Every 3 months, or thereabouts, I do an article for New Page Books' "Creature of the Month" section of their blog.
And, there's a brand new one from me, this one on a weird series of sightings of werewolf-like beasts encountered in England's Cannock Chase woods, back in 2007.
Here's the link...
And it starts like this:
"It probably won’t surprise many to learn that the British Isles – which are steeped in legend, myth, and folklore - have traditions of full-blown lycanthropy in their midst that date back more than 1,000 years.
"One of the most famous of all such beasts has become known as the 'Flixton werewolf.' It was a marauding animal that prowled around the village of Flixton, North Yorkshire, around 940 AD. It struck terror into the hearts of the locals as it went on violent killing sprees, reportedly at the bidding of a sinister magician who was familiar with the black-arts."
Wouldn't it make sense to consider the idea that werewolves are literal shapeahifters if you already accept the legitimacy of other supernatural beliefs such as ghosts (which I don't)?
ReplyDeleteWell, why I am doubtful they are shape-shifters is simple: I have never personally investigated a single case where anyone claims to have seen a werewolf shape-shift from a person to a werewolf and/or vice-versa. Check out all of Linda Godfrey's many books on werewolves - hardly even a handful of such reports of human-to-wolf shape-shifting. Yes, there is folklore and mythology of shape-shifting werewolves from centuries long gone, but not today - despite what people might assume. All the evidence suggests that whatever these things are, that is their natural state.
ReplyDeleteI remember the legend about beast of gevaudan which all sights were of a large wolf.
ReplyDeleteIm interested in where you found actual information that says Flixton werewolf.
ReplyDeleteThe Flixton Werewolf material comes from Andy Roberts' 1986 booklet, "Cat Flaps," published by Brigantia Books, Brighouse, England.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that most of the Flixton info is wrong. Being local to the area and knowing people who live in flixton I can tell you that this beast. What ever it is, is still been seen. I think it may even be spirit form. One old man I spoke with now aged 88 says he saw it as a young boy beside Sharp Howe. Another report came from Spittal corner at Staxton. I do not think it helps when the information that is put out is wrong. I am holding back most of what I have found out about Flixton because I feel people are just happy to copy the info without really looking into it. Flixton is still known by some locals as wolfland.
ReplyDeleteCool, that's interesting there are other reports.
ReplyDelete