The West Yorkshire town of Pudsey, about halfway between Leeds and Bradford, famously gave its name to Pudsey the Bear in the BBC Children in Need charity campaigns. But it also gave its name to a far more sinister figure that haunted the nightmares of many: the Pudsey Bitch Daughter… You find yourself suddenly awakeContinue reading “The Pudsey Bitch Daughter”
Category Archives: Monsters
Green Whiskers: The Shetland Sea Monster
“It made the very hairs on our heads stand on end for fear…” A monstrous creature with green eyes, long green whiskers and a cavernous mouth haunted the waters round the Shetland Isles in the late nineteenth century. In May of 1882 a boat of fishermen had a terrifying encounter with this monster of theContinue reading “Green Whiskers: The Shetland Sea Monster”
The Headless Bear from Hell: England’s Forgotten Phantom
You’ve heard of phantom black dogs haunting the moors. You’ve heard tales of grey ladies, howling werewolves, wailing banshees and headless horsemen. Perhaps you’ve read about fairies, elves and boggarts. But surely the strangest entity ever to haunt this land was the demonic headless bear from hell. This strange monster is nowadays forgotten, but heContinue reading “The Headless Bear from Hell: England’s Forgotten Phantom”
The London Monster
In 1790, Georgian London was haunted by a Monster. No woman was safe. Typically, he would approach a pretty young lady as she walked home and make lewd comments to her, and then he would attack her with a blade. Sometimes the blade would be attached to his knee and he would kick his victimContinue reading “The London Monster”
Doomsday Herrings and Fishy Farts
Norwegian fishermen were astonished when they landed a most strange and portentous fish on the 26 November 1597. On one side of the 14 inch long herring was the image of two soldiers in combat wearing military helmets, with one waving a sword while being struck in the belly by the other’s lance. Next toContinue reading “Doomsday Herrings and Fishy Farts”
The Deadly Embrace of the Devil Fish!
Devils of the Sea Pity the poor octopus. They only live for a year, but they have a weird alien like intelligence that’s diffused through their arms – a different way of being clever. Their weird appearance, though, engendered fear and loathing and monster octopus like creatures – Sea Devils – featured in a numberContinue reading “The Deadly Embrace of the Devil Fish!”
Yorkshire Zombies: The Medieval Dead
Yorkshire in the 1300s was a strange and frightening place. The living dead crawled from their graves, wandered round the lanes and accosted the villagers, at least according to accounts written by an anonymous monk. But these zombies were very different from the gut munchers of modern popular culture, and it wasn’t your brain theyContinue reading “Yorkshire Zombies: The Medieval Dead”
Monster Bats Attack!
Here are some gobbets of strange and horrible vampire history from the late nineteenth century… Monster Bat Attacks Baby In Hampshire in November 1880, a woman put her baby to sleep in its cradle one afternoon. The room had an old fireplace but no fire, so the woman put a paraffin lamp on the hobContinue reading “Monster Bats Attack!”
Slippery Sam ~ Yorkshire’s ‘Nessie’
During the 1930s Britain’s north coast was regularly visited by a mysterious sea monster. At least, this is what many witnesses attested at the time, including a former lord mayor and two well-known Labour politicians. The press loved this recurring silly season story and the creature was dubbed The Humber Monster and the Withernsea VisitorContinue reading “Slippery Sam ~ Yorkshire’s ‘Nessie’“
Attack of the North Sea Monster!
Fishermen are known for their tall tales, but few are as tall as the tale told of the gigantic fire breathing sea serpent that attacked a Scottish trawler in 1903. Reports of sea monsters were fairly common in the newspapers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but the desperate battle between the crew ofContinue reading “Attack of the North Sea Monster!”
Paul Weatherhead 