The forgotten Cryptids
Having become disenchanted with cryptozoology, and having lost the will to bvelieve anymore I am dedicating myself to uncovering the lost cryptids, the ones that have been forgotten even in myth. I will interveiw witnesses, and try to unravel the mysteries behind these cryptids I call The Mutants.
The Horror of Berkeley Square
Considered by most paranormal experts to fit more accurately into the realm of hauntings, the Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square has left behind tantalizing shreds of evidence - and more than one corpse - which suggests that the "ghost" which inhabits a room on the 4th floor in what has been referred to as "the most haunted house in London," may not really be a case of spiritual infestation at all, but rather a predatorial, cryptid phenomenon.
Accounts of the Thing date as far back as the early 1840's, though no one is exactly sure when the first confirmed sighting was. The creature has been described as an amorphous being, formless and slimy, which emits a "gruesome sloppy noise" when it moves. While accounts conflict regarding the actual shape and size of the beast, at least one eyewitness has included tentacles in his description of the creature, likening the beast to a small, viciously deformed octopus, which pulls itself across the floor, leaving a viscous trail in its wake. This description has led some researchers to speculate that the Thing may actually be some kind of freshwater octopus or amphibious, marine animal that managed to migrate from the Thames into London's subterranean sewer system, where it was able to infiltrate the Berkeley Square home via the plumbing.
There can be no doubt that 50 Berkeley Square can boast a horrific array of paranormal encounters (ranging from strange sounds reported by neighbors to the confirmed deaths of guests and domestic servants), but there is one confrontation which has become the benchmark of this legend. Although the details of this narrative have varied in minor degrees from one retelling to another, the core of the account has always remained the same:
In 1943, two sailors from Portsmouth, Robert Martin and Edward Blunden, after having squandered their lodging funds on an evening of drunken ribaldry, broke into the then abandoned Berkeley Square home in search of a night's rest. Discovering that the lower levels of the house were uncomfortably damp, the sailors migrated upwards, finally settling down in the now infamous room.
Blunden, presumably the more sober of the two, expressed the anxiety he felt upon entering the room, but these fears were promptly dismissed by his shipmate, who used his rifle to prop open a window to allow for a breeze. It wasn't long before the two men were huddled on the floor, fast asleep.
Sometime after midnight Blunden awoke to see the door to the room creaking open. Little by little a sliver of dim, grayish light crept across the wooden floor. Too terrified to move, Blunden managed to wake his accomplice. The two men sat up as they heard a strange, moist, scraping sound slowly approach them. Later, Martin claimed that it sounded as if something were dragging itself across the floor.
Suddenly, the terrified men leapt to their feet and came face to face with the abhorrent visage of what could only describe as a hideous monstrosity. The creature undulated between the sailors and what was their only hope for escape; the open door. Then, just as the trembling Blunden began to reach toward the rifle - which was still wedged in the window frame - the creature suddenly lunged forward, wrapping itself around the young sailor's throat.
Seizing the opportunity, the panic stricken Martin ran from the house, screaming for help. Soon enough he stumbled upon a patrolling police officer. Although skeptical of the young sailor's frenzied tale (and no doubt attributing it to the almost overwhelming stench of alcohol which permeated his uniform) the officer dutifully followed Martin back to Berkeley Square.
Martin and the officer ran up the stairs, but found no sign of Blunden in the 4th floor room. Martin reclaimed his rifle as the two men continued to search the house. Their efforts seemed to prove fruitless however, until the men entered the basement and were greeted to an image which would scar them for the remainder of
their lives.
Lying at the base of the stairs in Berkeley Square�s moist, rock walled cellar was Blunden's dismembered corpse. His body lay in a mangled heap, with his head wrenched viciously to the side. The officer reported that the young man's eyes were wide with unimaginable horror, and his face frozen in a grimace of twisted terror.
For the past 80 years the ground floor of the house on Berkeley Square has played host to an antique bookshop known as Maggs Brothers. Although there have been no reported sightings of the creature in the 20th century, this can easily be ascribed to the fact that if indeed this creature has oceanic roots, it has, in all likelihood, returned to the sea. Or - more chillingly perhaps - it and its offspring may still be lurking in the labyrinth of centuries old tunnels, which weave their way beneath Great Briton's relatively serene, capitol city.
The Masterton Creature
Still another report of one of New Zealand's many monsters comes to us from the New Zealand Times on May 9, 1883. Although there's almost no background information regarding this creature, the account still serves as one of the many examples of a legitimate news source chronicling a spectacular cryptozoological event.
According to the article, a large, unknown (presumably marine) animal, with a broad muzzle, short legs and curly hair was reported near the town of Masterton. The report further stated that fearful townsfolk loosed their dogs upon the beast, at which time one of the canines was flayed. The ferocity of the animal's attack was enough to discourage the remainder of the dogs, who swiftly ran in the opposite direction.
The account ends there, but from the few available details one can put together an intriguing (albeit hazy) image of the creature. The description of its "short legs" would seem to indicate that the animal had feet instead of flippers, and the mention of "curly hair" has made many researchers lean toward a mammalian rather than reptilian or amphibious identification.
Although the creature has often been associated with the 1890 case of Euroa Beast, it's interesting to note the similarities between the creature described and the Australian Bunyip, as well as the notorious "Irish Crocodile", known as the Dobhar Chu.
The Euroa Monster
Accounts of this bizarre event were published in the Melbourne Argus, on February 28, and again on the 1st of March, 1890. The story begins in Euroa, Australia, where a cadre of credible witnesses testified that their village was terrorized by what they described as a 30-foot long, unidentifiable monstrosity.
This animal, which some investigators have associated with the ancestral amphibian known as "Pederpes finneyae" - a short, squat crocodile-like creature, which scientists believe represents the missing link between fish and land animals - wrecked havoc throughout this small community until the executives at the Melbourne Zoological Gardens, although admittedly skeptical, felt that the accounts deserved further scrutiny.
With this in mind, the Garden officials sent an emissary to Euroa armed only with what they referred to as a "big net". Once this intrepid (and scientifically sanctioned) dragon slayer arrived in this terrified town, he wasted no time and organized a party of forty men with the intent of pursuing and capturing this beast.
The men hunted throughout the day and into the night, but the only thing they had to show for their efforts were the discovery of a set of gigantic tracks, which sadly terminated before the monster could be found. This case has often been mentioned in company with the Masterton Creature of New Zealand.
The Ethiopian Ants
The earliest accounts of these gigantic insects come to us from the Third Century author Gaius Julius Solinus, who described these creatures as being viciously territorial, man-eating, canine sized animals who were know for excavating gold.
According to traditional reports, the only creatures accepted by these ants were mares that had recently given birth to foals. If the mares happened to cross into big ant country with any sort of baskets strapped to them, these ravenous insects would hide their gold inside the baskets; to what purpose one can only speculate.
Although these legends are easy to dismiss as nothing more than yet another identification error to be attributed to an early naturalist, there are some who believe that Africa may once have been home to a now extinct species of giant ant, not unlike the herbivorous Mermecolion.
Beast of Brassknocker Hill
In July 1979, Ron and Betty Harper discovered that the bark had been ripped off of their old oak tree by an animal with teeth at least twenty times larger than the squirrels that usually inhabited the region. They also noticed that the area, which was usually rife with birds and small wildlife, had become mysteriously barren. By August 1, over 50 trees had been stripped of all their branches in the area. The creature allegedly responsible for the tree mangling and the sudden decline in the local fauna was finally seen by an eyewitness later that month.
According to the account a man (who preferred to remain anonymous) was driving through Monkton Combe at night, when he encountered a bear-like creature, which was approximately 4-feet in length and bore two, striking, circular white rings around its eyes. The man presumably left the scene posthaste.
In September 1979, the West Holland newspaper �Het Binnenhof� published a story about the bizarre beast with the headline: �Beest van Bath lelaagt Briuts bos�, which translates as �Beast of Bath destroys British Wood�. The story reported that a creature was allegedly at large in Brassknocker Hill, terrorizing the local populace and devouring the trees in the forests with its Dracula-like teeth.
During the next year additional (and also anonymous) eyewitnesses came forward and described the animal as everything from a gibbon to a lemur to a baboon. The following summer a police officer, Inspector Michael Price, claimed to have positively identified the animal as a chimpanzee, but was unable to catch the beast. He was also unable to explain the disparate descriptions (including the strange ocular markings and large, predatory teeth) of the creature. As of yet, the beast in question has never been positively identified.
Murphysboro Mud Monster
On May 25, 1972, Central Illinois police logged more than 200 calls regarding a shrieking, 7-foot tall, white haired, ape-like monster.
Gobi Inflatable Hedgehog
Reported from the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, this animal is called the zamba zaraa by locals. It is described as looking something like a hedgehog. When threatened, the animal strikes its tail against the ground (an alarm action that is used by many different types of animal) and then proceeds to inflate itself considerably. Reports differ on how big it is after inflation, and range up to the size of a yurt (a small Mongolian tent-like dwelling).
There are other creatures who inflate themselves as a defense mechanism, most notably puffer fish. It would be weird, but not impossible, for a mammal to have evolved the same trick. Since the Gobi Desert is one of the least-explored areas on earth, it is plausible that it contains many new species that are just waiting to be discovered. Perhaps the inflatable hedgehog is one of these undiscovered animals, and someday we will be able to see it in zoos.
The Enfield Monster
The vast reaches of forest and open fields of southern Illinois, combined with the sparse population in some areas, seem to invite weirdness that might not occur in cities and more crowded locales. In the most southern portions of the region, the Shawnee National Forest covers miles and miles of territory. The acres of forest seem almost untouched by man and some believe that strange things occasionally pass through here, unseen by human eyes.
Perhaps strangest monster reports to ever take place in Illinois began in April 1973 in the small town of Enfield. This tiny community in southeastern Illinois became the scene of bizarre happenings for a short period of time and while the case has largely been forgotten today, it remains a part of the high strangeness of the region.
Henry McDaniel of Enfield almost became the first man to be arrested because of the Enfield Horror. White County Sheriff Roy Poshard Jr. threatened to lock McDaniel for telling folks about the weird events that took place at his home in April 1973, but McDaniel stuck by his story and his initial report would begin what became a nightmare for the small town. According to McDaniel, he was at home on the evening of April 25 when he heard a scratching on his door. When he opened it, he couldn't believe his eyes! "It had three legs on it," McDaniel swore, " as short body, two little short arms coming out of its breast area and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. It stood four and a half to five feet tall and was grayish-colored. It was trying to get into the house."
Needless to say, McDaniel was not letting it in and he quickly retrieved a pistol. He kicked open the door and opened fire. After his first shot, McDaniel knew that he had hit it. The creature "hissed like a wildcat" and scampered away, covering 75 feet in three jumps. It disappeared into the brush along a railroad embankment near the house.
McDaniel quickly called the police and Illinois state troopers who responded to the call found tracks "like those of a dog, except they had six toe pads." The tracks were measured and two of them were four inches across and the third was slightly smaller.
Investigators soon learned that a young boy, Greg Garrett, who lived just behind McDaniel, had been playing in his yard about a half-hour before. Suddenly, the creature had appeared and attacked him. Apparently though, it just stepped on his feet, but this was enough to tear the boy's tennis shoes to shreds. Greg had run into the house, crying hysterically.
On May 6, Henry McDaniel was awakened in the middle of the night by howling neighborhood dogs. He looked out his front door and saw the monster again. It was standing out near the railroad tracks. "I didn't shoot at it or anything," McDaniel reported. "It started on down the railroad track. It wasn't in a hurry or anything."
McDaniel's reports soon brought publicity to Enfield and prompted the threats from the county sheriff, but it was too late. Soon, hordes of curiosity-seekers, reporters and researchers descended on the town. Among the "monster hunters" were five young men who were arrested by Deputy Sheriff Jim Clark as "threats to public safety" and for hunting violations. This was after they had opened fire on a gray, hairy thing that they had seen in some underbrush on May 8. Two of the men thought they had hit it, but it sped off, moving faster than a man could.
One more credible witness to the monster was Rick Rainbow, who was then the news director of radio station WWKI in Kokomo, Indiana. He and three other persons spotted the monster near an abandoned house, just a short distance from McDaniel's place. They didn't get much of a look at it as it was running away from them, but they later described it as about five feet tall, gray and stooped over. Rainbow did manage to tape record its cry. The wailing was also heard by eminent researcher Loren Coleman, who also came to try and track down the creature. He also heard the sound while searching an area near the McDaniel home.
A short time later, the sightings ended as abruptly as they began.
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