The Headless Dog of the Susquehanna Valley

 The Headless Dog of the Susquehanna Valley

By Cole Herrold

Now it isn’t often that I stumble across a legend or entity that occurred literally in my general area that I hadn’t heard about before, yet I recently got a book entitled The Headless Dog: and Other Extraordinary Far-Fetched True Tales of Central Pennsylvania By Beverley A Conrad and Gregory T Burgess. The title caught me instantly as I tend to investigate Central Pennsylvania more than any other part of the state mainly because of how close to home it is. I also strive to point out that Central PA is just as active in phenomena as say Westmoreland County or Lancaster County which are known for areas like Gettysburg and the Chestnut Ridge. Central PA has a ton of incidents and events that are associated with major phenomena Williamsport was for example one of the way-stops of the Jersey Devil during the 1909 flap. Williamsport a couple months back was the site also of several square UFOs. Harrisburg the state capital was hit with a major UFO flap over the course of several days and sightings of UFOs are reported all over the state to this day. Northumberland County where I live is home to a variety of legends many of which I have covered previously like the Ghost Werewolf of Northumberland, the Northumberland Mystery Beasts, and the Susquehanna River Monster. Sunbury where I grew up also was a major Fortean landmark as UFOs were reported in the area during the 70s, bigfoot sightings were reported in the wooded game areas outside the city limits, a case of Spontaneous Human Combustion occurred on Race St, A large home located by the Mansion hospice and nursing center was an incredibly haunted location involving violent poltergeists who harassed the crew of Herrold and Son Masonry as well as the resident and were so violent that they pushed the owner of the home down the stairs crippling him. The most famous haunted location in Sunbury however would have to be the Edison Hotel and its resident ghosts. Needless to say, the area is seething with phenomena yet very few focus on the area as a Fortean hotspot.

Now with all that said in the area of Snyder County which lies just north of Selinsgrove there is an area known as the Bloody Triangle. This area starts at the High Hill of Penn Township a mountain ridge that runs along RT 204 to Fair Oaks and from this location it connects to the ridge south of it. This area forms a wedge-shaped valley which leads to the triangle title. This area is home to several strange reports often associated with the ghosts of Native Americans many who feel cursed the area or put some sort of spell on the land. Yet of all the apparitions and phenomena associated with the area the one that intrigues me the most to the point I’m planning an investigation into the case is that of the Headless Dog. The origin of this dog is unknown it simply seems to of just materialized to haunt the area. Something that is common in ghost canine reports, particularly of the shuck or hellhound variety as these entities tend to manifest in areas known for tragedy or high strangeness. Reports of this canine are few and far in between however reports do occur one of the oldest accounts comes from Foster Kreamer who told local historians about his experiences with the dog. Foster experienced the dog back when he was a boy at the Fisher’s School House which was west of Rolling Green Park. He and another boy were standing at the front of the building by the main doors when suddenly a huge coal-black dog without a head manifested in between them. The spectral animal did not make any noise but simply began to walk through the doorway and into the school. Kreamer’s fellow schoolmate ran terrified away from the building to his home which was within reasonable running distance. Kreamer realizing that such a run for him was impractical proceeded to bravely enter the school whereupon he did not see any evidence of the animal. Kreamer walked around the building and searched for some other verification and asked the teachers and students if any of them had seen something strange or a big black dog yet all of them responded in the negative. This sighting happened many years ago and by 2017 the old school was then an Ice Cream Parlor and as far as what was known no one had reported seeing the dog.

The headless dog is reported in other locations within the Bloody Triangle however and one of the more recent reports is also one of the more violent ones. In the area around Fair Oaks, there is a crossroads that is north of the Village of Salem and it is here that the Ghost Dog is said to frequently haunt. Motorists and those who choose to walk or bike the area often report seeing the headless dog crossing the road and ascending the bank of High Hill which is a 70-80 degree climb. In the area around this location, there is also an old oak tree that the Ghost Dog is said to manifest in. The dog in these situations typically is violent and will shake the branches and make terrifying noises. Maria Stahl was one such person to experience this side of the ghost dog's behavior. Maria was an elderly woman who lived in a house that would later be owned by Mrs. William Bingaman and was returning home from a visit with friend Hiram Smith. The steps to her house led her past the old oak tree and as she passed under the branches she suddenly felt a heavy weight fall on top of her. Unable to get a good look at what this being was she was even more terrified but what she could make out was that the creature was awkward in appearance and that it had furry hands or paws that were now tightly wrapped around her throat. This black shapeless entity continued to hold on to the woman until she managed to get to the border of her property. The woman finally losing strength and out of breath collapsed and touched the gate of her house. Wherein the beast removed itself from her back and throat and disappeared. The woman could not describe the creature clearly but knew the legend of the ghost dog and felt that it was just what she experienced. For some reason, she felt that if she could not have made it home that she would have been killed by her supernatural assassin.

Another sighting that occurred in the area of the oak revolved around a man bicycling at night. As he reached the area of the tree and the hill he suddenly saw that there in the center of the road was a colossal black dog that was preventing him from going any further. The man saw that this spectral dog was different from the legend as in this case it did have a head but was nonetheless terrified. The dog however did not harass him and instead proceeded to continue across the road and up the nearby hill without making a sound even as it entered the leaf-littered hill.

Now, this is all that has been reported seemingly about the ghost as attempting to find any further information on the apparition has been fruitless. This might be a very localized story and so a huge thanks to Gregory Burgess and Beverly Conrad to collecting the sightings. Oft times these localized ghost stories are more urban legends than anything else and are told to entertain or to deal with boredom in places where not much happens. The Headless Dog stories can be interpreted in a variety of ways the first account could very easily be a true encounter there’s not much outside of an outright fictional story to explain that case. The case of Maria Stahl however could be explained away as a natural animal attack or even a child in a costume pulling some sort of shenanigans. A large cat could easily have dropped on her back and with her flailing the animal could have held on for dear life or a child could have dropped down to scare the old woman. Granted the latter if true is extremely malicious and dangerous. These explanations are justified as possibilities as Maria did not get a good look at the creature and because of that it honestly could be just about anything. Then when we get to the bicycler we could just be dealing with a large dog crossing the road and a person associating a legend with it as there’s nothing exactly supernatural with what he witnessed outside the quietness of the animal.

Now while I may seem to be dismissing most of this phenomenon there is that first case which clearly seems to indicate something Fortean. Classically headless dogs are associated with a few different Fortean phenomena that sort of overlapped. The first is the faerie hound these large dogs were reported in Celtic countries and these dogs typically were believed to be omens of death and that hearing their baying three times no matter how close or how far away you are is enough for them to kill you. Not all faerie dogs were malicious however and some served faerie folks in the same way humans would earth-oriented hounds. The other type of phenomenon is the hellhound or shuck these entities traditionally were savage killers of people either by supernatural means such as appearing three times or as in a case where one attacked members of a congregation, physically with its teeth and claws. These entities can burn victims and there are even scorch claw marks on an old church door claimed to have been caused by one. These legends extend and mirror those of black dogs which again are omens of death yet they are not as violent as the case of the Black Dog of Hanging Hills of Connecticut which states that if you see the dog once it actually gives you good luck and is always described as being playful and not malicious in the slightest.

Now I bring these three options up as they tend to fit the appearance of the ghost reported. If the Maria Stahl sightings are accurate then the first two types are also possibilities of just what type of creature this would be. This area of Pennsylvania is filled with Irish and German descendants and often it does appear that phenomena from other countries like fae folk or family ghosts will follow those they attach themselves to and in doing so will haunt the area. An interesting point to these sightings is that this dog haunts both crossroads and an old oak tree so while it does seem to have some mobility in its reach it is very much localized to certain points something we see in Hellhound reports. Yet the Kreamer and bicyclist sightings could fit in that what was witnessed was just a ghost dog. Often in cases of headless ghosts, there are reports of ghosts such as say Anne Boleyn who will alternate in appearance from headless to having their head and so perhaps this is the case with this dog if all the sightings are authentic and not misidentified.

Ghost animal cases are so difficult to peg down because they mesh into all sorts of other phenomena outside of just ghosts. Witches are said to take the forms of animals that are almost spectral in their ability, familiars are said to appear as animals, then there are faerie animals, there are ghosts of humans who now appear as animals, there are ghost animals, and then there are supernatural animals either demonic or heavenly that cause and do all sorts of different actions. Needless to say, trying to rationalize the phenomena becomes difficult when there are so many other similar and identical types of entities out there. My personal thoughts on this is based on historical cases that this is something more than a traditional ghost yet without a back story I can't be certain. The roads of PA are desolate and dangerous and its entirely possible some pet was killed along the road and it now haunts the location. Yet until someone comes forward with an origin to explain this hound haunting we're left to mere speculation.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Ghost Animal, Paranormal Entity, Faerie

Location: Bloody Triangle area of Monroe Township, Penn Township, Fair Oaks, Snyder County, Pennsylvania

Sighted: Unspecified

Works Cited:

The Headless Dog and Other Far-Fetched Extraordinary Tales By Beverly Conrad and Gregory Burgess

The Awful

 The Awful

By Cole Herrold

Flying cryptids are perhaps one of the most mysterious entities reported. Be it the strange flying invertebrate-style organisms such as the Sky Amoebas or Atmospheric Jellyfish or the seemingly Predator teched-out Hampton Sky Rays or the colossal Thunderbirds, they have captured the imaginations of millions and expanded the perspectives and mindsets of those lucky enough to have encountered them. Yet of these creatures, perhaps the most unique is the chimeral critters that appear to of been pulled straight from the pages of Myth. One such creature in the dawn of the 20^th century was said to frequent the skies and roofs of countless buildings in Richford and Berkshire, Vermont, and proceeded to strike terror and eldritch-style nightmares onto the towns' populace. The wave of terror this creature caused was added in strangeness only by the description of this creature which, just like its name to those who had the fortunate or unfortunate enough chance of encountering it, was just plain Awful.

Rumors of the Anomalous airborne apparition first gained fruition in the early 1900s and was initially sighted at dusk by two to three sawmill workers who, upon crossing Main Street Bridge near the Canadian border, noticed a strange figure spotted atop the Boright building at the corner of Main and River street. As the group looked up at the building, expecting to see a robber at worst or a maintenance man at best, they were instead greeted by a strange-looking avian abomination that they would describe thusly "a very large Griffin-like creature with grayish wings that each spanned ten-feet." The creature possessed "a serpent-like tail that equaled its wing length" and "huge claws that could easily grip a milk can's girth." The creature, from its perch, stared down at the men as the men stared up at the creature, and it was at that moment that panic ensued. The men had no words for the creature except that it was Awful; as they stared in utter terror at the monstrous mutant, one of the men felt a sharp pain issue up his arm and chest, ultimately collapsing to the ground. This alerted his companions, who, upon looking at their friend, realized he was suffering from a heart attack. The group, no longer concerned for the strange creature which was still leering at them from the top of the building, reached down and proceeded to lift up their friend and, as quickly as possible, returned to his home. The man managed to survive the heart attack, but he had not escaped from that moment near the Boright Building. For weeks afterward, his wife and children woke up in the middle of the night to hear him screaming in his sleep as though his dreams were being terrorized by some sort of eldritch abomination. What these dreams were about, no one really knows as either the man never spoke of them, or they were lost over time.

Right after this encounter, the creature was seen by countless farmers and villagers, and it was during this time that the creature officially received its name, The Awful. The villagers were in utmost terror by the sight of this creature and its strange, bizarre behaviors. The creature frequently flew over the farmer's fields and would land on the farmer's roofs and watch them as they worked throughout the day or would look through windows at those who were not out doing chores or errands.

Two weeks later, after the initial sighting, the Awful was seen flying about 50 feet above a Berkshire field near Lost Nation road. As those lucky or unlucky enough to have seen the creature this time noted, they heard a strange crying sound accompanying it that they knew was not from the creature. The creature during this flight was not alone, for there, wrapped in the creature's talons, was a small wailing baby. An immediate search of the area for a missing child in the area, however, turned up empty, and so the villagers felt that they must have been mistaken and what they most likely heard and saw was a small animal of some sort; most felt a sheep.

The Awful's reign of terror would not end there, however, as the next major sighting of the creature would occur just a short time after this potential child abduction. Farmwife Oella Hopkins was out hanging her laundry out to dry in her yard when she began to hear her dog bark madly behind her. Curious at just what was disturbing the animal, she looked up to see what her dog was barking at, and upon looking towards the direction of where the dog was faced, she saw the Awful perched on her porch roof gazing down at her. Terribly frightened by the horrid visage of the grinning Griffin, she ran into her house and proceeded to, in childlike and slasher victim style to, hide under her bed. When her husband came home, the creature was gone, and having discovered his wife under the bed, he attempted to coax her out, but she refused to come out for several hours. After this sighting, the Awful seemed to make itself scarce, and sightings that were once so rampant started to slowly dwindle away to a mere trickle.

In 1925 while reports of the Awful were practically nonexistent, word of the flying freak of nature spread and eventually reached the ears of non-other than the infamous cosmic horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. H.P. Lovecraft heard about the monstrosity while visiting with some friends in Southern Vermont and, upon hearing about the creature during this visit, decided to go and take a quick road trip up to Richford and Berkshire to investigate the claims. While there, he managed to talk to many of the eyewitnesses, and he was convinced that the locals he had interviewed were "not in the least mistaken about what they had witnessed." Lovecraft would later return to his friends in the southern portion of the state but hearing about this bizarre beast was enough to put his imagination and writing prowess into overtime. Lovecraft would later write, "The Awful became ample sustenance for my imagination" and "over time, the creature became the basis for many of my own fictional inventions." In 1927 Lovecraft wrote, "entering Vermont for the first time, there is a sense of mystic revivification." He continued, "Something in the contours, something in the setting, has the power to touch deep viol-strings of feeling which are ancestral if one be young and personal if one be old.". It's from this that Lovecraft, upon pondering the beast, felt that there certainly was some sort of esoteric reason for the creature being there, be it a pre-concept Keelian Window area or some other supernatural methodology not unlike that which he would write about extensively. Yet while the creature gained the attention of one of the greatest minds in horror literature, it had almost immediately after 1925 vanished, there were no more sightings of the creature for countless years, and many had thought that the creature had either died, moved on, or if this was mass hysteria that the towns had returned to their senses. None of which would forever be the case, as, at the beginning of the 21^st century, sightings of the creature would return with a fury not seen since the original 1900-1925 flap.

On October 19, 2006, H.P. Albarelli wrote an article entitled "Has the Awful Returned to Berkshire & Richford," and in it, he detailed a second flap of sightings of a similar or the same flying monstrosity that was reported almost 80 years prior. Most of these witnesses had startlingly similar interactions with the creature as it seemed once again primarily focused on flying around local buildings and watching any in its path. A few weeks prior to the publication of the article, a man Albarelli claimed was a "solid citizen" who chose to remain anonymous out of fear that people would have thought him insane “reported seeing an unbelievable-looking winged monster. The thing swooped down from nowhere and plucked a huge black crow from the upper branches of a tall pine tree. I didn’t believe my eyes, but when the thing circled my house…well, then there was no denying it." On this occasion, the creature reenacted its most famous habit of being an observer, at best a stalker, at worst a predator of humans as once this witness returned to his home and the creature began to fly around his home, the creature continued to do so at least three times as though it was looking for the man. Yet another witness to the creature said, "I remember my grandfather once talking about that thing, but I thought it was just a story, a tall folk yarn…What I saw was no yarn. Yarns don't fly, and stories don't look like that. What I saw was real. And I hope to high heaven I never see it again."

A follow-up article entitled "The Awful sighted again; relic produced" was then released on November 30, 2006, with even more sightings, some modern and some which took place years in between the original flap and this sudden resurgence in Awful sightings. Lisa Maskell, a former resident of Montgomery Center, said that when she was 10 or 11 years old, she saw it near the Trout River while out with friends. The colossal cryptid creature, she said, was nestled in the boughs of an old tree near the river, and as the group approached it, they noted that the creature was looking right at them. They described the creature initially as being incredibly large with huge wings and a long, strange beak. She also would go and describe the creature as “Big, Scary, and Fascinating” She says when she saw a picture of a pterodactyl a few years later, she immediately thought it resembled The Awful.

An unnamed "60-something-year-old man" claims it has been seen often and recently in the Gibou area of Montgomery. He says that the creature had been seen in the area for about 25 years and was well known to residents. The man also felt that the creature was not particularly aggressive towards humans as the residents of the area developed a unique approach to the creature stating, "We don't bother it, and it don't bother us, maybe with a few exceptions."

Edith Green, a dowser in Richford who approached Albarelli after the initial report, told him that the Awful was reported well before the article and after the initial sightings from the early 1900s and 1920s and that "folks were very nervous about it." Another longtime resident of Richford also came forward about the creature; this witness claimed that he had seen the creature recently around Slide Road and said the following about the beast "You can usually hear the thing before you see it. It makes a low screaming sound. When it's close enough you can hear the flapping of its huge wings which sounds like fat blankets being shook out".

Unlike other chimeral cryptids, the Awful potentially does have some evidence for its existence. A logger from Richford approached Albarelli upon reading his article and proceeded to hand him what the logger claimed to be a petrified jawbone of an Awful. While no photos of the jawbone were released, Albarelli stated that the object was stone hard and appeared to have several large teeth. While nothing conclusive has been released about the object so far, nor has any further development been made on it, Albarelli did state that he is attempting to have an "expert from the University of Vermont" to come and study the object but as far as we know this has not occurred yet.

Now sightings of the Awful once again have seen to of dropped off to nothing. There have been no reports of the creature since 2006, at least to my knowledge, and so we are left to wonder just what was flying around the towns of Richford and Berkshire. Breaking down this case, the best way to start is to look at the possibility of a hoax and go from there. In this case, the hoax possibility is certainly likely as while rumors of the creature are claimed to of existed going back all the way to the 1900s, there has been, at least to my knowledge, no written record of the creature in newspapers or in journals since Albarelli wrote about the creature in 2006. The fact that Albarelli wrote about and seems to be the only person to of written about the creature in some 106 years tends to lend to the idea that the Awful was nothing more than a kind of hoax, specifically a piece of yellow journalism. This would make sense when looking back at the colossal history of news-oriented cryptid and monster sightings; even the most mundane creatures made the papers going all the way back to the 1700s as monsters of any sort were big news, and if the Awful was as rampant as Albarelli claimed it was it should have at least once been included in some document before 2006. Albarelli also claimed Lovecraft wrote about the creature in the mid and late 20s again; I have been unable to find the original source, so there are two ways to interpret this one either there is such a source, and its just difficult to find, or viewed as the most likely it was just yet another layer to the story to give the creature more background and what better way than to have a famous horror writer track down and investigate a unique monster.

Now with all that said while the possibility of a hoax does seem likely. An email interview with Albarelli claimed that he did not perpetrate a hoax and that he, outside of the fact that Lovecraft did mention the creature, had no reason to include him. Which, if he's being truthful, means that the Awful was kept very much under wraps in the local area; this is something we do see with local folklore, so I'm willing to entertain that possibility.

So if Albarelli did write about actual accounts, just what exactly was the Awful. Now going the Cryptozoology route, Griffins have been reported elsewhere, so the Awful is not exactly original. The most famous example of this is the Brentford Griffin which I had recently covered and has many of similar traits to the Awful, but unlike the Awful, it was primarily seen in the 80s with some possibilities of being around much earlier. There have been other flying quadrupeds that one would compare to a griffin or a hippogriff reported over the years, such as a flying lion reported in West Orange, New Jersey, in the 1920s. Another similar creature would be Scotland's tri-legged Beast of Barrisdale.

Now I must say that some of the reports of the Awful and some details do not seem to indicate a Griffin-like cryptid, but other species of cryptids reported. There are two to be specific; the first would be the Jersey Devil, and the reason I include it into the fold of possibilities is the following details. The Jersey Devil during January 1909 plagued New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and also allegedly New York though sightings are slim. Now the timing of this colossal flap of sightings is in a perfect window of time for when the original Awful sightings took place since they started in the early 1900s and continued into the 1920s. Interestingly enough, when looking at Jersey Devil reports matches the amount of sightings of other flying creatures seen in other states, almost following a pattern. There are also details in behavior such as the watching people from rooftops and the landing on rooftops in general that is a frequently described Jersey Devil behavior. Even some of the descriptions of the Awful, which would be strange for a Griffin, would make sense when comparing it to the Jersey Devil, such as a serpentine tail, since this is something that we hear in those reports and even the pterodactyl imagery is something that occurs with Jersey Devil sightings as well.

The other cryptid also that could be what the Awful is, is a classical Thunderbird. The classic Thunderbird, which is a colossal eagle or condor-looking creature, is a common cryptid reported in almost every state, yet the name now also has come to take in pterodactyl and pterosaur sightings too. Yet, for the sake of the Awful, with the exception of Lisa Maskell's sighting, most if not all of the sightings involve more traditional bird-like features such as talons, beak, grayish feathers, and aside from the serpentine tail and assumed secondary set of legs there's nothing to indicate anything more extraordinary than a colossal bird. Even the abduction of a small child or animal, depending on your viewpoint, is something that has been reported countless times in Thunderbird encounters and legends, so perhaps the Griffin description was a more exaggerated telling of just what the witnesses saw.

As for other Fortean possibilities, the next major possibility is that if the witnesses are accurate in their description that this creature is a Griffin is that it could have come from another dimension or be a faerie animal. These possibilities are sort of catch-alls to explain the absolutely strange description of the creature, and with these possibilities, just a simple answer as to the countless esoteric/magical and/or evolutionary lineages in which this creature could have been created from. For if this creature is a faerie animal, there are countless appearances such creatures appear as, and flying creatures are exceptionally common, whereas with other dimensions, evolution is infinite, and some of the restrictions that exist in our world's evolutionary lines are completely removed in others.

Now there's one final possibility, and I touched on this with the Brentford Griffin as well, and that is a demonic connection to Griffin-like creatures. Now in one case, a man by the name of John Luck had cursed himself and, upon doing so, was assaulted by two colossal griffin apparitions which lifted him into the air before promptly dropping him on the ground upon which he was taken into the home of a neighbor to heal. As the day continued, however, he became wild and aggressive and began to growl, and this grew into such a violent outburst that a priest was called in to exorcise whatever evil had attached itself to Mr. Luck. This did not end the same way as how films like the Exorcist or the Conjuring would depict such an action, and the next morning Mr. Luck had died, his body contorted into countless positions and his face in a state of absolute terror. Now I mention all this not just because of the entities in Luck’s case description are almost identical to Griffins but also that in the Awful case, the man who suffered the heart attack and survived had continuously been plagued for weeks by nightmares seemingly caused by his interaction with the Griffin something that might be evidence of the creature's supernatural and nefarious origin.

Griffins and Griffin reports, in general, are fascinating and perhaps the most bizarre as they are just a portion of encounters with creatures ripped from the pages of Myth. What are we to make of these sightings as the Griffin is part of a full pantheon of other mythological beings like dragons, Cyclops, Minotaurs, Centaurs, Satyrs, and Pegasus that have been frequently reported not only in the United States (though there does seem to be a higher concentration) but around the world? Is it that what we are seeing is some lifting of the veil and that such creatures are denizens of the faerie realm, or are we seeing some window into another dimension where the old gods, titans, and monsters live and breathe? It's hard to believe that these could be cryptids from our world as with Griffins; they defy the natural evolutionary processes that we build the foundations of organisms on, yet science is an ever-changing medium for what once was considered laughable, or heresy was soon discovered to not only be possible but a fact and perhaps if Albarelli is truthful and the jawbone of the Awful is real we just might be on the verge of a whole new understanding of how our earth and its fauna can be and is something that I look with great interest for.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal or Avian

Location: Richford and Berkshire, Vermont

Sighted: 1900s to 2006

Works Cited:

Chasing American Monsters By Jason Offutt

A Guide to Sky Monsters By T.S. Mart and Mel Cabre

The Vermont Monster Guide By Joseph A. Citro

The Weiser Field Guide to Cryptozoology By Deena Budd

H. P. Albarelli “Has the Awful returned to Berkshire & Richford?” The County Courier October 19, 2006

H. P. Albarelli "The Awful sighted again; relic produced" The County Courier November 30, 2006

Brentford Griffin

 Brentford Griffin

By Cole Herrold

In the annals of Cryptozoology and Fortean studies in general, there are creatures that appear to of been ripped straight from the pages of classical mythology. There are countless cases, many of which I had covered in the past, from Blackwood, New Jersey’s Pigtaur and Centaur, to the Tangipahoa River Cyclops and, of course, the countless reports of more human-looking Goatmen, which are mirror images of their faun, satyr, and Pan mythic counterparts that seem to indicate if these reports are accurate that there may be more to our myths than just tales to explain natural phenomenon or simply to entertain a group when things like film or Dungeons and Dragons were not around. It is interesting to note that a lot of these beings are reported not in the country from which their tales originated but instead in areas with little to no real direct connection with these legends. Of all of these entities from the Mythic Menagerie, there is one in particular that had for a time captured the attention of a nation and remains one of the most interesting cases in Fortean history simply from the fact that this heraldic beast is one of according to legends the noblest albeit aggressive flying freaks ever written about since the early epic poems and playwright days.

In the middle of 1984, 28-year-old telephone technician Kevin Chippendale had left his home on Brooke Road South and was strolling along Braemar Road. Upon this walk, Chippendale, out of boredom or complete adoration of the current state of weather, proceeded to look up into the sky but upon doing so, he was greeted not just with the marshmallow mists commonly referred to as clouds but also a strange dark form that was beating its way through the azure sky. He could tell that whatever this dark form was, it seemed to be some sort of animal flying some hundreds of feet up in the air and was coming from an area known as the gasworks and was just about to pass a group of tall apartments which coincidentally was known as the Green Dragon Towers. Chippendale, as he strained to make out just what the creature exactly was, could soon tell that this being was far from the traditional fauna said to inhabit, at least to his knowledge, the United Kingdom. The creature was about the size of a large dog, yet an exact height and length were difficult to the distance the creature was seen, and he said there was a likelihood the creature was larger. He noticed that this creature could not have simply been a bird because while he noted large feathery wings flapping in the wind, the overall morphology was off as they appeared to come from the shoulder area and that the way the creature flew was almost as if it was in slow motion. Chippendale could soon see why there was a noticeable displacement of the wings, for dangling below the body of the creature were four legs that appeared to end in features similar to paws. As Chippendale followed up the creature's neck, he noted that the creature had a strange head similar to a birds in most respect, except that there was no noticeable beak but instead a kind of muzzle that had some sort of strange nose at the end. The creature's skin also was not what he expected either as he watched, for there were no feathers on the body itself but what appeared to be a smooth texture to it that made the creature look aerodynamic in flight. Kevin could not make out any further details from this creature but did feel that he had seen the creature’s eyes as well as a kind of tail.

Chippendale was completely flabbergasted at just this strange flying anomaly and had no clear indication as to just what it was that he saw, but he remained quiet about his sighting for fear of being labeled “unbalanced” and moved on with his life until several months later in February of 1985 he was out walking, and upon looking up again into the sky near the Green Dragon Towers he saw the same creature flying again. This time Chippendale, however, had an inkling as to just what the creature could be. During both of these walks, Chippendale passed a pub known as the Griffin Brewery and, upon thinking about the design of the creature on the sign, felt that this creature was fairly close, if not identical, to a Griffin. He would say the following "The first time was last summer when I saw something flying low across the ground in the gaswork. At first, I thought it might be a plane, but it was too low and made no noise. I was intrigued to know what it was and, as I walked past the Griffin pub, realized it looked like the animal on the sign. I saw it again a couple weeks later in exactly the same place". Chippendale realizing he was not crazy due to his second sighting, felt comfortable enough to open up about his encounters but even then, only to his close family and friends, yet as time went on, he would be put into the center of the storm of reports that would flood and engage the area throughout this time period.

Word soon spread about Chippendale’s sighting even with the discreteness of who he told, and it was then that a short time later, one of Chippendale's coworkers, a woman by the name of Angela Keyhoe, would go to him and also claim that she too had seen the strange creature. Angela claimed that she had seen a large, winged animal perched on top of the gasworks, a colossal utility tank that has served as a Brentwood landmark. She had seen the creature while seated on the top floor of a No. 65 double-decker bus, and apparently, she was not alone as others seated allegedly also had seen the flying freak of nature. Angela could not withhold her excitement after her encounter and as she began to tell several local arts center workers about what she and those on the bus had witnessed.

Also, during this time, a psychologist by the name of John Olssen came forward and said that he too encountered a strange flying creature. He encountered what he described as a colossal bird-like creature while out jogging along the Thames River in the early morning hours. It was from this that many felt that the creature was living on one of the many islands that darted the river, Thames. And John Baroldi of the Waterman's Art Center would come forward with several firsthand accounts from people who told him that they too had seen the creature. One of these sightings involved a woman who came from a nearby park along the street of the Art Center who he noticed was in a terrified state. When he asked her what was troubling her, she said that she had seen a large dark-colored bird in the park that scared her so bad she couldn't stop shaking during the sighting.

During this time, the press had picked up the stories, and for several months recounting of the sightings would be told along with several artistic renditions throughout the millennia of just what the creature was supposed to look like. During this time, the interest of the Griffin even led to a Griffin Spotting Club that searched the area of the sightings for any evidence of the creature as well as attempted to catalog any further sightings of the creature. During that time, only one sighting came forward, and there was barely any detail or information on that encounter.

Robert Rankin, the towns poet in residence at the Waterman’s Art Center and writer, took great interest in the Griffin, writing about it in the May 1985 edition of the Magonia Newsletter. He also started to organize a UFO symposium upon which he discussed the Griffin and stated that reports of the creature could be traced back to at least pre World War II. Yet he did say all of the sources that mention the creature was ambiguous at best.

After 1985 sightings of the Griffin completely disappeared, and it remained a strange little chapter in the colossal book of Fortean subjects. Until in 1995 when Robert Rankin came forward attempting to claim that the Brentford Griffin was a hoax perpetrated by himself and several other friends of his and members of the Waterman's Art Center. For many, this killed the idea of a Griffin in Brentford, and so history became legend, legend became myth, and the creature stayed in the shadows of lore for a time. The creature, in fact, was practically forgotten about until a man by the name of Martin Collins wrote a letter which later appeared in an issue of  Fortean Times (specifically issue 110 from May 1998) He wrote: “I first encountered the story of the Brentford Griffins while I was at St John’s School in the 1950s (note: some thirty years before the first sightings!). St John’s in those days sat in the shadow of Brentford’s football ground, Griffin Park. Inquiring why there were so many griffin references in Brentford, I was told that it was due to the family of griffins that lived on Brentford Eyot, an island in the Thames.

The story of how they got there was that the first Griffin was brought to Brentford by King Charles II as a gift for his mistress, Nell Gwynn, who had a house in the Butts at Brentford. One day the Griffin was playing on the banks of the River Brent, which flows past the Butts, and fell in. The hapless creature was washed down the Brent into the Thames, finally being washed up on Brentford Eyot. As it was assumed to have been killed, it was left alone and was able to live on the Eyot for many years – griffins having a lifespan of centuries.

Then Sir Joseph Banks brought back a griffin from a Pacific island where he had been with Captain Cook. This Griffin was originally housed in the Pagoda in Kew Gardens, which is on the opposite bank of the Thames from Brentford Eyot, where it found a mate awaiting it.

There was soon a whole colony of griffins, and they spread out from the Eyot all over the town of Brentford, where they can still be seen to this day if you look closely enough.

This story has stayed with me…it is a nice bit of Brentford mythology.”

With this letter, the story of the Griffin was much like another mythical bird, the Phoenix reborn from the ashes of the alleged hoax, and many speculate now that there might have been some truth to the legend and hoax after all. Even Rankin though his testimony needs to be taken with a grain of salt, to say the least, wrote about other Griffins or Griffin like creatures in the area that appeared in his Magonia article:

This is the Magonia Article in its Entirety

 “Throughout history, the gryphon has been a symbol evocative of power and majesty. As an emblem, it is employed by nearly 200 companies in the UK alone, from the Midland Bank to Fuller's Brewery. Jung once stated that "it is a subconscious symbol of such encompassment that it is unlikely to be the product of mere myth; we are dealing with something born from folk memory." Although a seemingly impossible hybrid of eagle and lion, there now appears little doubt that the gryphon is a Jiving reality. Up until a few months ago, zoologists would have ridiculed the possibility of such a chimera, but the recent spate of sightings coupled with the gryphon skeleton currently on exhibit seems to have added the flesh of reality to the bones of myth. "I went along suspecting hoax," stated Attenborough, "but came away convinced. This discovery has set the zoological world upon its heels."

Reports of gryphons crop up with startling regularity throughout the pages of history. Dr. Johnson records one he saw at Brentford's Bull Fayre: " ••• it was somewhat smaller than I had expected, but the proprietor assured me that it was 'yet young'... it had the body of a lion cub and the neck, head, and forelegs of an eagle ... curiously formed wings issued from its shoulders." Johnson was in no doubt that the beast lived "and was not the product of the gypsies' craft ."No further mention of is made of the gryphon in his writings, and one is left to wonder what became of it. Possibly it was the same live specimen my father saw at Olympia before the war. He was informed that it was several hundred years old and was shown old showman's posters as proof. From the substantial body of information, I have on my own files alone, I am inclined to place the Brentford Gryphon alongside the Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster 'as yet unsolved'. The local sightings have been too widely reported to require further mention here, and I have no cause to doubt the testimony of the witnesses I have interviewed. Having been scrupulous in discounting sightings which might be misinterpretations of natural phenomena, we are still left with statements such as "unlike any living creature I have seen •.. ", "rising from the Thames on outspread wings. •• ", " the front half looked like an eagle, I saw a long tail and claws like a cat." London Weekend Television's 'spoof send-up' on 15th March fell flat on its face, with Cockney 'personality' Danny Baker openly admitting before an audience of several million that the witnesses he had interviewed were genuine. Such unprecedented honesty on his part seemed more than at odds with LWT's obvious intention to send the whole thing up. Since the television coverage, Brentford has found itself playing reluctant host to all manner of fringe elements. Andy Collins of 'Green S tone' notoriety arrived hotfoot, with ghetto-blaster, Instamatic, and the usual bevy of nubile lady acolytes. Viewpoint Aquarius stated that it was a 'genetic mutation' escaped from a government establishment, and the Chiswick Wildlife Trust offered the considered opinion that it was noth1ng more than a four-legged vulture blown off course! In fact, Speculation on all sides led to such an astonishing plethora of 'logical explanations' (the logic of which defies all explanation) that one is left to consider the indisputable fact that it is a gryphin pure and simple - a species of animal as yet unstudied and therefore considered non-existent. One can certainly discount John Rimmer's recent ' authoritative article,' which suggests that it is Brentford's old friend, the giant feral Tom, making yet another of its unwelcome nocturnal appearances. Mr. Rimmer would do well to explain how the famous 5-foot pussy manages to grow upwards of 8-foot, sprout wings and fly across the Thames. I note with growing alarm the plan of some local stalwarts to instigate a gryphon hunt one night in the near future. I hear talk of a flotilla of small boats, tracker dogs, powerful searchlights, steel nets, and tranquilizing darts. The plucky Brentonians would do well to exercise extreme caution, as the beast is notorious for its ferocity and love of human flesh. It is my feeling that the matter should be placed in the hands of the experts. But I am sure also that it will require private backing, as the local council has shown its customary reticence in raising the necessary funds, even for so worthy a cause. Whatever the eventual outcome, I cannot contain the thrill that rises at the prospect of a successful capture. Such would be a rare achievement indeed. I look forward with great interest to future developments. Magonia welcomes any correspondence on this interesting subject and is eager to contact anyone who has had a personal experience with a gryphon or any other form of creature previously believed to be mythical”.

Skeptically speaking, there are many ways to interpret this case. Robert Rankin, one of perhaps three main players in the saga of the Brentford Griffin and the one who wrote the most about the case, was a comedic fantasy writer best known for eleven books known as the Brentford Trilogy, which deal with all sorts of paranormal and supernatural events that affected Brentford. It is known that Robert Rankin, who focused heavily on publicizing the Griffin, came forward in 1995 and said that most if not all of the reports of the Griffin were perpetrated by him as a kind of joke. So taking just that report at face value, most if not all the information on the Griffin straight out, is a hoax. The reason for this hoax was said to be that Robert Rankin and several other locals had planned to hold a Festival in the Waterman's Art center on July 13, 1985. Yet this date would coincide with Live AID, which was taking place at Wembley Stadium, and to raise awareness of their event, they concocted the story about the Griffin being seen around the arts center with all of the witnesses being involved in Rankin's joke and Rankin then proceeded to write a historical background of the creature. Now, this would seem to be the final nail in the coffin for the Griffin, except that in 1985 during these sightings, Andrew Collins investigated and interviewed as many eyewitnesses as he could and felt that they were indeed truthful. He ended up publishing his findings in a 42-page pamphlet entitled The Brentford Griffin: The Truth Behind the Tales. So, it’s possible that at least the initial encounter with the Griffin was based on an actual sighting.

Another possibility is that at least with Chippendale's sightings, if they are not a part of Rankin's acclaimed joke that perhaps he predisposed the image of the Griffin on a natural bird or plane or kite having passed by the Griffin Brewery, which also is near the Griffin Stadium where Brentford's football team play and also that two Griffin's are on Brentford's coat of arms so perhaps he had Griffins on the brain and affitted the description to something mundane. Or even possibly hallucinated the creature due to all the surrounding Griffin influence but this seems less likely compared to being either interconnected with a hoax or having seen a real creature since a lot of Chippendale’s description while Griffin like is not 100% how a griffin is supposed to look and if one were to generate a hoax why wouldn't they go full out and describe the creature as the classical depiction? This, too, would, of course, add to the joke hypothesis even more if one was to say they saw a classic regal griffin and not the more flying canine or lion-type creature. Yet, of course, this still does not rule out Chippendale being interconnected with a hoax.

Now assuming that, at the very least, Chippendale's sighting is authentic, what are we to make of it? Well, the most obvious answer would be that this would have to be some sort of cryptid. There's nothing really to indicate any other major categories, such as there's no UFO sighted in connection with the creature as it quite is its own Unidentified Flying Object, so it's safe to take an extraterrestrial angle off the table. Griffins, from a folkloric or mythological view, first appeared primarily in the literature of the Greeks but first appeared in Aristeas’s lost epic poem the Arimaspea in 675 BC and then showed up repeatedly in the works of Greek playwright Aeschylus in his tragedies like Prometheus Bound. Griffins also showed up in Scythian artwork and gold dating from 3000-100BC, implying that these creatures, if real, were well known or prominent in Mediterranean and Asian culture for countless years. Griffin-like creatures are not entirely unknown in the world of cryptozoology; one of the most famous examples would be the 1925 flap of sightings of a creature that has come to be known as the Vermont Awful. This creature terrorized the towns of Berkshire and Richford as it tromped on rooftops, stole milk cans, and stared at residents through their windows. The creature even reached the ears of cosmic horror author H.P. Lovecraft who was so interested in the creature that he went to the area and interviewed the residents who had seen the creature.

A similar creature was reported sometime later, but this time it was lumped into a different cryptozoological identity, and that was the Jersey Devil. In the late 1920s, there was a report of another quadrupedal flying creature that the press were quick to call a "flying lion" that was seen in West Orange, NJ. This encounter led to the creature being chased by several would-be monster hunters who allegedly not only chased the creature away but also found and captured one of the creature's offspring. Yet further information on this case is scant, to say the least. It is interesting, however, to point out that a flying lion is very similar to what was reported in Brentford, as well as in the Griffin lore, the Griffin is half eagle and half lion, so this report might very well be another example of a Griffin sighting. And as a sidebar, note the fifth example, at least to my current knowledge, of a creature from Greek Myth being reported in New Jersey.

Another creature slightly similar to what was reported in Brentford is the Beast of Barrisdale. This tri-legged flying Waterhorse tormented the area of Loch Hourn on the land while a colossal black serpent frolicked in the lake. The Beast of Barrisdale was described as about the size of a horse or ox and with a myriad of similar features to what we see on the Brentford Griffin, such as large wings attached to the shoulders, smooth skin, a long muzzle like feature, pawed hands and a long tail so perhaps they may be the same species or a related one. For more information on the Beast of Barrisdale, definitely check my February 2, 2021 article on the creature.

Now, of course, while all of these creature reports seem to indicate a biological flesh and blood animal, and while there always is the chance something evolved to be like what these creatures seem to be, the problem with this is that we have nothing in the fossil record or known zoological record that matches. Wings are essentially modified arms and hands to allow the capacity of flight with creatures like the Beast of Barrisdale, the Awful, and the Brentford Griffin; this is not what we're seeing, as this would imply that all of these creatures would have evolved with 6 limbs four which evolved like legs and two that were modified as wings. This is something unheard of in vertebrates as it goes against everything we know about how evolution works. The only way something like this could exist is if these creatures were not mammals, birds, or reptiles but instead colossal insects, which totally goes against their descriptions. So, needless to say, there are some problems with the earthbound cryptid theory.

Now the next possibility for the existence of the Brentford Griffin would be if this is an interdimensional entity. This theory is sort of an extension to the cryptid theory, but instead of them coming from our world, these creatures somehow, through some fluke of the universe or dimensions or whatever, somehow end up entering and being seen in our world. This theory could explain just how a creature like this could exist as with multiple dimensions, there are an infinite amount of possible evolutionary lines and "worlds" where a creature like this could exist.

The next possibility seems kind of slim, but it's one that I speculate all the time about with such strange cases, and that is the Fae option. Faeries are a mixed bag of phenomena and involve creatures of an animal nature like the Cu-Sith or Cat Sith as well as the Kelpie and Each Usiage and even the Dobhar-Chu. Now some folklorists and faerieologists will include the Griffin as well as Dragons and Unicorns into the classification of Fae due to the alleged mystical and magical abilities they are said to have and the fact that they occasionally are seen with, in service of, or in some connection to more traditional Fae like Elves or Dwarves. Now with a creature like a Griffin, if this is an example of a faerie beast, they would have some of the same abilities seen with others, like the ability to vanish. Now there's nothing exactly to indicate that with this case, nor is there any direct faerie connection, such as in the case of the Bridgemont Gnome Race where the faerie horses are seen with gnomes.

Now there’s one possibility that seems so off the track for a phenomenon like this but does occasionally become interconnected, and that is the demonic. Irish paranormal investigator Elliot O'Donnell in his book "Dangerous Ghosts," wrote about a curious encounter with a pair of homicidal supernatural griffins from around the 1660s; he wrote the following regarding the incident where a Mr. John Luck encountered the entities:

“(Mr John Luck) a farmer from Raveley, set out on horseback one morning to the annual fair at Whittlesea. On the way he met a friend, with whom he had a drink at a wayside inn. After drinking somewhat heavily Mr. Luck became very merry and perceiving that his friend was getting restless and desirous of continuing on his way to the fair, he said, "let the devil take him who goeth out of this house today ."The more he drank the merrier he grew. Forgetful of his rash saying, he called for his horse and set out for the fair. The fresh air seemed to have a sobering effect, for he had not travelled very far before he remembered what he had said. He was naturally superstitious and became so perturbed that he lost his bearings. He was endeavoring to find the way home- it was getting dusk and far too late to go to the fair- when he espied ‘two grim creatures before him in the likeness of griffins’. They handled him roughly, took him into the air, stripped him, and then dropped him, a sad spectacle, all gory, in a farmyard just outside the town of Doddington. There he found himself lying on the harrows. He was picked up and carried to a house which belonged to a neighboring gentleman. When he had recovered sufficiently to talk he related what had happened to him. Before long, he 'grew into a frenzy', so desperate that the inmates of the house were afraid to stay in the room with him. Convinced that Luck was under evil influences, they sent for a clergyman of the town. No sooner had the clergyman entered the house than Luck, howling like a demon, rushed at him and would have torn him to pieces had not the servants of the house come to his rescue. They succeeded with great difficulty in overcoming Luck and tying him to the bed. No one was allowed to enter his room, the door of which was locked".

The following day Luck was found dead. His body was contorted, and his neck was snapped; he was covered in black and blue marks, and his tongue was dangling from out his gapping maw. A scene not unsimilar to what those seeing Anneliese Michels had seen. Now, this is the only official instance I found of a demonic griffin, but the idea of a mythological creature as a demon is something that has been referenced time and time again by some religious Forteans. So, needless to say, it is a hypothesis we need to include.

With creatures like this, we are left wondering just how could something like this exist in our world. It would be easy to accept the whole series of encounters as hoaxes, but there's so much gray in this encounter that I'm open to saying that there probably was something there, at least in regard to the Kevin Chippendale sightings. Just what this being could be, I have no conclusive idea, but I would lean more towards the cryptid hypothesis seeing as similar creatures have been reported elsewhere, but even then, there's nothing to confirm that hypothesis either. Perhaps the interdimensional route is the more appropriate. I've mentioned that there have been several creatures seemingly ripped from the pages of myth; perhaps there is a dimension where all of these entities originate from, and it is a world where mythology as we know it is reality, yet as with everything this is just speculation. In conclusion, I feel that the story of the Brentford Griffin will continue to be told as long as people still hold mysteries in their hearts and as long as there are researchers to write and keep the story alive, but the answer to this mystery will never truly be discovered.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal/ Bird/ Possible Hoax

Location: Brentford, England

Sighted: Mid 1984-1985

Works Cited:

Encounters With Flying Humanoids By Ken Gerhard

London Urban Legends By Scott Wood

Mysterious Creatures Volume One by George M. Eberhart

Paranormal London By Neil Arnold

Shadows in the Sky: The Haunted Airways of Britain By Neil Arnold

Fortean Times Issue 110, May 1998

Magonia 19, May 1985

Acton Gazette (Ealing, London, England) March 15, 1985

Acton Gazette (Ealing, London, England) August 16, 1985

Ealing Gazette (Ealing, London, England) March 22, 1985

“The Brentford Griffin” Beasts of London.April 6, 2007.http://beastsoflondon.blogspot.com/2007/04/brentford-griffin.html. Accessed May 25, 2022.

“The Brentford Griffin and Other Mysteries”. St. Margarets.7 May 2009. https://stmargarets.london/archives/2009/05/the_brentford_griffin_and_other_mysteries.html. Accessed May 25, 2022.

 

 

The Marrtown Banshee

 The Marrtown Banshee

By Cole Herrold

Banshees are traditionally only associated with Ireland, but their range is far greater than just the Emerald Isle reports of a female spectral omen of death or washerwoman are common throughout Scotland, Wales, France, and England and goes by several names other than Banshee such as Lavandière de Nuit, Lavandière, Laveuse de Nuit, Kannerez Noz, Cannerez Noz, Gannerez Noz, Bean Nighe, Bhean Nighe, Caoineachag, Nigheag Bheag a Bhroin, Washerwoman, Night Washerwoman, Washer of the Ford, and Little Washer of Sorrow. When many of these European countries with Banshees immigrated, they either brought their tales of Banshees with them or the vast ships that carried these travelers also brought several faeries aboard with them for while this may seem like a purely European phenomenon beginning by the early 19^th century America too began having reports of Banshees.

One of perhaps the most famous American Banshees is the Marrtown Banshee. Now before we get into the old girl, let's set the scene with the family that the Banshee seemed to align itself with. For while the name is slightly misleading as one would think that this Banshee is actually associated more with a place than a person, this is not to be the case and that this entity is, in fact, associated with one particular family. Thomas Marr, a Scottish immigrant and founder of Marrtown, came to the area in 1836 and, along with several other Scotts, developed the community as best they could in the hills of West Virginia. Marrtown today is a small community that is only almost a mile and a half away from Parkersburg, the scene of another famous West Virginia Case in 66'. At the time, Thomas Marr, as his community grew, came to fall in love with a local West Virginia gal by the name of Mary and eventually got married. The pair was happily married and had several children, but as was the misfortune of the time out of the nine, she gave life to only three survived to live to marry and have a full life. These trials, however, were simply steppingstones and elements that made Thomas and Mary enjoy their life to the best of their ability and to succeed as best as possible. Then the Civil War hit. The war between brothers caused a great stir all over the nation but especially in West Virginia as the state seemingly created itself after breaking out of the Confederacy as the land was a part of Virginia. Times were tough, and Marr attempted to raise his children as best he could until the conflict was resolved. He succeeded in this, but after the war, he suddenly realized that he now was struggling financially and needed to find a better way to gain some finances; from here, he took a job as a watchman.

As a watchman, the now 66-year-old Marr would have to protect the borders of the town at a given time in the evening at the nearby bridge that gained access to Marrtown. As he took this position, he soon began to notice a bizarre figure that would appear around the bridge as he was on his way to and from work. The figure was a cloaked person who road a bright white horse. Marr was never able to officially make out the gender on his time as a watchman but strongly felt that whoever this person was, was most definitely female. He had seen this figure and its mount on more than one occasion and several times came surprisingly close to her, but whenever a time would come that he would approach the figure, it suddenly would disappear before his eyes. Seeing this on almost a daily basis disturbed Marr, and eventually, he broke down and told his wife about the bizarre apparition he kept seeing near the bridge. His wife was unsure of what to make of the story her husband told her that is until the date of February 5, 1876. On this particular day, Thomas left to work like any other, and as the time for him to return was about to approach, a bizarre figure began to approach his property. His wife seeing that someone was coming, came out to see just who it was and noticed that it was a woman wrapped in dark-colored clothing and that she was approaching the house on top of a pure white horse. The figure remained quiet and seemed frozen to the spot for some time before finally speaking and said, "I am here to tell you, Mary Marr, that Thomas Marr has just died. Say your prayers, lady. I bid you well". The figure then turned and rode off until it disappeared into mist. A short time later, a coworker of Thomas arrived at Mary's home and confirmed what the being had said. Just how Thomas had died is varied; some claim he was shot by an assassin's bullet, others claim he drowned into the river, but the State Journal and Parkersburg Examiner would go in their obituary of Thomas to say that he was that he fell from a ladder of a distance of ten feet at his job site and upon impact died most likely from a broken neck and that he was found near the platform of the freight drop. Regardless of the method, the Banshee did come at the exact moment of when her husband had shuffled off this mortal coil. Some years later, Mary too would be prognosticated by the Banshee as cries would be heard around their property, and these cries would be heard by many upon when she too passed away at the age of 90 at her viewing in her home. The Banshee wailed, cried outside of the property as the procession went on, and also dropped and rattled spectral chains in the attic all while the procession went on.

While it is unknown whether the Marrtown Banshee prognosticated or appeared before or during any of their children or descendants' deaths, it is rumored that the apparition does still appear. There are claims that people to this day will see the faerie woman riding on horseback out in the hills and fields or into the woodlands of Marrtown very close to the bridge and home where both Mary and Thomas had lost their lives. Yet no one at least has reported any similar encounter with this kind of oracle of demise in the same way as Thomas and Mary did in the area.

When looking at Banshee cases, typically, there are two possibilities as to the identity of the entity; the first is that the entity is the classical fairy woman that appears in the traditional tales, and the other variety would be that of a spectral apparition, in this case, there are a lot of factors that seem to point towards a fae version of the Banshee than an apparition. The entity riding a horse is very similar to other accounts of the fae, but this is very different than almost every Banshee account I've come across as Banshee, at least from the research I've read, do not ride or have mounts. Banshees frequently will appear near rivers and streams and will be seen with washing basins and blood-stained clothing from those who are about to die, so the fact that this entity is seen very near a river is interesting, and the same goes for the fact that the entity also later appeared at the home of Mary and Thomas both during and after both of their deaths is indicative of traditional Banshee behavior. The fact that the figure was also described as being robed is a feature that has also been described in the crone version of Banshees, and of course, the fact that this entity appeared to a Scottish family and seemed to be connected to them specifically seems to indicate that it is a familial fae.

While the overall description and behavior of this entity do appear to be that of a fae, one cannot remove the possibility off the table that the entity observed was a traditional ghost. There are countless cases of apparitions of typical ghosts appearing before family members of death. Many times people will claim to have experienced ghosts of this variety tend to simply be ways of guiding the about to be deceased to the afterlife, but on occasion, they warn or tell of a family member's death. These cases, however, are particularly rare in the realm of classical ghost encounters but do, in fact, happen.

Ghosts associated with animals are rather frequently reported the ghost of Anne Boleyn for example, the most famous of King Henry the VIII's wives is said to be the most traveled Ghost in all of London was said to at Blickling Hall appear with a set of headless spectral horses and a headless horseman that pull her carriage. These accounts of Headless horsemen and headless horses are an ancient spectral tradition that, much like the Banshee, can be traced back to another fae known as the Dullahan. The Dullahan is an incredible figure in Irish folklore, and he is the original Headless Horseman; he is seen usually as a male figure (though females are reported) riding a horse and in one of his hands is his severed head, and in the other a whip made from a spinal cord. The Dullahan, much like the Banshee, was an omen of death but unlike the Banshee seeing a Dullahan was not a guarantee of death; in fact, one would be more likely to get their eyes whipped out of their skull by the skeletal whip or have a basin of blood thrown in your face by the fae than be killed by the entity. If someone was being chased by a Dullahan or sees a Dullahan, if they had a piece of gold on their person and showed it to the entity, they would be safe from impending doom as the entity has an intense hatred for gold. The Dullahan also is associated with leading a spectral procession of the dead and is at times known as the coachman to the afterlife, which includes a spectral cart with wheels made from human thighbones and skulls that are filled with fire to help light the way and that features headless horses and a headless rider. Much like Banshees, Dullahan also are both described as fae and spirits of the dead, and Headless Horsemen, similar to the Dullahan, are seen in other countries such as Ewen of the Little Head from Scotland, who also is an omen of death. Even the fact that the horse is seen as white is something that has appeared in many cultures; a pale or white horse was the mount of one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, specifically the rider Death. So, the horse riding apparition is something that is heavily associated with similar types of cases.

There are also cases of people seeing spectral apparitions of themselves known as Doppelgangers traditionally, these copycat ghosts are in almost every case an omen of death as there are several legends that simply seeing a Doppelganger instantly leads to death in the same way as seeing a black dog three times or hearing a Cu Sith's bark three times instantly causes one's demise. It is important to point that in this case, there is no definitive description of the apparition aside from the fact that it was conceivably female and that from this lack of description, perhaps the figure might have been the Doppelganger of Mary or some other family member. Many times, in Doppelganger cases, members of the family will report seeing duplicates of their family members even though they could be in alternative places of the country or right next to them, and just as seeing one's own Doppelganger these cases usually lead to death.

While just what the Marrtown Banshee is, we can only speculate. I do think that it is particularly interesting that this case is one of the closest to a classical encounter with a faerie Banshee in America. Faerie encounters in America, while not particularly uncommon from a native standpoint, are particularly rare when it comes to faeries typically associated with European folklore and fairy lore. I had discussed the idea that faeries do have connections with people and will follow them to new locations, such as in the Trolls of Sorenson's Woods Case, where several reported Trolls seemingly followed Norwegian and Swedish immigrants over to a Minnesota community. Banshees typically, when one reports them in America, they seem to be more apparition-like and less like what one would expect from a traditional fae. I think again that this is overly interesting and something that the Fortean community needs to do more research on. The fact that such accounts exist is mind-boggling to me as the fae seem like something from before the dawn of technology, and while the late 1800s is not exactly modern, it is interesting that in a time where the world was seemingly developing away from the old ways and traditions that such beings were still being reported. Is this evidence of their existence? I can only stand to guess, but I hope so for who wouldn't like to have a being with you as a kind of lookout or warning something that not only could prepare oneself but also their family that something bad would happen. Until the day that this case and the phenomenon is either validated or debunked, I'll definitely keep an eye out for any bizarre figure and an ear open for any cries or sobs that might permeate some dark mist-filled night.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Faerie, Ghost, Supernatural Entity

Location: Marrtown, West Virginia

Sighted: 1875-1876

Works Cited:

Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Haunted West Virginia By Patty A. Wilson

The Magick of Faeries: Working with the Spirits of Nature By Cassandra Eason

Monsters of West Virginia By Rosemary Ellen Guiley 

The Talking Devil Dog of Pittsburgh

 The Talking Devil Dog of Pittsburgh

By Cole Herrold

When it comes to Fortean phenomenon, there is an almost geographical grid in which such entities seem locked. Cryptids are reported in the woodlands and murky lakes and pollutant-free skies; ghosts are home to antediluvian structures or locations that have a great history to them; Aliens prefer the picturesque farming communities or locations where human interaction is lessened, the faerie kind and their ilk much like the cryptids tend to spend their days in nature and avoid humans at all cost. Yet on occasion, there are cases that seem to break these artificial ley lines, and when these cases occur, they are the most unique and sometimes most downright disturbing cases on the books. The most famous case when one mentions highly populated areas and the unknown is Spring-Heeled Jack this malevolent fire vomiting fiend would bound around London in the mid-1800s and would later be reported elsewhere, such as America. In January 1909, during Phenomenon Week, the Jersey Devil frequented the streets of many a New Jersey and Pennsylvania town but perhaps one of the weirdest encounters during this flap of sightings was on Thursday the 21st  when the creature was seen in the backyard of a Mrs. White in Philadelphia where it’s alligator skinned dragon-like visage spewed flames at a woman folding her clothes before her husband beat the creature with a clothes prop resulting in it clamoring over a fence and almost getting clipped by a motorist driving down 16th street where the creature was still breathing fire. Almost half a year before the Jersey Devil was causing terror in Philly on the opposite side of the state, an altogether different kind of Devil was reported, but unlike the Jersey Devil, this creature had the unique capacity that we rarely see in more animalistic mystery beings as this creature bizarrely enough could talk.

On July 29, 1908, there was a heavy amount of Police Officers in the area of Lincoln Ave, in Pittsburgh. The reason for this was that over the course of several weeks, there had been many petty thefts that were plaguing the area. The police, exhausted by the constant reports of missing objects and shady individuals, began to flood Lincoln Ave for the sole purpose of putting a stop to these kleptomaniacal individuals. On the day in question, a pair of the boys in blue were on their way to the avenue and had decided to take a quick detour through one of the city parks. As they were wandering through the concrete divided greenery, they happened to notice a small black dog whit short hair walking towards them. As they met the animal halfway there, the three seemed to stop, and as the animal looked up to the men of the law, it opened its mouth and said, “Good Morning!”. The voice seemed to talk as if to initiate a pleasant chat, but the men seemed to be confused as to where the voice seemed to come from as it sounded so close, and yet while there were people around, nobody was as close as the voice was. Looking once more at the dog, the two wondered whether they were being duped and felt that perhaps this was some act of ventriloquism from some hidden perpetrator or some other hoax. The pair were still debating this back and forth until the dog spoke once more as it aggressively wagged its tail. "I speak for myself," it said in an offended tone and then began to trot away. The men realizing then that this was not some gimmick or parlor trick, then began to run after the cordial canine and sought to capture the curious critter. The dog was not far off as the men came up from behind the creature, and just as one of the officers bent to pick up the animal, it sidestepped to avoid being manhandled and growled out, "Don't touch me." This command was ignored, and as the officers continued to chase the creature one eventually did manage to grab hold the animal's leg. As the officer enclosed his fingers around the canine's slender leg, a strange thing happened an intense pain shot into his hand. This pain caused him to drop his quarry, and looking down, he noticed that there imprinted on his hand was the burned impression of the dog's leg. The burn-in that matter of seconds went extremely deep and was exceptionally raw. The men stopped their pursuit after this and watched as the animal once more ran off, and as it did, it began to turn into a vibrant green mist. They watched as this vaporous varmint slowly dissipated until nothing was left. The officers began to tend to the wound caused by the caustic creature and, after bandaging the wound tightly, continued to their route; the pair were debating on whether they should keep the story to themselves, but after seeing another officer on their way to Lincoln Ave they felt that they had to tell someone. So, after telling the officer and showing him the wound, word of the devilish dog spread like wildfire and was eventually covered in the New York World. One would think that this would be the end of the tale of the Talking Devil Dog of Pittsburgh, but there is an important epilogue to this case. This case would be mentioned rather briefly and heavily debated in the 1932 book Wild Talents by the infamous founder of Fortean studies, Charles Fort. In his book, Charles Fort heavily dismissed the case of the Talking Devil Dog and said that the reason for this was the overall lack of similar accounts as he states that he was aware that the phenomenon of dogs “speaking” was common and that he had seen one such dog who would say “thank you” when given candies but that this phenomenon combined with some sort of illuminated or spectral leaving was not in any of his files and therefore unlikely to be real. He would say further on this “if say, sometimes in the year 1847 a New Orleans Newspaper told of a cat who said: "Well, is it warm enough for you?" and instantly disappeared sulphurously, as should everybody who says that; and if I had a clipping, dated sometime in 1930, telling of a mouse who squeaked "I was along the way, and thought I'd drop-in" and vanished along a trail of purple sparklets and something similar from the St. Helena Guardian, August 17, 1905; and something like that from the Madras Mail, year 1879- Id consider the story of the polite dog no marvel, and Id admit him to our fold”. For many Forteans, this would be the nail in the coffin for this case, but some researchers have kept the account alive such as Patty A. Wilson in her book Totally Bizarre Pennsylvania. Yet now that we're 90 years further down since Fort wrote those words in Wild Talents and with the now countless Fortean cases collected since that time, are there any cases that are similar and would if Fort was still alive might cause him to reconsider? I think the answer is yes.

The very first case I had not heard of until Rob Morphy, Marc Storrs, and Chris Carnicelli brought the case to the limelight in their Cryptonaut Podcast episode “The Radiant Raccoon, LSD, and the Nobel Laureate” in this incredible case Chemist and Nobel Prize winner Kary Mullis encountered late one night a bizarre bright green glowing raccoon who upon seeing the scientist cordially said, “Good Evening Doctor." This case I mention for two reasons, the most notable being that in this case, the animal talks and also that there is a green seemingly supernatural feature associated with it, but that's about it when it comes to connections. Needless to say, however, while these similarities are small, they are interesting. Another talking animal case that also is important to note is the Millville Insanity Bird; this colossal creature also spoke to the person who saw it inquiring as to where his trash can was and, upon not getting a response, proceeded to attack the witness. The Millville Insanity Bird, much like the Talking Devil Dog, also has a curious body chemistry or at least build for while the devil dog can burn those who touch it and also turn to a green vapor the Millville Insanity Bird's body when hacked at by Dan was described as a wooden like substance that appeared to break into splinters. The creature's eye, which was removed, was also described much like a lightbulb, and the creature, much like the Devil Dog, proceeded to leave in an altogether bizarre manner as it ballooned up and floated away. The final and perhaps most interesting of all these cases of talking animals is Gef the Mongoose. Gef was a spectral mongoose reported on the Isle of Man that was exceptionally vocal and did a variety of poltergeist-like activities around the house. The entity was seen on a few occasions, and even footprints and teeth marks were found and made into plaster casts. So, such seemingly supernatural talking creatures have occurred since Fort wrote about the case in 1932.

Aside from the talking angle, there are reports of phantom hounds such as Black Shuck, who have features that one would associate with the Talking Devil Dog. While most cases of phantom hounds, hellhounds, and black dogs do not involve the capacity for speech, they do often have a feature that is seen in the case in Pittsburgh, and that is the ability to burn people or objects that touch them. One of the most famous examples of this can be seen today and was caused by the infamous Black Shuck. On August 4, 1577, at Blythburgh, the spectral hound killed several members of a congregation at the church thereupon unleashing such carnage, the creature clawed the North door of the building and, upon doing so, left scorch marks as though its claws or feet were hot or on fire. This is almost exactly what was reported in the Talking Devil Dog case, and so perhaps this entity is one of Black Shuck's relatives or perhaps if such an action is possible for these entities' offspring. 

The Talking Devil Dog of Pittsburgh is a case that really needs to be re-brought to the attention of the Fortean community as now that the years have gone by and there are many similar cases, it might be worth another look. However, while there are similar cases, there's still the problem with just what the creature could be, and in all reality, there are only a few possible answers. The first and most likely is a demon or some type of supernatural entity; the fact that the black dog figure is often associated with the infernal kingdoms is something we have to keep in mind, and with such cases, these creatures often do things that typical dogs cannot and often leave people injured or cause disasters. The fact that not only does this creature talk but also that it disappears in a mist is something we currently have to attribute to the supernatural realm, and with all the legends and lore connecting black dogs, burning paws, and demonology, it's almost the easiest answer for this mystery. 

While it's clear that this creature is not a cryptid and more than likely not an extraterrestrial, there are other possibilities for it than a demonic entity. While unlikely, the next possible category to put this entity in would be the Faeries. In Faerie Lore and taxonomy, there are several fae that are associated with dogs and black dogs in particular. The Cu Sith or Faerie Hound, for example, is a faerie that behaves very much like the traditional black dog of folklore, as hearing its bark three times can cause the hearer's demise. These dogs typically appear as bright green in color, but in some tales, they appear as a motley of colors or strictly black. Another faerie associated with the black dog is the Phooka, also spelled Puca or Phouka; this shape-shifting fae is a trickster that, much like the Kelpie, will often change into the form of a horse to lure people into riding it, however, unlike the Kelpie the Phooka will not kill those who ride it but will take the individual on a wild hair raising ride instead. Phooka, much like Brownies, will occasionally work for families, and while tricksters can be pleasant and helpful. Phookas, aside from black horses, are also known to transform into black-haired men, black goats, black cats, black hares, and of course, and most important for this discussion, black dogs. However, Phooka's are traditionally associated with nature and wild places, so if the Talking Devil Dog was one, why would it be walking down a potentially crime-filled street?

In this case, there are not too many other possibilities for just what the creature could be. This is both simpler and more confounding as the possibilities are by far some of the hardest to swallow when it comes to Fortean studies. A Bigfoot is one thing as primates, and hairy hominids like the Australopithecines did exist, but faeries and demons are figures that we have very little evidence for aside from anecdotal tales and a few images from videos and pictures that are entirely up for interpretation. As far as I know, there are no other talking dog cases outside of classic faerie interactions and certainly nothing, at least that I'm aware of in modern times, but I'm hopeful that maybe somewhere trapped in some attic or basement is a journal where some other individual had a bizarre encounter with a member of man’s best friend who also was gifted with the ability to speak in a totally different way of the traditional phrase we tell our four-legged buddies every day. 

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Faerie, Demon, Supernatural Entity

Location: Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Sighted: July 26, 1908

Works Cited:

Charles Fort: The Man who Invented the Supernatural By Jim Steinmeyer

Totally Bizarre Pennsylvania By Patty A. Wilson

Wild Talents By Charles Fort 

Cryptonaut Podcast Episode #225: “The Radiant Raccoon, LSD, and the Nobel Laureate”