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London Cryptids

Here is a post (as requested) on various cryptid sightings in and around the city of London:

Spring-Heeled Jack

Spring-Heeled Jack is a Victorian folkloric figure, who was first reported in London in 1837. Despite Jack acquiring an almost mythological shroud of mystery, it was widely reported in newspapers at the time. Jack seemed to enjoy terrorising people, especially young women, who he was reported to kiss, molest and tear at their clothing. His interesting name came from his apparent ability to vault up to twenty feet in the air with no apparent effort, and was often seeing jumping over high walls, over roofs and sailing through the air over the tops of carriages. Jack’s physical description was generally similar in each eye-witness report. He was reported to have eyes ‘like balls of flame’, metallic-like claws on his hands, pointed features and was said to wear a helmet, a tight garment that resembled oilskin and a cloak. On one occasion he was said to have dressed like a policeman, presumably to gain entrance to the victim’s home. He was also reported to breathe out ‘blue flame’ into victim’s faces, which sometimes caused them to lose their sight and fall unconscious. This substance was interpreted to be a gas of some sort, as the victims never showed any visible burns. He was also heard to have a high-pitched shrieking cackle which was heard by many of the eye-witnesses as he bounded away.

Sightings of Jack continued throughout the nineteenth century, and it appeared that after a while he had left London, as reports of him steadily moved up the country. He was spotted at some barracks in Aldershot, also in Sheffield, Liverpool and Lincolnshire. Who or what Jack was is still unknown. Some has suggested he was simply a Victorian prankster, pointing the finger at the Marquess of Waterford, a known joker and brawler. It should be noted, however, that the Marquess died in 1859 in a riding accident, and sightings of Jack continued well into the 1870s, and some say even further. Others say the reports were simply a case of mass hysteria, and some that he was a ghost, demon or phantom. Others propose that he was some form of extra-terrestrial being, which may explain his eyes, (which rather than literally glowing may have been retro-reflective, like a cat’s), his odd ability to breathe blue flames, and if he came from a world with more gravity than ours, this may explain his incredibly jumping abilities. Reports of his bizarre behaviour and insane cackling laughter could also be attributed to being in an otherworldly environment not suited to his body, it is possible that our atmosphere had a different makeup to his own, and caused him to behave strangely.

Whatever the reality, Spring-Heeled Jack is an enduring and fascinating figure of London folklore, and will likely continue to fascinate us.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring-heeled_Jack

The Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square

The Nameless Thing was a bizarre and unclassified being which was said to haunt Number 50 Berkeley Square, London, in the 18th and 19th Centuries. In 1840, a student named Warboys heard rumours about the terrifying building and decided to investigate as a sceptic. He was given a room on the second floor by the guard of the property, and began his vigil, armed with a pistol and a candle. Around forty-five minutes later, the guard heard noises coming from the upstairs floor and the sound of the pistol rang out. He ran up to see what the commotion was, and found Warboys dead in the corner of the room, with nothing else in the room apparently changed. The expression on the dead man’s face convinced the guard that he had died of sheer terror. According to reports at least one other person, a sailor, died in the same manner while staying in number 50, and a survivor of a similar attack claimed he had shot the creature, and that it resembled some form of octopus, with slimy tentacles.

Such a bizarre tale is unusual in a suburban townhouse in London, and it has a distinctly Lovecraftian feel. Some have speculated that the creature was some form of ghost or demon, others that it was simply a made-up story to grab the headlines.

Source: http://cryptidz.wikia.com/wiki/Nameless_Thing_of_Berkeley_Square

The Highgate Vampire

The height of the Highgate Vampire mystery was in the 1970s, when a mass vampire hunt was organised in an effort to rid Highgate Cemetery, London, of its terrifying occupant. Reports of a vampire or ghost in the cemetery had been present for a long time, and among others, reports of a tall grey figure, a gaunt face staring through the railings of the cemetery, voices calling out, and a spectral grey form abounded. Two years previous to the vampire hunt, the cemetery was desecrated and a body was found to have been disturbed in its coffin and staked through the heart, though the assailants were never identified. There were also reports of satanic rituals in the cemetery, with foxes found dead, their throats cut and drained of blood. It is these goings-on that prompted vampire hunters to believe that Satanists had roused a vampire from its slumber. Despite huge media coverage, the vampire hunt seemed to find nothing of consequence, although the ring leaders of the hunt claimed to have returned to the cemetery at a later date and disposed of the vampire’s corpse.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highgate_Vampire

The River Thames Monster

The River Thames Monster is a serpent like creature, compared to the Loch Ness Monster, which was sighted in the River Thames near the O2 Arena in 2016. A video of the footage appeared on YouTube, and seemed to show, from a cable car, a double-humped creature slowly rising out of the water before disappearing once more into the murky depths. Some have speculated that the creature was a whale, dolphin or seal which had mistakenly swum up the estuarine Thames from the sea, others are adamant that the appearance of the creature is not consistent with any known animal and it therefore must be something paranormal or as yet undiscovered.

Source: http://cryptidz.wikia.com/wiki/River_Thames_Monster

Camberwell Werewolf

In October 1996, a man was on his way to meet a friend in South East London, and decided to cut through the Old Camberwell Cemetery to make his journey quicker. He had no torch or any means of lighting, so he was only able to see a few feet in front of him. As he walked, movement caught his eye, and he saw what he initially believed to be a large dog, and it was then that he was apparently grabbed by the creature and pulled to the ground. The animal then leaned over him, growing and drooling onto his face. The man lay there, waiting for the creature to bite, but to his surprise it let him go and ran away into the darkness, and the eyewitness swears that he saw the creature run off on its hind legs. Although it was very dark, the close proximity of the creature allowed the eyewitness to describe some features of the beast. It was described as being muscular, with a face similar to a German Sheppard but the body more akin to a Great Dane, interestingly, he noted that he couldn’t see the eyes very well, and there was no eye-shine or glow usually associated with animals. Its breath reportedly had a smell of sweet, rotting fish. The eyewitness reported that when it grabbed him, he could clearly feel the fingers of a huge hand with long claw-like nails, it was not the paw of a dog. The eyewitness is said to have been extremely traumatised by the event, and now has a fear of woodlands and the dark, and has never dared to set foot in the cemetery since the event.

Source: https://lindagodfrey.com/2016/04/05/werewolf-of-s-e-london/

The Bat Beast of Kent

(Not strictly London, but near enough)

This reports begins in November of 1963 when four teenage friends were walking home from a party when they noticed a silent, glowing orb-like apparition descending from the sky. The object reportedly hovered above a field before it apparently moved towards some woodland and vanished into the trees of Sandling Park. Moments after the extraordinary UFO had apparently landed in the woodland, the youths then noticed a disturbance in the underbrush, and became aware of a bizarre creature shambling towards them. It was described by the eyewitnesses as a five-foot tall, headless bat like creature, with webbed feet and large wings protruding from its back. Its gait was apparently shambling, erratic and waddling. The group of friends, understandably terrified by their encounter, sprinted to the local police station, where they recounted their bizarre ordeal to sceptical police officers. A week or so later, another eyewitness came forward to corroborate the teen’s story, saying that he too, had seen an odd glowing craft hovering above the area on the same evening. Another eyewitness who went into the woodland after the event apparently came across some very strange footprints in the area, 24 inches long and 9 inches across.

While some have jumped to the conclusion that the creature must have been some kind of extra-terrestrial being, others have suggested the teens merely saw an oversized bird or a scarecrow, or had simply imagined it or made it up for attention.

Source: http://www.cryptopia.us/site/2010/03/bat-beast-of-kent-england/

Phantom Kangaroos

Perhaps this one is less of a mystery, there is no reason why a kangaroo which had escaped from a zoo or been let go by a private collector, could not survive in the UK. However, for the purposes of this collection, it can be classed as a cryptid, as locals had no idea how it got there, or why. In 2007, numerous reports of a large kangaroo in Lewisham, London, were made, including on a golf course and in people’s gardens. It was spotted by dog-walkers, park workers and golfers. It was even blamed for an attack on someone’s dog.

Source: http://beastsoflondon.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/mysterious-kangaroo.html

Monsterous Bat Creature

In the spring of 1922 reports were made of a horrifying apparition in West Drayton Cemetery, London. It was seen by eyewitnesses fleeing from a policeman, whereupon it took off into the air with a hideous screech. It was considered to be a form of vampire by the locals, and in 1938 on Thornton Heath in Surrey a woman was allegedly attacked by a similar winged phantom, which reportedly drew blood from her on three separate occasions.

Source: http://beastsoflondon.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/monster-bat.html

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