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Barkfoot?

Not sure where this is in UK, my friend sent me this blog:http://www.rousette.org.uk/blog/archives/2004/08/06/wild-man/
I’ve never been particularly interested in local newspapers, but since I’m in a new area now, I thought I would glance at the local free-sheet that popped through the door. Little did I suspect that I was living in an area where thrilling and mysterious events occur. It seems that the local park (which is actually quite a large Country Park, rather than the typical bandstands and flowerbeds type of thing) is inhabited by a wild man. This man is referred to as ‘Barkfoot’—a hilarious1 play on ‘Bigfoot’, but it also refers to his home-made bark footwear and bark cowboy hat. He apparently also wears a long coat woven out of reeds and grasses, and adores sausages—all of the encounters people have had with him have involved sausage-related incidents of one kind or another.

There were quite a few column inches devoted to Barkfoot, including a couple of letters from people who had experienced a Barkfoot close encounter. One even had a bit of a chat with him, and found out that his ‘real’ name is Larry Larch (or Larchey) and—this is the surreal bit—he used to be a bottle-opener designer in Hemel Hempstead. I think that my favourite bit was a quote from a Park official who said:

“Even though there is someone allegedly wearing bark shoes, it does not mean he or they are living in the Park.”

Barkfoot (or Larchey) reminds me of the Green Man; a rather mysterious folkloric figure who is associated with the Arthurian legends, and also represents the rebirth of life in Spring and Summer. I think that every park should have its own Green Man, so long may Barkfoot continue to enjoy his sausages in the copses.

Well, it is a local paper.
Mods, please move if you think Barkfoot should be on another thread!:D
 
I actually have a book about am fear liath mhor called "The Big Grey Man Of Ben MacDui" - I cannot for the life of me remember the author's name off the top of my head. It is a very good read, up until the latter chapters where he starts talking about underground UFO bases and suchlike. Tends to loose credibilty around that stage!

I don't think there is much physical evidence for the existence of such a beast - in the form of footprints, etc. I tend to think that the sightings are a combination of the well understood phenomena of the brokken spectre and the sudden eerie feeling that can descend on somebody when they are out on a remote mountainside, particularly alone. I have spent a lot of time on the mountains of Scotland, including Ben MacDui, and it is not unusual to be surrounded by sudden mists, to get sudden drops in temperature, to get the feeling you're being followed or that somehow the mountain doesn't want you there. These are all common symptoms described in a sighting of am fear liath mhor.

The main thing that people describe is a sudden and strong sensation of fear, and very few actually see anything that could be considered a physical animal of any description.
 
There's a book on the Grey Man by Affleck Grey, I think his name was.
Three Men Seeking Monsters by Nick Redfern has lots of accounts of British bigfoot type creatures- it alludes to creatures seen in Falkland in Fife- I remember being driven through that area when I was a kid, and someone talking about sightings of a bear standing on it's hind legs in field that we passed, which struck me as interesting, given how some of these things are described as bear-like.
The book also mentions an intriguing account of a wild man caught on Dartmoor in the 40s from a doctor at a mental hospital who saw it when it was brought in- his theory was that it was some sort of in-bred. Not sure how seriously to take it, but interesting none the less.
 
Am fear liath mhor counts more as a spectre than a Bigfoot, I think. Certainly the stories about it lean far more in that direction than in any other. The book by Affleck Grey is probably the definite one ( actually, I think it might be the only one :) ) and the general feeling is that whatever the Big Grey man is it is not flesh and blood.

There are quite a few strange details to it. I think the Grey book has a report of someone who saw it putting it at about 20 - 30 feet in height which is pushing it a bit for a Cryptid in what is no longer a terribly quiet neibourhood.

One of the other reports in the book was a claim that the Big Grey Man was some sort of Buhddist super being ( I can't remember exactly what) so I guess the jury is still out.

I'll tell you one thing though. I've been on Ben Macdhui a few times in very bad weather when the mist is down and you can't see more than a few feet in front of you and it's more than possible to imagine something strange stalking you. There are wierd acoustics up there for sure in bad weather so you can never be enitirely sure of anything.

My own personal feeling is that it is an example of 'Pan.' There were a couple of reports of people up there experienceing the 'Buzzing' thing and overpowering fear that have also been known to characterise the 'Pan' Experience.
 
The general jist of Three Men Seeking Monsters is that these things are generally not physical in the usual sense, but phantoms that can appear under certain circumstances.
I've also recently got a copy of "Not Of This World" by Maurice Fleming, which is an A-Z of supernatural creatures in Scotland, and there was one creature that struck me as being very BHM-ism- the Urisk, which was described as a large, grey, hairy man-like creature with large claws, which inhabited remote mountains and forests, and were generally regarded as harmless, but were very curious about humans, and would often follow travellers, observing them from a distance.
This body of stories does seem to be very much mixed up with fairy lore, but it does make me wonder if they are related to modern stories of BHMs?
 
xTowerKingx said:
There's a book on the Grey Man by Affleck Grey, I think his name was.
Three Men Seeking Monsters by Nick Redfern has lots of accounts of British bigfoot type creatures- it alludes to creatures seen in Falkland in Fife- I remember being driven through that area when I was a kid, and someone talking about sightings of a bear standing on it's hind legs in field that we passed, which struck me as interesting, given how some of these things are described as bear-like.
The book also mentions an intriguing account of a wild man caught on Dartmoor in the 40s from a doctor at a mental hospital who saw it when it was brought in- his theory was that it was some sort of in-bred. Not sure how seriously to take it, but interesting none the less.

I would also recommend this book, Affleck Gray ( a church minister no less) provides a well structured read. I've done a fair bit of hillwalking in the area an it does have a certain 'tangible' quality to it.
 
Strines BHM

You'd have thought that this case would have references all over the place just on the basis of its sheer unlikeliness. But no. So, since none of the links to old threads seem to pick up any more, can anyone recall anything about the Strines Reservoir BHM from about three years ago?

I'm especially interested in pinning down the exact location. No reason, you understand. Someone pass me that big net, would you? Ta.
 
Ta. I drove out that way this morning and found some of the spookiest country roads known to man. No monsters though, but going by the article, I was a mile or so out on the location. I'll keep trying though folks, you never know.

I'll tell you one thing, it was bloody freezing out there and it's a roasting hot day today. Of course, this is all due to the reservoirs, but it certainly adds to the atmosphere, especially when you haven't seen another soul for a while.
 
Take that camera. I'll host images for you if you like. People might enjoy seeing the area. Who knows, you might capture something else as well.
 
Will do. It's lovely countriside, though a bit artificial; the reservoirs are old but you can still spot something unnatural about the lie of the land. In fact, somewhere on this very board is a thread about the odd atmosphere of reservoirs.

I shall snap some pictures near the Nine Ladies circle and you never know, we could adopt our own apeman.
 
HelzAngel said:
http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2972

unfortunately the picture looks like my hubby, but I make him wax his shoulders.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chris.mull ... %20BHM.htm

Hope these help!

Certinly would be hard for a flesh and blood creature to hide in a thinnly wooded area like was shown on the chris mullins site and food would be scarse for a large creature, it seems very similar to the Bolem bigfoot, it could be zooform phenomina in my opinion.
 
The area itself is fairly thinly wooded, but there's miles and miles of moorland, and plenty of yummy sheep(you'd be surprised how often you see patches of wool fleece spread over a hillside. It is one of those places where you can easily imagine all sorts of things to be behind every rock.

The thing I've always found weird is seeing the village emerge from Ladybower reservoir if there's a drought, there's something really eerie about it.
 
Team called in over Bigfoot sightings

Feb 14 2006


REPORTS were circulating today that a strange beast is roaming Cannock Chase - and now paranormal investigators are investigating.

A Bigfoot-type creature is said to be roaming the woodland of Cannock Chase and a number of eyewitness accounts are adding weight to allegations that Sasquatch - as Red Indians dubbed the creature - is alive.

Respected "X Files" reporter Nick Redfern has monitored sightings from Castle Ring to Slitting Mill.

And all of the locals who spotted the mystery beast give the same description - a giant, hairy creature with blazing red eyes.

Jackie Haughton sparked the Bigfoot alert with a sighting in the early hours of February 18, 1995, on the Cannock-Rugeley road.

Writing for Fate magazine, Mr Redfern reports: "She was suddenly forced to swerve the car and narrowly avoided collision with a large, shambling creature that stepped into the road at a distance of about 20 feet.

"Considering that she was travelling at high speed, said Jackie, it was a miracle that she didn't hit it. The encounter lasted barely a few seconds, but she had caught sight of the animal and said it was man-like and tall, very hairy, with two self-illuminating, glowing red eyes. It quickly vanished into the trees."

Jackie's claims gained credence when a motorist and his party recorded a sighting on a night in September, 1998.

One of the party of four said: "It was a tall, man-like figure, sort of crouching forward. As we passed, it turned and looked straight at us.

"I would describe it as around 6ft 8in, very strong-looking and with a darkish, blacky-brown coat. I still get goosebumps thinking about it."

Alec Williams had an eight second encounter with Bigfoot at Castle Ring - an ancient monument - in April 2004. He describes a 7ft creature, with short, shiny, dark brown hair, large head and eyes that glow bright red.

Mr Williams claims he saw what looked like a camera flash nearby and heard an "owl-like cry".

Source
 
*slaps hand to forehead*


"Considering that she was travelling at high speed, said Jackie, it was a miracle that she didn't hit it. The encounter lasted barely a few seconds, but she had caught sight of the animal and said it was man-like and tall, very hairy, with two self-illuminating, glowing red eyes. It quickly vanished into the trees."

If the encounter only lasted a few seconds how can she be sure it was a hominid?

There is a well-established Red Deer pack that I have encountered myself over by the Rugeley B Power Station (that was bloody scary, 3 mature stags travelling together* walked into the dell I was in and I did think at the time, 'That's curtains for you Q').

Anyway, the Chase's Red Deer have even travelled as far south as Brownhills Common and one has even been found in built-up Walsall.

I'll hazard a guess that what she actually saw that night was more than likely a deer in her headlights. :roll:


* apparently male stags will group when there's an even bigger stag in the area and these were big buggers so I dread to think exactly how big the other one would have been
 
Jackie Haughton sparked the Bigfoot alert with a sighting in the early hours of February 18, 1995, on the Cannock-Rugeley road.

Re-reading the article I have just realised and remembered that my Red Deer encounter up at Rugeley was also around the Spring of 1995 - either March or early April.
 
Ahh... Now we are getting somewhere!
its all part of life's rich pagentry you kneau
it wasn't a large Chimpanzee Minkey but a deer!!

Until we meet again and the case is sol-ved !
 
We live right on the edge of Cannock Chase or "the Chase" as it is known locally. In fact, cross a road and we're on it. It's quite common to see deer when you're walking on or driving through the Chase. As others have said, they can get very large and it's not uncommon to see them grouped together. I know the road that the lady witness says was the scene of her encounter and deer often crosss over it. A good time to see them is at dawn and dusk. My father takes his labrador for a 1-2 hour walk on the Chase every morning around 6am. Although he's seen countless deer, he's never seen anything that could be even remotely described as a bigfoot.

It is true that there have been many reports of strange phenomena on the Chase: panthers, ufos (including a crash retrieval), little people and now bigfoot. However, just taking the bigfoot reports, it really does not seem very likely that a colony of man-sized hominids could live on the Chase without discovery. Cannock Chase is not large when compared to other areas where bigfoot reports originate e.g. NW USA, Siberia, China. Also, for a colony to be viable there must be sufficient numbers to create a diverse gene pool. So it's not just a single bigfoot or bigfoot family we are talking about, it would have to be a relatively large number. Not very likely I would say.

I would agree with others who suspect deer sightings are the true origin of the reports.
 
corsair2000e said:
It is true that there have been many reports of strange phenomena on the Chase: panthers, ufos (including a crash retrieval), little people and now bigfoot.

This sounds interesting - if you have more information on this the start a new thread.

corsair2000e said:
However, just taking the bigfoot reports, it really does not seem very likely that a colony of man-sized hominids could live on the Chase without discovery. Cannock Chase is not large when compared to other areas where bigfoot reports originate e.g. NW USA, Siberia, China. Also, for a colony to be viable there must be sufficient numbers to create a diverse gene pool. So it's not just a single bigfoot or bigfoot family we are talking about, it would have to be a relatively large number. Not very likely I would say.

I'm unsure this is a complete arguement against there being any Bigfoot just against it being an animal as we know it. There is certianly weirdness associated with it:

www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13633
www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13729

and one could imagine a couple of other alternatives:

1. That they are from outside our reality (they seem to crop up at areas of high strangeness with a range of other weird phenomena).

2. That they are somehow actually people changing into some kind of strange creature - I mention the possibility here in relation to ABCs/werecats (as a counter to ABCs is also the viable population idea):

www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 949#600949

As I say here:
www.wunderkabinett.co.uk/emporium/index ... 01#msg5601

The idea of them being a viable population of actual creatures living in the British countryside is the least likely explanation - I suspect they are deer but there are other explanations which get around the problem of a breeding population (although these are only just a bit more likely the the Terrestrial Biology Theory as opposed to the Ultraterrestrail Theory and the Werefoot Theory I suppose ;) ).
 
I might just go for a drive round the Chase this weekend, with my eyes open and my camera at the ready - I'm only 15 minutes away by car. I agree that it's a bit small (Cannock Chase, not my car) to hold a viable population of some unknown creature but still, the merest possibility is quite enticing.
 
With reference to the strange goings on at Cannock Chase. The UFO crash I was referring to allegedly took place in 1974 and should not be confused with the Penkridge 1964 case. The 1974 case is sourced in Nick Redfern's Cosmic Crashes. The same book also reports in very scant detail black triangles seen over the forest in 1988 and small troll-like creatures surrounding the occupants of a broken-down car at Slitting Mill (on Cannock Chase) in 1975. There have been reports of panthers on the Chase for a few years now but no firm details. If anyone thinks the UFO crash of '74 is worthy of its own thread, please let me know.

Were-creatures or denizens from another reality? Well, I don't know. Personally I would think the physical existance of a bigfoot colony was more likely, and that probability is pretty close to zero as it is. There was an old report, however, of a bigfoot-type creature somewhere close to Cannock Chase dating from the last century. I'll see if I can dig it up.

The Quixote, was the vampire case on the other thread the "finger-biting" episode from about 1840?
 
corsair2000e said:
If anyone thinks the UFO crash of '74 is worthy of its own thread, please let me know.

Ooh yeah, go for it :)

The Quixote, was the vampire case on the other thread the "finger-biting" episode from about 1840?

Yeah this one (about 10 paragraphs down).

--

Emps posted over on Damn Data, a link to Cryptomundo which has some good comments in reply to Nick Redfern's blog posting.

There was an old report, however, of a bigfoot-type creature somewhere close to Cannock Chase dating from the last century.

Nick Redfern addresses that in the blog posting, a monkey-man creature up at Ranton which was news to me as was this report (I must be slacking in my old age :( ) :

Cryptomundo.com said:
In December 2003, newspapers in the area gave much prominence to the story of a young man named Craig, who said he had seen a large ape-like creature near the town of Penkridge, which is very close to the Cannock Chase.


and to end, from the icCannock network:

Editor's note: Anyone who can provide me with a picture of Big Foot will get a free Indian meal.

I should think if someone did get photographic evidence then a free meal would be the least of their concerns!!!
 
TheQuixote, the "man-monkey" report dates from 1879 at, as you say, Ranton. Apparently, a man returning home saw a black creature with white eyes which jumped onto the back of his horse. When the man struck the creature with his whip it passed clean through it.

The vampire case has always struck me as being more akin to a crisis apparitian than vampirism. The only feature that has pushed the report towards a vampire explanation being the finger biting, though it's not clear that any injury was caused at all.

Yeah, the last thing on my mind as I snapped bigfoot would be "Whoopee! Free food time!"

I'll start a thread on the alleged '74 crash of a UFO on Cannock Chase.
 
More on this and one can see it is already starting to lose focus:

Bigfoot or big cat - the expert's speak out

Mar 1 2006



Experts have backed claims that the infamous Cannock Bigfoot, spotted with increasing regularity by our readers, could, infact, be a big cat in our midst.

Last week leading wildlife expert Derek Crawley, chairman of Staffordshire Mammal Group, told locals, who were convinced they had seen a Sasquatch-type creature roaming the beauty spot, they may have actually had a close encounter with a black panther.

Mr Crawley said ramblers over the forestland could have spied a big cat lounging in the trees and mistakenly taken branches for arms.

And this week famed XFiles reporter Nick Redfern contacted us from Texas to support the theory.

The paranormal expert said he had investigated many big cat sightings over the Chase and backed-up Mr Crawley's suggestion that the 'blazing red eyes' of the creature could have been those of a big cat.

He said: "There is definitely something weird going on and the theory that some of them could be big cats in trees is a genuinely interesting one.

"I've investigated quite a few big cat encounters on the Chase."

Nick plans to investigate the Chase throughly later this year in preparation for a book he intends to pen on the mysterious forestland.

Suspicions were aroused when Mr Crawley told The Post the sightings could have been a big cat.

"From the reports it would seem too big to be an escaped ape," Mr Crawley said.

"A lot of people seem to be saying it has red, staring eyes. It may be a big cat in a tree. The person who saw it may have been confused and mistaken the branches for arms."

Meanwhile at The Post the eye-witness reports are continuing to roll in.

Possibly the most disturbing sighting of all comes from Mark Henderson. He writes: "Both my partner and I were so petrified we left the dogging spot in question and haven't returned since.

"My partner simply wouldn't have that animal in our Ford Cortina. She hates beards."

-------
Editor's Note: Keep the Bigfoot pictures coming. Anyone who can provide a genuine picture of Bigfoot will get a free Indian meal. If not, we'll select the one that gives us the biggest laugh.

Send your pictures to The Chase Post, 103-106, High Green Court, Newhall St, Cannock WS11 1AB or email [email protected]

Source

OK it got a few laughs but really...
 
This one just gets odder:

Bigfoot almost made me lose my baby

Mar 23 2006


Police chiefs have hit out at the dangers posed by the spoof ‘Bigfoot’ craze after a teenager almost lost her baby when a joker clad in a gorilla suit jumped in front of her car.

And the concerns have been echoed by a leading councillor and conservationist, who fears the ‘irresponsible idiots’ are causing harm to wildlife as well as people.

The warnings come as a growing army of Cannock people take to the Chase, often dressed in monkey suits. They have been tempted by The Post’s offer of a free meal for anyone who capture on film the elusive Chase Bigfoot, rumoured to frequent the most secluded areas of our beauty spot.

We reproduce on this page just one of the dozens of ‘sightings’ submitted by our eagle-eyed readers.

The bizarre weekend incident left the eight months pregnant teenager - who does not wish to be named - fearing she would lose her child due to the hysterical state the ‘monster’ left her in.

“I screamed so loud,” the teenager told us from her Heath Hayes home, where she is recovering from the terrifying ordeal.

“It was a real scare. It left me with fears that the trauma of it could have fatally harmed my baby.”

The incident took place around 11pm, in a deserted, dimly-lit woodland road in Brocton, as the 19-year-old girl and her family drove home after a meal in Milford.

“We noticed a BMW parked in the road. Suddenly it flashed its lights.

“Just then, out of nowhere, this person dressed in a gorilla suit jumped out in front of our car, flailing their arms like mad. Then they started running at the car like mad. It was terrifying.

“Looking back it was obviously a fake suit, but late at night, in an isolated area like that, it was a very scary experience.

“In broad daylight, I suppose it could be quite funny, but this was 11 o’clock at night, with no-one around.

“It’s very lonely there.

“If that had been someone with a heart condition, they could’ve had a heart attack.”

The family believe the BMW was in on the act, signalling the ‘monster’ when traffic passed.

The girl’s furious father, who reported the incident to the police, told The Post this week: “If I’d have caught the idiots, I’d have pasted them.”

A spokesperson at Staffordshire Police HQ said yesterday: “We take it very seriously because it may result in a Public Order Offence.

“The person (in the gorilla suit) may very well be in high spirits, but this would be viewed as a criminal offence.”

And leading local councillor John Burnett told us: “This is the behaviour of an irresponsible idiot.

“At this time of year, there are all manner of ground-nesting birds in that area; the partridge, the pheasant, woodlarks, skylarks - many rare birds whose habitat and nesting could be destroyed by this kind of activity.”

n Sightings of a ‘Bigfoot’ creature on Cannock Chase have rocketed in recent months, with eye-witness accounts pouring into The Post on a regular basis, but there have actually been regular occurrances in our area for more than a century.

“The Chase Bigfoot legend has even reached the attention of America’s X-Files,” reported Nick Redfern, who believes readers are seeing something more than a regular animal.

He told The Post: “I think that these creatures are some sort of paranormal thing. I think we are looking at something paranormal, rather than a flesh-and-blood animal.

“I believe the people are definitely seeing something, and don’t believe for one minute they are hoaxing or suffering hallucinations.”


Recent sightings have also placed the beast as far afield as Castle Ring.

Source
 
All of the links seem to have stopped working in this story, and I was interested in finding out more as a friend of mine told me a story recently. Whilst she was out with friends at the back end oof midnight, driving through the back roads near Banchory (a small town near Aberdeen) she and another person saw something cross the road in front of their car, and the only description she could give me was 'a gorilla'. This is the most levelheaded person I know (some would say overly skeptic, definitely with a k) and usually rubbishes any ideas of a Fortean bent I try to persuade her with.

Can the old threads be revisited, or will I have to research elsewhere?
 
phadrox: I went back through the thread (and swapped in a cached version of one of the pages so there is onl one broken link to a picture) and I am unsure why this thread wasn't merged with the main British Bigfoot thread so I have merged the two.

Hopefully you should now be able to find all your British Bigfoot goodness all in the one thread now ;)
 
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