Saturday, 22 November 2025
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Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Bigfoot and Werewolves in the West Midlands
This is taken from Mysterious and Strange Beasts and covers French mystery beasts and much more all in detail and often with rare or previously unseen images. See end of post.
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While reading through volume 10 of the UFO Encyclopaedia series Haunted Skies (1987-1988) by John Hanson and Dawn Holloway, I came across “1987 –Bigfoot Sighting West Midlands”. It got my attention. In fact, it was what made me ask myself just what was going on.
The account is quite short:
Gary Higginson met John and Dawn in 2006 and was an “avid collector of books on the UFO subject” which was a subject he had become interested in following his 1987. At that time he was working at the Sandwell Valley Archaeological Project and, living in Wednesbury, often jogged to work. Normally he would run the four plus miles and get to work by 07:30 hrs but on this particular day wanted to make the long a little longer and so made his way along a road running adjacent to the M5 motorway near to Swan Pool boating lake:
“I just happened to look to my right across the fields and saw, with shock, what looked like a ‘Bigfoot’ shambling across the field. I stopped and ran away, not knowing what to do, and then rationally thought to myself ‘What on earth am I doing?’ It must have been some sort of hallucination, so I gingerly made my way back to where I had seen it so clearly. It was approximately 6 ft 6 ins tall, with 2-3 ins of dark brown hair covering its body (longer on the head), and seemed to be heading for Swan Pool. I saw it for 2-3 secs, and admit to being frightened. My legs turned to jelly”.
That was it. I had an idea that if I could sit down with
Now, I never met
Looking at it logically, what might
Wearing the all-covering camouflage suit does make a person appear to
shamble along especially if carrying something.
The strips of material from a distance –we are not told how far from the
figure
I had heard these stories but it all seemed to be vague and lack any
real detail. The website Ghost Story gives the standard account under the title
“
Above: A British Bigfoot? In fact this is a Jack Pyke Ghillie Suit. The military uses these as do game keepers, naturalists and poachers certainly do. There are commercially available ones – this one is a good example— or some home made ones. This one is mainly shades of brown with patches of green and a poachers shambling along in the early morning could easily fall to a prone position if spotted and would appear to vanish.
“Cannock Chase is a large densely woodland area which has become known as
one the
“On April 26, 2007, the local
Stafford Post newspaper ran the following story: "A rash of sightings of a
'werewolf' type creature prowling around the outskirts of Stafford, have
prompted a respected
“West Midlands Ghost Club says
they have been contacted by a number of shocked residents who saw what they
claimed to be a `hairy wolf-type creature' walking on its hind legs around the
“The newspaper continued:
"Nick Duffy, of West Midlands Ghost Club, said the stories of werewolf
sightings in Chase area were something that he had encountered before. He said:
'the first person to contact us was a postman, who told us he had seen what he
thought was a werewolf on the
“The Post quoted Duffy as adding that: ‘I've spoke to many witnesses and I know when they are putting it on. But what struck me as strange about this was the way he told it. I'm in no doubt that he was telling the truth’.
“The creature was also apparently spotted by a scout leader walking over the forest land earlier in April. The man, who the Post stated did not want to be named, said he saw what he initially believed was a large dog prowling by the bushes. It was only when he got into his car to drive away that he realized something strange about the animal.
“He said: ‘It just looked like a huge dog. But when I slammed the door of my car it reared up on its back legs and ran into the trees. It must have been about six to seven feet tall. I know it sounds absolutely mad, but I know what I saw’.
“In recent years there have been
a high number of pet disappearances especially in the area around the
It was 2015 and I did what any investigator should do and, in all honesty it did not take long to track down Nick Duffy who had personally investigated these reports. As Nick said that it would be alright to print his response to set the record straight I have only edited out personal information. I wrote:
“Hello.
“My name is Terry Hooper and so you know about me I'll add a brief Cv but I've been looking into "odd" things for almost fifty years.
“My main interest on the UFO side of things as well as ‘cryptozoology’ (I don't call myself either -I'm a research-investigator (looks good on a passport!) are Entity/CE IIIK and creature reports. I'm currently up-dating the UK CE IIIK and Entity data base. Oddly, I have been briefly to Cannock Chase and Tipton as a Police Exotic Fauna Advisor looking at big cat reports in both areas.
“So, when I was told by John Hanson (compiling the Haunted Skies encyclopaedia) that your group was looking into accounts of "werewolves" I was interested. I wonder whether you ever put together a report on your investigation I could get (not for publication use)?
“My other question concerns a Gary Higginson, I think I remembered the name right. He saw what he described as a "Bigfoot" type creature and it seems after that he has been un-contactable -did you ever meet or speak to him or have any contact details?
“It would be interesting to see whether the werewolves are in any way connected to Higginson's "Bigfoot"!
“Anyway, long email out of the blue but I would be interested in hearing about your investigations!
Regards
Terry”
I waited and then came the response and I would ask the Reader to pay very close attention to what Nick wrote:
“Hi Terry,
“Thank you very much for your recent note... and my apologies for a slight delay in responding. (I'm afraid things have generally been a little hectic of late, so I'm currently running behind on most concerns, it seems. Rolls eyes!)
“With regards to your Chase Werewolf inquiry: I'm afraid that there is, basically, nothing at all for me to share with you... as we've never really looked into this subject to any real depth at all. (Personally speaking - on this particular front - I don't believe for one second that there IS actually any truth to such tales, etc).
“The entire subject has been something of a 'running joke' where I'm concerned, as - over the past decade or so - tales re. 'our' association with the subject has appeared in numerous places on the net, in newspaper reports, books and so on... but I assure you we've NEVER actually been involved with ANY research on the subject whatsoever, Terry! Laugh!
“The whole matter initially began a number of years back, during a (purely light-hearted) telephone conversation between myself and a Staffordshire newspaper reporter. In the process of chatting about some of the funnier matters we'd come across, I happened to mention that we had been contacted by someone who claimed to have seen a 'werewolf-like figure' many years earlier, while riding across the Chase on a motorbike. The reporter concerned thought that this might make a jolly 'filler-piece' for her newspaper... and this entire topic simply snowballed from there!
“Contrary to what has subsequently been reported, we were only ever contacted by that one, solitary source where reports and potential experiences are concerned. This initial newspaper story (which, in itself was somewhat inaccurately reported, from the get-go) was instantly pounced upon by other examples of the local press and, within a very short period of time, the W.M.G.C. had seemingly been 'inundated' (purely according to the media concerned, I hasten to add) with reports from people who had been 'seeing werewolves on the Chase'....!?
“When these stories first started spreading, I did actually make an effort to seek out and correct this erroneous reporting - wherever I could - but, as the tales spread ever further, I eventually gave up on this fruitless task and just allowed the matter to run its course!
“The topic wasn't helped any when the Rev. Lionel Fanthorpe contacted us
some years after the initial reports, wanting to use the topic as part of an
advertising campaign that he was then embarking on. I explained to him that there was nothing to
the matter to report on and presumed that would be the end of it. (Come the
release of the report concerned and the Chase had suddenly been named as one of
the
“This 'fresh' reporting served to give the subject new impetus and, to a
fair extent, the shenanigans began anew.
Over recent years, we've received many inquiries from numerous media
sources (2 from French TV,
“Concerning the chap you mention - Gary Higginson - is he one of the witnesses supposedly attached to the Cannock Chase 'Bigfoot' sightings Terry? I'm afraid I don't recall the name at all, off-hand?
“I must stress that I'm always happy to receive contact from 'serious' researchers - there aren't many around these days, it seems - and I'm only sorry that I haven't been able to add anything 'positive' to your research, I'm afraid. I've only managed to grab a very quick glance at your blog, but shall 'give it a good going-over' as soon as I get the chance! (I did spot something on 'Spring Heeled Jack' - which interests me greatly - so I look forward to reading through that!)
“Thanks again for your recent correspondence Terry... and my very best wishes to you!
Regards,
Nick”
There was one vague report that, let’s be honest, could very well have been of a poacher in a Ghillie Suit. That was it. Not investigated. So now ask yourself who all these fictional witnesses ere to the fictional sightings that, we are told in detail that certain ‘cryptozoologists / paranormal investigators spoke to and got more information from? Yes, it was all made up and yet people are selling books based on something that never happened and adding to them –despite the “man on the spot” actually explaining everything to them.
The dead deer could be what was left after poachers finished with them or even be natural deaths and badgers, birds and foxes make a good meal out of such things. Or, it could be a deer killed by a large non-native cat because they are reported moving in and out of the area and as I pointed out to Nick, I had been to the area as a police wildlife consultant. I also stumbled on poaching which curtailed my work after threats since West Midlands Police told me that if I had to roam around the area I would need a police escort “for safety”.
I did mention this matter to a well known British cryptozoologist but he responded with: “If you can make a few quid from a story all is well!” And people wonder why I have no real respect for cryptozoologists.
There are no British Bigfoot /
Woodwose and there are certainly no
werewolves wandering about Cannock Chase but it is interesting that people,
having read the story, are starting to report encounters or ask whether it was
“the Cannock Chase werewolf” that they saw.
Well, so long as it was all made up -yes.
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The Tale of Ricochon's Monster
It is a rather peculiar thing that, because there are no straight forward answers or no one has bothered carrying out research, you will find many wildlife mysteries in literature from the fringes -in this case from a UFO magazine of all things!
Unlike the magazine itself I went straight to the original source not that this helped much but I hope one day to at least have a very educated guess at what Ricochon's "monster" was
This is taken from Strange and Mysterious Beasts
Perhaps one of the oddest cases I have on file was never fully investigated, that I am aware of. The July / August, 1970 edition of the Flying Saucer Review (1) carried an article by Jean-Claude Baillon, Secretary of Cercle d’Information des Phenomenes Insolites (CIESPI) of
Above: La Comtesse Dash in later life (c)2025 Hooper Archives
It had been a pitch-black, Moonless night and the caretaker, a M. Meingault, was in his kitchen when he had heard the three mares and two colts in the park galloping about. M. Maingault realized that something was obviously disturbing the horses and so went to check on them: he had only taken a few paces at the top of the chateau steps when the horses bolted past at full speed. Something had definitely scared the horses and, on looking around, M. Meingault saw, near a clump of bushes near the paddock fence, a pair of intensely bright, shining eyes. The caretaker then went back indoors.
M. Meingault decided that he needed to investigate and so armed himself with a gun before going outside and making a very difficult inspection around the chateau in darkness. He then saw the horses bolt through a thicket that they would normally avoid because of the risk of injury and then, for just a “few fleeting moments”, M. Meingault had the impression that “there was a shadow” pursuing the horses. What he did next seems very odd.
M. Meingault fired the gun a few times to see if it might scare of the “attacker” but, on seeing that the horses would not calm down…he went back indoors and to bed!
Above: a shelter in the
It seems almost unbelievable that a caretaker believing that the horses were being chased by someone / some thing and seeing the glowing eyes, had gone indoors, armed himself. He had then inspected the area around the chateau in the dark, thought he saw something and fired shots at it. On seeing that the horses would not calm down he decided to go to bed. No alarm was raised. Horses were / are valuable animals and could have been injured or killed by something, some animal, but M. Meingault just went to bed.
M. Baillon’s sister confirmed that the horses were still disturbed next morning and that considerable damage had been done to the paddock fence –which was very solid in structure with thick posts and yet, it had been smashed in ten places. M. Baillon, like any good investigator –who should never be “off duty”- pressed M. Meingault to try to remember more. The eyes were about 3 feet (90 ms) above the ground and were like those of a tiger but very bright –as the caretaker had no torch, this was not reflected light. But darkness had prevented the man from seeing anything else. A dog was ruled out, which makes sense since a dog chasing tends to get excited and barks.
Could it have been a large, exotic felid? Say a panther or a puma?
Well, if there is one thing I have learnt over the last forty years it is that a puma will have no problem taking down a colt. If a panther or a puma were attacking the horses they would have signs of such an attack and I am guessing that there were no unusual tracks found.
As for it being someone trying to steal a colt or horse –this seems very unlikely. What type of person can chase and keep up with horses in full bolt?
Then M. Baillon, quite by chance, came across an article in the local newspaper (2) dealing with a local legend –“The Monster of the
“In former times in the countryside of
“Around the year 1830, a gamekeeper of the forest Mouliere had been celebrating joyously and copiously one night with some friends after a particularly successful wolf-hunt.
“At about midnight, following upon this agreeable and ‘well irrigated’ evening session, the gamekeeper was returning in a gay mood to his home in the forest. The sky was sprinkled with stars and the cold was particularly sharp on that February night.
“Ricochon (for such was the name of our hero) had his loaded gun on his shoulder and as he strode along he was keeping an eye open for any noxious creature that might come within range of him. His temporary state of euphoria had not caused him to lose his inborn hunter’s sense.
“When he had reached a point not far from his little house in the forest, he suddenly heard a rushing sound of wings that seemed like the passage of a flight of bats. ‘Ha! Ha!’ quoth he to himself: ‘Its la chasse-galerie!’
“Emboldened by the good wine ingested in more than substantial quantity, he told himself that ‘Lucifer’s deer’ would make a good target and one that he would, when all was said and done, be happy to be able to contemplate at close quarters.
“Suddenly a dense black cloud blotted out the starlight and at the same moment a strange and deafening noise was heard. He raised his gun to his shoulder and fired at the dark mass. A fearful piercing cry rang out, and a shapeless and inert mass fell at his feet. Terrified, Ricochon dashed off home, slammed the door and shot the heavy bolt behind him.
“Never in his life had he known such fear. Completely sobered up by now, he had no illusions about the situation in which he found himself: he had just shot one of the Devil’s own creatures, and revenge would be terrible…Alone in the forest, without help, how could he escape from the danger? ‘Ah, mon dieu’, said he, ‘if I come through this night alright, I’ll go into town straight away tomorrow to get some holy water, a crucifix, and some statues of the Holy Virgin and of good Saint Radegonde…’
“The formulation of this firm intention restored some of his courage. He said some prayers, though still trembling at the least sound and expecting to see that Horrible monster, the Devil, appear before him.
“And thus, in anguish of soul, he awaited the dawn, not daring to venture forth before it, and hoping that when the moment arrived he would in fact be unable to find the creature he had shot.
“But when he had gone but a few steps from his house a shudder ran through him. For he now beheld the object of his terror, lying in a pool of blood.
“Recovering his composure finally, he told himself that the creature was after all well and truly dead. All the same he approached it gingerly and apprehensively, trembling in every limb. For surely indeed this must be the Beast of the Apocalypse!
“and now what was he to do with the Monster? It was indeed a big problem. Should he just bury it and tell nobody? But then, what a pity! His exploit deserved to be told…
“After musing at length upon the problem, he harnessed his horse to his biggest cart and tried to lift his unusual ’game’, to get it on the cart. The operation was a difficult one, but finally, with a little help from his imagination, he rigged up a sort of winch and completed the task.
“Then, this arduous job completed, he covered the carcass with straw and set out for
“At first, the horse’s legs trembled so much that it could scarcely move, but after a few good strokes of the whip it began to gallop at full pelt as if trying to flee from some danger behind it
“At long last, Ricochon reached his goal, the police station. The Prefect de Police viewed the Monster, and forbade the gamekeeper to say a word about it to anybody. In a moment of half-confidence the gamekeeper subsequently declared however to someone that ‘his beast’ had a horrible human head, surmounted by enormous horns”.
Considering that “at certain times of the year” La chasse-galerie could be seen above the clouds it seems what is being described are periodic meteor showers. Remember that “rocks falling from the skies” was still a new idea. We should not look at this as being anything more “other worldly”.
When we come to the beast we are left puzzled. The “horrible human head” with horns may have been a later addition. We know that it made “a strange and deafening noise” but this is all we really know about it other than that it was big. A healthy gamekeeper should have had no trouble throwing a dead bird onto a cart but what type of bird we do not know –if it was a bird. We know that a dark mass blotted out the stars and Ricochon shot it, however, was this something flying or something leaping from a tree?
The largest living bird, the Eurasian black vulture (Aegypius monachus) can reach a maximum length of 3.9 inches (1.2 m) with a wingspan of 10 feet (3 m) and weighing in at 31 lbs (14 kg). The Western limits of its range are thought to be
Was this a mammal –a quadruped – that the gamekeeper shot? Reading the account, it seems that the horse may not have found the load it was meant to tow too heavy but, possibly, terrifying. Was it perhaps a predator? Horses do react to living or dead predators they come across. Would a big bird scare it? Once whipped, the horse towed cart, Ricochon and the “Monster” at full pelt to
It is interesting that the “Monster” obviously never was kept secret since there was a saying in
At this period, and a long time before, the French were know for their scientific curiosity and cataloguing so what did the Prefect de Police do with the Monster? Presumably his superiors would send someone to look at the creature and that person would more likely be a naturalist or biologist. In that case, as is still the case today (though cameras have become tool), a sketch or drawing would have been made and that might –might- be the only way of finding out what was shot.
A local museum archives?
In a local library or, perhaps, even the
If anyone in
(1) Eerie Night At The Chateau des Martins, Baillon, Jean-Claude, Flying Saucer
Review, Vol. 16, no. 4, July / August, 1970, pp. 24-26
(2) Centre-Presse 22nd August, 1969
(3) Memoires Des Autres Par La Comtesse Dash -Souvenirs Anecdotiques sur Le
Premier Empire Et Les Cent Jours, Saint-Mars, Gabrielle Anne Cisterne de
Courtiras, Vicomtesse de, A La Librairie Illustree (Paris), 1896: pp. 267-271
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This book covers a number of French mystery beasts including The Beast of Gevaudan which has been called the most "extensive examination of the incidents in English or French" (24pp in total.
Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Monday, 17 November 2025
Sunday, 16 November 2025
Thursday, 13 November 2025
Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Sunday, 9 November 2025
Saturday, 8 November 2025
Thursday, 6 November 2025
UFOs: True Accounts of Alien Contact
Although there are some classic cases in these books the majority involve cases that are very rare, have never appeared in English before and unlike most "clump everything together to fill a book" efforts these look at aspects of cases as well as some very common but not reported on before entity and scenario types.
Someone who has been involved in Ufology since the 1980s noted: "Over half these cases I have never heard of before!"
£20.00
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Since 1947 it has been claimed that UFOs/flying saucers are evidence of aliens visiting the Earth. Since the 1950s claims of encounters with landed craft and alien beings were talked about but not taken seriously.
In the 1960s the subject of UFO abduction was a "slow-burner" until the whole "Grey" abduction phenomenon and claims made by researchers such as Budd Hopkins, Prof. John Mack and Dr David Jacobs and Whitley Streiber.
But is there evidence to back up any of the claims -and what about those encountering Alien Entities but who were not abducted?
Are these people all hoaxers, psychotic or suffering from some other mental illness as some claim?
Are those people who were exposed by Ufologists against their wishes, people who wanted to report what happened and then just get back to their everyday lives -thrust into the media glare against their will?
And if US authorities were so interested that in one case at least they broke into the home of two abductees and this was later proven -why?
Why did a hard core of these people never want publicity or to make money from what happened to them?
Above all, why did a major UFO landing incident take place on a US Inbterstate road in front of a large number of observers (all willing to talk to investigators) never get investigated? If it were not for a radio presenter interviewing and taking notes we would know nothing of the case -it would be labelled "insubstantial".
James and Coral Lorenzen -the Scopolamine Kids; using a very notorious "truth drug" on alleged UFO witnesses and selling stories to newspapers. An investigator (a veteran) showing a witness images of "aliens" encountered in other cases before any memories were retrieved. Worst of all, the constant "pissing competition" and breaches of trust between UFO investigators.
Fully illustrated with drawings, maps and photographs some very rare or previously unpublished.
220 pages
A4
perfect bound
paperback
Fully illustrated with photographs and illustrations
£20.00 (excl. VAT)
A must read for those with a serious interest in UFOs Some of the contents:
The Nottinghamshire UFO Crash of 1987…or 1988
The Llandrillo ‘Saucer’ and
Strange
UFO Abductees and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome
The UFO That Landed On
My Encounters With The Men In Black
A Previously Un-noted Alien Entity Type
Early 20th Century
Close Encounter with a Boggart
Some Odd and Unusual Cases
Rosa Lotti and the Happy Entities
The Strange Case of the Woollaton Gnomes and the Mince-pie Martians
What Happened on the
The ‘Lost’ Belgian UFO Landing Case
Strange Aliens from Outer Space?
Encounter with Black Aliens and Landed UFO
A4
B&W
350 pp
Fully illustrated containing photographs and maps
£20.00
Beyond UFO Contact i the fourth book in the groundbreaking series looking at reports of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Alien-Entity reports from around the world and reassessing these. In addition there is a look at the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligences (SETI) and its relevance to the UFO phenomenon.
contents list:
Introduction: The Path of Counter-Actuality
1. Dionisio Llanca: Truck Driver, UFO Abductee and Human Guinea Pig
2. Aliens -What Can We Expect?
3. The Moreland Incident
4. It Is All Fake: Ufology Needs To Be Reassessed
5. Warminster UFOs and Entity Reports
6. Have Things Changed Since 1977?
7. The Beausoleil Cas -Even Aliens Like Theatre
8. The Pwca
9. Contact...with the Vegetable Alien
10. The Casitas Dam UFO Photograph and Entity
11. The Crystal Lake Encounter
12. The Humanoids at South Riverand the Luczkowich Encounter
13. Harrison Bailey
14. Sonny DesVerger
15. The UFO "Borderline"-The Imjarvi Skiers
16. Some Interesting Reports to Note
17. Dead Aliens in Photographs
18. Ufology, Government Cover Ups and Disclosure
19. The Reports That You Might Not Want To Look Into
20. Conil de la Frontera -a Credible Report?
21. Eighteenth Century Aliens?
22. Clearview Ranch
23. The Pat McGuire Case
24. Piero Fortunato Franzetta
25. The Silbury Hill Encounter
26. The Bridge Abduction
27. The Bagshot Heath UFO Incident
28. Lurkers and Alien Disinterest
29. What If YOU See Aliens Land?
30. So What Would YOU Do If You Encountered A Landed UFO?
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