Sightings of Vampires & Werewolves across the Isles
Foaming Wolf
Location: A1067 (Norfolk) - Road between Fakenham and Norwich
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: 2006
Further Comments: A driver on the way back from the cinema in Norwich encountered a large black wolf eating a carcass along this road. The creature was described as standing around a metre at the withers, with yellow eyes and black matted hair. The driver slowed and the wolf briefly looked up before continuing to eat. The witness continued home, shaken.
Creature from the Tomb
Location: Alnwick (Northumberland) - Alnwick Castle
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: 1100s
Further Comments: The vampire that once frequented this castle, a former lord of the estate, lived under the site and would emerge at night to attack the local villagers. An outbreak of plague was also attributed to the unholy creature, and this resulted in the villagers digging the monster up from its shallow grave and burning it.
Female Spectre
Location: Beaumaris (Gwynedd) - Baron Hall
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local tale says that this old manor house is home to a female vampire, though many believe the entity to be ghostly in nature.
Walking Dead
Location: Berwick on Tweed (Northumberland) - Exact area(s) unknown
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A former wealthy man who died was said to have returned from the grave and walked the streets at night. A pack of dogs were said to escort him. Finally, a group of local men dug up the grave and incinerated the body, though most of the men are said to have died soon after from an unknown disease.
Vampire Attacks
Location: Birmingham (West Midlands) - Glen Park Road (Ward End) and Saltley, Small Heath and Alum Rock areas
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: January 2005
Further Comments: A gentleman, described as black and in his twenties, bit another man walking along the street before pouncing on neighbours who came to the victim's aid. One woman who was present was said to have had a chunk bitten out of her hand. Police, however, stated that they had received no reports of such an incident and dismissed the story as an urban myth.
Blood Sucker
Location: Blair Atholl (Perth and Kinross) - Glen Tilt, north of the town
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: Early twentieth century?
Further Comments: Two poachers shacking up in a bothy reported being attacked by a creature that drank blood from one of them. The pair managed to fight the creature off, and it flew away. The story is very similar to the vampire tale that happened at Fealaar, Aberdeenshire.
Doggett
Location: Blandford Forum (Dorset) - Area near Eastbury Park (no longer standing)
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A corrupt manservant who stole thousands of pounds from his employer, Doggett finally killed himself, and now drives his phantom horse and carriage along this area. One local story says he returned as a vampire; after his body was exhumed many years after his death (from St Mary's Church in Tarrant Gunville) it was found to be uncorrupted, with a rosy tint to the cheeks.
Speed Wolf
Location: Buxton (Derbyshire) - A6 northeast of Buxton
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Although this creature is reported to resemble a normal wolf, it moves at fantastic speeds and covers great distances in a single bound. It is unclear whether the wolf is a physical entity, but the nearby village of Wormhill claims to be the location where the last wolf in England was killed in the sixteenth century.
Vampire
Location: Croglin (Cumbria) - Croglin Low Hall
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: 1875
Further Comments: One of the few vampire reports in the UK, this creature attacked a young girl in this building. One of her brothers witnessed the attack and shot the monster in the leg. The blood trail enabled them to track it to the village graveyard, where it was dug up and burnt.
Welsh Wolf
Location: Denbigh (Clwyd) - Area between Denbigh and Wrexham
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Eighteenth century
Further Comments: Reported to be the size of a horse, this huge wolf would create mayhem in the region, feeding on livestock, dogs and the flesh of men.
Wolf-headed Skeleton
Location: Dogdyke (Lincolnshire) - Langrick Fen, but exact location unknown
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Unknown - pre 1926
Further Comments: A local archaeologist digging in the peat discovered a human skeleton but with a wolf's head. The man took his discovery home, but during the night he found his house besieged by a werewolf. The archaeologist spent the night barricaded in the kitchen as the beast tried to gain entrance to his house, and as the sun came up and the werewolf left, the man took the skeleton and reburied the bones where they were found.
Suicidal Lycanthrope
Location: Eccleshall (Staffordshire) - Village crossroads
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: April 1975
Further Comments: Andrew, a teenager from the village, was found dead at the crossroads having killed himself with a penknife. One of his friends reported that Andrew had called him just before midnight, saying that his skin was changing and that he was turning into a wolf.
Howl like a Foghorn
Location: Edale (Derbyshire) - General area
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: 1925
Further Comments: A large black creature of unknown origin caused havoc here in the 1920s when it killed dozens of sheep. Though rarely seen, the creature was said to have a howl like a foghorn. Locals allocated the blame on a lycanthrope.
Werecat
Location: Edmondthorpe (Leicestershire) - St Michael's Church
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Effigies still present
Further Comments: Sir Roger Smith and his two wives have their tomb within this church, with the effigy of Lady Ann possessing a dark mark on one whist. A local legend says that Ann was a witch who could change into a cat - the mark on her statue shows where a butler hit Ann in cat form with a small axe.
Wolf Man
Location: Exmoor (Devon) - Doone Valley
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: A woman walking home after dark reported seeing a grey man with a wolf's head, apparently stalking a large rabbit. The werewolf vanished when disturbed by a stag that ran out from a nearby wooded area.
Vampire
Location: Fealaar (Aberdeenshire) - Hut hidden away in a wooded area
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: 1920s
Further Comments: Two hunters were said to have been attacked by a vampire while spending the night in the bothy. This story is very similar to the vampire tale that happened at Blair Atholl, Lowlands, and is likely to be derived from it.
Stinker
Location: Flixton (Yorkshire) - General area
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: There are stories that the area around Flixton is home to a werewolf, which has glowing red eyes and a particularly bad body odour.
Gorbals Vampire
Location: Glasgow (Lanarkshire) - Southern Necropolis
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: 1950s
Further Comments: An urban myth circled the area during the 1950s that the graveyard was home to a vampire with iron teeth. At the story's height, it is said that hundreds of children patrolled the site, looking for the monster which, they thought, had kidnapped and eaten two local children.
Abhartach
Location: Glenullen (County Derry / County Londonderry) - General area, Abhartach's final resting place marked by a large stone with a thorn tree growing up from the side
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: Fifth century
Further Comments: In a battle for the throne, the warrior Cathrain killed his rival Abhartach. Abhartach, however, returned from the grave two days later and preyed on the locals. Cathrain once again killed the undead fiend, but two days later, Abhartach came back and continued his attacks. Cathrain discussed the problem with druids, who told him to stab his adversary through the heart with a weapon made of yew. This he did, and Abhartach never returned.
Witch
Location: Holywell (Clwyd) - Basingwerk Abbey, and forests of Longdendale
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A witch who could change into a wolf was unable to return to human form after the Abbot of Basingwerk asked heaven to stop the witch from killing innocents. The witch/wolf ran into King Henry II's hunting party and after a vicious fight, the party slayed the creature.
Wolf Men
Location: Kingdom of Ossory (County Kilkenny) - Ossory was a sub-kingdom, most of which was in County Kilkenny
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Sometime before 1100
Further Comments: It was said that men from this kingdom could transform into wolves whenever they pleased. However, while in wolf form their human bodies would be left at home. If moved, the person would be trapped as a wolf for the rest of their life.
Werewolves
Location: Loch Langavat, Isle of Lewis (Outer Hebrides) - Exact area unknown
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The island was once home to a colony of wolfmen - even though they are extinct, disturbing their graves is reported to release their spirits.
Hooded Dead Figure
Location: Lochmaben (Dumfries and Galloway) - Woodland around Lochmaben Castle
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: 1991 onwards
Further Comments: Tom Robertson investigated the woods after hearing stories that animals had been found drained of their blood. He encountered a tall figure dressed in sacking with a hood over its head, which black eyes and grey face. The creature leapt into a tree and swung away. Eight years later Robertson went looking for the creature again, finding it and taking a couple of photographs.
Strange Wolf
Location: Lynton (Devon) - Valley of the Rocks
Type: Werewolf
Date / Time: 1990s
Further Comments: This area was reportedly the stomping ground for a werewolf - sightings were reported up until the 1990s.
Cormac Tadhg McCarthy
Location: Macroom (County Cork) - Carrigaphoca (aka Carrigaphouka, aka Carrigaphooca) Castle
Type: Vampire
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Charged with tracking down Irish rebels, Cormac once ate the flesh of one man he caught. This may have damned him, and as such a few believe he still lurks the ruins of the castle. The site is also home to a Pooca, a ghastly grim entity which reputedly attacks visitors if the opportunity arises.
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