Cryptozoology Reports from the Paranormal Database

Cryptozoology tends to be split into two areas of study. The first deals with animals which are classified from fossil evidence, but are currently considered extinct. The classic example of this type is the Thylacine; the creature officially died out in the early twentieth century, though sightings of the Australian animal still occur today. OOP (Out of Place) creatures are also categorised under this heading, such as the hundreds of Alien Big Cats sightings reported in the UK each year.

The second area of research examines creatures for which no tangible evidence exists, but are carried down the ages in the form of folk stories and myths, or the witness reports are too fantastic to be readily accepted. The following list is a collection of both types of report...

Image (right) courtesy of: www.royalmail.com/creatures

Shaggy Creature

Location: A1075 (Norfolk) - Between Thetford and East Wretham, half a mile from the level crossing
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: June 1986, and 22 December 2007
Further Comments: Driving towards Thetford from the direction of Watton, this witness spotted a large, long haired creature coloured greyish white. It had small ears, a long snout, large eyes, and stood on four legs. The witness drove past the beast three times in total, in order to get a good look at it; on the third pass the creature rose up on its hind legs, taking an almost human form, and stood between six to eight feet tall. The driver quickly returned home, only returning two days later to look at the area again - the creature had gone, but there were tracks at the site suggesting something had been dragged. Another witness, a similar creature in December 2007, but said it was more grey in colour with black patches.

Bathing Mermaid

Location: Aberystwyth (Wales) - Cliffs near the town
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: July 1826
Further Comments: Twelve people watched a beautiful pale woman washing herself in the sea, with what appeared to be a black tail splashing around behind her.

Scaled Creature

Location: Achill Sound (Connacht) - Glendarry Lake
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: One witness said that this lake monster looked like a dinosaur, thought the creature had scales running down its back. Another viewer saw the monster on the lake bank - he described it as four metres in length, with a long neck and a sheep's head. It moved in little 'hops'.

Humped Creature

Location: Achmore, Isle of Lewis (Outer Hebrides) - Loch Urabhal
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 27 July 1961
Further Comments: While fishing, two teachers watched a small headed creature with a single hump swim past their boat at a distance of around thirty-five metres.

Horse Dog

Location: Alloa (Clackmannanshire) - Inglewood Pond
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1975 and 1997
Further Comments: Previously spotted in 1975 by two women, the 1997 witness reported seeing a strange horse with the legs of a dog prancing around the woods in broad daylight. The entity quickly vanished.

Thick Eel

Location: Ballyronan (Ulster) - Lough Neagh
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1986
Further Comments: Two people in a two man kayak quickly headed towards the shore after spotting a long black creature under the water with a body the thickness of two human legs.

Humanoid Beast

Location: Balvaig (Argyll and Bute) - Area in and around sea, and Grador Rock
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Incredibly ugly to look at, this monster would sit for many hours on the rock. One man went too close, and he was later found with his flesh clawed off.

Long Serpent

Location: Banff (Aberdeenshire) - Off coast
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1896
Further Comments: Eight crewmen of a lugger reported seeing a sea creature three hundred feet (ninety metres) long, with three huge humps. The beast made as much noise as a steamer while moving.

Snake-like Creature

Location: Barmouth (Wales) - Menai Straits
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1805
Further Comments: A ship was attacked by a sea serpent, which wrapped itself around the ships mast until the crew hit back - it fell back into the sea, but followed the vessel for two more days before disappearing.

Sea Monsters

Location: Barmouth (Wales) - Waters of the bay
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Several sightings of various strange creatures have been over recent years, from the traditional sea serpent to a creature resembling a giant turtle with an egg shaped head and two spines jutting from its back.

Shagfoal

Location: Barnack (Northamptonshire) - General area
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Similar to (or maybe identical to) a shuck, the Shagfoal is reported to resemble a large, black longhaired bear.

Fast Foot

Location: Bathgate Hills (Lothian) - Area known as Knock Forest
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Seen running in the forest by a family, this man-like creature travelled at an estimated speed of 70 miles per hour.

Pterosaur?

Location: Beckermet (Cumbria) - Nursery Woods
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: January 2006
Further Comments: A witness reported a large pterosaur-like creature flying above Nursery woods.

Tall Hairy Creature

Location: Beckermet (Cumbria) - Nursery Woods
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 25 January 1998, most recently 1 October 2005
Further Comments: A man walking his dog reported seeing a man like creature, just over two metres tall and covered in ginger hair, drinking from a pond in the woods.

Fear Liath Mor

Location: Ben MacDhui (Highland) - High on Mountain
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Twentieth century
Further Comments: Britain's yeti relation, the Fear Liath Mor has been heard and seen by dozens of mountaineers over the past 150 years. The sound of snow being compacted by large feet has made climbers scarper back down the slopes; those who have seen the creature say it is more man than ape, but still covered in grey or brown hair, with long arms and a large head, and standing around twenty foot in height.

Blobster

Location: Benbecula (Outer Hebrides) - Shores
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1996
Further Comments: A dead four metre long creature was washed up on the beach, with diamond shaped fins sitting along its back - the creature could not be identified.

Green Shark

Location: Berwick on Tweed (Northumberland) - River Tweed
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 16 September 1757
Further Comments: An 1.8 metre long shark was discovered in this river, green in colour and no doubt a long way from home.

Tailed Bigfoot

Location: Bilington (Kent) - Field near the town
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: May 1961
Further Comments: Two girls walking from school reported seeing a large hairy figure running into nearby woods, complete with an unmistakeable tail.

Sandwell Vallygator

Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - Sandwell Valley
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1999
Further Comments: An American snapper which had either escaped or been set free was first spotted in a lake here, though it was two years before the creature was actually caught.

Tall Monkey with Glowing Eyes

Location: Bolam (Northumberland) - Bolam Lake
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 2002
Further Comments: A late night fishing party reported seeing an eight foot creature standing upright, with radiant eyes.

Tasmanian Wolf

Location: Bournemouth (Dorset) - Western Avenue, Branksome
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 07 April 1974
Further Comments: A strange cat-like creature spotted by a female driver was later identified by her as a Tasmanian wolf, though the creature is thought extinct.

Big Bird

Location: Bradford (Yorkshire) - Skies above town
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: 1982 / 83
Further Comments: A large bird seen in the skies above the town was originally identified as an eagle or an escaped condor by its witnesses; twenty years later a few of them now claim it to have been a pterodactyl.

Grey Horse

Location: Brecon (Powys) (Wales) - River Honddu
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Nineteenth century?
Further Comments: Home of a Welsh water horse, this creature who tempt people to sit on it before terrifying the rider by dragging them over rough land and through the air.

Monster's Grave

Location: Brynberian (Wales) - Prehistoric burial ground
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: The people of the village once found a water monster in a nearby lake - they took the creature and buried it on the mountain slope.

Buckland Shag

Location: Buckland (Surrey) - Stream near the village, and rock in the North Downs
Type: Cryptozoology
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This water monster set up home in this small body of water, until driven away by a local clergyman. A large rock located in the North Downs is still stained red with the bloody of the Shag's victims.