Monkey of the Dead

There's a new article from me at Mysterious Universe. The subject: the mysterious "Man-Monkey" of England. Here's how it starts:


Like a lot of people in the paranormal field I write on a number of subjects, but chiefly Ufology and Cryptozoology. And, also like most people in the field, I have my favorite, specific cases. One of them concerns a bizarre creature that haunts a certain bridge in central England. The name of the monster is the Man-Monkey. Such is the interest I have in the story, I wrote an entire book on the subject. I’ve also commented on the affair right here, at Mysterious Universe, such is the large body of data and witness-testimony on the case.

The tale dates back to January 1879 when a man crossing Bridge 39 over the old Shropshire Union Canal – near the Staffordshire village of Woodseaves – had the shock of his life. Out of the surrounding and dense trees a large, monkey-like animal came charging. It jumped onto the man’s horse and cart, and scared the living-you-know-what out of the man and his four-legged friend. The shining-eyed monster was no normal animal, however. It was described as being semi-physical and semi-spectral – in the sense that it had the ability to jump atop the cart, but when the man tried to hit the thing with his horsewhip, the whip went straight through it. As in literally. The beast quickly bounded away, and back into the shadows. The man raced to the local pub for a soothing pint of beer or several. Hell, maybe even the horse did!