Time To Say Goodbye?

 All of the views  and 2159 posts and ,,,nothing.

If there is really all the interest as the stats suggest then why not even book sales?

I believe that I have finally come to an end of blogging and having others steal my original work and getting all the credit. 

No more posts you know why.

Mystery Drone At Gatton

 All of the current fuss about drones swooping around all over the place reminded me of the Gatton Incident. Here is the post in question:

I wrote on the  17th August 2017

"Since first writing about this incident it has caused me more than a few (official) problems. I expect more after this re~post but I am not in this to make friends ~official or otherwise."

Oddly, I came to look at the Gatton posts today to find that "This Post has been removed" which is bloody odd since Blogger is very -VERY- difficult to get into trouble with so what happened that each post mentioning Gatton was removed?

Again; there is nothing that goes against any blogging rules and no bullying, racism, etc., just a report about an old drone crash. I ought to point out that the "UFO" in this report was circular rather like the one spotted near Black Bush airfield in the late 1980s -which was close to experimental aircraft testing establishment. Looking at the information then and all these years later there were no drones similar to the ones reported at Black Bush or Gatton so was all the fuss over experimental drones that were not put into service or which are still classified?

Well, luckily, I keep drafts of my old posts so I am reposting and let's see what happens now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sadly, since writing this piece I have heard that John Green has passed away.  In fact, John died before he could send me photographs of the area he had taken along with witness statements and his own account of a rather official interrogation regarding his own investigation at Gatton!

aerial view of Gatton

The following is taken from Some More Things Strange & Sinister

    On a quiet Sunday afternoon the last thing you ought to expect is to become embroiled in yet another UFO mystery.  Well, unless you are me that is.  

    In February, 2004, I answered the telephone to find it was Squadron Leader “Colin Tarr”, who had been an associate of Air Vice Marshall Sir Victor Goddard and Admiral of the Fleet Lord Peter Hill-Norton, and knew as much about the AOP Bureau as I did –and then some. I had never met Tarr nor spoken to him but he knew all the case reports we had sent to the Ministry of Defence as well as about reports that never got submitted officially.  When he initially contacted me I had thought it a hoax but he’d proven his connections easily.  For that reason when he asked “Fancy hearing something interesting?” I was interested but replied “I am retired now,you know” which got a loud laugh followed by “No such thing, old boy!”

 I was told that something unusual had happened in 1999 near to a place called Gatton, in Shropshire.  Some rough details were given but I pointed out that what I was being told amounted to not much at all.  “Wait a day or so and you’ll be contacted by a field officer –he’ll give you the details.” 

Surprisingly, the person who contacted me I already knew so it wasn’t long before I had all the pieces.

British military drones as the public knew them in the 1990s

Around September 1999*, at approximately 15:15 hours and in good, clear daylight, a large number of observers including hill-walkers, horse-riders and botanist Nora Hill, saw a low-level flying discoidal object.  Walkers on Stiper Stones,were able to look down at the object as it passed and reported that the top of it looked “like mother of pearl.”  Colouration –possibly markings?—were reported.  The object was seen to land “heavily” and remained on the ground for some 6-7 minutes before ascending into the air and flying off.

Looking at the information later supplied to me helped to conclude that there may have been a strong electro-magnetic field present because particles kicked up by the object created a circle around it.

This would just have been another “UFO landing” had it not been for what happened next.   A local RAF man had mentioned that a team had been to the area to check things out and talk to some witnesses.  The RAF man immediately asked the Field Officer not to mention this, however, when another officer mentioned the team it was considered an “open fact”.

The Field Officer contacted the base in question –MoD Boscombe Down. The MoD Boscombe Down is an aircraft testing site located south of Amesbury, Wiltshire. And it is run and managed by QinetiQ; the company created as part of the break-up of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence. It is the home of the Empire Test Pilots' School.

Above: far removed from the drone that crashed in Gatton

At the time of the Gatton landing it was known as RAF Boscombe Down and since 1939 had evaluated aircraft for the British armed forces and a lot more.  The Field Officer identified himself and requested confirmation that a team had been sent to Shropshire.  There was a delay as someone else was passed on to field the call.  This person   asked a few questions and then stated: “We don’t just send people out anywhere you know.  We are a busy establishment and I can’t recall anyone mentioning Gatton.”  After an apology for not being able to help the conversation ended.

The Field Officer told me that it had been very interesting because: ”I never once mentioned Gatton –just an incident in Shropshire!”  Made me wonder.

But then came the task of talking to people.  For this the Field Officer called on a well known local man who had worked with Customs and Excise as well as the police and passed on local UFO reports, James Green.  While the Field Officer was talking to Mr. Green, a warden responsible for the area in question, the phone rang.  The caller identified himself as “Dr. David Clark, Sheffield University” –as it was a speaker phone the Field Officer confirmed this.  Mr. Green was asked whether he could investigate the incident and pass all the  data along to an address [a Post Office Box as it turned out]?  Mr. Green agreed, though he was suspicious as ‘Dr. Clark’ had mentioned knowing that he’d visited the site.

The RAF team who had visited the site were reported to Mr. Green who had not been contacted and vehicles had crossed land without permission.  A Wing Commander who would not give his name but claimed to be from the Flight Investigation Unit, Boscombe Down, denied Mr. Green access to the area and stated that it was “for public safety”.

Green, and others, watched as coverall suited men began sanitising the area; picking up anything that was not going into “odd looking vacuum cleaner style devices”.  A couple of other men were using devices that could not be clearly seen.  Site integrity was maintained until they had finished and with a “thank you” they drove off.

All of this was duly noted down.  The odd thing was that the object, according to all the witnesses, was far too small to have been manned.

When I later spoke to Dr. David Clark, at Sheffield University, he was brief and to the point: he had never heard of the Gatton incident and had certainly not contacted Mr. Green.  That was that.  

Incidentally,there is no one else based at Sheffield University called “Clark”/”Clarke” with an interest in UFOs.  A request had been placed in with the report Mr. Green sent to the address given which stated that there was “something” that he didn’t want to put into writing so could he meet Dr. Clark?

He never received a response.

We could all speculate on who the caller might have been but it really was not important to the incident.  I checked around, the Field Officer checked around and even Mr. Green tried his bit but we all reached a dead-end.  One UFO group did claim that they were told “small bodies were removed and flown off in a helicopter” but this was pure fantasy.

To my mind, once everything had been collated, it was quite clear what had come down in Gatton and then flown away.  A Remotely Piloted Vehicle [RPV].  The size and details seemed right and similar devices had been tested for assessment as battlefield intelligence gatherers.  This was probably a far more up-to-date device than the one that created a huge UFO stir when it was sighted by a trainee pilot and instructor over Blackbush, Hampshire in the 1980s: that device had originated at Boscombe Down.

I sent everything to Squadron Leader Tarr and washed my hands of the whole affair.  Why had I been contacted to look into a “possible UFO incident” if it was known from the start what the object was?  To confuse the issue –or to find out whether anyone had spotted something that might give a clue to why it temporarily landed?

One thing I learnt with the AOP Bureau was that sometimes we were given leads that led to non-UFO events and the data we gathered was obviously useful to someone.  So, if you read of a “UFO crash” in 1999, at Gatton, Shropshire, you know what it really was!

 *It has been requested, for a specific reason, that the exact date is not given and I have agreed.

End Note

In case anyone wonders: yes, it was a military drone and a quite advanced one and nothing like what we knew drones/RPVs to be back in the 1990s. If this Gatton drone was so advanced in  the 1990s imagine what has been developed in the last 30 years....

AI Finally Reveals The 1967 Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot Film, You Won’t Bel...

Out of this World BBC 1977

Real Or Hoax?! Black Pyramid Alaska

Mysterious & Strange Beasts

 

A4

324pp

B&W

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/mysterious-strange-beasts/paperback/product-23771024.html

Below cover for smaller format version

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/strange-mysterious-beasts/paperback/product-23822244.html

I was told that it was probably a good idea not to reveal all of the contents of the new book. Fair enough. It is 324 pages with lots of photographs.  If you have read one of my previous books then I will point out that this new look at the chupacabra is expanded on.  I have managed to draw some conclusions on certain previously unidentified beasts. 

I am guessing that the conclusions in the chapter on the Shunka Warak'in and the famous stuffed and mounted specimen are going to really upset some cryptozoologists.

In High Strangeness and UFO Contact? I looked at the faults in Ufology and how the subject needed drastic overhauling and I do the same here regarding mystery animal research which seems to be full of charlatans and liars out to make money rather than look for the truth. I try to give anyone approaching the subject matter some advice and guidelines but 'cryptozoology' and 'cryptozoologist' are two words they ought not to use.

Strange & Mysterious Beasts is the smaller format book while Mysterious & Strange Beasts is the standard larger A4 format.

I need to point out that, much though I really do want to avoid this, US taxes are not leaving me much in the way of profit from sales.  I really do not want to increase book prices since I think that at the moment they are fair (considering what a purchaser gets and the amount of my work that gets plagiarized).  I am told that it has to be an option, however, I have until 1st February, 2018 to decide.

Anyway, enough publisher waffle, here are some of the contents:

 

The Monster of the Forest of Mouliere  

The Beast of Lyonnais  

The Beast of Cevennes, Gard and Vivarais     

The Beast of Sarlat   

The Beast of Gevaudan    

British Man Beasts    

Bigfoot and Werewolves in the West Midlands   

The Strange Creature in Repton Woods  

Bigfoot Returns – To Kent!      

Werewolf!        

The Curious and Frightening Case of the Hull Werewolf      

The Gnome of Girona    

The Caponi Close Encounters and Photographs      

Return of the Shark Killing Thing –a Possible Identification   

The Dingellchough Mystery Creature 

The Unidentified Corfu Sea Creature          

Strange Sea Creature Found In Persian Gulf    

The Devil of Gatagon     

The Supernatural Invasion: Slender-man and Black Eyed Kids   

The Sheep Killer of Niali     

Mystery Creature of the Bay of Flamanville  

Things Caught on Camera –Fact and Fiction   

The Bat Creatures     

The Owl-man  

The British Pig-man and Snake-man   

The Pictish Beast             

Shunka Warak'in –A Hyena Too Far?  

The Chupacabra

Pursuing The Strange & Weird -A Naturalist's Viewpoint

 

240 pp
A4
B&W
Profusely Illustrated with photographs and illustrations

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/pursuing-the-strange-weirda-naturalists-viewpoint/paperback/product-23770944.html

UP DATE -From Dead Aquatic (Humanoid) Creatures, the giant squid and yet undiscovered sea creatures; submarine and ships crews encountering true leviathans. This is a fully expanded section which also refers to the so-called ‘Ningen’ sightings and video footage.

Extinct animals at sea that have been re-discovered.

The subject of Sasquatch and other mystery Hominids around the world is dealt with including a look at the “Sasquatch-killer”, Justin Smeja. Dr. Bryan Sykes and his DNA test results for TVs The Bigfoot Files as well as the controversial Erickson Project and Dr. Melba Ketchum’s even more controversial Sasquatch DNA test results.

Also included are two early French UFO entity cases that still baffle.

Ghosts, strange creatures and the Star-Child hoax. All dealt with by the naturalist and pursuer of the strange and weird

Some MORE Things Strange & Sinister

 

A4
322 pages
B&W
Illustrated throughout
Paperback:
£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-more-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-23770998.html

Follow-up to Some Things Strange & Sinister.  For those interested in Ufology, cryptozoology, hominology, unusual natural history, ghosts and mysteries in general.

The secret history of gorillas -before they were officially 'discovered' along with exclusive lost photographs.  

Wild men of Europe, the UK and US; from the bizarre to blood chilling. Hominology.

Giant snakes.  

Amazons. 

The Giant serpent of Carthage. 

Girt Dog of Ennerdale.  

The Beast of Gevaudan. 

Crocodiles in the UK. 

Silent City of Alaska.

And much more.  Updated with extra pages and photographs.

Some Things Strange & Sinister

 

A4 Format

B&W

Paperback

358 pages

Heavily illustrated

£20.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/some-things-strange-sinister/paperback/product-19qknz2d.html

After more than 40 years as an investigator and more than fifty as a naturalist,the author has opened some of the many files he has accumulated dealing with such things as..  

The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn, The Ghosts Of All Saints Church, Dead Aquatic Creatures of Canvey Island, captured bigfoot like creatures in India -all exclusively presented for the first time and with new added research previously unseen.  

PLUS a vastly expanded section on Spring-heeled Jack!  Photographs, maps, line drawings and up-dated to make 358 pages looking at Things truly Strange and Sinister.  

Cryptozoologist,Ghost Hunter,Ufologist or Fortean:this book has something for everyone -including the just plain inquisitive!   

ContentsForeword by Travis L. Whitehurst
Introduction        de occultis non judicat ecclesia                                                                            
The Bristol Rocking Horse        
The Terrifying Events At The Lamb Inn        
The Coonian Ghost        
The Ghosts Of All Saints Church        
His Luminous Chamber        
The Late Reverend Dr. Blomberg        
And More Ghost Stories        
The Thomas B. Cumpston Case        
The Chupacabra        
The Strange Case Of The Gotherington Gargoyle        
What’s Tall,Hairy And Vanishes?        
Mystery Beasts Of Ireland        
The Creature Of The Dump        
The Strange Creature Of Repton Woods        
The Bizarre Legends,Crimes And Truth About Spring Heeled Jack        
The Black Beast Of Darmstadt        
The Nameless Thing Of Berkley Square        
The Terrifying Case Of The U.S. Naval Transport        
The Case Of The Ghost Lear Jet        
Ghost Planes,Crashes And Dead Aquatic Creatures        
The Mitchison Loch Ness Monster Video        
From The Deep Below To The Air Above –USOs        
Aerial Encounters Over Austria        
A Crashed UFO In 1790?        
Angel Hair        
Quimper-Corentin:Where “Thunder Fell”        
Strange Aliens From Space        
The Llandrillo ‘Saucer’ And Other Crash Retrievals        
Transient Lunar Phenomena,Alien Structures And Moon Vegetation        
Whiddon Down-Saint-Jean-du-Guard:Impossible Correlations?        
The Venezuelan HorrorA Final Word.

Alleged piece of crashed UFO from Berwyn Mountains, Wales.

In Pursuit: Things Known and UNKNOWN

 

62pp

A4

B&W

£7.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/in-pursuit-vol-1-no-1-november-2020/paperback/product-pjpjkk.html

 Fact NOT fiction journal looking at trange creatures and stories from around the world 

Contents:- 

A "Cold Case" Too Old? The Beast Of Faudiere –Mystery Killer 

The Strange Creature in Repton Woods 

Cry Werewolf ! and The Curious And Frightening Case Of The Hull Werewolf 

On The Scientific 'Need' To Kill A Sasquatch 

The Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy group has blood on their hands?. 

On Gathering Hard Evidence 

The Strange Case Of The Gotherington Gargoyle 

Photographic Evidence That Dinosaurs Exist 

The Monster of the Forest of Mouliere

Odds Are The Universe is Full Of Intelligent Life, Mathematician Finds

Britons Haunted Airfields RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk Paranormal UK

This Man Spent £1M Looking for the Loch Ness Monster. Here's What He Found.

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.

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

     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 Gary I might be able to get more detail or as much as possible from a 2-3 seconds sighting.  So I contacted John and asked whether he had contact details and explained why I wanted to contact the witness.  I was told Gary had been a GPO engineer who had gone to John’s home and they had chatted.  John told me: “The guy seemed genuine and slightly scared from what I remember”.   That was it.  There were two possible phone numbers for a Gary Higginson and I tried both but I got a very strong feeling that the persons on the other end of the phone-line thought they were talking to a nut-case.

     Now, I never met Gary and I tend to be suspicious of people who make a report and then are no longer contactable.  One case in particular involved the strange creature of Repton Woods in which the report was made to the late Omar Fowler and the witness then vanished.

     Looking at it logically, what might Gary have seen?  Remember that he only saw the figure for 2-3 seconds before turning and running and we do not have any details on weather conditions or visibility that morning.  The Reader may be happy to hear that I am not going to suggest hypnagogia (waking dream).  If there is one thing I know about the area involved it is that there are a few poachers or people carrying out illegal hunting and they need to do what they do and not be seen. I believe that Gary probably saw a poacher in a Ghillie Suit.

     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 Gary was- would look like thick shaggy hair with longer material hanging down over the face.  This seems far more plausible than a Bigfoot suddenly appearing and then disappearing in the English West Midlands.  How seeing a ‘Bigfoot’ got Gary interested in UFOs, however, I cannot explain.

  But how can I explain werewolves that were seen, have been widely reported on and investigated?

     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 “Cannock Chase Werewolves”:

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 UK's most active paranormal hotspots. In recent times there have been reports of werewolves, UFO's and ghosts by the local residents.

     “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 Midlands paranormal group to investigate.

     “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 German War Cemetery, just off Camp Road, in between Stafford and Cannock. Several of the witnesses claim the creature sprang up on its hind legs and ran into the nearby bushes when it was spotted."

     “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 German War Cemetery site. He said he was over there on a motorbike and saw what he believed was a large dog. When he got closer, the creature got on his hind legs and ran away’."

     “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 German War Cemetery, and it's certainly the case that the area has been the site of animal (particularly deer) mutilations over the past decade.”

     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 UK's BIGGEST 'paranormal hot-spots', with the main emphasis being on 'werewolf' sightings!?  The report apparently claimed there had 'now' been some 25 or so first-hand encounters!  Interestingly, no data at all from ANY of these subsequent experiences has ever been released!?) 

     “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, Poland, Canada, etc) and all I've really been able to try and do is convince people that we've never had anything to do with the subject at all.... and certainly not in a hands-on, investigatory capacity.  It's amazing how these things actually get started at times, but this particular subject has - by far - probably been the most virulent example that we've personally experienced!?  Laugh!

     “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.

Interesting that every werewolf story started off based on the hoax story and researchers were told that this was a hoax/joke and yet presented it all as fact -'fact' presented repeatedly in blogs, You Tube videos and in books. To get to the real mysteries you have to wade through the trash. In this case it was a light skip to get to the truth. Also, yes, there is a lot of poaching around Cannock Chase still.

__________________________________________________________________________________

A4

324pp

B&W

£20.00

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/mysterious-strange-beasts/paperback/product-23771024.html

Below cover for smaller format version

http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/strange-mysterious-beasts/paperback/product-23822244.html

I was told that it was probably a good idea not to reveal all of the contents of the new book. Fair enough. It is 324 pages with lots of photographs.  If you have read one of my previous books then I will point out that this new look at the chupacabra is expanded on.  I have managed to draw some conclusions on certain previously unidentified beasts. 

I am guessing that the conclusions in the chapter on the Shunka Warak'in and the famous stuffed and mounted specimen are going to really upset some cryptozoologists.

In High Strangeness and UFO Contact? I looked at the faults in Ufology and how the subject needed drastic overhauling and I do the same here regarding mystery animal research which seems to be full of charlatans and liars out to make money rather than look for the truth. I try to give anyone approaching the subject matter some advice and guidelines but 'cryptozoology' and 'cryptozoologist' are two words they ought not to use.

Strange & Mysterious Beasts is the smaller format book while Mysterious & Strange Beasts is the standard larger A4 format.

IGNORE the "only ships from North America" as that is just a site message error

I need to point out that, much though I really do want to avoid this, US taxes are not leaving me much in the way of profit from sales.  I really do not want to increase book prices since I think that at the moment they are fair (considering what a purchaser gets and the amount of my work that gets plagiarized).  I am told that it has to be an option, however, I have until 1st February, 2018 to decide.

Anyway, enough publisher waffle, here are some of the contents:

 

The Monster of the Forest of Mouliere  

The Beast of Lyonnais  

The Beast of Cevennes, Gard and Vivarais     

The Beast of Sarlat   

The Beast of Gevaudan    

British Man Beasts    

Bigfoot and Werewolves in the West Midlands   

The Strange Creature in Repton Woods  

Bigfoot Returns – To Kent!      

Werewolf!        

The Curious and Frightening Case of the Hull Werewolf      

The Gnome of Girona    

The Caponi Close Encounters and Photographs      

Return of the Shark Killing Thing –a Possible Identification   

The Dingellchough Mystery Creature 

The Unidentified Corfu Sea Creature          

Strange Sea Creature Found In Persian Gulf    

The Devil of Gatagon     

The Supernatural Invasion: Slender-man and Black Eyed Kids   

The Sheep Killer of Niali     

Mystery Creature of the Bay of Flamanville  

Things Caught on Camera –Fact and Fiction   

The Bat Creatures     

The Owl-man  

The British Pig-man and Snake-man   

The Pictish Beast             

Shunka Warak'in –A Hyena Too Far?