Lancashire is the County I was born in. It's a place I hold close to my heart. I grew up hearing stories of Jenny Greenteeth, Boggarts and Nut nans. Strange creatures that inhabit the woodlands and scare off any folk who may be passing by. Their stories are our stories, they are in our history, our folklore and within our families, but would it surprise you to know, these are not the only Creatures hiding in Lancashire's Woodlands and Wild Places. These days we use the word 'Bigfoot' to describe any creature, up on two legs, usually hairy and Ape like in description. The reports of these strange Creatures are made by ordinary people, doing ordinary things when they encounter something impossible.
Two Boys See A Hairy Creature In Tarleton, Lancs 1996 -
I was contacted in 2016 by a Gentleman named Mark Farnell, who reported his experience that happened to him and his friend when they were young boys living in the Tarleton Area of Lancashire. Whilst playing amongst the trees the boys noticed a strange "hunched hairy creature" standing watching them.
Mark Farnell: Back in July of 1996, when I was 13 years of age. We were nly young kids back then and we would go down there often and that day was no different at first. We had just completed building an assault course through the woods. We gave the course a try out from start to finish and as we were running the course we both noticed something vague and hard to describe moving our way in the thicker part of the wood. Then this ‘Thing’ came walking through the brush in front of us, not more than 15 feet away. We didn't Know what "It" was and we had never seen anything like ‘It’ before.
We watched as “It” came walking into a part clearing. This “Thing” was broad but ‘It’ wasn't much taller than us at the time, perhaps only 5/5 ft in height but its body was huge. "It" was hairy and thick with muscle. I remember "It" having a humped back almost, ‘It’ was sort of stooped somehow. ‘It’ was walking with purpose and then "It" just stopped dead in ‘Its’ tracks? At the time my friend and I looked at each other knowing what we were seeing was wordless. Even now I'm struggling to describe what "it" looked like and what it felt like to me standing there looking at "It" and wondering what "It" was going to do next. We started to back off until we felt like it was "OK" to pick up the pace. As we looked back we noticed ‘It’ was trying to focus on us through the trees, was it keeping a watch on us and where we were heading? And at that moment "It" let out a blood curdling grunt/scream. It was a terrifying noise. Up until that point I kept telling myself ‘It’ was just an Adult or some strange looking Person, but that scream changed that. Knowing ‘It’ wasn't a person we ran away even quicker than ever. Through fear I have never been back to the local woods. It all happened in Tarleton Village, Lancashire UK. The “creature” had long dark grey and light brown matted hair. "It" was hairy and thick with muscle. And I will never forget that day
When I released Mark's account the Mother of the lad who was with him at the time wrote to me to tell me how the boys reacted when they ran home that day. She explained she remembered the incident clearly as both boys were shook up and stumbled trying to explain what had happened. ‘It took me a long time to calm them down so they could explain what went on, I didn't know what to tell them because something clearly happened to them”.
A Naked Hairy Man Chasing a Fox - In the 1970's an employee who stopped for a call of nature whilst waiting on his workmates close to the Del a Sel entrance of Buile Hill Park in the town of Salford, saw what he described as a “Hairy little man trying to catch a Fox” running across the Golf course. He was adamant that's what he saw. He ran back to his work mates and told them he had seen a “weird caveman type figure” weaving through the grass in pursuit of a Fox. Of course they never believed him. His Nephew was so intrigued by this family tale he has travelled the world researching Hominids and the Missing Link for over 30 years and has taken part in a number of research expeditions in the search of evidence.
A Woman Breaks her Ankle Running from the ‘Bear Man’ of Rivington Pike. 1990 -I am making this report on behalf of my friend, SF - Myself and my friend Sally have always been close, I have known her for around 25 years now, we crossed paths after a few years apart in 2018, and we started going out as you do sometimes. We’d just been for a meal in Manchester city centre. I was driving and Sally said her ankle was hurting her alot. I asked if she was ok and she told me she’d broken her ankle the year before and it was quite a bad break and she was laid up and on crutches for a few months after the accident. But then she went on to say her ankle had been weak anyway from an accident she had years ago and then went on to tell me how it happened in the first place.
During the mid nineties Sally and a few friends had been out clubbing and decided to go up to Rivington pike. They went to the Chinese gardens, around the back where the two car parks are situated. After walking up the track to the top they met up with some other mates and had a bit of a party, a few drinks and someone made a little fire. Anyway there were around 6-8 of them there in all, a couple of cars full of people at most but not private by any means and Sally decided she needed to go for a wee. Sally walked off to a decent spot away from everyone, she said she then noticed movement around 20-30 yards away, there was ‘something’ looking at her from the thick bushes, it took Sally a few moments for her eyes to adjust but from what she told me she said what she saw was huge. The head was big, but the body on the 'thing' was massive. I asked her what 'It' looked like ,she said she saw ‘It’ for around 10-15 seconds in all and from what she could make out 'It' looked like a cross between a Man and a Bear. Sally went on to describe it as having the sort of body a ‘huge hairy Man’ would have but the head was that of a Bear, the head was “covered all over in hair'' she said.
At this point she turned to run, and as she did so, she turned and twisted her ankle badly and let out a scream of pain and fell to the floor. One of my friends Brian ran over and picked her up, she was crying and in lots of pain so they carried her back down the hills and took her to the hospital. She had sprained her ankle badly and tore some ligaments and ever since then her ankle had been weak and so all these years later it snapped when she broke it dancing. Sally said she had never told anyone what she saw that night in case they took the mickey or thought she was crazy.
Hunched Figure by the Road Side 1993 - A Gentleman who was travelling home from Blackpool to Manchester in 1993 saw a strange ‘humanoid figure’ standing by the side of a busy motorway just past the sign for the Marton Mere turnoff. "I remember we had been to see the lights at Blackpool and it was winter time. We were driving on a part of the dual carriageway between Manchester and Blackpool. It was dark but the road was well lit.
I saw something odd through the window. I looked to the side of the road and I saw a Figure standing there. ‘It’ was all black in colour, standing between 6 to 7 feet tall. ‘It’ looked almost like a Man, but was much bigger than any man I knew and ‘It’ was kind of hunched over, so ‘It’ could have been even taller. "It" was pretty big and we couldn't make out too many details. "It" was just standing at the side of the road looking like ‘It’ was thinking about crossing. ‘It’ didn't move as we passed ‘It’ and as we looked back the figure had gone.
Lancashire Wulvers. ‘It’ had brown and black matted fur and the face had a snout like a Dog. I felt hunted that night.
As Halloween approaches and Autumn rolls in, I thought I would take the opportunity to share some of the Stranger reports I have received whilst collecting personal stories from ordinary folks who live in Lancashire. Stories of Upright Wolves, commonly known as Werewolves, Wulvers or Dogmen. These Creatures are often described as being as “large as a Pony and thickly muscled. With snouted faces and Canine teeth” these Creatures are the critters from our nightmares, they are certainly fierce enough to keep you up at night. Some Lancashire residents came face to face with these inexplicable horrors in some of our most beautiful Places. The Forest of Bowland hosts a very strange Creature and ‘It’ was witnessed by two Lancashire Residents in the 1990’s and in 2014. One witness is a resident of Lancashire enjoying a family break. The other is a wild camper who has camped in some of our remotest areas alone until an event at Wolfs Hole Crag ended that hobby for him. The witnesses both contacted me by email and are happy to share their encounters in the hopes of finding some answers.
What Creature was watching me in the Forest of Bowland, 2014 - Witness Report: Ray: “My encounter happened a few years ago at night, I think around September time, when I had gone out on a remote excursion to see a meteor shower. I love wild camping and I am always looking for new spots to set up camp. It was the first time I'd ever been to the Crags or the Bowland Area. That night it was drizzling and slightly wet and I was camping up near Wolf Hole Crags. I had settled in for the night when I realised I was not alone. I first noticed something watching me from outside the camp when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I could also hear ‘It’ as it was moving around. It was shifting in the shadows and this shifting movement lasted for about 15 or 20 minutes. I kept watch as whatever was out there lurked around the area where I was camping. ‘It’ would move every few moments to a different spot and ‘It’ was watching me the whole time. It was almost Canine in appearance, but it would rise up on two legs, or belly crawl low to the ground. ‘It’ sat in a crouched or hunched position, just watching me. Coming closer and closer to where I was sitting back up to the rock.
I will be honest, I was scared witless for a while there, not by anything the Creature did or by any noise ‘It’ made. It was bad enough seeing ‘It’ and knowing I was alone out there but even more creepily ‘It’ kept changing positions and watching me constantly. ‘It’ never took ‘It’s eyes off me, it was very unnerving and I was quite frightened at the time. I could hear the sound of ‘It’ getting up and running a short distance then ‘It’ would squat down again in a strange hunched stance. I didn't have a fire going at the time so I was fairly well in the dark but the sky provided a slight bit of light, just enough to see the ‘thing’ as ‘It’ lurked around my camp. From that crouched position ‘It’ looked to be maybe three or four feet tall but when ‘It’ stood up and lurched away ‘It’ became maybe five feet tall but always with that hunched posture. How tall was it standing up straight? And how did it move so strategically. No human could move like that. The whole event was absolutely terrifying.
As you can imagine, I didn't sleep at all that night. I just huddled there in the cold waiting for daylight, and when it was almost morning I made my way back out of there, but I was keeping a watch behind me the whole way out, just in case ‘It’ was still there and following me, but as far as I could tell ‘It’ was gone. It was really intimidating and that night has put me right off camping which is most unlike me, but experiencing something like that leaves quite an impression on you.
Whatever ‘It’ was I got the feeling ‘It’ was probably somewhat annoyed at my being there that night. As if I had intruded somehow? During the encounter the Creature kept getting closer and closer to me, a little bit at a time. I didn't know whether to get up and run, or stay huddled against the rock? I would have left immediately but I was too scared to leave the spot I was in, just in case that started a pursuit. I felt hunted that night. Although to stay put was the lesser of two evils it was not easy sitting in camp until sunrise when I packed up and left. I just sat it out until the sky began to get light and made a break for it then”
Ray.
A Young Girl Comes Face to Face With A Snouted Creature in the Forest of Bowland 1990’s - As many readers will know, the Forest of Bowland is a mystical place. Full of woodlands and rivers, gorges and caverns. A place we visit for hikes or just to drink in the beauty which surrounds you. I love to camp here with my Husband. And we visit the places where many of the strange stories I report take place. One family visiting the area had a day out to remember when a young girl was left with a terrible memory that never faded away.
Witness Report Beth: I have never forgotten that day in the Trough of Bowland and the events that happened and this is why I wrote it down and got in touch with you. I am hoping by sharing this it will bring me an explanation of what happened that day, or will bring someone forward who has also seen ‘It’
I remember that day clearly my Dad took all us kids to a huge Forest and let us run riot. Something we would do often. It was a large forest and even though the sun was blazing hot, it was much cooler and darker within the trees. I wandered off on my own and I hadn't realised just how far I had gone and I was a little confused about the way back. I stopped to get my bearings when I noticed something crouching behind a tree. I thought it was one of my siblings waiting to play a prank on me. I could see the shape of a head, and the slight outline of shoulders behind the trunk, I crept closer thinking I was just going to scare them first, when I realised what I was seeing and froze to the spot.
It was hard to make out much detail at first, and when my eyes adjusted I saw arms that were wrapped around the trunk of the tree and a head tilted to watch me. I realised at that point this was not a human, it was a Creature of some kind? This Creature was sitting there watching my every move. ‘It’ used the tree trunk to hide behind and I would see ‘It's’ head in the same position. I could see ‘It’ was covered in long fur or hair. I still remember the fear I felt swelling inside of me. Releasing the danger I was in, I ran as fast as I could towards the light. As I turned to look back at the 'thing', THUMP! I ran face first into a tree busting my face and nose. Dazed I carried on until I found my Dad again. My face was cut and bloody, it took weeks for the cuts and bruises to heal. I found it impossible to explain to my Dad what I had just seen. I really tried to forget it all but the event has never left me.
I remember the Creature or whatever ‘It’ was, had pointy ears on ‘It’s head like a Dogs, ‘It’ had brown and black matted fur or hair and the face had a snout. Back then my Dad used to let me watch "strange but true" so I knew all the weird and wonderful things supposedly out there and I immediately on seeing the Creature closely I thought Werewolf! ‘It’s arms were really big and muscled. ‘It’ just watched me as I walked around, "It" never moved, even when I got pretty close to "it"
I think it was the fear of the whole event that made me run off looking back at "it" hence why I legged it head first into a tree. I have never forgotten this, and now I research Paranormal accounts in the Bolton Area and all across Lancashire.
Beth.
Image A
So what did Beth and Ray see? What horror of the night was watching them in the wilds of Bowland. I interviewed both witnesses, Ray in 2015 and Beth in 2019. During an investigation I will ask for a description, or ask the witness if they can draw what they saw. Beth picked this illustration (Image A), she had searched the web for years trying to find a likeness and had stumbled on this image in a forum discussing British Wulver Accounts. Beth stated “Although the image was not perfect in any sense, it does give a very good impression of what I saw that day, the Face and Build are very close to the Creature watching me from behind the tree” I then sent over the image mixed with eight others to Ray (image B). I didn't give Ray any background on the images provided or share Beth’s story, I simply asked him to pick from the eight images to see if any looked similar to the Creature watching him from outside his camp that night. Ray picked the same image that had been provided by Beth? Did they see the same Creature Years apart? Or more worryingly, like Wolves do these Creatures roam in packs?
Image B
So the next time you take a ride out to the Forest of Bowland, keep a keen eye on the Trees, something may just be watching you in return.
Risley Black Hunched Dog like Creature June 2018 - Warrington, Cheshire is historically part of Lancashire, that is now claimed by the county of Cheshire. It too has a wealth of Strange Canine Creatures reported by ordinary folk each day. One young van driver got the shock of his life on the road that separates Birchwood Country park and Risley Nature Reserve. In the early hours of the morning on 11/6/2018 a van driver travelling on the road between Warrington and Manchester going about his normal nightly routes saw something crossing the road in front of him that he can not explain, the Creature, described as ‘Dog like, but bigger than a horse and moving fast’ shocked the driver, when describing the speed of the Creature he said "it dusted out of sight in seconds" the sighting has left the man confused and a little shaken up. The driver himself has no prior interest in Cryptids, the Paranormal or strange Creatures or anything out of the normal really.
Witness Account: “I want to report something that happened last night when I was at work on my usual route. I was out on the road about 3am this morning, I had my lights on of course and the road was empty of traffic but as I passed the Birchwood Forest park on the A547 ‘something’ crossed the road in front of me, ‘It’ was moving on all fours and ‘It’ was massive, at least as big as a horse but this "thing" ran like a Dog. Thank god it kept moving and stayed on all fours because upright ‘It’ would have been at least 9 foot tall" he explained. "It was all dark in colour and ‘It’ was huge. I did stop the van and get out to look where ‘It’ was and I couldn't see ‘It’ anywhere ‘It’ had moved off that fast".
The A574 Birchwood forest park was where ‘It’ was coming from, ‘It’ was as big as a Horse but looked and moved more like a Dog of some kind. I'm still freaked out by all this and I have felt a bit "off" since last night and a bit light headed. I keep thinking about "It" and the fluid and fast movement ‘It’ made as ‘It’ was moving , "It should still have been in sight but "it had dusted". Just to the south by a few miles in Tatton there is another strange account from a gentleman who worked on the land, the Creature he saw was described as "belly crawling across the road and all one dark colour" which happened only three years before in 2015. This witness was in his vehicle at the time when he witnessed ‘something’ crawl across the track in front of his headlight. “I have no clue what ‘It’ was that crossed the road right at the edge of the trucks light, l could only just see ‘It’ crawl like ‘It’ was on ‘It’s belly across the road and over into the woods on the other side, ‘It’ was fur covered and was a light Brown or just Brown colour but as it was so dark and l could only just see ‘It’
For another hour l racked my brains trying to place this Creature? ‘It’ crawled like a soldier does when crawling on their belly across a field. I can't remember seeing a tail and ‘It’ was big, at least as big as a man. I'm not sure to this day what l saw.
‘It’ moved like a skulking Cat but the size was too large to be a Cat and ‘It’s belly must have been touching the ground. ‘It was very fast, not slow like a person and ‘It’ had arms and legs so that's why l said ‘It’ crawled like a man”
Rivacre, Ellesmere Port "a blacker than the night Wolf or a Puma hiding in the brush? - My name is Billy Thompson and I am reporting an encounter that happened many years ago now. I was about 9/10 at the time and was out with my Grandparents, Brian and Margaret. We were going for a walk down Rivacre valley in the North West of England in a place called Ellesmere port. I can't remember much of how we got there or what happened after the event really, but the event itself is as clear as day. We were walking along and my Nan said she spotted what looked like a big Puma looking through the bushes at us. She walked closer to get a better look when my Grandad started shouting "stop Margaret" by now "it" had moved to the right and was trying to come around behind her, so my Grandad shouted "It's flanking you"
Whilst all this was going on I am trying to look everywhere to see what it was my Nan was seeing. My Grandad was holding my hand quite tight. I do remember that. My Nan was staring to her right like she was in a daydream and all the time I am still trying to see what it is they can see, but I can't. I saw a big hole about 4 ft off the floor in the bushes but it didn't look right, something was in that hole, I stared until my eyes adjusted and I could see what I was looking at and it was a set of eyes.
I could see two big black eyes, the eyes were very wide apart and they didn't look right, whatever Creature they belonged to was blinking. I could see ‘It’ clearly. All around the eyes were pitch black in colour. I could see that whatever this thing was it was darker than everything else around it. I started to try and see more. I then looked up at my Grandad and said "is it black what you're looking for" he said "yes, can you see it"? I pointed at the hole where I could see the eyes but he couldn't see them or make them out. After we got back and we were discussing what had happened my Grandad said that he had seen the Creature walk off from us, but as ‘It’ turned to walk off ‘It’ doubled back on itself so ‘It's front legs were close to ‘It's rear legs, ‘It’ turned that tight.
Nan said she and her work colleagues saw something like "It" once more when she was doing a night shift at work. She said ‘It’ kind of looked like the other Creature we had seen but on this occasion she noticed this thing had triangle ears close to the top of it's head like a Dog. The second time my Nan saw this thing ‘It’ was behind a 6 ft metal fence that went all around the property.
Nan told me that she was waiting for the shift change on the front of her works property. She was standing within the car park and the area was all fenced in because it was a home for disabled children. My Nan said she noticed ‘It’ as she could see something moving behind the fence in the dark, she was with other colleagues chatting away so she walked up closer to what she could see to get a better look. Nan said this thing looked like a Wolf, a big black Wolf! My Nan was stubborn and wouldn't let anything get the better of her normally but she said she felt itchy and uneasy on this occasion so she walked back to the others she had been standing with. I don't know if she told them or not but she did add as she was walking closer she turned left then right and this thing followed her movement. I don't know what she meant by that. I have asked myself over and over what this "thing" I saw was but I don't know what I saw. Nan was convinced it was a blacker than the night wolf.
Lost Purse Leads to Sickly Creature Sighting Report - One of the questions I’m often asked the most is where do I find my accounts. Often I don't find 'them' at all. They seem to find me, some how some way, It has happened so many times now I have stopped questioning Why? I really believe in some of these cases serendipity is at play. A very good example of that is what happened on 3rd December 2019
I went out shopping for food as you do, and as we were driving home on our normal route I spotted a purse in the middle of the road next to the Petrol Station. I felt compelled to get it before someone ran over it, or worse took it for themselves. We went to the Petrol attendant and I left my number on a piece of paper. Then my Husband went around to all the local shops and GP surgery leaving our number in case the owner was local and would retrace her steps at some point. Something kept on at me all day to find her as I knew she needed it back for sentimental reasons. My Daughters suggested Facebook and I posted her name and a pic of the purse on there and asked people to share it. It worked a treat which was great as the owner of the purse lived about 35 miles away in Liverpool and was not local to me at all.
She messages and said she was shocked I handed it in as she had given up on humanity after an earlier loss. As I was chatting through messenger arranging to post it back she went quiet. She came back about 10 mins later and said she had checked me out as she was so shocked I'd gone out of my way to find her to return the purse. She said straight away after seeing some of my articles that 14 years ago she saw something close to home that she could not explain and knows of a few others who have seen 'it' too. Talk about serendipity. She had filled up with petrol in our town and left the purse on the car roof. I wonder if that purse had a little push by fate as she was driving up the road. We are very lucky that the witness was so upset by the event she kept a journal at the time and still had the entry she had written describing the Creature she saw. It happened 14/5/2006
16/5/06 - A couple of days ago it was a nice day so I decided to get off the bus early and walk back home because I didn't have any homework or anything to rush home for. I went the usual route via the golf course so I could roll down the hill. I had heard the big Cat rumours from around the course but I wasn't scared. I thought the golfers were all just making it up, I never thought for a moment it was maybe real. I was sure it was complete BS. Until I saw the yellow eyes glaring at me, but I've never seen a Cat that big. 'He' was either poorly or not a Panther at all, 'he' was mangy like a feral Fox but 'it' was about a 100 times bigger than a Fox, 'It' was grey and the eyes were not Catish in any way. The 'thing' looked more like some sort of love child between a Wolf and a Panther. But not cute and fluffy at all 'It' was really ugly. I remember ‘It’ had a lump between ‘It's shoulders. 'It' was obviously scared and poorly but what could I have done to help it? I thought I was brave until that moment but instead I nearly cried. I think I would have coped with 'it', if 'it' looked like a cat but 'that' was not a cat.
27th May 2006 - I bumped into a guy called Mike and his buddy George who were playing golf on the course. I told them about what I saw and asked if they had seen 'it'. Mike swore he saw ‘It’ but he said 'it' didn't look like a Cat either. His mate said we were both mad but I knew and he knew and we both believed each other.
2nd June 2006 - The more I think about things the less sure I am that 'it' was a Cat. I've been looking online to match what I saw but I'm not finding Cats with yellow or orangey eyes, none that have circles anyway. I'm confused. Was I seeing things? Maybe there's a gas leak making people go mad and I'm one of them. Dad said 'it' was a murderer in a mask to scare me off the course. The 'thing' I saw had a hunch on ‘It’s back between the shoulders and was upright on its back legs.
As I was reading my journal back it took me back to that day. I remember so clearly what it was like seeing 'It'. The feelings I felt, I've never been scared like that since. I felt sick and I remember running and almost going straight through the style instead of over it I was so scared. When I was little, as young as two, I would see a wolf in my room at night, every night my Dad would use an imaginary lead to take the Wolf out of my room so I could sleep, I wonder if these two events are connected in some way? His eyes are what I remember the most, they were this amber orangey colour.
Fishermen See an Unusual Creature. A Dog stood up on Two Legs 90’s - Witness Report: SC:I was told this account by two of my friends who were fishing on a place behind the Raven pub near Glazebury, Lancashire,we call it the moss and there is a good pond there which used to be a good fishing spot, this was around 23-25 yrs ago now. Both my mates were there trying their luck. They had fished for most of the day and they were just packing up their gear to go home and having packed it they loaded their gear on their backs and started to walk down the track. It was around 9.30pm. As they were walking through the thick grass and shrubs they heard a noise which startled them both, they turned around and saw a huge Dog-like ‘thing’ standing there. Now bearing in mind these were two handy lads,what I would call ‘rum’ lads and they weren't fazed by much but this incident really shook them both up.
This ‘Dog’ was standing upright like a human on two legs, they both said ‘It’ had bloodshot red eyes and ‘It’ started to walk towards them. At this they both turned and ran in the direction of home, not looking back till they reached the road and as they finally looked back the ‘thing’ was gone. They both said ‘It’ was huge and since then none of us have ever fished there again.
So the next time you think of Lancashire it may not conjure up images of cotton mills and clogs anymore, as the nights seem to be filled with the strangest of Creatures.
Until Next Time.
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