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Spooky Tale Of The Monkey Monster Of England
Musing on a British Monster
Nov 5th in Cryptozoology & Ghosts & Hauntings by Nick Redfern
On the chilly evening of January 21, 1879, a man was walking home, with his horse-and-cart in tow, along the tree-shrouded lanes that to this day still link the hamlet of Woodcote in Shropshire to the tiny locale of Ranton, Staffordshire, England. All was as it should have been until around 10.00 p.m., when barely a mile from Woodseaves and while crossing over Bridge 39 on the Shropshire Union Canal, the man’s life was plunged into chaos and terror. Out of the darkened woods emerged a frightening beast: it was large, black-haired, monkey-like in appearance, and sported a pair of bright, self-illuminated eyes that glowed eerily and hypnotically.
The monster suddenly jumped atop the cart, then, incredibly, leapt onto the back of the terrified horse, which took off in a frenzied gallop, with the cart careering wildly behind. The man, to his credit, gave chase, and finally caught up with the horse, cart, and beast. On doing so, he proceeded to hit with his whip what was surely the closest thing the British Isles have ever seen to Bigfoot.
Incredibly, the man later reported that on each and every occasion he tried to strike the beast, the whip simply passed through its body – as if the hairy thing was nothing less than a terrifying specter of the night. A moment or so later, and without warning, the creature leapt to the ground and bounded away into the safety of the dark woods that loomed on all sides. The shocking event was over as quickly as it had begun.
Racing to a local pub for a much-needed pint of beer or several, the man, in shaky tones, told his story to the astounded and worried customers and staff. He then headed back home and took to his bed, where he reportedly spent two days in a state of near-exhaustion. Soon, the local police got wind of the story, who duly told the eye-witnesses’ employer that the existence of the beast was well known in the area. Dubbed the Man-Monkey, the police said, it had first surfaced from the woods surrounding the canal after a man had died after falling into its cold, dark waters late one night, some months earlier.
