbot’s car on 3rd November 1975, at Saint-Dominique-de-Bagot, Quebec, in Canada. Talbot was with another person, Susan Mondor, when the vehicle stopped running and a weird noise seemed to fill their ears. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a humanoid with, “…demonic facial features and pointy ears” emerged. The being seemed to be green on the top half of its body and paler on the lower. **

ZC: This may well have been a hoax. CCOA – the Kauri Indians of Peru believed in the legend of this monster felid, which was said to cause storms and crop damage. ***

ZC: Again, another one of those legendary, albeit obscure, creatures that straddles a fine line between myth and reality. CEASG – this entity is a type of mermaid that appears as a beautiful, buxom, woman with the lower half of a salmon. This form haunts parts of Scotland, and can be a threatening apparition that - in its sinister way - tempts sailors to their watery demise. **

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ZC: Scottish folk tale. CEFFYL DWR – the phantom horse of Wales. See also Ghost Horse of Oxwich Church. ****

ZC: Another version of the Kelpie. CELESTIAL HORSE – this beast resembles a large, white dog but has a black head, with two fleshy wings and the ability to fly. It inhabits areas of China and was recorded in the year 978 in the ‘T’ai P’ing Kuang Chi’ (Extensive Records Made in the Period of Peace and Prosperity), which was completed in 981. ****

ZC: I am unsure as to whether this creature is popular in the local mythology, but this seems a strange mix of phantom dog and Chupacabra. CELESTIAL STAG – this obscure Chinese animal is said to be a trickster spirit that resides in underground mines. Its only aim is to reach the glimmer of daylight, but should it reach its goal, the animal transforms into nothing more than a pungent liquid form. *

ZC: An intriguing ghost story. CELESTIAL TIGERS – legends of central Vietnam speak of these mystery cats, being the Red Tiger of the South (whose empire is of summer and fire), the Blue Tiger of the East (the ruler of spring and plants), the Black Tiger, King of the North (who reigns a kingdom of winter and water) and the White Tiger, the Western ruler (ruler of autumn and metals). Zoologist Karl Shuker believes such felids may well be real creatures; the Black Tiger possibly relating to melanistic versions, whilst Blue Tigers have been said to inhabit parts of Korea and China. White Tigers are often seen in some zoo parks and in the forests of India and China and the Red variety may well be a species reported from eastern India. However, such species have gained a mythical status. ***

ZC: Animals are often considered as deities and early reports of such ‘coloured’ tigers may have given birth to such legends. CENTERVILLE CENTAUR – during the May of 1963, a James McKinney of Centerville, Illinois described seeing a, “…half-man, half-horse”, creature which police took seriously, as they’d had another fifty phone calls describing a similar beast! ****

ZC: Centaur and Satyr-like manifestations do seem to be described all over the world, in

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the same way as winged monsters. Again, reports never seem to gather pace, and so these beings become ghost stories, and are few and far between. CHAGLJEVI – mysterious small, dog-like animals said to be only sighted at night. These puppy-like creatures, which roam parts of Serbia, are very elusive and extremely afraid of humans. Strange dog-like creatures have been sighted throughout Serbia, and during the mid-1990s, peculiar beasts rampaged through the village of Slatina, and were blamed for vampiric attacks on livestock. Some of these animals have allegedly been shot and killed. ***

ZC: The existence of these quirky ‘dogs’ seems based on lore, or unidentified species. CHALAC ‘CRITTERS’ – On 21st February 1965 in Chalac, Argentina, fifty Toba Indians, and a few policemen, saw three little men with luminous glows emerge from a spacecraft that had been sighted many times over the village. It is alleged that photographs were taken of the craft and its occupants, and it is claimed that the humanoids feared the light from the camera. What happened to the photographs? See also Terrors of Torrent **

ZC: More UFO weirdness that also leans towards some kind of zooform strangeness in that it involves imp-like creatures. CHAGRIN – the Gypsy word for a trickster ghost, although this entity, from Romania, is said to take the form of a huge yellow hedgehog, which appears just before a tragedy is about to strike. **

ZC: It’s difficult to say whether anyone who sees an enormous, glowing yellow hedgehog should be at all alarmed, but this confusing apparition is indicative of so many colourful manifestations worldwide, which seem to have become known on an obscure basis, and yet, hardly ever witnessed. CHALKYDRI – Slavonic lore speaks of these winged beasts as being purple in colour and having many wings, which also have the feet of a lion and a crocodile head. **

ZC: We seem to be dealing with Dragon-like forms although sightings are scarce, suggesting these are simply mythical creatures. CHARLOT – although Lake Mekinac, Quebec, has a legend of a monster pike, the Charlot is an evil spirit monster which local foresters have made a pact with over time. ***

ZC: A vague entity feared by local men, which could have some flesh and blood quali-

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ties, and which could be investigated if it wasn’t so obscure. CHARMAN – this spectre may either be a hideous monster, or the ghost of a man who died of horrific burns in a road accident during the 1950s. Either way, some dark, raggedy phantom stalks Creek Road Bridge just south of Ojai, California. Witnesses have described some kind of humanoid with flesh hanging from its exposed skull. **

ZC: If one believes in such things, this could possibly be a spirit caught in some kind of painful limbo, or, like the legend of Bunnyman, this is a confused and exaggerated urban legend that has lingered through many generations. CHAMROSH – a winged dog of Mesopotamian mythology. *

ZC: Although tales of winged dogs are popular in folklore across the world, this particular form is not backed up by any anecdotic evidence. CHATTANOOGA ROO – a peculiar, elusive leaping animal that was blamed for several attacks on livestock in Tennessee in 1934. Witnesses often saw the unusual beast springing its way across fields after it had left dogs, geese, and other animals for dead. A similar creature, with fiery eyes, was seen in Pennsylvania three years later, and another was seen in Arizona in 1950. ****

ZC: Clearly not your average escaped kangaroo. CHAPALU – this supernatural cat exists in French legend as a man-eater, and was enormous in size. Allegedly, it was killed by Sir Kay Arthurian legend. ***

ZC: Maybe, just maybe, such a legend was born from a large cat such as a puma or leopard roaming the remote woods. CHERUFE – a ghastly monster who preys on any women unfortunate enough to wander too far in the remote places of Argentina and Chile. **

ZC: This is a creature of travelling folklore, like so many others, which are said to pick off those who do not stick to the pathways of the woods. CHESME – see also Fountain Cat. ****

ZC: See conclusion for Fountain Cat. CH’IANG LANG – a Chinese monster with a tiger’s head, the face of a man, four hooves,

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and long limbs. *

ZC: Yet little else is known… CH’IANG SHIH – the Ch’iang Shih is a Chinese zombie that is able to rise from the grave through the powers of dark magic. These fiends hop on their victims, and slash their throats with long nails. Once the crimson flows, the un-dead lap up the blood from the gaping wound, but do not fear; such corpse-like killers can be vanquished by sunlight, or halted by slapping a small paper scroll of Buddhist prayers on their foreheads. **

ZC: Classic high strangeness of the Orient, these vampires are typical blood-drinking entities that have been immortalised in Oriental martial arts films such as ‘Mr Vampire’. CHICK CHERNEY – a quirky name for an Owlman-related figure, which is said to roam the pine forests of the Bahamas. **

ZC: Little else is known about this fascinatingly named creature. CHICKEN KILLER OF WILLIAMSPORT – it was an oddity that, around 1909, became entwined within the Jersey Devil mystery, for this creature was also a flapping, bird-like, beastie that slaughtered many chickens in this region of Pennsylvania, USA. Some claimed it was a hoax, there were even a few who claimed to have perpetrated the hoax, but still the chickens were attacked. According to legend the so-called ‘monster’ raided chicken pens for more than four decades, but maybe a local panic, or a roaming cougar, was to blame for creating a Devil that wasn’t actually there. However, this is exactly how campfire stories are made, and this phantom slaughterer, although pretty obscure now, will always remain something slightly more sinister than just a newspaper headline. **

ZC: Some ‘thing’ was indeed killing the chickens, but it wasn’t what they said it was! CHICKEN MAN – this awfully named American booger is said to have been a shaggy man-beast which allegedly haunted, raided, and grunted, its way through Oklahoma’s backyards and woodlands during the early 1970s. Many a chicken coop was left a feathery bloodstained mess, but all that the creature left behind was a handprint. Another Chicken Man also haunts the Kilgore and Longview area of Texas, and was connected to reports of a hairy monster, which took place in 1965. In 1999, at Rabbit Creek, a monkeylike humanoid was sighted. ****

ZC: These kind of nocturnal raids seem in keeping with mysterious invaders, but such

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nocturnal predators rarely seem to keep up their gory activity. CHICKLY CUDLY – a freakish humanoid said to stand over twelve-feet high, and rumoured to have prowled an unnamed area of the United States during the beginning of the 1790s. The Cherokee Indians allegedly gave this creature its odd, originally pronounced ‘Kecleh Kudleh’ name, meaning ‘hairy man’ and so it has therefore been connected to Bigfoot reports. ***

ZC: Despite its bizarre name, this beast appears to be a variation of the Sasquatch. CHILEAN CENTUAR – in 2000, Chile, and especially the town of Quillota, appeared to be the prowling ground of another mystery beast, after several sightings of bounding, winged, blood-sucking ‘critters’. At midnight on 31st May of that year, a local villager heard a loud commotion on his roof, and going to investigate, he peered out, and was met by a creature some 90 cm in height. Although descriptions were vague, it seems that what he saw was a centaur-like creature without a nose! The entity sprang away in the direction of a nearby ravine, and the body of a dead dog was found the next day in the area, with the creature sighted being blamed for its death. ****

ZC: 2000 was a very busy year for reports of bizarre humanoid creatures; this sighting just added to the surreal jigsaw. CHILEAN GIANT BIRD – as chronicled in Jacques Vallee’s ‘Passport to Magonia’, this monstrous ‘aerial construction’ was said to have appeared in the sky over Copiago in the July of 1868. Many local people saw the flying enigma, which was said to have omitted a metallic noise. The beast was covered in large scales, as well as lights, and such a phenomenon is said to have been, “…the first instance of close observation of an unknown

object at low attitude in the nineteenth century”. **** ZC: Whilst such a case has been tied in with UFO lore, there is every possibility that this was, in fact, a real flying creature, similar to a Thunderbird although the descriptions of lights and metallic noises may suggest otherwise. A true mystery. CHILEAN WINGED DOGS – as reported by the ‘Journal of Hispanic Ufology’ on 11th July 2004, and revolving around many attacks on livestock, which compared to the work of the Goatsucker. However, peasant Juan Acuna Periera claimed, after a strange creature attacked him, that the area authorities were dealing with weird flying entities that looked like winged dogs. Exsanguinated sheep were found at the Las Cabras farm and in the rural vicinity of Paso Hondo. These attacks echoed the violent attacks inflicted upon hens in the same area in

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2003. ****

ZC: The so-called ‘winged dogs’ may well be part of the phenomena that much of the Hispanic world knows as el Chupacabra. In most cases of livestock attacks, no predator has been sighted, so reports become rather anecdotal. This is classic zooform material, but - in the main - the ‘goatsucker’ has become various other mystery creatures too, as well as having connections to ufology. CHIRUWI – the lore of Africa often speaks of half-bodied humanoids, and this particular entity from central Africa, carries an axe, and exists in the remote forests. Chiruwi are said to eat men, but should a man overcome such a beast, then they are shown magic. *

ZC: African legend often speaks of these creatures, but it is unlikely that such beings roam more than the mind. CHITAPO – this monster is said to reside in Zambia’s Lake Kashiba, and devour the shadows of those who walk by. ***

ZC: Possibly a greatly feared real water monster. CHIVATO – a magician from Chile, on trial in 1880, told local judges how he had visited the Royal cave of Quicavi, via a secret passage which began in the house of Jose Merriman, the then-present King of the sect. In this cave, guardians – the crawling, shaggy haired animals known as Chivato lurked. **

ZC: Although there is a vagueness to the legends of the Chivato, it is interesting to note that such legends lurked in South America which, over a century later, loosely resemble the Chupacabras etc. CHOCCOLOCCO CREEPER – an abomination of a creature resembling a cow, which was said to have terrorised motorists on many an Alabama highway during the late ‘60s, and then again, some thirty years later. However, on the Hallowe’en of 2001 a prankster, named Neal Williams, claimed to have made the whole scare up! *

ZC: Still proof that monsters, even of this bizarre standard, can create hysteria for many years. CHOLLIMA – the swift horse of Korean mythology; a winged beast said to be so fleet of foot that it is impossible to ride. **

ZC: Intriguing lore.

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CHONCHON – like so many other South American nightmares of vampiric tendency, the Chonchon is a hideous flying head, said to lurk in the shadows of Chile and Peru. **

ZC: The real legend is even more bizarre, with the claim that the heads of certain dead people take on a life of their own, growing huge ears, and taking off through the night craving the blood of humans! CHORTI – these hairy humanoids from Guatemalan myth, have metal claws on their feet, which point backwards. They are said to roam remote areas. Such creatures could well be relatives, or exactly the same thing as the Yeti and the likes. ***

ZC: As a firm believer in such man beasts, I’ve every reason to believe that the Chorti and the more obscure humanoids of this world, are simply creatures awaiting our discovery. CHOTACABRAS – the island of Puerto Rico seems to have weirder, ethereal-like creatures than natural wildlife, with a whole host of winged weirdo’s and bipedal bloodsuckers. In 1989 a bizarre, vampire bird was blamed for several animal deaths on the island and given the moniker Chotacabras, (also Aves d’diablo) corresponding to the bird with a similar name. This strange vampire bird may have borne no resemblance to the Chupacabras physically, but the way it allegedly killed its prey was practically identical. During the first ‘new’ wave of UFO incidents in ’89, Jose Gonzalez Rivera, from Gurabo, captured an unusual bird, with another similar specimen also being obtained by Maria Ortiz. These birds had two fangs, a serpent-like head, and a body smaller than a hen with talons like an eagle. Religious leaders at the time called these birds ‘antichrist’; weird howling things that fed on lumps of raw meat fed to them. In fact, those that examined the birds believed that such creatures just had to be bizarre mutations and not natural specimens, with one biologist claiming that the birds showed little in the way of avian tissue, but to some extent human tissue! Sceptics at the time argued that such birds were either wrongly identified owls or ‘man-made’ monsters. However, it seems more than likely that such vampire birds were in fact part of the Chupacabras mystery, but certainly not behind the reports of four-feet tall humanoid figures with blazing eyes. In the Spring of ’95 Reynaldo Ortega, from Naranjito, saw a giant, darkly coloured bird on the roof of his property as he was searching, during a wave of mutilations in the vicinity, for a missing goat he owned. He described the bird as four-feet in height, having the black plumage of an eagle, a thick neck and nightmarish eyes, but this bird also had a

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wolf-like muzzle instead of a beak. Five years previously, in the surrounding areas of Laguna Cartagena, locals spoke of a leathery flying beast that had a horned head and scales. Sketches of the avian anomaly seemed to show a Pterodactyl-like monster - a creature extinct for millions of years, yet with soaring monstrosities still sighted from Arizona to Argentina. Are these bizarre birds natural species, prehistoric survivors, or something more sinister that have possibly been dropped from the unusual craft seen over various countries worldwide? Or are they, perhaps, man-made mutants? In Mexico, vampire bats once were greatly feared by locals who strongly believed in a bigger species of blood-drinking bat, as yet undiscovered. In his book ‘From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings’, Karl Shuker writes of the Ethiopian Death-Bird:

“Just before Ethiopia was invaded by Italian troops during World War II, archaeologist Byron de Prorok was participating in an expedition to its southern regions when he learned of a greatly feared cave near Lekempti, in the province of Walaga. Known as Devil’s Cave, it was supposedly inhabited by ‘were-hyaenas’ and even worse, by terrible winged entities called death birds. Located high among rocky pinnacles and foliage, Devil’s Cave was indeed frequented by hyaenas, but only of the mundane, non-transforming variety. As for the death birds, these were small bats, but de Prorok did not ascertain their specific identity. As recounted in ‘Dead Men Do Tell Tales’ (1943), de Prorok gained some firsthand details concerning this. When he came out of the cave after exploring it as well as he could, he was met by two of the area’s goat-herders, the only people frequenting this lonely, notorious locality. When he asked why everyone was so afraid of the cave’s bats, they told him that these ‘death birds’ lived on human blood, visiting their camp every night, painlessly biting them as they slept, and drinking the blood that flowed from the wounds. De Prorok was sceptical until the herders showed him their arms, which bore a number of wounds resembling small puncture marks. They also took him to their camp, and there he saw one man close to death – little more than a skeleton clothed in a shroud of ashen skin, too weak to even stand. What is so remarkable about this horrific case is that the only blood-drinking bats

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currently known to science are the three species of New World vampire bat. There is not a single species of sanguinivorous bat on record from the Old World! Consequently, if Ethiopia’s mysterious ‘death birds’ really are responsible for the piteous state of the goat herders living near their cave, they may constitute a known Old World species indulging in a macabre dietary deviation hitherto unrecorded, or, even more startling, an unknown species – an Old World equivalent to the neotropical vampires.” Meanwhile, also mentioned in Shuker’s book is the Sat-Kalauk, the Burmese bloodsucker. This is a bizarre cat-like creature said to drink blood from deer after pouncing on them. However, some believe that such a creature was merely a yellow-throated marten. Whilst the Chotacabras may be nothing more than an unknown species of bird, or bizarre mutation, it has become a sinister ingredient in the general lore of Puerto Rico’s bloodsuckers. ***

ZC: As stated above, the Chotacabras seems to be a bizarre, blood drinking bird, but could this creature be mixed up with the Chupacabras, and if so, why aren’t these birds being found or sighted regularly? CH’OU-T’I – this two-headed creature lurks in the Red Water region of China. *

ZC: An impossible beast. CH’UAN-T’OU – these are bat-winged denizens with human heads, said to feed off raw fish around the waters of China. ***

ZC: Local predators that may be and extinct and undiscovered species. CHUMUR DELI – Hindukush folk speak of this creature as an iron-legged horse, which scares travellers. *

ZC: It may roll off the tongue as an interesting legend but that’s all it remains to be. CHUPACABRAS – see Goatsucker. ****

ZC: See Goatsucker conclusion. CHUPAGENTE – this may well be the same creature known as the Chupacabras. The Chupagente is spoken of in Guatemalan lore. ****

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ZC: Classic zooform weirdness. CHURAIL – another variation of the female, floating vampire, but this time from Pakistan. This creature is said to choose pregnant women and newborn children as prey. Bizarrely, an almost identical apparition, with exactly the same name has been reported from Guyana in South America. **

ZC: A local dread. CHURCH GRIM – a sinister name for the spectral hound said to guard churchyards across the United Kingdom. This zooform achieved widest publicity following its appearance in the third of the Harry Potter books. ****

ZC: A typically dark variant of the Black Dog mythology. CIGUA – a Sumatran entity of fearsome nature that is said to resemble a tiger, but also an ape. ***

ZC: Legendary cryptozoologist Bernard Heuvelmans mentions this creature as very flesh and blood, although such a hybrid form suggests nothing more than tribal dread. CIGUAPA – a creature said to resemble the Goatsucker of Puerto Rico, which roams parts of the Dominican Republic where locals fear its horrendous cry. This much feared monster is said to lurk in underwater caves and have backward turned feet. Similarly feared creatures, blamed for many animal mutilations in areas such as Barahona, are said to be black in colour and with faces covered with a cotton. ****

ZC: The Ciguapa may well be a huge, undiscovered species of bat, or possibly something more sinister. Legends remains strong of this beast, yet little is known about its nightmarish capabilities. CIPACTLI – this is a ferocious crocodile-like monster from Aztec mythology. ***

ZC: Early description of a true serpent. CIVATETEO – in Aztec mythology these chalky-white phantoms, adorned in tatters and bones, stalk lonely travellers. They appear as shrivelled humanoids. **

ZC: Violent trickster ghouls.

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CLOUD CREATURE – a bizarre phantasmal creature seen in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, by a male witness in the Summer of 1980. The man, who was returning home, saw a strange cloud above the ground with a creature silhouetted against it. The figure was as white as snow in colouration with two black, beady eyes and a long tail. The creature seemed to leap on to the cloud, causing a mist, steam, or fog-like vapour, before jumping from the cloud-like object, and proceeding to walk towards the witness. The man became frightened by the apparition, and stumbled to the ground, cowering in fear under his coat, whereupon, looking back at the spectre, he saw it back on the cloud and floating away. ****

ZC: This creature sounds like the ‘Green Goblin’ villain from the ‘Spiderman’ movies, in the way that it hovered on the strange floating mass. This is a quirky, almost surreal tale that is either diabolically false or insanely real. CLOUD EATER – the Zuni Indians once spoke of this shadowy figure that was said to have been as tall as a mountain peak. The phantom was said to be responsible for the droughts of New Mexico, for it had an insatiable appetite for clouds! The Zuni Indians hunted the beast for many years, in the hope of bringing rain by ceasing its activity. **

ZC: Folk tale. CLOUD MEN – in Maipu, Chile during January 1998, several flying figures were reported. They descended from the sky without parachutes, and seemed to be enveloped by mist or cloud. **

ZC: Nothing more was heard of these vague beings. CLUTCHBONE – a tall, black, leathery-skinned humanoid with a light on its forehead, which belonged to a collection of European folktales from the 1800s. Such a being terrorised remote households in Finland and Sweden and was known to dismember its victims. ****

ZC: This legend dates back several centuries and may well describe a bipedal creature with glowing eyes. COATEPEC CAT CREATURE – a part-human entity with cat’s eyes, seen by four witnesses during the September of 1965. ***

ZC: Little is known about the creature or the incident, but was this nothing more than an out of place ‘big cat’ or something altogether more hideous?

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COCKATRICE – a winged beast, popular in mythology, which was said to have been sighted in 1733 over Cumbria. The existence of such a beast remained acceptable to the educated up until the 17th Century, and is a creature mentioned several times in the King James Bible, in which it represents some kind of serpent. The monster is said to have the body and tail of a dragon but the head and legs of a cock, and has the ability to kill with just one cold stare. The Cockatrice, according to lore, could only be killed if it stared at its own reflection. ***

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ZC: This is another of those creatures of classic mythology; the same zoo that holds the likes of Cerberus, or the Harpies. We have often seen them as magical beasts and yet there is mention of them almost as flesh and blood creatures, in the same way as dragons. COCKROACH MAN – a cheesy name given to this B-Movie type of humanoid, which was sighted in Chaffee, Missouri in the December of 2003. This spectre was of a gangly appearance, and kept pace with a car travelling at 50 mph, before fizzing into the air and out of sight. Whilst driving, the male witness could not make out any specific features of the figure, except to say it was hunched and aluminium coloured. **

ZC: A brief ‘road ghost’. COLCHESTER GARGOYLES – five black, skinny, winged humanoids seen over Utah in August 2000. Several people at a barbeque gasped in horror as these bony forms fluttered towards the city. Another witness claimed that she was terrified by five black beings with big eyes that attempted to get into her car whilst she was on her driveway. Allegedly, one of the flying horrors smashed one of her vehicle’s windows and bit her arm, causing it to bleed. The woman refused to get out of the car, and the creatures gave up, but only after an hour of terror for the victim. ****

ZC: Were these flesh and blood creatures such as large bats? It doesn’t seem so, as there were several witnesses to back up the event that in the Summer of 2000 Utah was visited by very strange invaders. COMELEGUAS – the Nicaraguan ‘tongue eater’ which feasts on cattle and pets. ***

ZC: This is another of those Chupacabra-like entities known for its vampiric tendencies. Such a beast could well have also been a vampire bat, or simply exaggerated folklore.

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COOKIE MONSTER – a crazy Bigfoot-like critter from Pennsylvania, sighted around the early 1970s and named after a character from the American ‘Sesame Street’ programme. **

ZC: Very likely to have been a Sasquatch, but names like these may endear such beasts to the public, but not to the serious researchers. COONIGATOR – obscure, rarely sighted creatures, that are said to be terrifying scavengers from the Vermont woodlands. **

ZC: When a creature is this vague, doubt increases as to its existence and this is, therefore, likely to be one of those woodland ghost stories. CORNU – in parts of Ireland this is a legendary killer bird, black in colour. *

ZC: Folkloric creation. CORPSE BIRD – an eerie Welsh phantom, said to be the forewarning of an impending death. This apparition is said to sit on the windowsill and tap on the window, usually at the home of the person who is about to die. See also Derwyn Corph. ****

ZC: This phantom receives a high rating simply because these kinds of dark, ominous forms are common throughout the world. COSTA RICA VAMPIRE – a blood-drinking entity seen during mid-March 2004 in the Ajuela Province. A male witness and his son went to investigate a commotion from the henhouse, and, in the torch beam, were confronted by a black animal with a long tail, that - although resembling a small dog - stood on two legs. The creature, stunned by the flashlight, fled the area; but not before having left over twenty hens slain. The victims were found to have two holes in their backs, and had been exsanguinated by the creature, which had left the rest of each carcass untouched. ***

ZC: More Chupacabras similarities although first we must look to flesh and blood animals. COUNTY DOWN CREATURE – this vague entity is known to stand over eight-feet in height with blazing eyes. **

ZC: However, nothing else is known! COYOTE TRICKSTERS – Navajo legend speaks of the coyote as a dark symbol of clan-

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destine witchcraft, and they are at times perceived as omens of misfortune, as werecreatures and as something akin to the Black Dog of British folklore. Some reports describe encounters with creatures that resemble huge dog-like forms, which are able to stand on their hind legs. These beasts are said to be ‘medicine people’, able to shift appearances and travel long distances as the animal they transform into. ****

ZC: Strong legends. CRAWFORDSVILLE MONSTER – a bizarre winged creature first spotted around 1891 over Indiana. It was under two-feet long, and had no discernible head but flaming eyes. ***

ZC: A fleeting monster story that may well have been exaggerated through hysteria at the time. Something two-feet long is hardly a monster, but the report exists, although it is neverbeen possible to categorise this creature. CREATURE BETWEEN THE LAKES – in Tennessee (USA), the ‘Land between the Lakes’ is a 170,000 acre national recreation area used for camping and fishing. One night (undated), a couple, travelling through the surrounding roads in the hope of catching sight of deer, were alarmed by a creature that first appeared as a stump-like object by the side of the road. The driver stopped the car, as both he and his wife were overcome by a terrifying feeling. The ‘stump’ suddenly lifted its head, and revealed two glowing red eyes, and a mouth of sharp fangs. The beast was a monstrous cross between a wolf and a hyena, and - overwhelmed by their encounter - the couple sped from the spooky spot, not to return for several years. ****

ZC: This couple may well have happened upon a normal animal, possibly an escaped zoo animal or hybrid, but the red glowing eyes suggest otherwise. CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON – a Reptile-man from Argentina that was apparently caught up in the nets of fishermen in water around Parana, in 1996. ***

ZC: Had these fishermen, even through all their knowledge, simply seen an undiscovered giant fish? Probably not, as it seems likely that we are dealing with another of those ‘gillmen’. CREATURE OF CUTTHROAT BRIDGE – this English phantom was seen by motorists in the Autumn of 1991 at Manchester Road, near Ladybower Reservoir. The Johnson family watched as a looming, eight-feet tall shadow lumbered across the lane they were driving along and then, shortly after, another vehicle stopped to observe the creature. The motorist beeped his horn at the humanoid which then ran up the nearby hill. All the witnesses described the being as shaggy in appearance.

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****

ZC: This is another of those British Bigfoot reports that we so want to believe because, although such reports do occur, they lack consistency. This ‘critter’ may well have been an apparition. CREATURE OF MINNESOTA – this beast appears to change identity, but certainly seems to have some staying power around St. Paul. It is said to roam the local golf courses, mainly at night, and over time, many residents have described it as being like a fox. However, the legend speaks of a creature that ranges in description from Unicorn, to deer, to coyote and to a dog. No-one seems to be really sure what kind of form stalks the city and right up until 2001 its cult status had not diminished. ***

ZC: Witnesses are clearly seeing something, but like so many other creatures in this book, it appears to change shape and move with the times, and in turn remains a vague entity. CREATURE OF QUIMPER-CORENTIN – this French anomaly was sighted at 7:30 on the evening of 1st February, 1620 by several townsfolk, who were called to the scene of their local cathedral after the building caught fire and exploded. With smoke spewing from the inferno, a hideous creature emerged, green in colour with a very long tail. The beast seemed to revel in the fact that the cathedral was burning. After several hours, prayers and blessed water, the creature took to the air screaming, and flew off into the distance. ****

ZC: This sounds like great Dragon-related lore or it could well be one of the earliest recorded sightings of a supernatural monster appearing to symbolise a tragedy. CREEP OF KESTON PONDS – on 6th May, 1981, two young girls saw this scary being in Kent, England. This humanoid was gliding over a water hole, and wore a dark, pointed hat, a black cape, and appeared to wear a strange belt with glowing lights. **

ZC: This is an extremely bizarre, yet brief case, which as a Kent man, I’ve never heard of, but would be interested in following up. CRIMEAN WAR CROW – a giant, headless crow or a swarm of monstrous bats, which appeared over the bloody battleground of the conflict, which lasted two years*. *** *The Crimean War (1854 - 1856) was fought between Imperial Russia on one side and an alliance of France, the United Kingdom, and the Ottoman Empire on the other. The majority of the conflict took place on the Crimean peninsula, with additional actions occurring in western Turkey, the Baltic Sea region, and in the Russian Far East. The war is generally seen as the first modern conflict and "introduced technical changes which affected the future course of warfare."

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ZC: Possible coincidence may tie in the appearance of a sinister black bird with a gory battle. Creatures such as owls, black cats etc., are often perceived as bad omens, even if they are harmless animals appearing somewhere at the wrong time! CRITTER OF SAINT MAURICE – an allegedly extraterrestrial-looking creature, found on the edge of the Saint Maurice River, Canada, and said to have a tail, claws, and a lozenge-shaped head. ***

Crimean War Crow

ZC: Spindly humanoid entities are commonplace across the globe, often perceived as extraterrestrial beings although, unless sighted near spacecraft, there is nothing to suggest that they are. This thing may well have been a strange fish, but I doubt whether we’ll never know the truth of the matter. CROCOTTA – a mythical beast from parts of India and Ethiopia, which is said to be a hybrid of wolf and dog; the Crocotta roams farms at night and is also known to dig up the dead and feast upon the corpse. ***

ZC: A very real beast with a resemblance to the Salaawa and also the Luucrota. CRY BIRD – a tragic creature from the south-eastern United States that has to remain invisible, for legend has it that should anyone see such a creature then it will die of shame! Another legend states that any hunter who bags a specimen will watch it dissolve into water from its tears before his very eyes. **

ZC: The story of the Cry Bird is classic fable, nothing more. CUCA – a greatly feared creature from Brazil’s wild regions, which is said to appear as an alligator-like humanoid. **

ZC: Whilst Reptile-men and the like seem common the world over, their lore is difficult to investigate simply because the areas they allegedly haunt are so remote - ideal for ghost stories to grow from. CUCUI – these are hideous ghoul or monster figures from Hispanic folklore. **

ZC: Vague zombie terrors.

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CUCUMBER HEADS – gliding, silvery humanoids seen in Slovakia by ten children in 1993. **

ZC: Children’s encounters have to be taken seriously, although some details may be confused. However, little else seems to have been recorded about these forms. CUCUY – “…behave, or the Cucuy will get you!”, is what they say in the folklore of Latin America, for this creature, also known as Coco, Cocu and the Chamuco, is a sinister apparition that emerges from the shadows of night. It is a small humanoid with glowing eyes, often used as a bogeyman figure to warn children away from dangerous places. Although very much a ‘word of mouth’ spectre, this closet spooker is very potent, and has remained scary to children and locals for many generations. **

ZC: This mystery being can take on the form of any local fear. CUEGLE – this black-skinned creature has its origins in Cantabria (northern Spain) and appears as a bipedal monster with a large horn on its head. The legend soon takes a nosedive into fiction, however, when it also states that this humanoid has three arms with no hands, three eyes, one blue, one green and one red in colour, a long beard and five rows of sharp teeth. *

ZC: Folklore is fascinating, but at times absurd. CUERO – this is a mythological sea-monster from South America, like a giant octopus, reputed to have large claws on the end of its spindly tentacles. ***

ZC: An unknown creature untouched by science. CULEBRES – in northern Spain this Dragon-like leviathan spews fire and sulphur. It is a winged beast said to be very dangerous, but should any brave warrior overcome such a monster, they will find many a treasure in its lair. *

ZC: Fable. CULLODEN HUMANOIDS – more weirdness from West Virginia! Two dark figures were spotted by a female witness on 17th May, 2004 when they ran past her window, after which, minutes later there was a bright light in the room and a power failure in the area. *

ZC: Too early to start the Mothman comparisons, this tale is a little too vague.

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CULLOO – Micmac Indians speak of this great winged beast, similar to a huge bird. ***

ZC: Another relation of many of the great birds sighted over the world. CULTUS LAKE GOATMAN – an urban legend from Canada regarding a 19th Century gold prospector who lost his legs in a rock slide, crawled from the debris - and, with the legs of a dead mountain goat - created new limbs for himself. Of course, from then on so the story goes - the recluse went mad and killed everyone just as in every great campfire story. *

ZC: Typical overblown ghost story. CUMBRIA BIGFOOT – a tall, bipedal hairy creature seen drinking from a pond by a male witness on 25th January 1998 at Nursery Woods, Beckermet. The creature was also seen on 1st October 2005, but it would be ridiculous to suggest that Bigfoot inhabits any of England’s fine woodlands. Clearly, however, something else does! ****

ZC: Hairy humanoids repeatedly turn up in the UK, but their appearances must represent some other strangeness, because we clearly are not dealing with an undiscovered species of ape. CU SITH – phantom fairy dog of Scotland, said to leave paw-prints! See also Cait Sith. ***

ZC: Not all ghostly dogs are black, shaggy, fiery-eyed and huge, and it is not unusual to hear reports of smaller hounds and the like, which are often said to represent fortune and good luck. CYCLOPS – an unknown creature with one, single glowing eye said to have been sighted by a woman and her son one night in 1981 at Parson Drove, Cambridge in the UK. The monster was watching the two witnesses when it suddenly ran off. The lady said that the beast was the size of a calf. ***

ZC: Maybe the creature’s other eye wasn’t seen and this was an encounter with an escaped zoo animal.

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ZC: This creature may be a type of bat or some other flesh and blood crimson drinker. DAI DAI – this is a wonderfully camouflaged creature of the forest spoken of in Amerindian lore. Such a form is said to resemble a short tree and act as a guardian over an area where treasure is located. **

ZC: A subtler bogeyman figure used to keep thieves and other intruders away from a secret fortune. DALE COCKATRICE – this Dragon-like form was said to have left an egg at Dale, three miles northwest of Lerwick in the Shetland Isles of Scotland. Lore claims that a woman found the egg and placed it under one of her hens. When the creature hatched from the egg, it killed the hens, and made its home nearby, before being set alight and burned to death. *

ZC: The Cockatrice is very much a creature of lore, but this legend is frail. DAMASCUS APARTMENTS DOG – a dog of Syrian folklore that also takes on the form of an amorphous blob to haunt several buildings. ****

ZC: This staying legend may well have strong, ghostly connections, because those who encounter the manifestation seem confused as to what they have actually seen. DARD – this could be a very real, yet elusive creature, believed in the folklore of Australia, this is similar to a lizard or snake, has the head of a cat and the mane of a horse. It lives in lakes. ***

ZC: The description, when watered down may describe a new species of lizard or snake that has eluded man.

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DARK DOG – this enormous, spectral hound was sighted in the Spring of 1966 by a handful of UFO enthusiasts in Eliot, Maine. They had driven to the remote area near Portsmouth in several cars and caravans, when all of a sudden the phantom dog emerged from a pit and ran through the woods. Some of the witnesses attempted to follow the beast, but were stalled by the pungent odour emanating from the path it had made through the thicket. ****

ZC: Black dogs are often associated with haunted locations and other strangeness. DARTING CREATURE – …”…a three-foot long creature that leaves no tracks, it appears to be partially translucent and tapered at both ends while opaque in the middle”. What is the weird entity that prowls the San Luis Valley in Colorado, an area known for high strangeness? ****

ZC: whilst this ‘critter’ may be vague, many peculiar events and creatures haunt the location it haunts. DAVENPORT DEMON – 41yr old Robert Anderson saw this beast in Iowa, U.S.A., in the August of 1975, and took many years for him to report his sighting, for fear of ridicule. He was with his brother, playing, when they heard a strange, eerie howling noise coming from the darkness surrounding the trailer park where they lived. When they investigated the area from where the noise was coming, they saw a big doberman squirming on the floor as if it had been attacked. Standing on the trailer nearby, the boys saw a huge bird-like critter over six-feet in height. It was grey in colour, but with a monkey face, and a beaked nose. Its eyes glowed in the darkness. The thing flew into the air, circled, and then took off. ****

ZC: During the mid to late 1970s, several large birds were seen across the U.S.A., mainly in the Illinois area. A majority of these encounters involved birds resembling the legendary Thunderbirds, and came shortly after the Mothman sightings of Virginia. Whether these are connected, yet with supernatural leanings, or describe real, over-sized birds, we’ll never know until one of these winged invaders is caught or shot down. However, something seems to suggest that this will never happen. DEARBON COUNTY DEMON – on 24th January 2004, at 7:30 pm, in Manchester, Dearbon County, Indiana, a motorist travelling ten miles north of Aurora, claimed to have encountered a peculiar figure whilst driving his black Chevrolet Cavalier southbound along North Hogan Road. The creature was spotted crouching near a puddle of water, and was picked up by the car headlights. The witness described it as a tall, abnormal figure that moved strangely with pointed joints that ‘buckled’. It stood around seven-feet in

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height, was pencil thin, and headed towards the woods. ****

ZC: Was this odd entity just another road ghost, a Bigfoot-like humanoid, an alien, or a mere hallucination? Once again, such an enigma is fleeting but important enough to make the news headlines in Indiana. DEARG-DUE/DEARG-DUL – a fearsome Irish monster said to take the form of a seductive woman, and usually said to inhabit ruinous churches. **

ZC: Shape of the unknown, with no real background. DEATH WHALE – a morbid, devouring sea creature from Iceland, said to feast only on the dead. ***

ZC: This ocean dweller could well be real, although the name may be a little vague. DEER DRAGON – an Oregon oddity seen in the June of 1996 at Cottage Grove by motorist Lynn Johnson. A creature, resembling a deer, bounded on to the freeway at about 70 mph and then, suddenly, at a sharp angle, spread small wings, and took to the black sky. The phantom walked on two legs but looked exactly like a deer. Lynn believed the animal to be supernatural in nature, for its wings were too small to support its weight. ****

ZC: The Jersey Devil on tour? DELGETH – an evil beast described by the Navajo people of North America as something akin to an antelope but which feeds on meat. According to legend however, these creatures were wiped out many, many years ago when man first came about. ***

ZC: There is no reason to doubt such a creature roamed the wilds so long ago, but only obscure records or fossil finds could back such a claim up. DEMON CAT – in Washington DC, in the Capitol Building, a felid phantom roams the basement near the Catafalque Storage Room. Guards allegedly shot at a massive black animal on two occasions during the 1800s, and in 1950 one guard claimed he saw the beast inflate to the size of a tiger. Other witnesses claim that, on certain nights, they can hear the cat wail. ****

ZC: Did someone once keep a ‘big cat’ in the basement to guard the area? Why such a form should haunt this location, which, it must be said, seems to house many spirits, is a mystery, but a hideous one at that.

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DEMON CREATURE – another West Virginia-related monstrosity that is said to have been sighted around Charleston and parts of Connecticut etc., this beast is said to stand much taller than a bear on its hind legs, possess a long bushy tail, and a pointed snout like that of a wolf. It is able to walk on all fours, emits deep growls, and has been blamed for several livestock kills, as well as scaring many terrified witnesses who’ve seen the creature since the 1930s. ****

ZC: Dog-headed men, Werewolves - you name them; they exist in the lore of many countries. A majority seem to take on a similar form. DEMON DOG OF KESTON – this Surrey spectre roams a small thicket, as a hound. Whether it has connections to the Creep Of Keston Ponds is another matter. ***

ZC: Could this dark-coloured animal phantom have been the Surrey ‘puma’ which was rife around the 1960s and onwards? DEMONIC BLACK FIGURE – a big, horned, humanoid with a tail, that frightened youths at Camp Crame Elementary School, in Quezon City, in the Philippines during 1993. Students were burning wood in the local woodland, when the being came out of the darkness. The terror was connected to some kind of demonic possession. **

ZC: It would be interesting to hear from the witnesses to this manifestation. DEMON OF THE MOUNTAINS – no-one is quite sure what kind of spirit lurks in Canada’s oldest National Park, but the terrain of Banff makes it a very mystical place. In 1854, Governor of the Hudson Bay Company, Sir George Simpson wrote: “As far as the

eye could reach, mountain was seen rising behind mountain, while at our feet lay a… valley surrounded by an amphitheatre of rocky peaks, rugged and cold…in whose crags not a tree could plant its roots or goat could find a resting place, the ‘demon of the mountains’ alone could fix his dwelling there”. The area in question is known as the Devil’s Gap, a place beautiful yet dangerous, and said to be haunted not only by native wildlife such as bobcat, wolf, and cougar, but also a phantom white horse. Many believed that such a horse was simply elusive to the natives, but time after time, its pursuers were unable to catch it, and so it took on a spectral form. However, such a legendary creature does not fit into the ‘demon’ we are talking of. In fact, any plateau with eerie spots known as Ghost River, Phantom Crag, and the Devil’s Head, must surely have its own resident spook. That apparition is something akin to a half-human/half-fish humanoid, once spoken of by the Stoney Indians. They claimed that this beast, which resided on the dark fringes of Lake Minnewanka, which is also known as Devil’s and Cannibal Lake, could only be killed if struck by lightning. So

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much did they fear this creature, that the waters of the lake often remained undisturbed by human touch, just in case the phantom would drag them down into the depths. Banff Park is, without doubt, a very strange place; abundant are its legends, but did a stalking humanoid once inhabit the high ridges and bodies of water? Maybe a clue hides in the translation of Lake Minnewanka – this being, ‘lake of the water spirit’! ****

ZC: Indian legends often speak of great water creatures, so there is no reason to doubt this particular entity of dread. Such forms exist throughout the world, whether as cautionary tales to keep children away from the edge of the lake, or to spook travellers high on snowy peaks. DENDAN – a giant black fish from Arabian legend. Such a water dweller must not come into contact with humans for it will surely die. ***

ZC: Simply a real fish. DERWYN CORPH – the phantom bird of Wales, said to tap on the window of those about to die. See also Corpse Bird. ****

ZC: See conclusion and source for Corpse Bird.

Derwyn Corph

DEVASTATING DOG – child devouring hounds; from Hawaii. ****

ZC: Fearsome variation of so many other spectral beasts, although these appear more harmful than others. DEVIL BIRD OF NEW JERSEY – around 1909 the Jersey Devil was not the only mystery creature to be reported. Dan Possack of Millville had an encounter with a mystery bird that he described as being over fifteen-feet high. Apparently the ‘bird’ spoke perfect English, and demanded to know where the ‘garbage can’ was, but became irritable and began to attack Dan. The victim described hacking at a creature that seemed to splinter like wood. **

ZC: Devil-bird lore is well known in cryptozoology, but this case is almost too absurd to be taken seriously. DEVIL OF OLD REBEL HOUSE – scary phantasm seen during the 1880s by a family who described an apparition with horns, and red, glowing eyes. The demon walked through a

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wall, and then sped away, leaving a trail of smoke. **

ZC: A hideous humanoid that may have been connected to the history of the house, where, previously, Southern soldiers had hidden during the Civil War. This fiend may also have been a poltergeist, although I’m not sure whether its visits were regular. DEVIL’S DANDY DOGS – phantom dogs of Cornwall, also known as Dando’s Dogs. Those who encounter the pack of spectral hounds are said to be able to repel their advance by praying on the spot. ****

ZC: Spectral hounds of the West Country are as strange and yet as potent as phantom hounds anywhere else in the world. DEVIL’S FOOTPRINTS – mysterious trail of footprints that appeared on the snow-laden rooftops and ground of various towns and villages of south Devon, England in 1855. No valid explanation has allegedly ever been given to solve the mystery, but similar prints did appear during the New Jersey Devil panic of 1909. The Devon prints appeared over four days, giving limitless scope for hoaxers to add more prints. Contrary to popular belief, the prints were not all the same size and shape either, and the whole matter is one of confusion that casts doubt on any kind of mystery rooftop prowler.

The Devil’s Footprints The Times, London, 16th February 1855: “Considerable sensation has been evoked in the towns of Topsham, Lympstone, Exmouth, Teignmouth and Dawlish, in the south of Devon, in consequence of the discovery of a vast number of footprints of a most strange and mysterious description. The superstitious go so far as to believe that they are the marks of Satan himself; and that great excitement has been produced among all classes may be judged from the fact that the subject has been descanted on from the pulpit. It appears that on Thursday night last there was a very heavy fall of snow in the neighbourhood of Exeter and the south of Devon. On the following morning, the inhabitants of the above towns were surprised at discovering the tracks of some strange and mysterious animal, endowed with the power of ubiquity, as the footprints were to be seen in all kinds of inaccessible places – on the tops of houses and narrow walls, in gardens and courtyards enclosed by high walls and palings, as well as open fields. There was hardly a garden in Lympstone where the foot-prints were not observed.

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The track appeared more like that of a biped than of a quadruped, and the steps were generally eight inches in advance of each other. The impressions of the feet closely resembled that of a donkey’s shoe, and measured from an inch and a half to (in some instances) two and a half inches across. Here and there it appeared as if cloven, but in the generality of the steps the shoe was continuous, and, from the snow in the centre remaining entire, merely showing the outer crest of the foot, it must have been convex (concave?). The creature seems to have approached the doors of several houses and then to have retreated, but no-one has been able to discover the standing or resting point of this mysterious visitor. On Sunday last the Rev. Mr. Musgrave alluded to the subject in his sermon, and suggested the possibility of the footprints being those of a kangaroo; but this could scarcely have been the case, as they were found on both sides of the estuary of the Exe. At present it remains a mystery, and many superstitious people in the above towns are actually afraid to go outside their doors after night.” **

ZC: There has been so much debate as to what or who caused the mysterious footprints, many have theorised that some bizarre creature caused the impressions, but there is no evidence whatsoever to support this. DEVIL FOREST DEMON – a Venezuelan man-beast said to resemble a wolf, but walks on two legs. However, it is said that the region it roams is not detailed on any map, so those that seek it never return. **

ZC: With man-beasts abundant in the lore of Venezuela there is a slight possibility to believe in such phantoms from remote parts of the country. DEVIL GOAT – a bizarre humanoid sighted in 1948 in Somerset, England by a young man named Cyril Barry, as he was smoking his cigarette whilst bathed in the light of an over-looking house. Mr Barry peered into the room adjacent to him and saw, sat at a large table, a being with a goat’s head, and ten-inch long horns. The creature appeared to be white and had a hairy beard, and Mr Barry hastily left the area. The following day, the witness went back to the house and hesitantly peered into the darkness of the window. He noticed that the room was now unkempt, dusty, and empty, as if it hadn’t been occupied for years. ****

ZC: Not your average run-of-the-mill phantom sighting.

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DEVIL HORSE – in Mexico the local bogeyman may come to you as a black horse with burning eyes. **

ZC: Comparisons to Black Dogs etc., but less consistent. DEVIL HOUSE DEMONS – winged bat-like forms said to have attacked a young man who was practising Devil worship in his New Mexico home. The visitors flapped their wings frantically, knocking the victim to the ground, and the next thing he knew was that he was in hospital. In September 1988, at the age of twenty-three, the tormented man committed suicide. **

ZC: Did the witness conjure these dark apparitions, and was he cursed for evermore for playing games with Satan himself? DEVIL MONKEY – weird Kangaroo-like hoppers said to leap through several states of the US. The Devil Monkey, known in Native American folklore as the nalusa falaya, meaning ‘long evil being’, is said to emit piercing screams, appear baboon-like, and is capable of great leaps of up to forty-feet. Most descriptions of these unusual creatures describe animals that stand between four and six-feet in height, on two powerful legs, and are greyish to dark in colour, with pointed ears. Such a creature may well have been responsible for the 1973 Enfield scare, and from Wisconsin to British Columbia researchers have found three-toed tracks apparently left by the mysterious monkeys. See Illinois Horror. ***

ZC: We are unsure as to what these Devil Monkeys really are, except maybe out of place kangaroos which seem enigmatic on their own. Some suggest that they are phantoms, whilst others believe that they are escaped monkeys. DEVIL TIGER – the village of Wha Chee, in China, is prowled by this menacing beast, which has taken several lives. Ernest Bentle, an American author, catalogued the monster which, according to reports, he saw in 1954, and which he described as a cloud-like apparition. As of today, the phantom still roams the shrinking forested areas, so who knows what spectre will be flushed from its lair once the last of the wilds have been harvested. ****

ZC: Why this creature is called a ‘tiger’ we may never know, but the fact that people have gone missing, and that this creature has been blamed, could well point to a large cat, or something entirely unknown which the locals attribute to the power and shy nature of a large felid. This is certainly an unexplained mystery that points to something more than just local superstition.

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DIENTUDO – also known as Big Teeth, this possible Sasquatch relation, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, is also described as a monstrous half-man/half-bear form. ****

ZC: Reports of this ilk seem to melt into various other monster mysteries. Werewolves, shape-shifters, Bigfoot and other swamp humanoids could all play a part in the mystery of this humanoid. DIRT SPIDER – a Japanese manifestation, this evil arachnid is said to be a shape-shifter, but when it takes the form of a spider it still has human characteristics. Also known as Tsuchigumo. **

ZC: Local monster story. DISSOLVING DEMON – in the Winter of 1973, a man out jogging in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, was confronted by a hairy, ape-like creature with glowing eyes that approached him and his dog. The witness fired at the creature, whereupon it began to scream and then evaporated into thin air. ****

ZC: Is this why these man-beast bodies are never found? DIWO – a dog apparition that spreads disease. **

ZC: Little is known about this spectral canid. DOBBIES – in Lancashire, UK, houses are said to be plagued by these horse-like apparitions. To keep such amorphous terrors away, one should hang up a perforated stone. **

ZC: A wonderfully dark little critter with no real motive or origin. DODE CHURCH MONSTER – a huge, white spectral beast sighted in the 1990s at this area near Gravesend, Kent (UK). The animal, observed by a male witness who was staying in a cottage in the area, was said to have been as big as a horse, fleet of foot, and chasing rabbits. ****

ZC: Phantom dog? Albino cat? Who knows? This eerie spectre has only been reported once, but maybe other sightings exist, but witnesses have been hesitant to come forward. DODO – not the extinct bird, but a tree-dwelling creature from Ghana said to prey on unsuspecting travellers, like most trickster demons. The dodo often appears as a big snake hungry for human meat. ***

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ZC: Is the obscure Dodo simply a feared big snake, like an anaconda? DOG BEAST – the eerie noise of a bell caught the attention of rambler Pablo Montesdeoca in El Techo, Gran Canaria, Spain, but what raced by him afterwards was a frightening thing – barely touching the ground as it ran rushed a dog-like animal. ***

ZC: Possible ‘big cat’ sighting on this mountain trail. DOG MAN – a canine shape-shifter. See also Kunanthropos. ****

ZC: Pertains to ghostly Black Dogs and were-forms. DOGS OF HELL – at Parton Cross, Eardisley, the Dogs of Hell are said to be the sign of death; phantom hounds which haunt Hereford and Worcester, which, across the border into Wales, are known as Cwn Annwn. ****

ZC: More phantom hounds, proving that the lore of these spectral dogs is abundant, yet varied. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DEMON DOG – during late 1977 and early 1978, a fierce creature, said to resemble a giant dog, was blamed for several livestock mutilations in the vicinity of Barahona. Locals cutting cane lived in fear of the rampant beast, which was decimating domestic pets and somehow gaining access to well secured pens. Around the same time, residents were also seeing strange humanoids in the woods and being buzzed by unusual lights in the sky. ***

ZC: Judging by the livestock attacks, it seems as though we may have been dealing with a large predator of the felid variety, but the reports of the lights and other weirdness, although probably unconnected, simply added more confusion to the saga. DONKEY GHOST – this strange beast was sighted by a farmer’s wife in Letton, Norfolk (UK). The creature, although resembling a donkey, was said to walk on its hind legs, and at other times the apparition was headless. **

ZC: Animal spectre. DONKEY LADY – a Texan zooform urban legend dreamed up by youngsters cruising the woods to share a few beers, and make out with their counterparts of the opposite sex, Donkey Lady is said to prowl the woodlands of Helotes. She is a half-woman/half-beast, centaur-like apparition, that is said to spook teens and young adults. The beast’s burning

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red eyes have been seen peering from the thickets and allegedly, on one occasion, the creature left a large hoof-print on the ice chest of a keg of beer! Supposedly, in San Antonio, there exists a Donkey Lady Bridge, but the story behind such a legend brings to mind that of Goatman. **

ZC: A great, quirky little story that doesn’t seem to be anything more than a one-off tale to frighten those who are brave enough to venture into the dark woods. It seems, however, that, like the Vanishing Hitchhiker legends around the globe, there are variations to the Donkey Lady. DONKEY MAN – of no relation to Donkey Lady, this is an English spooker said to have haunted a house in Bradford in 1983. The spectre emerged from the wardrobe, and had the legs of a donkey, a blue face and horns on its head. It seems that during this year, the Devil had come to Yorkshire! ****

ZC: An incredible haunting that may have only lasted for one night, but proof that such Satyr figures are common the world over and not just confined to the woods of America. DOVER DEMON – on 21st April 1977, at around 10:30 pm, three seventeen-year old boys were travelling in a car, north along Dover, in Massachusetts when one of the passengers, Bill Bartlett, caught sight of a small creature creeping close to a wall as they sped by. Bartlett saw two orange, glowing eyes reflected in the headlight beam, and saw, under the illumination, a creature thin and frail in form with spindly limbs, and having an over-sized oval head. Upon arriving home, Bill told his father about his unusual and unnerving sighting, and drew a sketch of what was to become known as the Dover Demon.

Dover Demon

A couple of hours after the bizarre encounter, fifteen-year old John Baxter was walking along a deserted road in the vicinity. He had been at a girlfriend’s house for the evening, and was alone on the quiet lane. John became aware of a figure nearby and called out, thinking that it might have been a friend, but to his horror came face to face with a thin, pale-skinned creature that stood next to a tree with its long fingers wrapped around the trunk. The creature hurried off into the darkness, and - although Baxter followed in hot pursuit - he could not find the mystery being.

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The following day Baxter described his experience, and gave details almost identical to those spoken of by Bill Bartlett. Bartlett, meanwhile, shared his sighting with his eighteen-year old friend Will Taintor, who claimed that, whilst driving fifteen-year old Abby Brabham home one night, she reported seeing a weird looking figure that was briefly glimpsed in the car headlights. The creature had the same orange glow to its large, bug eyes, and appeared to have rough, hairless, skin. Local ufologists who, although having reservations about Bartlett, believed there was no evidence of a hoax and carried out investigations into the unusual sightings. ****

ZC: The Dover Demon is a classic case, although little was done at the time to investigate it. The appearance of the entity was backed up by a handful of eyewitness reports, and although this creature appeared like one of the classic ‘alien grey’- type figures, such humanoids often flitter into the zooform category whether as Bigfoot or Lizard men etc., and they never seem to stick around. DRAGON – these great mythical beasts cover a wide range Dragon of possibilities within the monster world. Such fiery, leathery creatures may have been anything from large reptiles, to zoomythogical winged ‘critters’ or to lake and sea monsters never discovered that may also still exist today. In cultures across the globe, these winged forms are dominant and have survived in mythology for many centuries. Whilst their truth may lie within many guises, there is no denying their existence within the void of zooform, as such creatures, or beasts akin to the Dragon, continue to appear on land, in sea and air. ****

ZC: These are popular monsters once greatly feared, yet often admired throughout the ages. For further information you cannot do better than consult `Dragons: More than a Myth?` by Richard Freeman (CFZ Press, 2005).

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DRAGON OF GREENSBURG – as reported in The Decatur (IL) Daily Republican of 1893, “A HORRIBLE MONSTER – Probably escaped from the Chinese Bazaar in the

Midway Plaisance – GREENSBURG, Ind., Sept. 24 – Mrs Casper Mann and Mrs Jos. Groswick were returning home in a buggy, Friday evening, when they heard an unusual noise from the woods along the road. A moment later a horrible creature descended a tree-coon fashion, and running after the buggy attempted to climb up from behind. There was a race for life that continued a mile, when two men with dogs were met and the pursuing monster fled into the woods. The animal was about seven-feet long. Its head ended in a beak like an eagle’s, its body was round like that of an alligator, covered with scales and ornamented with a pair of wings.” Some researchers who have looked into this obscure report, claim that there is no record of the witnesses having been born, married, or dying, in that particular area, but this should not discredit the incident, because the women involved may have been from anywhere outside Greensburg. The main question - of course - was, and still is, what did they encounter that terrified them so much? And how did something akin to a dragon find its way to the local woods? ****

ZC: Older, obscure reports may have an element of drama about them when we read back on such incidents, but the fact they do exist shows that these kind of creatures have always been with us, even through the hoaxes and misinterpretations. DRAKE – this is a small Dragon-like creature but without wings. The Drake is a vague beast that could be connected to descriptions of the Cockatrice and other similar beasts. **

ZC: A mythological monster of old tales. DREKAVAC – also known as the Yeller, this faceless beast, possibly an animal or a bird, is known for its deathly scream. This is a bogeyman of Slavic mythology used to frighten children. However, local adults believe the creature to be real, for in 1992 near the village of Krvavicka, a mystery creature was found dead, said to resemble a dog or fox but with the hind legs of a kangaroo. In 2003, in Tometino, a similar creature was blamed for the deaths of several sheep. Others believe that this beast is a heavy creature, a deep growling form that could resemble either wolf, bird, or bat, but locals tend to put their own form to the deathly cries. ****

ZC: This legend reeks of the vampire-like thirst of the Goatsucker and other unknown sinister predators.

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DROP BEAR – a mythical marsupial creature said to hide in gum trees across the Australian Bush. This creature was created in order to keep children in bed at night, and such creatures are said to be related to the koala. ***

ZC: It wouldn’t be fair to completely dismiss this legend. DUAH – a huge, leathery prehistoric-looking flying creature reported from Papua New Guinea, this beast has wings measuring up to twenty-feet, and a long neck. This flying oddity is said to resemble the Pteradon, a creature that died out several million years ago. ****

ZC: Are these flying entities ghosts of the Mesozoic period or true survivors? DUN COW – this ghostly cow is said to appear as an omen of death, and originates from Shropshire in the UK. **

ZC: Fable. DUNDONALD CREATURE – this intriguing monster was said to haunt Dundonald Hill, in Kilmarnock, Scotland, for many centuries and possibly to the present day. The dogs of the local castle were often unsettled by an unseen presence in the grounds; a shadowy figure known to haunt the trees and the shadows. One witness, a female, claimed that the local spectre was a charcoal-grey figure of some build, but that seemed to lack solidity. She saw the phantom in 1994, when her dogs became suddenly agitated. The creature had two red, slit eyes, and stood over ten-feet in height. Another witness to strange phenomena in the area mentioned seeing two squat figures with no discernible features that appeared to follow him as he walked the hill. One of the figures seemed to grow in size, causing the man to the leave the area. ****

ZC: Large man-beast spectres have been sighted throughout Scotland’s peaks, but noone is sure as to whether they are local dread or genuine haunting. DUNGARVON WHOOPER – this monster has been heard but not seen, around the New Brunswick (USA) area, in the Miramichi woods. Its howls and cries pierce the silence, although researchers believe it is the call of the eastern panther. ***

ZC: Several monster flaps revolve around forms that have never been sighted, although often heard. This particular beast could well be anything or, most likely, nothing at all. Local superstition and fear could well mix with other calls of nature to manifest something that simply isn’t out there!

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DUNNIE – a frustrating trickster horse or donkey said to throw off any person who should attempt to mount, and then run off giggling. This is a British legend. *

ZC: Wispy yarns speak of these spirits as the ghosts of robbers etc, who forever wander this realm playing pranks. DUS – the Celts described this humanoid as a ‘wood devil’, possibly an obscure reference to a Bigfoot. ****

ZC: These kind of watered-down references hide a far greater truth - that large humanoids roam forests all over the world and have done so for centuries. DZUNKWA – a supernatural giantess from the forests of Amerindian lore. This cumbersome, heavy breasted female humanoid is a Sasquatch-type apparition, black in colour, and is said to abduct small children and carry them off to its dark lair deep within the woodlands. Once the creature has reached its domain it will devour its prey. This creature has several names, being Wild Woman of the Woods, Property Woman, Dzoonokwas, Dzonoqua and Tsonoqoa. ****

ZC: Those who believe Bigfoot and other man-beasts to be paranormal would no doubt include this spectre in their list. Such a creature resembles the Wendigo and other bogeyman-type forest dwellers that walk a fine line between sinister woodland wanderer and ghostly entity.

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E EARTH HOUNDS – in Banffshire, Scotland the Earth Hound is a ferret-sized creature with a dog-like head said to inhabit foggy graveyards, and eerie burial grounds. This obscure creature is said to devour dead bodies. ***

ZC: Whilst this may sound like a demonic beast straight from some Victorian ghost story, there is a slight possibility that we could have been dealing with a flesh and blood scavenger – possibly an unknown species of mustelid - or in fact, an ethereal vampire. EATER, THE – a grim entity from Egyptian folklore said to have the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion and the hindquarters of a hippo. Such a beast is said to feast on sinners. **

ZC: A ghoulish story. EDBURTON ENTITY – a large, phantom beast said to lurk in the woods of Sussex. Although the legend seems vague, the creature, said to have been the size of a cow, was known to have had glowing eyes. This form was sighted during the early part of the 19th Century and terrified many smugglers and villagers. **

ZC: Sussex, in the UK, has many legends of large mystery cats, phantom hounds, and other strange creatures. This scary beast may well have been one of the first two mentioned. EDINGBURGH WINGED MONSTER – an entity seen in Scotland during the early 1990s, is this a relation to Mothman? **

ZC: Such a case has a shadow of doubt cast over it, and is, therefore, too obscure to look into. EELPOOT – a creature from swamp folklore, mainly from the quagmires of Maryland’s Zekiah Swamp, in Charles County, this pungent

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‘critter’ appears to have no solid identity which places it into the realms of urban legend. **

ZC: Maryland is rich in its folklore and this ‘thing’ simply adds to the cauldron of weirdness. EISENGRIND – this is a festive spirit that takes the form of a big dog and attacks children. *

ZC: This is a brief, fleeting fear of unknown origin that lacks the staying power of the usual Black Dog form. EKIMMU – Assyrian phantom that is said to be half-ghost/half-vampire. **

ZC: Vague and inconclusive. ELBST – a monster of Swiss legend that can take many forms, from being a dark, amorphous mass, to a serpent, as well as a ghostly horse and a pig-like creature. **

ZC: Any ‘thing’ that can shape-shift is obviously from some ethereal place, or somewhere we just do not understand. This is likely to be one of those confused monsters of no real identity or motive. EL COCU – a Spanish interpretation of a bogeyman figure; said to be covered in hair, and to frighten children. It is said that if the children do not behave then the beast will eat them. **

ZC: A scare story, although interesting to note how the Chupacabras may have grown from this kind of storytelling. EL DIABLILLO – this creature was sighted in Argentina, leaving two town police officers in hospital, suffering from shock. The case of the ‘imp’ was reported to newspaper La Gaceta of San Miguel de Tucuman on 12th July 2000, and described how: “..two men

were hospitalised and sedated after being found in a state of shock attributed to the alleged apparition of a new ‘Imp’.” El Diablillo, when translated from Spanish, means ‘Imp from Hell’, a description that could also pertain to the Chupacabras figure that is either one of the same animal or another menace to the country. The two policeman were the second and third victims of the small creature which appeared to them near Dande de Varela, 5 km from Valle de Catamarca, nearly 200 miles from the Capital. On the 5th July, it was alleged that Corporal Miguel Angel Aguero was asleep at his substation, along with Luis Rodolfo Aguero and Walter Ortega, when they

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were awoken by a sound originating from the roof of the next bedroom. The sound was described as ‘a stamping sound’, and Ortega went to check. Ortega was suddenly lifted into the air by an unseen force that threw him up against a tree branch, which snapped upon impact, and injured him. A police driver was then summoned by the men, and a further fifteen policemen arrived to investigate. Angel Aguero told the officers that he’d seen a small figure with red eyes, wearing a green shirt with black trousers that terrified him. Ortega and Angel Aguero were sent home, and further investigation failed to find any evidence of the dwarf. Angel Aguero, 37, has been with the service for ten years, as well as being a champion marathon runner in the province. He was found at the site, sitting in a chair with eyes glazed, and screaming at the ceiling. According to the other witness, the dazed man had been shouting: “There it is! There it is! It has come to get me!”. Rather bizarrely the figure told Angel Aguero that it had, “…come for thee on Satan’s be-

half!” Whilst many may not take such a tale so seriously, let us look back to the Saturday night of 17th April 2000, to the town of Frias, 162 miles from Cordoba, and the experience of another police officer. He was strolling along the Plazoleta Alfonso de la Vega when he thought he saw a small child roaming the nightly hours. He stopped to ask the child why it was out at such an hour, but was horrified when faced with its two red, burning eyes that gripped him with fear. Argentinean folklore has El Diablillo under its dark wing, and it is often mentioned in mythological terms as a small humanoid creature, wearing dark garments and always having red eyes. See also Pombero. ****

ZC: Enigmatic zooform weirdo’s such as imps, and other small humanoid figures, seem strong in South American lore, and are considered omens of misfortune. Some cases are extremely weird, shedding no light on to the origins of these midnight marauders. It is difficult to say whether these creatures are the product of mass hallucination and hysteria, or symbols of some impending disaster, but they certainly exist in force. ELECTRIC SERPENT OF TACOMA – a bizarre, serpent of sorts that was seen in the waters off Point Defiance in 1983. A group of campers described the phenomenon as measuring over 150 feet in length, and covered in coarse hair. The beast had six eyes, and its body illuminated the darkness. ****

ZC: Was this creature ever seen again? Was it a strange fish, a mighty sea serpent or something far more bizarre? ELGIN MONKEYMAN – a strange humanoid that was said to have terrorised parts of Elgin, Illinois, USA, around the Summer of 2005. A wooded area near Amanda Circle and Fleetwood Drive, were under observation after reports of an elusive four-foot tall

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monkey, although there were no signs left by the mystery primate. Local experts who looked into the reports claimed that no monkey would be able to live in the woods. ***

ZC: Probably nothing more than an escaped monkey, unless it was something more peculiar? ELKHORN WEREWOLF – aka the BRAY ROAD BEAST.

ZC: See conclusion for Bray Road Beast. ELOKO – in Zaire, the people fear this creature which lives in the hollow trees of the thick forests. This dwarf-like creature, which is said to attack humans, has claws, a long snout, and jaws able to consume a human whole. **

ZC: More hairy dwarves and shrivelled goblins! Africa and South America harbour these ‘critters’ in abundance, some more frightening and potent than others. The Eloko are all rather vague. EL PETIZO – Something reminiscent of a comic-book character has also been on the rampage in Argentina, and is possibly related to the many other strange happenings across the country. In El Duraznito, a small city located in Argentina’s northern Salta province, an entity known as ‘the shadow’ lurks in the eerie blackness and preys on unsuspecting humans. El Petizo is supposed to be nothing more than a fantasy creature; a creepy, ominous figure that attacks in the middle of the night and seems immune to any kind of human retaliation. The creature seems to appear in bizarre cycles, and during 2002 reappeared to attack a boy who was riding his bicycle in an area nine miles to the south-east of Rosario de la Frontera. It was during daylight hours, however, when the boy was planning on visiting friends for an adventurous day of hunting, and with his knife and shotgun packed away, he rode to his friends. On his journey he was suddenly thrown from his bike, and shocked to see a shadow approach on the road. Realising he could be in some sort of danger, the witness drew his shotgun and blasted the presence, but to no effect. He then scrambled for his Gaucho knife only to see his aggressive thrusts cause no harm to the closing shadow. The boy attempted to get to his feet, but the sinister apparition knocked him down again, and grasped him by the hair, and began to drag him towards the edge of the lane. The boy was terrified and began to shout, finally realising that the shadowy figure may well have wanted to kill him. Thankfully, the boy’s screams echoed far enough along the road to disturb a man, who made his way to where the strange occurrence was taking place. When he got there, he was alarmed to see a black, human-like shadow pulling the victim along the road by the

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head. As the man approached, the shadow completely vanished, leaving the boy by the roadside, suffering from shock and minor injuries. According to folklore within the country, El Duraznito is known as an occult area where many clandestine midnight forces are said to congregate and cause all manner of sinister and odd happenings. Near to where the figure was said to have attacked the boy is the ‘Cave of Black Ones’, a sinister setting said to have been occupied almost 1,000 years ago by the Candelaria cult. ****

ZC: Something rather ghost-like if anything, but often connected to black magic and also sightings of giant humanoids. EMPUSAE – cannibalistic female vampire-like monsters of centaur-like appearance. **

ZC: Little is known about creatures so peculiar. ERQIGDLIT – this beast is similar, if not the same as the Adlet, a ferocious, meat-eating creature among the traditions of the people of Greenland. ***

ZC: See conclusion for Adlet.

Empusae

ESTELLA ENTITY – Ricardo Jimenez attempted to grab this moaning, dwarf-like beast whilst riding his horse home one night in the Navarra region of Spain. The entity was hideous in form and wore a white tunic. Jimenez fled the scene, but only after the ‘critter’ attempted to grab the horse by the legs. ** ZC: Another weird imp story. Such tales grow stronger, yet seem so bizarre. ETHEREAL DRAGON – also known as the Dragon of Denton, this wispy creation surrounds Native American sacred ground in the Mills Commune of Texas, and can manifest itself in the clouds or from the smoke of the campfire. *

ZC: A local creation. EUREKA SHRIEKER – a red-eyed, huge fanged Werewolf sighted by a ten-year old girl in 1951 near the Eel River. The beast wore torn and tatty clothes, but was clearly covered in hair underneath its ripped garments. ****

ZC: These quite corny descriptions are actually very in keeping with Werewolf reports. EVIL MERMAID – a ferocious water creature that attacked a diver in 1988, whilst he was

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searching for mysterious undersea formations off the coast of Florida. The diver noticed a sudden churning of water, and then a form thrashing towards him, reaching out with ‘appendages’ rather than arms. The creature was female, for he noticed its large breasts and long flowing dark hair, but it was fearsome as it undulated through the foamy water. From the waist down it was scaled, its fish-like tail enabling it to power towards the frightened man, who fortunately scrambled to safety on his boat. ****

ZC: The lore of the mermaid is strong and powerful among seafaring men. Such a creature is probably the same as the centaurs, satyrs etc., of this world, only under the water rather than on land. EYE STEALERS – these are Peruvian night entities said to steal the eyes of their victims. See also Sacaojos. **

ZC: Imaginary spectres.

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F FACHEN – a great, one-eyed, feathered Irish monster that is said to pick off lonely travellers. *

ZC: The mention of feathers could point to a large bird with horrid intentions, but this seems to be the product of folklore. FAMH – a massive spectral dog said to haunt the Cairngorm range of Scotland’s Grampians. ****

ZC: Another of those ghostly hounds, dominant in world lore. FANANY – a creature of Madagascan folklore said to resemble a snake, but having seven heads. **

ZC: Obscure local monster that may have spawned from fears of the native boa. FANGALABOLO – a giant bat-like flying creature from Madagascar also known as Hair Snatcher. In Western superstition it is often believed that bats become entangled in people’s hair, and the Fangalabolo also has a tendency to dive upon unsuspecting souls to tear at their hair. ***

ZC: Very likely to be a new species of bat. FANG MEN – these Malaysian ape-men were sighted on many occasions throughout 1954 in Perak, and on one occasion attempted to abduct Wong Yi Moi. The Chinese girl claimed that a dark, heavily furred creature with powerful arms, and huge fangs, apprehended her, but bizarrely the creature wore a yellow skirt! As she struggled with the terror, which she’d assumed to be female, she saw two more beasts, both heavily built but without skirts! The terrified victim managed to flee from the scene, and heard that there had been other sightings, near the Trolak River. One of these encounters had involved the corporal of the Malaysian police, Abdul Talib, who also saw three beastly humanoids and was ready to fire upon them with his rifle, when they leapt into the river and swam away. **

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ZC: Maybe these creatures were an unknown tribe or undiscovered man-beasts…but wearing a yellow skirt? FANTASMA COLORADO – meaning ‘red ghost’, this apparition is a red camel, witnessed only rarely in Clifton, Arizona. The ghost is said to be one of many brought to the area in 1857 by the US Army. **

ZC: Some eyewitnesses to the phantasm, also mention a body slung over the back of the camel, although reports are too few and far between to validate the legend. FAR DARRIG – in Irish lore, a small, Leprechaun-related humanoid that is said to cause nightmares. Although not many of these beings make there way into this book, it’s worth noting that, like many of the South American imps et al, this figure of lore dresses all in red, and is also known as Red Man. ****

ZC: These figures feature heavily in folklore, many of them connected but representing different cultural fears and beliefs. FARMINGTON PHANTOM – an obscure apparition from Utah, USA, which is said to make the noise of a horse, and to maybe resemble one also, although opinion is divided and legend extremely vague. Some say it’s a headless horseman legend that dates back to the mid to late-1800s, while others say it’s a strange creature, but the majority have never heard of such a local yarn. *

ZC: Local spook story. FAST FOOT – a Lothian man-beast said to be able to run up to 70 mph. A family saw this fleet of foot humanoid in the Knock Forest area. **

ZC: Details remain too vague to comment. FAVERSHAM BEAST – rumour has it that many years ago a local woman to this Kentish town once owned a strange beast described as half-goat/half-dog. Some claim the woman who owned this hybrid monster was, in fact, a witch, and so she was killed for her crimes. Legend claims that she, and her beastly pet, now wander as lonesome spirits. *

ZC: This is an obscure, rural yarn, but I would like to know the origins of this tale. FAVERSHAM PHANTOM FOX – quirky little entity from this town in Kent, UK, and this creature is said to haunt the local railway bridge. *

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ZC: Sightings seem few and far between. FENCE RAIL DOG – also known as Red Dog Fox, this huge zooform hound prowls a long, remote road that runs from Pennsylvania in the north to Georgia in the south. Fatal accidents are common on this stretch of road and the dog, known to the Cherokee as the ‘yakehtan amai’, appears to be an omen of these tragedies. The beast is said to resemble a skinny wolf, but is menacing and silent. ****

ZC: This has to be one of the most enigmatic and strangest of ‘ghost dog’ yarns, because the Fence Rail Dog certainly seems to exist in that ‘goblin universe’ of a place. As mentioned previously in various sections, these phantom dogs take on many colours and forms, whether yellow and headless, or carrying chains and being white, the Fence Rail Dog is no exception. FENG-HUANG – giant, three-legged birds said to live inside the sun; they are the symbol of ever-lasting love. *

ZC: Classic mythology. FIDGET-WIDGETS – a bizarre, quirky name for an equally strange ‘critter’ that is said to have been born through lore in Columbia, Pennsylvania. Such humanoids are said to have been sighted in local graveyards, and described as ‘outer spacemen’, although other details remain vague. **

ZC: Intriguing, yet shallow, spook tale with potential.

Feng-Huang

FILLYLOO – a legend from the Ozarks of the U.S.A., this creature is similar to a lizard, and was allegedly sighted in 1951 by a traveller making his way through the woods. However, such an animal has yet to makes its way into the zoology books, and remains the stuff of folklore. ***

ZC: Unless one is caught or a clearer description is given, I’m pretty sure that any foggy forest creature can be a Fillyloo. FINKSBURG PHANTOM – a reptilian man-beast that, during one night in 1980, ‘buzzed’ a car on a quiet stretch of road in Maryland. The leathery winged nuisance made the car shake for a few minutes, before vanishing. ****

ZC: These phantasms are clearly roadside nuisances without any real motive, that may well have connections to phantom hitchhikers, or may have their relatives in the swamps

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which exist as lizard-like humanoids and other gilled men. FIREBIRD – a classical mythological bird from Russian legend said to have great, golden wings. ***

ZC: There may be some element of truth to this bird, although lore states that it is able to heal the sick. FIRE BOAR – three young men encountered a rampaging animal whilst exploring old mine shafts at Sonoma County, California in 1950. Whilst investigating the mines, they could smell smoke from a fire further in the darkness, so - curiously - they trudged on, and came across the blaze. Beside it a creature was standing; a foul beast that charged the witnesses, leaving one with a deep wound to his side. This was no ordinary animal, however, for it had human features and human hands. ****

ZC: It seems that the raging fire may have just occurred in order to tease the men toward the monster, making this case even more absurd. It would be interesting to track down the witnesses! FIRE-BREATHING HOUND – a ghost from Devon, in the UK, said to spout flame in the vicinity of Hawkesdown hill fort, an area also haunted by a phantom warrior who was possibly slain there. ****

ZC: Phantom dogs come in many shapes and forms, whether headless, carrying chains, or differing in colour, so those which breathe fire simply add to the cauldron of weirdness. FISH GHOST – although the legend remains unclear of exactly what fish haunts the area, and also its size, it is said to swim the San Antonio River, Texas (USA), and communicate with people. *

ZC: Something that I doubt very much. FISH MAN – this scaled, luminescent figure appeared to fashion model Elisa Medina in July 1974 at Bahia Blanca, Argentina. The two-metre tall humanoid was: “…all covered with brilliant scales, like a great iridescent fish”, and just stood and watched her, before fading away. Its brightness allegedly singed her eyelashes! ****

ZC: Another confusing reptilian being.

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FLATWOODS MONSTER – this bizarre entity was sighted on 12th September 1952 in Flatwoods, West Virginia. Three young boys, as well as a beautician named Kathleen May, her two young sons and two of their friends, went to investigate a strange red UFO that had landed in the area. When they arrived at the area a foul-smelling mist of sorts consumed them. They described the UFO as: “…a great ball of fire”, as it sat on the ground, but their attention was then drawn to a hideous creature with a peculiar head standing nearby. Two beams of light shone from the head of the creature, which they said was over six-feet in height, but they never saw any arms or legs. Shortly after the weird encounter, several other witnesses claimed to have seen unusual lights in the sky, and a similar creature with a head shaped like the ‘ace of spades’. ****

ZC: The Flatwoods Monster has been confused throughout the years, and yet has become a classic case in ufology, and is probably not a cryptozoological matter at all. Even so, it has one foot firmly in the zooform door, more so due to the Mothman saga, which took place just over a decade later. FLICKERING DOG – Rendlesham Forest, in Suffolk, has often been connected to UFO lore, and also reports of a creature known as the Shug Monkey. This weird beast may well have ethereal connections also to the Flickering Dog, a phantom hound seen in 1983 by a Paul and Jayne Jennings from Woodbridge. The creature they observed in the woods resembled a black dog that kept disappearing and then reappearing. ****

ZC: Some have surmised that different phenomena may be related, and however complex these varying mysteries may be, there are strong suggestions that point to such connections. FLIXTON WEREWOLF – five miles south of Scarborough in the United Kingdom sits a village that was once the hunting ground for a red-eyed man-beast that left a terrible smell in its wake. During the Saxon period many travellers feared wolves, and shelters were built in the vicinity to protect them. Could the Werewolf legend originate from here? *

ZC: Nothing more than a local fear. FLOOD DOGS – the folklore of Essex often speaks of phantom hounds, but these particular canids are white, and appeared before a flood at Harwich. ****

ZC: Another interesting variation on the hellhound theme. FLORIDA CENTAUR – in horror, a group of children from Melbourne, Florida, watched a six-foot tall, reddish, horse-like beast standing on the horizon near the highway on the

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outskirts of their town. The youngsters, all around ten-years old, fled from the area never to return again. **

ZC: Centaurs have been sighted the world over, but a few more reports from some areas would help some legends along. FLYING HEAD – in Oriental folklore vampire tales relating to such nasty things are rife, but this particular blood-drinking demon rises from Iroquois mythology. This ‘thing’ is a giant winged head with blazing eyes and razor fangs, and during darkness such a vampire will attack animals and humans. ****

ZC: A head that drinks blood may sound rather hilarious but rather strangely, these legends exist the world over. FLYING HUMANOID – seen in Kostroma, Russia in 1990, Yuri M originally thought he was watching a machine of sorts until it got closer, and an astonished crowd gasped and pointed at the flying man. This noiseless figure appeared to have no neck but its large, dark wings shadowed its face. ****

ZC: Another variety of man-bird. FLYING MERWOMAN – this winged beast attacked farmer Victor Morales in Puebla, Mexico on 16th August 1995. The ‘animal’, described as half-woman/half-fish, with a long tail, bit the farmer on the arm, after he disturbed it attacking his livestock. The oddity then flew away. **

ZC: The report seems quite descriptive, and may well describe an encounter with a bizarre winged humanoid, or something less extraordinary…but what? FOUNTAIN CAT – this Turkish beast is a blood-drinking cat spectre said to feast off young travellers, usually men. This sinister form inhabits areas such as springs and water pools. ****

ZC: An obscure legend, but something that may pertain to the Kelpie or Water Panther. FOX PEOPLE – one species of several shape-shifters that is said to prowl the nocturnal hours across the world, these often fit into the were-creature category. *

ZC: These shape-shifters exist the world over from Alligator People to Hyena Folk, but it seems that such beasts were nothing more than medicine men and shamans attempting to transform into animals by wearing their skins.

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FRENCH LICK FREDDIE – a fluorescent hominid with glowing eyes that is said to have prowled the woods of Indiana in the Spring of 1965. Researchers have connected this humanoid to other reports in the area of Bigfoot, although with a local name like this, who would want to take it seriously? **

ZC: Glowing beings have been reported from around the world, but sightings are few and far between. FREYBUG – this prowling black dog is mentioned in an unnamed manuscript from 1555, as an English hound said to have roamed dark lanes and preyed upon people going home from pubs and parties. Whether such a creature actually attacked its merry victims is a question that remains unanswered, but this animal fits in nicely alongside other lane haunting ghost dogs. ****

ZC: Those who may have seen giant black dogs may well have been accused at the time of having one too many a drink, which is how the association with drunken members of the public may have come about. FRISKERTON PHANTOM – the ‘Daily Star’ of 27th August 1997 commented on this spectral odd-bod as a four-foot tall, jet-black, bear-like entity which terrified three Sheffield school girls, Rachel Rowan, 12, Nicki Handley, 11, and Nicola Proctor, 9. The apparition came from the bushes, showing large teeth and long claws. ***

ZC: Probably the local ‘big cat’ on the loose. FROGMEN – in Estonia in 1938 two males were chased by brownish-green beings measuring just over three-feet in height. The creatures were described as moving elegantly, and having slits for mouths and eyes. ****

ZC: Whilst the tale of the Loveland Frog may have been such an anti-climax, these ‘critters’ sound very strange indeed. FUJAIRAH PHANTOM – an Arabian vampire that came to light around November 2005 in the suburb of Sakmakam after a spate of attacks on sheep. Officials from the Fujairah Municipality, police and newspaper reporters had congregated in the woods with a hope of catching a glimpse of the elusive predator which was known as a blood-drinking marauder which some believe is nothing more than a leopard or wolf. ***

ZC: Another ‘panic’ which has jumped on the Goatsucker bandwagon.

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FURIES – spectral women said to take on many animal forms to entice men to their peril. *

ZC: Trickster spirits of lore that exist as female ‘bogey’ creatures. FURLESS MONKEY – a strange, fanged being, reported to a cryptozoology website in March of 2005. The sighting came from Petersfield, England and involved schoolboy Cameron Lawther who was walking home from school when he saw, a monkey standing, hairless, on a nearby mud-bank. The creature stared at Cameron with beady eyes, unnerving the boy who backed away from the area, and chose a different route home. Cameron claimed that the fangs of the animal were very long. ****

Furies ZC: Peculiar creatures in the history of zooform phenomena, have been known to appear quite regularly to teenagers, but in the United Kingdom reports of such creatures are rare, despite the British Isles having its fair share of strangeness. This particular being seems to be rather extraordinary and something more complex than your average zoo escapee. FYLGIA – shadowy, nightmarish figures from Norway, which take on animal form. *

ZC: Further shape-shifting vagueness.

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ZC: Little is known about these Goatmen, but even if they are very much figments of fear, their legend need to be looked into. GABRIEL HOUNDS – a Lancashire term for the phantom pack of dogs, said to have human faces, which scream across the sky. ****

ZC: Intriguing legend when you consider these hellhounds are given the power of flight. GAGANA – in Russian folklore the Gagana is a great bird with an iron beak and copper claws and is said to live on the Booyan Island. **

ZC: There is a remote possibility that the Gagana is a real bird, but the legend is rather shallow. GAKI – Gaki are hungry Asian monsters, that are sinful spirits appearing as shrivelled, goblin-like entities, and exist only in darkness, feeding off any remains and human waste. **

ZC: The Gaki are certainly strong, evil figures in lore, but there is nothing to say that such terrible demons exist. GALLEYTROT – the Suffolk ghost hound that haunts the area near Southwold, nr Walberswick. Legend has it that this hound is white. ****

ZC: Suffolk and Norfolk are two areas where Black Dog lore in the U.K. is abundant. The Galleytrot is simply one of many names to describe such fiery-eyed hounds. GALACTIC GHOUL – finally, a zooform creature said to inhabit the wastes of space. This oddity is a blue-pink mass with a huge mouth that aimlessly drifts in the emptiness feeding on whatever passes by in the blackness. Whether it can actually live in space debris we’ll never know but such a creature has been blamed for the disappearance of several American and Russian space modules! Such a monster seems to have been created

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by workers at the Pasadena Launch Centre in the United States, proving that bizarre zooform lore can originate from anywhere! *

ZC: Whilst the idea of the Galactic Ghoul may make a fantastic idea for a film, whether such a mass is out there in mass remains an intriguing, yet unlikely possibility. GALOKWUDZUWIS – a flesh-eating bird with a peculiar growth on its beak. Such a monster comes from the Kwakiuti people of Canada. *** ZC: Sightings don’t seem to exist regarding this winged monstrosity but maybe in the past such a bird may have had similar origins to the Thunderbird. GARGOYLES OF TEXAS – tall, grey, winged creatures that are said to have emerged from the basement of a house in Littlefield, around the 1940s. A group of youngsters were playing near a house, which is no longer there, when they saw two eight-foot tall humanoids emerge from an underground storage room. The beasts stared at the frightened children before taking to the starry sky. According to an article written by Nick Redfern for Animals & Men magazine, the youngsters also saw two old, wizened women staring from a window of the house, laughing maniacally. ****

ZC: A bizarre tale based upon a couple of eyewitness sightings. Although this sounds like something from an evil fairytale, there appears to be some truth to the matter with the credible eyewitnesses. However, the 1940s are now a long time ago, so any further investigations are bound to be fruitless. GARM – a black, spectral dog of Norse mythology that has a blood-spattered face, this phantom, like Cerberus, is said to guard the gates of the dead. ****

ZC: Although no Garm or Cerberus has ever been sighted as such, these great guardian hounds of mythology are constantly connected and brought up when modern reports of phantom hounds circulate. Is history merely haunting us? GARUDA – this birdman of Hindu lore is said to bring the rain on its wings. **

ZC: A typical legendary beast connected to the coming of bad weather. GARWAF – in old Normandy this is another name for the WEREWOLF. ****

Garuda

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ZC: See Werewolf description. GATORMEN – swamp-dwelling reptilian hominids that are said to haunt the Louisiana backwaters, Gatormen are similar in description to Lizard Man, and other reptilian humanoids, which are said to sink into various lakes across the world, but are often tied with the swamplands and river bottoms of the United States. **

ZC: Reports of ‘gill men’ and ‘reptile-men’ exist from the swamplands of the USA. Gatormen may not be quite as realistic or ethereal, but could well melt into that same lore. GAUARGE – the Australian Aborigines speak of this amphibious creature, similar to the Bunyip, and said to dwell in water holes in the hope of dragging prey to its murky depths. The creature has been described as being like a featherless emu, and is believed to be a living dinosaur. ***

ZC: An Australian folktale with a very likely flesh and blood connection. GAUCHO BIRD PHANTOM – legend suggests that a monster bird appears over the grasslands of Argentina, born from an incident involving a gaucho (cattle herder) many years ago who neglected his family to spend every free moment weaving ponchos. His obsession led to a violent attack from a killer bird that cursed him forevermore. ***

ZC: Possibly a giant bird such as a Roc, or a relation to the Thunderbirds, or sadly a tale born from fantasy. GEF THE TALKING MONGOOSE – at Doarlish Cashen Farm, at Dalby, between 1931 and 1935, a nine-year old girl named Mary made a strange friend. This creature, known as Gef, became a paranormal ‘great’ after it attached itself to the girl, and some researchers claim that the manifestation was a poltergeist and related it to strange noises in the farmhouse, as well as spiritual voices, which communicated with the family. This ferretlike entity was said to have fingers instead of claws. ****

ZC: If such a phantom was ‘real’ then this talking mongoose appears as a very powerful zooform creature, although the debate still rages. GERULPHUS – the Werewolf from the Middle Ages. ****

ZC: See Werewolf.

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GHIERWOLF – the Dutch Werewolf. ****

ZC: As per other Werewolf descriptions and conclusion. GHOST COW – a beast that appears in front of vehicles on a stretch of road at Brownsville, Texas, USA, this creature has become quite a serious local legend, and has even been blamed for causing several accidents on the Farm Road. ****

ZC: This enigma starts off rather quirky, but over the years has transformed into something quite sinister. Is it a creature which forewarns of up and coming accidents, or is it actually the apparition which causes them? GHOST DEER – spectral animal of Northern California said to inhabit the wilderness area of Mt. Eddy, west of Mt. Shasta. Hunters claim that their bullets pass right through the animal, and often find its tracks ending abruptly or disappearing over ridges. ****

ZC: This is a simple case of a ghostly animal, although hunters believe there is more to its appearance than meets the eye. GHOST ELK – the body of water known as Spirit Lake, in Mount St. Helens, Washington (USA), is said to be haunted by a mysterious creature known as ‘Seatco’, as well as a phantom elk said to lure people to their death. Indians have always avoided this lake. **

ZC: There is an air of weirdness at this place although the actual experiences of these forms seem scarce. GHOST FLYER – the horror of Hacienda Heights, California, seen in March 2001 by a witness helping his brother construct a new roof. The winged monster sighted was Pterodactyl-shaped but transparent. ****

ZC: Possible report of a phantom flying beast that roamed the globe several millions of years ago. GHOST HORSE OF OXWICH CHURCH – a white horse that haunts an area of Swansea, in Wales. This beast is said to walk on its hind legs through the churchyard, and the first report of such a spectre dates back to the late 1800s. However, the South Wales ‘Evening Post’ reported a similar apparition in 1963, which was seen floating across the gravestones by an elderly gentleman. Some have connected this haunting to the legend of the Ceffyl Dwr, or local ‘water horse’. Such a creature is described as white or grey with backward turned hoof prints. ****

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ZC: The tales of water horses and Kelpies travel far and wide. GHOULS OF GARDEN STATE PARKWAY – said to roam the Pine Barren woodlands of Jew Jersey, a haunt of the famed Jersey Devil, the ‘ghouls’ are small, white-furred, owlfaced beasties. Those who have seen them, including men from the National Guard, describe these things as having dirty, matted fur, claws and sharp yellow teeth, and are often seen squatting on pathways before speeding off into the trees. ***

ZC: The Pine Barrens is a vast landscape that could hide a number of strange creatures, real or otherwise, including fabled Devils, cougars and these ‘ghouls’, which could actually be flesh and blood animals. GHOUL OF GREAT FALLS – as if Maryland in the United States isn’t haunted enough already by goat-like beings and other weird creatures, this ‘ghoul’ was seen in 1936 at the local ‘Maryland Mine’, when it approached a night security guard doing his rounds. The figure crawled from one of the shafts, had a ten-foot long tail and blazing eyes. **

ZC: Hard to work this one out unless other people see such a bizarre form, although many of these zooform monsters do actually depend on the human psyche. GIANT BEE – possibly UFO-related strangeness, from Queensland, Australia that involved a female witness who, in September 1992, looked out of her window towards a paddock to see a creature resembling a bee but the size of a man. Allegedly, weird aerial phenomena were sighted in the skies around the area and messages were telepathically relayed to her. *

ZC: This tale started well…! GIANT CENTIPEDE – as mentioned in the 1912 book ‘Myths and Legends of Japan’ by Briton F. Hadland Davis, it appears that this massive beast was slain by General Hidesato after it had terrorised the local community of Lake Biwa. ***

ZC: This obscure legend may well have been a flesh and blood lake monster or some kind of prowling local nightmare. GIANT PHANTOM BEAR – this beast gets a brief mention in Loren Coleman’s ‘Curious Encounters’ book, in relation to the eerie Devil’s Tower structure, in Wyoming, USA **

ZC: Tales of this creature are allegedly popular in the area, but as of the time of writing this piece I’ve yet to discover any depth to the yarns.

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GIANT SPIDERS – spiders do not seem to be regular visitors to the zooform world but in July 1974, in Ontario, Canada, a group of juveniles walking along a remote pathway stumbled across these fearsome things. The isolated spot, at Windsor, appeared to be the hunting ground for these ‘critters’, which were over two-feet in length, yellow and black in colour with long legs. ***

ZC: These may have been escaped pets or something else flesh and blood. GIZOTSO – this is a wolfman that inhabits the forests of Basque mythology. ****

ZC: Possible Bigfoot man-beast. GLAISTIG – a centaur-type figure said to roam the Scottish Highlands. **

ZC: Rather brief and transparent, and all too obscure to go anywhere else. GLAMORGAN’S GHOSTLY PANTHER – at St. Donat’s Castle, in South Glamorgan, there is an obscure legend regarding several sightings of this phantom ‘big cat’ said to roam the cold corridors. Some argue it may simply be the ghost of an old ‘pet’, while others believe it is simply one of many strange manifestations said to appear in the building. ***

ZC: Such an animal may well have been the spirit of an actual ‘big cat’ held in local captivity. GLAMIS GHOUL – according to Jon Downes and Richard Freeman in their paper, ‘Shug Monkeys and Werewolves - The search for the dog-headed men,’ in ‘Fortean Studies

Volume 5’: “…the monster of Glamis Castle is supposed to have been the hideously deformed heir to the Bowes-Lyon family who was, according to popular rumour, born in about 1800, and died as recently as 1921. He is supposed to look like ‘an enormous flabby egg’, having no neck and only minute arms and legs. His physical short-comings are made up for by his immense physical strength and, according to some accounts, his propensity for evil.” Some reports of the ghoul mention a transparent appearance and also a creature with a pumpkin-like head. **

ZC: The Glamis creature is a well-known monster story that isn’t too dissimilar to the Jersey Devil ‘mutation’ legend, but there is nothing to say that the ‘ghoul’ appeared outside the confines of the castle so such a ‘critter’ was either a deformed person or a ghost.

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GLAWACKUS – this is another of those critters mentioned in the tall tales of lumberjacks from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but there may have been some element of truth in this one. Basically, the Glawackus is similar to a ‘panther’, lion, and bear and was sighted in Connecticut and Massachusetts. ***

ZC: There have been several sightings across the United States of overly large cats which resemble lions or ‘leopards’, which are heavily furred, suggesting that some of these lumberjack tales are in fact exactly what they are cracked up to be. GLASHTIN – a phantom, water-horse from the Isle of Man. ****

ZC: Resident lake monster. GLENCOE GHOUL – a Scottish man-bird seen in 1993 by two hill walkers. Although it was the summer time, the ramblers became lost in a thick mist and then saw a creature with glowing red eyes and large, leathery wings that was perched on a rock. The walkers ran after the being screamed and wailed at them. ****

ZC: In some remote mountain regions of Scotland, and across the world there are legends of hill demons said to appear to lonely travellers who may be lost or disorientated. GLOWING CAT – a phantom felid sighted in Greenwood Cemetery, Slidell, USA, by a group of ghost hunters. One witness described seeing a white glowing ‘thing’ dart across the ground of the graveyard. Later, he thought that the apparition was a large cat. ****

ZC: Although this particular cemetery may have an obscure legend, phantom felids, and of course, hounds, are very common ‘myths’. GLOWING HUMANOID – seen in Maryland, USA, 1971 by a motorist and two friends, whilst travelling on a back road near a graveyard. The description was vague, except to say that the monster was eerie, glowing and had red, blazing eyes. ****

ZC: Another freak from the menagerie of Maryland. GLOWING MONSTER – an American oddity witnessed by a Ben Hardy and friends whilst on a camping trip in an unnamed location when, one night in the ‘90s, they saw a white creature, which even in the pitch of night, seemed to emit a glow. It was the size of a big dog, and had large red eyes. The group approached the form but then it sped off, scaling a seven-foot high wall, from where it stood on its hind legs and peered at the scared but curious witnesses. ****

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ZC: See also Sheep-Squatch for a similar anomaly. GLOWING OWLS – barn owls to be precise, observed throughout Norfolk around 1897 and 1908. *** ZC: Were these owls merely daubed in paint to create an eerie effect, or was something far weirder going on? GOATMAN – this is the urban legend that surrounds Washington’s dense woodlands, which has been born from fireside rumour, friend-of-a-friend-tale and possible sightings of Bigfoot in the county. Goatman is a shadowy figure; a combination of escaped lunatic, bogeyman nightmare, mad scientist and horned hairball said to roam the railroad tracks wielding an axe and decapitating dogs, and in some cases human victims, although there is not a shred of evidence to back this spooker up. Several counties have a similar figure, but Goatman is the perfect example of campfire horror. On the 4th November 1971 two men, John Hayden and William Gheen, went looking for a friend’s German Shepherd Goatman dog that had gone missing from Zug Road. There had been rumours going round of a shadowy figure in the area, peculiar noises and of course, the legend that an axe-wielding maniac was roaming the Penn Central Railroad tracks. Imagine the men’s horror then at finding the severed head of the dog in the area, another victim of the Goatman? Mainly, since the 1950s, the territory of this bogeyman has been more acutely focused on Bowie, a heavily forested area dissected by main highways, and also known for its ‘Crybaby Bridge’ where some claim Goatman can be heard to scream. However, these mysterious figures have also been sighted in Kentucky, Oregon, Texas and West Virginia, and anywhere that a campfire will take them. The legends are rife, but the identity hazy. Like so many other urban legends across the United States, that of the Goatman is confused, often related to others, and exaggerated as it is passed down through the generations. Some like to associate the figure to various highways, bridges and railroad tracks, others believe he is a reclusive soul, born from madness and vengeful to humans, whilst some claim that such a monster is a mad scientist, or an escaped lunatic, who is said to dress in rags and furs of the animals he’s killed, always on the look-out for more victims. The facts are: Goatman is a non-entity, yet a great scare story. His name is a whisper,

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and the fear he strikes into the heart of every curious teen is like a lightning bolt, but he is a beast with no face, a shadow of the Washington backwoods that could well melt into reports of Bigfoot in the state, whilst some believe the origins lie with an old hobo named Albert who used to mingle with the tramps etc., who’d set up camps along the eerie rails. Albert was alleged to have been a nasty piece of work, an unhappy camper often seen walking the railroads with his axe. From the 1950s to the present day, there are stories of hulking, hairy bipedal creatures roaming the woods of Maryland. Many of these are tied to the Goatman legend, but their truth may well be stranger than the fiction of a ghost story that has stood the test of time, like so many other urban legends, ideal for teens shacked up in the local woods with their girlfriends. Goatman belongs in the Lover’s Lanes and haunted backwoods; a bogeyman moulded by society to fit in with the local, current fear. It is a legend that never was, that will live forever. See also Bunnyman. **

ZC: It’s a shame that such a great campfire spooker only has two stars, but the facts are, Goatman is nothing more than campfire ghost story, urban legend, and college kid fear, although such a non-entity does have relatives. GOATMAN’S BRIDGE PHANTOM – something resembling a satyr-like form is sighted every now and then on this unused bridge in Burkburnett, Texas, USA, where other weird phenomena also take place at this spooky location. **

ZC: If this bridge is unused it would be interesting to find out how exactly this figure is sighted? Are too many drunken youngsters loitering around and making their own legends up or does a Goatman really reside in the area? GOATSUCKER – also known as ‘chupacabra’, this fiendish bloodsucker has been terrorising the island of Puerto Rico for several decades, but most of its hideous attacks, mainly carried out on livestock and pets, had come to the fore around the early 1990s due to media frenzy. Similar attacks have also occurred in parts of the USA (Florida), Mexico and Argentina, in which witnesses describe a nasty, levitating creature, greyish in colour, around two to four-feet in height, with glowing eyes and a row of spines which run down its back. The creature punctures its prey, leaving the carcass exsanguinated. Various hunts, often involving the authorities and researchers alike have failed to track down the mystery assassin that has, in some parts been called the ‘Vampire of Moca’. Others believe that the predator is nothing more than a Hispanic panic, caused by the constant dumping of biological chemicals bestowed by the USA, plus an accumulation of other things such as the

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Florida ‘panther’, folklore, dogs - and weirder still - UFO-related mutilations and high strangeness. Whatever the truth, Puerto Rico has a history of vampire lore, from its local gangs, which use names such as ‘bloodsuckers’, to a general belief and fear of such entities said to inhabit dank caves, despite the island being pretty much bare of natural wildlife. The small villages of Puerto Rico gave birth to the legend as a media darling in 1995 when domestic pets and farm animals were found slaughtered in the vicinity of Morovis and Orocovis. This was the year when the first ever real profile of the creature came to the fore, but may have been based on a creature the media created, for it was the internet that flashed investigator Jorge Martin’s sketch across the world. In the neighbourhood of Barrio Campo Rico in Canovenas, Puerto Rico, August 1995, eye-witness Madelyne Tolentino Maldonado gave one of the best ever descriptions of the ‘critter’ whilst helping her mother at 4:00 pm. Whilst facing her mother’s house, she saw a frightened motorist parked nearby backing away from the area, seemingly terrified. The creature approached, on two legs from a corner, aware of the car, and hesitant to go too near. Madelyne watched the creature through a window and believed the creature saw her too. She described the eyes as dark grey, and the creature around four-feet in height with three skinny fingers on each hand, at the end of two long arms. Its body hair was close and tight and ashen in colour, although she described what seemed to be burn marks on it, but the most bizarre detail she picked out was the feathery looking characteristic of its lower back, feathers which appeared flat. In various other reports witnesses described such ‘frills’ as standing erect and fluttering from side to side. In 1975 the Chupacabras was merely the Moca Vampire, responsible for mysterious deaths on animals such as geese, chickens, and even a large hog in the town of Moca. None of the corpses showed any trace of blood whatsoever, and the strange kills were often connected to the appearance of weird lights in the sky over the town. Around the same time, black-haired hominids were also sighted in the forests, and cattle were found mutilated with laser precision. Florida, Texas and Arizona became the prowling ground of a similar predator in 1996. During early March 1996, at Sweetwater in Florida, a resident claimed to have seen an, “…inhuman shape”, moving across her yard. Although vague in description, several strange deaths of chickens and goats were now attributed to the bloodsucking phantom, despite the fact that the Florida ‘panther’, an endangered, but very much active felid, resided in the heavy woods. In the May of ’96 at Tuscon, Arizona, a Jose Espinoza claimed that a mystery figure with red eyes had broken into his house. Again though, reports were inconsistent, with some witnesses describing giant, vampire birds (see Chotacabras), others mere shadows.

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In Spain such a creature was blamed for many sheep deaths, although there were not many eyewitness reports of the predator, and in Guatemala, the unseen intruder had taken the lives of larger prey such as horses. Strangely enough, several attacks on animals in pens seemed characteristic of cat kills, but with the Hispanic communities now in Goatsucker frenzy, anything mysterious was being blamed on the fanged killer. Mexico was slightly different. Attacks there were connected to sightings of giant bat-like creatures, horned monsters, and dog-sized creatures covered in black hair. In nearly every case regarding livestock deaths though, the fang marks were still evident, and the corpse exsanguinated. Some people came forward claiming to have been attacked by winged beasts, but like the hysteria in the Monkey Man saga, it became a case of every man for themselves, with so many exaggerated stories accumulating in the press and the villages. In Costa Rica, according to author Scott Corrales:

“… authorities tried to explain the situation as mere folklore. Francisco Escobar, a sociologist, explained that rural poverty and desperation, combined with the accessibility of television, has created a cocktail designed to fire the imagination and foster belief in supernatural solutions to unusual problems. ‘The real Chupacabra’, he said on Costa Rica’s Channel 7, ‘…is the poverty and lack of education that impede access to services and to the means of production!’” In 2003 a bloodsucking phantom was blamed for several animal deaths in remote parts of Argentina.

FIVE CATS FOUND DEAD THE SAME DAY AS CHUPACABRAS SPREADS TERROR IN MARIA ELENA: “Dear Friends”, wrote Scott Corrales, – “there seems to be no let-up in Argentina’s Chupacabras crisis, which becomes more and more intriguing with each report. Similarities to the creatures behaviour in the Puerto Rican scenario of 1995-96 are starting to appear; the strange perforations on the cats ( a change of dietary habits also noted five years ago), the claim that the entity ‘levitates’ rather than ‘flies’, the nauseating, overpowering odour that sickened a UFO researcher and a police woman in 1996.” On 29th June 2000 newspaper ‘La Estrella del Loa’ reported on the attacks:

“All of the felines presented the same traces, a large hole above the heart through which all of their blood was extracted.

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This is becoming a strange place. It has all the geographic qualifications for turning into a ghost town. Its nearly abandoned streets contain the memory of the deserted salt mines. No one can offer an explanation – its residents are frightened and would rather keep quiet about the information in their possession so that, “…no-one will think that we’re crazy”, they say, turning around to avoid the cold breeze. Slowly they reach the victim – the first one this morning. The residents approach fearfully, not wanting to be the town’s laughing stock. When they see the carcass of the dead cat, they are amazed, “This cat is different, it has the same hole but its entrails are exposed. It is as if the Chupacabras was about to eat it when it took off.”, suggests another neighbour who doesn’t want to give his name. As the day progresses, more cats turn up, all of them with the same orifice. When it was just one victim, it was possible to think in terms of a sadist. When the victims mounted to five, there were little doubts among the population. “It’s a supernatural creature, because there isn’t an animal, much less a human being able to inflict such a wound”, an examination provided shocking details; the cat had an orifice five centimetres in diameter through which its right lung had been extracted along with half of its left lung. Furthermore, all of its blood had been drained. With the sun at its highest, it seems as if people were melting on the streets of Maria Elena as another phone call reported of yet another dead feline. In vehicles provided by the commune, we headed for the site, but local residents had already beaten us to it. Upon our arrival, some of them departed while others approached us. Fear was no longer an issue with them, “..for several nights now I’ve felt the presence of something strange”, said one of them. “It doesn’t fly, it levitates.” Strange noises have also been heard in the vicinity of the town, with alleged sightings of the mystery predator, a myth also connected to various UFO sightings near the salt mines. Jorge Cariaga Gonzalez, told the newspaper that he came face to face with the ‘goatsucker’ on the previous Saturday whilst he was getting out of his car. He described the animal as, “…like a monkey, and having a nauseating odour.” The strange animal leapt over a fence and uttered a shrill scream. Witness descriptions are never always clear when it comes to describing everyday phenomena let alone encounters with ethereal creatures and unexplainable objects.

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Witnesses are often in awe during their experience or mostly shocked by what they are seeing. Researchers and investigators into such cases often have to piece together the more solid sounding details to hopefully piece together some kind of possible form to identify the animal or object in question. One month after the Chupacabras killing spree, a creature known as El Diablillo was also sighted in Argentina, leaving two town police officers in hospital, suffering with shock. The case of the ‘imp’ was reported to newspaper ‘La Gaceta’ of San Miguel de Tucuman, 12th July 2000, and described how: “..two men were hospitalised and sedated after being

found in a state of shock attributed to the alleged apparition of a new ‘Imp’.” El Diablillo, when translated from Spanish means ‘Imp from Hell’, a description that could also pertain to the Chupacabras figure that is either one of the same animal or another menace to the country. During the Spring of 2004 Rense.com wrote of more Chupacabras activity, this time in Entre Rios.

“Police sources said yesterday that last Saturday, the sheriff’s office of the neighbouring community was visited by a farmer from the rural area who identified himself as Emilio Fernando Kint, 59, who stated that on that he had noticed one of his animals was missing. Immediately, he went in search of the stray bovine and found it lying in a thicket. Upon approaching it to see what was wrong, he found that his animal was missing a left-eye, hide and flesh in a five-centimetre circumference around its belly. What startled the farmer the most was the absence of blood on the animal and anywhere in the vicinity. Kint stated that he called a private veterinarian who visited the site and attested to the missing organs, but who was otherwise unable to offer an explanation for the animal’s death. During his exposition, the farmer also mentioned that a few nights ago he had seen strange lights in the firmament, precisely over the place where he found the animal. He added that not far from there he found a large circle of flattened grass whose cause was unknown.” Such incidents are indeed prime examples of the high strangeness that such ‘monsters’ bring. The witness not once mentions the ‘goatsucker’, but the press attribute the kill to it, even though Argentina also has its UFO weirdness, which in turn is connected to the cattle mutilations. Goatsucker-mania is very much the word on the street and across the world, now that the mystery predator has shown its staying power and now ranks

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alongside the likes of Bigfoot as one of cryptozoology’s most puzzling creatures. Many believe such a ‘critter’ is very real, but like so many other monsters is very much the ‘one that got away’, and is likely to do so for many more years. The coming of the millennium has certainly not driven the predator into the realms of folklore. Livestock are being exsanguinated at an alarming rate across Puerto Rico and into the already mentioned states, towns and countries. However, such a creature makes this list as a cultural fear, and although it leaves behind drained cadavers, it still seems more likely to be a zooform monster, never to be found. We’ll see. ****

ZC: There are many cryptozoologists who would argue that the Chupacabras is indeed a flesh and blood creature, undiscovered by science, or a mutation, simply because people have seen it and livestock and pets have been left drained by it. I strongly believe this creature is ‘the’ most classic zooform creature of all time, for it has existed for many, many years, but gradually has been given its form by the media and hysterical witnesses. Something is out there, but it’s a combination of cultural manifestation, natural predators and ancient mythology. GOAYR HEDDAGH – this is a ghostly goat, considered something akin to the black dogs and their meaning. This particular bad omen originates from the Isle of Man. ****

ZC; Although a misty segment of the lore of the Isle of Man, this type of entity remains as potent as the hellhounds and other symbolic figures throughout the world. GODLEY GHOST DOG – the phantom dog of Greater Manchester was once believed to be a ‘big cat’, possibly a lion that had escaped from the local Bellevue Zoo. However, with an ability to vanish, it soon made witnesses realise they were dealing with a spectral hound, yellowish-brown in colour with blazing eyes. ****

ZC: Although a vague legend pertains to this phantom dog, and reports are few and far between, areas such as Lancashire and Yorkshire are rife with such lore. GOLDEN HORNED DEER – a fantastic creature of fairytale from Slavic mythology. This beast, like a huge stag, is said to appear as a holy symbol, having great, golden antlers or the sign of the cross between its horns. **

ZC: Its power and fantasy can equal the Unicorn but only in fairytale. GOLEM OF PRAGUE – in the June 1997 issue of ‘Encounters’ magazine, it was reported that: “…in 1580, Rabbi Loew allegedly brought to life a golem (a man-like figure made of

clay), which later ran amok. Luckily, he was able to immobilise his creation, and hid its body in the attic of Prague’s Old-New Synagogue, where it remained. Nowadays, most

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scholars accept that this ‘history’ is fictional – so why is entry into this Czech synagogue’s attic illegal ? In March 1984, having obtained permission, researcher Ivan Mackerle decided to find out. To his disappointment, however, it was empty. However, he did learn that it was renovated in 1883, and that anything found there was buried in Prague’s Jewish cemetery”. **

ZC: An early example of how one can attempt to create a monster, or local fear, even if it is nothing more than rumour. GONG GONG – a huge water demon of Chinese folklore. **

ZC: Myth. GOOFANG – a backwards-swimming fish from the United States said to be the same size as the sunfish. *

ZC: Little else is known about this fish. GOOFUS BIRD – a flying anomaly that resembles the Ouzelum Bird in that it flies backwards. It also builds its nests upside down but has probably never been seen! *

ZC: Comical. GORGOL – this is a Welsh man-wolf described in medieval writings. ****

ZC: Werewolves may no longer roam the Welsh mountains and forests, but something once did! GOUGOU – a North American monster that is painted as either a sea beast or a hairy humanoid. This confusion may well explain why it hasn’t been seen, in any form, for over 300 years. *

ZC: A confused creation. GOURD HEAD – remote rivers of Brazil are said to be haunted by these small humanoids said to have bald heads, dark skin, webbed hands and having the ability to repel bullets. ***

ZC: These small, elusive beings may well be an undiscovered tribe or just lore.

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GOWROW – the Ozarks of the United States are prowled by many a strange animal form, and this beast is just as weird. This time, we are dealing with something akin to a wingless dragon, which reaches over twenty-feet in length, and has tusks. Records of such a creature date back to the nineteenth century, but no-one seems quite sure what the animal is. ***

ZC: Sightings may have been of an escaped animal, or too many lumberjacks may have made this one up! GRANDMOTHER SPIDER – said to inhabit remote areas of the Rocky Mountains and pick off weary travellers. This enormous monster spider casts its web across remote pathways in the hope large prey may be caught in the silky tangles. *

ZC: The Grandmother Spider may appear as a good monster story, but that’s all. GRANT – a creature that looks like a yearling foal, yet with sparkling eyes, such an animal is said to roam the streets of England as an omen, and anyone who should see such a phantom will soon find their house burnt to the ground. *

ZC: So little is known about this ghostly legend. Several manifestations with fiery or bright eyes are said to be portents of doom, but sightings of this particular creature are pretty non-existent. GRAPHITE FIGURE – a slim, strong-legged creature described as ‘graphite’ in colour, seen by Alan Flavio near Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, Brazil during the night of 31st January 2004. The creature was seen in a local field but also seemed to appear in Alan’s dream that same night and paralysed him. **

ZC: This is one of those humanoid figures that doesn’t fit into any category. GRAVEYARD DOGS – the American version of our very own phantom hounds. These spectral hounds are often found in old slave cemeteries, an area they are often confined to. They can appear in varying colouration, at times headless, or carrying heavy chains around their necks. ****

ZC: The American dogs of lore are evident throughout the country as the Black Dogs in the UK. GRAY KING – this phantom humanoid, also known as the Brenin Llwyd, roams Snowdonia in Wales. Mountain guides are said to be very wary of this apparition, a ten-feet tall, bear-like monster that walks on two legs and has glowing eyes.

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See also Brecon Beacon Beast. ****

ZC: An intriguing creature that compares with many of the shadowy figures said to haunt Britain’s highest peaks. These spectres may well be local dreads and fears projected into the snowy mists or unknown man-beasts, although I tend to opt for the former in that they are ethereal. GREEK GOATMAN – see also Greek Satyr. This particular half-human/half-goat monster was seen near Achladocambos, in Greece, around 1937, many, many years after the Greek Satyr story. In 1950 another of these figures was seen, in a dark lane in Athens. The witness said the beast was hopping and dancing, which is what the satyr of lore is known for. ****

ZC: A different country, but the same recurring local nightmares. GREEK SATYR – a beast encountered and caught in 83 B.C. by the army of Roman General Syllas as they marched against Greece. As the army travelled through the city of Illyrian Apollonia, near today’s city of Dirach, Albania, they caught sight of the peculiar form and trapped it in one of the steep valleys. They recorded that the creature whined and moaned but could not speak. ***

ZC: Very possibly an undiscovered creature, although the army seemed convinced it was a real satyr as they’d recalled such a beast in paintings. GREEN APE – a beast with greenish fur, and green glowing eyes said to have attacked a car in 1967 near Elfers, Florida, USA. The witnesses in the vehicle started the engine, startled the creature, which in turn ran off. Further investigations revealed a sticky substance over the vehicle and where the being had run off. ****

ZC: Whilst I’m inclined to believe this was the better-known Skunk Ape, the peculiar residue it left remains a mystery. GREEN BIRDMEN OF CORDOBA – Manuel Hernandez was travelling back from the fields of Spain’s Cordoba region, on 16th May 1966, when he saw a disc-like object land around 100 metres away. As he stood and watched in amazement, the door of the craft opened and beings resembling ‘green birds’ stepped out, took in the air and then went back into the craft, which then sped off. **

ZC: Incredibly bizarre tale, although it’s what we’ve come to accept from the world of ufology and the occupants of these craft. Most reports often mention dwarfish creatures or impish ‘critters’ but this case seems pretty unique. If it’s true!

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GREEN DEVILS – these frightful demons were encountered around 1910 in the West Yaroslavl Province in Russia, when they abducted two men after disappearances of horses in the area. The men, a man and his son, believed that gypsies were responsible so staked out the area but were taken by ‘the greenish ones, with hoofs’. The creatures allegedly told the men that if they could bring horses they would be given money in exchange. When the man and his son told other residents of this story, they were shot! **

ZC: Many cattle mutilation theories point towards mystery predators such as hairy humanoids. These creatures sound like satyr-like monsters. GREEN EYED THING – unfortunately, the glowing eyes of this non-entity are all that is seen. These eerie eyes appear somewhere in the village of Roche, Cornwall. *

ZC: Glowing eyes may be an indicative feature of some spectres and monsters, but on this occasion there’s just not enough to suggest anything untoward. GREEN-FACED MONKEY – very likely to have been an escaped zoo animal, but Churston Woods, near Brixham, in England, during 1996, was, for a short while, the home of a strange, swinging humanoid. The four-foot tall animal was said to have had an olive green face. There were no further sightings of it. ***

ZC: An out of place animal. GREEN FLYING MAN – an Italian oddity, seen in Parma in on 16th December 1991 by university student Manuela B. The figure was covered in green hair, and had glowing eyes. The humanoid moved its head like a robot, and appeared to be surveying the scene. The witness believed the strange form had come from a spaceship. **

ZC: The weird world of the flying man seems to straddle a fine line. Many reports describe very ethereal monsters, whilst some seem to fit into UFO lore. GREEN LADY – this rather ordinary sounding being from Hawaii, is actually a terrifying green-clawed entity said to haunt a trail near Lake Wilson. Such a scaly-skinned apparition was first rumoured around the 1950s, when pupils at Wahiawa Elementary School reported the being, which had seaweed-like hair. ****

ZC: An interesting local bogeywoman with some depth. GREEN MAN – Pennsylvania’s own roadside weirdo! Another leering odd-bod said to torment motorists like some teasing road ghost. This ‘monster’ peers into car windows before vanishing into the night.

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****

ZC: There appears to be some consistency in reports of this eerie humanoid figure. GREEN MAN OF TEXAS – a mysterious creature, standing only one-foot in height, which appeared to a group of children at Farmersfield, Texas on the 15th May 1913. The creature attracted the attention of a few dogs, which in turn tore the apparition to pieces. **

ZC: One of those humanoid figures that seems to drift from fairy lore into the world of goblins and imps although without consistency. GREIFSWALD WEREWOLVES – in his work, ‘The Werewolf Book’, author Brad Steiger speaks of these creatures as a huge population that plagued this German city around 1640. These beasts were said to prowl in packs and hunt humans by night, but were eventually destroyed in the region by brave students who made bullets from silver buckles, buttons etc. ***

ZC: Maybe these were flesh and blood creatures in this interesting tale. Further investigation is required to solve the mystery to determine whether it was fact or fiction. GREMLINS – these misty apparitions were often seen by aircrews during WWII. Such goblin-like figures accompanied pilots and despite being somewhat phantom hitchhikers of the sky, these bizarre beings never seemed malevolent. ****

ZC: Such sprites and other small figures are popular in myth and can literally haunt anywhere, whether in mines, bedrooms, pots in kitchens, cars or indeed aircraft. GRESFORD BEAST – a Werewolf-type creature said to have terrorised livestock in Wales during the Winter of 1791. The beast left huge tracks in the snow-laden fields, and pools of blood where it had mutilated sheep, cattle, and the farmer’s dog. The creature hunted the farmer down when he locked himself inside his barn. He described it as black in colour, foaming at the mouth, and able to stand on its hind legs and peer through the cracks at him as it pounded the door. ***

ZC: A possible early Welsh ‘big cat’ attack or local Werewolf yarn. GREY MAN OF BEN MACDHUI (see AM FEAR LIATH MOR) - a shadowy legend said to haunt some of Scotland’s eeriest peaks. Sceptics argue that the giant is simply a reflection of shadows cast upon the clouds, but others believe that the monster is a common dread, similar to the Wendigo, which roams Native American Indian folklore. Ben Macdhui is the second-highest mountain in Britain, and some believe it is inhabited by a Yeti-like creature, which lives just below the skyline near the Larig Ghru Pass. The mani-

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festation may well be a trickster spirit which infests the mind, as those who fear it often describe a feeling of being followed and the sound of song or crisp footfalls on the snowy terrain. See also Am Fear Liath More. ****

ZC: The ‘grey man’ is a powerful enough legend to have a book written about it, although it seems to be a cauldron of varying experiences, from strange sounds, odd feelings and giant shadows cast on the snowy peaks. GRIFFIN OF ELIZABETH LAKE – folklore states that this particular ‘critter’ is the Devil himself; a great winged beast said to inhabit this watery abode, seventeen miles west of Palmdale on Elizabeth Lake Road. Locals also suggest that the Devil kept one of his pets in the lake, a huge monster that has filled local rumour since the early 1800s, although in 1830, a Don Pedro Carillo abandoned his ranch in the area after a mysterious fire, speaking of the La Laguna del Diablo. In 1855, American settlers tried moving into the area but soon left, claiming it was haunted by demonic activity. A Don Chico Lopez and two other witnesses claimed to have seen a massive creature with bat-like wings rise from the murky depths, and anyone who lived near the lake claimed livestock loss in abundance, which they blamed on the beast, said to resemble a ‘griffin’. Sightings of the creature seemed to cease after 1880. ****

ZC: Classic lake monster folklore of the dragon-ilk. GRINNING MAN – peculiar figures that have appeared across the US, from West Virginia to New Jersey. Connected to sightings of UFOs, these figures often stand eerily behind witnesses and grin unnervingly. Whether such figures are related to the Men in Black of UFO-lore we’ll never know, but they obviously find something very amusing amongst the high strangeness. ****

ZC: Possible connections to UFO lore, the Grinning Men are absurd, yet reports are rife, especially from the 1950s to the peak of the UFO waves across the USA GRIPPER GHOST – this scary manifestation haunts the thickets of St Leonard’s Forest in Sussex, and was a headless apparition said to have attacked riders who travelled through the dark woods of a night. **

ZC: This phantom seems to be an older version of the phantom hitchhiker spook. GROOT SLANG – is possibly the closest example of a living dinosaur, for it is a beast that is feared in parts of West Africa, and European travellers who trudged through the Congo brought back tales of such a creature; although what they described was a huge elephant with the tail of a serpent.

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ZC: I’m inclined to believe that the explorers had in fact found a new species of elephant rather than a prehistoric survivor. GRUAGACH – the folklore of the Isle of Man mentions this mysterious hairy creature. **

ZC: Local bogeyman. GUARDIAN WOLF – an apparition that appeared to several women and children at Sand Creek, Chivington, on 29th November 1864, after a fierce battle in the vicinity. The creature led the frightened witnesses to safety after Colonel John Chivington and his men attacked Chief Black Kettle’s army. **

ZC: These kinds of reports are numerous worldwide. Whilst there are many animal apparitions that suddenly appear to forewarn of an imminent tragedy, there are also protective spirits such as this. GUARULHOS DWARVES – high strangeness from Brazil, typical of such cases from South America in that it involves small, ugly, humanoids; at times connected with the activity of UFOs. In this Brazilian town on 11th September 1965 Antonio Pau Ferro saw two craft land, and two 70 cm tall ‘critters’ emerge, described as humanoid but having ugly skin. The beings seemed to pay special attention to a batch of tomato plants, and then slipped back into their small craft and sped off. **

ZC: More South American weirdness involving imps, ‘critters’, dwarves et al., which seems common in the lore, yet still not understood. GUIAFAIRO – a Gambian winged ‘critter’ said to resemble a flying birdman with extremely sharp claws. ***

ZC: This is another of those vague birdman reports that would probably be quite intriguing if there was more depth to it. GULON – a large felid-form, also said to have the characteristics of a hyena, from Scandinavian legend. ***

ZC: The Gulon sounds very much like a mystery cat or strange dog-like creature, possibly now extinct. Gulon

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GUTTER DEMON – imagine the scene: it’s 23rd November 1904 and Godfrey Anderson is strolling along a quiet Edinburgh street. Suddenly, a vague black shape, around fourfeet in length, two-feet in height, and shaped like an hourglass, emerges from the gutter, and moves like a massive caterpillar. The faceless entity then slowly heads towards a horse standing nearby, and attacks it, ripping at its throat, causing the frightened victim to rear up. The monster then vanishes into thin air, never to be seen again. ****

ZC: This could well be one of the earliest recorded accounts of a vampiric attack on livestock, or maybe the witness had seen a black leopard emerge from a disused drain. Either way, this obscure yet rather detailed report deserves inclusion. GUYTRASH/GYTRASH – the hellhound of West Yorkshire, said to roam Ilkley Moor. A similar spectral beast is said to haunt the bridge over the River Swale at Ivelet, North Yorkshire, only this time the spook dog is headless. Other phantom hounds across Yorkshire are said to have the ability to shape-shift. In 1848 Branwell Bronte’ described the apparition as: “…a spectre not at all similar to the ghosts of those who were once alive, nor to fairies, nor to demons”. Such dogs also take the form of old, dwarfish men, and balls of fire, which tie in with various historical tales of ‘dogs’ exploding into fire. Several reports of Black Dogs also describe calf-sized animals, although lore also states that such hounds can transform into cows. ****

ZC: Classic Black Dog manifestation. GWAGWAKHWALANOOKSIWEY – this is a monster bird from Canadian folklore, particularly from the Kwakiutl people, who describe this winged beast as like a raven, but gigantic, and able to crack a human skull with its beak. It is also related to other similar birds with equally unpronounceable names! ***

ZC: Some basis in fact, this bird may have existed many, many years ago. GWRACH-Y-RHIBYN – Welsh folklore speaks of this creature that resembles the Irish banshee, except in the fact that the Welsh relative has been seen to have leathery wings and a beak. This hag-like monster is also known as the ‘slobberwitch’. **

ZC: Reports seem non-existent of such creatures and yet legend is rife of them. GWYLLGI / GWYLIGI – the Welsh ‘dog of darkness’ said to be able to paralyse with one glare from its fiery eye. ****

ZC: A variety of names describe these spectral hounds.

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GWYLLION – female road monsters said to take on the form of a goat and hide at the roadside in order to make travellers become lost. **

ZC: Many of these satyr/centaur creatures seem to appear on country roads. Many of these legends are vaguer than others but there appears to be some truth in a handful.

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H HAAKAPAINIZI – this giant grasshopper feeds on children, and is feared by the Kawaiisu people of North America who reside in the Great Basin. *

ZC: The legend has elements of a bogeyman tale but this form is complete myth. HAHN AIR BASE MONSTER – a Werewolf-like creature, which was seen by several security patrol officers in 1989 in Germany. The hairball was over eight-feet tall and jumped a twelve-foot high fence. ****

ZC: With Werewolf lore being rather potent across the forests and history of Germany, sightings of such beasts are very zooform. HAIR SNATCHER – a Madagascan mystery bat said to entangle itself in human hair. See also Fangalabolo. ***

ZC: Undiscovered species of bat. HAIRY GHOSTS – these red-eyed, white apes were encountered by campers in 1938, and again in 1967 at Borrego Sink, in California. The witnesses claimed that the creatures emerged from the woods, and harassed them. The term Hairy Ghost was used by the Indians to describe these phantoms. ***

ZC: Were these white-furred beasts albino Bigfoot or something on a more paranormal level? I’m unaware of persistent reports in the area, but campsites can still be reserved in the locality should anyone be brave enough to venture there! HAIRY HANDS – a road-related phenomena from Dartmoor which often involves a lonely motorist or motorcyclist being distracted by the appearance of two, large hairy hands said to clamp around the steering wheel and attempt to drive the vehicle off the road. **

ZC: This road phenomenon was quite well known in the 1970s and ‘80s, but reports now seem few and far between.

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HAIRY JACK – a Lincolnshire phantom dog. ****

ZC: Sighted on many occasions in the count, yes this is another one! HAIRLESS HOPPER – during the early hours of September 21st 2006, a seventeen-year old Mohamad Firdaus Azmi, from Kedah, in Malaysia, woke to the sound of footsteps on the roof, and a garbled voice which he could not understand. Then, suddenly, a black figure dropped into the room. It had the face of a cat but no hair on its body. Mohamad, shocked, yet brave, made a lunge for the humanoid, which seemed to hop out of the room. Mohamad pursued and saw the being in the living room, it seemed confused as if looking for an exit, and it became aggressive, and so Mohamad, thinking quickly, opened the front door, and the thing bounded out into the darkness. The witness was so adamant as to what he’d seen that he filed a police report. ****

ZC: One never knows where to begin with such an encounter. Was it a hoax? If not, what was the motive of this humanoid? Well, if we compare it to other reports of mysterious leapers, phantom hoppers and the likes, then we realise that there appears to be no motive, just to will to terrify and confuse. HAI-RIYO – a great mythical beast from Japanese lore, which is portrayed as a ‘dragon bird’, a fearsome leviathan said to inhabit the dark waters of a lake near Kyoto. This creature is said to morph every fifty years of its cycle, and become a great bird, which emits harsh cries. Some suggest this winged monster is a flesh and blood form, although it probably hasn’t been sighted since the 1830s. ***

ZC: The legend may cloud the real issue here, being that the ‘dragon bird’ was once a flesh and blood creature. HAI-URU– an African humanoid with half a body, one eye, one leg, etc. *

ZC: Sometimes bogeymen just aren’t scary! HAKUWAI – Maori legend speaks of this large bird although no-one is alleged to have actually seen it, but many have heard its piercing cries and the flapping of its wings though. ***

ZC: Whilst the legend is vague, it is likely that the bird is a real creature, or misinterpretation.

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HALL PROWLER – many schools and colleges etc., especially in the USA where urban legends are rife, have their own spectral creature said to haunt the corridors. In Campiana, Italy, one grammar school is said to be roamed by a vague bogeyman with long claws and an overly large head. Allegedly, since April 2005, over thirty of the students, along with a schoolteacher, have spotted the short ‘critter’, but the school chancellor warned the pupils not to approach the press with any tales. **

ZC: These are great campfire tales that will no doubt be passed down through generations of students. It is rather strange, though, that the school chancellor did not want the matter discussed. HALMASTI – a skinny, long-legged, purple dog that appears in the Pamir region. *

ZC: Not strictly a phantom hound, but more a symbolic figure related to hygiene. HANTU – a Chinese spectre said to haunt lakes, rivers, and forests, which kills with a slash to the throat. **

ZC: Like the Gaki, legend seems strong pertaining to such beasts, but descriptions are vague and eyewitness reports are non-existent, so these creatures seem the product of folk tale. HANTU POCONG – flick through the pages of Java’s legends, and you will stumble across a less known, but almost identical scenario to Monkey Man and the like, which has plagued villagers for a number of years. Around the mid to late ‘90s, Central Java played host to a zombie scare that caused so much panic and dread that villagers and locals ended up beating and stabbing one another through paranoia, fearing that their neighbour or a shadowy figure in a field was a member of the living dead that they had come to fear. The Hantu Pocong had come; shape-shifting creatures of the night said to alter in form, adopting varying guises of deception in order to slink into sleepy towns, and to mingle with those who would become their victims. To the townsfolk, these spectres were quite literally walking corpses, reeking of putrefaction; yet appearing as beautiful, seductive women before shifting eerily into the form of a goat-like figure to terrify its prey. These figures were said to stand as tall as a man, sometimes taller, and linger in the shadows, looking to abduct humans and children. Such legends of these undead creatures stem from rural settings, but during 1997 many urban families had grown to fear the monsters. Much of this widespread panic had grown like an urban legend, with many of the alleged encounters turning out to be nothing more than harmless encounters with tramps, or the shadows of trees in the wind, but something unusual out there had certainly spooked a lot of people in the same way Monkey

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Man had conquered the night. The main concern for the police was the number of beatings carried out by terrified locals, who literally battered anyone who appeared out of place or slightly strange. Many local hermits, or generally reclusive people, were seen as ghosts, and often pounced on by the panic-stricken locals who had been told - by the police - that no zombified creatures were roaming the streets. Black magic has long been connected to the appearances of these dusk demons, but like most of these eerie legends, it seems that the state of the country appears to be more responsible for this hysteria rather than occult forces. During the time of many of the clusters of so-called white zombie sightings, there was unrest and instability regarding President Suharto, as well as a general lack of support from townsfolk who feared the droughts, and the friction between them and the local authorities. Others theorise that creating such panic is a mere guise for troublemakers to involve themselves in riots in disagreement with political views. ****

ZC: These are pretty much faceless entities, nightly ghosts and cultural fears, but over time their presence has remained dominant in villages. HARDIN MONSTER – a fiery phantom of Illinois folklore said to haunt Diamond Island, the land along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The apparition sighted is said to resemble a ball of light, but with human features, and was first reported from Hardin around 1885 when it ‘buzzed’ two young fishermen. Resembling a barrel-like orb, the form ripped through the trees after midnight, and was said to have taken human form at one point. The peculiar and eerie event didn’t stick around, however, and the Hardin spectre was gone as quickly as it had arrived, causing it to become a quirky and unsolved piece of American lore. **

ZC: Not quite fitting into the zooform mould, but deserves inclusion simply because of its title as a ‘monster’. HAUNTED HILLS – the eerie slopes of Denbighshire, Wales, are said to be prowled by phantom hounds. ****

ZC: Nothing new here, Welsh folklore is peppered with tales of black hellhounds. HARPY – a winged entity of Greek mythology, these evil, demonic females were often known to tease travellers and steal food. **

ZC: The Harpy could well have been the original Mothmen Harpy

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etc., but until proven they simply remain creatures of myth, despite existing in mythology for many centuries and being echoed by many of the modern day winged intruders. HAVERIGG HUMANOID – this hairy creature with a human and very angular face was sighted in 1913, as it emerged from the undergrowth, by a 13-year old boy in Cumbria whilst he was visiting the dunes to meet a friend. It was a thick-furred being with silvery talons and a silver plate on its chest. ****

ZC: An encounter with a British man-beast? Several of these have taken place in Cumbria. HAVHEST – believed to be a ‘sea horse’ from Norway, this is a creature said to be a hybrid of fish and horse. ***

ZC: Possible exaggeration of a real creature. HAWAII GHOST DOG – a spectral hound from the Nuuana Valley, near Honolulu, this phantom creature has some staying power and like many other ghostly dogs, the apparition is perceived as a bad sign. ****

ZC: A widespread spectre. HEADLESS GOAT – a frightening spectre said to haunt the roads around Dartmoor, in England, where this phantom appears as a huge, whitish shape with no head. It is said that the fatal wound is always fresh, and researchers believe that such a manifestation is in fact the ghost of an animal that may have been sacrificed in the area many years ago. **

ZC: A very sinister road apparition, but one that’s not frequent. HEADLESS HORROR – something large, grey-furred yet without a head, crossed the road in front of a deputy sheriff and volunteer on a January night in 1972, at Drexel, North Carolina. What was it? ***

ZC: Probable man-beast obscured by its own bulk and fur. HEADLESS HORSES – six in fact, that are said to cross the road near Oak Hill Cemetery, in northwest Washington. Motorists have been forced off the road by these silent animals. ****

ZC: This appears to be quite a well-known local legend near Rock Creek, but why these horses are headless remains a puzzle.

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HEADLESS PIGS – Adamstown in Pennsylvania, USA has many apparitions and several haunt Main Street, including these weird forms, which have been seen around the old Echtenach distillery. These animals are allegedly the spooks of many pigs slaughtered unceremoniously many years ago. **

ZC: Although these animal spectres deserve a mention, this is more of a classic ghost tale. HENGE – the name, in Japanese lore, given to an animal able to shape-shift for malevolent or benevolent purposes. ****

ZC: Such an entity may well be responsible for many Oriental zooform monsters. HELHESTEN – the phantom horse of Danish lore said to be a symbol of a forthcoming death. **

ZC: Regional spook tale.

Helhesten

HELLHOUNDS – another term to describe black dogs of lore said to once guard the gates of Hades, and other dark, gloomy places which hold the dead. Such hounds are not really any different to any other spectral black dog although the name ‘hellhound’ may apply to those ghostly dogs, which appear large and vicious with blazing red eyes. ****

ZC: The hellhound is simply a loose term for so many of the black dog manifestations that roam the Earth. HEMICYNE – a peculiar hybrid from the shores of the Black Sea said to resemble a mixture of dog and human. *

ZC: Reports of dog-headed men are pretty common throughout the world, but the Hemicyne is a shallow tale. HENHAM SERPENT – was this a winged Dragon, measuring ‘three yards’ spotted in Henham, Essex during the 17th Century? The author of a pamphlet entitled ‘The Flying Serpent or Strange News out of Essex’, certainly seemed to think so. In fact, this beast, said to have been squatting in a local meadow, had enormous, sharp teeth and huge eyes, but it never harmed a soul. It eventually flew away never to be seen again. Whilst the story may well have been false or exaggerated, each year, until the outbreak of the Second World War, a fair was held to remember the presence of the Dragon. **

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ZC: Many ‘Dragon’ tales seem quite detailed, certainly to the extent that the Dragon has become a dominant part of British and worldwide folklore, but some yarns are fleeting. HENRICO COUNTY WEREWOLF – are ferocious, wolf-like animals, seen over several decades in Virginia; their arrival beginning as an eerie wave of peculiar and horrific howling from around areas such as Battlefield Park. Several sightings, from around 2001, concerned a spectral pack of white-coloured wolves which seemed to stroll, in trance, across back yards, whilst other witnesses in the area describe a greyish man-beast which stands six-feet in height, with the ability to run on all fours. ****

ZC: These animals bear an uncanny similarity to the Skinwalkers of folklore whilst the erect man-beast is similar in description to the Bray Road Beast and many other Werewolf-like creatures from across the US. HERCINIA – a bird that inhabits the forest of Germany, however, this is no ordinary bird for its feathers glow in the dark, so its path will shine wherever it roams. *

ZC: There may be some real bird behind this obscure legend, but there is no evidence to suggest this. HEXHAM WEREWOLF – a hairy man beast seen in the Summer of 1975 in Hexham, England, the sighting occurred after the sinister discovery of two strange stone heads in the garden of the Robson family. A neighbour saw the ‘Werewolf’ in the Robson house as it walked near a doorway. ****

ZC: This weird case has been thoroughly investigated, and whether paranormal, or zooform, something, possibly connected to the Celtic stone heads, walked the woods and hallways. HIBBING MONSTER – this is a non-existent creature made up by reporter Aaron Brown, from the town of Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, when, during the Autumn of 2004, he set out to create a local beast in order to pull in the tourists. Whether he achieved his goal remains unknown, and what creature he created also seems vague, but this is how a certain percentage of these forms are born. *

ZC: File under hoax, with the potential of freaking out thousands of tourists who eventually end up seeing something that isn’t actually there! HIBLA BASHI – this Goatman-like figure is said to be a blood-sucking monster from Iraqi folklore. **

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ZC: An interesting bogeyman, but one too vague. HIDE – a South American monster said to inhabit Argentina’s Lake Lacar. It takes on a circular, and flat form and is said to be the embodiment of supernatural evil! **

ZC: Whilst this creature may have its roots in folklore, it may be nothing more than an octopus, or a mere figment of the imagination or local dread. HIDEBEHIND – a comical creature from the United States, which lives up to its name. It is a trickster ‘critter’ that always appears behind its victim and so it is never seen, until it kills and devours its prey. *

ZC: A horror movie monster from the crackling campfires. HIDER IN THE WOODS – this peculiar dwarf-like, hairy, entity stalks the thickets of Bella Vista Itapua, in Paraguay. In March 1993, a farmer who lives near one stretch of woods, said to be haunted by the being, spotted the thing on several occasions. ***

ZC: Little else seems to be known about this very strange area where there have been numerous reports of paranormal activity. Maybe what locals are seeing is a flesh and blood creature, but something very out of place. HIGHGATE VAMPIRE – a dark, seven-feet tall, red-eyed spectre said to once haunt this London cemetery during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. It was held responsible for several psychic attacks on passers-by, and also for the many dead foxes found in the area, which look to have died from shock. A great media circus surrounded the case and much of what happened was an exaggerated mess, but whatever lurked behind the North Gate of the Western Cemetery remains dormant – at least for now. The ‘vampire’, in my opinion, seems more connected to the likes of Mothman, instead of being a run-of-the-mill ghost story. This is a classic, dark tale where the facts have often been overlooked.

The Highgate Vampire

Much of the tale of the Highgate entity revolved around two investigators into the phenomenon, Sean Manchester and David Farrant. Unfortunately, their personal bickering and feuds took the ‘vampire’ legend beyond any kind of research and into the realms of media fiction. David Farrant, psychic researcher and founder of the British and Occult Society, had

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heard of strange reports concerning a sinister figure that seemed to frequent the iron North Gate of the Western Cemetery. During the year of 1967 it was easy for dogwalkers and youths alike to stumble upon strewn skeletons in the ivy-strangled confines of the cemetery, or to find odd symbols daubed upon the façade of the ominous catacombs. Farrant had always had an interest in the spiritual side of things due to the influence of his spiritual mother and he had taken it upon himself to investigate the sightings of a dark figure that appeared to float beyond the greenery of the dark pathway behind that gate. Little did he realise then, especially as the activity snowballed into the late ‘60s, that the ‘ghost’ of Highgate, which he was investigating, would become such a complex web of intrigue that would revolve around petty feuds, prison sentences, death threats, a celebrity-like status, cruel vandalism, black magic and personal duels, that would eventually scar a truly eerie case and subdue it to the background whilst he, and fellow colourful character Sean Manchester, would repeatedly come to “blows”, even to this day, some thirty years after events. Whilst both characters have continued to bicker and bounce off one another for many years, their stories have to be taken with a pinch of salt because they are both very different. According to Farrant, the creature was nothing more than a dark apparition of harmful intent, whilst to Sean Manchester it was an undead bloodsucker that he tracked and exterminated like some modern day Van Helsing. The spectre of Highgate’s Western cemetery was said to stand, or hover, over seven-feet in height. It was a jet-black looming shadow and had two red points of light, which witnesses took to be eyes. Those unfortunate enough to encounter the phantom described a choking feeling, whilst other terrified residents of the village spoke of horrifying meetings with the cold, malignant apparition which threw them to the ground, leaving them disorientated. We will never know the truth behind the Highgate ‘vampire’, simply because during the time there were so many hoaxers, reporters, investigators and jokers around the eerie cemetery. It was alleged that Satanists frequented the dark catacombs, and maybe it was them that raised the evil shade, or maybe the spectre was simply at spirit of unrest, blown out of proportion by the media circus that provoked hundreds of people to congregate around the crumbling tombs. Highgate Cemetery is the perfect place to stage a vampire tale. Like something from Bram Stoker’s classic work ‘Dracula’, it is a decaying, ashen palace of the dead, its tombs a winding labyrinth, its history dark and atmospheric. Did a real, blood-sucking vampire frequent the ivy-laden pathways and take to the streets at night to feed on the crimson of hapless females? Or was the graveyard entity merely trapped behind the wrought-iron gates like a restricted manifestation? ****

ZC: Many authors have regurgitated the Highgate ‘vampire’ as a ghostly entity, but

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there may have been far more truth to the fiction created. HIGH HAT – this hairy humanoid appears to wear something akin to an undertaker’s hat upon its head, or this could be a deformation or characteristic to define a particular species of Sasquatch. This bipedal monster has been spoken of by the Seneca Indians for many years. ***

ZC: Despite its quirky name, this humanoid appears to be flesh and blood if we are classing the Bigfoot and kin as such. HILLSBORO HAIRLESS CREATURE – sighted in 1992 by Ed Hora and his nineteen-year old son, this creature jumped out from a hay pile and attempted to attack the pet dog, but Ed struck the ‘beast’ with a pipe. The ‘beast’ was hairless, with a nine-inch tail and stood over two-feet high. However, local warden, Richard Wallin, claimed it was simply a mangy racoon. ***

ZC: Possible misinterpretation of a flesh and blood animal. HOBOKEN MONKEY MAN – in 1982 rumours circulated that a strange, bipedal creature was stalking the corridors of a New Jersey school. The legend spread, and caused hysteria for over two weeks, but died down when police searches found nothing. **

ZC: High school scare story based on reports of hysterical students. HODAG – a non-event of a creature in the sense that it was pretty much fabricated around the time of 1893 in Wisconsin. A Eugene Simeon Shepherd allegedly came across the weird beast whilst hiking near his home. It was seven-feet in length and lizard-like, with two horns on its head, and some even claimed it breathed fire. Apparently, a hunting party cornered the monster, and blew it up with dynamite. Others had allegedly been spotted after the killing, but general belief is that the beast was a hoax; a monster carved from a tree-stump. *

ZC: The Hodag is nothing more than a fictional creature. HOMBRE PAJARO – a great, spectral winged figure from Mexico. See also Monterrey Flying Woman. ****

ZC: Female version of the many birdmen. HOOPER – the Hooper is a strange ‘something’ said to lurk near Cowloe Rock, at the shore of Sennen Cove in Cornwall, UK. This spectre is a foggy apparition that emits a

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mournful `hoot` and is greatly feared by fisherman in the area. **

ZC: A Banshee-like symbol of death of no real form. HOOTER – Warwickshire’s ghost dog. ****

ZC: See literally every other Black Dog section. HOPKINSVILLE GOBLINS – encountered in the Summer of 1955 by the Sutton family of ten in Kentucky, these creatures were immune to gunfire, and looked silvery in colour; standing over two-feet high. That night of 21st August has become a classic of UFO-lore, from the moment when a local friend of the Suttons’, Billy Ray Taylor, stepped outside at 8:00 pm to get some water from the garden well, and saw a silvery object fly towards a gully behind some trees. When Mr. Taylor told the family of what he’d seen they were not amused, despite the fact that their dog was barking furiously outside. It was then that Taylor, and one of the sons, encountered a flying goblin-like creature. Taylor shot the critter, but instead of dying, it simply flipped over and scrambled away. From that moment the house of the Suttons was attacked by these gremlins, which had large domed heads, big eyes, and large flapping eyes. The monsters were not harmed by any gunfire, and were extremely hostile towards the family, who eventually scurried to their cars, and sped off to the local police station where they confronted Chief of Police, Russell Greenwell, and various other officials. When the family, Mr. Taylor, and the police went back to the house, there was no sign of the goblins. But as soon as the police left, the creatures returned to cause more havoc; only to leave at sunrise and never to return. ****

ZC: The goblins of this tale have been lumped into the realms of ufology for years, but there’s nothing to say that these ‘critters’ weren’t bizarre manifestations or reptile-men from the local forests. HOPPER – a ten-feet tall humanoid with pointed ears, seen bouncing around a football field by twelve witnesses in Plano, Texas in 1978. The entity almost moved in a slowmotion manner and sprang in to the woods. **

ZC: Phantom leapers, spectral jumpers, and other agile apparitions seem very common, but yet with no consistency. HORCOW – a chimera beast which inhabits Cumberland Cemetery, in Wenona, Illinois, it is said to resemble the mix of a horse and a cow. This cemetery has experienced several strange phenomena.

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**

ZC: I’m unsure as to how many people have seen this weird creature, so until more reports persist, it remains all too vague as a local myth. HORNED DEVIL OF CROYDON HILL – this spook story originates from an area of Somerset, UK, and dates back to the 19th Century, when a local ploughboy - whilst visiting the blacksmith - got into conversation about the local monster. This was said to be a horned figure which haunted travellers who were brave enough to walk the lanes at night. The young ploughboy - fascinated yet frightened by the legend - hesitantly walked home, and was said to have encountered the monster, which in fact, was the local butcher’s lad dressed up in ox-hide. However, the trick backfired on the hoaxer, as the ploughboy - terrified by the presence - slashed at the form with his ploughshare, and fled home. It is said that all that remained of the butcher’s lad was the ox hide and the fake horns. Some say that the real bogeyman or the Devil himself was not happy at the impersonation, and so stole the soul of the butcher’s lad. **

ZC: A dark and fascinating legend, but that’s all. HORNED GOD – reported in The Goblin Universe magazine (issue 4)*, and pertaining to an eyewitness report of a strange, horned humanoid sighted in the village of St. Neot, Cornwall. A man named Bill, who was sixteen at the time, was walking with his family during the late 1990s, at 9:00 pm, when he saw a figure up ahead. Thinking the figure may have been his father, Bill spoke to it, but when it turned around he was confronted by a six-foot tall entity with stag-like antlers on its head. Bill claimed the creature was carrying something but the tale is rather vague. Did the rest of the family see the creature? Was it covered in hair or human-like? Was it there at all? ****

ZC: An in-depth and detailed eyewitness report gave birth to this ‘monster’, but, like so many other creatures, it appears that the horned being hasn’t been seen again. HORNED MANBEAST – as observed in Bracken County, Kentucky, on the night of 13th February 1866, when residents of a local plantation were terrorised by a giant humanoid said to have been covered in hair, with two short horns sprouting from above its eyes. The creature was greyish-brown in colour, had a barrel chest, large claws on the end of paw-like hands, and glowing eyes. However, this was no Sasquatch apparition, for it had cloven hooves, a long, pointed tail, and hissed like a serpent. The creature eventually * Jon Downes, Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] writes: “I first wrote about this case both in The Goblin Universe, and in my book The Rising of the Moon. It was several years afterwards that a friend of mine, a practising witch who was then living on the borders of Bodmin Moor, told me that she was in the habit of – whilst about her magickal business – capering around some of the lanes near St Neot, naked apart from a pair of antlers. The fact that it had been me who had given her the antlers, leads credence to her claim. There’s now’t as strange as folk”.

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vanished in a column of flame, and then proceeded to appear at some of the neighbouring plantations over the course of a few days. Was this monster related to the Weirdo of Willow Creek and the Horror of Independent Hill? ****

ZC: This sounds very much like a demonic entity in the form of Cernunnos, Pan, the Devil, and other horned deities. It also resembles more modern goat-like humanoids from across the USA. HOROMATANGI – these fearsome Reptile-men exist in Maori lore and are flesh eaters. ****

ZC: Although reports of scaled humanoids appear the world over; those that describe man-eating beings are rather worrying! HORROR OF HAMPSHIRE – on 21st February 2004, at Hampshire, in England, Emily Parkinson witnessed a terrifying creature that appeared on her lawn at 11:00 pm. Emily was awoken by a bright light which reflected off her bedroom mirror, and when she approached her window, over-looking the garden, she was horrified to see a humanoid entity with an eye in its stomach that penetrated her mind by emitting a high pitched noise. The creature then faded. **

ZC: Extraterrestrial? Nightmare? Monster? You decide. HORROR OF INDEPENDENT HILL – during 1868, in Virginia, this beast was said to have roamed woodland, and was encountered by a man named Silas Brown. The apparition had large horns on its head, and long, sharp, claws and would regularly feed off his livestock. Mr Brown claimed that he was terrified of the beast, which he said was three times the size of a human. It appeared as greyish-blue in colour, but when agitated it turned to white, and gave off a sickening stench. See also Horned Manbeast and the Weirdo of Willow Creek. ****

ZC: Something very real, that gave off a foul odour, most certainly stalked wooded areas of Virginia and Kentucky several centuries ago. Knowing exactly what it was is another matter. HORSE IN FOAM OMEN – a dark apparition that rises from the sea around Monomy Island, Massachusetts, USA; this ghost horse is said to warn ships of dangers lurking beneath the waves, and always emerges from a ring of foam. *

ZC: Maybe such a creature could explain some horse-headed sea serpent reports, (described by Bernard Heuvelmans as `Merhorses), whilst it is also similar in motive to Merfolk, although sightings of this ghost are few.

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HORSEMAN OF HEYFORD – a centaur-like manifestation encountered by a security guard in 1996 at RAF Upper Heyford. The guard’s story sounds a little dubious, as he claimed that he heard the sound of hooves in the darkness, but when he came face to face with the beast it had human feet! Or maybe that’s just the complexity of zooform phenomena! **

ZC: The jury is out on this one. HORSE OF HILLAROO – a phantom, winged horse from Stronsay on the Orkney Islands. The creature is considered a bogeyman figure, and is said to swoop from a nearby mound and carry off children. *

ZC: A fairy tale monster. HORSE-MAN OF COUNTY LOUTH – a bizarre spectre witnessed by a young couple in 1966 as they drove through country lanes near the Lord Dillon Estate, Co. Louth, Eire. Witness, Margaret Johnson, described the obstacle before them as: “…a huge horse with a man’s face and horrible bulging eyes. I could see by John’s (Margaret’s partner) face

that he saw it too. I think I screamed, but both of us were so frightened that we were paralysed. The thing had a horse’s body. But it was the face, leering and hairy and huge which shocked.” A legend relates to the 18th Century telling of an altercation on the steps of Lord Dillon’s home, Rath House. It is said that an argument ensued between the house’s then owner, a protestant, and the parish priest. Allegedly, the priest’s horse reared up and smashed one of its hooves onto the steps, leaving a print which is still said to be there today. Why such a spectre should appear on the road, though, is another mystery entirely, and a vague one at that. ****

ZC: This, again, is another of those roadside lurking monsters sighted and reported by two seemingly reliable witnesses. No-one knows why these things appear but they are clearly zooform, nothing else can explain them. HOUND EATER – a human/wolf hybrid said to feast on dogs in the Argyll area of the United Kingdom. **

ZC: Little else appears to be known about this man-beast. HOUND OF SYDNEY – a pony-sized white dog seen during the dawn of 14th August 2001 in New South Wales, Australia. A male witness watched the animal from his window, on this particular foggy morning, as the creature ate scraps in the backyard. The

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man seemed rather unnerved by the animal and banged on his window. He claimed that the hair of the creature stood up around thirty centimetres on its back before the form slipped out of sight. ***

ZC: With Australia being marsupial country, it seems unlikelyit was an unknown native animal. It would seem probable that such a beast could not be anything but a huge wild dog, or was this a spectral hound HOUNDS OF COLEBROOK – strange howls are often heard at Conewago Creek, Pennsylvania, USA, and they are said to represent the burning of a pack of hounds which were once too exhausted to hunt. Some locals have seen the hounds as they howl into the night. **

ZC: A ghost story which leans towards zooform folklore. HOUNDS OF THE HILL – these are large white hounds with red ears that are said to haunt parts of Wales. ****

ZC: Phantom dogs said to roam Celtic areas. HOUND FROM HULL – this black dog was said to have had the head of a lioness, so could well have been a black leopard on the prowl. However, the appearance of the creature in a local garden, was connected to a death in the family of the home owners. The property was also plagued by a poltergeist. ***

ZC: I’m inclined to believe that this particular form was a flesh and blood melanistic leopard. HOUSTON BAT-MAN – seen during the Summer of 1953 by three witnesses who described a glowing figure, which cast a shadow across the lawn, and sat in a tree for several minutes. A similar creature was seen at Coney Island and over Brooklyn….some seventy years previously! W.H. Smith published the story in the ‘NEW YORK SUN’ on 18th September 1877, whilst in the ‘LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL’, dated 29th July 1880, two witnesses sighted a flying man encased by machinery. ****

ZC: More winged weirdness. Reports are few and far between in the press, but how many other people have sighted these leathery humanoids in the sky? HOWLERS – hairless dog-like creatures with tough skin. These beasts are said to have a row of spikes along their spine and have long claws on their paws, and are known to hunt in packs.

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ZC: Interesting to note that these beasts have traits comparable to that of the Chupacabrasas well as phantom hounds. HOW-TOO – a general monster from parts of China, which is said to inhabit mountains and rivers. ***

ZC: Its mythical status may have some basis in fact. HSIGO (HSIAO) – flying, monkey-like beasts from China. **

ZC: If reports were persistent then these winged creatures would be up there with so many other zooform monsters, but as it is they remain very much folkloric monsters. HSING-HSING – in the forests of China these humanoids are ape-like but have white faces. They are able to climb trees. ***

ZC: A new species of monkey? HUA-FISH – this thing is also known as the ‘flying snakefish’ and inhabits China. This small ‘critter’ is winged, but in some regions it is seen as a monger of doom, and usually signifies a coming drought. ***

ZC: Possible real, flying anomaly as yet not understood by science. HUALLEPEN – a creature from Chilean legend said to have the body of a sheep and the head of a calf. It is powerful in manner and form, but only three-feet in length. Some say the beast is a curse and that should a pregnant women dream of such a creature, then her child will be born deformed. **

ZC: Local bad omen. HUI – a Chinese mountain dweller that takes on the appearance of a dog, but has a human head. It is a sleek and agile beast said to have a mocking laugh. ****

ZC: Phantom hound. HULL’S HORROR FROM HELL – an apparition dredged up by paranormal investigator Graham Lee and his team, whilst researching strange activity in the basement of a reputedly haunted hotel. He claimed that whilst in the dank cellar he saw: “…one of the most horrific and frightening creatures I have ever laid eyes on!” Graham believes he saw a

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shape-shifting form, a misty, hulking spectre that had a contorted face, shovel-like hands and legs that were dragging chains, making it a cumbersome thing. The phantom appeared to be half-blind and deaf, and in a lot of distress as it slithered along the dark corridor towards him. The abomination followed the researchers through the hallways until they fled in terror from the basement, leaving the anomaly to its own devices. ****

ZC: A classic manifestation that had probably remained dormant for some time until the researchers turned up. HUXWHUKW – a strangely named totem animal also known as the ‘cannibal bird’ of Amerindian lore. This great bird has a long beak which it uses to crack open the skull of its, usually human, victims. ****

ZC: A bird resembling the Thunderbird that may have once been very real and certainly known by the Indians. HVOKO CAPKO – the Seminole Indians spoke of this animal which was said to be the size of a horse but with a wolf-like head. ***

ZC: Very likely to be a real, but now sadly extinct animal, or simply another folkloric entity that is said to spread fear. HYENA PEOPLE – similar to the likes of the Leopard Men, Crocodile People etc., and said to exist as remote tribes in parts of Morocco with the ability to shape-shift into various animals. **

ZC: Shape-shifting entities are said to exist all over the world, but in the case of these creatures tribal lore must be taken into account. HYTHE MOTHMAN – a case covered in much of John Keel and Loren Coleman’s Mothman-related works. This shuffling, black entity appeared near Sandling Park, Hythe, in Kent on 16th November 1963, a few years yet before the Mothman saga of West Virginia, although winged humanoids have been commonly sighted in the skies of the world for many years previously. Four teenagers, one being seventeen-year old John Flaxton, saw a strange light over the park late one night as they returned home from a party, and then ran in horror from a creature that emerged from nearby woodlands where they swore the light had landed. For several days after the event the area was bathed in an eerie glow. No-one ever mentioned the creature flying, but what it was remains a mystery; some suggest a mere scarecrow in a field during a thunderstorm! Such a confused case should never have be-

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come entwined with the whole Mothman saga, but with only a few years separating them, the strangeness of the eerie glow together with the dark form, means that it seems only natural for some to connect one weirdness to another. Local UFO experts believed that the case was nothing more than a misinterpretation of natural phenomena, but Flaxton recalled: “…I felt cold all over”, whilst another witness, eighteen-year old Mervyn Hutchinson, told police: “…it didn’t seem to have any head.

There were huge wings on its back…like bat wings.” On the 21st November, that same year, seventeen-year old Keith Croucher claimed also to see a weird craft in the area, this time floating over a football pitch near the park. Two days later John McGoldrick went to the area with a friend to look into the weird reports and claimed to have discovered an area of bracken as if something disc-shaped had landed there. Three giant footprints were also found in the vicinity which were said to have measured two-feet long, and nine inches across. On 11th December, various newspaper reporters accompanied McGoldrick to the area and found that the woods were illuminated by an eerie, glowing light. No-one investigated any further and the case of the Hythe Mothman faded as mysteriously as it had emerged. John Keel stated in his book that: “…Kent, England, is a window area, as is the valley of the Ohio River.” However, there are no consistent levels of strangeness to prove that Kent is at all a uniquely weird area, and is certainly nowhere near as peculiar as the Ohio Valley. ****

ZC: A confused account from terrified witnesses and all of a sudden we had another monster on our hands. The location suggests that what was seen was either a projection, or, if you believe, some kind of extraterrestrial creature. Lack of investigation at the time meant that this was a potential gem of a case lost in the darkness. It has since been deemed a misinterpretation, but also lumped in with ufology.

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I ICEGEDUNK – a folklore beast from British Columbia, said to have a seal-like head, and a slender body, although sources paint pictures of these things as nothing more than pure made-up fun, urban ‘toons’. *

ZC: A nothing thing! IDITTU – this is a nocturnal creature, often bird-like, from the Basque region, said to shoot fire from its great beak. **

ZC: Unlikely bird, although this creature is said to be of mythical status. ILIMU – these are shape-shifting creatures of no fixed appearance. They originate from Kenyan lore as man-eating forms. **

ZC: Legend appears a little hazy regarding these nocturnal predators. ILLINOIS HORROR – during the early 1970s, in the small town of Enfield, Illinois, which is the home of high strangeness such as weird light formations and mystery black ‘panthers’, another, even more peculiar bout of oddness took place. Henry McDaniel encountered the ‘horror’ on the evening of 25th April, when he was alerted to a peculiar scratching at his front door. Henry opened the door, expecting a dog or cat to be standing on the porch, but was instead horrified to be met by something far more bizarre - a three-legged creature, grey in colour, with pink glowing eyes. Whatever it was appeared to stand around four-feet high, yet was stout and had two short arms protruding from the front of its body like those of a kangaroo. Unsettled by the sight that greeted him, McDaniel rushed for his pistol and blasted the ‘critter’, hitting it. The creature made a weird hissing noise, and bounded away, in great leaps across the yard, and McDaniel lost it from sight, as it headed for the nearby railroad and the deep cover flanking it. Stunned by the incident, Henry called the police, and Illinois state troopers arrived at the scene, and found weird tracks in the dirt; similar to those of a dog but having six toe pads. Two of the prints measured around four inches across, whilst the third print left by the ‘third leg’ was a bit smaller. Many in the town were extremely sceptical towards McDaniel’s claim, despite the fact that the police had learned that just thirty minutes be-

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fore, a young boy had been attacked by a similar entity which ripped at his clothes and shoes. However, no trace of the mystery intruder could be found, and so the matter cooled down. However, on the 6th May McDaniel saw the visitor again, this time after he was awoken by the unsettled howls of a neighbour’s dogs. Henry stared out of his window to see what all the commotion was about and once again saw the ‘critter’, this time loitering near the railroad track. McDaniel watched the creature for several minutes before it casually bounced off into the darkness. A number of folk began to flock to Enfield in the hope of seeing the creature. Some stalked certain areas; they were enthusiastic but also intrusive, causing local Sheriff Roy Poshard Jnr., to warn McDaniel to keep his mouth shut regarding the peculiar incident. However, over a few months, the gathering crowds - some genuine monster-hunters, others trigger-happy hunters - provoked Poshard into putting his foot down, especially after he had to arrest five hunters for blasting at a ‘grey thing’ that rushed through the woods. Various threats from the Sheriff, aimed towards McDaniel, had no effect though, and McDaniel was certain that something weird was going on. Shortly after the commotion had died down, four other people saw the Enfield terror. Rick Rainbow, the then director of radio station WWKI, in Indiana, was searching an area with three friends when they saw something around five-feet tall, grey and stooped over, rushing through the woods near an abandoned house. The creature moved incredibly fast and was gone from sight quickly, but Rainbow claimed to have recorded its eerie wail. However, despite interest from respected cryptozoologist Loren Coleman, who allegedly also heard the shrill cries, the fever died down, and the creature was suddenly no more. Like so many other campfire ‘critters’, it had disappeared as quickly as it had come upon the scene. ***

ZC: It vanished as quickly as it arrived, but the beast in question certainly existed in some form. I’m inclined to believe it was a flesh and blood creature. IMAP IMASSOURSUA – this is a South American water leviathan similar to the Hide. ***

ZC: Although considered a beast of evil, this may be a real, living undiscovered lake creature. INDRIK THE BEAST – this is a great beast from Russian legend, and is a creature said to dwell where no man has ever walked and to make the ground tremble when it moves. Understood to have two horns on its head, it is mainly a water dwelling form, and rescues folk from drought. ***

ZC: This Dragon-like beast rules the waves with the snakes and the crocodiles but may be a larger version of either.

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IMDUGUD – a Sumerian flying monster with the head of a lion, said to prey on cattle. **

ZC: Actual reports of this beast may be scarce, but thousands of reports do exist the world over of flying, blood-drinking, cattle slayers. INJUN DEVIL – this hairy man-killer is also known as Poomoola, and sounds something akin to a murderous Bigfoot. ****

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ZC: See also Poomoola. INKPOT MONKEY – a creature only a few inches tall with red eyes, black fur, and a taste for ink! *

ZC: I doubt it very much… INTRUDER – urban legend of unknown origin which speaks of a giant felid, around seven-feet in height (when sitting), which is said to slip into empty homes at night, and wait for the residents to come home. As soon as the key hits the lock, the prowler is said to hunt, killing off the residents one by one. This unseen nightmare is only truly discernible by its glowing green eyes, so can take on any frightful form in classic bogeyman manner. *

ZC: An obscure and featureless frightmare. INVUNCHE – a bizarre, swollen creature resembling a bloated bladder. This Chilean form is a man beast quite simply too obese to leave its domain, but a creature said to have a smaller, more cunning servant called a Trelquehuecuve; an octopus form which would bring prey, usually women to its master’s lair where they would be drained of their blood, which the Invunche would lap up greedily. *

ZC: A tall tale of something so hopeless. INZINGOGO – this form originates from the Zulu tribes of southern Africa, and is formed when men refuse to give up their bodies at death, with their spirits taking over the forms of animals, such as baboons or snakes, e.g. the black mamba. **

ZC: Tribal fear and belief which also relates to the Isikqukqumadevu.

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IPPON-DATARA – this Japanese monster, which leaves huge footprints in the snow, appears to be a variation of the Yeti, although this creature is said to only have one leg and one eye! *

ZC: Japan has some extremely remote areas, but none of these inhospitable places could house such a creature. ISIKQUKQUMADEVAU – an extremely obscure creature described as a fat, bloated beast that is often seen to be squatting! *

ZC: This creature is said to reside in Zululand, but remains hidden in the shadows. ISITWALANGCENGCE – this Zulu spirit is said to resemble a hyena, but to have a basket-shaped head, and prowl the deserts of South Africa. The beast preys on women and children who return from market with fresh meat. The meat will be stolen as well as the bodies, whose skulls are cracked open on rocks, so that the beast can devour the soft brains. ***

ZC: This appears as a bogeyman creature, but may well be a local fear born from ancient mythology passed down through the generations, or a possible species of hyena or wild dog. ISKAHEEN HOUND – a phantom dog of Irish folklore said to resemble a wolfhound, and having very sad eyes. It was witnessed by a courting couple (Nellie and John) near Grainne’s Gap, not far from Scalp Mountain. ****

ZC: Potent local legend. ISRAEL’S SHAPESHIFTER – similar to the ‘phantom hitchhiker’ urban legend is the tale of this particular beast, a Skinwalker-type figure that haunts the roadside in a human form, but as soon as it is in the vehicle of its ‘victim’ it transforms. On 14th October 1996 at Jenin, West Bank, Israel, Abdul Alhazrad picked up such an entity, and he described the hitcher as morphing into a darkly clothed humanoid with a dog-like head, in seconds. The being had long, floppy ears, and only one eye, and terrified the witness, who skidded and ran from his vehicle. Once he had reached a reasonable distance from the car, he watched the humanoid emerge, slowly walk towards him, and then vanish into thin air. Several similar incidents were reported, all describing a strange mutant hitchhiker. ****

ZC: Classic shape-shifting oddness that brings to mind a number of zooform beasts, as well as other paranormal phenomena.

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ITSUMADEN – a giant, wailing bird seen over Japan in 1334, it appeared to be breathing fire, and had razor claws. The wingspan was enormous, its beak sharp, and it had the body of a snake. An expert archer shot the creature down from the sky, and when the body of the creature was looked at, its wingspan measured five metres. Many believe that it appeared in the sky as a warning of the forthcoming plague. ***

ZC: I’m unsure as to whether there are any documents from 1334 to speak of such an encounter, or whether this manifestation was mere local legend. It seems that in China and Japan, flying spectres are often considered omens of doom, and this seems to be the case here, but some kind of validity to fact is backed up by the date given. ITTAN-MOMEN – this ribbon-like phantasm may explain some of the Rods sightings across the world, which have been explained away by mainstream scientists as insects and birds. This Japanese monster measures around ten-metres in length, and appears in the air as a strip of white cloth, but once it has chosen its prey it wraps itself around the neck of its victim and strangles them. This is very much a bogey character of the night, but an interesting one at that. ***

ZC: Such a form would not have been taken seriously, were it not for the reports of Rodlike ‘critters’ from around the world. IVANOVO INCOMPREHENSIBLE – three men were out celebrating the New Year festivities on 1st January 2004, in Ivanovo, Russia, when they were approached in the darkness by an orange-coloured flying object. They were even more alarmed to then be confronted by a strange, long-snouted entity, standing near the woods a few metres away. The peculiar figure appeared to be mocking the men, and as it turned sideways they realised it was completely flat in form. One of the witnesses was ‘zapped’ by a weird wave from the orange sphere before it, and the unusual ‘monster’ vanished. **

ZC: Although there were three witnesses to this extraordinary tale, these types of bizarre UFO cases are few and far between in the modern era. But even when they appeared more common in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, they were often inconsistent, the only similarity being that a craft of some kind was visible. The humanoid figures, although often seen during such encounters, vary greatly. IYA – not a beast to be encountered. This North American monster is feared among the Lakota people as an amorphous stalker with a vile breath. Like many of these night prowlers, such a creature kills and eats humans. **

ZC: Thankfully, such a creature seems to be confined to folklore.

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J JACKALOPE – despite being a purely fictional chimera, the legend of the creature has become quite popular as some kind of freakish, carnival cartoon fixture. The Jackalope is basically a rabbit with antlers, a misfit creature of fun which features in several bars and restaurants across North America. *

ZC: Completely man-made animal. In San Antonio, TX there is even a shop called `Jackalope Joe’s` which sells such things to tourists. JACULUS – an Arabian flying serpent said to live in trees and pluck prey from the ground. Could this creature be the same form as the Jaculi, a darting reptile ‘critter’? ***

ZC: Likely to have been a real forest resident as yet to be discovered by zoology. JAPANESE FLYING MONSTER – sighted near a newly formed lake in May 2004 by 29year old witness David Nardiello. He described a creature emerging from the lake in the town of Shinke-Cho, in Osaka. The beast had a long white neck, a cat-like head, cat-like paws, and the wings of a bat. This creature has been called Nekohebitori, meaning, ‘cat snake bird’. After the sighting David failed to hear of anyone else who’d spotted the monster, although strange cries had been heard in the area in the past. ***

ZC: One clearly wants to believe such creatures exist, but such a monster needs to show its face again to maintain any real credibility. If this creature sighting isn’t a hoax then it simply has to go down as one of those unsolved creatures, or something more down to earth such as a large bird. JARACACA – a vampiric entity from Brazil said to haunt young mothers and their babies. **

ZC: Like so many mysterious monsters from the other side of the world across the Orient, this creature from Brazil is the common vampire nightmare, a demon connected to pregnancy and babies. JELLYFISH OF JAPAN – was a bizarre, orb-like, creature responsible for cattle mutilations at Saga Prefecture, Japan in the Winter of 1992? A farmer went to investigate his

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cowshed after hearing his dog barking, and was shocked to see a strange floating mass that resembled a jellyfish, leaving the barn. The form had odd protrusions coming from its underside, and vanished into thin air. The farmer discovered a cow on the floor with a broken leg. ****

ZC: Amorphous blobs and tulpa-like forms could well transform into other entities. JELLY MAN – Ashdod, Israel, September 6th 2006, 10:45 pm, and a witness named Ilan has a bizarre encounter with a shimmering entity whilst looking out of his apartment. At first he took the floating object to be a balloon, but looking closer noticed it was brown in colour, and was hovering just twenty metres away. The thing seemed to be made of jelly, and had two staring eyes. The thing moved out of sight after around fifteen minutes, but as it shifted, blue and white lights appeared around the bottom of it. **

ZC: These kind of cases would have, no doubt, in the past, been categorised as UFO related in the 1970s and ‘80s, but with reports becoming more varied and weird, there really is no specific category we can file them into. JENNY GREENTEETH – this spooky legend speaks of this character as an evil water creature found in Lancashire. The creature only shows itself to victims as a green scum on the surface of the water, and then drags them down to its watery lair. *

ZC: A nice little scare story. JERSEY CITY MUTANT CHICKEN – as reported in ‘The Pioneer’ newspaper, 22nd January 1880: “Ex-freeholder John Lillis, of Jersey City owns one of the most peculiar freaks

of nature ever seen. It is a chicken with a human face, and with feet so misshapen as to be more like lumps of dirt than pedal extremities. The face is almost perfect. Instead of a beak, a common nose shows itself, underneath which a mouth, regularly proportioned, the upper jaw which is armed with a set of teeth. The face is bare of feathers, but light whiskers adorn either side of the face, while attached to the chin is a heavy beard. Otherwise the chicken appears to be fowl. It came to New York with a lot of others, and was bought by George King, a peddler who presented it to the freeholder. The fowl at present is at the corner of Hoboken and Oakland Avenues, but will probably be secured by some museum.” * ZC: A rather fun, almost carnival-freak of a yarn.

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JERSEY DEVIL – one of zooform phenomena’s ‘greatest hits’, it is a legend said to originate from around 1735, and those who often whisper the tale mention all manner of sinister influences, from dark witchery to mutant creatures. It rolls off the tongue as a fateful curse and exists as an urban legend. There are those who believe the legend of the Leed’s Devil, as it is also known, which revolves around a Mother Leeds whose thirteenth child was a bizarre freak offspring of the Devil himself, became the monster after she cursed it at birth. Such a demon spread wings and took to the vast Barrens woodlands, never to be seen again…except, of course, by the twothousand or so people who claim to have sighted it.

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The Jersey Devil

Many say that the beast stands three to four-feet in height, has a pair of small leathery wings, a head like that of a horse, two front ‘arms’, often walks upright, and as it soars into the sky it emits a piercing scream. The Jersey Devil has, over a few centuries, been blamed for several attacks on livestock, yet although the legend remains strong in the local community, and via the internet world, it has become nothing more than a name without a face. Many youths venture into the dark forests of New Jersey, a nature reserve of some 1.1 million acres that represents 22% of the USA’s total land mass, comprising of seventeenmillion gallons of water which are stored below the surface in aquifiers. These great swamps are far removed from the industrial towns and city commotion. The legends are sinister and fogged, passed down through terrified generations like exaggerated tales of phantom hitchhikers and other ghost lore. The Jersey Devil is a lasting enigma although no-one really knows where it came from or where it goes as a ‘zooform critter’. However, it seems clear that whilst the beast may well be nothing more than an accumulation of more natural things, i.e. predatory cougars, sandhill cranes, urban myth etc., in 1909 there was a ‘phenomenal week’ in which the creature made itself known more than any other time. During the 1800s reports existed of a flying creature, said to have been fired at by Commodore Stephen Decatur, an American naval hero, who blasted a cannonball at it near Hanover iron works. Lore also speaks of Joseph Bonaparte’s encounter with a similar winged creature whilst hunting in the Pine Barrens. Chicken and sheep were slain on a regular basis in the 1840s, although such slaughter could well be blamed on cougars which were thinned out as a population

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during the early 1900s. Whatever the case, the week in 1909 remains extremely bizarre regarding a bout of winged high strangeness. On Saturday 16th January 1909, a man leaving a hotel in Woodbury heard a strange hissing noise and then saw a ‘white thing’ fly across the road. However, his description of the phenomenon merely described a: “…

white cloud with two spots of phosphorous for eyes”. One day later, a Bristol witness named John McOwen was awakened at 2:00 am by a scratching and whistling sound outside his home. Police Officer J. Sackville noticed that several neighbourhood dogs were behaving in an unusual manner, and he then came face to face with a winged creature that hopped around and screamed. During the same period, several witnesses saw crane-like birds flying over the nearby river, and chilling screams echoed around the neighbourhoods. Such screams and vague sightings could well be explained as cougars (screams) and cranes (sightings of large, winged creatures), but on the 17th January one female witness spotted a creature she could only describe as a `two-legged cow`, and the Lowden family found unusual prints in their yard. Two days later at Gloucester City, a married couple were awakened at 2:30 a.m by a creature which they watched from their bedroom window for around ten minutes. Their description was very detailed: “It was about three-and-a-half feet in height with a head

like a collie dog and the face of a horse. It had a long neck, wings about two-feet long and its back legs were those of a crane and it had horse’s hooves. It walked on its back legs and held up two short front legs with paws on them. It didn’t use the front legs at all while we were watching. […] we were scared, but managed to open the window and say, ‘Shoo!’, and it turned around, barked and flew away.” On the 20th January, several police officers saw a similar creature which they described as having blazing eyes and the beast was also seen at Pemberton by Reverend John Pursell. There were many other sightings, from Collingswood to Haddonfield, and also Moorestown where the monster was allegedly chased into a pit by witness John Smith. That particular week of 1909 produced many sightings, but reports began to vary, from kangaroo-like hoppers to feathery Dragons. Hysteria took over. Doom mongers believed that any sign of such a ‘dragon’ meant a war was impending or a disaster was looming, while others felt that the creature was a mutant blood-drinker, an experiment gone wrong, and such panic could easily draw comparisons with the later Mothman and Chupacabras flaps. In 1927 the creature was still about. A Salem cab-driver stopped to fix a flat tyre one evening when all of a sudden a six-foot tall hairy creature emerged from the woods flanking the road, and began to shake his car. The Jersey Devil was now a hairy hominid, and in 1930 it became a Dragon-like creature when a fire-breathing monstrosity was seen

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scorching trees at Erial. During 1970 the winged wonder was blamed for an attack on a young girl who was sleeping in her room in Mercer County. During the mid-‘70s the creature had become one of the ‘big birds’ causing several flaps across the state of Texas child-stealing, giant, Thunderbird-like fliers. By the ‘80s many believed that the ‘Devil’ legend was mere folklore, despite reports from Atlantic County and at Chatsworth, where woodcutters walked out of their job after they were petrified by the eerie screaming noises coming from the forest. Reports hereafter are vague; mere grasps of hope that attempt to bring the legend back to life. Teens still fear the shadows in the woods, youngsters still seek the remains of the house where the creature was allegedly born, and whilst authorities still refuse to believe that flesh and blood cougars roam the Pine Barrens, there must still remain a glimmer of hope that something even more elusive roams the dark thickets, waiting for the next bunch of campers to revive it from its dormant state so it can take to the sky, and once again become the spawn of the Devil. Later theories suggest that the monster was nothing more than a hammer-headed bat, a leathery winged night hunter that bears a striking resemblance to many of the original Jersey Devil reports. Whatever the truth, the legend of the Pine Barrens remains potent. ****

ZC: The Jersey Devil is an accumulation of flesh and blood predators, local folklore, campfire stories, yet most definitely something entirely peculiar that has - through the centuries - been sighted on several occasions in and around the dark Pine Barrens. JINSHIN-MUSHI – an ‘earthquake beetle’ from Japan, with ten spider legs and a scaly body. **

ZC: Like the Jinshin-Uwo, this beast seems remotely possible, even if a little far-fetched. JINSHIN-UWO – a truly monster eel said to cause the earthquakes of Japan. **

ZC: Whilst we can believe in the possibility of monster eels, those said to cause earthquakes are simply the product of myth. JUMINDA FROGMAN – in the Juminda area of the Estonian coast, in the Autumn of 1938, two witnesses observed a one-metre tall humanoid with no neck, a round head, and a hump on the front of its body. The monster seemed to walk rather “elegantly”, and its skin was brown-green in colour, and its eyes and mouth were slits. The creature almost tiptoed, until the witnesses pursued it, and then it broke into a great pace before vanishing. ***

ZC: These sorts of sightings, whilst common the world over, only seem to occur once in

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certain areas, and are never heard of again, or ever really looked into. Misinterpretation is also a common element in eyewitness descriptions, but the report of this creature does seem quite detailed, suggesting something that was seemingly real to the witnesses. JUSTO DARACT LEAPER – see also MONTE MAIZ PHANTOM for a similar ‘leaper’ figure from Argentina, or possibly the same caped intruder. This particular entity in dark garments was seen over five days in April 2004, in San Luis; a strange figure that bounded across roads, leapt onto buildings, and bounced into the air. Some witnesses described a phantom figure in a mask, gloves, and cloak, whilst others said it was a darkcoloured animal that jumped around on all-fours. Much confusion arose during the hysterical period, with some terrified residents believing that a psychopath - or strange wild animal - was on the loose. Later on in the month, shocked witnesses were describing impish figures frolicking on the rooftops, whilst other people said that tall, spindly figures in white, were gliding through the air and taking to the buildings. ****

ZC: Such cases, see also Monte Maiz, Monkey Man, Spring-Heeled Jack etc., etc., seem to have some kind of spooky staying power, even if the presence of such figures is dubious. One or two bizarre reports can escalate into hysteria, but seem to suggest that some kind of manifestation is involved, and even if not necessarily truly zooform, these figures range from hairy imps to cloaked leapers.

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ZC: It is more than likely that the Kalanoro is an undiscovered species of ape or something similar to the Orang-Pendek of the Sumatran jungles. KALI – an Indian vampire spectre said to appear on battlefields during bloody wars. This entity has black, charred skin, blood-red eyes, and a long tongue, possibly to inject into its victims and use like a straw. **

ZC: Creatures such as this flit between the ridiculous and zooform ethereality. Such creatures seem popular worldwide, in lore and local fear. KALLIKANTZAROS – these mysterious forms from Greece are also known as the Beautiful Centaurs, demonic creatures with shape-shifting properties. They are black-skinned beings with horns, sharp fangs, and talon-like claws. ****

ZC: Satyrs and centaurs are in abundance in Greek lore, alongside many other semimythical beasts. KAMA-ITACHI – vicious little weasel-like creatures, from Japan, that seem to attack victims by moving with strong winds. Only after the gales have subsided will a victim notice the scratches on their skin; a sign that this cunning predator has had its feast. ***

ZC: The folklore may hide a strange yet very real animal, but for now the Kama-Itachi is considered a mountain ghoul. KAMI – a huge catfish from Japan said to cause earthquakes. *

ZC: Fish just don’t cause earthquakes!

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KAMMAPA – this giant of a monster swallowed every animal it encountered, and was greatly feared by the Basuto. No-one has every described the beast - except to say it was amorphous. **

ZC: This creature is also known as Khodumodumo but remains vague. KANGAROO MAN – a very weird Manimal mentioned in the ‘Daily Review’ of 1900, from Oregon. To quote: “The Sixes mining district in Curry County has for the past 30 years gloried in the exclusive possession of a ‘KANGAROO MAN’. Recently while Wm. Page and Johnnie McCulloch, who are mining there, went out hunting, McCulloch saw the strange animal-man come down to a stream to drink. In calling Page’s attention to the strange being, it became frightened, and with cat-like agility, which has always been a leading characteristic, with a few bounds was out of sight”. Such a creature, at the time, was described as having the traits of a very handsome man, standing an incredible nine-feet in height, and his body covered in hair. The hands of the humanoid almost reached the ground, and it left tracks some eighteen-inches in length. ****

ZC: Although this report seems a touch weird, this may well have been a very early sighting of a Bigfoot. KANKOURAN – bogeyman of Senegal. See also the Bark Clad Monster **

ZC: See conclusion for Bark Clad Monster. KANSAS HORNED MONSTER – in 1903 a horned, hairy, beast with blazing red eyes, attacked various nightshift miners in Iola, Kansas. **

ZC: Whilst the date is mentioned of this monster’s appearance, little else is known. KAPPA – a well known mythical beast, these river imps smell like fish, and have the body of a tortoise, an ape-like head, scaly limbs, and webbed hands and feet. These ‘critters’ are mostly evil Japanese beings. ***

ZC: The origins of such a beast may dwell in Kappa

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some flesh and blood creature, or local spirit. KARINA – a female, fire-breathing, demonic owl from the folklore of Islamic Africa. *

ZC: This bird is said to suckle new-born babies at night, and may be just cultural fear. KAPRE – a Philippine entity said to be big, black and hairy. It lurks in woods near pathways, and attacks humans, although legend claims it is able to put spells on unfortunate victims. **

ZC: A possible real creature twisted into fantasy. KARA-KONDJIOLOS – these witch-come-Werewolves are said to be nightmares, and are described as imaginary monsters according to the ‘Dictionnaire TurcFrancais’ (1837 – Keiffer & Bianchi). They are vampiric forms said to ride tree-stumps. **

ZC: These creatures have no real depth, except to appear as shadowy blood-drinkers. KARAKURA – a vague night-demon from Turkish lore. *

ZC: Too little is known about this thing. KARKADANN – a Unicorn-type creature said to roam the plains of India and North Africa. ***

ZC: Maybe a mysterious species of horse. KARKOTAK NAAG – a great serpent - or huge snake - from Nepalese lore. ***

ZC: Although modern sightings of this beast do not seem to exist, maybe there once was a giant snake in the area. KARURA – in Japan this is a huge fire-breathing eagle man covered in golden feathers. The flapping of its wings sounds like thunder. **

ZC: This legend may well come to life if more birdmen are reported from these parts. KASHA – this is a monster from Japan said to be cannibalistic in nature, and to spend most of its time loitering around dark graveyards. Legend states that the ringing of bells or the banging of drums can ward off such beings. **

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ZC: Spooky, yet typically vague, vampire of lore. KASHE HOTAHPALA – this human/deer chimera is said to scream into the night, although it remains a harmless bogeyman-like being from Mississippi. **

ZC: Local, lurking shadow of a creature. KATANES BEAST – an elusive, man-eating, monster from Iceland, which prowled an area near the town of Katanes in 1874, the creature resembled a huge dog, had pale skin on its torso, but reddish skin on its limbs and head. The creature, which was described as having a lizard-like jaw, was blamed for several attacks on livestock, although by 1876 many humans died in its jaws. Then the beast vanished. ***

ZC: An intriguing legend that resembles the crypto-related mystery of the Gevaudan monster that rampaged through France in 1764. Possibly a ‘big cat’, large wolf, or some supernatural flesh eater? KATYN TAYUUQ – this is a ridiculously terrifying and nightmarish flying head from the Hudson Bay area of Canada. How such a horror was born we may never know, but it is known among the Inuit people. Basically, this grotesque killer is female, as it has breasts hanging from the head, and a vulva where the mouth should be. She comes in the night, like so many vampire critters, and such a beast has existed for many years, and there appears to be no way of getting rid of such a despicable intruder. **

ZC: This resembles some of the vampyric entities from Japan, and although sightings do not actually seem to exist in the modern day, the belief in such a terror is strong. KAVAY – this Madagascan beast is the stuff of nightmares, and is said to inhabit dark waters But at night it crawls from its foul lair in an attempt to drag riverside campers into its domain. Its victims usually have their eyes torn from their sockets. **

ZC: An unlikely creation. KEELUT – another phantom dog, this time from Canada and Alaska. This hound has been described as being hairless, and - like so many other dog apparitions - appears to travellers on dark nights. ****

ZC: Only the Inuit people seem to know of this beast, but it only a slight variation on the sinister theme we’ve all come to know. KE ‘LETS – in Chukchi belief this is a demon of death often accompanied by a pack of

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lethal hounds. Little else is known. **

ZC: A legend of little depth. KELPIE – although connected to various reports of lake monsters worldwide, the Kelpie is very much the ‘spirit of the waters’. In folklore such beasts are described as horse-like which rise from the inky waters. The Each-Uisge, is a water monster said to kidnap beautiful girls which tread softly near its submerged lair. Many legends pertaining to these mysterious monsters often involve a creature, similar to a local nightmare, able to shape-shift into any form such as a goat, or frog, which leaps from the murky depths. Those who research reports of lake monsters such as Nessie, will no doubt mock any reference to the supernatural or zooform, and strongly believe that what they are seeking is a true flesh and blood monster. However, many lakes and lochs around the globe are magical places steeped in lore, each with its own Kelpie Dragon or Kelpie-like beast. Scotland’s west coast Kelpie is described as a young, sleek brown horse, with the east coast specimen being a golden yellow colour. Such beings are once again trickster creatures said to lure travellers on to their backs and to take them into the dark depths, but they are said to only live in moving waters. ****

ZC: There’s every possibility that the Kelpie was in fact an unidentified ‘monster’ of many lakes, as well as local myth. They are ever present in water lore and may have described anything from primitive whales, giant otters or massive fish, but they also appear as supernatural beasts. KENT MAN BEAST – “… I thought I’d seen the Devil!”, said witness Maureen B. as she recalled her 1975 sighting of a red-eyed entity in woodland behind Sherwood Avenue, at Walderslade in Kent. For more than twenty-five years she’d kept silent about her encounter, which took place when she was eighteen-years old. “I was with my ex-husband

in the local woods and we were just hanging out, making a fire. [He] was crouched down tending to the fire, and I was standing up. Only a few yards away I suddenly saw two glowing eyes, they were staring straight at me. I said nothing, I was terrified. The eyes belonged to something that stood over six-feet tall, but in the darkness I could make out that it was bulky, like it was covered in hair. It just stared at me, and then, after what seemed like a while, it gradually lowered, the eyes moved towards the floor and it ap-

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peared to hide behind some bushes. I made some excuse so we could leave the area”. Kent, despite its strange phenomena, is not Bigfoot country, but what Maureen saw on that Summer’s night in 1975 was something very real to her. In the 1940s - at an unnamed location on the Kent coast - the Shirley family had an encounter with a flamehaired man-beast whilst picnicking in local woods. The creature, despite disappearing quickly into the trees, was described as having huge, powerful jaws. On the night of 11th February 2006, a witness from the south-east of England, was putting out rubbish in his garden, when he was distracted by a deep rumbling sound coming from the nearby woods. As he approached the area, he saw two glinting eyes, and as he moved closer to the eyes, the rumbling got louder until he could take it no more and hurried inside. However, throughout the night, the bewildered man was tormented by the noise, and then saw a hairy creature - with humps - in the garden. It stood over six-feet in height, and seemed to be hopping around the yard. The next morning, the man found litter and other debris scattered around the garden. ****

ZC: Unique and terrifying humanoids, which appear - like so many others - out of the dark, and remain unexplained. KENTISH CHURCH BEAST – a well documented case, from the village of Great Chart, near Ashford, in Kent (UK), from around 1613, when a large, mysterious creature allegedly materialised in the church. Many people who had congregated, were either killed or severely injured by a beast, which was the size of a bull, and smashed down a wall before then vanishing into thin air. ****

ZC: Kent is known for its eerie Black Dogs but it’s difficult to tie this vague creature to phantom hounds, but something very weird took place. KERES – female monsters from Greece, red in colour with large claws. **

ZC: More female and very seductive spirits with gruesome intentions. These are, once again, bogey creatures. KHAKI BESAR – this may be a Sasquatch relative from Malaysia, although those tribes, which participate in the rituals to drive such a beast away speak of this monster as supernatural. Police, wildlife experts, tribes, and the local army have all sought this being; but to no avail. ****

ZC: A local bogeyman, which can take on many forms.

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KHU – according to author Dennis William Hauck, Khu is the earliest hieroglyphic word for ‘ghost’. This apparition was able to possess animal or person. ****

ZC: As Khu is a general term, we must assume that if such a spectre is able to take on animal form and soul then some kind of zooform would be obtained, hence this phantom and its high rating. KI DU – a demonic dog from Brittany. ****

ZC: Popular in myth, and also the eerie lanes. KIKIMORA – a little known baby-stealing swamp dweller, said to reside in the misty bogs of Russia. This term is also used to define a household ghost, so this goblin-like ‘critter’ may well be a mischievous form. This creature is also said to look like a stretched hen! ****

ZC: Kikimora appears to be a vague word to describe several types of spirits, but as a marsh-dwelling spook this is classic bogeyman material to frighten children into their beds. KIKIYAON – a flying monster of Gambian lore which combines human and avian traits. Its scream and icy glance is enough to kill a man and villagers fear this terrifying monster greatly. It is owl-like, especially its head, and it has a huge beak and long, sharp talons. The call of this creature is often heard, even though the beast is rarely sighted. Its call is said to signify a coming death. This horrendous West African legend lurks in the gloomy forests where it appears to move between physical and ethereal levels. A dark sorcerer may well use the power of the Kikiyaon to murder, for such a creature can haunt the savannahs as well as the dreams of man. ****

ZC: Gambian birdmen may well exist on that supernatural level, and this legend eerily shifts between tribal lore and flesh and blood terror. KI-LIN – in Karl Shuker’s book ‘The Beasts That Hide from Man’, he states that the KiLin is, “…probably the earliest form of unicorn..”, an Oriental beast which dates back as far as 3000 BC. ***

ZC: See conclusion for Unicorn. KILLAKEE MONSTER CAT – a monstrous black cat with red eyes haunted a house in Southern Ireland purchased by Margaret O’Brien in 1968. Allegedly the phantom beast growled: “…you cannot see me, you don’t even know who I am”, up until the exorcism,

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which allegedly rid the house of the evil form. ****

ZC: A strong supernatural tale that has all the elements of a scary ghost story. This felid figure remained for many years, and was every bit as demonic as many of the hellhounds said to roam the UK. KILLER BIRD – something bird-like and shadowy killed Mr Charles Appleby in the room of Old Chambers, Lincoln’s Inn (no longer standing), London, in 1913, and yet the incident has faded into obscurity. The victim was found covered in scratch marks, and yet the doors and windows were locked from the inside. There were even witnesses to the event, who - from outside the building - could see the man fighting, and struggling with some ‘thing’ inside, which stood the same height as he. Even after the murder, reports of the big bird continued, but tragically, the death of Mr Appleby will never be solved, and the case remains obscure. ****

ZC: More needs to be found out regarding this unusual event, and it certainly deserves to be re-opened and investigated, because even if a monster bird was not to blame for the savage attack on Mr Appleby, something else is. KING’S LYNN CENTAUR – a creature sighted during the early ‘90s on the NorfolkLincolnshire border by the husband of a Nicky Knott who reported the incident on ITV television show ‘This Morning’. The witness described seeing a horse-like animal by the side of the road one evening but it had the face of a man. ****

ZC: Such a tale would have been laughed at if it hadn’t been submitted to a popular television show in the 1990s. Again, like so many others, this centaur-like creature appeared at a roadside. KINIE GER – a fearsome marauding beast from Australia said to have the head and body of a large, ferocious cat, but the limbs of a man. Such a beast killed all in its path. ***

ZC: Legend may have been born from a mysterious animal roaming the country. KIRIN – the Japanese Unicorn said to slay prey with its mighty horn. *

ZC: An unlikely animal. KIRK-GRIM – in Scandinavian folklore this is a shape-shifting animal that creeps around old churches as a guardian. It has been known to take the form of a pig, lamb, or horse. **

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ZC: Despite the thousands of churches across Europe, there do not appear to be many reports of such a creature, although the occasional report does crop up of a spiritual presence in the grounds of churchyards. KISHE – in Angola there exists a race of hill-dwelling trickster entities which have two heads. These malicious humanoids have a handsome head and a hideous head which appears as hyena-like, having huge jaws and razor-sharp teeth. This beast seduces victims by showing its ‘good side’ and then tears them to pieces in its darkened abode. **

ZC: A monster of local fear although such tricksters appear common in lore. KISIHOHKEW – can take on the form of wolf or moose within the folklore of the Cree of Canada. This spectre is generally considered evil. **

ZC: Obscure shape shifter. KLUDDE – Belgian lore speaks of this water monster said to roam the countryside of Flemish Belgium. The beast resembles a big, black dog and picks off lonely travellers. ***

ZC: There’s every possibility that this creature may well have been a big cat such as a black leopard, but it would not have ripped travellers to shreds at such a rate as the legend suggests.

Kludde

KNOX COUNTY WEREWOLF – a beast encountered by French settlers of Vincennes, near Indiana. The creature was said to have once roamed Cathlinette Road and attacked several travellers. ****

ZC: Such a monster may well have been anything, from mystery cat to hairy humanoid. KNUCKER – opinion is divided as to whether Dragons existed in the British Isles, but the name describes those fascinating creatures said to have lived in the swampy, quagmires of the United Kingdom. ****

ZC: Dragons most certainly existed in some dimension, proven by the countless reports, past and present, of winged beasts.

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KOERAKOONLASED – these are widespread dog-headed men popular in the folklore of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. **

ZC: Classic mythology. KOGUHPUK – a rarely seen beast that lives beneath the soil. The Inuit people of Alaska believe this creature is sensitive to light and only emerges for one day a year. *

ZC: I think this creature may have been more believable if it never emerged at all, so why it should choose only one day a year is bewildering. KOLOR IJO – the monster of Jakarta, said to resemble half-man/half-beast, and alleged to have stalked the city streets attacking and raping lone women during early 2004 . The clawing phantom is also known as ‘green underpants’ (!), but experts believe it was merely something created during the Indonesian panic of earthquakes and bird flu. Those that feared the creature draped magical talismans from their homes in the hope of warding off the spectre, a spectre with a territory of over some 80km. Sceptics have argued that the bizarre entity is nothing more than Indonesian superstition or simply a group of burglars. *

ZC: Another of those hysterical manifestations born from local fear. This seems to be nothing more than a burglar panic. KONOHA-TENGU – mysterious birds with huge wingspans often seen flying over the Ooi River in Japan. Folklore relates them to the Tengu, but these could well be an unknown species of bird. They use large talons to grasp fish from the water. ***

ZC: Flying monsters are extremely vivid in Oriental folklore, but in this case these extraordinary winged creatures may well have one foot in the real zoological world. KRESNIK – this is a shape-shifting form said to appear as a white dog, as well as a horse. It is a figure of complex nature, and has Shamanistic properties. **

ZC: Such a figure is more of a vampire slayer rather than a bogeyman, but it gets an entry due to its ability to shape-shift into a phantom dog. KU – Hawaiian giant dog. ****

ZC: Another zooform hound.

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KUDLAK – a Slovenian witch-like entity said to take on the form of a spectral hound, horse or black boar. Such a monster roams the night in search of blood. **

ZC: Traditional vampire belief. KUKULKAN – a great mystical serpent similar to Quetzalcoatl. This is a Mayan legend. **

ZC: A huge beast worshipped among the elements. KULUS – also pronounced Kolus, and Quolos, this is a supernatural bird with tufts on its head. Such a flying wonder features on totem poles along with the Thunderbird as a great bird of Indian lore. The Kulus may be a birdman for it is covered in white down which causes the body to overheat, which in turn it casts off to reveal a human form. ****

ZC: This creature of lore may well be one of the earliest symbols of the strange birdmen sighted across the globe today. KUMIHO – in Japanese folktales these creatures are like shape-shifting foxes. *

ZC: Mythology. KUN – this mystery creature is said to be a truly monstrous fish, one which is able to transform itself into a giant bird. This beast, when in bird form is known as Peng, and is known from Chinese lore. **

ZC: A creature said to symbolise ambition. KUNANTHROPOS – in Greek lore this humanoid is also known as Dog Man, a shapeshifter. The Slavic version appears as a ghostly Black Dog. ****

ZC: Clearly a spectral canid. KURU PIRA – a Brazilian man-beast demon with glowing red eyes and a shrill cry, this Werewolf-like monster is said to have long, backward turned feet, huge genitals, and enormous fangs in its frothing mouth. Many forest creatures with backward feet are said to have them simply to confuse any followers or travellers, which immediately walk into its lair. Once a victim is in the grasp of the beast, they are crushed, and the monster will let out a mighty roar to signify the death. The long teeth will then puncture the skull, and the blood and liquid is sucked free. It is said that the only way to repel this predator is to place your hands in its tracks, or step into its tracks, but face the opposite direction. ***

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ZC: The legend of this ferocious beast may appear to fog the facts. The Kuru Pira may well be a relative of the Yeti, or another of those vicious dog-headed humanoids. KYNOKEPHALOS – this is a spectral dog that walks upright. It exists in Yugoslavian myth. ****

ZC: Although not well known, this spooky dog is threatening and unique in that it rears up when threatened, an action not often related to other hellhounds.

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ZC: Nothing more than a shallow bogeyman to some, but this enigma, especially as a huge bird, connects to the Thunderbird sightings, and has attracted researchers from all over the globe to its spectral nest, said to be situated somewhere near Robstown. LA DIABLESSE – this ‘female Devil’, which - as the name means - haunts lonely roads as a creature with hooves, said to lure victims into the darkness. This phantom figure has burning eyes, and wears a wide-brimmed hat to hide its grotesque features. **

ZC: Another of those trickster legends. LAKE DOWNY PARK MONSTER – spotted by a witness fishing near Orlando, Florida on 6th February 2004 at 8:45 pm. The witness described a feeling of being watched from the woods, and turned around to see a tall creature, with stork-like legs, staring at him. The man attempted to get out of the area, but was tracked by the creature, and it only disappeared from the scene when he called the police on his cell phone. **

ZC: A rather vague description which could be put down to anything from weirdo in the woods to Bigfoot. LAKE SCUGOG MONKEY BEAST – location unknown (somewhere in the United States), for this white monkey-like ‘critter’ observed by a cyclist and his Labrador dog in the 1970s. The beast was described as three-feet in height, with long arms, and a large head which let out a few loud grunts. The beast then let out a terrifying scream, which seemed to surround the witness. ***

ZC: Possibly a flesh and blood creature, an out-of-place animal, which hasn’t been sighted again. LAKE WEATHERFORD MONSTER – a beast described as being like a bull, with burning red eyes, and able to emit flames from its nostrils. The legend is strong in Texan folklore, but at times confused in that such a creature has been related to lake monsters, and

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also Bigfoot. Some have said that this monster resembles a skinless armadillo. ***

ZC: Possible real creature, once we can establish whether it lurks in the woods or in the lakes. LAKE WORTH SATYR – more commonly known as the Lake Worth Monster, from Fort Worth, Texas, this legend dates back to 1967, when teenagers hanging around the Mosque Point area of the lake were being terrified by a creature said to resemble halfman/half-goat. The Fort Worth ‘Star Telegram’ of 12th July 1969 reported the creature as being active around Greer Island, and as being described as covered in fur and scales, and standing over seven-feet in height. According to some motorists in the area, the beast was attacking their cars, leaving scratch marks on the bonnets, and throwing things. **

ZC: One of many centaur/satyr-like creatures, which seem to dominate zooformology. The reports seem confused as well as few and far between. LA LLORONA – the ‘weeping one’ of Mexican folklore, a banshee-like figure that wails in the night. **

ZC: A mere ghost story, although a potent legend. LALOMENA – a Madagascan monster said to resemble an ox and live in the water. The people of Madagascar, the Malagasy, say that this creature has two bright red horns. ***

ZC: Undiscovered water monster. LAMBIR TREE LEAPER – something very odd inhabits the Lambir Forest Preserve, in the Sarawak Province of Malaysia. Some call the phantom the Green Man, a ghostly form wearing a green shirt, but other reports suggest a floating creature, green or orange in colour that floats eerily through the trees. This spectre follows hikers and travellers. However, the most frightening spook in the region is a darker shape that leaps from tree to tree, and spooks students and teachers. ****

ZC: This form may be an unknown species of animal, or a monkey, but what seems clear is that the Preserve is clouded in mystery, and appears to be haunted by a number of eerie forms. Whether these things are connected we’ll never know, but strangeness is high on the agenda.

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LAMIA – a serpentine female with vampiric abilities. *

ZC: More vague vampires of the feminine form which appear more as nightmares. LAMPALUGUA – a fearsome predator, elusive too, that kills cattle, and occasionally humans. Although rarely seen, the reputation of this great clawed lizard is feared in Chile. ***

ZC: Parts of South America seem plagued with blood-sucking monsters, but the identities vary, proving that the whole vampire panic is justified, but at times confused. Some ‘thing’ is out there preying on the cattle, but it seems to have several faces.

Lamia

LANCASTER COUNTY GOATMAN – in 1973, two farmers saw a horned man-beast in Pennsylvania, a creature mentioned in the legends of Pennsylvania Dutch country. Such a beast is said to be grey in colour with a white mane and large fangs. ****

ZC: This is one of those murky forms that can slip nicely into the folklore of the Sasquatch, Werewolves and other furred humanoids. LANGE WAPPER – although this Belgian spectre appears as a massive black cat, its background takes on a rather comical side, when we discover that it only scares drunkards! **

ZC: Not sure why this phantom felid picks on those who’ve had a few too many, but maybe it is a warning creature, hoping to put off heavy drinkers from wasting their lives away. LANGSUIR – a female, flying vampire of Malaysian folklore said to drink blood through a hole in their neck. According to tradition these vampires look like large birds, but shape-shift and often appear as beautiful women. **

ZC: The tradition is detailed and persistent but these things are either wrongly identified birds or are sheer hocus pocus, but the legend remains terrifying.

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LA PAMPA ENTITY – in 2002 this humanoid became another of those Chupacabrarelated monsters, a predatory night marauder with glowing eyes said to hunt down livestock in the dead of night in Argentina. In the Summer of 2002, this spectre was blamed for the deaths of cattle, sheep and dogs with reports describing creatures ranging from 40 cm in height to man-size. ****

ZC: Like some sinister take over, these shape-shifting blood-suckers have drifted across the Americas like an evil mist. LAWALAWA – a tongue twister of a name for this small, nocturnal creature believed in by the Coos Indians. Such ‘critters’ are said to bombard houses with stones, something that seems quite common behaviour, among the South American imp-creatures of this world. ****

ZC: Small, hairy imp-like creatures seem pretty much in abundance on this strange planet, and whilst they may not be real as such, their purpose is to torment humans by attacking them in the night, and sometimes pelting their homes with small stones! LAWTON WEREWOLF – on 27th February 1971, police in Lawton Street, Oklahoma, USA, were called out to investigate several reports of a strange creature sighted running down the street. The bizarre ‘animal’ was said to have dodged cars, and bounded through hedgerows. One witness said he saw the ‘thing’ sitting by the railroad, before it leapt seventeen-feet below, and loped away on all fours. He described it as having a horribly distorted face, with its body covered in hair, but added that the ‘critter’ was wearing shrunken trousers, as if it had grown out of them. A group of soldiers at Fort Hill also saw the creature, whilst another witness - an elderly man - allegedly had a heart attack after seeing the beast drinking water from a pond. Two days after the flap, the creature was never sighted again. ****

ZC: There is of course every possibility that this sighting was a hoax, especially as this beast was wearing garments, almost as in all the classic Werewolf movies where such beast-men burst out of their clothes, but considering that police were called out to investigate several descriptive and seemingly credible reports, this monster is filed under `very mysterious`. LECHIES – this creature is a ‘demon of the woods’ from the Slavic forests, and was recorded by Collin de Plancy in his 1863 edition of ‘Dictionnaire Infernal’. It seems that this woodland humanoid appeared as a satyr, having goat legs,

Lechies

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but a donkey-like head and horns. ****

ZC: These kinds of references are precious to zooform and show us that there were indeed early reports of creatures which today inspire fear and legend. The Lechies appear as the original Goatman, or forest demon, although I’m unaware as to whether these were malevolent forms. LETICHE – the swamplands of Louisiana are haunted by this scaly, clawed beast, said to have once been a child raised by alligators in the murky bottomlands. This ferocious beast hates humans, and so hunts them down and devours them. **

ZC: Wonderful campfire stuff up there with Bunnyman and the likes. LETAYUSCHIY CHELOVEK – the ‘flying man’ of Russia said to inhabit Vladivostock. **

ZC: Russia seems strangely bereft of zooform creatures so it’s a shame that when one does come along it is all too vague. LEYAK – a Bali Werewolf of sorts that can also take on the form of eerie mist, a winged humanoid, or flying monkey, it is a shape-shifting monster said to be a symbol of doom, mainly in the form of death and the destruction of crops. **

ZC: This is another of the intriguing yet foggy folklore monsters, classical in that it is a portent of misfortune and disaster, yet – unfortunately - a creature without any reports to back it up. LIGHTNING SPLITTER HOUND – the house, in Montana, is known as Lightning Splitter, because it is often struck by bolts of lightning. Whether this energy boost is connected, we’ll never know, but a demonic dog haunts the rooms. **

ZC: This appears to be a devilish dog, but it’s hardly ever encountered. LIK’ICHIRI – also known as the Andean Fat Stealers, these nasty beings are said to roam the Andes, and other mountainous regions. These ‘critters’ are said to attack those who sleep by cutting long, thin slits into humans and removing the fat. The victim, who wakes the next morning is bizarrely none the wiser to this act as they mysteriously heal overnight! The bedroom invaders are said to be imaginary entities, and are similar to the Sacaojos of Peru, and represent cultural fears. **

ZC: Urban myth and fear.

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LIMBURGER CHEESE MONSTER – the ‘Fairfield Towne Crier’ reported, on 27th March 2005, a strange account of a vague creature rumoured to have haunted Pleasantville, USA, during the 1960s. Some claimed it was a hairy man-beast that stood over seven-feet in height, and - during the hours of darkness - was known to peer into the windows of houses. Wherever the shadowy presence prowled, a pungent odour remained, which is why the beast was given such a quirky name. Rumour has it that vigilante residents eager to take a shot at the night monster often tracked the creature. According to the legend, the humanoid was eventually caught, after many months of panic, and turned out to be a man in a gorilla suit playing a prank! So, just like all good ‘Scooby-Doo’ endings, it was just the caretaker after all, in a mask, trying to spook the residents. Allegedly, of course! **

ZC: I’m unsure as to how a hoaxer managed to stand over seven-feet in height, and give off a putrid odour, whilst strolling casually around town, easily eluding his pursuers! Maybe there was a real monster in the woods after all. LIOUMERE – vague terrors from the Caroline Islands, a large archipelago of widely scattered islands in the western Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Guinea. these female demons are said to have iron teeth. **

ZC: Obscure legends from remote places need further investigation. LIVORNO BEINGS – sighted by a man called Bruno Senesi in this Italian town on 19th October 1954. At first the witness saw two shining, smoking flying objects land in a field nearby, which he decided bravely to investigate. Upon reaching the area of the landing, Bruno was chased by some small, red creatures for quite a distance. Mr Senesi was admitted to hospital, where he often broke out in sweats of terror, which caused him to hide under the bed and scream for hours. ** See also Scaly Humanoid.

ZC: I don’t often like to connect the worlds of zooform phenomena and ufology, but when a witness lays claim to such a sighting, one has to either accept something very strange has happened, or completely dismiss such a case altogether. Such UFO sightings seem pretty common throughout history, with witnesses often describing strange creatures emerging from weird craft they have seen land. LIZARD MAN – during the early hours of a June night in 1998, seventeen-year old Christopher Davis had an encounter with the swamp monster. He’d stopped his car on a quiet road near Scape Ore Swamp, near Bishopsville, South Carolina, to change a flat tyre and was alerted to the darkness by a noise near the woods. Davis suddenly saw something leap from the foliage, and run towards him. Davis leapt into his car, shutting

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the door just before the monster lunged at the handle. At 35 m.p.h Davis escaped, leaving the creature standing in the road. The press jumped on the story, but Davis was adamant that what he’d seen was a monster and not a bear. He said: “I looked back and saw something running across the field

towards me. It was about twenty-five yards away and I saw the red eyes glowing. I ran into the car and as I locked it, the thing grabbed the door handle. I could see him from the neck down – the three big fingers, long black nails and green rough skin. It was strong and angry. I looked in my mirror and saw a blur of green running. I could see his toes and then he jumped on the roof of my car. I thought I heard a grunt and then I could see his fingers through the front windshield, where they curled around the roof.” On the 24th July 1998, two couples were driving near to where Interstate 20 meets Highway 15 when a seven-foot tall figure ran across the road. The girlfriends of Rodney Nolf and Shane Stokes were terrified by the dark figure, which they said had glowing eyes, and headed towards the swamp. The witnesses reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Office, and Lee County deputy Wayne Atkinson, and state trooper Mike Hodge investigated the report. Upon arriving at the area where the creature had headed, they found forty-gallon garbage cans had been thrown around, tree branches snapped eight-feet up the tree trunks and strange tracks over fourteen-inches long in mud. Wildlife officials claimed that the prints were a hoax. This particular man-beast may have quickly faded, but history is rife with reports of Reptile-men and other swamp things. In 1988 at Browntown, South Carolina, Tom and Mary Waye claimed to have been attacked whilst they were in their car, by a scaled Manimal whilst two male witnesses also came forward to speak of their encounter with a strange scaled humanoid which chased them from the swamp after they disturbed it drinking from a spring. During the early 1970s, at Thetis Lake, British Columbia, two men were amazed to see a five-feet tall bipedal creature on the beach. The creature had six sharp points on its head and chased the men for a short while before disappearing into the woods, whilst in 1977 a State Conservation naturalist claimed that reptilian figures often emerged at dusk from the Southern Tier waters in New York State. South Carolina’s Lake Murray is also said to be inhabited by a ‘gillman’, a creature said to have appeared before Buddy Browning, his wife Shirley, and their friend Kord Brazell in the 1980s. The witnesses were fishing in a cove when they claimed the Lizard Man emerged and attacked them. On 14th May 2000, a Mary Shealy, who lives on the shore of Lake Murray, claimed to have seen ‘Messie’ the lake monster which she reported to the ‘Lexington News’. Judging by the hundreds of detailed eyewitness reports, it seems that ‘gillmen’, ‘reptilemen’, and ‘lizard men’ are just as active as Bigfoot and various lake serpents, but are

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these lagoon creatures flesh and blood mutants, or bizarre projections? ****

ZC: Lizard Men are pretty much in the premier table of zooform odd-bodies. So many ‘gillmen’ etc., have been sighted rising from the river bottoms of America and some theorise that they are relatives to, or something akin, to Sasquatch. One thing is certain, though, they do not really live in those quagmires, but on some equally dense level where they occasionally flitter into our lives. LJESCHI – a Slavic beast resembling a satyr and able to change its size at will. This creature roams the forests. **

ZC: European folk tale. LLAMHIGYN Y DWR – known in Welsh lore as the ‘water leaper’, a creature said to inhabit remote parts of rivers and to feed off livestock and is a large toad-like winged creature with a piercing wail. **

LLAMHIGYN Y DWR

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ZC: An exciting legend that seems to combine winged monster with the classic Kelpie legend, and yet there appears to be no depth to it at all. LLYN CYNWCH LAKE BEAST – an obscure, man-like horror said to emerge from the depths of a remote lake in Gwynedd, two miles north of Dolgellau. The monster is said to cry and scream. **

ZC: Are Reptile-men resident in this lake? Highly unlikely, even in the ethereal sense. LOANGO – a vampiric entity from the lore of Africa, said to resemble the Asanbosam. **

ZC: And still they emerge from nightmares and folk belief. LOBIZON – Manimals such as the Lobizon have featured in the lore of Argentina, as well as Uruguay, Paraguay and parts of Brazil. During the Summer of 2000, seventeen people gathered at a small family reunion at Concepcion del Bermejo, in northern Argentina. It was at this congregation that they allegedly confronted a were-creature around midnight on Thursday, 22nd June. One of the family members, an eleven year-old boy, sensed a weird presence outside the window and thought that something was attacking his pet dog. He spotted the shadow of a strange creature near an area used by chickens and ducks. Alarmed by the presence, the youngster told a few of his male relations about the presence who rushed outside to confront the Manimal. Allegedly, the creature attacked a number of the family members who - in turn - beat and struck the animal with sticks and metal bars, until they thought it was dead. They then proceeded to tie it to a tree, but it made off across the highway appearing unharmed by the blows. The shocked family told Argentinian newspaper ‘Norte’ that the creature resembled a dog but had larger ears, and they ‘phoned the authorities after the incident. Deputy Sheriff de la Cruz investigated the area where the alleged incident took place, to collect samples of hair and possible blood stains, which were to be sent off for biochemical analysis. On the same night, a local gas attendant also claims to have encountered the beast, roughly an hour or so after it had been confronted by the terrified family. The attendant claims he saw a dog-like animal hiding behind a diesel pump, and it appeared to have a matted, possibly bloody tail. Although the animal headed off in the direction of town, the attendant felt terrified of the shaggy creature, but there is no evidence to suggest this was the Argentinian Wolfman spoken of in lore. No comparisons here can even be made with Wisconsin’s ferocious Bray Road monstrosity; a muscular creature that ran on two legs, and displayed non-canine qualities. There is also nothing to suggest this animal was the much-feared Dientudo, the ‘big teeth’ Bigfoot-like creature that roams the Argentinian capital, and the thick woodlands of El Gato Creek. This fearsome, bipedal creature is said to resemble a bear, but appear human-like as well.

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****

ZC: Many reports of such creatures do seem to describe dog-like animals or hideous hyena hybrids, so there is every chance they are real beasts, but, like the Salaawa, they are often perceived as supernatural carnivores. LOBOMBRE – a Spanish man beast or ‘man-wolf’, which lives in the caves of the Cantabrian ranges. ****

ZC: Proof that Werewolves exist throughout the world. LODI BLUE BIRD – mysterious blue bird seen in Wisconsin in August 1999 by a female hiker. She described the ‘bird’ as wraith-like, gliding, and around five-feet high. The creature simply disappeared. ***

ZC: There has only been one sighting of this mysterious ‘bird’ although the witness believed it was wraith-like. LONG DOG – a spectral hound from Tennessee, USA. **** See also Oolonga-Dagalla.

ZC: A canid materialisation. LONG-LEGGED PHANTOM – a creature seen in 1951 by Okalahoma woman Mrs Laub, as she tended to her cattle. The unusual ‘critter’ was said to stand on four very thin legs, like those of a deer. But it had huge feet, and was covered in longish hair. The animal was eerily larger than a dog or wolf, and had a bushy tail and pointed - yet small - ears. Mrs Laub was unnerved by the presence of the mystery creature, and threw a stick at it. The beast remained unmoved, and Mrs Laub rushed inside her home, where she told her husband about the creature. He then searched the area, and found a set of unusual tracks across the ground. A similar creature, long-legged in appearance, but resembling a horse, is also known as the Hvoko capko, or Long Ears, and is known in Oklahoma lore. It is said to be very ugly in appearance, and give off a pungent odour. These creatures are said to roam rocky areas. ***

ZC: These creatures certainly appear to have a reality about them so there is no need to put them alongside phantom animals until proven otherwise. LOOGAHOO – a dog-like Werewolf said to drag chains. This hairy beast is a spirit drainer. **

ZC: A legend with possible connections to the Black Dog phenomenon, but with few

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sightings. LOOGAROO – Haiti legend speaks of this creature, which resides in its own ‘Devil Tree’; where it sheds its skin, and then takes to the night as a sulphurous blob, in order to seek out victims. **

ZC: Local vampire tale. LOONEYVILLE BIRDMAN – a winged, humanoid creature said to haunt West Virginia several decades before the Mothman ‘critter’ turned up. ****

ZC: Eye-witness reports of this particular birdman are vague and inconsistent, but with the Mothman saga soon to follow, this being appears related. LOPER – a peculiar tall and furred figure seen in Illinois in July 1989, when author Linda S. Godfrey stated that a female witness saw: “…a very large man walking, wearing what she thought must be a long fur coat”. However, when the woman and her husband neared the form, they observed a Bigfoot-like monster. **

ZC: This sighting is a little vague, but reports of this ilk are common. LOUP GAROU – the French term for the Werewolf; such a creature is said to be a human that takes on the form of a shaggy-haired beast whilst under the influential glow of a full moon. Sceptics argue that the Werewolf is simply a medical condition, that at the time could not be explained. ****

ZC: …but legend clearly proves that strange, bipedal manbeasts DO roam the night. LOUSVILLE GOATMAN – known as the Pope Lick Monster also, this is a creature that draws in many a scared youth, but lacks any real zooform qualities. **

ZC: See Pope Lick Monster conclusion.

Loup Garou

LOVELAND FROG – Loveland, Ohio, early 1970s: a number of credible witnesses claimed to have seen a creature that, in cryptozoological circles, would become known as the Loveland Frog. Those who study reports of mysterious creatures are often pleased when they receive information from allegedly genuine and credible witnesses such as police officers, although I have never quite understood why a police officer should be

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considered more credible than an average member of the public. On 3rd March 1972, an unnamed police officer was patrolling Riverside Road at around 1:00 am. It was a clear, crisp and frosty night as he drove along the dark road, when all of a sudden his headlights picked up a dog-like creature near the side of the lane. The officer pulled over, thinking a dog was lying injured in the gutter. To his amazement, the animal stood erect, and leapt over a rail, and disappeared into dense undergrowth in the direction of the Miami River. When speaking of the incident, the police officer described the creature as standing between three and four feet-tall, weighing up to seventy-pounds, and looking like a giant lizard or frog, with leathery skin. Although no official report was ever filed, the officer returned to the scene later during the early hours with another officer, where they discovered unusual scrape-marks on the bank that drops into the murky river. Two weeks after the sighting, another police officer was driving through Loveland, when - again - a peculiar animal appeared to be lying in the road. Thinking a vehicle had hit something, he stopped his car to inspect the casualty. The creature suddenly became erect, although in a crouching position, and slowly limped to the side of the road before stepping over the guardrail, and once again descending the bank. All the while, the creature peered at the officer, who decided to take a shot at the being, but missed the target. Unusually, no report was filed, considering the officer had to fire a shot at the thing. If this had been an emergency situation or criminal occurrence, then something would have had to have been filed. Unfortunately, both officers involved in the sightings only got brief glimpses of the creature, and were not sure of its colour, or the texture of its skin, but soon after the reports, the press grabbed hold of the bizarre stories, and the Loveland Frog became another of those comic book villains, never to be understood or seen again, despite local rumours concerning vague reports of eerie inhabitants of the local swamplands and riverbeds. Numerous investigators have since tracked down both officers, and bizarrely they claim that neither encounter involved four-feet high, frog-men. The second officer told researchers that: “..it was no monster, it was not leathery, not furry and it did not stand

erect. The animal I saw was some sort of lizard that someone probably had as a pet and got tired of it. It was less than three-feet in length and scurried away because it was frightened by the glare of my headlights.” The officer also claimed that he did shoot at the animal, and that he hit the target and that it probably crawled away to die. Basically, the Loveland Frog never happened…..or did it? ***

ZC: The Loveland Frog was nothing more than a prowling lizard, but also the prime example of how spook stories can get out of hand as they are passed around.

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LOVER’S LANE MONSTER – a creature said to prowl a remote road in La Matanza, Tenerife which was seen in 1992 by a couple sitting in their vehicle. The being was covered in hair, around three to four-feet tall and carrying a staff-like object. Legend has it that the critter stares into cars with cat-like eyes. **

ZC: Possible local folklore started by terrified or prankster youngsters. LUMBERJACK MONSTERS – for centuries the logging communities of the United States have believed in, created, manifested, and told, tall-tales of hundreds - if not thousands of bizarre woodland critters, some hideous, man-eating monsters, some quirky, others downright surreal. From the Ball-Tailed Cat, to the Wiggle Wiffit, as well as the DewMink, the Giddyfish, the Pigwiggon, the Pinnacle Goose, Dismal Sauger, Tripoderoo etc, etc. A majority of these are simply the product of zany wit, but maybe some, just some, do exist, at least in the nightmares of lumberjacks, and those who fall for the stories. **

ZC: Whilst fascinating and sometimes fearsome, a majority of these beasties, which have come about since the eighteenth century, are very much woodland quirks, but there have been those such as the Axe Handle Hound and Cactus Cat, which have somehow waddled from the lore into the woods, even if they remain the stuff of folklore. LUBLIN DEVILS – in this Polish town, one night in 1638, a night secretary of the town hall spotted several mysterious beings. She claimed that the humanoids were covered in thick, black hair, and that they had horns on their heads. **

ZC: An intriguing, if little known, local fable. LUMINESCENT BEING OF LOCH RAVEN – another creature from the strange woodlands of Maryland, USA; this flying humanoid, observed in 1991, and reported in the ‘Baltimore Sun’, flew over the head of a witness, before transforming into a glowing ball. ****

ZC: More winged weirdness. LUMINOUS SHAPE-SHIFTERS OF CONIL DE LA FRONTERA – two weird, glowing beings seen to emerge from the sea near the city of Cadiz in Spain. The humanoids were observed by a group of youths in 1990. What was extraordinary about the case was how the luminous beings fell on to the sand and then flipped back on to their feet and appeared dressed as normal human beings! **

ZC: Incredibly bizarre story that seems to fit in with the UFO anorak view that aliens live beneath the sea and turn into human form to walk among us.

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LUPIN – Werewolf relation from Norman lore. ****

ZC: These forms gather around burial grounds, and howl at the moon. LUPO-MANNARO – this is the Italian `species` of Werewolf, connected to the full moon by birth. ****

ZC: Another mysterious hairy monster. LUUCROTA – some believe such a creature, distributed throughout Eastern and Southern Africa, is related to the hyena, others claim it is a creature of lore, a beast with a feline body but a canine head. Among African tribes the creature is considered unclean and evil. ***

ZC: This is another of those monster dog hybrids potent in Africa as a marauding, demonic legend.

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ZC: Mystery kangaroos are among some of zooform’s greatest moments, despite there being every possibility they are released/escaped pets. The Macropus may well have been an out of place hopper, but some cryptozoologists believe there is more to these animals than meets the eye. MADAGASCAN WATER CREATURES – female Merfolk said to have waist-length hair, who call out to the fishermen of Lac Alaotra. *

ZC: Merfolk are strong in folkloric terms, but there is nothing to say they exist on any level. Well, not in my book anyway. MADISON MORPHER – as described in Linda S. Godfrey’s ‘Hunting the American Werewolf’ book, from 2006, this particular morphing creature was seen by a male witness one evening as it transformed from dog to a gorilla-faced creature. ****

ZC: This particular report was very detailed in the book, and suggests a manifested form. Many creatures seen across the world, which exhibit human and animal traits, are often perceived as shape-shifting forms, and this particular beast is no exception. MAFRA DEVIL – an enormous winged entity carrying a trident, which was observed by a five-year old girl in 1986 as it confronted her father. The incident took place at Santa Catarina, Brazil when the young girl opened her door after hearing strange noises outside in the darkness. Her father, armed with a lump of wood, was attempting to fend off a leathery figure, which had two fiery, red triangular eyes, and great black wings. The girl’s father threw the wood at the humanoid as it approached, and yet the wood seemed to vanish in flight. The beast seemed to have some kind of cape around it, which acted as a magnetic field. See also Batsquatch for other similar figures. ****

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ZC: This creature was perceived as a bad omen, for shortly after the encounter the girl’s mother died of cancer. At times zooform can be a serious phenomenon, even if it includes cartoon creatures. MAGICAL BIRDS OF CARBURROW TOR – two Kings buried in golden coffins are said to rest under two barrows near Warleggan, Cornwall. Legend has it that should any thief attempt to unearth the treasures that lie beneath, then they will be set upon by a flock of ferocious spectral birds. **

ZC: The stuff of horror films…and folklore. MAKARA – half animal/half fish. ***

ZC: Possible Merfolk connections here, although the Makara may well be nothing more than a big fish awaiting discovery. MALAWATO – this is a skeletal figure of the woodlands from the Solomon Islands, although this particular monster has a good soul. *

ZC: This particular wraith, a bush demon, can take on many forms but is not distinctive enough for categorisation. MALAWI MONSTER – a shapeless marauding beast on the loose in Blantyre, Malawi, during the early Summer of 2005. Police were said to be tracking a ‘lion-like’ creature crossed with a ‘hyena’, responsible for the deaths of nine people and eleven more injuries. Of the injured victims, five included children aged between five and twelve. Police had been sent out to kill the beast but to no avail. ***

ZC: Very possible flesh and blood animal in a similar vein to the Salaawa of Egyptian legend, although the longer this creature evades capture, the more likely it is to be perceived as supernatural. MALPAS – a frightful Hebrew zooform that appears as a huge, black bird. **

ZC: No reports actually exist regarding a creature called this, but what do exist are reports worldwide of spectral black birds. MAMBA MUTU – carnivorous Merfolk said to inhabit Lake Tanganyika in Africa, and often spoken of by Burundi villagers. Such a creature is said to raid villages and drink the blood of its victims. It also has a taste for brains and is a half-man/half-fish humanoid, although a Spanish zoologist (Bonet) believes the creature may well be an unknown

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species of flat-skulled giant otter! **

ZC: Folk belief. MANANANGGAL – a female, vampire monster from Manila, said to have the ability to split its body in two in order to stalk prey. The two halves of the body must reunite before daybreak. **

ZC: This appears to be another of those blood-sucking ‘critters’ with ridiculous characteristics. How these creatures are `born` we will never know. Belief in them seems genuine, and yet sightings are something akin to ‘hag’ attacks. MAN-DRAGON – the People’s Republic of China has a legendary harbinger of doom. This black, winged apparition always appears as the first sign of a forthcoming major disaster, which will take many thousands of lives. It was first reported in 1926 shortly before the destruction of the Xaou Te Dam. ****

ZC: There is actually some background to this legendary chimera beast, said to be a harbinger of doom like the Mothman etc., before him. This is classic zooform, a creature, Dragon-like in form, an anti-hero born from cultural fear. MANGABANGABANA – man-killing half-bodied beings, potent in African lore. Complete with one eye, one arm, one leg, etc, and sometimes possessing wings, and also half a wax body, these humanoids may sound ridiculous, but they exist in abundance. *

ZC: How these beings came about in lore is possibly rather more complex! MANIKIN – a Romanian entity seen on 17th April 1998 by farmer Gheorghe Cucaila. The mysterious figure stood in a nearby field yet, after a few minutes, it flew off into the sky. **

ZC: Further investigation into local lore may provide an answer but until then…! MANIMAL – a shape-shifting entity from Puerto Rico, sighted during a Spring evening in 1975. A witness was alerted to her backyard after the frantic barking of her dogs. On the top of a tall palm tree, she saw a dark, ape-like creature, that seemed to get smaller and smaller, before transforming into a bright sphere. **

ZC: A strange incident that could point to a Chupacabras kind of beast but reports of the Goatsucker morphing into an eerie orb are rare.

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MAN-MONKEY – a bipedal creature that makes it on to this list because I refuse to believe that any kind of undiscovered ape ever lived in the Shropshire countryside. At 10:00 pm on 21st January 1879, a man driving his cart home from Woodcote to Ranton in Staffordshire, saw a black creature with shiny eyes leap from the woods and land on his horse’s back. As the horse began to build up pace the creature vanished, leaving the witness in a state of shock. Legend has it that the Man-Monkey was the spirit of a man who drowned in the area, although it may simply have been a zoo escapee. The creature, though, seemed to display paranormal ability when the horseman’s whip thrashed straight through it. In 1980 a man boating on the river with his family saw a strange monkey-like creature on the bridge over the Shropshire Union Canal. He stared up to see a black, hairy form glaring down at him. ****

ZC: Some authors have stated that the Man-Monkey was in fact an escaped ape, but why would it leap on to someone’s back and attack them? The story has either been disjointed over time, or concerns a very mysterious entity. MANTICORE – a great mythological creature said to be related to the Mardkhora, and said to have inhabited the forests of Indonesia, Malaysia, and India. Some claim that this beast caused great harm, others believe it was harmless; but it looked formidable, appearing as a lion-like animal with a human-like head, with a mouth of razor teeth, and a tail able to fire poisonous darts into its victims. Those once unfortunate enough to encounter this creature, would be darted to death, and then eaten, with bones, flesh, and clothing, all consumed. ***

Manticore

ZC: Remnants of this beast still seem to linger today in varying reports of the Goatsucker and other similar predatory creatures. This may well have been a real, fearsome beast that died out many years ago but its legend remains strong. MANTIS-MAN OF LONDON – an alarming humanoid figure experienced by a London man (named Jim), on the night of 16th January 2004, when the witness awoke in the night to a strange clicking noise in his bedroom. He was then faced by a tall being in the room, which had a huge head like a fly or a praying mantis. The creature then blasted Jim with a beam of light, sending many thousands of messages into his head before disappearing into the night. Jim described the creature as over five-feet in height, having large, insect

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eyes, and wearing a dark cloak. The monster was surrounded by a purple haze, and seemed to disable Jim’s movements. **

ZC: Another of those ‘waking nightmares’ - or even ‘alien encounters’ - that seem to revolve around weird monsters invading the bedroom. MANWOLF – see also BRAY ROAD BEAST and ELKHORN WEREWOLF. ****

ZC: As close to a real Werewolf as you’re going to get! MARDKHORA – the Persian ‘man eater’, a frightening critter, said to have a man’s head, the body of a lion covered in porcupine quills, and a scorpion’s tail. The original Chupacabra? ****

ZC: Research into this bizarre vampire-like beast proves that the origins of the Goatsucker and similar entities date back many thousands of years. It seems unlikely that these monsters are real, but actual cultural fears passed down through many generations, where they have manifested themselves time and time again. MARQUETTE MONSTER – a legendary, yet likely to be very fictional creature, said to inhabit parts of Michigan, USA. However, this giant bird-like creature has strong connections to the Piasa Bird, so there may be more depth to this great winged beast than is realised. ***

ZC: Giant bird of lore. MARSHMAN OF MICHIGAN – sighted in 1966, at Marshall, by three crop workers. Phillip and Herman Williams, along with Otto Collins, were attacked by a huge, greeneyed, rotten-smelling man-beast, which the local farmer believed had been dropped off by a UFO! ***

ZC: As I strongly believe in the existence of Bigfoot, although there appears to be a fine line, I do not like to connect stories of alien space craft and these beings. MARTINEZ MOTHMAN – Layla Wingate, in her twenties, spotted a peculiar winged figure, as she looked out of her window on the night of 16th May 2004. The creature, which was rusty-coloured with bat-like wings, glided over a Shell Oil Company refinery, and it remained in view for more than five minutes. She’d seen a similar creature thirteen years previously in Bristol, Tennessee, USA. ***

ZC: Possible flesh and blood flying creature.

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MARYLAND MARAUDER – this figure resembles the Caped Crusader of Caped Cod and its ilk. In 1938, this spindly phantom was terrorising residents of O’Donnell Heights, Maryland, USA, adorned in black garments, having a horrible face, and the ability to leap great distances. **

ZC: So common; yet surely nothing more than a trickster? MARYLAND MOTHMAN – a black, flying creature with a dog-like face spotted by a teenager around 2000 in the USA at 12:45 am. The witness was walking home from his girlfriend’s house, when he observed the figure around twenty-feet in the air. Its ears were spiked, and its eyes glowed brightly, and the creature shrieked at the cowering teenager, before disappearing into a tree. ****

ZC: Whilst this book is littered with anecdotes of sightings, winged entities, even if maybe a little exaggerated in some cases, are very real in the zooform realm. MATLOSE – a creature from Vancouver Islands, said to be covered all over in short, black bristles, and to be known as the ‘hobgoblin of the Nootkas’; some report that this dark form is a bad omen, for should anyone hear it’s cry they’ll surely be struck dead. **

ZC: Nothing more than a local nightmare. MAUTHE DOOG – the Black Dog of the Isle of Man. ****

ZC: Every county, country and lonely back road has a Black Dog legend. MBULU – in South Africa lives this monster of the Zulu people said to resemble a Lizard Man of sorts, with its humanoid form, but scaly skin, sharp teeth, and long tail. The Mbulu is a night prowler that emerges from the dark waters at night, and pursues lonely travellers down foggy alleyways, and whispers into their unsuspecting ears. ****

ZC: This is a unique zooform character in that it describes a Reptile Man, something not often described in African lore. Whilst this may be nothing more than a night terror, belief of it is strong. MELLING MONSTER – a Merseyside odd-body, which resembles a dwarf-like ‘critter’, said to have wings, and bird-like legs. ***

ZC: Possible misidentification of flesh and blood creature, this was fleeting to say the least.

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MELON HEADS – large headed, pale-skinned entities, said to inhabit the woodlands of creepy Cleveland, Ohio, and which are classic campfire material. **

ZC: Born from some eerie night in the woods where teens gathered to tell scare stories of non-existent bogeymen. MENACE IN WHITE – extremely obscure apparition sighted in 1847, by artist William Holman Hunt, and the stationmaster of Ewell East Station, in Surrey. They came face to face with a white ghoul, which they described as a menacing, white, creature covered in pale cloth. The being appeared luminous. **

ZC: Only historical records - and some paranormal files - will uncover further reports of this form from that area, so it’s difficult to determine whether these witnesses saw a ghost or a zooform creature.

Menace in White

MENTAL ROAD MONSTER – during the 1960s an urban legend surfaced around the town of Monroe, Michigan, when motorists driving along a particular stretch of road would often describe a creature which ran from the ditches, and attacked their automobiles. In one incident, it was alleged that the creature left behind some hair, but when it was analysed it turned out - rather embarrassingly - to be from a paint brush! *

ZC: Local spook story. MERFOLK – popular myths of the seas, existing as half-human/half-fish beings that have often been explained through the years as seals, large fish, manatees etc, but there is no denying the fact that, like fairies, tales of - and belief in – Merfolk, figure highly in mythology. The mermaid is a salt-water dwelling female with shining hair, and distinctive voice. However, such folk are considered responsible for ship-wrecks and storms, in the same way that other tricksters are said to lead others awry. It is alleged that Merfolk eat their victims after they are drowned. Mermen are powerful creatures, which are said to seek out female victims. In 1935, crewmen three miles offshore from Redondo Beach, California, said they observed a humanfaced creature, which had a fishy tail, and during 558 A.D. a merbeing was allegedly caught at Ollarbha, Northern Ireland. During the 1500s there were many encounters with Merfolk, with reports coming from Spain, Italy, Chile, and Sri Lanka, where - in 1560 - it was alleged that seven merbeings

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were caught. Reports of such creatures are very recent too, suggesting that these legends aren’t merely seafarer’s tales. In 2001, a creature resembling a merbeing was seen in Ghana, although scientists attempted to explain the creature away as a manatee. Fifteen years previously in Argentina, several children were reported to have been ‘harassed’ by a merbeing. In 1988, in Biloxi, Mississippi, a scuba diver encountered a half-fish/halfwoman being, and noted her breasts and long flowing hair. ****

ZC: The Merfolk legends are undeniably powerful from all over the glob, and yet they appear only as trickster spirits when analysed. Many are considered omens of doom, symbols of forthcoming tragedy - usually related to a disaster at sea. MERRIPIT PIGS – phantom pigs said to roam Dartmoor, in the UK. **

ZC: Great stuff…to fill local pamphlets! MESTER STOOR WORM – this great serpent is known from Orkney lore. Tales of the seas mention several large ‘worms’ but this particular leviathan was the ‘master’; a great serpent with poisonous breath said to eat many lands, and wreck hundreds of ships. For many years the water monster terrorised many kingdoms, until slain by a farm boy named Assipattle; who entered the body of the monster via a huge wave, and lit a fire. The creature went up in smoke. **

ZC: A great legend that, like so many other serpent legends, speaks of a vast form able to swallow worlds. Such a beast may be a representation of local fears, such as drought, storms, etc., and, like many great Dragon-esque tales, these creatures are often destroyed by unlikely heroes. METAL MAN – not exactly a leathery monster or hairy humanoid, this metallic beast with blazing eyes was seen in 1993 by a couple in a fruit grove in Italy. **

ZC: UFO lore immediately springs to mind, although nothing more was seen of the figure. MEXICAN GRIFFIN – on 1st September 1967, at San Luis Potosi, Mexico, several American tourists parked at the Cactus Inn, observed a cluster of winged creatures said to have had enormous wingspans. ***

ZC: Possible Thunderbird-like forms. MEXICAN SPACEMAN – a caped, fleeting entity seen by a local resident of San Nicolas de los Garza, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, during the early hours of a November

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2006. He was awoken by strange noises outside, and when he went to investigate, he could see a tall man hovering near a tree. The man ran indoors to tell his wife, but upon returning, the odd humanoid was nowhere to be seen. **

ZC: These quirky tales are surprisingly common and tend to be thrown in the Ufology sections yet their meanings are very much unknown. MICHELIN MAN – J.F. & C.H. Granier watched this humanoid at Saint Nizier en Moucherotte, France, in the Summer of 1974. They were driving their vehicle, when they spotted this roadside phantom, which they described as looking like the ‘Michelin Man’ from the adverts on television. The witnesses saw the smooth being a couple of times, before it disappeared into the brush. **

ZC: What else can be said about such a figure? MICHIGAN DOG MAN – this mysterious predator is the subject of a folk song called ‘The Legend’, written by Steve Cook. In fact, some folk argue that it is the song, which created the monster. Some who have encountered the creature say it is a large, black ferocious beast, while others have said that the form lurks in Claybank Lake, and has the head of a dog, and the body of a man. Reports of the creature are reasonably frequent, and date back to the 1700s. ****

ZC: The legend of Dog Man is very much confused, at times appearing as a hoax, but also melting into other Werewolf-like monsters such as the Bray Road Beast. MICKLETON HOOTER – not to be confused with the Warwickshire ghost hound with a similar name, this ‘hooter’, is a creature said to have spine-chilling cries, which local legend believes are from an evil, goblin-like monster. Sceptics argue that the ‘critter’ was a legend created by a local landowner to deter poachers. *

ZC: Any creature said to exist on the evidence of its cries alone has to be doubted. MIDDLETON STONE GUARDIAN – a giant, swan-like flapping creature, said to have terrorised local farm workers in Northumbria, who’d trespassed in an area marked by a religious standing stone. On this particular day, the two men had investigated the area, and dug in search of buried treasure, but instead disturbed this huge, wailing monster, which, to this day, is said to watch over the monument. **

ZC: A bogey story.

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MIEHTS HOZJIN – a trickster spirit of Saami/Lapp legend said to be darkly-coloured with a tail. It is a spirit said to confuse people. *

ZC: As the legend suggests…this is nothing more than a confused figure. MIMICK DOG – a strange creature from the Middle East said to be able to impersonate many other animals. This is a muddled beast of medieval mythology, that appears more ape-like than dog-like. ***

Mimick Dog

ZC: Karl Shuker argues that such a creature may well have been a baboon. MINERAL POINT VAMPIRE – During the middle of the 19th Century, a spectre terrorised an area called Ridgeway, between Mineral Point, and the Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. The spectre has become known by several names, including the Mineral Point Vampire and the Ridgeway Phantom, although the area in general along Ridge Road has exhibited an abundance of supernatural activity, including spook lights, headless ghosts, and various spirits of animals. The Ridgeway spook, though, tended to pick on lone travellers, and it would appear from the woodlands on dark nights, and assault anyone brave enough to trudge along the midnight road. Some theorise that the activity revolves around the death of two brothers who were murdered in 1840. A gang killed the two young teenagers, but the activity in the area was said to have ceased around 1910 when the town was burned down. However, the Mineral Point Vampire has at times become a different spectre to that which is known as the Phantom, with many claiming that such a psychic manifestation haunted the area from 1981. However, the ‘vampire’ within the vicinity was born from one exaggerated encounter involving police officer Jon Pepper. He’d been driving past the Graceland Cemetery in Mineral Point, when - with his torch - he picked out a dark figure roaming the ivy-strewn confines, flitting between the tombstones. Pepper stopped his vehicle, and got out of the car; he called for back-up and slowly made his way towards the area where he saw the figure. The figure, said to have stood over six-feet-five inches tall, fled from the scene, with Pepper in pursuit. Unfortunately, the officer stumbled, and the mystery figure got away, leaping a four-feet high barbed wire fence. Although Pepper allegedly described the figure as wearing a cape and having a pale complexion, the press soon got hold of the story, and blew it out of proportion. Despite the fact that no solid details emerged from the incident, Mineral Point all of a sudden had its own vampire; a dark, eerie man-sized figure, which incidentally, was sighted the same day as President Ronald Reagan was shot.

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The case of the Mineral Point ‘vampire’, which was just as likely to have been either a person in costume, or possible run-of-the-mill ghost, faded into obscurity, although, according to Richard D. Hendricks who runs the excellent ‘WEIRD WISCONSIN’ website, in 2002 a retired police officer named Donald Harstad, wrote a novel entitled ‘Code Sixty-One’ which concerned a small town in Wisconsin being terrorised by a vampire. The most striking thing about the novel, was the fact that Mr. Harstad had never even heard of the mystery figure of Mineral Point. ****

ZC: Like the entity of Highgate, London, the Mineral Point shade may be nothing more than a ghost, as it had no animal characteristics at all, but the weirdness seemed to be something manifested, like so many zooform monsters. MINI ROO – a miniature kangaroo of sorts that seemed to leave hoof-like impressions in the snow around a property in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in the Summer (!) of 1975. At night, the owner of the property, heard a noise - as if something was crawling up the drainpipe - and then, shortly after, the man’s dog flushed a small animal from the undergrowth. The creature disappeared into thin air. Shortly after the period of weirdness, there was a huge explosion in the woods, that remained a mystery. **

ZC: Some zooform creatures, such as Mothman and phantom hounds are perceived as mongers of doom, but this creature…well, we’ll never know. MINTO MYSTERY – this, “…tall, fat and black” monstrosity was observed by Gary Strike and his friend whilst they were rabbit-hunting in New South Wales, Australia, in the November of 1973. They heard a terrifying scream and saw a weird-looking thing in the trees. ***

ZC: Escaped zoo animal? MI’RAJ, AL – something akin to the Unicorn, this animal is said to resemble a giant yellow hare and have a single horn on its head. It exists in the folklore of North Africa and the Middle East. *

ZC: Unlikely to exist outside of mythology. MISSISSIPPI MOTHMAN – a vague, fluttering winged entity seen in 1966 on the night of 1st September. ***

ZC: Too vague to be put alongside some of the winged ‘critters’ in this book.

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MISSOURI CAVE MONSTERS – this bizarre encounter is taken from a website forum:

“Location – Near Carthage, Missouri. Date – 7th March 2004. Time – afternoon. Two witnesses had gone riding all terrain vehicles in a place called ‘The Underground’ which is a public and private storage facility near the town. The facility is miles and miles of carved out caves and also stores thousands of dehydrated food containers for the Navy. It is also a fallout shelter and can hold up to 50,000 people. They had gone about eight miles deep into the caves when they turned into an area that was marked ‘Naval Authorative Zone’. The walls became more defined as in polished or finished, and this was striking because this was supposed to be a newly blasted area. Both witnesses just kept on going, increasing their speed since the floor was paved now. Then they came upon an unusual painted pattern on the floor, which they thought was graffiti. The road then dipped down and took a ninety-degree turn to the left. They were going too fast and knew they were going to hit it but they didn’t. They passed through some kind of holographic projection of the cave wall. Now they had come upon a whole new road system, this one large and much older than the one they had come from. They began to notice an odour, that was musty and damp that grew stronger as they went deeper into the area. The lighting had changed as well. It was now sixty-percent darker than the other area from which they had come. They turned on their headlights and slowed down also noticing that it was getting cooler. They made a right turn and started to come up on what they thought was a rest area about 40-feet away. One of the witnesses then saw something that at first he thought were a pair of fountains until they moved. They both stopped immediately. About 30-feet away they saw two creatures, one was very tall (at least seven-feet, maybe more), and very powerfully built, it was reddish in colour. The other was smaller (about six-feet tall) and was a pale, almost albino colour. They resembled large reptiles. They said nothing but the witnesses did get a strong malevolent feeling, an evil presence of some kind from the taller one. One of the men screamed and they turned around and started back. The other man looked back and saw that the taller entity was following them. He received an overwhelming feeling that if it caught them, harm would come to them. They passed through the projection

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wall again, and looked back and saw the tall entity raise its arm and it held a weapon of some sort, it fired and hit one of the vehicles, killing the engine and causing it to stop. The rider ran to the other vehicle, jumped on it and they drove away, noticing that the reptile creature had stopped at the graffiti area on the cave floor. It was obvious that the creature would not cross the strange marked area. The witnesses now slowed and were about 75-feet away from the creature. They stared at the creature for around fifteen seconds and then they left. The creature remained standing in the area. The witnesses phoned the police after the ordeal and were told that security in the area would deal with the matter. However, security waited for the men and threatened to arrest them if they did not leave the area.” **

ZC: Extremely strange sci-fi episode that will no doubt bring out the conspiracy theorists and UFO – anorak brigade. MISSOURI GHOST FOX – a mystery creature has been spotted since 1932, in the vicinity of Highway 61 in Jefferson County. Such a creature had been fired upon several times as albino foxes are not uncommon in the area, but this particular creature appeared immune to gunfire. ***

ZC: There is every likelihood that the ghost fox was either a run of the mill haunting, or an albino pursued by inaccurate hunters. MISTY MIDGETS – two dwarf-like beings wearing tall hats, and with glowing eyes, said to have appeared to two children in Caerphilly, Wales, in 1914. Years after the incident, the two ‘children’ - Mr. Uden and Mr. Hopkins - still spoke of the mystery figures clearly. ****

ZC: It would very interesting to track down most of the witnesses who saw a majority of the oddities mentioned in this book, just to confirm what they saw was really so strange. In this case, the two witnesses remained adamant that they saw the midgets. MOAT MONSTER – is this phantom figure, said to crawl from the waters of Kent’s (UK) Scotney Castle, simply the ghost of a drowned revenue officer, once killed by smugglers. Or is this weed-clad humanoid something more aquatic and evil? **

ZC: Ghost form for dark nights. MOCA VAMPIRE – one of the original names for ‘el Chupacabra’, the Goatsucker. ****

ZC: See conclusions for the Goatsucker.

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MOCHIS MONSTER – a Mexican marauder most likely to be the same creature, which the world has come to know as the Goatsucker. This beast is said to have fangs, look like a small Dragon, and has been held responsible for many deaths of chickens and ducks in the Sinaloa area. ****

ZC: Put simply, this sounds very much like the Moca Vampire, Chupacabras et al. MOLE MAN – a surreal humanoid seen by students in Portland, Oregon, USA, in 1978 near the Portland State College. The being emerged from a sewer hole in the tunnel system, and encountered the witnesses, who threw rocks at the creature, before it scampered back into the hole. The students said that the form was not hairy, but had big eyes, fangs, clawed hands and a long snout. **

ZC: Did anybody else hear of this creature? If so, why wasn’t the sewer hole investigated further? MONKEY MAN – another zooform ‘great’. This mystery figure mainly came on to the scene around 2001 into 2002, and was a shortish, monkey-like menace, said to have claws and wear a helmet! The shadowy figure attacked residents of India’s capital and surrounding towns, leaving victims with scratch marks over their body. Hysteria and panic reigned during the sweltering nights as many people were mistakenly beaten in the panic. Some vague reports described robotic intruders, others described mummified corpses attacking their children. Monkey Man was also connected to everything from ‘sleep paralysis’ to Bigfoot encounters. The panic died down but the figure of the night certainly made its mark on the psyche as a cultural demon. Monkeys play a prominent role in India’s bustling community. Over ten-thousand rhesus monkeys inhabit the blistering, dusty streets of New Delhi, another two million inhabit the country as a whole, with another fifteen-million people sharing the fortyeighty degree heat, which barely falls below forty degrees after rainfall. Historians who study the legends involving Hanuman and Rama, believe that a real tribe, monkey-like in appearance, inhabited southern India, and appeared as short hairy men, whilst others disagree, and believe that Hanuman was a real person. Either way, monkeys are very much the dominant animal species in the country, so much so that during the beginning of 2001, armies of the creatures invaded Delhi buildings, vast gatherings of mischievous apes that converged upon the city, pouring into government offices, and tearing to pieces vital documents, and destroying furniture. Officials could not halt the flood of hairy, leaping primates that infiltrated high security areas with ease, and those that guarded the areas were unable to shoot or harm the animals, due to their religious significance. The vast overpopulation of these creatures, means that India, and its capital are now be-

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ing swamped by this uncontrollable wave of mass destruction, that is also causing a number of deaths among the human population. During 1999, the government held a high-level congregation to solve the monkey problem. They believed that capturing monkeys and holding them in captivity, and enforcing contraception would be the ideal solution, but years later, the problem is getting worse. Animal rights activists do not blame the monkeys for the commotion, but the rising number of humans. As far as many activists are concerned, the growth of the human population has meant that monkeys are now bereft of natural land, and so as humans encroach upon their land, in turn they are coming into the cities, just like Hanuman’s monkey army during 1000 B.C. It is ironic that one of India’s main problems is stemming from a creature that the country worships. In the scorching heat, much of the population is forced to sleep outside during the humid nights. Makeshift hammocks and temporary bedding often enable the boiling inhabitants to catch some kind of midnight air, although there is the fear that large, intrusive monkeys may invade houses and yards to attack humans. History concerning monkey lore is lively and vivid; these creatures are apparently known for their theft of important papers, their disruptive antics causing power cables to blow, and even important ambassadors have been known to have been terrorised by the screeching creatures that swing from cables, rip out wires and sabotage shops. But for India and its authorities, the last few years, or how they see it, the first few years of the millennium have been made even worse by something far more terrifying than your average monkey. It is a nightly horror that seems to belong to the same twilight zone zoo that attempts to cage Bunnyman, Mothman, Owlman, the Goatsucker, Lizard Man, and a whole host of other clandestine creations that we see fleetingly, but feel the wrath of, until they become our legends. Monkey Man is attacking people in India, and may have done for many years. But from the Summer of 2001, through to the Summer of the following year, something far more vicious has been parading through the night. A beast with metallic claws said to scratch its victims and flee into the night. Some see it as a warning from the monkey god Hanuman. But why should such a positive deity take to the hours of darkness with such hideous motives? Nobody seems to know what is going on. Maybe it is a projection of the culture, a society swamped by a sudden fear of the animal they had worshipped for so long. Yet with many accidental deaths attributed to the antics of these monkeys, have the folk of New Delhi and the surrounding areas found a bogeyman to blame? In southern Ahmedabad, during the mid ‘90s, it was alleged that a sinister figure attacked and injured almost twenty people whilst on the rampage. The creature, described as wolf-like but bipedal, scared the locals of Jashodanar-Vatwa and Isanpur so badly, that nightly vigils entrusted watchmen armed with axes and spears, waiting for a glimpse of the unknown assassin said to have caused a number of scratch-like wounds

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on victims who were sent to the Maninagar LG Hospital. Many sceptics believed the locals were suffering mass hysteria, or were encountering wild dogs or hyenas on the city streets, despite the fact that the mystery intruder was hardly ever seen, and never caught. Whether the reign of Monkey Man began here is something we’ll never know, but a continent away in the Bo districts of Sierra Leone, during the late 1990s a similar vicious, yet elusive attacker was on the prowl. Towns within a seven-mile radius of Bo experienced a figure that appeared like a hybrid of a human and baboon, although this creature wore boots, and attempted to drag off unsuspecting villagers, especially those women who walked the forest looking for firewood. The creature often left scratch marks on its victims, who said they were carved by iron claws before the ‘thing’ ran off into the shadows, and even more bizarrely, the situation, one of great panic, was summed up rather surreally by Henry Sandy who commented to the ‘Concord Times’ that: “…human ba-

boons had appeared especially during or near election times.” Monkey Man is said to wear a helmet, is short and stocky, and covered in hair, and has metal claws. Some - in panic - have described the ‘critter’ as a monster-monkey with a control panel on its chest. Others believe it is a flying ball of light. As in so many of these hysterias, there is much confusion. Many blame political upheaval for the arrival of this vengeful wraith, some point to evil pranksters. Whatever the case, this hairy phantom is not really any different to so many other midnight marauders mentioned elsewhere, except in the way it attacks. In the case of this man-beast, it scratches its victims and then disappears into the sweltering night air. ****

ZC: Monkey Man is near the top of the zooform league, a truly weird Manimal caused by hysteria, an awesome night terror manifested on a cultural level. MONKEY WOMAN – during 1855 in Central Russia, writer Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev was swimming in a forest lake, when he was attacked by a female humanoid, covered in reddish hair. Turgenev attempted to swim hastily to the bank, but the creature followed at pace. As he reached the shore a shepherd boy who kept the creature at bay aided him, and it eventually sank back beneath the surface. ****

ZC: We may well be dealing with a creature here similar to the Skunk Ape that prowls Florida, or a mythical beast. MONOCULUS – a Japanese demon with one eye. **

ZC: Mountain lore.

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MONSTER OF GREEN SWAMP – an eight-feet tall hairy creature seen by witness Jennifer Ward whilst driving through Green Swamp in Florida in 2004. Researchers and reporters at ‘The Ledger News’ attempted to tie the sighting in with various reports in the area of the Skunk Ape, but descriptions didn’t match. ***

ZC: Swamps around the globe are allegedly running alive with reports of hairy hominids, so this isn’t exactly zooform. MONSTER OF LANCASTER COUNTY – “…the size of a good Heifer, grey in colour with a white mane, tiger-like fangs and the curved horns of a Billy Goat”. This was the ungodly beast that terrorised the community of Lancaster County, in Pennsylvania, in the Summer of 1973. The creature ran on two legs, and its roars were often heard in the local woods. It was blamed for many livestock kills, and then was gone without a trace. ***

ZC: This kind of creature, although possibly flesh and blood, borders on the zooform and is very similar to the Sheepsquatch and several other zooform, horned monsters of the US. MONSTER OF MENDOZA – an Argentinean humanoid sighted in the Winter of 1978, and blamed for several attacks on livestock. Original reports suggested that the nocturnal hunter was a shaggy-haired predator, but there were also reports of a thin, caped, darkly-adorned figure, with glowing eyes, and holding a silvery cane. ****

ZC: Argentinean lore is rife with mention of strange, loping figures of the night. MONSTER OF MIRROR LAKE – a merbeing of sorts said to inhabit a watery abode near Chugiak, Alaska. This form seems to resemble a man, and yet it is said to feast on humans also. Many locals claim this is merely a ghost story to prevent children from wading in the green, sludgy, waters. **

ZC: Reptile-men exist whether on some ethereal level or in the minds of those who fear them, but some are mere spook stories and urban legends, such as that of Mirror Lake. MONSTER OF RIO BLANCA FALLS – Mayan folklore speaks of a hairy man beast said to have been responsible for the death of a young girl walking near the falls. The legend is obscure, yet shared between Santa Elena and Santa Cruz. It is said that no man entered the waters until recent times due to the mysterious disappearance of the woman. They believed the creature, which allegedly took her, lived beneath the pristine falls. ***

ZC: An interesting and little known tale that may well have involved a Bigfoot-like creature.

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MONSTER OF THE MALDIVES – a glowing, ten-feet tall creature with blazing eyes said to have been seen in 1998. A group of fishermen claimed that they saw a bulky humanoid emerge from the water. ***

ZC: A relation to the Sasquatch in some ways, although the glowing of the figure is far more extraordinary. MONTE MAIZ PHANTOM – a spooky phantom of South American lore, said to walk on rooftops, drag heavy chains, and make peculiar noises. The tall, dark, slim spectre is said to haunt the heights of Monte Maiz, Argentina, and appears as a Spring Heeled Jack-like enigma, said to terrify women. It is described as wearing a black hat, and having blazing red eyes. Some suggest the ghostly leaper is a mere local myth or a prankster, an agile stranger said to howl and scratch windows, and climb trees with ease. Scott Corrales, from the Institute of Hispanic Ufology, April 2004, stated: “…the peace of

this 9000 inhabitant locality in the department of Union was interrupted in the past three weeks by a strange creature who wanders the night to terrify residents. The residents call it ‘the phantom’, those who have seen it say that it is a young person, very tall and slim, with red eyes. It dresses in white, sometimes black, and others grey. Always wears a hat and covers its face with a mask or hood.” Sheriff Jorge Vivas commented angrily: “…it is a sick person that’s causing residents of

Monte Maiz to lose their sleep.” Some witnesses claim that the phantom is death itself, and it has been heard telling frightened people that they will die. Like the legend of Spring-Heeled Jack, it appears that the ‘phantom’ is nothing more than local panic, false rumours and exaggerated stories that may have stemmed from a local hoax. However, there is no denying it as a potent urban yarn. Some forty years ago Monte Maiz was the centre of attention for ufologists when several ‘saucer’ sightings and other weirdness infiltrated the tranquillity. ****

ZC: Whilst the likes of this phantom and Spring Heeled Jack may not be true zooform monsters, they deserve their place as trickster, and confused entities that quite simply cannot fit into any other category. MONTERREY FLYING WOMAN – on Friday 16th January 2004 at 3:15 am a floating woman in black, who hovered from a tree as he sat in his patrol car, attacked a Mexican policeman. Leonardo Samaniego saw the figure dressed in a black costume with a black cape, which seemed bothered by his headlight beam. Seconds later the black-eyed entity

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with claws attempted to get to him through the windshield. Samaniego claimed: “…it

was a woman….all dressed in black that fell from the tree but she didn’t touch the ground, just remained floating several feet from the ground. I saw her very well and then she landed softly on the ground, and stood there looking at me. She was trying to cover her face from the lights of the car, I think they were bothering her.” When asked to describe the eerie apparition, Leonardo commented: “…I could see two

big black eyes on her, completely black without eyelids, and her skin was dark brown.” The mysterious figure leapt onto the bonnet of the car, and Samaniego attempted to speed away in reverse all the while calling for back-up on his radio. The ‘witch’ crashed into the windshield, and after a few minutes of this terror Leonardo fainted. A few minutes later two police units arrived at the scene with an ambulance, to discover that Samaniego was unconscious, but not injured by his awful experience. There was no sign of the caped attacker. Several news channels and press releases claimed that other people in the area had seen the same flying humanoid, whilst a resident of Colonia La Playa claimed to have filmed a flying creature. ****

ZC: An incredible case concerning a credible witness. We wait with anticipation to see if the ‘witch’ returns, but for now the case is unsolved, but one of dark intrigue that seems unlikely to be a hoax, but more of a sinister ghost story that combines birdwoman traits. MONTMORENCY SPECTRE – six police officers were confronted by this massive, shadowy humanoid on 4th March 1974 in a parking lot in France. **

ZC: Police officers are said to be credible witnesses, so this case could well be a zooform oddity, but details are vague. MOONGAZER – these obscure spooks are said to be spindly, white humanoids from the Caribbean, said to prey on children, yet vacantly continue to stare up at the moon. *

ZC: This has the basis for an excellent campfire scare story. MOONSHINE MONSTER – on the 4th July 1995 at Moonshine Park, in Siletz, Oregon (USA), a group of campers observed a weird humanoid with three claws on each hand, floating in the river and lingering near the rocks. The creature had huge eyes and a bullet-shaped head, and its body was covered in short hair. ***

ZC: There is every possibility that this creature was wrongly identified, or maybe there really is a monster of Moonshine Park.

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MORA – souls said to leave the body, and appear as straw-like, floating wisps are known as Mora. These mystery energies can also be seen as moths, or strands of hair, and are known in Polish mythology. ****

ZC: These appear to be spirit forms. MORBACH MONSTER – A terrifying creature that roamed the German town of Wittlich, during the Napoleonic era, where - it is said - the last wolf in the district was killed. Thomas Johannes Baptist Schwytzer was a deserter from Napoleon’s Army, who passed through the village of Wittlich with a few Russian deserters, whilst on their way to Alsace. The group, whilst on their travels, tired and hungry, stumbled upon a farmhouse near the forest and so made themselves at home, to satisfy their hunger and exhaustion. Whilst helping themselves to a meal and shelter, they were discovered by the farmer and his sons, and a fight ensued in which the deserters killed the farmer. Upon being met by such a horrifying sight, the farmer’s wife cursed Schwytzer, who in turn battered her to death. It is alleged that the curse was one of darkness, and is said to have gradually transformed Schwytzer into a Werewolf, forever to roam the dark forests as the ‘wolf that walks like a man’. However, it is more likely that Schwytzer was simply a demented man on the run, and rape, murder, and savagery, were run-of-the-mill thirst quenchers for him. After the brutal rape of the daughter of a local farmer, Schwytzer’s number was up when he was chased from the scene, and cornered in Morbach, where he was killed for his crimes. It is said though that in the town there forever burns a candle, and should it go out, the Werewolf will return. Indeed, this sounds like a typical European dark fantasy, in the same way Dracula as a blood-sucking, suave creature inhabits the Transylvanian forests, but the story does not end there. One evening in 1988, at the Morbach US Air Force ammunition depot, a security guard there spotted something unusual; a flesh and blood creature that triggered the sensors on the perimeter fence of the base. What the guard saw was a wolf-like beast standing on its hind legs, that leapt over the three-metre fence with ease, and disappeared into the night. **

ZC: Werewolf lore may be abundant across Europe, but the Morbach Monster seems more like a local folktale. MORRISTOWN MONSTER – in 1966 a hideous, headless figure, resembling Mothman, but bereft of wings, terrified several witnesses in New Jersey’s Historical Park area. The creature was described as extremely large and moving awkwardly.

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****

ZC: There is the possibility that such sightings may be down to hoax or bad identification; however, with so many other reports of these waddling, dark figures, there is also a strong possibility that there is more to it than prank. MOSCOW OMEN FIGURES – some researchers into zooform creatures believe that some (i.e. phantom dogs and Mothman), are signs of ensuing tragedy, although this is a complex theory as not yet proven. In the Summer of 1999 - just before a mysterious explosion rocked an apartment complex in Moscow, which killed more than one-hundred people - strange flying creatures were sighted in the skies. Two pensioners spotted the humanoids just moments before the disaster. ****

ZC: Such phenomena need to be looked into more, because such creatures do seem to be often tied to such events. MOSS WOMAN – an obscure humanoid said to have been encountered by a Hans Krepel, in 1635 near Saalfeld in Germany. Little else is known about the sighting *

ZC: Possible fairy lore. MOTHMAN – like something from an old B-Movie, Mothman emerged during the mid to late 1960s at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, alongside much high strangeness that author John Keel wrote about in various gripping volumes. Mothman often appeared around the Silver Bridge, and the local explosives site as a dark, winged, man-size creature of no apparent motive. When the weirdness reached equilibrium, the Silver Bridge collapsed, killing forty-six people. It was a weird time and the case has become a classic in the field.

Mothman

Linda Scarberry may have been the first person to witness the phenomena on the cold night of 15th November 1966, (although there are a handful of reports dating back several decades) when she, her then husband, and another couple were out chasing parkers. In the book, ‘Mothman – The Facts Behind the Legend’, she told author Donnie Sergent: “…it was about seven-feet tall, it had wings that were visible on its back, the tips of the wings could be seen above its shoulders. The body of it was like a slender, muscular man, and was flesh-coloured. Its wings were ashen white in colour. The wings looked like angel wings. Its face couldn’t be seen, because the

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eyes simply hypnotized you when you looked into them. If you looked close to its face, your eyes were just drawn to its eyes…. . When we first saw it, we had just topped a hill in the TNT area, and when the headlights of our car hit it, it looked directly at us, as if it was scared. It had one of its wings caught in a guide wire near a section of road close to the power plant, and was pulling its wing with both hands, trying to free itself from the wire…. I felt sorry for it.” From then on all manner of high strangeness invaded the area of Point Pleasant, and especially the Silver Bridge, which would collapse; allegedly, at least, six months after the last sighting of a winged entity. However, reports varied, with some folk describing massive, dark-coloured birds, others UFOs in the area, and also strange Men in Black-type figures. Cars were ‘buzzed’ by the humanoid, others were terrified by the glowing eyes of the figure. The ‘Point Pleasant Register’ newspaper broke the story locally on the Wednesday of 16th November 1966, under the headline: COUPLES SEE MAN-SIZED BIRD…CREATURE… SOMETHING!, the report read: “It was a bird….or something. It definitely wasn’t a flying saucer.

Two Point Pleasant couples said today they encountered a man-sized bird-like creature in the TNT area about midnight. Sheriff’s deputies and City Police went to the scene about 2 o’ clock this morning but were unable to spot anything. But the two young men telling their story this morning were dead serious, and asserted they hadn’t been drinking. Steve Mallette of 3305 Jackson Avenue and Roger Scarberry of 809 30th Street described the thing as being about six or seven-feet tell, having a wingspan of ten-feet and red eyes about two inches in diameter and six inches apart. “It was like a man with wings”, said Mallette. “It wasn’t like anything you’d see on TV or in a monster movie”. The men and their wives were in Scarberry’s car between 11:30 pm and midnight when they spotted the creature near the old power plant adjacent to the old National Guard Armoury buildings. The creature was seen standing on three occasions and was described as being extremely fast (‘..it flew about 100 miles an hour’) in flight but was a clumsey (newspaper spelling) runner.”

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According to press reports, several witnesses scouring the area for some action saw the figure on the 17th. Three young adults, Cathy and Raymond Wamsley, and Ricky Thomas saw a ‘huge bird’ in the yard of Ralph Thomas whose home was, at the time, located northeast of the White Church Road in the TNT area. The TNT area, known as The McClintic Wildlife Area, was certainly the setting for the original Mothman sightings, and nowadays remains a place of intrigue, despite being nothing more than a haven for anglers, campers and wildlife. Like any large, towering building, at night the TNT area is eerie, but locals seem tired of the strangeness stories. Donnie Sergent, in his book, ‘Mothman-The Facts’… (co-wrote with Jeff Wamsley), writes:

“During World War II, a lot of states were doing their part for the war efforts. In Mason County, West Virginia, a number of adjoining farms had been transformed into one such place. Just six miles north of the small town of Point Pleasant, on State Route 62, an area was created to help war efforts by way of the manufacturing of trinitrotoluene (TNT). The new facility was officially named the West Virginia Ordnance Works. Around one-hundred above ground bunkers, or ‘igloos’ were built in order to store the TNT and other wartime products.” Many people may have associated the mysterious winged figure with the TNT area, simply because it was an eerie place, and there was rumour of satanic rituals around the time of the first sightings. However, in her interview with Mr. Sergent, Linda Scarberry refused to connect the two when he asked, “Do you believe satanic rituals in the TNT area were in any way involved with the Moth-

man?” She replied: “No. Not at all.” But when asked about government connections and UFOs she responded:

“Oh yeah. I think so.” Whilst it may be commonplace nowadays to connect any kind of strangeness to another kind of strangeness, (i.e. crop circles to UFOs, so-called alien abductions to flying saucers, cattle mutilations to aliens etc.), it must be said that during the first set of Mothman reports there were a great number of reports concerning unidentified flying objects over West Virginia which simply snowballed as the press featured more stories. Whilst various newspapers wrote about the: ‘HAUNTING CREATURE SEEN TWICE’ and the ‘NIGHT RIDER IN SKY AFRAID OF LIGHTS’, there was also mention of pecu-

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liar orbs whizzing across the skies, and flowery looking lights illuminating the zenith. Thousands of people were now converging upon the area, some seeing nothing more than fleeting shadows which they took to be their own version of the winged humanoid, but others were more specific and serious. Eighteen-year old Miss Connie Jo Carpenter saw an: “…awful looking creature” flying toward her car on Route 33 near New Haven, whilst four witnesses reported seeing a red-eyed bird-like creature. Some sceptics, who refused to be wrapped up in the hysteria claimed that what people were seeing was in fact a sandhill crane, a creature also blamed for the Jersey Devil sightings. Unfortunately, and according to Ohio officials at the time, there had never been a sighting of such a crane in that part of the country. And after all, what many witnesses were seeing was almost certainly a man with wings, despite the shooting of a large owl in the area. Throughout several months, which attracted the attention of author John Keel to the scene, many witnesses described many different phenomena over Point Pleasant. Amidst the weirdness he wrote his book, ‘The Mothman Prophecies’, involving strange extraterrestrial beings, unusual light phenomena, cover-ups, conspiracy, tapped phone calls, strange deaths and more sightings of the winged figure. Mothman, as an enigma had staying power, unlike a great deal of these sort of manifestations which are oh so fleeting. Whether related or not to the strangeness, on 15th December 1967, the Silver Bridge, in Point Pleasant collapsed killing forty-six people. Twenty-one people were saved. In his excellent book, Mothman and Other Curious Encounters, Loren Coleman pins the last ‘responsible’ sighting of the creature at around 2nd November 1967, when four men saw a giant, grey figure with red eyes whilst they were out hunting at Chief Cornstalk Park, West Virginia. In these sorts of scenarios it may be fair to say that of all the witnesses who claimed to see the creature, only half of them may have actually, genuinely done so. Even so, this still makes for a large number of bizarre experiences with a creature that never resembled a moth at all, but like some character from a comic book, became known as Mothman - apparently the name of one of ‘Batman’s’ comic-book villains. Angel? Demonic entity? Who knows? You decide. But also consider this report dug up by investigator Mark A. Hall, from the early 1900s relating to a strange winged creature.

“In the early 1900s at Pt. Pleasant, a large bird with the head of a man and a wingspan of at least 12-feet was seen. It appeared just prior to or immediately after the occurrence of a tragic event… It was also seen by rural farm families in Mason, Jackson, Roane, Clay and Kanawha counties. By World War I, birdman was observed flying over Looneyville, up Johnson Creek, down Gabe in Roane County thence down Elk Valley into the Kanawha. Its monstrous size and dark reddish feathers which glistened in the sunlight cast

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fear in all who saw it. After World War II people said they were chased by a huge bird while travelling on the highways of Mason, Jackson and Wood counties near the Ohio River.” However, the strange birds sighted seemed to relate more to the Thunderbirds of lore rather than winged men. See also: Ohio Werewolf and Hythe Mothman. ****

ZC: Mothman is a true great of epic zooform proportions. It also a creature, despite some reports, that displayed consistency in its appearance, although some newspapers and sceptics argued it was merely a big owl or crane. Mothman is the one humanoid that all over birdmen are judged against, for none others have yet achieved such staying power. MOUTH MEN – see also Santu Sakai for a conclusion on these flesh-eating monsters. ****

ZC: Werewolves from Malaysia. MPISIMBI – an elusive African creature said to look like a cross between a leopard and a hyena. ***

ZC: Undiscovered creature. MUD MONSTER – what is the true identity of the humanoid said to live underneath Metz Bridge, Iowa? *

ZC: The beast has been spoken of, but only as a whisper. MUHNOCHWA – an Indian menace connected to the Monkey Man hysteria of the Summer 2000. Muhnochwa literally means, ‘someone who claws the face’. Witnesses described being attacked by a brightly-lit, football-shaped intruder among the confusion which also brought the nightmarish monkey-like scratcher, a white, mummified marauder and other night terrors. ****

ZC: A manifested oddity concocted during the Monkey Man panic. Like the Popobawa of Zanzibar lore this is another nightly visitor that the locals fear. MUILEARTEACH – this sea monster is bad news, often causing great commotion on the waves, in order to destroy and sink ships. It is a Celtic leviathan said to have a black face and one eye. *

ZC: This is a fantastic symbolic elemental.

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MUJINA – a faceless monster of Japanese mythology. Mujina is an old Japanese term for `badger`, but these entities are shape-shifters. **

ZC: Bogeyman lore. MULBERRY MONSTER – a large, dark entity with red eyes said to stalk travellers in Gatliff, Kentucky. The creature is said to be bear-sized and scream like a ‘panther’. ***

ZC: Possible ‘big cat’ or other mystery flesh and blood animal. MULDARPE – a shape-shifting entity from Australia, which can take on forms somewhere between wombat, lizard or kangaroo. **

ZC: Folk belief, which could be based upon several - as yet - undiscovered species. MULE DEVIL – a green-eyed beast said to be a bad omen when it appears at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Madison, Maryland. Allegedly, this white creature is the ghost of an animal murdered in the 1800s, although there is no evidence to prove this, so this phantom is simply another of those apparently symbolic, yet ultimately confusing forms. **

ZC: Another Maryland anomaly. MULGEWANKE – this creature resembles the Bunyip, although some locals to Lake Alexandrina, in South Australia, believe this deep voiced humanoid is a merbeing. **

ZC: Sightings are few and far between of this creature, although if we tie it into the legends of the Bunyip and Merfolk, then its existence is a very powerful one, and part of an intriguing mystery. MULLO-DOODS – these spectral forms can appear as zombies, vampires, shape-shifting beasts, ghost lights and apparitions. **

ZC: These appear to be tulpas, forms that can be everything and nothing! MUNUANE – this is a South American demon of toothless grin, said to have its eyes on its knees. Such a creature always appears where there is an abundance of fish, but those who fish such waters should only fish for what they truly need, as this ‘critter’ is the guardian of all fish, repulsed by man’s destructive nature. *

ZC: Another of those misfit creatures that cannot exist…on any realm, although it does

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sound as if its origins are in cultural warning. MURDEROUS MIST – one Summer afternoon in 1945, American soldiers Lieutenant Ernest G. Bentley and Sergeant Utz began walking up one of the mountains in a range near the village of Wha Chee, in western China. They were puzzled why this mountain still bore trees when the villagers had cut down every tree on the other mountains long ago for fuel – but they would not be puzzled for long. As they climbed, some of the villagers’ children pleaded with them to turn back, but as they paused, an old woman hurried by, eager to collect wood from the summit. Moments later, the men heard several terrified screams and saw her racing out from between some rocks. They also saw a bizarre ‘thing’ rolling out from the rocks behind her. It resembled a dull, cloudy, translucent mist, lacking any definite shape but with a definite course – the path taken by the petrified woman. The woman was never seen again. ***

ZC: This yarn has all the mysterious traits of classic folklore. Maybe there was a creature in the foggy mountains that killed the villagers, or this could have been a local ghost story or superstition. MURONY – a blood-drinking phantom insect is just one of this Wallachian creature’s guises. Whatever dark form this thing takes, it always feeds off the living. ****

ZC: This appears to be a hag-like figure which can also appear as a grim omen. MURRO – is the ghost of a bear which once was the mascot of St. John’s University in Minnesota. This creature was killed by authorities after it injured a student, but now the angry spirit haunts the lake. *

ZC: Sightings of the creature do not seem to have been recorded so the legend is dubious. MUSCA MACEDDA – a demonic flying-beast of Sicilian origin. **

ZC: Legend is vague of this creature. MYNDIE – any snake reputedly to measure over eight miles long has to be from some absurd legend, and yet the Yarra Yarra tribe of Australian Aborigines strongly believe in this beast for it spreads smallpox. *

ZC: Folkloric monster.

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MYSTERY CATS – indeed a touchy subject! A majority of out of place felids and socalled mystery cats are clearly flesh and blood exotics, however, some such animals, from black cats in the US, to felids in the UK and Australia, have been thrown into the zooform bracket. It is quite clear that such cats have inhabited regions they shouldn’t for many centuries, giving them an almost mystical status, but the reality is, these populations have been illegally imported, released, and over time, bred to form abundant numbers. There is nothing mysterious about these animals but theories abound regarding supernatural connections. However, there are reports of cats with red, blazing eyes. ***

ZC: Mystery cats are simply out-of-place felids despite reports of extinct cats in some suburbs and heavily wooded areas. There is nothing to suggest they are paranormal. MYSTERY BLACK DWARF OF GERMANY – in 1138 within the bowels of a German monastery, a bizarre, black skinned, dwarf-like ‘critter’ was captured, and tied up. After a while the creature was released, and it headed for a stone on the floor of the cellar, which it lifted and disappeared under. **

ZC: A brief tale.

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ZC: These kind of nocturnal predators seem very colourful and popular in these cultures, and the common theme is that they exist as hag-like wraiths feeding off the living, but due to their variety of façades, it’s difficult to take them completely seriously. NAIN – a hideous dwarf from Breton legend, said to have hooves on his feet, and catlike claws on his hands. *

ZC: Mythology states this menacing little figure looks after treasure, and haunts areas where there are standing stones. NAGAS – the serpent people of Hindu and Buddhist tradition. *

ZC: Shape-shifting lore. NAGUAL – a rather run-of-the-mill looking animal of Mexican lore; this is an animal said to have the body of a deer, the face of a rabbit, and donkey-like ears, but those who see such an animal across the Sonora Desert believe it to be a shape-shifting being. However, Aztec Indians in Central America, believed the Naguals to be great birds of spiritual protection. However, true Nagual tradition speaks of horned, Werewolf creatures known to fill the night with their terrifying screams. Such beasts can shape-shift from man into animal form. ***

ZC: Put simply – a desert dwelling, flesh and blood creature, although the true Nagual tradition speaks of something far stranger. NAGUMWASUCK – tiny, dwarf-like creatures said to haunt the rivers and streams of the Americas. They are, however, far different from the normal sprites and the like, in that their bodies supply an endless amount of bones, hence the name that describes them, ‘the bone dwarves’. Despite their strange appearance these are harmless creatures, and it is often said that should any fisherman find the ‘bone dolls’ made by these beings, then they will bring him good fortune in his angling adventures. *

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ZC: A nice quirky story, nothing more. NAMARRGON – like the dreaded Bunyip of Australian lore, the Namarrgon is also a water-hole dweller said to prey on those who tread too closely to the hole. This spirit can causes storms, floods and droughts. **

ZC: Typical legend which ties the appearance of this creature to the elements. NATIONAL PARK MONSTER BEAR – although the exact locations are unknown, this extremely obscure legend comes from the USA, and every campfire would crackle with this tale. It is rumoured that a huge, phantom-like bear is said to roam the nocturnal woods of an unnamed National Park. On one occasion, or so they say, the beast attacked and killed a little girl. The monster ripped her to pieces, throwing her head into one of the trees, and legend has it that if you’re brave enough to walk in the park at night and stare up at the trees, you may, on occasion, be able to see the severed head of the murdered girl. However, upon seeing this gory sight you would then prompt the great bear to appear, which would come for you…unless, of course, you managed to scamper your way out of the park in time. *

ZC: Perfect for a roaring fire in the woods. NEBRASKA WINGED HUMANOIDS – although this list doesn’t often include creatures related to ufology, in 1922 two winged ‘critters’ were said to have been observed as they emerged from a large, circular craft, which hovered over remote land in Nebraska. The humanoid figures moved away from the ‘flying saucer’ and then flew off into the air. ****

ZC: As I believe UFOs are equally as mysterious as some of the creatures mentioned herein, and wouldn’t like to explain them as ships from outer space, I would put these particular winged humanoids in the typical zooform category that holds other winged oddities. NEKOMATA – not to be confused with the Bakeneko, according to myth, this Japanese creature forms when a domestic cat reaches ten years of age. Its tail then splits in two, and the cat becomes more aggressive and vengeful. **

ZC: This legend has evolved from the history of human cruelty to the domestic cat, and exists as a warning to those who abuse them. NELAPSI – a Slovakian vampire monster similar to the Basilisco in that it can kill with just one icy glance. Such a beast has been known to kill whole herds of livestock simply by its aura of death.

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**

ZC: Little else is known about this faceless entity. NEURI – these Polish supernatural shape-shifters are believed to be sorcerers, which take the form of the wolf once a year. **

ZC: Regional belief. NEWGATE PRISON HOUND – a black, spectral hound said to visit prisoners just before they are executed, and this particular English hellhound has been rumoured to have haunted the area for several centuries. ****

ZC: Another bad omen. NEW JERSEY GATORMAN – a giant lizard-like creature alleged to have terrorised New Jersey’s Lafayette vicinity during 1973. ***

Newgate Prison Hound

ZC: There is nothing to suggest that this creature wasn’t an escaped pet. NGANI VATU – in Fijian mythology, this is a massive bird which eats men. ***

ZC: This winged horror may well have been a flesh and blood creature. NGOJAMA – found in the Tana forests of Kenya, this dreaded humanoid is said to have one long claw, like an iron nail. Some say that such creatures are haunting demons, but others argue that such beasts are merely old lions. *

ZC: Legend remains vague. NGOLOKO – a Swahili bogey spirit in the form of a great serpent said to resemble a dead tree, but being white in colour. So white, in fact, that even without a moon this beast can be seen skulking in the dark waters. Legend has it that this creature is a monster snake with luminous ears, although alleged footprints (!) of such a creature, from the river banks, have been passed off as originating from an ostrich, but folklorists claim that some of the mysterious tracks are from an unknown species of ape. The Ngoloko is also said to have a tremendous roar. ***

ZC: This legend may contain two species of creature unknown to science, from a strange

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ape to a water monster. NIAN – a monster from Chinese folklore celebrated in the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), which is also called Nian. The creature in question was once said to have trudged from its dark domain among the hills of forest, to feed off human flesh. After several years of torment, such a beast was eventually frightened away by a local fireworks display, which is still displayed today during the Winter months in the hope of driving away any unwanted ghouls. **

ZC: Little seems to be known about the creature, it may have been a Dragon-like beast, but the celebration in the aftermath of such tales is very much a real event. NICKER – Old English describes the ‘nicor’, which means ‘water monster’. Another version of the word describes a creature that is half-horse/half-child. **

ZC: Simply a word that can describe several apparitions, whether they are relations to the Kelpie or centaur. NIFOLOA – a hideous insect that can kill with one nip from the one lethal tooth that projects from its mouth. The tooth, being the size of a man’s finger, will inflict certain death unless a medicine cure administered. This creature, from Samoa, is considered a devious spirit that hunts lonely travellers. * ZC: Thankfully, this legend does not have any foot in fact. NIGHT MONSTER – a Werewolf-like creature seen at Lakeside Cemetery, or near Lake Erie, in the US, by a paranormal researcher known as `J`. The monster was said to have been lying on a gravestone, glaring at the investigator. A second sighting involved the same creature, a shadowy figure in the woods, keeping pace with the vehicle the two witnesses were travelling in. **

ZC: A rather confused report which seems to tie in with a dream the eyewitness had prior to the encounter. NIHNIKNOOVI – in southwestern U.S.A this is another of those man-eating giant birds we’ve come accustomed to hearing of. This particular bird doesn’t enjoy the crimson glories of blood, and so drains its victim before feasting. **

ZC: We can count ourselves fortunate that a majority of these birds are mythology or now extinct.

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NINE HEADED BIRD – in Chinese folklore this creature is manifested as a local bogeyman to scare children, and as such, is probably a phantom made up by parents. *

ZC: Obscure fear. NINGYO – a merman of Japanese folklore said to resemble a monkey. The scales of this creature shine like gold, but this is not a pretty creature in any way, for should such a beast become washed ashore then a war will be imminent. ****

ZC: These forms of ill-luck are extremely varied, yet their background and origin remains powerful in folklore. The mer-being is one of zooform’s most potent images.

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NISQUALLY HILL MONSTER – a ‘bald’ creature nicknamed ‘the thing’, when it put in an appearance in 1965. It was sighted in the heavily forested area on top of Visually Hill and described as being over seven-feet tall, hairless, with an egg-shaped head, and with glowing pink eyes. It was a slender monster with stumpy legs, and on one occasion, was shot at by a witness who claimed that the ‘thing’ simply ran off into the woods. **

ZC: An all too confused monster story. NOIRMONTIER ISLAND HUMANOID – two girls came across this creature in 1762 whilst looking for shells in rocky crevices. Upon encountering the being, one of the girls stabbed it, and when a physician examined the creature, he stated that it was as big as a man, with white shrivelled skin and large breasts. The being also had ‘tufts’ of shells over its body, a longish beard, the tail of a fish, and a large mouth. ***

ZC: This unfortunate mer-being was obviously out of luck on this day! NOODLEMAN – little is known about this nightmarish bogeyman, but what the urban legend does state, is that this donkey-like man-beast entity prowls the nightmares of children at elementary schools in the region of Sayville, USA. *

ZC: Campfire creation, and why it was named Noodleman, no-one is sure. NOPPERABOU – this is a faceless apparition from Japan, a mythological creature said to exist only to frighten humans, but never to actually harm them. **

ZC: Regional shape-shifting lore.

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NORTHUMBERLAND YETI – another headline-making name for the Bolam Beast; a hulking hairy mass of a humanoid seen in 2002 and 2003, by several witnesses, in the Bolam Lake area. ****

ZC: A creature most certainly manifested, despite several Bigfoot researchers believing otherwise. NOTTINGHAM WILDMAN – this hairy humanoid prowls the towpath near the disused Nottingham canal, and in the handful of reports that discuss the beast, several witnesses describe it being accompanied by a floating orb of light. ****

ZC: Although it is nigh on impossible for a Bigfoot relative to be wandering the dark paths of England, these kind of tales pop up every now and then to stump us all. The fact that a fiery light is also seen in the area, suggests some kind of ‘paranormal’ entity, but why such figures roam our streets is a difficult one to fathom. NOZUCHI – the Phantom Snake. A Japanese creature which resembles a snake, but it has no eyes or distinguishing features except for a gaping mouth of huge teeth. It hides in sand or long grass, and is said to be harmless. However, those who fear it have been known to collapse with terror and die. ***

ZC: This beast may well be an undiscovered species of giant worm. NUKEKUBI – undead forms of Japanese lore said to detach their heads in order to search for prey. **

ZC: More vampires of the Orient, which appear all too shadowy. NUCKELAVEE – a Scottish centaur-like amphibious creature with a long snout, it is a humanoid figure with a horse-like torso and only has one eye, which is always bloodshot. The monster’s most distinct characteristic, however, is the fact that it is skinless. The beast is able to breathe on its prey to kill it, and is also a spirit that is blamed for withering crops as well as spreading disease. **

ZC: Possible trickster spirit, and typical night terror. Nuckelavee

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NUE – a creature of Japanese mythology said to have the body of a badger, the head of a monkey, and the tail of a snake; although this beast can also prowl the night as a floating misty blob. **

ZC: A creature of folklore, and of varying forms, yet consistent in its cunning. NUGGLE – this creature appears as a tiny horse in the folklore of the Shetland Isles, and is a luring spirit which attracts victims to stretches and bodies of water. ****

ZC: This is a potent legend that is a variation of the Kelpie. NYKKJEN – lake monsters are abundant in the folklore of Norway, but this particular creature is a mer-being. **

ZC: The folklore of the mermaid is very potent, but sightings of this being no longer seem to take place. NYKUR – a monster from Iceland said to be a breed of grey horse with backward turned feet. This animal is a trickster. **

ZC: Peculiar and obscure legend.

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O OBAKE – in Japanese lore meaning ‘transforming thing’. ****

ZC: A spectre, ghost, or shape-shifting ghoul. O BICHO – a Chupacabra-type creature said to roam the forests of Brazil. This spindly creature has been blamed for several attacks on livestock, and is said to be reptilian and darkish in colour. ****

ZC: Another member of the blood-sucker family. OBOUR – a rather unfortunate and vague Bulgarian oddity said to have only one nostril and a pointed tongue. **

ZC: Another fictional entity. OCEAN MEN – these are mermen from China. **

ZC: Mythical creatures. ODD BOD OF ROUTE 52 – on the night of 30th January 1959, something very weird was seen twice near New Richmond, Ohio, USA. On the first occasion, a motorist saw something tentacled, and grey in colour, cross the road ahead. Two hours later, a woman driving near Covington, Kentucky, saw a similar non-entity; a grey blubbering, deformed thing with tentacles. ***

ZC: Maybe, just maybe, this was a flesh and blood creature wrongly identified. O GONCHO – when this white, giant beast, which turns into a golden bird, cries, it is said that famine is on the way. **

ZC: A typical feared portent from Japan. OHIO FROGMEN – Branch Hill, Ohio, March, 1955, 4:00 am and, whilst in his car, businessman Robert Hunnicutt has just observed three very strange humanoids kneeling by

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the side of the road. Mr. Hunnicutt was so intrigued by the figures that he decided to approach, but the next thing he knew he was driving towards the local police station! The witness said that the creatures were around one-metre tall, had grey skin but also wore grey tight fitting clothes, and had frog faces, slender arms and normal eyes without eyebrows. The humanoids were holding dark objects which omitted blue flashes. *** See also LOVELAND FROG.

ZC: Whilst the legend surrounding the classic Loveland Frog creatures has often been dismissed, this sighting remains very important, in the sense that it may well prove that some kind of humanoids were indeed patrolling the swampy areas. The report from Mr. Honeycutt, suggests some kind of clandestine activity that many UFO-related books often speak of. However, it’s unclear as to the origin of these creatures, but they appear more zooform in that no craft was mentioned. OHIO NO NECK – a robust, black, big-headed, and growling monster witnessed by a mother and son whilst berry picking near Gallipolis, Ohio. The creature seemed to appear in the woods after a strange, black, cloud-like object appeared in the sky. **

ZC: Maybe the cloudy object had nothing to do with the appearance of the man-beast, or the creature had been dumped by a UFO. Either way, Ohio is a peculiar place and the Ohio No Neck is another weirdo to add to the woods. OHIO WEREWOLF – a nine-feet tall, fanged monstrosity that attacked a railway worker on the 31st July 1972 in Defiance, Ohio. On 15th November 1966, around the time of the Mothman reports, a winged entity, over six-feet tall, was seen, by several frightened witnesses, moving at over 100 mph. The monster’s wingspan was estimated at over ten-feet, was humanoid in form, with blazing red eyes, and appeared greyish-brown in colour. Some people at the time connected the creature’s appearance to several reports of UFOs in the Ohio River vicinity. ****

ZC: Association here with the Bray Road Beast and other wolfen beasts. However, this creature was winged like the Batsquatch creature. These things take on varying form. OIECHEK – a small mammal said to resemble a shrew, alleged to haunt parts of the US. These zooform ‘critters’ are said to hunt down campers at night, and burrow into their stomach, eating them alive from the inside. Once a victim has been devoured, any skeletal remains become the home for the creature until its next outing. ***

ZC: We must first look at the possibility of this animal being flesh and blood before entering the realm of zooform.

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OJANCANU – the Cyclops of Cantabria; greatly feared monsters that feast on blood and live in remote caves. **

ZC: Bigfoot and the likes may be worth a mention here, but legend is vague. OKURI INU – see also Yama Inu. **

ZC: This is a wolf-like ‘critter’ from Japan. Source can be found at above mentioned section. OLD FOAMY – this is another of those Goatman kinds of legends, which are often connected to desolate places or eerie bridges. This ‘critter’ prowls Cleburne in Texas, USA, and legend has it that should any motorist beep their horn three times, the humanoid will appear from the stream. *

Ojancany

ZC: These are the sort of campfire monsters that we would love to exist, because they make great storytelling nightmares, but sightings of this legend seem scarce. OLD GREEN EYES – the phantom said to haunt Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This greeneyed, caped spook was first sighted in 1863 during the Civil War, when the spook flitted between the corpses of the slain searching for something, but nobody knows what! **

ZC: Again, this is another of those weird apparitions that aren’t exactly zooform, but that seem too weird to fit into ghost lore. Unfortunately, in the case of this phantom, its appearance took place a long, long time ago, disabling any hope of investigation. OLD HAG – a night-time phenomenon that can take on many forms; from amorphous blobs to monsters, but is more commonly known as ‘old hag’ and is sometimes related to what science now terms ‘sleep paralysis’. Victims often describe a figure of sorts which ‘witchrydes’ them, rendering them paralysed. Such an intruder takes on differing forms depending on the cultural aspect. The most common figure is that of an old, witch-type hag, small in size, adorned in black, with clawed hands. In Norway, the Mare is a similar shape-shifting demon said to slip under doors, through cracks or keyholes to enter rooms where victims sleep. These psychic vampires or ethereal scavengers may well exist on some astral level, but their aim is to mount the chest of the person in slumber, causing breathing problems, tightness in the chest, and horrid dreams. In Jewish lore, Lilith is the seductive female ‘demon’ of the succubus species who engages in erotic activities with sleeping men. Babylonian demonesses are called lilitu,

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meaning ‘female night spirits’, also pertaining to the Sumerian wind demon lil, whilst in Hebrew the word ‘night’ is lilah. These night terrors have been known as winged spirits, or hovering mists, and are vampire-like forms which take on many forms, and appear throughout different cultures. The lore of Lilith states that God created her as a companion to Adam, not from his rib, or after his existence, but from the same dust. Many theorise that Lilith was a female entity, a fantasy that would not be inferior to him, and it is alleged that their relationship became stormy due to sexual activities in which Lilith wished to be ‘on top’ during intercourse; something which Adam refused. Lilith, it is said, flew the nest, and copulated with a variety of demon lovers in some grim cave to satisfy herself; in turn creating lilin, these being her demonic offspring. Her offspring could well be the reason so many nightly demons stalk the astral place. The already mentioned Mare of Norway is also a prowling form, which will ride animals if it cannot find a human victim. It is said that to protect oneself from such attacks, one should never sleep with one’s mouth open. In a study conducted by a David J. Hufford, in his book, ‘The Terror That Comes in the Night’, he noted that most victims in such attacks have been sleeping on their backs, and rendered paralysed. ****

ZC: This deserves to be in the zooform category because, across the world and in differing cultures, the ‘hag’ takes on many forms, from bat-like monsters to hairy dwarves. It is a dominant creature of the night. OLD RADIAN – wolf spectre said to haunt Big Rock, in Pike County, Ohio. **

ZC: This large wolf was allegedly killed by hunters, along with his mate, in 1801, so this is a routine ghost tale. OLD RED EYES – this phantom has no real identity, except for its fiery eyes, but appears more as a shadowy figure, said to haunt aboriginal lore. Those unfortunate enough to encounter this apparition are hypnotised by its red glare and are fixed within a surreal time warp. **

ZC: This thing could be anything. OLD WALLEYES – very much a campfire monster born from Ozark legend, which states that this mystery creature is large, has four legs, clawed feet and dead eyes. The beast is said to lurk in a deep, dark, dank cave, and feast on travellers, but this is quite simply another of those folkloric spook stories to frighten the kids. **

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ZC: Folklore bogeyman. OLE HIGUE – this is a female vampire from Guyana. It is said to exist as a woman by day, but during the darkness exists as a floating ball of fire. At night her skin is shed, and she prowls the nocturnal hours searching for blood to drink. This entity floats from home to home, and when a suitable victim is found - usually a child - this evil predator drains the blood. **

ZC: The legend has many features in common with other vampiric entities from around the world, but this is also a very local fear. OLITIAU – a Prehistoric survivor, a giant bat, or simply a monster of Zambian lore? See also Fangalabolo. ***

ZC: Legend seems to speak of this creature as being a spiritual, yet bat-like entity. However, I prefer the idea of a new species of giant bat. OM PELOS – this is a hairy wild man of the forests, and exists as a bogeyman figure which sets out to steal the children of farmers. *

ZC: I’m unsure as to which woodlands this man-beast inhabits, but this is nothing more than a scare story. ONI – horned demons of Japanese lore said to be the most popular in their mythology. These bipedal creatures are blue or pink in colour, with three eyes, and very wide mouths. They are three-toed, and only have three fingers on each hand that are like talons and they are able to fly. They hover into villages and kidnap women, but mainly such creatures are said to represent disease. **

ZC: Popular in mythology, these winged terrors, like the Gaki etc., are dominant in tradition, but nothing more. ONIONHEAD – another frightful bogeyman with several exaggerated origins, birthplaces, etc., which puts him right alongside those other carnival weirdo’s: Goatman, Bunnyman

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et al. Onionhead could well be nothing more than urban legend; a freakish, deformed recluse said to haunt parts of Slidell, Illinois, in the United States. Some say he was a disfigured hermit who bumped off a few of those tormentors who ridiculed him for many years about his large, bloated body, and his tiny, undeveloped head. Many claim, in this murky yarn, that he was eventually killed for his crimes, and buried in a paupers’ cemetery which simply says “Onionhead” on the makeshift gravestone, with his burial place covered and weighed down by lead stakes to prevent his demonic revenge. Campfire magic will allow Onionhead to rise again from the grave, though, should one of those stakes be removed. **

ZC: Classic, eerie stuff, even if you don’t believe it at all. OOGLE BOOGLES – these creatures sound like something from a dark fairytale, but in fact they are said to inhabit parts of Alberta, Canada as small lake monsters. These creatures are often seen as their humped backs break the surface. ***

ZC: Very likely to be a large, unknown fish, big eel, or local legend, which has existed on a very bad name! OOLONGA-DAGALLA – also known as the Long Dog, this spectral hound, whose name translates as ‘spirit with knife-teeth’, haunts the dark roads of Tennessee in the USA. This beast is known for its glowing eyes, and is said to reach up to eight-feet in length. Legend has it that its clawed tracks have been found along the river valley banks and its growls are often heard after dusk has fallen. ****

ZC: A more obscure apparition than most, but still as potent. ORANG BATI – the ‘flying man’ of Seram, Indonesia, said to stand over four-feet tall, have red skin, black wings and a long tail. In the ‘Centre for Fortean Zoology 2004 Yearbook’, author Richard Freeman wrote of the beast, stating: “In June 1986 tropical agricul-

turalist Tyson Hughes visited the island and collected detailed reports of a giant bat-like creature said to inhabit its forests. The Orang-Bati… emit mournful wails and the native folk go in fear of them. The literal translation means’ flying man’. They are rumoured to roost in extinct volcanoes and at night fly out across the forest to coastal villages and abduct children.” *** ZC: It seems more than likely that this is a giant bat…but you never know. ORANGE EYES – a monster said to have lived beneath a cemetery in Cleveland, USA. The creature was said to have haunted the residents of Mill Lake for many years until construction workers destroyed its underground lair. Some suggest that Orange Eyes is a

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Bigfoot-like ‘critter’ often sighted on the local ‘lover’s lane’. **

ZC: Red Eyes, Green Eyes and Orange Eyes, they are all vague monsters. ORANGE MAN OF MADAGASCAR – whilst Madagascar has no orang utans, ancestral memory speaks of the Orange Man, a metre-high ‘fabulous dwarf’ with long claws said to steal children and the rice from cooking pots. Whilst this creature may have connections to some kind of unknown primate, it is often spoken of as a bogeyman figure said to lure children to its caves. The late Tony White, research writer from cryptozoological television series ‘ANIMAL X’ wrote of the legend: “…in the Betsileo region, the Kalanoro

are wild men whose bodies are completely covered in hair. They live in caves and sleep on cotton mattresses. They persuade or invite children into their caves and then steal them. People of the North western region believe that the creatures are covered in long red hair, stand around one-metre tall and walk upright on two feet. They do not steal children but food from kitchens.” *** ZC: Unknown species of ape. OTGIRURU – in Herero folklore belief, anyone who answers the call of this phantom vampire hound, will perish within its foaming jaws. *

ZC: This straddles the line between hellhound and local dread. OTOROSHI – Japan has a variety of grotesque ghouls haunting its forests and dark roads, and this vicious predator is no exception. It is a bogey creature used to frighten children, as well as being a hairy ogre said to live in trees, and to leap upon unsuspecting victims. **

ZC: Many Oriental ‘critters’ seem to exist as tree dwelling vampires. They are colourful and terrifying creations, but often nothing more, but are often perceived as guardian spirits. OUZELUM BIRD – whilst no-one may have ever seen one, this fascinating bird only flies backwards! *

ZC: A fictional creature. OWINNIK – a big cat-like animal of Slavic mythology, said to have glowing eyes. ***

ZC: This beast is connected to the lighting of fires in farmers’ barns, although it may just be a form of ‘big cat’ spotted locally.

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OWLMAN – five-feet tall oddity sighted around Mawnan Church in Cornwall during the mid to late 1970s. Jon Downes covered the oddness in his ‘Owlman & Others’ book. Sceptics simply believe it was all a hoax. In 1976, around the same time a sea creature named Morgawr was rearing its ugly head, Owlman burst onto the scene, a winged creature sighted by a June and Vicky Melling, aged twelve and nine. It was June of that year when the children were on holiday with their parents and on the 17th April when they saw the feathery nightmare at Mawnan Church. On 3rd July two teenage girls saw the same entity when they were camping near the church. They heard a strange hissing noise at around 10:00 pm, and were frightened by a figure in the nearby trees; as big as a man, like a giant owl, but with glowing red eyes. In June 1978 another two sixteen-year old girls saw something flying up through the trees, and at the beginning of the August, three French girls said they also saw something like a giant bird with big round eyes. Much weirdness surrounds the whole Mawnan ‘monster’ episode, and we’ll never find the truth of the matter. It seems that Owlman was simply meant to happen, even as a hoax, or maybe as a relative to so many other winged entities around the globe. ****

ZC: Many believe that Owlman was a hoax, even so, it is a powerful Cornish zooform legend now whatever the truth, people will always see Owlman now. OWL WOMAN MONSTER – see description for Tah-tah kle’-ah. ****

ZC: A tribal terror. OXFORD MANBEAST – in 1971, near the Wantage Canal, Oxford, England, Miss Linda Milne had a brief encounter with a tall, hairy, being that walked off into the woods. Around the same time, two fourteen-year old boys were chased by a similar entity, after they threw stones at it, and they also reported that they’d seen a strange flying disc in the area. **

ZC: Reports of hairy humanoids in England were once quite regular, but the connection to the unidentified flying object makes me hesitant.

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OZAENA – a sea-dwelling monster said to give off a pungent odour, and have a head the size of a ninety-gallon cask. Legend has it that one such beast, with thirty-foot long tentacles, terrorised parts of Spain many years ago. Could such a phantom blob be a relative to the Giant Squid? Or a mere beast of folklore? ***

ZC: Not many sea creatures have made it into this book. The reason for this is because many ‘monsters’ of the unexplored seas are very likely to be undiscovered species of fish etc.

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P PADFOOT – ghostly hound of Staffordshire and also Yorkshire, especially Leeds. It has been described also as a wool-like ‘blob’, and also as an invisible, padding ghost. ****

ZC: Another common zooform hound. PAIYUK – magical elks said to live in the water, and prey on human beings. **

ZC: Legends such as this one from the Ute peoples of Colorado and Utah, are fascinating, in that they always seem to have a dark and lighter side to them. Whilst these beasts can bestow magic, they are also very keen to devour us for prey. PALIS – the ‘foot licker’ of the Arabian Desert, which creeps up on its victims at night and drains the blood from their feet. No-one really knows what this creature looks like, but it is a local fear of the night; a soul drainer. ***

ZC: The Mongolian Death Worm is a greatly feared ‘myth’ of the desert that experts believe is a real worm. The Palis could well be another of those creatures awaiting scientific discovery. PANO – in Tibet this is a ghostly donkey which distracts travellers. *

ZC: A trickster entity. PAN OF VINELAND – During the Summer of 1989 a teenager named Juan Caraballo was ‘hanging out’ with a group of fellow teenage friends, at a baseball field called Menantico Park in Vineland, New Jersey. The kids had been sharing a few jokes, and generally messing about, near the abandoned cemetery, but it was getting late so they decided to leave. Juan decided to urinate before leaving, and so stepped into the woods to relieve himself. Before unzipping his flies, Juan was startled by a rushing through the bushes in the darkness; something moving zigzag fashion through the trees at a pace. All of a sudden, before Juan could move, a figure appeared just six-feet away in the woods. It was a frail creature, thin in build, and just over four-feet in height. The animal was grey in colour, had goat-like legs, and an eerie grin as it stared at the terrified witness. As Juan stepped back the creature sped off into the blackness of the woods, leaving Juan fro-

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zen to the spot. Gathering his senses, Juan, hurried back to his friends, and noticed that one of them was staring, horrified, into the woods. Juan shook him from his terrified state, and they both spoke about what they’d seen. The other teenagers had seen nothing, but the other guy who had seen something, described a group of dark figures in the woods that approached the teenagers. This story was submitted to the superb ‘Weird N. J.’ magazine in 2001.

**** ZC: the group of witnesses may well have unintentionally manifested this creature. Sightings of such creatures, however bizarre they may seem, are common in zooformology. PARANDRUS – an Ethiopian beast as big as an ox, with shaggy hair, and horns; said to be able to change its appearance. ***

Parandrus

ZC: Likely to be a real animal. PARANORMAL MANIMALS – creatures said to haunt Latin America, fitting the description of hairy hominid-type beasts, but with connections or so it is alleged - to UFO activity, and other high strangeness in certain locations. ****

ZC: Whilst I strongly believe that humanoids such as Bigfoot are real creatures, such Manimals are often connected to UFO lore, simply because they are so elusive. PASTINACA – huge, hideous, weasel-like creature mentioned in medieval bestiaries. **

ZC: Legend has it that this beast is bigger than an elephant, and yet little is known of it. PAVOLDAR WINGED WOMAN – in 1936 a female witness claimed to have seen a flying, winged, female entity adorned in black, which appeared in the sky overhead, and then vanished into the night. ****

ZC: Leather winged and female, and never seen again, but there is no reason to dismiss such a sighting. PAZAZU – Babylonian legend speaks of this terrifying four-winged creature with a doglike head, said to represent a pestilence carried by the southwest wind. Locals put images of the Pazazu in their homes to ward the actual spirit off; the hope is that such a creature will be fearful of its own appearance.

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**

ZC: This is one of the deity creatures, like Set, the lord of its kin, which has been created, but never sighted, although it remains a powerful ruler that controls the elements. PEG POWLER – adults often use this bogey as a warning to children to steer them away from water. Peg Powler is a green-haired water-spirit said to drag children into the depths, if they stray too close to the edge. *

ZC: A female ghoul or bogeywoman created by parents. PEHTRA BABA – a bogeyman figure from Slovenia that appears as a horned and hairy female entity said to emit deep growls. Some say that this monster screams into the night, and is also able to fly, whilst young children know this being as a hunched old woman carrying an axe. ****

ZC: Such a humanoid may at first appear as some kind of wild woman of the woods, but its ability to shape-shift through generations gives it a potent staying power, which all bogey figures maintain. PELHAM UNICORNS – according to lore, some three-hundred-and-fifty years ago, a Dutchman named Adriaen Van der Donck, wrote of his experiences in New Netherland*, which included a published account of sightings regarding eerie animals in the Westchester County region. He wrote: “I have been frequently told by the Mohawk Indi-

ans…that far in the interior parts of the country there were animals, which were seldom seen, of the size and form of horses, with cloven hoofs, having one horn in the forehead from a foot and a half to two-feet in length, and that because of their fleetness and strength they were seldom caught or ensnared. I have never seen any token or sign of such animals, but that such creatures exist in the country is supported by the concurrent declarations of the Indian hunters. There are Christians who say that they have seen the skins of this species of animal, but without the horns.” ** ZC: A tale that is worth further investigation. PENG – this massive fish is a shape-shifting entity that, according to Chinese lore, can transform itself into a bird. See also Kun. *

ZC: A creature straight from a mythical bestiary. * New Netherland as a province, so founded in 1624, comprised the modern day New York Tri-State area with Manhattan as its locus and extended to just south of the Delaware Bay to Cape Henlopen and east of the Connecticut River to include Cape Cod.

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PENGERSICK GHOST RATS – strange, small, scurrying creatures sighted in the woods around this very haunted castle, located in Cornwall. **

ZC: It would be interesting to find out more about these peculiar apparitions. PENNANGGALAN – similar to the Pontianak, this is a Malaysian monster, hag-like in appearance able to separate its head from the body, and fly around with entrails exposed. *

ZC: It may be unfair to cast these vampire entities into the realm of folklore when I have put the hag-like entities high in the league of shape-shifting creatures. However, these very weird entities are nothing more than tradition, and seem never to be sighted. PENTAGRAM GOATMAN – a diabolical, and Satanic entity from the Red Ash Cemetery, in Caryville, Tennessee. This humanoid is said to stand over eight-feet tall, and has a pentagram carved on its forehead. *

ZC: This is a sinister apparition, but the lack of sightings does not really do the spooky legend any favours. PERYTON – a Mediterranean bird beast said to cast a man’s shadow. *

ZC: This may be a giant species of bird, but there is nothing to say it is. PETROPAVLOVSK PECULIARITY – in 1991 the Ivanitzky family heard the noise of many chirring crickets which awoke them. After ten days of the weird sounds, they then discovered a strange creature under the bed, and although they were unsure whether it was a dog-like animal, or a giant mouse, the creature seemed to change form over the course of a night. It sprouted a long trunk from its face; a face which transformed into a human-like plaster-cast. The family attempted to throw things at the ‘critter’, and at one point they sprayed it with any household chemical they could get their hands on, before it rolled into a corner. They could see it more clearly now; a bluish tint to its fur, threefingered paws, and strong, bat-like wings. Mr. Ivanitzky eventually cast the form into a roadside ditch, fearing he’d attacked a creature protected by Russian State Law. ****

ZC: This Russian weirdo is classic household zooform phenomena. A shape-shifting spectre of sorts, that may well be connected to a haunting. PETTICOAT LOOSE – a strange name given to this half-horse, half-woman chimera, said to haunt the watery depths of a large pond in Clogheen, Munster (Ireland). Sightings of the beast are extremely rare, suggesting this is nothing more than a local bogey phantom.

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**

ZC: An intriguing name for something so watery. PEUKEN – a randy, dwarf-like beast from Araucan lore, said to roam the forest areas of Chile, and to pursue women. **

ZC: Similar in lore to the Pombero. PHANTOM KANGAROOS – possibly nothing more than out of place animals, such as large cats, wallabies etc., but they have taken on a mystical status, especially in the US, due to their frequent appearances. ***

ZC: A lot of fuss has been made about these mystery animals, but I see no reason to believe why they should be deemed supernatural. No-one has ever caught one, but has anyone ever tried? PHANTOM PTEROSAURS – seen across the vast mountain ranges of the world, and parts of the United States, are these really prehistoric survivors or ghostly reflections? Such winged wonders lived from the lower Jurassic period to the end of the Cretaceous period, but that’s over 100-million years ago, and it seems extremely unlikely that such leathery beasts still soar in the skies of the world, even in the most remote parts. Yet, they are still sighted. Are they giant bats, or ethereal creatures from some other realm? One such beast is the kongamoto from Africa, a creature described as being like a lizard, but with wings like a bat. In the heavy thickets of Northern Rhodesia, as well as dark parts of Zambia, Pterodactyl-like ‘birds’ are said to exist, but it is said by the natives that to look upon such an animal means ‘death’. In the deepest swamplands of the planet, these gliding monsters are considered spectral and symbols of utmost evil. Such phantom fliers are also tied in with reports of giant, mystery bats and Thunderbirds. ***

ZC: Age-old tradition may speak of great winged beasts in the skies, but with regards to giant birds I strongly believe that many sightings are of…giant birds. Others, such as Pterodactyls may slip into the ghostly realm because I do not believe that these creatures have survived millions of years into the present time. I would direct the curious reader towards Ken Gerhards’s book `Big Bird!` (published by CFZ Press). PHANTOM, THE – a rather normal name for a bizarre being, said to stand over fifteenfeet tall, and to have terrorised parts of Canada in the 1960s. This weird being may have belonged to the same freak carnival, which once boasted Spring-Heeled Jack and the like. The Phantom was often seen around Nova Scotia, leaping over buildings, and bounding down country roads. ****

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ZC: This belongs in that sub-level of mystery figures that are not quite ghosts, and not quite zooform; but they exist in some surreal void, leaping through towns with gay abandon. PHANTOM BUFFALO – a spectral animal sighted drinking from a waterway at the Strouds Run State Park, in Ohio. **

ZC: Possibly a run of the mill haunting of an animal that may have been kept there in the past. PHANTOM DINOSAURS – these mysterious creatures were shot at by ‘crack shot’ Tom Gorman on the night of 12th March 1997. This eerie encounter began in Uintah County, Utah, when barking dogs alerted a team of investigators to woods near the ranch house. The researchers could make out a set of yellow, reptilian eyes, up in a tree, and the eyes were so big that the investigators estimated that the creature that owned them had to have a head around three-feet wide. Gorman also observed something at the foot of the tree that was dog-like, large, hairy and well muscled. From forty-yards Gorman fired at both forms. The creature at the foot of the tree seemed to vanish, whilst the thing in the tree fell to the snow-laden, crisp ground. Three men, including Gorman rushed to the scene, hoping to find a dead creature, or at least signs - such as blood - of a wounded beast they could then follow into the thicket. They found nothing, despite being in the presence of a professional tracker. However, at the base of the tree, in the snow, they found a spectacular print. It was a three-toed impression showing sharp claws. The only creature with a print to resemble it was the Velociraptor. An extinct dinosaur! Weird phenomena would continue in the area. ****

ZC: An intriguing case that led many researchers to believe that Skinwalkers, or something akin to these Werewolf-like beasts, were stalking the woods. PHANTOM FLAPPING – this sound has been heard outside the windows of Wallington Hall in Northumberland. Some say the heavy beating of wings is related to local ghosts, but no-one has proven it otherwise. *

ZC: Obscure aural haunting. PHUT – this shaggy humanoid of the Hindukush people may be a Sasquatch relative. They are bad tempered ghouls said to terrify locals. ** ZC: Although the Bigfoot connection is strong, I believe these beings are bogeymen.

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PHYNNODDEREE – a satyr-like creature from the Isle of Man said to roam lonely spots, this being is shaggy haired and has fiery eyes. ****

ZC: Regional Goatman-like figure. PIASA – a giant bird from Blackfoot legend, which is said to have feathers like knives which are used to decapitate humans and other prey. These giant birds could also relate to the Thunderbird legends. In his fascinating book, ‘Lake Monster Traditions’, author Michel Meurger wrote of the great birds as: “…

indefinable beasts which stem from the thunderbird…were the object of a whole cycle of false Indian legends, feverishly Piasa Bird concocted by opportunistic Longfellows. We can see in these fabricated creatures – like those of Doctor Moreau – the results of an entire zoo cut into pieces, and hastily reassembled.” Some argue that such a creature is a creation from fantasy; an exaggerated, cut and paste job of fanciful illusions and folk belief. Maybe so, but there is no denying the power of the giant birds, and other winged monsters around the world. ***

ZC: Whilst the legend is exaggerated and has become myth, there is every chance that huge birds still soar through the skies. There is a remote chance also that they are manifestations. PIGMAN – a bizarre humanoid from the woods of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and other dense forests of America,. It stands around five-feet tall, and is covered in long, black hair, has fish eyes, and a mouth full of gnarled teeth. ****

ZC: Another local spooker that crosses into other creature lore. PINATUBO MONSTERS – Philippine villagers were forced to starvation by an invasion of these black serpents. Described as eel-like, these ‘monsters’ seemed to be omens of doom. ***

ZC: Locals who do not fully understand creatures that they have never seen before, may become terrified by their appearance. This is probably the case with these eel-like beasts.

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PINE BUSH PHANTOM – a ‘critter’ from New York that terrified residents over the course of a couple of years during the early 1990s. Most witnesses, which all seemed to be women, were terrorised by a tall, black, figure that was known to knock on doors and torment the hapless females. One woman, who saw the humanoid in 1993, said that the figure was squatting on her drive. Some cases seem to point towards poltergeist activity. **

ZC: Local hysteria. PING FENG – a strange black pig with two heads, said to live in China. *

ZC: Myth. PINKIE – a spindly creature that appeared in the home of a male witness in Mandurah, Western Australia, in 1930. The spectre was completely pink in colour, with long ears, bulging eyes covered in a filmy fluid, and its skin looked wet. Allegedly the witness threw a net over the being, and dragged it outside. **

ZC: When witnesses allegedly grapple with these fiendish invaders, it seems to add more credibility to such encounters. However, this case is now too old to follow up. PINK REPTILE MAN – pale-coloured humanoid sighted in British Columbia in 1967 by an anonymous witness who claimed that the figure was over seven-feet tall. ***

ZC: Albino Bigfoot-like humanoid, or something ethereal ? PIRAGUE – another name for the Pombero, a dwarf-like creature of Argentina. ****

ZC: See Pombero. PISHTACOS – nocturnal bedroom invaders said to be tall, thin, apparitions that drink milk all day, but - by night - wear a long coat, and carry a huge knife, in order to carve up sleeping Indians. Similar entities are the Andean Fat Stealers. **

ZC: Local fear. P’O – a monster said to have green hair, long claws, and cruel eyes. Similar to the Ch’iang Shih. *

ZC: This sounds more like a local witch myth.

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POCOMOKE FOREST WEREWOLVES – strange, obscure, hairy humanoid creatures, said to roam an old churchyard area in Maryland, USA. **

ZC: Vague local spook tale despite the many weird sightings of humanoids in Maryland. These fearsome animals may well be connected to other reports of bipedal ‘critters’. PODUJEVA PHANTOM – a shape changer from the Kosovo lands, seen in 2004 on 30th June at 1:30 pm. Independent witnesses, according to source NUFORC, the international UFO reporting centre, described a ‘bear’ or ‘tiger’ that seemed to come from the sky, run around for a bit, and then take off to the clouds. One witness claimed to have filmed some of the bizarre episode. **

ZC: Maybe too strange to be true, but where is that film? POINT ISABEL PHANTOM – a shape-shifting weirdo seen in 1967 in Ohio, USA, by a fifteen-year old boy, his father, and his brother-in-law. The boy, Perry Adams, said that what they saw was: “…ten-feet tall, a light tan colour, with long arms, pointed ears and short horns on its head.” Perry’s father fired at the creature, which screamed and then dissolved into an eerie white mist. ****

ZC: Classic zooform hologram. POLISH WHITE DOG – a soldier, Boleslaw Lesniakiewicz, was spending the night at an old brickyard in Alwernia, when he was awoken by the sound of bells jingling, and an eerie voice. His voice became unsettled, and when Boleslaw looked up, he saw a huge, white phantom dog approaching. He fired at the dog, and the whole area was bathed in strong, blue, light. In the morning he found a strange, foam-like substance over his horse. ****

ZC: A Polish phantom hound is no different to a phantom dog anywhere else. POLOS – an obscure Russian legend concerns this treasure protector, which takes the form of a giant, killer worm. ***

ZC: This may be a distant relative of the Mongolian Death Worm, a large, unknown creature that resides in the sands of the Gobi Desert, and can kill with one bite. POMBERO/POMBERITO – a legendary creature from Argentina, said to resemble a black dwarf, conjured by black magic, which attacks people at night, often dragging them off into bushes, and rendering them unconscious. The creature is also known as Pirague, a name with political connections, (often used to describe independent or leftwing politicians in Argentina and Paraguay), which describes a squat creature in a straw

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hat, which is a trickster spirit that walks noiselessly on its hairy feet. Several attacks in Argentina have taken place after a shower of bricks has hit roof-tops! ‘El Norte Digital’ reported on 22nd February 2004: ‘ARGENTINA: WOMAN NEARLY BATTERED TO DEATH BY ‘IMP’’.

“SAENZ PENA (Agencia). The only person who managed to see this alleged ‘Pombero’ is Liliana Nieves, 26, who was allegedly assaulted by the entity. She described it as a small man, completely black, that, ‘battered her and wanted to drag her away’. Until yesterday this woman was confined in the mental ward of the 4 de Junio Hospital. The story gains credibility because over ten witnesses agree on the events which commenced on Tuesday night, repeated on Thursday and were expected to reoccur on Saturday night.” On the Tuesday, a shower of stones fell onto the home of Nieves, situated in the tranquil area of 31 & 0000 Street in Santa Teresita. Nieves claimed she could see ‘something’ ripping out tomato and mandarin plants in the yard. Bricks were said to hit the roof, and a shadowy figure sped from the area, leaving the witness to believe someone was playing a strange prank. The Wednesday night was very quiet, but the Thursday night was a time of terror for Liliana and her husband. The shower of stones came again. Liliana went to see who was throwing them at the house, and did not return for a while. When she was found - by a local man - she was lying on the ground, her face beaten by a mystery intruder, that had allegedly covered her face, and dragged her off. Liliana’s brother claimed that the attacker kept on saying that it wanted to take her away. Some neighbours claimed that an invisible force that was able to throw her around attacked the woman. Many people living in the area claim the creature is an imp of sorts, or one of the Corrientes goblin-like figures; a creature of folklore which features in many songs, and is said to inhabit parts of the river basin. Such a figure appears to be a trickster spirit, a mischievous ‘critter’ who can only be driven away if tobacco is left out for him by residents. He is a local bogeyman-type figure said to seduce female victims. The Araucan natives also speak of a similar short creature, the Peuken, said to inhabit the dense forests of Chile. ****

ZC: More black imps and evil dwarf-like ‘critters’ from South America. These may be trickster spirits, but in tradition they play a major part as omens of evil, and they are greatly feared.

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POMOLA – the Wabanaki Indians of Maine speak of this bird-like creature in their lore, for it is said to lurk on Mount Katahdin. ***

ZC: Possible large bird, but it may also straddle folklore. PONATURI – a green-coloured, malevolent coastal creature from New Zealand, said to have an eerie glow. These ‘critters’ are often seen ashore at night, their long claws held out in front of their glowing form, and daylight is the best weapon against such sprites. **

ZC: File alongside fairy folk etc. POOKA (PHOUKA) – Irish mystery creature/manifestation often used to describe phantom hounds, as well as goats and horses, the Pooka also has aquatic connections. On the 4th April 1931, at County Derry in Ireland, an English student saw a fiery-eyed black creature swimming the nearby river. He described the animal as being like a dog, but with hideous teeth and eyes aglow. ***

ZC: A powerful legend that seems to hold under its wing several creatures, from water-dwelling beasts to Black Doglike phantoms.

Pooka

POOMOOLA/POMOLA – this is a hairy humanoid said to haunt Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine, USA. It has an alternate name of Injun Devil, as many Indians have allegedly died in the jaws of this Bigfoot-like entity. Some legends state that this humanoid has wings, and the head of a bull moose. ****

ZC: The 5,268-feet-high peak is the highest point in the state, and could well hold a very intriguing zooform mystery that dates back centuries. POPE LICK MONSTER – sometimes known as the ‘Louisville Goatman’, this scary humanoid is said to take on the form of half-man/half-goat, and is often seen standing atop a 100-feet high rail road trestle. In an effort to spot it, many researchers and hunters have camped in the gloomy area where the creature is said to live, but to no avail. **

ZC: Whilst the various goat-like creatures of this weird world are fascinating, their reputation and campfire legend unfortunately outshines their reality. POPOBAWA – In Zanzibar, a spectre known locally as the Popobawa has terrorised residents on the islands for a number of years. It is a raping, molesting, ghost, that many

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sceptics simply believe is another form of the ‘waking nightmare’, in which victims are said to sense a presence in the room when they are asleep, and become frozen before this energy or shadow sucks at their soul, or perverts them. The name derives from the Swahili words ‘bat’ and ‘wing’, and allegedly appeared in Central Pemba during the early ‘70s. Attacks were constant during the following decade, and the form returned in 1995, and cast another shadow after the millennium. The Popobawa, like many ugly, hideous entities said to roam the night, and feed off the souls of the living, is relatively short, and only has one, large glaring eye, with bat-like wings, long pointed ears, sharp talons, and is dark, often black in colour. Some say this little monster takes on human form in the daylight hours, but appears more as urban legend by night, instructing its helpless, molested victims to pass on the message about what it does. Numerous clusters of attacks have been related to political upheaval, with the 1972 spate coming shortly after the assassination of the country’s president. Once again though, this spectre, whether real or not, has caused mass hysteria amongst locals, who have literally beaten and hacked each other to death in the fear that someone among them may well be the Popobawa. Houses have been guarded, and families often sleep together, to protect nightly invasions from ‘bat wing’, but a majority of the attacks seem to echo those committed by other bedroom invaders, and nocturnal dream invaders. Whilst such cases may be nothing more than the odd reflection of medieval legends such as the incubi and succubae, there must be cause for concern with regards to what these different cultures are seeing. ****

ZC: Another manifested cultural fear, ‘bat wing’ is an immense terror that comes in the night. These night visitors are often small in stature, bat-like, and are soul drainers. PORTUGUESE VAMPIRE BIRD – an obscure creature said to feast on children, like all bogeymen. From the years 1915 to 1917 there were several strange reports of a white, winged, humanoid throughout the country, which many people perceived as a religious symbol, despite the creature being headless. ****

ZC: Bearing some resemblance to the Chupacabras of the Spanish-speaking world. These mystery figures are typical at the moment. POTTONS – these harmless figures have glowing red eyes, and are said to inhabit openings of ancient trees. Should any traveller stroll by, he just might be spooked by the glow of their eyes peering from the tree roots. In Buckinghamshire folklore these ‘critters’ are used to frighten children in case they misbehave. **

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ZC: Goblin-folk. POUA-KAI – a giant, man-eating bird of Maori tradition. ***

ZC: May have been born from memories of prehistoric creatures such as the moa. POWS DRAGON – a Welsh anomaly seen in March 2001 by a British naturalist and colleagues. They were investigating reports of a ‘dragon’ in the area, when - whilst standing on the edge of a large wood - they spotted a peculiar beast. The creature was over twofeet in length, and serpentine in form. The animal had four short limbs, and a sea-horse head. The tail of the beast was long, and terminated in two whale-like flukes. The creature was hovering in the air, roughly ten-feet above the ground, despite there being no sign of wings, and - although green in colour - it seemed to shimmer. Despite its almost eerie glow, the creature seemed very real to the witnesses, and they watched it for almost five minutes from a distance of around fifty-feet. The form eventually flitted into a cave. The naturalist believed that the creature had behaved in this way to keep the men from approaching the area, as if it was guarding its territory. ***

ZC: The lore of the Dragon is rife in Welsh history, and maybe such creatures still haunt the remote areas. PRAIRIE DRAGONS – in 1994, a Colorado motorist slammed on his brakes whilst driving near Crestone, and when he looked in his rear-view mirror he was amazed to see strange forms - fifteen to twenty undulating serpent-like creatures - transparent and around three-feet long. The man claimed that the forms were partially visible, and he’d driven right through them. ****

ZC: Whilst the legend of many a worldwide Dragon probably wasn’t born from such similar encounters, these creatures, similar to Rods, appear as ghost-like forms; wispy things that may exist on some astral plane and appear mainly unseen to the naked eye. PREDATOR OF PANAMA – in August 2002, Luis Alfredo Diaz went to check out some strange noises coming from the patio area at his home. When he arrived at the scene, he found the body of his pet cat, showing two holes in its neck. Luis called his wife, Maria de Los Santos Barrios, to the carcass, but as she turned around she was confronted by a kangaroo-like creature, one-metre tall, covered in dark hair. The couple ran outside to call their neighbours, but when they returned the beast had gone. ***

ZC: Another vampiric beast with possible connections to the Goatsucker, but until further reports filter through, these entities remain local fears or possible misidentifications of out-of-place real animals.

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PRIKOLITSCH – a Wallachian vampire said to resemble a Werewolf or a Black Dog. This beast is bad news, killing all in its wake, and seems to be closely related to many of the British phantom hounds. ****

ZC: Another canid of doom. PROCTOR VALLEY MONSTER – an unseen bogeyman said to have glowing eyes, and be responsible for several animal deaths, and even teenage murders in the Bonita region of California. The ‘monster’ is probably a Goatman-like urban legend. **

ZC: Another humanoid with eyes that glow like torches. This is another of those campfire boogens. PSYCHIC VAMPIRES – these take on many forms from the incubi/succubae – male and female demons, to bizarre creatures said to suck your life away during sleeping hours. They exist on some astral level, like so many of these zooform creatures. ****

ZC: These flit in and out of various other categories as they are able to take on various malevolent forms, depending on the varying cultures. PTERODACTOBATS – a word coined by myself to describe great, leathery winged prehistoric birds sighted in parts of the USA and across the world, mainly in Africa and the great forests. Tribes often describe creatures that died out millions of years ago; huge beaked, Pterodactyl-like flyers, but surely they are mistaken. If they are wrong, then what they are seeing are either huge, undiscovered species of bat, or extremely weird manifestations that make no sense at all. During the 1970s several reports came from the Rio Grande area, where rancher Joe Suarez claimed that something, which left no tracks, had ripped his goats to shreds. However, on the night of the attack, Mr. Suarez claimed to have heard the eerie sound of large wings flapping. On 14th January 1976, Armando Grimaldo saw a leathery creature with a twelve-foot wingspan at Raymondville, which he claimed attacked him and ripped his clothes, and then on 24th February three schoolteachers travelling to San Antoniom followed a massive, leathery bird with a twenty-foot wingspan. They described how the creature glided instead of flapped. Two-hundred miles east of the Rio Grande Valley is the mountainous area of Mexico’s Sierra Madre Oriental, an area pin-pointed as possible habitat for these reptilian birds. Remains of the pterosaurs, with fifty-foot wingspans, have been found here as recently as 1972, but surely to suggest that these things still glide over the vicinity is absurd…. isn’t it?

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Such strange, flying creatures seem to flit between folklore and reality of natives and are rarely followed up by zoologists and researchers, and so often doubted until discovered by accident. Pterodactobats remain as that confused, unidentifiable species of membranous-winged, beaked, screeching zenith invader that should have died out over 100million years ago, but which still linger in the remote swamps of the world as ghosts embedded in the minds of the locals, to the extent that they are a much feared spiritual beast. ***

ZC: It seems possible that what people are seeing are giant bats…on some occasions. Other than that, we have to be dealing with spectral creatures. See Ken Gerhard’s book `Big Bird` (CFZ Press, 2007) for more details. PTERODACTYL PLAYGROUND – an absurd, leathery, winged creature seen in an unnamed location in the U.S. by a Mr Fields. He was hanging with friends on this particular undated night, and walked home with a neighbour through the nearby park. They were both startled by a crashing sound in the play area, as if something had collided with the swings. They were horrified to see a large flapping monster, just twenty-feet away, perched on the swings. The form had a long beak and claws, and took off as soon as it saw the witnesses. They were convinced of what they’d seen, claiming it had a six-foot wingspan, but sceptics argued it was an eagle. ***

ZC: These reports are hard to fathom, despite the apparent honesty of the witnesses, is there a remote chance that they saw an overly large bird, despite their description of a prehistoric creature? PUCK BIRD – it is said that if you see the Puck Bird and over-take it, or walk by it, then you will bring upon yourself ill-fortune. Such a ‘bird’ existed during the late 1800s around Fittleworth in Sussex, England, and was known to inflict disease upon cattle. ‘Puck’ (Pouke) itself is an ancient word, found both in Germanic and Celtic languages meaning ‘demon, goblin’ or ‘troublesome fairy’. These sprites, as such, are trickster spirits, and in a Sussex variation the term is used to describe feelings at night of bewilderment and confusion. **

ZC: A quirky legend without substance. PUGWIS – this creature is the Kwakiutl Indian merman, a strange humanoid that has been related to the Sasquatch of Washington, USA, and yet this form has a fish-like face. This monster is popular in the wood-carved art of Indian legend. ****

ZC: A beast akin to many of the swamp dwellers across the bottom states of the USA.

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Q QIQION – a hairy, but vague, Eskimo legend said to cause fits. *

ZC: Nondescript entity. QIQIRN – Inuit folklore describes this dog as being mostly bald, and able to scare men and other dogs, but should anyone confront this beast, it runs off! **

ZC: A majority of legends pertaining to phantom dogs are strong, but this particular entity seems to be nothing more than quirky. QUAZER BEAST – this is a mythical serpent said to once inhabit the Artic Ocean, according to the Enets People of the Yenisei River. This beast was larger than any whale, had several eyes, and two great horns on its head. Whilst descriptions of the water creature may vary, and seemed exaggerated, stories of such a monster are still used to warn children away from the river mouth. ***

ZC: Very likely to have been a sea creature never recognised by science, which - over time - even though it may have become extinct, has remained as a folkloric monster. QUETZALCOATL – the feathered serpent or snake of Ancient Mexico. This beast is the God of Wind, Wisdom, and Life; a major deity in Aztec mythology. **

ZC: Legend is strong pertaining to this beast to which sacrifices were once made, but like so many mythological beasts it takes on a form but never exists. The worship of such a beast is no different to the worship of the wind or the sun. QOQOGAQ – this is a monster bear from Alaska said to have a massive skull and ten legs! Many have laughed at such a beast, but in 1913 Inuit tribesmen travelling near Point Barrow, apparently saw such a creature emerge from the icy waters. They fled in terror, but never mentioned its many legs. ***

ZC: We may simply be dealing with an unknown species of bear, but the many legs causes a great deal of confusion, as we attempt to fathom this elusive predator.

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R RABBIT FAIRIES – elusive rabbits said to haunt the fields near Ennis in Ireland. *

ZC: Little known quirky legend. RACCOON DOG – mythical, growling, black-furred creature from Serbia and Montenegro, it is said to emit a shrill cry. This fanged beast, dismissed - yet rumoured - leaves large footprints in the forests, but is considered a hybrid of the imagination. **

ZC: There may be some real creature behind this façade, but it rears its head a little infrequently. RAGMAN – another phenomenon from West Virginia, this time in the form of an eightfeet tall humanoid, covered in strands of muslin-like fabric. The creature is also said to have a cream-coloured head, black sunken eyes and two horns upon its head. However, it has been rarely sighted. **

ZC: All zooform ‘critters’ are given names and moulded by society, but some are so fleeting and vague that their lifespan in legend is brief. RAHAB – in the Old Testament this form is visualized as a sea-serpent, a true ‘monster of chaos’. **

ZC: Were there actual sightings of this tremendous leviathan or was such a creature born from fear? RAIDEN – a red-clawed, demonic monster from the lore of Japan. **

ZC: Mythology. RAJU – a flesh-eating primate from Japanese lore, said to become ravenous during thunderstorms, and to seek out its victims, before ripping their flesh with its long claws. Little else is known about this vicious beast. ***

ZC: Maybe we are dealing with some unknown flesh and blood animal, or something

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that leans towards bogeyman status. RAKSHASAS – these night wanderers of Hindu lore often feast on human beings, as well as horses, and inhabit the vast forests of Lanka. They have razor sharp fangs, long tongues, and blazing eyes, but are also shape-shifting entities which lurk around cemeteries. **

ZC: Vampire entities are common, and they appear no different to the alien greys who abduct victims, or the hag-like figures that ‘ride’ their prey. RAKTABIJA – a demon from India whose blood, when shed, creates even more demons! *

ZC: There may be many unholy apparitions on the astral level, but I doubt if they’ve been created from the blood of this vague monster. RAM OF DOOM – this obscure legend relates to the appearance of a spectral ram at Airlie Castle, in Scotland. **

ZC: Little else is known about this omen of death. RAWHEAD – in Northern England this creature is also known as a Nix or pond spirit, but it’s more sinister other name is Bloody Bones. It’s a creature recorded from as far back as the 15th Century, as a child-devouring bogeyman that drowns its victims, which gave its name to the pirate flag of skull and crossbones. ** Ram of Doom

ZC: A sinister legend.

RAZORBACK HOG – a ferocious zooform creation said to roam the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. This beast has a spine equipped with razor-sharp spikes, which it uses to destroy vegetation and to clear itself a path when it is hunting hapless victims. **

ZC: There may be a remote possibility that this is a flesh and blood animal, although its characteristics are unlikely. RECTORY LAKE CREATURE – the village of Great Tey, in Esssex, UK, may be old, but it shouldn’t have a monster living in its over-sized pond. The legend of the beast, however, is quite strong, and dates back to the 1930s, when it got a mention in a song written for the village concert. The first verse is a quirky nod to the lake dweller:

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“The monster’s little brother, is welcome in the moat, The monster’s little brother, on dry land or afloat, With his face so large and smiling, and his neck so short and fat, He seems so fond of the Rectory Pond, and we’re very much pleased of that!” Just an old yarn, I hear you cry, but in the December of 1932, the village gazette wrote of the ‘Monster Fever’ gripping the place, and referred to a Mr. A, who spotted the leviathan whilst walking near the pond. The witness was shocked to see the black back of an animal emerge from the water, and a neck, some five-feet in length rise out of the depths. The creature had beady eyes, and rather bizarrely, a top hat perched on its head! A Mr. B who claimed he was flying over the pond in his small plane when he observed a form, some ten-feet in length swirling in the fathoms, then backed up the sighting. **

ZC: A nice little tale that seems very unlikely. It is fair to say that the mention of the top hat may well have been a detail added to endear such a creature to the locals, but what we may have been dealing with at the time was a catfish, or an out of place animal such as a large snake or sturgeon. RED AND WHITE HOUND – this strangely coloured ghost dog pads through Whirley Hall, Cheshire (UK) every New years Eve, but no-one seems to know why. ****

ZC: A quirky legend that probably faded many years ago as recent reports of this critter do not seem to exist, or maybe a majority of people have better things to do on New Years Eve than wait for a spooky hound! RED ANGEL – a Ugandan mystery humanoid witnessed in 1995 between Kinyara and Kitanosie, this winged being had blonde, curly, hair and seemed to be telepathically communicating with the anonymous male witness. The man claimed that the ‘angel’ was immersed in a glowing halo effect, stood over twelve-feet tall, and had a shimmering face. They faced each other twice on a stretch of road before the apparition glided away. ****

ZC: Hard to decipher whether this was an ‘angel’ report, or an encounter with a harmless winged humanoid akin to so many others in this book. RED BREASTED SWAN – a pair of spectral swans said to have brought dread to the Kirkpatrick family of Closeburn Castle, north of Dumfries, Scotland. The swans, which had red breast feathers, were once perceived as omens of good luck, until a thirteen-year old heir of Closeburn shot one of the birds with an arrow. From that moment on, every time a swan appeared, someone in the family would die. **

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ZC: Many castles and ancestral homes are plagued by curses, and haunted by weird apparitions. Many of these may be true, but could well be exaggerated over years as they are passed down through generations. REDCAP – an interesting British take here on the various imp-like beings often reported in parts of South America. Redcap is a vicious little humanoid, said to take the form of a squat old man with long nails, and wearing a red cap dyed with the blood of his victims. The legend originates from the peel towers* along the Scottish borders, where this imp used to attack humans. Legend claims that to ward off such a creature one had to quote the Bible or show the sign of the cross. **

ZC: Imps are bizarre, almost too weird to exist, but somehow they do, but opinion is divided on the differing ‘critters’ across the globe. RED COYOTE – the beast in this legend may well have been a Werewolf creature born from a hermit named Red Morgan who inhabited a cabin in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1887. Such a beast, which terrorised the local community north of Montana, was eventually tracked down one snowfall by a young miner who fired at the frothing beast, which ran off – wounded - into the woods. The next day, the young miner returned with news that he’d killed the monster, but his story was not believed. Well, not until the hermit Red Morgan was found dead, shot in the same place as the marauding monster. ***

ZC: This Werewolf tale may have been born from a natural predator. RED DOG FOX – another name for the Fence Rail Dog. ****

ZC: A zooform hound. RED EYES – many zooform creatures are said to have fiery red eyes. Four young girls witnessed such an apparition in West Virginia whilst fetching coco cups one night, which they’d left outside the house they were all staying at. What they saw was a sevenfeet tall humanoid ‘shape’, with glowing red eyes standing on the deck outside. The girls shut the door on the spectre, which thudded once, heavily on the glass pane before dissolving into the night. **** *Peel towers (spelt Pele towers in England) are small fortified keeps, built along the English and Scottish Borders, intended as watch towers where signal fires could be lit by moss-troopers to warn of approaching danger. By an Act of Parliament in 1455 each Peel Tower was required to have an iron basket on its summit and a smoke or fire signal, for day or night use, ready to hand. A line of these towers was built in the 1430s across the Tweed valley from Berwick to its source, as a response to the dangers of invasion from the English Borders. Others were built in Cumberland, Westmorland and Northumberland, and as far south as Lancashire, in response to the threat of attack from the Scots and the Border Reivers.

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Z.C. Whilst anecdotic tales are often exaggerated, distorted and dismissed, we once again have to look at the Mothman and many other weird entities of West Virginia, and take them seriously, even if not all of them are detailed sightings. RED EYES OF BURHAM – four men were terrified in the November of 1991 by a set of glowing eyes that appeared to them on a pathway as they walked on a bridle way in the Burham area, not far from Blue Bell Hill, Kent (UK). The eyes suddenly appeared around twelve-feet away in the pitch darkness, and were slightly higher than the height of the men. They seemed to blink slowly, and unnerved the men who knew they needed to cross the area where these glowing eyes had appeared. So, one of the men decided to throw flints at the eyes, but could only hear the stones hit the floor, despite being certain that his aim was good enough.

Red Eyes of Burham

After a few minutes, the eyes seem to just vanish, and so the men walked on, frightened by what they’d seen, but knowing that they had to continue to their destination; a nearby pub. Then, again suddenly, the eyes appeared, but this time just a few feet away; but this time at least three-feet above the men suggesting the height of this thing was over sevenfeet tall. All the men screamed in horror, and fled the area, bumping into one another, and tripping on loose stones before reaching the bottom of Burham, via the long way round. ****

ZC: Usually I would dismiss such reports either as mass hallucination, hoax, or a trick of the light (even in the darkness!) but the fact that other reports have come from Blue Bell Hill and the surrounding woods, concerning a glowing eyed, hulking creature, it’s difficult to doubt this case. All the witnesses present described the same thing, a set of glowing red eyes, and to this day describe the same terrifying experience. RED GNOME – considered a bad omen, this ‘critter’ plagued the settlers of Detroit, including the founder of Detroit, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who lost his fortune. Legend has it that the fiery-eyed humanoid tormented the state in the 1700s, bringing, or forewarning, doom wherever it crept for the next two hundred or so years. The phantom monger of misfortune was last seen during the 1960s as a creature with rotten teeth. ****

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ZC: The gnome-like spectre occurs in lore throughout the world, especially in South America, where imps and such figures are dominant. Whether there is a cycle to their appearances is hard to tell, but such ‘critters’ only have one intention, and that’s to bring death. RED MONKEY – five miles west of Crediton, lies Colebrooke, in the county of Devon, UK. Local village lore tells of the Red Monkey said to haunt the winding lanes, and, at times attack people on dark nights. **

ZC: Ghost story. RENWICK BATS – a name given to a Cockatrice-like creature encountered in 1733 by workmen hoping to rebuild a church in this tiny village in Scotland. A hideous creature sprang from the foundations of the ruin and attacked the men. They all fled except one, a John Tallantire, who, taking the branch of a rowan tree, killed the beast. Author Richard Jones notes that: “…over the years the story has been toned down with the beast being

subsequently described as a giant bat hence the epithet ‘Renwick Bats’ falling upon the descendents of the 18th century villagers. It is these descendents who speak in hushed tones of a huge black, bat-like flying figure that has been seen flying about the village on ‘certain evenings’ and others who may not see it have sensed its evil presence as a cold chill passes over them and a faint shadow flickers across them”. Jones also writes: “…inside the tranquil though uneventful little church is a type written announcement that informs in unsteady lettering the reason why villagers in this remote and isolated spot are called ‘Renwick Bats’. ****

ZC: This is a legend worth looking into. Why should such a legend be born into such an uneventful place? It seems as though some ‘thing’ did indeed haunt the dilapidated confines of the church, or was simply put there to attract more visitors. REPTILE-MEN – the most famous being the creature of Highway 13, near Medford, Wisconsin; a flying swamp creature, human-like but rough skinned, and greenish in colour. Scaly entities sighted in the dark river bottoms and backwaters of the world, seem to be very common - yet misunderstood - and often ignored. In parts of Italy in 1988 mysterious, various motorists sighted scaly humanoids on the roadside. ****

ZC: See also Lizard Man and the likes. RICHMOND PARK GHOST HOUND – a white, floating, phantom hound seen chasing deer in this Surrey (UK) park in the 1950s and 1960s. ****

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ZC: A credible witness, J.V. Chester, sighted this ghostly hound during the time when the Surrey puma flap had started. RICHMOND VAMPIRE – an American urban monster legend concerning an area known as Church Hill, Virginia, which, in 1925 allegedly suffered a cave-in on a train tunnel. A train was caught in the collapse, killing many, but there were strange reports of a mysterious, sinister figure emerging from the debris, blood dripping from its jaws, and flesh from its limbs. Was this simply a person screaming from the wreckage, or a beastly humanoid feasting upon the death? There are several versions of this tale, none probably true! *

ZC: Many claim the train disaster as fact, but the vampire to be nothing more than spook story. RIDGEWAY MONSTER – a green-eyed creature, which stared into the window of many a Michigan resident’s house in the 1980s. Several motorists encountered the tall, robust humanoid whilst one homeowner connected the appearance of the being to poltergeist phenomena, which occurred in their home. **

ZC: Some believed this creature was a Bigfoot. RIJS HOUNDS – spectral giant dogs said to haunt the Rijs-Oudemirdam Road in Holland. ****

ZC: Proof that Black Dog legends are not just born in the United Kingdom. RIPPER OF WREXHAM – during one dark night in 1790, between Denbigh and Wrexham in the UK, a stagecoach - travelling on a remote stretch of road - was overturned by a great, black creature. One of the horses pulling the coach was killed - ripped by the fearsome beast - whilst the other horse escaped. It was claimed that the terrifying attacker was as long in its body as one of the horses. The attacks happened under the glare of a full moon. ***

ZC: This has all the marks of a ‘big cat’ attack, the felid being a black leopard, but at the time something far more sinister would have been created and blamed. RIVERSIDE REPTILE MAN – a creature with scaly skin and long claws which attacked motorist Charles Wetzel in 1958 as he drove across the Santa Ana River in California. The witness said the entity was round-headed and had shining eyes. ****

ZC: More swamp dwelling Reptile-men, which simply prove that there is high strange-

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ness in the skies, in the forests and the river bottoms. ROANE – Merfolk said to resemble or take the form of seals. **

ZC: Local legends. ROARING BEAST OF LA GRANDE CHARRIERE – according to the Jersey residents of the Parish of St. Clement, many years ago, whenever the tide was exceptionally low, a great roar would echo across the bay. Some claimed that the guttural bellow came from a beast resembling a Dragon or bull. However, legend has it that the noise in fact came from water draining through a fissure in some rocks. According to local fishermen, the monster was never heard again. **

ZC: Quirky proof that many beasts are born by the strangest of ways. ROC – this great bird, often featured in stories of mythology, comes from Arabian legend. It was once said to be strong enough to carry off an elephant. Such a legend may well have been based on the ‘elephant birds’, which once inhabited Madagascar. ***

ZC: Giant birds that once seemed very real.

Roc

ROCK HALL HUMANOID – judging by its campfire monsters, Maryland in the U.S.A is one weird place, and the Rock Hall Humanoid is another of its odd-bodies. This winged entity has allegedly been sighted in the woods of Kent County. ***

ZC: There is a slight possibility that this winged creature is nothing more than a large bird, or a spook story, and until further sightings occur, the case remains open. ROCKY MOUNTAIN VAMPIRES – little else is known about these night prowlers except to say that they drink the blood, via their pointed noses, from the ears of their victims! ***

ZC: These creatures may be bats of some kind, but the legend is too obscure to really say. RODS – many suggest that the mystery Rods sighted around the world are in fact real creatures, invisible to the naked eye, but often picked up on camcorders. They have been called sky fish, flying serpents and streamers (after one sighting over Houston in 1952 in which they were described as flying eels). UFOs have been connected to these flying things, which often appear as whitish pole-like objects with frilled appendages, which

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seem to flutter as they fly. It is possible that such ‘things’ are natural, as yet undiscovered creatures of the air unseen by the naked eye, or something else entirely. ***

ZC: For now I’ll go with the possibility that these enigmatic flying things are species of insect, or an unknown form awaiting discovery. ROGGENWOLF – a rather fearsome name for a creature born from German lore, said to resemble a Werewolf. During the 19th Century children were often warned about this bloodthirsty creature. An old German saying states that, “…the werewolf sits amid the

grain”. ****

ZC: Werewolf legends appear strong throughout Europe, but often have connections to once misunderstood illnesses. ROGUE WOLF – this is the Norwegian werebeast, also called a Vargulf. ****

ZC: Strong legend. ROME FLYING ‘THING’ – at 2:00 pm on 1st January 2004, an Italian public servant on his way home spotted a weird flying ‘thing’ in the sky, which resembled a wedge. This unidentified object then seemed to plague his slumber for several nights, where - on one unsettling occasion - he was visited by a green entity with huge black eyes. **

ZC: This compares with many ‘abduction’ as well as ‘hag’ attacks. Did the man see an alien craft, which played with his mind, or was this a bizarre hallucination? Like many other UFO encounters, witnesses are left confused, and the case unsolved. ROMPO – this creature, which scavenges throughout India and Africa, is of slender body with a mane, and has the feet of a badger and a bear. ***

ZC: This animal could well be a hyena. ROPEN – the ‘demon flyers’ of the Solomon Islands. ***

ZC: These demon flyers may well be birds or insects, the description is vague. ROPERITE – an American oddity that has a rope-like beak. It is a creature said to resemble a pony and to feed on rabbits. **

ZC: Maybe there is a more obscure, flesh and blood creature out there which can explain this legend.

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ROTHERHAM PHANTOM – a nocturnal figure said to have haunted remote lanes in South Yorkshire, England, during the winter of 1937. A man walking his dog, observed the creature at 8:00 pm one evening. The humanoid was covered in hair, with goat-like hands and feet, and measured five-feet in height. The figure disappeared up a slope where it headed off towards the railroad tracks. ****

ZC: This could have been a hoax but those Goatmen keep on turning up! ROW DOG – having some comparison to the Roy Dog, this hellhound merely obstructs the path of a traveller rather than attack him. Like many Black Dogs, the Row Dog is said to have glowing eyes. ****

ZC: A trickster apparition that could also be seen as a protector from danger. ROY DOG – a huge, shaggy haired black dog, with red and green eyes, with a trophy of dead men’s eyes interlaced in its mane. Said to roam an area near the Portland Bill lighthouse close to Weymouth, Dorset. The spectral hound is said to have its lair in Cave Hole. See also Row Dog. ****

ZC: One of several dogs to haunt the area. See `Dark Dorset: Tales of Mystery, Wonder and Terror’ by Mark North and Robert Newland (CFZ Press, 2007) for further details. RUBBERNECK – a vague but great sounding creature said to haunt the lore of Japan. This ‘rubbery’ non-entity was said to have been part of the ‘hyakki yako’ – the ‘night procession of one-hundred demons’. *

ZC: The beast with no face. RUBBER SUITED THING – two sisters, aged fourteen and fifteen, and their friend, witnessed this creature at Mystic River, somewhere in the US when - whilst taking a stroll near the river - they watched a strange form emerge from the waters. It was four-feet in length and black in colour, and appeared to be wearing a rubbery suit, although it was not human, but had two forearms. The creature had bulging eyes, and was making peculiar noises, which seemed to be directed at the girls. ***

ZC: Maybe the girls had sighted nothing more than a strange fish they couldn’t identify, but they remain adamant it was a freakish ‘critter’. RUGARU – this is a Werewolf beast from the swamplands of southeastern United States. In New Orleans it is also known as the ‘swamp ape’ and may be a relative or the same

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creature as the Skunk Ape, which prowls Florida. ****

ZC: Although this may be a hairy hominid, it also has its roots in folklore. RUSSIAN BATMAN – Mr. I. Kurentsevym was relaxing near a bonfire in the Pidan Region of Russia when he looked up and saw a huge winged man flying overhead. The flying man appeared to not see the witness, who estimated the creature to have a two-metre wingspan and glowing eyes. ****

ZC: One of many birdmen across the globe. This creature made another appearance in 1992, giving some consistency to the legend. RYE WOLF – this is a German wolf-beast said to have once roamed the harvest fields in order to pounce on unsuspecting victims. ****

ZC: Classic were-lore.

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S SA BDAG – although vague, these Kashmiri mountain dwellers of Bon-Po belief, are perceived and feared as ghostly creatures which bring death to anyone who should disturb them. *

ZC: Traditional bogey creatures. SABRETOOTH MAN – a vague and obscure sighting from an unnamed, undated location in the United States. A young, male witness came face to face with a beast in the woods whilst playing with friends. The monster was described as lion-like, but humanoid, with yellow glowing eyes. It chased the boy, who only escaped the creature when he fell down a ditch. *

ZC: So many of these tales are excellent to read as little spookers, but are all too vague to look into. SACAOJOS – nightmarish entities of Peruvian folklore also known as the Eye Stealers. **

ZC: Cultural fear. SACK MAN – a.k.a Hombre Del Saco. A bogeyman figure said to take on the form of a faceless man, or shadowy beast, and said to wander backyards and alleyways in the hope of snatching children to fill his sack. *

ZC: A powerful, nightmarish but fictional terror. SAGARI – this horrific apparition from Japan seems to act as a harbinger of doom, for it appears as a grisly horse’s head, dangling from a tree and whining into the night. Those that bump into the hideous sight often fall ill. *

ZC: Nothing more than a nightmarish spook tale. SAINT ATTRACTA’S MONSTER – this beast was said to be a ‘one-off’ predator described as having fiery eyes, ram’s ears, and the tusks of a boar. The animal had a tremendous roar …but not that tremendous because it was killed by a female saint who

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made the sign of the cross with her staff, striking it dead on the spot. **

ZC: Whilst this may have been an encounter with a real creature, legend is vague. SAINT SENAN’S BEAST – this amphibious creature had one eye, a horse’s mane, fiery breath, and a tail like a whale. It lived on the island of Iniscathy but was banished by St. Senan. **

ZC: This has all the ingredients of a classic Dragon tale. SALAAWA – In Egypt there exists a creature named Salaawa (or Silawa); a fearsome dog-like beast that roams the outskirts of Cairo, and other dusty towns and dark villages. In the Autumn of 1996 in Cairo, a pack of unidentified animals, blamed for biting a number of small children during the night, were tracked and two were killed by police near Armant. The animals were said to resemble giant hyenas, or monster dogs, and were suspected of killing three people, and leaving dozens injured since their terrifying reign began. Many tales of these canines have evolved from folklore, with previous attacks in the country dating back to the 1960s, and possibly before. Salaawa, means ‘female ghoul’, and ‘she wolf’, and may add some mysticism to the identity of the nocturnal predator, but the facts are that these creatures have been called ‘the Egyptian goatsuckers’, drawing comparisons to the already mentioned el Chupacabras. One of the slain animals, which was shot as it emerged from the yard of a house after a nightly raid, was sent to a veterinary unit in Armant for analysis, and it is believed that such animals have come from Sudan as part of some migratory route, although evidence suggests that the only motive these animals had was to kill. Armant lies in the Nile valley, 500 km south of Cairo. In 1992 the mysterious animals converged upon the inhabitants of Qatamiya, on the road to Ain Sukhna. These areas had provided shelter for those who had lost homes after the earthquake that rocked the area the same year. Local newspapers claimed that many victims of the Salaawa were bitten; although authorities claimed that tracking the beasts was too difficult considering Egypt was full of many wild canids, including rare foxes, and thousands of roaming dogs. The Salaawa is described as being a black, soft-haired animal, with two prominent fangs, powerful rear legs, but smaller in form than a dog. Naturalists claim that wolves and jackals no longer exist in the local deserts, and so the Salaawa must either be a bizarre hybrid, or indeed, something stranger, and possibly unreal. They appear to hunt in packs or small groups, and have concentrated their attacks previously in Nasser City and Heliopolis. The attacks have caused mass hysteria upon the deserted wastelands, with many residents creating anti-Salaawa defences, and the installation of phone-lines across Egypt has risen to an all-time record, with villagers living in fear of the terror that comes

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in the night. The Salaawa may not appear that unusual to many though. You may see it as just a wild mongrel-like dog, but with Egypt lore saturated in ‘dog-like’ figures such as Anubis, the Salaawa was also known to ancient Egyptians to represent the godly figure known as Set; a powerful yet unholy being. It seems that the Salaawa has existed for a long time, possibly as some kind of jackal-like monster, and it still emerges from the shadows to cause panic. One can understand the comparisons between this series of attacks and other animal encounters, which have plagued cultures and communities, and somehow seem to reflect some kind of revenge of the Gods. Many of these bogeymen have simply become local scare stories to terrify children, but the facts are clear - terrible attacks have occurred, and witnesses seem to describe encounters with creatures of tradition and history, and with once feared beasts such as Dragons and shape-shifting deities. Yet why have these old Gods come to the present, and to wreak havoc? Are natural disasters such as earthquakes and wars symbolised by the coming of hordes of terrifying, incomprehensible Manimals and unknown animals? It seems so. ***

ZC: Although these monsters are perceived as spiritual, evil devourers of children, there is a possibility that such beasts are in fact real animals unknown to science. SALISBURY GHOST BEAR – occult researcher David Farrant spoke of this bipedal beast haunting this English location in 1969. **

ZC: Residual haunting. SAMEBITO – black-skinned humanoids of Japanese mythology, also known as Sharkmen **

ZC: Vague legends. SANTER – a legendary beast of North Carolina (USA) said to resemble a large, predatory cat, which dates back to the 1800s, and although descriptions of the marauding beast seem few and far between, legend was once rife. Some consider the ghost cat nothing more than a hoax, but reports during the late 1800s, which were quite common, suggested a lynx which may have escaped from a local menagerie, or an accumulation of local fears and panics, other mystery cats, fabrications or something entirely different. ***

ZC: These kinds of legends unfortunately filter into local myth, when the facts usually suggest something flesh and blood.

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SANTU SAKAI – werebeasts from Malaysia, which crave human flesh, and pierce it by using huge, long fangs. Reports of such hideous beings are as recent as the late 1960s. A hunter encountered two of these ‘demons’ whilst out in the forests near Kuala Lumpur. These creatures are also known as Mouth Men. ****

ZC: These appear to be a form of Werewolf, and extremely nasty ones at that. SATYR – such creatures are extremely popular figures in Greek mythology; humanoid figures with goat-like legs, but across the world there have been reports of such mysterious woodland figures in the same way Harpies and centaur-like monsters also appear. **

ZC: Mythological creatures are often reflected in today’s society, and may - in fact - affect interpretation of certain unexplainable creatures. This is a complex scenario, and almost ridiculous to suggest that such figures do roam the woodlands of the world, but something is out there, or at least, more modern versions. SCALY HUMANOID – on 20th October 1954, in Parravicino d’Erba, Italy, Renzo Pugina, 37, encountered a strange, luminous being whilst putSatyr ting his car in his garage one night. The weird being was standing close to a tree just a few metres away, and flashing a beam at Renzo, which partly paralysed the witness. Renzo broke from the paralysis and ran at the strange invader, which rose in the air and flew off, leaving an oily spot on the ground in its wake. ** See also Livorno Beings.

ZC: Such a creature may well not be connected to the mysterious red creatures encountered the previous night in Livorno, but as in most cases of high strangeness there seems to be a snowball effect. This particular humanoid may well be more extraterrestrial in nature, rather than monster, but once again, it straddles that fine line between the phenomena which may have obscure connections or are just part of an intricate jigsaw we’ll never understand. SCALY MAN – another of those Lizard Men et al, this time in the form of a sighting from 1936, when, in horror, an angler watched a greenish-coloured humanoid emerge from a

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lake in Saginaw, Michigan. The Reptile-man stood under the shadows of a tree then splashed back into the water. ****

ZC: These kinds of encounters are very common, in this book and worldwide. SCARFE – legendary Black Dog of Suffolk. ****

ZC: Every bit as zooform as Padfoot, Black Shuck et al. SCREECH OWL – eerie, shape-shifting, beings spoken of in ancient Roman times; these ‘witches’ are also known as Stryx. **

ZC: A sinister name for something similar to the Old Hag and other midnight invaders. SEA DOG – Moresby Island, in the Queen Charlotte Islands, an archipelago off the northwest coast of British Columbia, Canada, could well be home to a strange winged monster, which is also said to have tusks. **

ZC: A little known lake being which could be a sum of many other residents. SEA WOLF – is this creature a flesh and blood serpent or mere folktale? Indian tales speak of the Sea Wolf, said to roam the waters near British Columbia. It is a creature said to be a totem animal of several tribes, an honour shared only with the Thunderbird. Many legends claim that this water-dwelling beast is long in its body, having small forelimbs - possibly flippers - and a dog-like, or at least long, head. Pacific Northwest tribes strongly believe in this creature as a real entity, a beast ‘of the earth’ and the far north Eskimos of Alaska also believe in a similar monster, known as Palraiyuk, Mauraa and Tirichik, and the beast seems to take on many names throughout south-western Canada and other areas of the Pacific Northwest. Cryptozoologist Roy P. Mackal believes the animal is a surviving Zeuglodon, and the famous and mysterious Nazca lines of Peru appear to depict one of these intriguing beasts, a whale-like creature with a crocodilian snout and large eyes. ***

ZC: Many monsters of folklore seem to be whispers of once very real creatures and the Sea Wolf could well be one of those fascinating beliefs based on something more than myth. SEA WORM – this waterway beast features in Cumberland folklore, as a devouring leviathan which feasts upon fish and cattle living on the banks of the Solway firth. Some say the creature was a Dragon that met its death one low tide when it found itself impaled upon wooden stakes after being stranded. ***

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ZC: Here, we may actually have a true account of a dragon-like beast, unless of course the creature was nothing more than an out of place water dweller, such as a whale, or Sun Fish, but descriptions of the monster seem vague, but the fact that the monster was called a ‘worm’ suggests it was some sort of long, slim serpent of sorts, or a large eel. SEEFER – a coffin-shaped whale from Shetland folklore. This great water creature is said to be a symbol of ill-fortune. Such a beast, often seen leaping from the water, can determine death to men or fish by the direction it points to as it crashes into the water. **

ZC: Folk tale. SEFERT – a birdman from Egyptian lore. ****

ZC: Little may be known about the Sefert, but there is no reason why Egypt shouldn’t have a winged humanoid creature in its lore. SENMURV – a barking, dog-headed bird in Persian lore. This creature is said to resemble an eagle. ***

ZC: Very likely to have been a real bird.

Senmurv

SERPENT OF HORSESHOE POND – a black beast said to have measured over sixty-feet in length, resembling a snake but with a dog’s head. The monster allegedly lurked in Knox County, near Indiana, USA, and was sighted on 22nd April 1892. Isaac Daines spotted the form on several occasions near his farm, and despite firing at the snake-like beast, the creature seemed immune to the bullets. One month after the Daines sighting, and ten miles away in Big Swan Pond, the leviathan once again reared its head. However, this time the creature of the depths was reported as being white in colour, with red and yellow spots on its side. ***

ZC: This enormous slithering serpent may well have been a huge, or exaggerated snake, but was farmer Daines that bad a shot, or did it have supernatural qualities? How did such a beast exist in small pond? Who knows, but such a case is fascinating. SHADOWMAN – an hallucinatory figure said to appear at the edge of the field of vision as a black, humanoid shape. These monsters are fleeting silhouettes said to have red eyes. ****

ZC: There is no doubting the existence of such illusionary beings. We are just unsure as to where they come from.

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SHADOW WOMAN – another Oriental shape-shifter that originally appears as a woman holding a baby at the door of a villager. Those who refuse her admittance shall see the baby turn into a black, fanged monster whilst she disappears into the night. The howling winds that follow are said to represent the coming of this fearsome creature. **

ZC: Shape-shifter ghost fable. SHAG FOAL – a spectral donkey with blazing eyes. **

ZC: A known yet vague British legend. SHAGGY BEAST – a creature which roamed the Huisne, a peaceful stream, during the Middle Ages. Whilst this beast remains quite obscure, some say it can reach the size of a bull but has the head of a snake. Its body is covered in green fur, and each hair is armed with a deadly stinger. Folklore suggests this creature may have been like a Dragon for when it was angered it was able to breathe flames. It was known to hunt and kill cattle and men. **

ZC: An interesting fable. SHAGGY SHAPE – a seven-feet tall hairy humanoid sighted in York, England in April 1995 by Mrs D.J. Singleton. The motorist was travelling at night towards the Liverpool canal bridge when the hairs stood up on her neck and she felt consumed by fear. She observed a four-feet wide ‘shaggy’ shape standing on the kerb. The beast had no discernible features, and simply shuffled into the road once she sped away. ****

ZC: A Manimal, road ghost or some other kind of bizarre ‘critter’ seemingly put there to confuse. SHANE’S SHAGGY DOG – the Black Dog of Essex said to have burst into flame when it caught sight of its first motor vehicle. ****

ZC: There are several reports pertaining to phantom dogs which explode into flames or dissolve into mist, proving that these animals are not mere strays. SHANG YANG – the ‘rain bird’ of China said to hop on one leg. *

ZC: The poor thing! SHAPE SHIFTERS – from were-folk to Skinwalkers, shape-shifters exist all over the

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world, and in various traditions; from ghost-like figures to human beings - such as witch doctors - able to transform themselves, at will, into creatures of the night. ****

ZC: Although I have looked at Fox People, Hyena People etc, as mere sorcerers etc, creatures such as Skinwalkers etc., appear as shape-shifting entities, as are many zooform monsters. SHARKMEN – creatures from Japanese folklore said to be humanoids, with blackishgreen skin and glowing eyes. See also Samebito. **

ZC: Bizarre humanoids just like the rest of them, although more information is required on this legend. SHEEP-SQUATCH – this creature may well have the worst name of all the zooform oddbodies. Ed Rollins sighted such things across the river from Point Pleasant, in weird West Virginia, USA. He was researching UFOs along a creek bank north of Bethel Church Road one day, when he heard something large crash through the undergrowth ahead of him. From the foliage emerged a large, “…brownish-white creature: its fur looked dirty

and matted…it moved on all fours and knelt to drink from the creek…it had like pawlike hands, its head was long and pointed like a canines, and it had largish horns.” Mr. Rollins hid in the trees and watched the creature as it drank some more, before crossing the creek toward Sandhill Road, and out of sight. When the beast had gone, Ed claimed that there was a strong smell of sulphur in the air, and believed that the creature lived in the area because of its smell. The pollution in the TNT vicinity (where the Mothman sightings took place) is caused by the Red Water run-off generated by the production of gunpowder. Red Water, the cause to this date of the brownish-red foam seen in many of the run-off ponds, has a high sulphur content, so whatever lives and drinks in the creek would give off a slight odour of brimstone. During early 2000, a similar beast was sighted at Point Pleasant by a group of friends travelling home to Charleston. They saw, from their vehicle, a half-man/half-animal with ram’s horns, which ran off into the woods when they backed their car up for a closer look. ****

ZC: Another peculiar creature from a very strange place. Who knows what else lurks in Point Pleasant? This may well have been a Goatman-type entity, or shape-shifting monster, a common theme throughout this book…with quite a few, I may add, from West Virginia!

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SHIPLEY BOGEYMAN – although vague, this cloaked, red-eyed figure appears as a Spring-Heeled Jack relation, and was rumoured to have haunted cupboards of houses and sleep under beds like a bogeyman. **

ZC: A sinister night terror. SHELLYCOAT – like Bunnyman, Shellycoat is a mysterious non-entity said to roam parts of Scotland as a trickster humanoid with a coat of shells. *

ZC: A non-entity. SHMOOS – ghostly, white, faceless creatures seen in Lisbon, Ohio in 1930 by a young man who’d been swimming in the area. The beasts were scrambling around on the path ahead, and didn’t take any notice of the human approaching. The witness said that the creatures resembled the ‘shmoos’ in the ‘Lil Abner’ comic strip. ****

ZC: A slight chance these ‘critters’ were flesh and blood animals or tulpa-like spectres haunting the woods. SHONY – this dog creature from Cornish folklore is said to be the sign of a coming storm. ****

ZC: This zooform hound may well be one of many others roaming the West Country. SHONY (2) – a sea monster from the northeastern coast of England. ****

ZC: Another British sea monster. SHRIEKER FROM THE MINES – a black, winged screaming creature said to have been encountered on the night of 10th September 1978, by many coal miners in Germany. The monster was considered an omen, because an hour after the incident the mine exploded; an explosion that would have killed the miners if they’d ventured into the caves. **

ZC: Typical zooform oddness here, with the monster of the story acting as either some kind of saviour or a sign of impending doom. SHRIMP MONSTER OF WASHINGTON – witnessed by Virginia Staples in 1948. It was a five-foot tall orange creature, with spindly legs, and an antenna on its head. Miss Staples was hanging washing in her basement, when she sensed she was being watched. Upon turning, she was faced by the ‘critter’, which approached her. She fled from the scene and moved out of the house. **

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ZC: Although the witness was positive as to what she’d seen, no further sightings of the shrimp monster took place. This is a complete mystery. Source: Chris Bader – ‘Strange Northwest’ (1995) SHUG MONKEY – a phantom Black Dog-like creature, but said to have the face of a monkey, inhabits the dark woods surrounding Wratting Road, Balsham, in Cambridgeshire. In his paper for ‘Fortean Studies Volume 5’, entitled ‘SHUG MONKEYS AND WEREWOLVES’, Jonathan Downes wrote of the beast, stating: “…during the last few days of

December 1980 there was a series of UFO reports in and around the Rendlesham Forest. The area between Orford Ness and Rendlesham Forest is a very strange place. As well as being one of the most eastern points in the British Isles it has also been the focus for a wide range of bizarre paranormal activity. Writing in the 13th Century, Ralph of Coggeshall described a ‘wild man’ caught in fishing nets off Orford Castle. An even more disturbing spectre called the shug monkey, which is described by witnesses as an unholy combination of mastiff and great ape, is also seen on occasion…”. Researcher Maxine Pearson, when looking into the area, obtained footage of a paw-print left by some unknown animal. The print was bigger than a large cat or dog and had strange, flattened fingernail impressions rather than claws. Even more bizarrely is the fact that similar prints have turned up in Miami in relation to the Chupacabras attacks. ****

ZC: Big cat? Phantom dog? The Shug Monkey has a reputation now as being something far weirder, but no-one can say what. SIANACH – this huge predatory deer features in Scottish Gaelic oral tradition as a nasty piece of work! ***

ZC: Maybe we are not strictly dealing with a deer here, but some extinct creature, or - of course - a mere fictional animal. SIDE HILL GOUGER – a pretty much nondescript booger from parts of the USA said to make unusual tracks on hillsides. *

ZC: A non-entity. SILVER-KING PIGEON – the Papago Reservation in Arizona (USA) is haunted by a ghostly pigeon-like bird, which inhabits the Ventana Cave system. The area was excavated recently, and the archaeologists claimed that on numerous occasions that they encountered - and were watched by - the mysterious bird.

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**

ZC: This phantom bird sounds like a classic guardian spirit. However, it displayed no malevolence to the team scraping away at the twelve thousand year old cave. SILVER RUN SPECTRE – Maryland once again offers us an oddball, this time in the form of a creature resembling a Werewolf. This shaggy beast was sighted in 1972 at Carroll County, and then some twenty years later, near the Pennsylvania border. Such a beast may fit into the Goatman and also Bigfoot scenario, as is usually the case with so many of these hairy bipeds. ****

ZC: These humanoids have become classic cryptozoological creatures even if they are monitored only as flesh and blood forms, when at times, they clearly display supernatural abilities. SIMURGH – a great bird of Persian lore said to have the head of a dog, the claws of a lion, and the strength to carry off an elephant. ***

ZC: Maybe there was something in this legend - see various other great birds in this listing. SISIUTL – a scaled, double-headed sea serpent that features as a totem animal of Amerindian lore. Such a monster can symbolise good and evil. ***

ZC: Whilst the legends of mutated, many-headed sea serpents may seem fiction, belief in this creature is strong. This may have been an unknown water monster, which in lore was simply given two heads in order to represent wealth and death, love and hate etc. SKADEGAMUTC – a shrieking creature of the Micmacs in New England, which is said to follow solitary travellers and hide behind trees. **

ZC: Vague trickster. SKEFF – another name for a phantom hound. ****

ZC: See other phantom hounds. SKELETON HOUND – although a ghostly Black Dog is said to haunt the grounds of Okehampton Castle in Devon, it is the legend of the skeletal beast, which intrigues most. Some believe that the large hound follows the spirit coach of Lady Howard, a coach made of bones, and driven by a headless coachman. **

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ZC: Local ghost story, although the mention of a skeletal hound is mildly intriguing, although vague. SKINWALKER – Skinwalkers are very much part of the Navajo legends, roaming the American wastelands. An American website devoted to weird phenomena told the rather bizarre tale of a family who were ‘attacked’ by a Skinwalker, a creature that may well belong to the same strange category that is currently inhabited by Bigfoot, Werewolves and other hairy humanoid characters. To quote:

“ Sometime between 1982 and 1983, 20-year old F_______, her father, mother and younger brother took a road trip back to Wyoming in the family pick-up truck. The trip was a vacation to visit friends in and around their old hometown. The course along Route 163 took them through the Navajo Indian Reservation and through the town of Kayenta, just south of the Utah border and the magnificent Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. “Many strange things happen out there”, F______ says. It was a warm Summer night, about 10:00 pm, when the family’s pick-up was heading south on 163, about twenty to thirty miles from the town of Kayenta. It was a moonless night on this lonely stretch of road……..” F________’s father told the family, “We have company”, as the hum of the truck was the only noise to break the silent night. Another pair of headlight’s appeared on the crest of the hill the family had just eased over seconds ago. The family felt comforted by the presence of another vehicle, especially in case they broke down on this lonely stretch of road. The rain had followed the thunder, it was an atmospheric drive, an eerie night beneath the gathering clouds, as the rain pattered the truck windows. F_______ lazily watched the car a few hundred metres away behind them, up and down over the crest of various hills and humps. Her father’s own truck climbed another large hill, the family leaning back into their seats as it reached the equilibrium before suddenly oozing into a decline. A minute or so later, F_______, watched as the headlights of the car behind approached the dip in the road to take on the crest of the hill, but rather strangely the headlights never emerged from over the top. Maybe the car had broken down in the gloomy dip. Maybe whoever was driving it had just pulled over for some reason or other. Yet, for however duration of time F_______ looked back, those headlights never appeared on the hump of the hill, and from that moment on, as her father slowed his own truck, the whole atmosphere

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seemed to change. “Jesus Christ! What the hell is that ?”, her mother yelled in shrill terror, as the family all of a sudden stared in horror at the passenger side window, with F_______ and her younger brother instinctively reaching for the door locks, ensuring they were pressed down in their locked position. Her father was as white as a sheet as the truck slowed, her mother screaming, “Oh my God!”, in a squealing voice, her brother a wreck of emotion and F________ just surreally gazing into the silent night, unaware of the pattering rain or the flashes of lightning cutting across the sky. The truck suddenly skidded, her father slammed on the brakes as an ominous ditch appeared on the right of the vehicle, the truck beginning to screech to a halt, and then the horror, the terror from the pit, the most hideous thing they had ever seen, the cause of the panic. A black and hairy creature was staring through the window on the passenger side, it had kept pace with the truck as it slowed and was now standing outside as the vehicle braked hard. F________ could see its vile features, but as her father began to speed away from the horror, they all noticed that it wore man’s clothing, more specifically, a white and blue checked shirt and dark jeans. They zoomed away from the area as fast as they could, leaving the creature with the yellow eyes and gaping mouth standing there, its arms raised above its head like some matted madman from nowhere. When the family finally reached Kayenta, there was no evidence on the hood of the truck to suggest anything untoward had happened, but the memory of the incident was embedded firmly in their minds, but all of what had occurred seemed like a surreal dream, a weird nightmare that happened in slow-motion. Thinking the brief nightmare was over, a few nights later at 11:00 pm, F_______ and her brother were awakened by the sound of drumming outside of their home. They both stared out of the back window into the yard. The yard was surrounded by a high fence with black woods the other side. To their horror and surprise they saw four men appear behind the wooden fence, these figures seemed to be intruders as they were trying to climb the fence but they could not climb high enough to achieve this. As F_______ and her brother watched in shock, the men all of a sudden gave up on the idea of trying to get in and began a strange chant which went on for several minutes before they walked out of sight into the darkness. F_______ and her brother shared a bed that night. Although nothing else unusual occurred to the family, a few months later F_______ approached her Navajo friend and told her about the weird encoun-

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ter on the road and the incident involving the men. Her friend told her that, “They were the Skinwalkers, and although they do not usually bother nonnatives, they want something that the family has but something which protects them, hence the figures’ inability to scale the fence.” F_______ was told that her family has a special power, and that these figures will do their best to obtain it, however, amulets will protect them from these things”. According to Navajo legend, a Skinwalker is a Navajo witch who can transform themself into an animal for the sake of harming others. Skinwalkers are considered as dark, menacing beings that can take on the form of coyotes and other predators - the coyotes, in legend, are said to be the animals to avoid most, although the Skinwalker can appear as anything, it acts as a trickster like so many other bogeymen worldwide. These phantoms are able to walk upright, are often covered in hair, and are usually man-sized. They are often associated with roads, and many encounters do involve motorists, whose vehicles are attacked by these creatures as they drive along a quiet stretch. Most encounters involve a lone witness, and these can be compared to phantom hitchhiker cases too, where some of the apparitions are said - depending on the geographical location - to wear certain items of clothing, whether a red scarf or a checked shirt. However, sometimes they are completely naked. The legend of the Skinwalker tends to drift between various other legends too, or may be just confused with them. Werewolves are often connected to these roadside oddities, but so is Bigfoot and the Wendigo; another phantom that preys on the lonesome fear of man. It is said that the Skinwalkers, being dark sorcerers and black magicians, or at least entities conjured by these, are able to bestow death upon their victims, making their demise look accidental, or in some cases, it is said that these hairy creatures can actually physically harm by attacking victims. The Bray Road Beast of Wisconsin was a very similar entity, a night time marauder that attacked a number of lone drivers. According to Brad Steiger in his work, ‘The Werewolf Book’: “In the magic of the Navajo, Hopi and Pueblo, the principal reason that a shaman might shape shift into a wolf is to traverse great distances in a much shorter time than he or she could walk the miles in human form. Those who cover themselves in the skin of a wolf are therefore known as yee naaldlooshi, (those who trot about with it).” During January of 1970 in New Mexico, a group of youths in a car encountered a Skinwalker as they travelled to Zuni. They were travelling just over 40 miles per hour, when the thing appeared and ran alongside their vehicle. It was described as hairy, and the size of a man. Local folk believed that in an area of such dangerous turns and steep

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drops, the beast had attempted to drive the vehicle off the road; something any of these apparitions are said to do. Despite speeding to over 60 mph, the hairy monster stayed with the car until one of the youths pulled a gun and blasted it from close range. According to Clifford Heronemus, the man who shot the beast, “…there was no blood, but the

creature fell down but it got up again and ran off.” Bravely the group attempted to search the area, with a camera, in hope of seeing the beast again, but it is likely that they, as well as F_______ and her family, had encountered a spirit of the road, a creature projected unintentionally by their minds, a phantom that somehow infiltrated their mind space and attempted to lead them to tragedy, like so many other boogens and ghouls from the forests and dark, roadside ditches. ****

ZC: Powerful zooform beasts born from Native Indian belief. These creatures are often seen at the roadside, i.e. Bray Road Beast, and are also connected to shape-shifting. They are said to take on the form of Werewolf-like beings. SKOFFIN – this creature resembles the Basilisk and roams the dark corners of Iceland. Its stare can kill a man on the spot. **

ZC: Mythical monster. SKOOKUMS – a common legend, or so it is said, from western North America regarding large tentacled beasts said to inhabit some of the remote lakes. One such leviathan was sighted by a male witness at a lake in Williamette Valley, Oregon, and described as being orange-coloured, with two, long and thick black tentacles coming from a body which looked like an air sack. ***

ZC: If this legend is common then we could be dealing with a flesh and blood, unknown beast. SKOVMAN – whilst elves and other sprite-like beings are very much absent from this book, this creature, from Scandinavian legend, is said to have the power to transform itself into a giant owl. **

ZC: Regional shape-shifter lore. SKREE – in 1746, Lord General Murray spied this creature just prior to the battle of Culloden. The ‘critter’ sighted was black with burning eyes, and great, leathery wings, which circled one group of soldiers, and screamed into the air. According to Karl Shuker in his book, ‘From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings’, such a creature was also sighted in 1915, on 22nd May during the First World War as a 500-group of Royal Scotsmen were

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about to catch a train at Lambert station. Bizarrely, the train crashed, killing 227 people. A similar winged monster was also seen in 1993 by two lost hikers in Glencoe. ***

ZC: Possible incorrect description of a large bird. Further investigation may uncover more strangeness. SKY SERPENT – these mysterious aerial forms have been sighted over the centuries and yet never understood. Some of these oddities are perceived as unknown creatures, akin to Dragons, whilst some researchers believe they are manifestations. In Bideford, Devon (England) on 5th December 1762, a ‘twisting serpent’ was observed for over six minutes as it contorted in the zenith and then faded from view. These celestial leviathans have been sighted all over, from Paris (1811) to Norway (1935) to the Americas (1937) and in 2005 in Tibet, when two peculiar ‘scaled’ creatures were photographed from a plane. ****

ZC: Dragons may have been born from such sightings, as well as unidentified flying objects. The mystery is, putting such manifestations into categories and working out exactly what they are. SMALL MAN OF AIN-EL-TURCK – vague sighting from the night of 24th October 1954 concerning several witnesses who observed a small humanoid on this Algerian shore. The humanoid was said to have had glowing eyes. **

ZC: Its zooform credibility may well be in doubt, but many witnesses saw this peculiar being on the Mediterranean shore. SNAKEMAN –

“…Acornhoek(Republic of South Africa), - a widow fears for her life following rumours that her late husband, a sangoma, has returned from the dead in the form of a huge snake with a human head. Glory Nyathi, 42, of Cottondale near Acornhoek in Limpopo is also accused of feeding the human-headed snake in the middle of the night. “My four children and I are treated like witches now”, she said. “People are threatening to burn my house down and don’t want my children to attend school”. Rumours are that the snake has the head of the late Lazarus Maboko and, like him, wears spectacles. It’s said that the snake terrorises villagers at night. Nyathi has challenged anyone with evidence to come forward.

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“My husband is dead and I want his spirit to rest in peace, but if he can be returned, let someone help me,” she said. Someone also started a rumour that Nyathi has a boyfriend who saw her feeding the snake at her house and alerted police, who confiscated the snake. Afraid for her family’s life, Nyathi went to the police herself for help, but said the officers laughed at her and said they couldn’t do anything to help her. “They said my son had started everything and there was nothing they could do unless the family was attacked,” said Nyathi. She then hired a sangoma who made matters worse by saying her late husband had been turned into a zombie, and that she should hire a sangoma who specialises in spirits of the dead. “I am now willing to pay anyone who can raise my husband from the dead”, she said. She is offering three cows. *

ZC: A bizarre rumour. SNAKEMAN OF ITALY – a weird, reptilian, humanoid seen on the 22nd August 1608, off the coast of Genoa. Cannons were fired at this bizarre being, said to have been covered in scales, and what appeared to be snakes growing from its hands. Around the same time also, strange ‘vessels’ were seen in the sky over the same area, and odd-looking humanoid figures with large heads and red scales were seen coming ashore. ****

ZC: We could blame extraterrestrial intervention for such an obscure report, or connect such a record to the modern day Lizard Men and others. SNAKE QUEEN – in Slavic mythology this creature is a huge white snake that wears a crown. **

ZC: It is a remote possibility that this legend was born from a real, unknown species of snake, but unlikely. SNALLYGASTER – a Jersey Devil-type bogey beast said to roam Maryland’s thick woodlands. It was a legend brought to the area by German settlers, and often described as being something akin to a small

Snake Queen

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Dragon, although sceptics argue it was merely a hoax. **

ZC: Possibility that this was a fabricated creature. SNARLY YOW – Frederick County in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, known more so for its Bigfoot encounters, is also home, or at least the haunt of a big, Black Dog known as the Snarly Yow, as well as other fierce ghost hounds, sighted on various known routes near Alternate Route 40. Again, such a form would appear to people walking alone at South Mountain, and those brave enough to follow him could never keep up. A number of these spectral dogs are said to be evil; spirits of humans said to have committed hideous acts whilst alive, black ghosts symbolising one man’s cruel reign over a particular land, or mere town. Motorists have reported these dogs on the roads, many of them describing these large hounds as being fiery-eyed, and wearing chains around their necks. In the northern area of Frederick, a blue phantom dog is said to roam the grounds of an old mansion once owned by a very wealthy man who buried his fortune in the grounds. It is rumoured that although many have tried to locate it, no trespasser has ever found the fortune, but it is said that if anyone is brave enough to follow the phantom hound, and manage to keep up with it, they will unearth the treasure. Others in the Frederick County region believe the Snarly Yow is nothing more than a ‘big cat’. ***

ZC: The Snarly Yow isn’t quite zooform, despite every possibility that the creature was a phantom hound. However, if it was a flesh and blood ‘big cat’, why did witnesses describe a black animal? Cougars are not black, so, witnesses must have described black leopards, or something spectral. SNOWMAN – a manifestation from Portugal, which was sighted by four young girls in 1915 at Cabeco. The apparition was suspended above the trees and appeared to be made of snow. It was a humanoid figure with a transparent appearance that resembled a person wearing a white sheet, although no hands or facial features could be seen. Others who saw the figure on different occasions, claimed it was an angelic, crystal figure. **

ZC: A creepy critter of no fixed address! SOESTERBERG AIR BASE HOUNDS – intriguing Doberman-like phantom dogs said to haunt this Dutch Ammunition Dump, an area where Dobermans and such dogs have been outlawed for more than fifty years. ****

ZC: Phantom hounds.

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SOMERSET WHITE DOG – the ‘supernatural highway’, as it is known in folkloric circles, which runs from the Avon George to Clevedon, is patrolled by a variety of apparitions from eerie figures to phantom vehicles. A large, whitish dog is also said to haunt the area. ****

ZC: Little seems to be known about this particular ghost hound, but the fact that ghostly legends figure strong in the area suggest it may in fact be connected to some of the other phantasms. SOUCOYANT – in Trinidad this creature is feared as a giant bat-like demon, or a ball of fire said to suck the blood of its victims. ***

ZC: Local fear may well be based on a flesh and blood creature as yet undiscovered. SOUL CANNIBAL – a sorcerer can become a cannibal by eating the souls of his compatriots. In African lore the Kikiyaon is also known as the Soul Cannibal, a forest dwelling man-bird from Gambia. ****

ZC: Such creatures are said to prey on men in the forests and the dreaming world. SPANISH MONKEYMAN – on the night of 3rd February 1966, in Malaga, Trinidad, Gomez Sanchez came face to face with a hairy being on her patio as she looked out of her window across the garden. The thing was gaunt and covered in long hair, but its head was hairless and looked like a newborn baby. ****

ZC: Whilst this may have been a hoax, or an intruder, such reports of these apemen are pretty common throughout lore. SPECTRAL SHEEP – a phantom grey ewe said to appear at the farm of Nether Benzieclett in Orkney after a man was murdered. **

ZC: General ghost story or confused legend? SPECTRE MOOSE – this popular and quirky mythical beast was said to haunt parts of Maine, in the USA. In a 1940 book entitled ‘Hoaxes’, author Curtis MacDougall claimed that the creature was sighted in 1901, 1917 and 1932, but mentions little else of this intriguing phantom. However, more of this obscure legend was unearthed on the Museum of Hoaxes website, which states that this tall tale may have been more than a hoax. According to the legend, the ‘moose’ was a huge, whitish apparition immune to gunfire although it seems most of the reports of this ghost-like animal stemmed from a real, greycoloured moose seen around Maine during the late 1800s. Reports over time became ex-

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aggerated, and possibly one or two spooky run-ins with hunters allowed its eerie status to grow. Several hunters from the time described how this beast often remained out of the range of their rifles, and seemed to disappear out of sight. They also claimed the creature stood over fifteen-feet high, weighed in at around 2500 lbs, and had immense antlers. ***

ZC: Legends like this turn up every so often, and snowball from obscure ditties to overblown newspaper headlines. This particular creature may well have been a flesh and blood beast exaggerated through each generation, but somehow - more than a century later - the Spectre Moose is still stalking the woodlands …of the mind. SPECTRE OF ST. BLAZEY – an unusual manifestation from the county of Cornwall, in the village four miles east of St. Austell. The ‘creature’, said to resemble a bear, but to make the sound of a horse, haunts the road through the village. ***

ZC: This creature may have been part ghost story and part roaming ‘big cat’. SPEED WOLF – a creature said to prowl Buxton, in Derbyshire (England). It is said to resemble a wolf, but to run at great speed. ***

ZC: Possibly a case of mistaken identity, as maybe the witness saw a ‘big cat’. SPIDER ROCK MONSTER – in Arizona there exists a Navajo legend concerning the 800feet high Spider Rock, which is located next to Speaking Rock at the juncture of Canyon de Chelly, and Monument Canyon. Researcher Dennis William Hauck claims that the beast that inhabits the area is a ghostly spider, and local superstition states that the white colour of the mountain peak is in fact a pile of bones left by this man-eating arachnid. **

ZC: This is spooky material obviously born from the name of the rock, and although the legend is eerily fascinating it seems unlikely, but should more come of it then I’m sure a Hollywood movie will be on the horizon! SPINY BACK – a large, dark humanoid figure said to roam the roads of Arizona in the US. On 6th November 2003, at Tucson, a female witness and her mother - whilst walking towards the younger woman’s vehicle - were assaulted by the entity. They said it crouched to the ground like a frog, and would spring at them. In sheer terror, the young woman stood shaking with her eyes closed, before the creature fled. She said that all she could describe was a man-sized beast, maybe ape-like with glowing eyes, and the awful hissing sound that came from its mouth. ****

ZC: With Bigfoot reports in abundance, this creature may well have been a relative, al-

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though the spiny back is strange and could describe something more akin to a reptilian humanoid. SPOOK WOLVES – these phantom creatures are said to be symbols of evil and sightings date back to the 1800s in the US. Such creatures, often black in colour, resemble the phantom hounds in their symbolic nature and are said to appear by the bedside of those about to die, or also appear as a sign of a forthcoming tragedy. In her excellent book, ‘Hunting the American Werewolf’, Linda S. Godfrey, wrote: “…the Spook Wolves were not the

same as Werewolves…since they were not able to actually kill any prey”. ****

ZC: Quirky local beasts that hold some power, as sightings of such creatures seem quite common throughout parts of America and Canada. SPRING-HEELED JACK – the London ‘leaper’ deserves his place here simply due to his astounding feats. This was no ordinary Victorian mystery or prankster, as the caped wonder often sprang over houses, high walls and spouted blue flame. Could such a figure be connected to Bird-men and the like? Who knows, but Spring-Heeled Jack has certainly made his mark on folklore, and similar caped crusaders continue to pounce into our time space. The reign of terror began, or was at least first noted in the September of 1837 when he assaulted four people (three of them women) at locations in and around Britain’s capital city. One evening that Autumn, a businessman took a short cut on his way home. The route took him past the cemetery where the man encountered a shadowy figure, which vaulted from over the railings, springing him into the air. The figure landed with a thud in front of the terrified man, who turned and fled. Despite his state of horror and panic, he managed to recall that the figure had glowing eyes, a pointed nose, and pointed ears. The following night the figure displayed his first violent streak, when he appeared to three girls in the same area. The mysterious character sprang from behind the railings once again, but when he landed he attempted to rip the coat from one of the girls who managed to flee, accompanied by her friends. As one of the other girls tried to run, Spring-Heeled Jack attempted to grab her breasts, and tear at her clothes. The girl collapsed, and was found in the same area unconscious by local police. Servant girl Mary Stevens was attacked a month later at Cut-Throat Lane near Clapham Common. She had been visiting her parents’ house at Battersea, and was heading back to Lavender Hill, when she was confronted by a tall figure adorned in black, who leapt from the darkness, and grabbed hold of her. The stranger slobbered over her face, attempting to kiss her lips, and grope her breasts. The woman screamed, and the figure fled into the night. The woman was heard by many local people, who calmed her down

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and she told them of the terror that came in the night. Unfortunately for the victim, she was blamed for having an over-active imagination, but on the following night he was back, and in the same area. A carriage drawn by horses was halted by a mysterious figure. The horses ran in horror, causing the carriage to crash, and injure the coachman. Bizarrely, the figure escaped the scene, by effortlessly leaping over a nine-foot high wall. Then another female was attacked, this time by a figure in a dark cape at Clapham Churchyard. Again, the harasser escaped from the site, but left two mysterious footprints in the mud that were around three-inches deep, and appeared as though the person who had left them had been wearing some kind of apparatus. During 1838 the Spring-Heeled Jack (as he was to become known in this year) enigma reached an equilibrium. In the February of this year, the athletic phantom attacked eighteen-year old Lucy Scales, who was with her sister Margaret. It was 8:30 in the evening, and the pair was visiting their brother’s house in the Limehouse area. With Lucy walking slightly ahead, she reached the entrance to Green Dragon Alley, and was startled by a cloaked stranger who emerged from the shadows, and blew bright blue flames from his mouth into the face of the young woman. The girl collapsed in her terror, her distress causing her to fit on the ground, and Jack leapt high over Margaret onto a nearby house roof, and away into the evening mist. Two days later, another eighteen-year old woman was assaulted. It occurred at Bearhind Lane in the district of Bow. Jane Alsop was reading a book on this particular evening; it was just before 9:00 pm, and the bell of the front gate sounded. Jane answered the door to a man in a cape who claimed that: “I’m a po-

liceman, bring a light! We’ve caught Spring-Heeled Jack in the lane!” With excitement Jane ran into the house to fetch a candle, and returned to the door with it lit, only to be confronted by a terrifying sight. The stranger was illuminated in the flickering flame, revealing a grinning face of what she knew to be Jack. The figure blew a stream of phosphorescent gas at the girl, which partially blinded her. Sensing her disability he then began to fondle her, tearing at her clothes with cold hands. Jane screamed into the night, alerting her sisters who came to her aid, dragging her from the attacker, and shutting the door of the house in his horrid face. The Lambeth Police Court quizzed Jane, and she described in detail a man wearing a large helmet, an oily, tight-fitting costume, and a cape similar to that worn by the police. She shuddered when she thought about how cold his clawed hands were, and that his eyes glowed like fire. Soon, the local newspapers realised that a real figure was attacking these women, and so the name Spring-Heeled Jack hit the headlines, and vigilante patrols were sent out to roam the areas. The Duke of Wellington came out of retirement in order to hunt Jack down. Armed with two pistols he went off into the night, but came back with nothing.

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A week after the Jane Alsop incident, Spring-Heeled Jack appeared at a house in Turner Street, just off Commercial Road. A servant boy answered the door to the shadowy figure, who hid his face with his dark cloak and asked, in a deep voice if he could see the master of the house. As the boy turned away though, Jack made an error by stepping into the light, where the boy could view the monstrous sight before him; glowing orange eyes and an evil sneer, clawed fingers and under the cloak an intricate embroidered design that resembled a coat of arms and the letter ‘W’ stitched in gold. The boy yelled with horror, alerting many people in the neighbourhood and causing a furious Jack to leap over the houses in Commercial Road and out of sight. The male witness was interrogated after his encounter and many people believed that the mysterious ‘W’ stitched in gold on the strangers chest may have had connections to the Marquis of Waterford (Henry de la Poer Beresford), a widely known prankster, known for his notorious hoaxes and jokes, which tormented and irritated many. However, how the Marquis managed to construct shoe apparatus to enable him to leap over twenty-feet into the air was beyond most theorists. Others believed that a whole posse of hoaxers were at work, in communication throughout the city. Throughout his days at Eton and Oxford the Marquis was known as a joker; during one extravagant day he painted a town red, slapping crimson all over people’s windows and doors, and even painting a watchman! Although fined for the activities, the Marquis and various associates continued their nasty frolics, and on one occasion he was blamed for the vicious attack on a Polly Adams, whilst at the Blackheath Fair in 1837. The woman described her attacker as having ‘pop eyes’. In fact, his eyes were a noticeable characteristic, which possibly may well have linked him to the Spring-Heeled Jack attacks. It is alleged, however, that the family crest at the time was not a ‘W’, but many pinned the attacks on Waterford who was related to the various areas where the attacks took place. However, in 1842 the Marquis married and lived in Ireland, but a second wave of attacks emerged, only this time right across England, and included the murder in 1845 of a thirteen-year old prostitute named Maria Davis. Strange London leapers were still reported throughout London after the 1838 assaults but reports were inconsistent and sporadic throughout the late 1830s and early 1840s. In 1845 Jack was reportedly seen in daylight when he assaulted Maria Davis crossing a bridge in the capital. He grabbed her shoulders and breathed fire into her face and then tossed her into an open sewer and watched her drown. The Marquis of Waterford died in 1859, but in 1877 in Norfolk a similar figure was seen bounding across the rooftops in Caistor. Witnesses described the man as having large ears and adorned in something resembling sheepskin. He was also seen in an oily suit, a shiny helmet and seemed immune to bullets when he was fired upon by a sentry at Aldershot. Private John Reagan was guarding the powder magazine of the North Camp,

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when he heard something ‘shrill and metallic being scraped’. With rifle at the ready the guard had a look around but found nothing. Upon returning to his box he felt a cold hand on his cheek, which frightened the life out of him. Another sentry became alerted and they both saw the shadowy figure of Spring-Heeled Jack, his head garb shining under the moon. He leapt into the air and appeared behind them, laughing. Reagan raised his rifle and shouted: “Who goes there?” The dark figure charged the soldiers who, according to some sources only fired blanks. Jack spewed forth blue flames from his mouth, causing the sentries to run with fear. A similar caped marauder was seen a month later in Lincolnshire, leaping over the thatched cottages in a rural village. The tranquillity was broken by his presence and the locals emerged with their shotguns only to hear their bullets strike something metallic. In the January of 1879 a man in a cart crossed a bridge on the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction canal. It was around 10:00 pm when he was confronted by an evil-looking figure in black that leapt from the undergrowth and landed on the horses back. The man tried to whip the ‘thing’, which eventually sprang off into the undergrowth. A year after this incident a Spring-Heeled Jack type figure was seen on the other side of the world, in Louisville, Kentucky. The figure leapt at women, ripping at their clothing. The culprit was described as male, with pointed ears and a long nose, long fingers and wearing a dark cape. He was adorned in a black shiny uniform and wore a helmet. A bright light was often seen on the attacker’s chest and he spouted blue flames at his victims as if to startle or temporarily blind them so he could grapple and grope them. Once the attack had concluded the figure was said to escape by leaping effortlessly away. Some fifty to sixty years later the same kind of figure appeared in Massachusetts where a number of attacks were connected to him. He was allegedly cornered on one occasion by four police officers but leapt a ten-foot tall fence to escape them. **

ZC: An intriguing humanoid that was most likely a hoax, although a four star rating is not too far away, as the world seems to be plagued by weird, leaping beings. We attempt to pin them down rationally, but there is no denying that these kind of caped strangers exist in our midst. SQUARE LEGS – robust, green phantoms said to haunt the caves of Xucurus in Argentina. Locals claim that these nine-feet tall humanoids have antennae-like protrusions on their heads. **

ZC: Local legend. SQUATTAM’S GROWLERS – pretty much unseen, but heard ‘critters’ said to inhabit Florida. Locals claim these humanoids are the swamp relative of Bigfoot.

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**

ZC: Whilst the Skunk Ape is very much a believable being around the bottoms of Florida, mere growls such as those exhaled by Squattam’s mystery residents could belong to any animal. SQUONK – its legend relates to the Cry Bird in that if discovered, or caught, it dissolves into a pool of tears. This is a warty humanoid creature, said to stalk swamp banks and bottomland areas. **

ZC: Folk tale. SRI – huge, faceless vampire creatures said to live in the soil, and pull unfortunate humans into their dark lair where they are devoured. *

ZC: Local fear of the Bon-Po. STAR CREATURES – Cherokee legend speaks of these circular entities said to be covered in fur, or feathers, from which small heads protrude like those of terrapins. Such creatures are said to emit sparks in the breeze or wind. The creatures often give off an eerie glow, and - when captured - are able to fly off into the night. **

ZC: Wonderful folkloric creatures, nothing more. STEAM DEVILS – strange, vapour-like columns that rise from the sea, and form almost human-like dancing figures. These very stable, thin, forms are able to form striking geometrical patterns, and appear as ethereal shapes, and may well have fuelled the imaginations of ancient Greek sailors who spoke of these weird beings on the water. ***

ZC: Natural phenomena that could explain some sightings of mysterious sea beings. STICK MAN – a weird, pencil-thin figure seen running near the home of a female witness from Elkader, Iowa. The thing was seen on 15th February 2004 at 11:00 pm, when it briefly stared at the woman before taking off, leaving the terrified witness sobbing for two hours. **

ZC: Although such reports seem far-fetched, there have been several reports across the USA of bizarre stick-like figures. However, until these cases are looked into more, such incidents remain folkloric. STORM HORSE – possibly not related to the Thunder Horse, this demonic apparition appeared in Scarborough, UK, in 1165. However, the above-mentioned Thunder Horse,

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appeared one-hundred years previously, or were these dates confused and recording the same creature? **** ZC: A classic weather-related omen. STREGHOI – a nocturnal flying blood-drinker said to prey on children. **

ZC: Vague Wallachian legend. STRIKER – Black Dog of Lancashire and parts of Yorkshire. In her book ‘Jane Eyre’, Charlotte Bronte described the ferocious hound, also known as Guytrash Lightfoot, a portent of death often sighted on the moors. The dog is also known as Trash. ****

ZC: Classic Black Dog lore. STRONG TOAD – an unusual creature from Chile. It has the shell of a turtle and is said to glow in the dark. ***

ZC: A very flesh and blood possibility, similar to the snapping turtle, which inhabits many a dark swamp. STYMPHALIAN BIRDS – Greek mythology speaks of these birds, which are able to shoot their feathers as if they were arrows, and have claws of brass. *

ZC: Mythology. SUS LIKA – travellers beware! This is another phantom dog, this time born from the legends of the Alaskan Tanaina Indians. The Sus Lika is different to most ghost dogs in the sense that its bark is often heard, but before a traveller is able to react, it’s too late. ****

ZC: An interesting variation. SUCURIJU GIGANTE – this 150-feet long giant snake, said to roam the Araguaya region of Rio, Brazil, is said to have eyes that glow green. Apparently this folkloric beast has been photographed. ***

ZC: There is every possibility that this mythical snake does exist out there somewhere. Giant anacondas are believed to exist in remote regions. See `Dragons: More than a Myth? ` by Richard Freeman (CFZ Press, 2005). SUMERIAN UTUKKU – reptilian in aspect, vaguely humanoid, winged entities, said to

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resemble the Goatsucker. ****

ZC: Little is known about these winged monsters, but their characteristics resemble so many of the Lizard Men across the world. SUNE-KOSURI – these Japanese zooforms, are pretty much unseen phantom cats or dogs, small in size, which are said to accompany people out walking on dark and stormy nights. However, these are trickster creatures, which often rub against their victim like any household pet, but which also trip you up should you rush. *

ZC: These sorts of spirits are extremely common, but whether such incidents actually occur seems unlikely. SURREY VAMPIRE – a mysterious winged entity said to have attacked a woman on three occasions in 1938. *

ZC: Obscure tale of which little else is known. SUSSEX MAN BEAST – a humanoid seen at Friston Park, in Sussex (UK). On 18th November 2002, at 2:30 am, Phil Hayman had parked his lorry to stretch his legs, when he spotted a large figure in the woods. The form was illuminated by a red light, which was situated on a forestry machine in the woods. Mr. Hayman was unsettled by the presence and hurried back to his cab, but still had time to shine his torch at the being which rushed off into the darkness. Phil claimed that the creature wasn’t human because he saw no skin colour reflected in the flashlight beam, and suggested it may have been covered in hair for it was dull in colour. **

ZC: Reports of Bigfoot from the UK have taken place, but this brief sighting does nothing to suggest we are dealing with a Sussex version of the Yeti! SYRIA THING – location Al-Naiisia, 22nd May 2004. Seven labourers spotted a strange entity in an olive grove that remained seated before climbing up a tree. The humanoid was reddish in colour and described as ‘peasant-like’ in appearance! Allegedly the creature: “…rushed skyward with incredible swiftness leaving a wake of smoky white bubbles”, so the ‘Syrian State Newspaper’ reported. **

ZC: Very weird, and probably extremely exaggerated.

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T TAGUA TAGUA LAGOON MONSTER – it is alleged that not many of the residents of Chile’s San Vicente region even know of this beast, which is a formidable creature that has remained obscure for more than two centuries. The monster is a winged, two-tailed entity, with a human face, and a body covered in scales. An etching of the ‘critter’ appeared during the late 1700s, and sightings of the beast, from around the 1780s, talk of a mystery predator blamed for attacks on all types of local animals. The beast was finally caught by more than one hundred men, and kept alive. Scott Corrales, author on many strange creatures of Hispanic lore states: “…the legend

that gave rise to the monster was possibly a reflection of the fears, nightmares and anguish felt at the time….the Lagoon was drained in the 1930s and was notorious for its ‘chivines’, floating islands formed by a dense and firm network of roots, so resilient that they could bear the weight of a horse.” It is claimed that these islands were grazed upon by cows and, in turn, these unfortunate animals would be dragged down into the lake, causing many locals to believe a monster existed in the lagoon. So, was the creature a myth? Well, according to some, the captured creature was housed at an address – Calle de Carretas No. 8 – and those that observed it, described it as being the length of three-and-a-half rods, with a tail longer than its body, with two horns on its head, and having a mane that reached to the ground. The teeth of the beast were said to measure more than 30 cm in length. ****

ZC: Despite the descriptions, which probably involve a hoaxed beast, the legend seems quite strong, even if it remained buried deep within the vaults of culture for many years. TAH-TAH KLE’-AH – also known as the OWL WOMAN MONSTER, this frightening legend dates back to 1918, and concerns a man-eating humanoid. Such a dreadful female was said to be taller than a human, and to hunt Indians in British Columbia. It is said that, along with her four sisters, this bloodthirsty ogre haunted a remote cave area, which was eventually destroyed. All five of them perished, one of them by drowning, and from her eye all owls are said to be have been created. ****

ZC: This legend fascinates me, and could well have connections to female Sasquatchtype beasts or something more sinister.

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TAILED MAN OF ALASKA – a creature allegedly caught attacking a fish trap in 1944, and briefly mentioned in ‘Alaska Life’ magazine. A certain Frank Read apparently discovered the creature, which was described as having a human head, narrow shoulders, long claws and a long tail. When the creature was disturbed it swam away. ***

ZC: Could Mr. Read have simply seen a natural creature, or was he fortunate enough to stumble across an aquatic humanoid swamp dweller? TAIMATSU-MARU – a blazing hawk-like bird of Japanese folklore, this flying oddity is said to be demonic in nature. *

ZC: A classic example of obscure mythology. This creature has also been known as Tengu’s Torch, a strange light seen on top of Miyama Mountain. TALBOT COUNTY WEREWOLF – rumours arose that a member of the local Burton family was in fact a sheep-killing Werewolf, after a spate of unexplained attacks had taken place in the O’Neil’s District of Georgia, USA. Suspicions targeted the rather odd spinster of the family, because when the suspect went away the grisly kills ceased. Legend has it that the Werewolf was shot a couple of times in body areas where the spinster displayed bandages and also wounds, but was this mere coincidence or was the old crone a night prowler? This is a classic Werewolf tale, which probably wasn’t connected at all to the woman, but in fact some other strange beast roaming the woods; possibly a ‘big cat’ or supernatural killer. ****

ZC: Hermits, recluses, hobos, and many quirky folk are often blamed for local creature sightings and the unexplained deaths of pets, but in most cases these kinds of people are simply too easy to blame for something that cannot be solved. TANIWHA – one of the names for the black, ghostly hounds said to haunt New Zealand’s quiet roads*. ****

ZC: Obscure ghost hounds. TANUKI – a shape-shifting creature from Japanese folklore. Tanuki † are said to resemble racoon-like dogs, but can take on many forms. ** *Taniwha this is also a name given to dragons in New Zealand that were man-eaters and had many magical powers. Belief in them still persist in New Zealand is that they don’t build roads over a place where a Taniwha is sleeping. †Tanuki , Tanukiis often mistakenly translated as raccoon or badger, but tanuki are in fact two subspecies of raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides). These canid species native to Japan are N. p. viverrinus, the (ordinary) Japanese racoon dog and N. p. albus, the white variety found on Hokkaidõ.

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ZC: The real tanukiis;the racoon dog - a dog-like creature native to Japan , but the mythical Tanuki is merely legend. TAROOO USHTEY – a ‘water bull’ mentioned in the lore of the Isle of Man. **

ZC: Local apparition. TARTALO – a one-eyed man beast of the Basque region. **

ZC: Possible local variation of the Sasquatch or bogeyman of the forests.

Tanuki

TAWS – these are shape-shifting apparitions said to haunt Thailand. They appear as huge, ethereal wolves, and at night raid the villages of tribesmen and feed on their souls. During certain times of a month the local Lahus tribe will not leave the vicinity in case the red-eyed beasts devour them. ****

ZC: Eerie, mysterious zooform beasts, which are echoed around the world as so many other shape-shifting entities infiltrate our void. TCHICO – a giant, spectral hound said to roam parts of Guernsey. ****

ZC: Some names for these hellhounds are obscure but the legends are rife. TCHIMOSE – this creature resembles the Woadd-El-Uma in the sense that it’s a haircovered merbeing, said to attack small boats and canoes in the waters of British Columbia. ****

ZC: A form of gill man or Reptile-man beast. TEAKETTLER – a screaming, yet elusive thing from the USA, which we only know as able to walk backwards. *

ZC: An almost pointless creation. TEN BLACK HAIRY DOGS – these phantom hounds were allegedly released from a glowing, flying craft in Laurel Grove Cemetery, in Savannah, Georgia on 9th September 1973. Several youths spotted the landed craft and were unnerved by the creatures that emerged. ****

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ZC: Despite my scepticism towards cases involving UFOs and the creatures that they ‘drop off’, this case has me intrigued. TENGU – the name means ‘heavenly dogs’ – shape-shifters of Japanese lore said to take on the form of ghastly birdmen and feast on priests! These demons inhabit cedar trees in mountainous regions, especially the ‘inferior’ species that have small wings and very sharp claws. Locals sometimes describe these creatures as dog-like, and they often prowl into towns to steal small children, whilst higher species prey on monks by leading them astray. Hunters who travel the mountain regions of Japan are said to be preyed upon by the Tengu if they come across a snake killing a bird. In this scenario a boar suddenly appears, and kills the snake, tempting the hunter then to destroy the boar. Any wise hunter should leave the scene, and not participate in the chain of death, but should any traveller kill the boar then he, in turn, will perish at the hands of the watching Tengu; for they are malicious, joking entities. Other acts include stealing children and hiding them from their worried parents. **

ZC: These are creatures of tradition, like the Oni and the Gaki, in that their folk belief overpowers their actual existence. These are bogeymen figures. TENNESSEE DOG MAN – Patricia Law of Pikeville, Tennessee (USA) sighted this abomination whilst driving in the Winter of 2003/04. At first, the humanoid appeared as a darkly clad hiking figure, until she neared him, when she was horrified to see the snarling face of a wolfen beast. The humanoid had a long snout and sharp teeth. ****

ZC: Whilst it is argued that such a figure could well have been a hoaxer in a mask, it seems unlikely that such a prankster would hang around a remote stretch of mountainous road in the hope that a vehicle would pass by. TENTACLED HORSE – this absurd creature was allegedly seen by Paul Smith, at Bald Mountain, Washington, when he was scanning the area with binoculars. The creature he saw, in the November of 1974, was very much horse-like, but it had tentacles instead of legs. The creature had a head like a football and an antenna protruding from it. The form gave off an eerie green glow. **

ZC: Allegedly, after this sighting there was a crash involving an unidentified flying object. Even so, this is just a confused and rather obscure tale. TEOTIHUACAN TULPA – a winged humanoid that appeared in the photographs of Mexican reporter Marco Antonio Villasana.

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ZC: If these photographs were still around, then surely they would prove the existence of this being. Where are they? TERROR OF TWO PONDS – this huge, leathery Pterodactyl monster was seen by two anglers at Golden, Colorado at 9:30 pm on 30th September 2004. The men claimed that, before the sighting, they were overcome with an eerie feeling, and then a strange fog rose from the water they were fishing. ****

ZC: Whilst eerie feelings also accompany reports of flesh and blood creatures such as large cats in the wrong place, this seems to be an incident involving a beast from another place. TERRORS OF TORRENT – on 4th February 1965 several witnesses observed the landing of a strange craft in this Argentinian town, and watched in amazement as five creatures approximately two-metres in height - emerged from the object. The humanoids each had one eye on its forehead, and wore flashing helmets. Some of the creatures allegedly tried to abduct a villager. See also Chalac ‘critters’. **

ZC: I always remain dubious to such reports, even though they are dominant through history, and certainly throughout UFO lore. The flashing helmets may ease such humanoids away from the realm of zooform, and - of course - the mention of weird craft, suggests a typical UFO encounter, but it’s also worth noting/connecting such creatures with the amount of ‘imp-like’ sightings throughout South America. TEUMESSIAN FOX – a large yet elusive creature from Greek mythology, which is said to have preyed on children. Legend has it that creature was impossible to catch. *

ZC: Myth. TEXAN TROLLS – this local legend takes place at Burnet County, at Joppa Bridge to be precise. Rumour has it that strange humanoids haunt the bridge, and can often be heard scurrying about their business, but sightings seem pretty much non-existent! *

ZC: This anomalous phenomenon seems to be little more than a local ghost story. TEZCATLIPOCA – this is an unpleasant monster of the Americas, said to appear as a huge golem with skin hanging from its face. In Aztec mythology this hideous form was considered God of the night and material things, and has a mirror on its chest. **

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ZC: Unlikely to be an actual zooform entity, but more of a deity figure. TEZZY PARLOUR PIGS – these manifestations appear on rare occasions in Swaledale, Yorkshire. **

ZC: More quirky rumour rather than full-blooded ghost story. THAGS YANG – this is a tiger-like form with shape-shifting abilities, and it roams the forested areas of Tibet preying on the weak. ****

ZC: Dark, trickster spirits that prowl the land of the Yeti. THREE-HEADED BLACK MONSTER – a vague water form sighted around 1933 in the Allier River, in France. **

ZC: Little else is known about this creature. THUMPER – a local spook form from Kent, the ‘garden of England’. This entity, also rumoured to be known as the Reggae Woman, is a manifestation said to haunt local fields. As either, it is a shadowy bogey-figure that, when it runs, makes a thumping sound on the ground. This regional ghost story had many friends shuddering around small campfires, with each individual imagining their own personal dread coming to life. Some imagined a dark, voodoo woman pacing through the undergrowth; others manifested this monster as an over-sized white, spectral rabbit. Obscure but terrifying. ****

ZC: Zooform can be as potent on a local scale as anything known worldwide. THUNDERBIRDS – great birds of Native American Indian folklore said to still exist in some remote parts. Giant bird reports are well noted in cryptozoology, but birds such as the Thunderbirds appear to be more than just over-sized condors and eagles; in fact for so many years these great wonders of the sky have been perceived as spiritual creatures. What witnesses generally describe seeing over parts of the western USA and Canada are giant, vulture-like birds with huge wingspans (over twenty-feet), standing over a metre tall - birds strong enough to carry away children.

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***

ZC: The Indians most probably saw these birds as spiritual, but there is every chance that such big birds existed, and still do, judging by reports across Arizona, Pennsylvania and Texas. THUNDER HORSE – a great, flying black horse, that left enormous prints, as it swept through York, in England in 1065, during a storm. ****

ZC: Spectral intervention, possible symbol of bad weather or forthcoming tragedy. TI CHIANG – in Chinese folklore these are ghostly red birds without eyes. **

ZC: Fantastic and unreal. TIEN KOU – a creature from Chinese mythology, also known as the ‘celestial hound’. ****

ZC: This mythical beast is known for its destructive powers or for being a symbol of much devastation. TIKBALANG – a creature from the Philippines, said to be half-man (lower part)/halfhorse (upper). *

ZC: Vague centaur legend. TIKOLOSHE – an amphibious river demon spoken of by South Africa’s Xhosa people, as a short, land-walking creature said to swing its arms like a baboon. The entity hunts for women for copulation, through urban areas of Johannesburg, and is a seductive spirit that may use force on its victims if they resist. Is this creature in any way related to the Tokolosh? In China, a similar creature is known as White Monkey. ***

ZC: In the swamps of Florida there exists the Skunk Ape, an orang-utan creature, which could also explain the Tikoloshe, although the legend behind the beast sounds exaggerated. TIGRE CAPIANGO – this is a shape-shifting creature from Argentina, that takes the form of a Jaguar. *

ZC: Lore. TIN PIG – this is a spectral sow, which appears in the dead of night in Argentina’s Cordoba region. The haunting prowler makes its presence known along the railroad tracks, where it makes a terrible racket by sliding along the rails.

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ZC: South American spook tale. TIN TIN – the bat-demon from Ecuador. This leather-winged monster is either an undiscovered species of giant bat, or something very strange. ***

ZC: Possible real creature or night-time fear. TLALTECUHTLI – a reptile woman from Aztec lore. This clawed beast is a blood-drinker, said to resemble a crocodile, and to have skulls on its flanks. **

ZC: Legend is strong pertaining to this monster, but it’s unlikely that anyone has encountered such a creation.

Tlaltecuhtli

TLANUWA – immense birds said to soar above the banks of the North Tennessee River, taking pets and children for food. Cherokee legend speaks of these birds being so ferocious, that when they flew they simply soared out of sight. ***

ZC: Connections here to the mythical Thunderbirds, but likely to be some species of real bird. TOAD MAN – a freakish apparition that was seen in the Tea Room of Northumberland’s Chillingham Castle, one of England’s most haunted buildings. The creature, resembling a massive toad, sprang from the wall as the site was being excavated, and then transformed into a man, before vanishing into thin air. **

ZC: This ghost story seems to be part of the castle legend now, but whether it appears again is another matter. TOCOUYAHA – this is a fabulous beast from the depths, said to reside in Waratilla Creek, opposite Timehri Airport, Guyana. Whilst this creature may well be a flesh and blood water dweller, the call of the macaw dictates whether it should rise from the silted waters and attack local folk. Amerindian belief claims that the monster can be detected by the sign of many bubbles which appear at the spot where it is resting, waiting for the call, so that it may destroy a passing boat. ***

ZC: Whilst the connection between the macaw and the monster may be far-fetched, there is every possibility that some unknown creature lurks in the creek. However, like many monster legends, there is also the possibility that it’s simply a fictional beast constructed

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to aid the tourist trade. TOKANTONGOTRA – a mythical white beast of Madagascan lore, said to have two legs, one of which protrudes from its chest. This fearsome monster, whose name means ‘single foot’, is said to run as fast as lightning as it hunts. ***

ZC: There may be some kind of real, misunderstood realism about this phantom. TOKOLOSH – this is a hairy humanoid said to roam Holland, and further afield in South Africa. It haunts rivers and can also make itself invisible, but why it is confined to two such diverse cultures we may never know. In South Africa, this is a dwarf-like creature also known as the ‘hili’ and the ‘gilikango’, and it should never be spoken to or pointed at, should you be unfortunate enough to spy it. ****

ZC: This is a stealing spirit, usually fond of milk from cows, and it can be considered as a sprite of sorts. Such forms are also connected to poltergeist activity. TOMBSTONE TOM – bizarre name for a giant phantom felid said to haunt an area of Yorkshire. **

ZC: This appears as a nice ghost story, but little else seems to be known about the spectral animal. TOMPONDRANO OF MADAGASCAR – a sea monster said to have a luminous head. ***

ZC: Whilst the luminous head may sound absurd, there is every possibility that such a glowing creature lurks in any ocean of the world. TOOROODUN – a creature related to Bunyip lore, and once an inhabitant of the now drained Kooweerup Swamp in Australia. Locals did not believe that such a creature devoured its victims, but simply drowned them. ***

ZC: Actual water hole dwelling creature? Possibly. TORONTO GHOST WOLF – as observed by an English lady in 2004, whilst driving in Canada with her husband, whilst visiting her son. She wrote: “We had been out for a

meal, we were with my younger son and his girlfriend in one car, my eldest son and his wife were driving ahead of us. Out of nowhere appeared this large animal, my husband thought it was a bear and I thought it could have been a wolf – but the strange thing was it had such a ghostly and ethereal appearance. It loomed from nowhere and was gone in an instant, and it had a luminescent whitish appearance – even at the time I described it

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as ghostly…somehow it did not appear to be a live animal.” ****

ZC: Had the family from Kent, UK seen a Skinwalker, or something along those lines? TORONTO TUNNEL MONSTER – in the August of 1978, a 51-year old man crawled into a cave near his Parliament Street apartment in the hope of finding his missing kitten, when he stumbled across, “…a living nightmare.”. The man saw a creature, three-feet long, thin, and monkey-like with grey fur. Bizarrely, the creature hissed at the man, “… go away, go away!” The man, first name Ernest, who saw the creature said: “…I’ll never

forget it, I was shaking with fear.” Further inspection of the tunnel revealed that it dropped off into the sewer system. The half-eaten cat was also found in the dark hole, once again fuelling rumours of strange animals living in the sewers, made popular in the 1970s when creatures such as alligators were often dumped into toilets. These, in turn, would set up their own homes in the rotten slurry of the city underworld, where only rats are meant to prowl. ***

ZC: Slightly confused account, and there have been no further sightings of the mystery beast. TOW DOG – The name is a corruption of the Row Dog - the shaggy, spectral hound said to roam the Isle of Portland, Dorset. ****

ZC: Dorset lore is full of Black Dog stories. See Row Dog and Roy Dog TRASH – the name of the Burnley phantom dog derives from the noise made by its feet, like that of ‘a heavy shoe in a miry road’. ****

ZC: A creature very similar to the other Black Dogs of the UK. TREE WEREWOLF – this being may be the tormented spectre of a seventeen-year old boy that died of typhoid. His body rests in Stull Cemetery, in Kansas City, USA, but his phantom form is of a hairy creature, which lurks in the trees around the area. **

ZC: This beast dates back to the late 1800s, but whether it is now a dormant shade I do not know. TREGEAGLE – a wandering, lonesome ghost from Cornish folklore, said to haunt the local moors and coastlines, although local researchers believe such a form was based on a real-life character.

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**

ZC: Local ghost tale. TRELQUEHUECUVE – see Invunche *

ZC: Folk tale. TROLL – a short, grey-skinned humanoid seen near an Italian restaurant in Alice Springs, Australia. Apparently there had been several reports of a strange figure `mooching` around the area, and on one occasion it walked up the steps of the restaurant main entrance, and was watched by a male witness as he munched his main meal! **

ZC: Either a hoax or a haunting. TRUNK WITHOUT A HEAD – is the term translated from Coluinn Gun Cheann, a Scottish anomaly, headless, and more of a bogeyman figure said to haunt the Isle of Skye, and attack men. **

ZC: A local tale. TSIATKO – these humanoids roam the northern Rockies of the U.S.A. All is known is that they are stick-like in appearance. ***

ZC: Possible Bigfoot relatives, although there is no mention of these figures being hairy. TSUCHIGUMO – the Dirt Spider of Japanese folklore. **

ZC: Myth. TSUCKINOKO – jumping, giant snakes sad to inhabit parts of Japan. Sightings of such creatures are said to be common. ***

ZC: Little else seems to be known about these snakes, yet sightings persist, suggesting that we are dealing with flesh and blood creatures that are worthy of further research. TURUL HAWK – the mythical bird of Hungarian legend. ***

ZC: Further research may reveal a new species of bird.

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TZITZIMIME – these are the ‘gods’ of the stars, celestial demons that, according to Aztec mythology, descend from above. Allegedly these creatures were once stars, but are now phantoms of the dark world. *

ZC: Rather vague offering from mythology.

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U UGJUKNARPAK – a very large rodent that seems immune to bullets. **

ZC: I’m assuming that such a creature is either complete myth, hence its immunity to weapons, or has been hunted, but remains beyond discovery. UHAML – in Austria this evil bird has a terrifying cry, which is said to be bad luck to anyone who hears it. *

ZC: A symbolic yet classic myth. UIRAPURU – Brazilian legend claims that this odd brown bird can change itself into a boy! *

ZC: Folk tale. UKOY – a giant killer octopus from the Philippines. ***

ZC: Greatly feared and possibly very real. UKRANIAN CRITTER – this dwarf-like entity was trawled up by fishermen in the River Setomi (which no longer exists) in 1065, after strange sightings in the sky of a huge starlike object, which omitted blood-red beams of light. Whilst the shrivelled, child-like form may not have been connected, it was so hideous, that the men who caught it threw it back into the murky depths. ***

ZC: There is a remote possibility that the fishermen encountered an unknown animal. UMBRELLA FIGURE – from Palampur, India comes this grey, hissing apparition. On 5th October 2004, this spectre was seen floating on the hills of the Himalayan ranges, where it disappeared in a crater-filled valley. In Japanese lore such a figure is known as Kasa Obake – the Umbrella Ghost. **

ZC: This is one of those incidents difficult to pigeonhole.

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UMIBOUZU – a sea giant said to appear at times of tumult. This Japanese monster can rise up out of the frothing water some thirty metres and has dark, leathery skin and glowing eyes. **

ZC: Weather-related elemental beast also known as the Sea Priest.. UNENGWA – a white, one-eyed creature of African lore, which shape-shifts as it hunts through the jungles. This strange, night feeding entity has been compared to the Popobawa of Zanzibar. **

ZC: Another vampire-like entity of no real identity. UNICORN – although a popular mythical beast, the Unicorn was in fact sighted around 400BC, when the Greek historian Ctesias wrote of the monokeros, which he described as a wild ass the size of a horse with a cubit-long horn on its forehead (a cubit was around 18 to 20 inches). Some claim that what he saw was an Indian rhinoceros, but his description does not fit that particular animal. Unicorns are also written-of in the 1611 King James translation of the Bible. ***

Unicorn

ZC: Despite this animal’s mythical status, some do suggest that there once was such a creature, an animal mentioned in the Bible and various ancient texts. UNKTEHI – Sioux tribes describe this lake beast as having four legs, a horn on its head and resembling a Dragon. The fact that it’s been blamed for flooding along the Missouri River seems to suggest it’s a mythical creature. **

ZC: A beast of legend. UPLAND TROUT – a peculiar and quirky fish said - in Alaska - to nest in trees yet be afraid of water. *

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ZC: This barely even reaches the depths of a one-star rating! UROARBOLI – an Icelandic creature said to be part-human/part-beast, resembling a bull or seal. ***

ZC: This creature may well be linked to mermaid-like forms, or is an undiscovered sea creature, possibly a manatee-type animal. USHI ONI – a fearsome beast resembling a spider or crab, with a head of a bull. This is a Japanese creation said to haunt the sea, and feed off prey that lingers for too long on the shore. ***

ZC: This creature, although rarely encountered, may well have been a form of crab or giant spider. UTAH HUNCHBACK – a hairy, yet reptilian creature sighted on the 13th June 2005 in Huntsville. At 1:30 am at Cemetery Point, a couple of witnesses watched a creature, which walked on two legs then dropped to all fours, and sped off like a deer. Before it scampered away, the ‘critter’ made a gagging sound. ***

ZC: Remote possibility that this thing was a flesh and blood, yet out of place animal, or, then again, maybe not!

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V VALLEY WEREWOLF – this monster was seen by a female witness, date unknown, in the valley of the Doones’, Exmoor, in England. She’d been making her way home as dusk fell when she saw, up ahead, a tall, grey figure with a wolf-like head preparing to pounce on an unfortunate rabbit. Suddenly, a large stag rushed through the woods and the weird humanoid creature completely vanished. ****

ZC: Another Werewolf variation. For more information read `Monster Hunter` by Jonathan Downes (CFZ Press, 2004). VAMPIRE CAT – creature of Japanese lore, said to have two tails, and become larger than a person, as well as being a blood-drinker. ****

ZC: Night terror. VAMPIRE OF HORNDON – this bloodsucking ‘big cat’ is from Essex, UK, and is said to be a dark spirit, seeking crimson in order to sustain its physical well being, but how anyone managed to work that out is beyond me! The cat is said to haunt areas near pools, streams, and rivers, or may be just a large domestic cat, or big cat such as a leopard. ***

ZC: I am unsure as to how this creature gained its reputation as a vampire, it is very likely to be a ‘big cat’ as Essex has its fair share of them in its wilds. VAMPIRE OF GUATEMALA – on 11th November 1995 Alicia Farjado encountered a possible Goatsucker relative. After several mysterious vampiric attacks on animals in the Zacapa region, the witness saw a monster bat-like creature that made a peculiar humming sound, and flew from the scene in a spiral fashion. The entity stood over four-feet tall, had large eyes and big fangs. ***

ZC: Whilst many vampire-like winged beasts seem to resemble the Goatsucker, there is also the possibility that these invaders are flesh and blood animals, and bloodthirsty ones at that! VANARAS – supernatural monkeys of Indian lore. ***

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ZC: Mysterious primates as yet to be discovered by science? Possibly. VARCOLAC – this is a Werewolf monster or demonic wolf from the folklore of Romania. ****

ZC: Maybe something akin to a spectral hound, or just a local bad omen. VARDEN – a kind of spectral animal, in Orcadian belief, said to accompany an individual at all times. The origins of such an apparition stem from Scandinavian tradition. ****

Varcolac

ZC: The Varden can appear as a spectral dog, invisible to all but beasts. VAROU – this is the were-creature of the Channel Islands, which is said to roam areas of megalithic remains. These terrifying monsters, which are said to have a thirst for human blood, are also portents of doom and their cries are said to be heard before a death or a bad storm. ****

ZC: These furred beasts appear to have the same ways and motives as phantom black hounds. VATNA HESIR – a beast from Scandinavian folklore, said to resemble a ‘water horse’. Such a creature can live in fresh or salt water, and also mingle with cattle. **

ZC: A spectre from tradition. VELUE – this is a strange, snake-headed humanoid with quite a history. It resided in French folklore as a beast covered in green fur with long, tentacled suckers on its flesh. The creature killed its prey by using the sting from its suckers, and was a threat to humans. It was hunted on several occasions, but always disappeared into the Huisine river, until finally it was destroyed. ***

ZC: Although the descriptions seem to describe a beast unknown to science, history suggests something very real; unless, of course, such a tale is something akin to the hordes of `dragon versus brave warrior` yarns we’ve filed under myth. The Velue appears to be some kind of Lizard Man, but its legend remains as nothing more.

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VENEZUELAN DWARF – on the night of 22nd September 1967, in Caracas, a racetrack employee was attacked and choked by an unseen - yet very strong – creature, which was disturbed when a horse in the distance neighed. However, shortly after the assault, an employee saw a one-metre tall dwarf ‘zoom’ out of the building, and attack a horse in its stable. ****

ZC: Again, we come back to the lore of the small beings; impish figures with mischievous and often-violent behaviour, said to terrorize local folk. These are classic zooform figures, yet they drift into ufology, making them hard to decipher as monsters. VERMONT WEREWOLVES – a female witness driving home from work at 2:40 am, in a built up area of northern Vermont, was terrified by a pack of werewolves that followed her in her car for a mile. The creatures easily kept pace with the witness as she drove around 30 mph, and by the glare of the moon she could see all their ghastly features, the long snout, the gnashing teeth, and their red eyes. Only when the woman hit the gas and reached 70 mph, could she escape the creatures which she could still see in her rear view mirror. ****

ZC: Many werewolf stories tend to be clouded in the folklore of yesteryear, when in fact each year there are many encounters with such beasts, that although lacking the romanticism of their European relatives, still pack a punch in the lore of the U.S. VERSIPELLIS – these are the ‘skin turners’, shape-shifting humanoids able to transform into bird or beast. They exist in the Latin-speaking world as Werewolves. **

ZC: Once again, vague demons of the forests. VIRGINIA RED DEVIL – nasty, red-skinned, clawed and grinning urchins, seen by various youths around Crewe, Virginia in 1968 and 1992. Reports seem confused, with Native American Indians calling them ‘moon worshippers’, while other reports speak of whitish creatures walking on all fours, and others as four-feet tall satyrs. Perfect campfire fodder. ****

ZC: Whilst legend seems vague regarding these creatures, once again we are drawn back to areas of Virginia, home of high weirdness, and also those imp-like gremlins dotted throughout folklore. VIETNAMESE BIRDWOMAN – black-bodied, glowing creature sighted in 1969 by three witnesses, including, Earl Morrison, near Da Nang. Morrison, a private in the United States Marines, caught sight of the black lady whilst perched on a bunker with two friends enjoying the Summer evening. They said the flying thing looked like a big bat at

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first, and then as it got closer, it looked like a woman - totally black yet with a greenish hue. The creature soared as close as seven-feet above their heads, and then took to the night sky. ****

ZC: A classic case regurgitated time and time again, which may have been nothing more than a bat. In `The Owlman and Others` (Revised Ed., CFZ Press, 2006), Jonathan Downes suggests that this oft-repeated tale could well have had its genesis in the LSD abuse which was so prevalent amongst American Gis at the time. However, such witnesses should be tracked down again to see if their stories remain as detailed. VILKACIS – Latvian mythology speaks of ‘wolf eyes’, a monster said to be extremely violent but also a bringer of treasure. **

ZC: Shallow Werewolf yarn. VILUCO MONSTER – another Chilean nightmare, with some resemblance to the ‘goatsucker’, and said to inhabit abandoned mines in the Cerro Cullipeumo locality. Locals often speak of a shadowy figure running up the hillside into the mines, but the lore of such creatures dates back to the 18th Century. Researcher Hector Cossio wrote: “…

Cerro Cullipeumo, on the borders of the communities of Las Vertientes in Buin and Angostura in Paine, Chile, some abandoned gold mines from the 1950s could prove to be the lair of the ‘Viluco Monster’, a singular beast with a kangaroo-shaped body and a wolf’s muzzle that terrorises local farmers and has a remarkable resemblance with the legendary Chupacabras, according to researchers from the GEO Group. ‘El Dinamita’ and ‘El Fena’, assistants at the Buin-Maipo Bus Line, whose two drivers came across the creature in the lonely Santa Filomena alley, told La Cuarta that they have been hearing stories from the old-timers about a sinister beast lurking in the forgotten gold mines.” A local broadcaster with municipal radio station ‘El Nuevo Buinese’, believed that the creature was behind the brutal slaying of many rabbits in 2000 in the isla de Maipo sector. It was claimed that the cadavers of the slain animals exhibited a singular puncture mark to the neck, from whence the internal organs had been sucked. Vampire-hunter, ufologist and parapsychologist, Alberto Urquijo, who heads the GEO Group claims that the creatures that inhabit the mines are mentioned in reports from the 18th Century, and that over five thousand animal deaths can be attributed to causes unknown. See also BUIN MONSTER. ****

ZC: Devil monkey? Chupacabra? Flesh and blood creature? This is another of those blood-drinking creatures that hop throughout the forests of South America.

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VIRIKAS – in Oriental folklore these are small creatures, which are red in colour. They have sharp teeth and are heard by the jabbering noises they make. Offerings are made to these ‘critters’ to prevent them from attacking humans. *

ZC: Strange little oddballs that lack depth. VJESTICA – a were-creature said to resemble a hyena, which abducts children in the dead of night. **

ZC: Bogeyman…in female form! VODIANO (VODYANOI) – the Russian winged monster that flies over lakes, is a freshwater species, that resides deep within the darkest millponds. This creature is a halfman/half-fish hybrid responsible for instances of drowning in the location that it inhabits. ***

ZC: Possible lake legend or monster fish? When such legends are born, any deaths in the area can attributed to the local ‘monster’ that probably never existed. VODNIK – a swampy, frog-like beast said to pull humans into its boggy lair. *

ZC: An unknown predator that probably existed as a local fear. VOLADORA – a bird-like, nocturnal messenger of death, from South America. **

ZC: This may be a real bird, or local scare story. VOLKH – a shape-shifting beast from Kiev. **

ZC: Another faceless entity. VOUKODLAK – a night prowling entity said to have wings of flame, and alleged to prey upon sleeping humans. This is a were-creature similar to the ‘hag’. See also Vjestica. **

ZC: Female version of the vampire or bogeyman.

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Vuokho VUOKHO – in Scandinavia and Finland, the Sami people speak of this monster bird, which makes a loud noise by the beating of its wings. ****

ZC: Such a beast has a history to match any other monster bird across the world, but in the modern day it is no more than a myth. VULPINE VISITOR – in his 1937 book ‘Caravansary and Conversation’, author Richard Curle described a beast he encountered in Scotland, one night, whilst lying in bed at 2:00 a.m. He heard footsteps outside his house, and then inside, and then close to his bedroom door; and was then face to face with a creature that walked on two legs, had the face of a fox and wore a top hat! The creature was vulpine through and through, and gave off a pungent odour. Some suggested that this manifestation was a mere dream, but Curle argued that he was wide-awake during the whole encounter. ****

ZC: Surreal in shape, and possibly more ghost-like and certainly confined to the house, or at least the witness’ mind.

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W WADDLER , THE – on the night of December 6th 2006, a Mr Condori, from the Lima area of Peru, saw a bizarre creature standing on the carport. The figure was greenish in colour, with two large eyes. It stood over two metres in height, and seemed to waddle along. It gave off a sickly smell as it moved, and then disappeared into the night, leaving behind a foul green substance. **

ZC: An alien? A zooform? Who knows? WAHEELA – the white wolf of legend, said to be a fearsome beast with supernatural powers. Such a beast, known to inhabit the bland wastes of the Canadian Northwest, is said to be responsible for the deaths of many prospectors and travellers who brave the ‘Headless Valley’ region. The Native American Indians believe that the creature removes the heads of its victims and is immune to gunfire. ****

ZC: Unknown species of giant wolf and yet so much more. WAHWEE – an Aboriginal legend that resembles an amphibious creature, which is said to haunt many a deep water hole, like the Bunyip. The Wahwee has a frog-like head, several limbs, and a long tail, measures over thirty-feet in length, and is known to cause floods and drought. Such a monster has an insatiable appetite, devouring many creatures of the bush, as well as any stray travellers and children. This beast hunts only at night, slithering from its dank lair to prowl campsites, hoping to find an easy human target. ***

ZC: Although considered a spiritual beast, the Wahwee has every chance of being a flesh and blood animal, which only the Aborigines have as yet seen. WAIKERLE WEREWOLF – this floating, dog-headed form was sighted in 1971, at 11:14 pm on the night of 14th December, in Southern Australia. Tom Yates and Glen Schiller were parked near a golf course, investigating possible strange phenomena, when they were approached by a brown-furred humanoid that seemed to hover through the woods. It had pointed ears, a small mouth, and seemed to be over six-feet tall. They also claimed that the beast might have been dropped off by a weird craft they’d also seen in the area. **

ZC: Difficult to say whether this is just a made-up story or a ghost tale etc.

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WAKINYAN – in North America this giant bird resembles the great Thunderbirds of folklore. These particular flapping wonders have red feathers; other types of Wakinyan are blue, and without eyes or ears, and also a species which has yellow feathers but no beak. It is said that you will always know when this great bird is on its way, because its cry will rumble in the sky. **** ZC: Researchers have often questioned as to whether the Thunderbird is now an extinct species of giant bird, but the legend of the Wakinyan seems to suggest more of a spectral omen rather than flesh and blood creature. WALDAGI – this beast exists in the folklore of Australia, and is believed to be flesh and blood, although many claim this is a spirit creature. It is dog-like but an unknown species. ***

ZC: Believed to be a surviving form of the mainland Thylacine. WANAQUE WINGED CREATURE – in 1966 a boy collecting insects at a place known as Dead Man’s Pond, in rural New Jersey, encountered a giant bird-like creature with a wingspan of over twenty-feet. ***

ZC: Likely encounter with a massive bird. WARMINSTER APEMAN – in the early hours of 24th May 1970, at Cradle Hill, Warminster, in England, four people, believed they’d seen a strange disc-like object land over the mount. A few moments later they were approached by a monkey-like man around threefeet tall, which then trailed off and disappeared into the mist. **

ZC: This may have been an escaped creature, or something more, but every time such creatures are connected to UFOs I’m always sceptical. WARMINSTER GOATMAN – Warminster, in Britain, was once considered an area bathed in high strangeness, mainly in the form of alien spacecraft. In 1972, on the night of 14th August, near Longleat Woods, a married couple, parked near Cley Hill, watched a weird light in the sky, and heard loud ‘shooting’ sounds. It was then that they encountered an ‘awesome creature’ that was green-coloured, scaled on its belly, and gargantuan in size. They said it looked like a massive goat. **

ZC: Allegedly the witnesses drew sketches of the ‘critter’, but once again, the connection with UFOs puts a dampener on the whole situation.

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WASGO – a creature very similar to the Sea Wolf, possibly being the same serpent believed in by tribes of the Pacific Northwest for many years. Sceptics argue that such a beast is merely a product of the imagination, a creature said to represent the churning of a lake, whilst others argue that the legend speaks of a real monster. ***

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Wasgo

ZC: Serpent stories often describe flesh and blood monsters; the Wasgo seems to fit into this category even though it has mystical properties. WASHINGTON’S FLYING MEN – sighted in 1948 on the outskirts of Chehalis at 3:00 pm., Mrs Zaikowski saw a flying man 200-feet above her barn. He had wings strapped to his chest, and, although her story was mauled by scepticism, more winged men were sighted. This time three were sighted, not far from Chehalis, when a lady called Mrs. Johnson, and another witness, saw them, dressed in dark garb, and looking from side to side. **

ZC: Around this time the UFO wave had just begun after Kenneth Arnold’s sighting in 1947 of a number of disc-like craft in the sky. From then on all manner of strange looking men, weird airships, and also flying men were sighted. Were these men the original winged humanoids in the same way Zeppelin-like craft were more raw versions of today’s flying discs? WATCHERS – spectral figures in hats and cloaks said to haunt the Santa Lucia Mountains. Every time these weird, eerie beings are seen, it is said that they always look to the sky. **

ZC: An interesting and eerie legend that lacks any depth. WATCHMEN – these strange figures, often seen on the top of totems, exist as small, crouching supernatural entities said to wear tall, dark hats. See also Watchers. **

ZC: Guardian spirits. WATER CATTLE – possibly similar apparitions to the Black Bull that haunts the shore of various Irish lakes. Strange roars have been heard under many a murky surface and there are also a handful of reports of ghostly cattle actually been seen rising from the depths at places such as Kilkishen. **

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ZC: These legends seem a little more vague and obscure than the Black Bull. WATER LEAPER – a name given to many lake monsters in tradition, especially the Kelpie and other horse-like water beasts. The Leaper however, is a giant, toad-like ‘critter’ with wings, and was once said to lurk in many a Welsh lake, with its favourite meal being fishermen! ***

ZC: With lake monster tradition very dominant in the realms of cryptozoology, I often believe that we are dealing with manifestations rather than flesh and blood water dwellers. Such creatures are put there as rumour, maybe to deter poachers, or as bogeymen stories to frighten the naughty children. WATER PANTHER – the Wintun of North Carolina often avoided the Water Panther, a beast said to have large saucer-like eyes, that inhabited the deep waters of the Trinity River. The creature was often considered a bad omen, a warning of forthcoming great floods. The Panther is also spoken of in Potawatomis lore as a guardian spirit with leathery scales. ***

ZC: Could this creature have been an unknown species of fish, or other river-dwelling animal? WATER TIGER – creatures of Cree lore said to be symbols of ill luck and harsh weather. One such Tiger is the Manetuwi-rusi-pissi, of the Shawnee, and the True Tiger of Lenapizka. Elsewhere across the globe are tales of Water Grizzlies, and Water Dogs. ***

ZC: Like the ‘panther’, mentioned above, the ‘tiger’ was perceived as a spiritual entity, although there was a chance that what the Cree were seeing were in fact great fish or animals akin to the Kelpie, or their own version of the Bunyip. WATFORD WINGED THING – a strange ‘big bird’ seen in 1980 by Hertfordshire, England, by nine-year old Alex Driscoll, who was strolling to school along Gammons Lane. The over-sized thing was like someone in costume to Alex; a surreal creature standing over six-feet high, with a huge yellow-orange beak, and large, webbed feet. The bird had no feathers, but thick black fur on its head. *

ZC: It seems a little unusual…even in this weird world, for a huge bird like this to appear in the middle of Watford. This animal may well have come from the mind of the witness, or the youngster was simply confused.

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WAUKHEON – this giant bird resembles the Thunderbird. ****

ZC: Flapping phantom of traditional belief. WAUSAU ODDITY – a strange, hairless humanoid seen during the early 1990s in Wisconsin by a local man who was driving at night, when the figure appeared around fifteen-feet in front of his vehicle. The figure looked very much like a human, but its skin was oily, greyish in colour, and seemed very thin to the extent its rib-cage was evident from the sides. What startled the witness most was the speed that it fled the area. ****

ZC: This creature seems relative to so many Reptile Man accounts, but doesn’t seem as bulky, and was far more fleet of foot. WAZOOEY MAN – the dark roads several miles southwest of Pueblo, Colorado, are said to be haunted by a creature with glowing red eyes that, in May of 1975, terrified two young men who were playing with air rifles off Red Creek Road. One of the men, thinking the eerie glows were bicycle reflectors, shot at them, and the next thing they knew, they were being picked off the ground, and dumped into a ravine by a violent force. The men headed for their truck, only to find the vehicle’s keys were lost, and so they ran back along Red Creek Road. However, every time they attempted to depart from the area, something - resembling a haystack with red eyes - picked them up off the ground, and threw them to the dust, or frightened them. ****

ZC: Little is known about this hairy ‘critter’, but there could most certainly be connections made with either Sasquatch or Mothman-type figures, or even a Hairy Hands of Dartmoor nightmare scenario. Strange indeed. WEIRDO OF WILLOW CREEK – see also Horned Manbeast, as this creature also appeared in the Bracken County area of Kentucky, during the night of 10th October 1868, two years after a fiery man beast terrorised a plantation nearby. On this occasion, the ‘weirdo’ was seen by a number of residents over a short time. It was described as: “…six-

feet in height and walking upright. The face was pale, of a man, with curls of flame falling over its shoulders, and eyes of bright, glowing blue. The humanoid had strong arms with pale hands and in one hand seemed to hold a torch and in the other hand a sword. Its lower half was of a horse, its tail around three-feet of flame.” On one occasion, the entity was seen by a horseman, who stood and watched the thing as it mounted a fence rail, and then proceeded to head towards the witness, who then sped from the scene. He told many people of the strange occurrence, and a few of them went to the scene. Some were lucky enough to see the creature fleetingly, and after that night it appeared regularly in the exact same spot; two miles from Brooksville.

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****

ZC: Such a creature, although centaur-like, tends to fall into an awkward category because it is obvious that such a form, torch, sword and all, was more than just a strange, lonesome creature, and more of a symbol, or sign of maybe some forthcoming event, tragedy etc. WELSH WEREWOLF – did a hairy, bloodthirsty humanoid figure kill two men on the Bickerton Hills in 1798? Folklore from the area also states that around the time of the incident, several coaches were attacked, and livestock were also slaughtered. ***

ZC: Was a mystery cat to blame for these killings, or has folklore clouded the truth? WENDIGO – aka Windigo, forest spirit monster of the Cree people of Canada and northern United States. This creature/spirit lives in the remote areas of the forest, and preys on lone travellers. To them he appears as an ice titan, a great skeletal figure, and he is also invisible. The father of all Windigos was born long ago in the primeval forests, when a warrior became lost in the wilderness, and in his desperation he cannibalised his fellow travellers. Windigo is very much a monster of the human psyche; a fear, a cunning evil, the spirit of ice and cold rendering many travellers insane, and leaving packs of travellers fearing for their own cravings. When food is scarce in the winter months, there is a great dread of the creature; a gaunt shadow that seeks human flesh among the tall, spindly timbers, and once it finds its victim, their entrails are ripped from within. Packs of such entities feast upon humans and play with their skulls in the frost. It is believed that the Wendigo was once a ‘victim’, but are now a tribe of possessed cannibals of the forests. A creature called the Wendigo is said to have haunted Roseau in Minnesota for centuries. It is fifteen-feet tall with a shining star on its forehead. This evil, symbolic manifestation attacked and killed many of the local residents during the 1800s. ****

ZC: The nightmare of the forest, the Wendigo is classic zooform in that it has that spiritual power, a vague form that may relate it to the likes of the Sasquatch, but it is very much a creature to dread. WERE-CREATURES – a term that can describe any shape-shifting beast from Leopard Men to Werewolves. Such ‘changers’ often have Shamanic connections, and inhabit the minds of tribal folk in jungles the world over. ****

ZC: A name to describe any shape-shifting being.

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WERE-HYENA – African version of the Werewolf. Such beasts are greatly feared, but their reputation is in fact worse than their bite. **

ZC: Such creatures do not figure as strong in lore as the Werewolves. WEREWOLF – the king of the shape-shifters, and a legend strong in the forests of Europe from France to Germany, and one believed in throughout the world, and backed up by continuous reports of hairy manbeasts. Whilst many such reports may actually include Sasquatch, Bigfoot etc., there are quite clearly reports of hairy, bipedal creatures, such as Wisconsin’s Bray Road Beast, that describe creatures with long snouts and wolf-like characteristics, yet able to walk on two legs. The Werewolf, according to authors Dinah and Carol Mack are: “…the most universal form of animal

possession.”

Werewolf

They also write: “…the werewolf is a loner, and will attack any human he comes across.

Pointed ears, hair on palms, large claws, paws, eyebrows that are connected over the bridge of the nose, or hair between the shoulder blades are common werewolf features.” Whilst, in the past, conditions such as rabies, or even schizophrenia may have been attributed to some form of bodily possession from evil, the lore of the Werewolf remains throughout world cultures, with many believing that shape-shifting accounts for such metamorphosis into various were-creatures. Lore also states that the only way to kill a Werewolf is by shooting it with a silver bullet, then decapitating it, and finally burning it (in a similar way as for destroying a vampire). The Loup Garou (possibly a shortened form of ‘loup, gardez-vous’, meaning, ‘wolf, watch out!’,) is the Bayou were-beast, with a long snout, large claws, fiery eyes and complete body hair. ****

ZC: It’s difficult to say that Werewolves as such exist, but when one looks at the Bray Road Beast, or the Skinwalkers, one can see where these legends have spawned from, and how potent their imagery is in lore. The origins of such creatures may have been born from unrecognised illnesses etc., but strange, dog-headed humanoids are sighted the world over. WEREWOLVES OF IRAQ – wolf-like monsters once roamed the region known today as Iraq. Such beasts were documented in ‘The Chronicles of Denys of Tell-Mahre’, an ancient text that has mystified scholars for centuries. For, in this scribe there is mention of horrifying creatures which:

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“…fled no man, and indeed killed many people…They were like wolves, but their faces were small and long…and they had great ears. The skin on their spine resembled that of a pig. These mysterious animals committed great ravages on the people in the Abdin Rock region, near Hoh. In some villages they devoured more than 100 people, and in many others, from 20 to 40 or 50. If man did pursue them, in no way did the monsters become frightened or flee. Instead, they turned on the man. If men loosed their weapons on a monster, it leaped on the men and tore them to bits. These monsters entered houses and yards, and…climbed in the night onto terraces, stole children from their beds and went off without opposition. When they appeared, dogs were afraid to bark. For these reasons, the country suffered a more terrible experience than it had ever known before…When one of these monsters attacked a herd of goats, cattle, or a flock of sheep, they took away several at one time…These monsters finally passed from the land and went into Arzanene (a district in southern Armenia along the borders of Assyria) and ravaged every village there. They also ravaged in the country of Maipherk and along Mt. Cahai and caused great damage…” Sceptics argue that such a tale is mere fantasy, or simply hungry wolves, but what about the reports of creatures that had glowing eyes? ****

ZC: These beasts may have been relations to Salaawa and other mystery wolf-like apparitions. WEST DRAYTON BIG BIRD – a huge black bird, said to be a spectral creature, is said to haunt a churchyard three miles south of Uxbridge at West Drayton in Middlesex, UK. Its huge black wings are said to be a sign of ill fortune, although the bird has rarely been sighted since 1869. ***

ZC: Possible ‘big bird’, giant condor, thunderbird etc? WEST VIRGINIA WHITE BEAST – this creature has roamed West Virginia, and the neighbouring counties for more than a century. Some say it is a giant white bear with a pointed muzzle that stands around six to seven feet in height. Others claim that the monster is cat-like, bigger than a dog that lives in roadside ditches and attacks passing cars, whilst one report suggests it’s a cow-like animal, with the characteristics of a hog. The white ‘thing’ has been blamed for an attack on a horse in Kanawha County, whilst in Upshur County it is simply called The Hog. On Route 35 toward Winfield the creature is very much described as snow-white in colour, and able to walk on all fours as well as its

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hind legs. ****

ZC: The most confusing aspect of this ghostly creature is that it appears to take on many forms, or, the witnesses are in fact seeing different mystery animals which flitter between native, yet white-furred creatures to something far weirder. WHATSIT OF WHITE OAK MOUNTAIN – on 18th October 1973, nr Chatham, in Virginia, a creature with no eyes, that ran sideways, chased two youths. The being was whitish, around four-feet tall, and seemed to shimmer. The youths escaped the terror, which seemed to shift into a hazy green cloud-like shape. ****

ZC: Whilst details may have been exaggerated, this is still shape-shifting phenomena at its weirdest. WHE-ATCHEE – although not a modern monster, this female - and very nasty - lake dweller, exists in the lore of Nisqually Indians, who refuse to swim in the waters of Lake Steilacoom, in Tacoma. ***

ZC: Possibly a local fear of a real, but now sadly extinct, lake creature. WHITE APE – Andrew W. Montoya and a friend saw this large, muscular beast near Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1994. They were travelling in their vehicle when Andrew’s friend fell asleep. Suddenly a fiery-eyed, white furred humanoid emerged from the woods and kept pace with the car, which was travelling at 60 mph. Both witnesses (presumably the `friend` had woken up) described a strange, eerie sensation when they saw the being. ****

ZC: Sightings of white Bigfoot-like creatures are pretty common and their colouration may simply make them seem spectral at times when in fact they may be real, flesh and blood Sasquatch relatives. WHITE BADGER – a ghostly legend said to haunt the forests of Sumadija in Central Serbia. ***

ZC: Hunters claimed to have caught one of these mythical creatures, which appears to be a real animal although little else is known about the folklore, or the actual capture of such an animal. WHITE BIRDS OF SALISBURY – in the year 1414, in the Wiltshire market town, the ‘great sign of the birds’ was noted when several of them gathered around the spire of the local cathedral. The birds were said to be omens of death, said to foretell the demise of

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the local bishop. The phenomenon was also recorded in 1885 and 1911. ***

ZC: With no real description of these birds, it’s difficult to say whether they were in fact spiritual or simply a flock of birds that witnesses had never seen before and had become confused by. WHITE DEVIL – this spectral stallion haunts Rattlesnake Range, in Wyoming, USA. It is a protective apparition said to look after wild horses in the region. *

ZC: A common theme in animal hauntings, although sightings seem few and far between. WHITEFOOT – over the decades there have been several encounters between human beings and Sasquatch creatures that have been covered in white fur. This may not be such a strange characteristic, but the fact that these humanoids have been reported as having glowing red eyes is. During the 1960s, in and around Washington’s woodlands, there were several reports of a hairy demon, standing over seven-feet tall. Many youths attempted to track and shoot the beast, but it seemed immune to gunfire, and could also run at incredible speeds. ****

ZC: Albino Bigfoot may be pretty common, but such monsters also display supernatural qualities. WHITE LIGHT BIRD – a Malaysian oddity observed by several local residents in Kuala Terengganu. This bird-like phantom, sighted in April 2005, was whitish in colour, and appeared to have a white ‘light’ on the top portion of its neck! On 22nd June 2005, another weird bird was sighted in Malaysia, this time in Seberang Jaya. Mohammad Amirudin, 34, saw a black bird, much larger than a normal bird, with a red light on its front portion. ***

ZC: Although there were quite a few people willing to come forward to report this bird, it is possible they were seeing an out of place bird with which they were unfamiliar. WHITE MONKEY – a Chinese ‘monster’ or demon said to inhabit the black caves, like many other malevolent forms. This beast steals women, and could represent some kind of Yeti-like primate, feared by the locals in the snow-laden regions. ***

ZC: Abominable Snowman relative. WHITE MONKEY’S OF WHITE WOLF HOLLOW – bizarre creatures often run down by motorists in Blacksburg, South Carolina. Located next to Kings Mountain State and Na-

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tional Parks, White Wolf Hollow is a popular hang-out for teenagers and coonhunters, who, in their trucks have hit the phantom monkeys only to find no trace. A large cat-like animal with glowing red eyes is also said to inhabit the area. ****

ZC: Classic zooform from an area of high strangeness, with Lover’s Lanes, strange animal sightings and roadside phantoms. WHITE PANTHER – an alleged hoax from the 1930s, which seemed to manifest into something more real as sightings began to persist of this nocturnal creature in northwestern Georgia. It is said that a group of friends made the whole panic up after seeing a barn owl, but after the incident many people were coming forward to report fleeting glimpses of a whitish form. **

ZC: The perfect example of zooform. Although many creatures in this book are brief, campfire creations, they really are able to take on a form, once the local public becomes more interested, and in some cases, deeply frightened by what has been created. WHITE SCREAMER – a misty, ghostly form said to haunt a place known as White Bluff in the USA. Some claim the legend dates back to the 1920s as a murky spook tale, whilst youths who gather around the roaring campfire speak of the horror as a tall, white, humanoid with sharp claws. Its vague disguise suggests that the legend alters through time, but whatever the case, the screaming terror is an omen of doom. *

ZC: Frail ghost story. WHITE SERPENT – a great, supernatural water beast from Swedish folklore, said to only be sighted once every one-hundred years. **

ZC: Unlikely to be a real creature, or even an ethereal beast, more likely to exist as lore. WHITE SHAPESHIFTER – if ever you wanted proof that some of these zooform beasts and odd-bodies are all connected, then look no further than one night in 1869, when three young men, working on fence posts in New South Wales, Australia, encountered an amorphous-looking white object that eerily changed into a humanoid figure. The being stood over eight-feet in height, but when one of the men bravely struck the form with a stick, it sounded hollow! The thing then suddenly attacked the men, who fled the scene. When the men returned to the area on another occasion to do some more work, once again the humanoid appeared, and they also saw a ghostly dog dragging a chain around its neck. ****

ZC: Little else is known about this interesting incident, but what it does seem to show is

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that such forms could well be one and the same thing; teasing spectres able to take on any form they wish. WHITE WINGED MONSTER – one of many Puerto Rico mysteries, this time in the form of a peculiar beast sighted in Lajas on 14th January 1998. Carlos David Varguas Montalvo, an employee at the University of Puerto Rico cow ranch, was calling the cows in at 5:30 am when he noticed what he thought was a stray animal at the back of the field. After several calls but to no avail, Carlos walked over towards the animal expecting to see a sick cow. What faced him was far stranger; a twisting, all-white phantom that sprouted two huge wings, and resembled a gigantic bird. The beast flew off towards Laguna Catagena, leaving Carlos terrified. ****

ZC: Large bird-like creatures have been connected to cattle mutilations across the globe, whilst some of the predators investigated appear to be more than flesh and blood. WHITE WOLVES – werewolf-like creatures blamed for snatching more than thirty-three children in Bandirpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. On 16th August 1996 Sita Devi saw a bizarre beast that grabbed her fourteen-year old brother. The creature clasped the boy, and then stood on two powerful legs and killed him. Sita claimed that the creature wore goggles and a black helmet. Legend has it that White Wolves, similar to were-beasts, are to blame. See also Monkey Man. ****

ZC: The trauma of Monkey Man caused a great deal of terror in India, and it seems as though that particular entity was not the only prowler to fear. WILKIE – this is a hulking man-beast from the remote Scottish Highlands. This hideous humanoid resembles Bigfoot although many claim that this being is supernatural. ****

ZC: Similar to the Grey Man. WI-LU-GHO-YUK – a flesh-devouring, mouse-like animal from Alaska and the far north. This peculiar and grim little form, is said to hunt humans, and wait by the roadside for an unfortunate victim to pass by. Such a ‘critter’ is said to slip into the clothes or garments of its victims, and then once near the flesh, its bite emits an anaesthetic which numbs any pain. However, before you know it, the creature is inside the body, gnawing its way through. This horrid little thing can eat more than its size suggests. Away from the flesh, these strange forms resemble any other rodent-like animal, and can be killed easily, but once inside the human body, only death can save you! ***

ZC: Although such beasts appear in many books regarding tall-tales, there is a possibility that we could be dealing with some small, unknown creature.

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WINDERMERE WHITE HORSE – this ghostly animal appears on the lake as an omen. **

ZC: Spectral tale, which does not seem to have been backed up by any eyewitness reports. WINGED DOG – this Texan anomaly haunts the Premont Water Treatment Plant and is often seen lingering around the sewage. **

ZC: This sounds like an interesting haunting. There appears to be no record of sightings, but why a winged dog should loiter in such a foul area, nobody seems to know. WINGED FOOTBALL – a paranormal creature said to be able to telepathically communicate with humans, and to attack them also. This Chilean nightmare surfaced around January 2002 in Villa San Rafael when it threatened two teenagers. They described it as shaped like a rugby-ball, but having wings, and a bulldog face. Dr. Sanchez-Ocejo, a well-known Ufologist, suspected that the mysterious ball was entering Chile through a `dimensional doorway`. Various other reports from the time claimed that the two teenagers who saw the entity, described seeing: “…a creature like a rabbit that made short leaps…we began to feel some energy, like an electrical shock to the stomach...”. Further descriptions sketched the creature as having flat, round and large ears, short arms, having hands each with three fingers, and hair like a wild pig. The two teenagers seemed to describe a Goatsucker-like entity, as it had thick fur down its spine, goat-like legs, a tail with a white tip, and red, slit eyes like those of a lizard. ****

ZC: Whilst such a story may sound zany, these blobs, amorphous balls, et al, are pretty common in lore, mainly appearing as nightly terrors. One such entity was prominent within the Monkey Man panic in India, in which the attacker was described as being a brightly lit football. WINGED SNAKES – could such creatures explain the current sightings of Rods across the world? Winged Snakes were said to guard spice-bearing trees in Arabia. ****

ZC: Every possibility that we could tie these winged snakes in with the Rods phenomenon, which seem to display the ways of flesh and blood creatures, but which are not seen by the naked eye. Winged Snakes

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WINGED THING OF WALNUT CREEK – several witnesses in October of 1975, experienced a large, flying gargoyle-type creature. The leathery beast was sighted as it perched in trees, and also, on one occasion, on the roof of a house in California. The monster was like a grey humanoid, and its wings spanned over fifteen-feet. ****

ZC: Several reports back up this local legend. WISE COUNTY WINGED CREATURE – a rather vague black, bird-like monster, described by a young girl who saw the creature outside a schoolyard in Texas on 12th January 2004. ***

ZC: Nothing more than a large bird? WISHT HOUNDS – black hounds said to roam Dartmoor. It is said that their favourite haunt is Wistman’s Wood, two miles north of Two Bridges. ****

ZC: Black hounds of lore. WITCHIE WOLF – this creature comes from Chippewa lore and is said to haunt the ground used to bury the bodies of slain warriors. Motorists driving in the vicinity of Omer Plains, Michigan have claimed to have heard the weird barking of these creatures. ***

ZC: Maybe there is some flesh and blood truth behind the legend of these beasts, or maybe they slip into that dark realm populated by similar creatures such as Skinwalkers and spirit hounds etc. WOADD-EL-UMA – according to legend, this beast is a mer-creature that inhabits Sudan, mainly the Nile valley region. Reports date back as far as the early 1800s, when witnesses described seeing water-dwelling humanoids covered in hair. Maybe these creatures were Sasquatch relatives as they often left huge footprints on the muddy banks. ****

ZC: These beings seem to have the characteristics of both Bigfoot and Merfolk, and their legend is reasonably strong although more recent reports seem non-existent. WOLF MAN – a Uruguayan attacker said to have sexually assaulted two young women in Rivera in July 1993. One of the victims was left with deep claw marks to the chest. ***

ZC: Although Werewolf-type creatures, often known as the Lobizon, are common in South America, this case seems vague despite its serious nature.

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WOLF WOMAN – a terrifying individual seen in Alabama, USA, in the Spring of 1971. Witnesses described the creature as: “…unnatural…the top half being of a woman, and

the lower half that of a wolf”. **** ZC: A confused report maybe, but typical weirdness. WOLHAARHOND – this is a red-glowing phantom hound that haunts parts of the Netherlands. Many who see such an eerie form, are able to detect its presence from afar; for in the night, on a dark and foggy lane, this hound appears as a fiery glow in the distance. Witnesses often take flight before they can observe its form at closer quarters. ****

ZC: A classic, spooky hound, which only varies from its many relatives by its glow colour. WOLPERTINGER – a mythical entity from the forests of Bavaria, Germany, this is a creature said to be made up of several other animals. It is a winged beast with large fangs and said to resemble a horned rabbit. **

ZC: A made-up ‘critter’. WOLVERHAMPTON WINGED MAN – possible Mothman and Owlman connections here. Two men sighted this eerie winged humanoid on the evening of 8th March 2004 as they strolled across Northicote Farm in the West Midlands. The entity they saw was standing high on the branches of a tree near an old Tudor farmhouse in Wolverhampton, and it seemed to blend in with the foliage. The creature had two membranous wings, clawed hands that were connected to the wings, and was grey in colour with two arms, two legs and a human-like head. The creature watched the men below, as they stared up at it, then it glided to the next tree, the branches bending to sustain its weight. The men fled the area, unnerved by the creature and its stare. ****

ZC: Either a clever hoax, or another of those eerie winged humanoids that turn up all over the world. WOLVES OF BROOKS BRIDGE – a pack of spectral animals seen running across this bridge at Fort Walton Beach, in Florida. ****

ZC: An eerie sight for any motorist! Where these wolves have come from is anyone’s guess, but this is an intriguing haunting. WOMAN IN RED – a spectral woman said to haunt lonely roads of northern Mexico. In the Spring of 1992, a male motorist observed a woman dressed in red walking along a

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remote lane. As he drew closer, he asked the lady if she’d like a lift, and she said ‘yes’. However, to his horror, he noticed that the woman had goat-like legs. As soon as he panicked the being vanished. **

ZC: This sounds like a local phantom hitchhiker legend. WOOD DEVIL – these grey, hairy, humanoid creatures were said to haunt the woodlands of New Hampshire. **

ZC: Possible Bigfoot-relatives here or mere woodland spook stories? WOOLPIT WOLF – a spectral, giant wolf has been seen emerging from a hole in the ground in a village in Suffolk, that derives its name from ‘wolf-pit’. ****

ZC: A legend to intrigue and certainly one worth investigation. Is this creature a phantom hound, or did an out-of-place wolf roam the area? WUCH’ANG KUEI – weird chimera figures of Oriental lore, which can take on the form of men, but having ox or horse heads. **

ZC: Monsters of tradition. WULVER – the so-called Werewolf of the Shetlands, a creature like that of a man with a wolf’s head, covered in short brown hair. **

ZC: There are several legends of werewolves roaming the moors of Britain but no reports to really back them up.

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X XEXEU – similar to the Thunderbird, this massive bird exists in South American lore, particularly among the Cashmawa people. Folklore states that these birds bring the storm clouds. ****

ZC: A variation on a worldwide phenomenon.

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Y YAKEHTAN AMAI – the Cherokee name for the Fence Rail Dog. ****

ZC: See conclusion of Fence Rail Dog. YALI – Indian lore speak of the lion-like beast with elephant tusks. ***

ZC: Unknown species of ‘big cat’, or other flesh and blood animal, that still hides from man. YAMA INU – the ‘mountain dog’ of Japan*, said to resemble a huge wolf, which is said to inhabit the vegetation on hilly pathways, where it lurks and waits for lonely travellers. Should a wanderer be good-natured then the wolf will protect him, but should the traveller be a bad person then he will be torn to pieces. When the wolf monster is good natured it becomes the Okuri Inu, or ‘sending dog’. *The Japanese Wolf refers to two extinct subspecies of the grey wolf. The subspecies that the name 'Japanese Wolf' usually describes, is the Honshû Wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax), which occupied the islands of Honshû, Shikoku, and Kyûshû in Japan. It is thought to have become extinct due to a combination of rabies, which was first reported in Kyûshû and Shikoku in 1732, and human eradication. The last known specimen died in 1905, in Nara Prefecture. Some interpretations of the Honshû Wolf's extinction stress the change in local perceptions of the animal: rabies-induced aggression and deforestation of the wolf's habitat forced them into conflict with humans, and this led to them being targeted by farmers.[1] There are currently eight known pelts and five stuffed specimens of the Japanese Wolf in existence. One stuffed specimen is in the Netherlands, three are in Japan, and the animal caught in 1905 is kept in the British Museum. Owing to its small size (the Honshû Wolf is the smallest known variety of wolf, probably due to allopatric speciation/island dwarfing) the Honshû Wolf's classification as a subspecies of the grey wolf is disputed. The other endemic wolf of Japan was the Ezo Wolf (Canis lupus hattai), also known as the Hokkaido Wolf, which occupied the island of Hokkaidõ in Japan. The Ezo Wolf was larger than the Honshû Wolf, more closely approaching the size of a regular grey wolf. The Ezo Wolf reportedly became extinct in 1889 as a result of deliberate strychnine poisoning by farmers. The Japanese Wolf was afforded a benign, rather than malignant, place in Japanese mythology and religion: the clan leader Fujiwara no Hidehira was said to have been raised by wolves, and the wolf is often symbolically linked with mountain kami in Shinto (the most famous example being the wolf kami of Mitsumine Shrine in the town of Chichibu in Saitama Prefecture). Sightings of the Japanese Wolf have been claimed from the time of its extinction to the present day, but none of these have been verified.

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**

ZC: Japanese folktale with echoes of the Black Dog phenomenon. YAMA UBA – an Oriental spectre of the forests and mountains, said to resemble a female ogre. **

ZC: Tradition of the Orient often speaks of female monsters keen to grasp male victims, and drink their blood. The Yama Uba is no exception. YANN-AN-OED – although this is pretty much a faceless sea leviathan with the cry of an owl, like so many other sinister apparitions its motive is simply to kill humans. Should any person respond to its wail, the beast will seek them out and eat them. *

Yama Uba

ZC: This is a banshee-type figure of the lore of Breton. YARDLEY YETI – how some strange creatures get to be labelled can only be put down to the sometimes foolish, and ill educated of reporters. The Courier Times of Buckinghamshire reported on such a ‘monster’ in 2006, despite the fact that the creature not only resembled a fox, but actually turned out to be a fox! So, what on earth has a Yeti got to do with the whole affair? Well, nothing at all. It was merely an inadequate headline to describe something, which at the time, was a mystery. Such a local legend was born from an original eyewitness testimony, in which a female witness described an animal with a long tail, with several other witnesses speaking of seeing something like a mix between a fox, jackal, and cougar, with long fangs, a smooth coat, and a long snout. Again, nothing at all like a Yeti! Shame on that reporter! Over the course of a few weeks a number of people came forward to tell of their encounters with the creature said to also haunt the Wakefield area, and even the police got involved in the act, despite one female witnesses merely describing seeing a fox that was acting ‘funny’! However, despite the vague reports, some claimed that the legendary beast had been haunting the local woods since 1991, and that it was evil, and had the strangest blue eyes. Some stated it was a large cat such as a puma; maybe in some cases that had taken place in the past it had been.

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Unfortunately, despite all the fuss, hazy mystery, and bad coverage, the animal did in fact turn out to be a fox with mange, not quite an Abominable Snowman, or even anything remotely interesting. ***

ZC: Many zooform legends are born from either badly identified animals, hoaxes, or hysteria, and this particular case seems to have originated from all three of these. However, watching such legends develop is truly an amazing thing, because they really can transform into spooky campfire critters, and out of hand panic, with many witnesses describing all manner of monsters. Although real monsters rarely lie behind the façade of local rumour, it’s nice to know that a local community can still create them, without even knowing it! YAQUARU – the Guarani Indians who inhabit Patagonia in northern Argentina, often speak of this mysterious beast. They say that it inhabits the deep waters and appears as a monster felid, sometimes known as a ‘water tiger’, for it has yellowish fur, a long tail, large claws and huge tusks. The beast drags horses and other large prey to the bottom of the river where it lives. ***

ZC: We could be dealing with an unknown water creature, or something very much a local dread. YARA-MA-YHA-WHO – (the “little laughing boy who never dies”) aboriginal folklore notes this creature as a sinister frog-like humanoid, tiny in structure, but evil in motive. This spectre is a tree dwelling vampire that springs on its victims, and clasps them with its sucker-like hands before draining them of crimson. ***

ZC: There is a remote possibility that what we have here is a real tree-dwelling creature, a large frog of sorts although legend may drop it into the rather exaggerated folk tale section. Heuvelmans suggested that it could be a race memory of a spectral tarsier – a prosimian from the other side of Wallace’s line - which had wormed its way into aboriginal folklore, even before the peoples arrived in Australia. YCHEN BANNOG – spectral oxen of Welsh mythology, said to have been used by men to drag frightful monsters from their dens. **

ZC: Folklore. YECK – furry entities from India said to wear white caps, which - if stolen by humans will result in the thief becoming invisible. **

ZC: Extremely weird creatures of an obscure nature.

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YELLER – howling, unseen beast. see also Drekavac. ****

ZC: A portent of death, unseen in the shadows of the night, but feared in Slavic mythology. YELLOW APE – a three hundred year-old monster ape, yellow in colour, said to lurk in the grounds of Drumlanrig Castle, Scotland. *

ZC: Maybe a ghost story, although very likely to be nothing more than a hoax. YELLOW DOG OF GWYNEDD – a small phantom hound said to walk the lawn of the Maes y Neuadd hotel. **

Yellow Ape

ZC: Depending on how often this dog is sighted, this is probably nothing more than a ghost of a pet. YELLOW MONSTERS OF VIETNAM – eight-feet tall humanoids encountered by a group of soldiers on 17th December 1974 north of the DMZ, where the armed soldiers were on a search and destroy mission, and, therefore, heavily armed. However, as they ventured into the forest, the more eerie the scenery and atmosphere became around them. They discovered unusual excrement, and then came face to face with a group of bright yellow-coloured creatures that had large claws in three-digit hands. The group of troops hid in the bushes, and then moved on, but were then alarmed to hear a crashing through the undergrowth and these beings in hot pursuit. The men fired many rounds into the chests of the some of the humanoids, but to no effect. The men escaped the area via boat. ****

ZC: Whilst we may, at first, have been dealing with Bigfoot-like creatures, their immunity to gunfire proves otherwise. YELLOW SPECTRE – this Irish phenomenon is a spindly figure said to have eyes like caverns that, should you stare deep into them, the result would be certain death. Such an apparition was sighted in 1912 by a six-year old girl at Cork Harbour. The thing was simply standing by the sea wall staring across the water. **

ZC: Urban legend.

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YENALDOOSHI – another term for the Skinwalker. ****

ZC: See Skinwalker. YETH HOUNDS – Black Dogs of Devonshire. ****

ZC: Another creature of Westcountry legend. YETL – in Athapascant creation this is a large raven with fiery eyes. ***

ZC: Real, but now extinct, bird or possible bad omen. YIPON – this boar-like beast roams parts of Guinea and is a hunting demon. See also Adati. **

ZC: Such ‘critters’ are considered evil, although they can bring luck to the hunt, and also shape-shift. YOKAI – like many monsters of the Orient, the Yokai appear deep within the human psyche, and are often connected to violent death. The Yokai emerge from muddy rice fields to attack any monk that may be in the vicinity. **

ZC: File alongside the Oni, Gaki etc., as beasts of the mind, connected to death and destruction. YORKSHIRE MAGGOT – the evil, maggot-like apparition that appeared in Yorkshire, England, a number of years ago (date unknown). It manifested its evil self to a Mr. Mullins, whilst he walked through a dusk layered churchyard one evening as he finished his postal rounds. An eerie moon glowed in the crystal sky as he strolled home, yet little did he realise that on that particular night he was in the wrong place and at the wrong time. Something caught his tired eyes, an amorphous blobby thing that squirmed and lurched itself from a recently filled-in grave that was occupied by a local villager named Mr. Peters. The horrid, oozing mass appeared like a bulbous worm, a fat, greedy grub that seemed to bloat the more it squeezed itself into the cool night air, and left behind the wretched confines of its soiled lair. Mr. Mullins, although eager to get home, and unbelieving of what his eyes were pinned to, watched the maggot-like manifestation, as it slipped and wriggled across the floor, and headed into the darkness of a pathway. Mullins followed, fear unnerving him as he forced himself into the evening shadows. As if the churchyard eeriness was not enough, he had stumbled upon this awful shape, a yellowy mass that

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contorted like some piece of rubber. Mullins summoned the courage to follow the ghastly thing, occasionally catching glimpses of its wide, almost human eyes, as it slimed its way towards the house of the local vicar. Mullins lost the creature behind the grey form of a tombstone, and decided to venture no further into the gloomy confines, and didn’t want to disturb the vicar. Anyway, who would believe his tale of a monster maggot? The next day, Mr. Mullins hesitantly shared his weird experience with his wife and his best friend, and they decided to accompany him the following night to the churchyard just in case what he said he saw was indeed a real, or at least, a viewable apparition. Maybe they could rationally explain the encounter. On that night, they waited in the darkness; again under the misty moon, and once again the luminous monster larva levered itself out from the grave, and oozed slowly towards the vicar’s place. Only this time it seemed to vanish into thin air as it reached the large, wooden door. None of them could believe what they had seen, but the next day, the three curious witnesses were to learn that the vicar and his immediate family who lived at the abode had become severely ill, and had been found dead. According to the doctor who was called to examine them, ptomaine poisoning was the cause. The three stunned witnesses once again visited the dark confines of the churchyard. Each time they saw the yellowy blob shift from the soil of the burial site, and venture out into the village. Shortly after the death of the vicar and his family, Mullins, his wife and their friend watched the maggot again. This time, it headed for the house of the local blacksmith; and once again it eerily vanished upon reaching the door. And like the vicar, the blacksmith too succumbed to the effects of ptomaine poisoning. These eerie happenings alarmed those who had watched the creature worm its way to these two homes, and albeit by probable coincidence - somehow affected those who resided within. Even more horror was to revolve around Mullins when, ten nights after the blacksmith’s death, the phantom grub was seen heading towards his home. It is alleged that Mullins and his wife were powerless to halt the apparition as it once again materialised from the grave, and headed for their door, and vanished upon arrival. The next day the Mullins’ were mourning the death of their five-year old son. Sickened and horror-stricken by the death, and the increasing torment of the squirming terror, Mullins, his wife and their friend decided to dig up the grave of Mr. Peters to see if he in any way had some kind of connection to the maggot. The corpse they dug up had an expression of utmost horror. They pulled the body from the ground by rope, and dragged it to a nearby field where they burnt it to a pile of smouldering ash. The remains were then returned to the grave, which was filled in, in order to cover the traces of their dirty deed.

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The hideous maggot that had brought much ill fortune to Mullins was never seen again, although further investigations revealed that the dead Mr. Peters was indeed, when alive, in major disagreement with both the vicar and the blacksmith, although Mullins was unsure as to why the bad spirit had taken his own son. Such a tale - undated and almost too bizarre - may well seem nothing more than a local ghost story distorted over the years, and we may ask why the defunct Mr. Peters had to take on the form of a greasy maggot-like spectre? Well, such questions with regards to these freakish nightmare creations are often left unanswered, and usually dissipate over the years, as these obscure monstrosities fade into lore. ****

ZC: Real vampire, existing as something between amorphous blob, and psychic energy eater. Y-PORA – an amorphous misty monster said to float aimlessly along the waterways of South America. Legend also states that this form is half-human/half-fish. **

ZC: Local ghost story. YUCATAN WOLFWOMAN – a bird-killing paranormal entity said to prowl parts of Merida, Mexico. The creature stands only a metre-and-a-half tall, is covered in hair, and has glowing red eyes. On 2nd February 2004 Martin Morita reported: “…over 100 residents of the Texan

Palomeque commissariat of the municipality of Hunucuma, backed by 10 police officers of said entity, went after an alleged ‘paranormal being’ dubbed ‘the wolf woman’, whose escapades have caused fear among residents of this and other Yucatan communities. Armed with rifles, shotguns, pistols and equipped with lanterns, the locals organised themselves by groups and plunged into the wilderness in order to put an end to this ‘being’, described by eyewitnesses as hairy, standing approximately a metre and a half, walking on two legs and with glowing red eyes.” When the creature was sighted, after slaying hundreds of birds, it was said to have been heading towards Umn, although there was no further trace of the Manimal. ****

ZC: Mexico and much of South America is rife with tales of short, squat creatures roaming the night and attacking women, pets and livestock. YUKI ONNA – the ‘snow woman’ of Japanese lore, said to lead humans astray, during heavy snowstorms. The ‘lady of the snow’ can take on a vaporous form, and suck the

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breath from the mouth of her victims, by hovering above them like the old hag. **

ZC: Similar to so many other Oriental vampires. The legend is so strong, that maybe they deserve to be respected more, but although these monsters exist as classic, ghoulish ghost stories, they have no real substance to their twilight masquerades.

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Z ZARNOW WEREWOLF – this werewolf-like figure, said to have carried a club, roamed this area in Germany in 1831, and was said to have mutilated many cattle, and to even ripped a child to pieces. Peasants at the time thought that a wolf was responsible, until they came face to face with the man-beast. ****

ZC: Werewolves in Germany are popular myth, although those yielding clubs are rare in documented tales. However, this doesn’t rule out the Werewolf in this tale. ZIPHIUS – this owl-headed monster fish, has an enormous mouth that resembles a pit, and such a creature was once feared by sailors. ***

ZC: Slight possibility that the creature encountered was a terrifying fish. ZITTLESTOWN GHOST DOG – Ziphius whitish Hellhound sighted in Middleton, USA, in the 1960s. The dog has no head but drags a chain around its neck. ****

ZC: Reports of Black Dogs wearing chains around their necks are actually common, others are headless, and some vary in colour. Whatever the case, the Black Dogs are the most common of all zooform creatures. ZIZ – in the Biblical book of `Psalms`, this great bird is the protector of all birds. ***

ZC: A mighty bird that may well be long extinct and held in high esteem at one point. ZOOBIES – interdimensional ‘apemen’ sighted in Alpine, California in 1971, These creatures were said to vary in height, yet all were covered in thick, brown fur, and were often seen at night going through garbage bins. ***

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ZC: A researcher at the time claimed these beasts were from another planet, but it seems more likely that such creatures were similar to Bigfoot. ZOTZ – a winged demon with a dog’s head, said to prowl Mayan folklore. **

ZC: If more was known about this particular entity, it may have propelled itself to an extra star. As it is, the legend is vague. ZU – a lion-headed great bird from Sumerian lore. ***

ZC: Legend may cloud fact. ZULU BASKET MONSTER – a freakish creature from African lore said to resemble, a basket! The critter apparently has legs and is able to run off! *

ZC: We end on something extremely quirky and bizarre, and ridiculous.

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“I find that before the terrible event occurred several people had seen a creature upon the moor which corresponds with this Baskerville demon, and which could not possibly be any animal known to science. They all agreed that it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and one a moorland farmer, who all tell the same story of this dreadful apparition, exactly corresponding to the hell-hound of the legend. I assure you that there is a reign of terror in the district, and that it is a hardy man who will cross the moor at night” From ‘The Hound Of The Baskervilles’ by Arthur Conan Doyle.

“…. she turned to me and whispered, ‘Things are not what they seem’. She said that it is important to remember things you see and feel. Owls are sometimes big. There! That was the one I had forgotten already. Owls are sometimes big. I hope that doesn’t mean my mom talked about that ‘Owl Dream’ I had. I don’t think so, but that’s the only way it makes sense to me. I hope I’ll understand all of this soon.” From The Secret Diary Of Laura Palmer (1990)

SOURCES & BIBLIOGRAPHY Arnold, Neil. – Odd-Bodies (Privately Published 2003) Arnold, Neil. – Clandestine Creatures (Privately Published 2004) Bader, Chris – Strange Northwest (Hancock House 1995) Bord, Janet & Colin – Alien Animals (Granada/Panther 1985) Brooks, John. – The Good Ghost Guide (Jarrold 1994) Coghlan, Ronan. – A Dictionary of Cryptozoology (Xiphos 2005) Coleman, Loren. – Mothman and Other Curious Encounters (Paraview Press 2002) Coleman, Loren – Mysterious America (Paraview Press 2001) Corrales, Scott – Flashpoint: High Strangeness in Puerto Rico (Amarna 1998) Corrales, Scott – Chupacabras and Other Mysteries (Greenleaf 1997) Downes, Jonathan – The Owlman and Others (Domra Pub 1998) Downes, Jonathan – Only Fools and Goatsuckers (CFZ Communications 2001) Downes, Jonathan & Freeman, Richard (Ed.) – CFZ Yearbook 2004 (CFZ 2004) Farrant, David – Beyond the Highgate Vampire (various ) Freeman, Richard - Dragons: More then a Myth? (CFZ Press 2005) Godfrey, Linda – The Beast of Bray Road (Prairie Oak Press 2003) Godfrey, Linda – Hunting the American Werewolf (Trails Books 2006) Dennis William Hauck – The International Directory of Haunted Places (Penguin 2000) Healy, Tony & Cropper, Paul – Out of the shadows: mystery animals of Australia (Ironbark 1994) Holiday, Ted – The Goblin Universe (Xanadu 1986) Hufford, David. J. – The Terror That Comes in the Night (University Of Penn Press 1982) Keel, John. A. – The Mothman Prophecies (Illuminet Press 1991) Keel, John. A. – Strange Creatures from Time and Space (Sphere 1976) Lazarus, Richard. – Beyond the Impossible (Warner 1994) Mack, Carol K. & Mack, Dinah – A Field Guide to Demons (Owl 1998) McKewan, Graham J. - Mystery Animals of Britain and Ireland (Hale 1986) McCloy, James F. & Miller Jr. Ray – Phantom of the Pines (Middle Atlantic Press 1998) Meurger, Michel – Lake Monster Traditions (Fortean Tomes 1988) Moore, Steve (Ed.) – Fortean Studies Volume 5 (John Brown Pub. 1998) Powell, Thom – The Locals (Hancock House 2003) Sergent, Donnie Jr & Wamsley, Jeff – Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend (Mothman Lives Pub. 2002) Shuker, Karl P. N. – From Flying Toads to Snakes with Wings (Llewellyn 1997) Shuker, Karl P. N. – The UnXplained (Carlton 1996)

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INTERNET: Centre For Fortean Zoology, Weird Wisconsin, Mystery Mag, Roadghosts, WeirdNJ, Cryptozoology.Com, Rense, American Monsters, Hollowhill., Hawaiilink, Ufoinfo, GCBRO, NJDevilHunters, Regional Folklore & Mythology, Shetland Today, GoSouthAmerica, Afrikaworld, The Bestiary, Mystic Creatures, Orkneyjar, Suite101, AlienDave, Grave Addiction, West Virginia’s True Ghost Stories, Shadowlands, FrankWarren.Blogspot.Com, s8inT, Prairie Ghosts, Mostly Medieval, Farshores, NZ Herald, Gareth Long’s Encyclopedia Of Monsters, ParanormalNews, Dark Dorset, Mystery Animals Of Ireland, Strange Nation, Cryptokeeper, Paranormal Database, Mysterious Britain, Monsters You Never Heard Of, Creature Chronicles, Sunday Times, En.Wikipedia, NZ Ghosts, Encyclopedia Mythica, Occultopedia, Your County, CampbellAuctions.com, Unnatural Predators, Paranormality, Sayville, Ghostvillage, Youkaimura, Ananova, UFOMEK, UFOINDIA, CNN, Haunted-Britain.com, Historic Pelham, Sacred Texts, Godchecker, Shroudeater, Magick7, Pantheon, Old Russia, Oregon Bigfoot, Folklore Heritage In The Pacific Northwest, Virtually Strange, TheTravelRag, Obakemono, Unknown Creature Spot. MAGAZINES ETC:

Dead Of Night, Animals & Men, Encounters, The Goblin Universe, Evening Post, Daily Star, La Estrella del Loa, Strange Magazine, Fortean Times, Times Of India, Ham & High Express, La Gaceta, Washington Post, Enterprise, La Cuarta, The Times, Louisville Courier, New York Sun, The Pioneer, Daily Review, Fairfield Towne Crier, The Ledger. PEOPLE: Jonathan Downes and Richard Freeman for their support over the years, Mark North, Graham Inglis, Nick Redfern, Loren Coleman, Richard Hendricks, Dennis William Hauck, Janet and Colin Bord, Jan Harold Brunvand, Albert Rosales, David Farrant, Amy McCormick, Karl P. N. Shuker, Jeremy Waddington, J. V. Chester, Stormbringer, Scott Corrales, John Keel, Tony White (Animal X), Sean Tudor, Ronan Coghlan, Linda Godfrey, Ron Schaffner, Jacques Vallee, Sam Shearon and my family X.

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Neil Arnold has had an interest in zooform phenomena, undiscovered animals and folklore since watching the docu-drama "The Legend of Boggy Creek" at the age of nine! (It's about a Bigfoot-like monster, if you want to know). Neil runs Kent Big Cat Research, and has done for well over a decade, spending most of his time in the field monitoring exotic felids, as well as writing articles on non-native, as well as indigenous, felids worldwide. He has also written authoritatively on the Highgate 'vampire' case, Bigfoot and lake monsters, as well as owning an enormous collection of cryptozoology documentaries. He has appeared on Sky News, the BBC, ITV, radio, and has self-published two books so far: OddBodies: An Investigation Into A Selection of Monsters Triggered By The Cosmic Mechanism, and Clandestine Creatures: Animals, Manimals & Monsters Of The Mind. His interests include 1960s culture/fashion, psychedelia, Marc Bolan, America's elusive 'Zodiac' serial killer, and the films of David Lynch.

Other books available from

CFZ PRESS

THE OWLMAN AND OTHERS - 30th Anniversary Edition Jonathan Downes - ISBN 978-1-905723-02-7

£14.99

EASTER 1976 - Two young girls playing in the churchyard of Mawnan Old Church in southern Cornwall were frightened by what they described as a "nasty bird-man". A series of sightings that has continued to the present day. These grotesque and frightening episodes have fascinated researchers for three decades now, and one man has spent years collecting all the available evidence into a book. To mark the 30th anniversary of these sightings, Jonathan Downes, has published a special edition of his book.

DRAGONS - More than a myth? Richard Freeman - ISBN 0-9512872-9-X

£14.99

First scientific look at dragons since 1884. It looks at dragon legends worldwide, and examines modern sightings of dragon-like creatures, as well as some of the more esoteric theories surrounding dragonkind. Dragons are discussed from a folkloric, historical and cryptozoological perspective, and Richard Freeman concludes that: “When your parents told you that dragons don’t exist - they lied!”

MONSTER HUNTER Jonathan Downes - ISBN 0-9512872-7-3

£14.99

Jonathan Downes' long-awaited autobiography, Monster Hunter... Written with refreshing candour, it is the extraordinary story of an extraordinary life, in which the author crosses paths with wizards, rock stars, terrorists, and a bewildering array of mythical and not so mythical monsters, and still just about manages to emerge with his sanity intact…….

MONSTER OF THE MERE Jonathan Downes - ISBN 0-9512872-2-2

£12.50

It all starts on Valentine’s Day 2002 when a Lancashire newspaper announces that “Something” has been attacking swans at a nature reserve in Lancashire. Eyewitnesses have reported that a giant unknown creature has been dragging fully grown swans beneath the water at Martin Mere. An intrepid team from the Exeter based Centre for Fortean Zoology, led by the author, make two trips – each of a week – to the lake and its surrounding marshlands. During their investigations they uncover a thrilling and complex web of historical fact and fancy, quasi Fortean occurrences, strange animals and even human sacrifice.

C F Z PRESS, MYRTLE COTTAGE, WOOLFARDISWORTHY BIDEFORD, NORTH DEVON, EX39 5QR w w w. c f z . o r g . u k

Other books available from

CFZ PRESS

ONLY FOOLS AND GOATSUCKERS Jonathan Downes - ISBN 0-9512872-3-0

£12.50

In January and February 1998 Jonathan Downes and Graham Inglis of the Centre for Fortean Zoology spent three and a half weeks in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Florida, accompanied by a film crew from UK Channel 4 TV. Their aim was to make a documentary about the terrifying chupacabra - a vampiric creature that exists somewhere in the grey area between folklore and reality. This remarkable book tells the gripping, sometimes scary, and often hilariously funny story of how the boys from the CFZ did their best to subvert the medium of contemporary TV documentary making and actually do their job.

WHILE THE CAT’S AWAY Chris Moiser - ISBN: 0-9512872-1-4

£7.99

Over the past thirty years or so there have been numerous sightings of large exotic cats, including black leopards, pumas and lynx, in the South West of England. Former Rhodesian soldier Sam McCall moved to North Devon and became a farmer and pub owner when Rhodesia became Zimbabwe in 1980. Over the years despite many of his pub regulars having seen the “Beast of Exmoor” Sam wasn’t at all sure that it existed. Then a series of happenings made him change his mind. Chris Moiser—a zoologist—is well known for his research into the mystery cats of the westcountry. This is his first novel.

CFZ EXPEDITION REPORT 2006 - GAMBIA ISBN 1905723032

£12.50

In July 2006, The J.T.Downes memorial Gambia Expedition - a six-person team - Chris Moiser, Richard Freeman, Chris Clarke, Oll Lewis, Lisa Dowley and Suzi Marsh went to the Gambia, West Africa. They went in search of a dragon-like creature, known to the natives as `Ninki Nanka`, which has terrorized the tiny African state for generations, and has reportedly killed people as recently as the 1990s. They also went to dig up part of a beach where an amateur naturalist claims to have buried the carcass of a mysterious fifteen foot sea monster named 'Gambo', and they sought to find the Armitage's Skink (Chalcides armitagei) - a tiny lizard first described in 1922 and only rediscovered in 1989. Here, for the first time, is their story.... With an forward by Dr. Karl Shuker and introduction by Jonathan Downes.

BIG CATS IN BRITAIN YEARBOOK 2006

Edited by Mark Fraser - ISBN 978-1905723-01-0

£10.00

Big cats are said to roam the British Isles and Ireland even now as you are sitting and reading this. People from all walks of life encounter these mysterious felines on a daily basis in every nook and cranny of these two countries. Most are jet-black, some are white, some are brown, in fact big cats of every description and colour are seen by some unsuspecting person while on his or her daily business. 'Big Cats in Britain' are the largest and most active group in the British Isles and Ireland This is their first book. It contains a run-down of every known big cat sighting in the UK during 2005, together with essays by various luminaries of the British big cat research community which place the phenomenon into scientific, cultural, and historical perspective.

C F Z PRESS, MYRTLE COTTAGE, WOOLFARDISWORTHY BIDEFORD, NORTH DEVON, EX39 5QR w w w. c f z . o r g . u k

Other books available from

CFZ PRESS

THE SMALLER MYSTERY CARNIVORES OF THE WESTCOUNTRY

£7.99

Jonathan Downes - ISBN 978-1-905723-05-8 Although much has been written in recent years about the mystery big cats which have been reported stalking Westcountry moorlands, little has been written on the subject of the smaller British mystery carnivores. This unique book redresses the balance and examines the current status in the Westcountry of three species thought to be extinct: the Wildcat, the Pine Marten and the Polecat, finding that the truth is far more exciting than the currently held scientific dogma. This book also uncovers evidence suggesting that even more exotic species of small mammal may lurk hitherto unsuspected in the countryside of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset.

THE BLACKDOWN MYSTERY Jonathan Downes - ISBN 978-1-905723-00-3

£7.99

Intrepid members of the CFZ are up to the challenge, and manage to entangle themselves thoroughly in the bizarre trappings of this case. This is the soft underbelly of ufology, rife with unsavoury characters, plenty of drugs and booze." That sums it up quite well, we think. A new edition of the classic 1999 book by legendary fortean author Jonathan Downes. In this remarkable book, Jon weaves a complex tale of conspiracy, anticonspiracy, quasi-conspiracy and downright lies surrounding an air-crash and alleged UFO incident in Somerset during 1996. However the story is much stranger than that. This excellent and amusing book lifts the lid off much of contemporary forteana and explains far more than it initially promises.

GRANFER’S BIBLE STORIES

John Downes - ISBN 0-9512872-8-1

£7.99

Bible stories in the Devonshire vernacular, each story being told by an old Devon Grandfather - ‘Granfer’. These stories are now collected together in a remarkable book presenting selected parts of the Bible as one more-or-less continuous tale in short ‘bite sized’ stories intended for dipping into or even for bed-time reading. `Granfer` treats the biblical characters as if they were simple country folk living in the next village. Many of the stories are treated with a degree of bucolic humour and kindly irreverence, which not only gives the reader an opportunity to reevaluate familiar tales in a new light, but do so in both an entertaining and a spiritually uplifting manner.

FRAGRANT HARBOURS DISTANT RIVERS John Downes - ISBN 0-9512872-5-7

£12.50

Many excellent books have been written about Africa during the second half of the 19th Century, but this one is unique in that it presents the stories of a dozen different people, whose interlinked lives and achievements have as many nuances as any contemporary soap opera. It explains how the events in China and Hong Kong which surrounded the Opium Wars, intimately effected the events in Africa which take up the majority of this book. The author served in the Colonial Service in Nigeria and Hong Kong, during which he found himself following in the footsteps of one of the main characters in this book; Frederick Lugard – the architect of modern Nigeria.

C F Z PRESS, MYRTLE COTTAGE, WOOLFARDISWORTHY BIDEFORD, NORTH DEVON, EX39 5QR w w w. c f z . o r g . u k

Other books available from

CFZ PRESS

ANIMALS & MEN - Issues 1 - 5 - In the Beginning Edited by Jonathan Downes - ISBN 0-9512872-6-5

£12.50

At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is the only professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. We have carried out expeditions to Sumatra (2003 and 2004), Mongolia (2005), Puerto Rico (1998 and 2004), Mexico (1998), Thailand (2000), Florida (1998), Nevada (1999 and 2003), Texas (2003 and 2004), and Illinois (2004). An introductory essay by Jonathan Downes, notes putting each issue into a historical perspective, and a history of the CFZ.

ANIMALS & MEN - Issues 6 - 10 - The Number of the Beast Edited by Jonathan Downes - ISBN 978-1-905723-06-5

£12.50

At the beginning of the 21st Century monsters still roam the remote, and sometimes not so remote, corners of our planet. It is our job to search for them. The Centre for Fortean Zoology [CFZ] is the only professional, scientific and full-time organisation in the world dedicated to cryptozoology - the study of unknown animals. Since 1992 the CFZ has carried out an unparalleled programme of research and investigation all over the world. We have carried out expeditions to Sumatra (2003 and 2004), Mongolia (2005), Puerto Rico (1998 and 2004), Mexico (1998), Thailand (2000), Florida (1998), Nevada (1999 and 2003), Texas (2003 and 2004), and Illinois (2004). Preface by Mark North and an introductory essay by Jonathan Downes, notes putting each issue into a historical perspective, and a history of the CFZ.

BIG BIRD! Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters

£7.99

Ken Gerhard - ISBN 978-1-905723-08-9 Today, from all over the dusty U.S. / Mexican border come hair-raising stories of modern day encounters with winged monsters of immense size and terrifying appearance. Further field sightings of similar creatures are recorded from all around the globe. The Kongamato of Africa, the Ropen of New Guinea and many others. What lies behind these weird tales? Ken Gerhard is in pole position to find out. A native Texan, he lives in the homeland of the monster some call ‘Big Bird’. Cryptozoologist, author, adventurer, and gothic musician Ken is a larger than life character as amazing as the Big Bird itself. Ken’s scholarly work is the first of its kind. The research and fieldwork involved are indeed impressive. On the track of the monster, Ken uncovers cases of animal mutilations, attacks on humans and mounting evidence of a stunning zoological discovery ignored by mainstream science. Something incredible awaits us on the broad desert horizon. Keep watching the skies!

STRENGTH THROUGH KOI They saved Hitler's Koi and other stories

£7.99

Jonathan Downes - ISBN 978-1-905723-04-1 Strength through Koi is a book of short stories - some of them true, some of them less so - by noted cryptozoologist and raconteur Jonathan Downes. Very funny in parts, this book is highly recommended for anyone with even a passing interest in aquaculture.

C F Z PRESS, MYRTLE COTTAGE, WOOLFARDISWORTHY BIDEFORD, NORTH DEVON, EX39 5QR w w w. c f z . o r g . u k

Other books available from

CFZ PRESS

CAT FLAPS! NORTHERN MYSTERY CATS Andy Roberts - ISBN 978-1905723-1-19

£7.99

Of all Britain`s mystery beasts, the alien big cats are the most renowned. In recent years the notoriety of these uncatchable, out-of-place predators have eclipsed even the Loch Ness Monster. They slink from the shadows to terrorise a community, and then, as often as not, vanish like ghosts. But now film, photographs, livestock kills, and paw prints show that we can no longer deny the existence of these once-legendary beasts. Here then is a case-study, a true lost classic of Fortean research by one of the country's most respected researchers; Andy Roberts. ‘Cat Flaps!’ is the product of many years of research and field work in the 1970s and 80s, an odyssey through the phantom felids of the North East of England. Follow Andy on his flat cap safari as he trails such creatures as the 'Whitby lynx', the 'Harrogate panther', and the 'Durham puma'.

BIG CATS IN BRITAIN YEARBOOK 2007 Edited by Mark Fraser - ISBN 978-1905723-09-6

£12.50

Big cats are said to roam the British Isles and Ireland even now as you are sitting and reading this. People from all walks of life encounter these mysterious felines on a daily basis in every nook and cranny of these two countries. Most are jet-black, some are white, some are brown, in fact big cats of every description and colour are seen by some unsuspecting person while on his or her daily business. 'Big Cats in Britain' are the largest and most active group in the British Isles and Ireland This is their first book. It contains a run-down of every known big cat sighting in the UK during 2006, together with essays by various luminaries of the British big cat research community which place the phenomenon into scientific, cultural, and historical perspective.

THE CENTRE FOR FORTEAN ZOOLOGY 2004 YEARBOOK Edited by Jonathan Downes and Richard Freeman ISBN 978-1905723140

£12.50

The Centre For Fortean Zoology Yearbook is a collection of papers and essays too long and detailed for publication in the CFZ Journal Animals & Men. With contributions from both well-known researchers, and relative newcomers to the field, the Yearbook provides a forum where new theories can be expounded, and work on little-known cryptids discussed.

THE CENTRE FOR FORTEAN ZOOLOGY 2007 YEARBOOK Edited by Jonathan Downes ISBN 978-1905723-13-3

£12.50

The Centre For Fortean Zoology Yearbook is a collection of papers and essays too long and detailed for publication in the CFZ Journal Animals & Men. With contributions from both well-known researchers, and relative newcomers to the field, the Yearbook provides a forum where new theories can be expounded, and work on little-known cryptids discussed.

C F Z PRESS, MYRTLE COTTAGE, WOOLFARDISWORTHY BIDEFORD, NORTH DEVON, EX39 5QR w w w. c f z . o r g . u k

So, what is the Centre for Fortean Zoology? We are a non profit-making organisation founded in 1992 with the aim of being a clearing house for information and coordinating research into mystery animals around the world. We also study out of place animals, rare and aberrant animal behaviour, and Zooform Phenomena; little-understood "things" that appear to be animals, but which are in fact nothing of the sort, and not even alive (at least in the way we understand the term).

Why should I join the Centre for Fortean Zoology? Not only are we the biggest organisation of our type in the world but - or so we like to think - we are the best. We are certainly the only truly global Cryptozoological research organisation, and we carry out our investigations using a strictly scientific set of guidelines. We are expanding all the time and looking to recruit new members to help us in our research into mysterious animals and strange creatures across the globe. Why should you join us? Because, if you are genuinely interested in trying to solve the last great mysteries of Mother Nature, there is nobody better than us with whom to do it.

What do I get if I join the Centre for Fortean Zoology? For £12 a year, you get a four-issue subscription to our journal Animals & Men. Each issue contains 60 pages packed with news, articles, letters, research papers, field reports, and even a gossip column! The magazine is A5 in format with a full colour cover. You also have access to one of the world's largest collections of resource material dealing with cryptozoology and allied disciplines, and people from the CFZ membership regularly take part in fieldwork and expeditions around the world.

How is the Centre for Fortean Zoology organized? The CFZ is managed by a three-man board of trustees, with a non-profit making trust registered with HM Government Stamp Office. The board of trustees is supported by a Permanent Directorate of full and part-time staff, and advised by a Consultancy Board of specialists - many of whom who are world-renowned experts in their particular field. We have regional representatives across the UK, the USA, and many other parts of the world, and are affiliated with other organisations whose aims and protocols mirror our own.

I am new to the subject, and although I am interested I have little practical knowledge. I don't want to feel out of my depth. What should I do? Don't worry. We were all beginners once. You'll find that the people at the CFZ are friendly and approachable. We have a thriving forum on the website which is the hub of an ever-growing electronic community. You will soon find your feet. Many members of the CFZ Permanent Directorate started off as ordinary members, and now work full time chasing monsters around the world.

I have an idea for a project which isn't on your website. What do I do? Write to us, e-mail us, or telephone us. The list of future projects on the website is not exhaustive. If you have a good idea for an investigation, please tell us. We may well be able to help.

How do I go on an expedition? We are always looking for volunteers to join us. If you see a project that interests you, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. Under certain circumstances we can help provide funding for your trip. If you look on the future projects section of the website, you can see some of the projects that we have pencilled in for the next few years. In 2003 and 2004 we sent three-man expeditions to Sumatra looking for Orang-Pendek - a semi-legendary bipedal ape. The same three went to Mongolia in 2005. All three members started off merely subscribers to the CFZ magazine. Next time it could be you!

Project Kerinci, Sumatra - 2003

In search of the bipedal ape Orang Pendek

How is the Centre for Fortean Zoology funded? We have no magic sources of income. All our funds come from donations, membership fees, works that we do for TV, radio or magazines, and sales of our publications and merchandise. We are always looking for corporate sponsorship, and other sources of revenue. If you have any ideas for fund-raising please let us know. However, unlike other cryptozoological organisations in the past, we do not live in an intellectual ivory tower. We are not afraid to get our hands dirty, and furthermore we are not one of those organisations where the membership have to raise money so that a privileged few can go on expensive foreign trips. Our research teams both in the UK and abroad, consist of a mixture of experienced and inexperienced personnel. We are truly a community, and work on the premise that the benefits of CFZ membership are open to all.

What do you do with the data you gather from your investigations and expeditions? Reports of our investigations are published on our website as soon as they are available. Preliminary reports are posted within days of the project finishing. Each year we publish a 200 page yearbook containing research papers and expedition reports too long to be printed in the journal. We freely circulate our information to anybody who asks for it.

Is the CFZ community purely an electronic one? No. Each year since 2000 we have held our annual convention - the Weird Weekend - in Exeter. It is three days of lectures, workshops, and excursions. But most importantly it is a chance for members of the CFZ to meet each other, and to talk with the members of the permanent directorate in a relaxed and informal setting and preferably with a pint of beer in one hand. The Weird Weekend is now bigger and better than ever, and held in the idyllic rural location of Woolsery in North Devon. We are hoping to start up some regional groups in both the UK and the US which will have regular meetings, work together on research projects, and maybe have a mini convention of their own. Since relocating to North Devon in 2005 we have become ever more closely involved with other community organisations, and we hope that this trend will continue. We also work closely with Police Forces across the UK as consultants for animal mutilation cases, and we intend to forge closer links with the coastguard and other community services. We want to work closely with those who regularly travel into the Bristol Channel, so that if the recent trend of exotic animal visitors to our coastal waters continues, we can be out there as soon as possible. Plans are also afoot to found a Visitor’s Centre in rural North Devon. This will not be open to the general public, but will provide a museum, a library and an educational resource for our members (currently over 400) across the globe. We are also planning a youth organisation which will involve children and young people in our activities.

CFZ Field Operatives at Martin Mere in July 2002

Apart from having been the only Fortean Zoological organisation in the world to have consistently published material on all aspects of the subject for over a decade, we have achieved the following concrete results:

• Disproved the myth relating to the headless so-called sea-serpent carcass of Durgan beach in Cornwall 1975 • Disproved the story of the 1988 puma skull of Lustleigh Cleave • Carried out the only in-depth research ever done into mythos of the Cornish Owlman • Made the first records of a tropical species of lamprey • Made the first records of a luminous cave gnat larva in Thailand. • Discovered a possible new species of British mammal - The Beech Marten. • In 1994-6 carried out the first archival fortean zoological survey of Hong Kong. In the year 2000, CFZ theories where confirmed when an entirely new species of lizard was found resident in Britain.

EXPEDITIONS & INVESTIGATIONS TO DATE INCLUDE • 1998 Puerto Rico, Florida, Mexico (Chupacabras) • 1999 Nevada (Bigfoot) • 2000 Thailand (Giant Snakes called Nagas) • 2002 Martin Mere (Giant catfish) • 2002 Cleveland (Wallaby mutilation) • 2003 Bolam Lake (BHM Reports) • 2003 Sumatra (Orang Pendek) • 2003 Texas (Bigfoot; Giant Snapping Turtles) • 2004 Sumatra (Orang Pendek; Cigau, a Sabre-toothed cat) • 2004 Illinois (Black Panthers; Cicada Swarm)

Richard Freeman searches for the legendary Naga in Thailand

• 2004 Texas (Mystery Blue Dog) • 2004 Puerto Rico (Chupacabras; carnivorous cave snails) • 2005 Belize (Affiliate expedition for hairy dwarfs) • 2005 Mongolia (Allghoi Khorkhoi aka Death Worm) • 2006 Gambia (Gambo - Gambian sea monster, Ninki Nanka

and the Armitage skink • 2006 Llangorse Lake (Giant Pike, Giant Eels)

As the Discovery Channel looks on, Jonathan Downes, the Director of the CFZ, examines the skull of the Blue Dog of San Antonio...

Richard Freeman, Chris Clark, David Churchill, Jon Hare with eyewitnesses of the Mongolia Death Worm in 2005 To apply for a FREE information pack about the organisation and details of how to join, plus information on current and future projects, expeditions and events. Send a stamp addressed envelope to:

THE CENTRE FOR FORTEAN ZOOLOGY MYRTLE COTTAGE, WOOLSERY, BIDEFORD, NORTH DEVON EX39 5QR. or alternatively visit our website at: www.cfz.org.uk