The Owlman Of Mawnan.

This is a difficult one due to one of the characters in the tale being portrayed by some researchers as dubious
and conniving.  Anthony ‘Doc’ Shiels is seen as a person that the media exploit and a man who enjoys such
audience-drawing antics, so any incident where his name is mentioned brings scrutiny with a flavour of doubt.


Mr. Sheils and the infamous photograph of Nessie.

Sheils was known for 'calling up' sea monsters using a witches coven (all naked, of course!) and capturing the
famous 1977 'Muppet Nessie' photograph, but the actual account could stand alone as this old man is only a
peripheral player in all of it.
............................................

Back in 1926, a village close to where the southern-tip of England sticks out towards the Atlantic Ocean, owned
an unusual incident that the Cornish Echo newspaper reported on at the time.



Mawnan (also known as Mawnan Smith) near Falmouth, was -and probably still is a sleepy hamlet, where we would
assume nothing of note ever happened and where the villagers of Mawnan trudged up to the parish church whilst
pondering their serenity considering the national strike continuing in the rest of the country.

Anyway, the local newspaper reported that two boys had been attacked and chased by what was described as a
very large and ferocious bird. The terrified boys managed escape and took cover behind a large steel grating.

And that's it, an odd yarn that would normally be lost in history of Great Britain due to more important news begging
to be reported. 1926 was when Scotsman -John Logie Baird showed off a strange machine called a 'televisor' to
uncertain members of the Royal Institution in his London laboratory and in that same year, the current Queen of the
United Kingdom -Elizabeth II was born.

Life goes on and half-a-century later, 1976 found a British–French turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner
called 'Concorde' taking its first flight and two hopeful Americans start a new computer company called Apple.
But in that same year, the creature that had frightened the two boys of Mawnan appeared again.

Sally Chapman and Barbara Perry were enjoying a camping holiday with their parents next to the grounds of the
6th century St. Mawnan and St Stephen's Church church in Mawnan Smith. Hearing a strange hissing sound from
some nearby woods, the wide-eyed girls peeked out of their tent and looking towards the bell tower of the old church,
they saw a horror that would stay with them forever.


The church of St. Mawnan.

With glowing red eyes and 'claws like blacksmiths pinchers', the huge feathered monster cast its massive wings to the
night and flew over the church and into the darkness. The Owlman was back.

The year of 1976 hadn't finished with this strange Cornish phenomena, the Owlman had other holidaymakers to terrify.
June and Vicky Melling accompanied their parents on an Easter holiday from Preston in Lancashire to the land where
the pasty was invented and clotted cream is an essential part of a cream tea.

How the two girls came across the humanoid-avian was never expanded on, but the encounter was alarming enough
that Vicky and June's father -Don, cut the holiday short by three days. Wanting to know what this flying fiend actually
was, Mr. Melling provided a sketch from his daughters of the creature to a local researcher.
Enter artist, magician, writer, busker and psychic entertainer -Doc Shiels.


What all the girls saw.

Two years later and a more cynical set of witnesses observed 'an abnormally large bird that was silver grey in colour'.
Thinking this was a trick using a costume, any pessimism dissipated when they saw the creature fly up into the air and
disappear. After it flew away, they said that there was a strange static noise coming from the trees for sometime afterwards.

There was a further sighting in 1989 and then again 6 years later. The witness this time was an American tourist.
The lady from Chicago described the owl man as being at least 5 ft tall with huge claws emanating from its vast wings.

She sent a letter about her experience to the then night editor of the Western Morning News, Simon Parker, at the end
of the summer in 1995. It read:

Dear Sir

I am a student of marine biology at the Field Museum, Chicago on the last day of a summer vacation in England.
Last Sunday evening I had a most unique and frightening experience in the wooded area near the Old Church at
Mawnan, Cornwall. I experienced what I can only describe as a ‘vision from hell’.

The time was 15 minutes after 9, more or less. And I was walking along a narrow track through the trees.
I was halted in my tracks when about 30m ahead I saw a monstrous ‘Birdman’ thing. It was the size of a man with
a ghastly face, a wide mouth, glowing eyes and pointed ears.

It had huge clawed wings and was covered in feathers of silver grey colour. The thing had long bird legs which
terminated in large black claws. It saw me and rose, floating towards me. I just screamed then turn and ran for my life.
The whole experience was totally irrational and dreamlike.

Friends tell me that there is a tradition of a Phantom Owlman in that District. Now I know why. I have seen the
phantom myself. Please don’t publish my real name and address.
This could adversely affect my career. Now I have to rethink my ‘worldview’ entirely.
Yours very sincerely scared Eyewitness.

The little village of Mawnan still claims mysterious happenings to this day with the odd sighting of the Owlman,
floating orbs among the gravestones of the church and ghostly apparitions being glimpsed in Mawnan Woods.

Now... did you hear that fluttering?

(12-18-2020, 01:30 PM)BIAD Wrote: The Owlman Of Mawnan.

This is a difficult one due to one of the characters in the tale being portrayed by some researchers as dubious
and conniving.  Anthony ‘Doc’ Shiels is seen as a person that the media exploit and a man who enjoys such
audience-drawing antics, so any incident where his name is mentioned brings scrutiny with a flavour of doubt.


Mr. Shiels and the infamous photograph of Nessie.

Sheils was known for 'calling up' sea monsters using a witches coven (all naked, of course!) and capturing the
famous 1977 'Muppet Nessie' photograph, but the actual account could stand alone as this old man is only a
peripheral player in all of it.
............................................

Back in 1926, a village close to where the southern-tip of England sticks out towards the Atlantic Ocean, owned
an unusual incident that the Cornish Echo newspaper reported on at the time.



Mawnan (also known as Mawnan Smith) near Falmouth, was -and probably stil is a sleepy hamlet, where we would
assume nothing of note ever happened and where the villagers of Mawnan trudged up to the parish church whilst
pondering their serenity considering the national strike continuing in the rest of the country.

Anyway, the local newspaper reported that two boys had been attacked and chased by what was described as a
very large and ferocious bird. The terrified boys managed escape and took cover behind a large steel grating.

And that's it, an odd yarn that would normally be lost in history of Great Britain due to more important news begging
to be reported. 1926 was when Scotsman -John Logie Baird showed off a strange machine called a 'televisor' to
uncertain members of the Royal Institution in his London laboratory and in that same year, the current Queen of the
United Kingdom -Elizabeth II was born.

Life goes on and half-a-century later, 1976 found a British–French turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner
called 'Concorde' taking its first flight and two hopeful Americans start a new computer company called Apple.
But in that same year, the creature that frightened the two boys of Mawnan appeared again.

Sally Chapman and Barbara Perry were enjoying a camping holiday with their parents next to the grounds of the
6th century St. Mawnan and St Stephen's Church church in Mawnan Smith. Hearing a strange hissing sound from
some nearby woods, the wide-eyed girls peeked out of their tent and looking towards the bell tower of the old church,
they saw a horror that would stay with them forever.


The church of St. Mawnan.

With glowing red eyes and 'claws like blacksmiths pinchers', the huge feathered monster cast its massive wings to the
night and flew over the church and into the darkness. The Owlman was back.

The year of 1976 hadn't finished with this strange Cornish phenomena, the Owlman had other holidaymakers to terrify.
June and Vicky Melling accompanied their parents on an Easter holiday from Preston in Lancashire to the land where
the pasty was invented and clotted cream is an essential part of a cream tea.

How the two girls came across the humanoid-avian was never expanded on, but the encounter was alarming enough
that Vicky and June's father -Don, cut the holiday short by three days. Wanting to know what this flying fiend actually
was, Mr. Melling provided a sketch from his daughters of the creature to a local researcher.
Enter artist, magician, writer, busker and psychic entertainer -Doc Shiels.


What all the girls saw.

Two years later and a more cynical set of witnesses observed 'an abnormally large bird that was silver grey in colour'.
Thinking this was a trick using a costume, any pessimism dissipated when they saw the creature fly up into the air and
disappear. After it flew away they said that there was a strange static noise coming from the trees for sometime afterwards.

There was a further sighting in 1989 and then again 6 years later. The witness this time was an American tourist.
The lady from Chicago described the owl man as being at least 5 ft tall with huge claws emanating from its vast wings.

She sent a letter about her experience to the then night editor of the Western Morning News, Simon Parker, at the end
of the summer in 1995. It read:

Dear Sir

I am a student of marine biology at the Field Museum, Chicago on the last day of a summer vacation in England.
Last Sunday evening I had a most unique and frightening experience in the wooded area near the Old Church at
Mawnan, Cornwall. I experienced what I can only describe as a ‘vision from hell’.

The time was 15 minutes after 9, more or less. And I was walking along a narrow track through the trees.
I was halted in my tracks when about 30m ahead I saw a monstrous ‘Birdman’ thing. It was the size of a man with
a ghastly face, a wide mouth, glowing eyes and pointed ears.

It had huge clawed wings and was covered in feathers of silver grey colour. The thing had long bird legs which
terminated in large black claws. It saw me and rose, floating towards me. I just screamed then turn and ran for my life.
The whole experience was totally irrational and dreamlike.

Friends tell me that there is a tradition of a Phantom Owlman in that District. Now I know why. I have seen the
phantom myself. Please don’t publish my real name and address.
This could adversely affect my career. Now I have to rethink my ‘worldview’ entirely.
Yours very sincerely scared Eyewitness.

The little village of Mawnan still claims mysterious happenings to this day with the odd sighting of the Owlman,
floating orbs among the gravestones of the church and ghostly apparitions being glimpsed in Mawnan Woods.

Now... did you hear that fluttering?

Thats a new one for me, but it reminds me of the Mothman ( or should I say Mothperson, I do like to be PC )

(12-18-2020, 01:48 PM)Wallfire Wrote: Thats a new one for me, but it reminds me of the Mothman ( or should I say Mothperson, I do like to be PC )

It is very similar, although the differences in time and sort-of, the Mothman phenomena technically appeared before
the more-modern accounts of the lesser-known Owlman.

Mothman was 1966, the Owlman sightings from the Chapman/Perry girls was 1976. One convenient decade apart!

(12-18-2020, 01:48 PM)Wallfire Wrote: Thats a new one for me, but it reminds me of the Mothman ( or should I say Mothperson, I do like to be PC )

You're not the only person I've heard say that - postulating a connection between the Mothman and the Owl Man.

I live in "Mothman Country". While the original sighting was at Point Pleasant, WV, around the time of the Silver Bridge collapse across the Ohio River, subsequent reports have come in from a fairly wide area around that locus, in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and I believe Pennsylvania. I live about 120 mi/ 195 km almost straight south of the original sighting, and my family comes from an area about 50 mi/ 80 km east of it. That area was settled by several ne'er-do-wells from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and... Cornwall. Some parts of my own ancestry track back to Cornwall and Devon, because part of me comes from the stock that settled there.

I have to wonder if the shared blood has anything to do with it - maybe an old forgotten Cornish legend come to life, or something like that. I know that Black Shuck, the Banshee, "Balls of Fire", and some other British legends found their way into that area with the immigrants from various parts of the Old Sod, and see no reason that Cornwall should not be represented as well.

I've never seen the Mothman, nor have I any desire to. The biggest bird I've ever seen was something that looked like a Golden Eagle, which had a wingspan tip to tip of around 12 1/2 feet / 3.8 m. I measured it against the tops of two pine trees the wingtips brushed in passing, and then measured the distance between the trees later, which was 12 feet 6 inches... but that was when I lived in NC, about 20 miles south of Eden NC. It was not in Mothman Country, nor did that bird really answer the description. Looked more like a Golden Eagle with a heavier beak that those Eagles have, not owl-like at all other than the possession of feathers, and no glowing red eyes, just standard issue eyes, and I saw it in broad daylight, not in the night as the Mothman is wont to prowl.

So, for @"BIAD" - are there any ancient or old Cornish legends you know of that might answer for the Owl Man?

.

(12-18-2020, 08:31 PM)Ninurta Wrote: So, for @"BIAD" - are there any ancient or old Cornish legends you know of that might answer for the Owl Man?

I have my top men on it... top men!

(12-18-2020, 08:44 PM)BIAD Wrote:

(12-18-2020, 08:31 PM)Ninurta Wrote: So, for @"BIAD" - are there any ancient or old Cornish legends you know of that might answer for the Owl Man?

I have my top men on it... top men!

You know they're serious when they dangle that pipe from their jaw! I have full faith and confidence that if it is there to uncover, those gents will uncover it!

And yes, I noticed the Owl Man watching the investigator from nearby there, so I know it won't be long...

.

(12-18-2020, 08:50 PM)Ninurta Wrote: You know they're serious when they dangle that pipe from their jaw!
I have full faith and confidence that if it is there to uncover, those gents will uncover it!

I'm sorely tempted to lean towards Christmas Pantomime script that demands the audience shout
to the actor on the stage " HE'S BEHIND YOU!!"

(12-18-2020, 08:31 PM)Ninurta Wrote: So, for @"BIAD" - are there any ancient or old Cornish legends you know of that might answer for the Owl Man?

I've looked around and apart from the counter-claim that all these people saw was a Eurasian Eagle Owl,
a bird not indigenous to the British Isles, there seems nothing to imply it has any connection to Cornish
legends.

The Mothman legend came to the forefront in 1966, but I've had trouble digging-up any stories before that
The Owlman story emerged 1976. If there is anything to bind them together, it won't be on the internet
and probably only found  books.


Here's the real-world explanation.

(12-19-2020, 10:03 PM)BIAD Wrote: I've looked around and apart from the counter-claim that all these people saw was a Eurasian Eagle Owl,
a bird not indigenous to the British Isles, there seems nothing to imply it has any connection to Cornish
legends.

The Mothman legend came to the forefront in 1966, but I've had trouble digging-up any stories before that
The Owlman story emerged 1976. If there is anything to bind them together, it won't be on the internet
and probably only found  books.


Here's the real-world explanation.

 
About six years ago I was out refilling the bird feeder. It was just before dusk. Suddenly the air grew cool, and it seemed to suddenly grow darker. I looked up, and I could tell that I had fallen in the shadow of something huge flying over my head.

It was big, and its wingspan completely covered me. My first thought ran back to all those old vampire movies I had seen growing up.

It became obvious after a short while that it was an owl, but I had never seen one that big. I jumped on the phone and called my neighbor. As soon as I started telling him about what I saw, he laughed and told me that he had been around for a while. 

I called two more neighbors and they told me the same thing. I asked why no one had said anything to me about the monster owl flying around. They assured me that they were quite common in our parts.

I can see how easily tales of an owl man or such can originate.

(12-19-2020, 11:42 PM)NightskyeB4Dawn Wrote: I called two more neighbors and they told me the same thing. I asked why no one had said anything to
me about the monster owl flying around. They assured me that they were quite common in our parts.

I can see how easily tales of an owl man or such can originate.

It's the same with the Werewolf claims and strange lights seen along the coast of East Yorkshire and
the Lincolnshire Wolds. Every generation speaks as if its a new phenomena and when the old farmers
and villagers are consulted, they add tales of their youth and old encounters with the weirdness!

It seems the real world and the one we live in are waiting to be introduced!

(12-20-2020, 07:21 PM)BIAD Wrote: It's the same with the Werewolf claims and strange lights seen along the coast of East Yorkshire and
the Lincolnshire Wolds. Every generation speaks as if its a new phenomena and when the old farmers
and villagers are consulted, they add tales of their youth and old encounters with the weirdness!

It seems the real world and the one we live in are waiting to be introduced!

We like to normalize everything in our lives. If it is something odd or unfamiliar, we have to name it and categorize it, before we are comfortable with it.

I saw a family of mink cross my road and drop off into the canal. I had stopped my car to look because I had not seen mink before, I knew they were not otters or weasels, but they looked different, odd.

Not for a second did mink come to my mind. Not in Florida, until I looked them up. Sure enough, that is exactly what they were. We see them all the time now.

Like the rare sighting of the escaped monkeys, once you see something odd, and identify it, it is not odd or unusual any more.

One of the strangest phenomena I've looked at is a creature that knows no such things as man-made borders,
the fabled 'Horse Eel'.

Traditionally described as a eel-like beast with a mane similar to a horse, these elusive monster are said to inhabit
the loughs (lakes) of Northern Ireland and Ireland and -to date, have avoided evidential capture. That's not to say
one or two haven't been caught, but like most legendary monsters, the proof has faded away in history.

The accounts below belong to Ireland and this means that technically, I've strayed from the thread's title of 'Myths Of Britain'.
Buts since the dark stout of Guinness knows no borders, on this occasion neither will I!

In Scotland, the Horse Eel tradition leans more towards the 'Water Kelpie' idea, a beguiling female sat beside a body of water
that lures a man close and then after transforming into a long-maned horse, takes the enchanted chap on her back and dives
into the water. Doomed by the power of lust!


The artistic rendering of a Water Kelpie and the more-realistic of what might be hiding the waters.

Back in Ireland, the pools of water that are said to hold such elusive animals tend to not have the magical attribute of transformation.
These mysterious creatures are said to use the small lakes and avoid any chance of capture by moving from one lough to another.
The standard description is of a large ugly eel with a bedraggled tangle of hair-like substance just behind the head and an appetite
for sheep and children.

I examined the maps of where these lakes were situated and for Ireland, these bodies of water are not very big and many of them
are connected by rivers and streams. Are Horse-Eels real...? I don't know, but the stories make great reading and the details of the
beasts indicate that the eel-shapes aren't always adhered to.

Try these ones.
.........................................

The Watcher.

A schoolmaster and his son were enjoying a quiet bout of fishing on the tiny four-mile-long lake known as Lough Dubh.
To the outside world, we'd know this area as 'Doo Lough' or 'Black Lake'. It was in the early 1960's when Mr Mullaney and his
son were about to cast their lines into the peaty waters of the Lough, when they felt they were being watched.

There near some stones at the water's edge, a creature observed the two people who stared back in horror.
The schoolmaster described the beast as:
'short thick legs with small ears and a white pointed horn on the snout. It was dark grey in colour and covered
with bristles or short hair... like a pig.”

Mr. Mullaney added that the monster was about the size of a cow and aggressive.
The fishing was abandoned and the pair left, obviously now more aware of what they may catch on their hooks!

A later report suggests it as last seen in 1961 in the presence of two smaller ones. Lough Dubh connects to the River Suck
which is a tributary of the larger Smalghrean river. From there, it enters the Shannon River which empties into the Atlantic Ocean.
.........................................

Good Heavens!

Not that far away and more eastwards of the lake above, is the 21-mile-long Lough Ree (Also known as Loch Ribh), another body
of water that is connected to the Shannon River.

On a warm summer's evening in mid-May of 1960, three priests were enjoying their hunt for fish instead of souls and casting their
respective lines far into the serene waters of Lough Ree,  just off Holly Point.

Father Quigly, Father Burke and Father Murray stated that a commotion in the lake caught their attention and in a local newspaper
the following day, related a description of what they saw from around 100 metres away.

''It was moving. It went down under the water and came up again in the form of a loop.
The length from the end of the coil to the head was 6 feet. There was about 18 inches of head and neck over the water.
The head and neck were narrow in comparison to the thickness of a good-sized salmon."

Due to the press-coverage -that even reached the international press, locals came forward with their stories of sightings
and eventually, like most of these tales, the world moves on and the surface becomes calm once more.
.........................................

Picnic at Lough Fadda.

Lough Fadda in County Kerry is very close to the western coast of Ireland and in June 1954, Georgina Carberry and three
friends cycled down to the banks of the clear-water lake and take advantage of the numerous rainbow trout, Rudd and
maybe the odd eel.

Borrowing a row-boat from the Clifden Angling Association, the four friends set out to fish and had brought refreshments
for a later picnic. As the afternoon arrived, they parked the boat on a finger of land that almosts splits the lake in half and
prepared their much-waited-for feast.

Sipping their tea and nibbling their sandwiches, one of the group pointed out an object moving from "an island" which she
assumed was a man swimming. This shape was moving closer to the quartet  who -realising it wasn't an adult bathing in the
lough, began to become concerned and it was Georgina who reacted first.

When the object approached to around twenty yards fom the group, Georgina jumped back from the edge of the water and
her friends copied the act. This movement must have disturbed the creature and it swung right around a rock near the shore
and dived.
In two minutes it was up to where the four witnesses were watching and came close enough to the shore that they could see
it open its "huge great mouth".

The four terrified witnesses also reported that they noticed two big humps that were sticking above the water behind its head.
Georgina said she spotted a forked tail when it swung around the rock, but Another witness called Ann -when interviewed later,
didn't recall seeing the forked appendage. Ann was interviewed again in 2001 and being one of the two surviving members of the
group, and stated she remembered that the awful animal had prominent eyes to the front of the head.
This after fifty years had passed since the harrowing encounter.
.........................................

The Dog & The Dark.

Lough Nahooin is a small mountain lake, located in Leagaun - a 7 minute drive from Claddaghduff Church. Situated in the county
of Connemara, we're again on the west coast of Ireland.

A quarry worker called Stephen Coyne set out to gather dry peat from the nearby bog with his eldest son and the family dog.
It was around seven in the evening of late February in 1968 when Mr Coyne neared the peat bed and glancing towards the
quiet lake, he noticed a black object amongst a patch of reeds in the water.

Assuming it was his dog, he whistled for it but Mr Coyne became puzzled when he saw that his dog had appeared further away
and running along the shore. However, as it approached its owner, it -too, spied the figure in the water and began barking.

The previously inanimate object began to move, seemingly to hear the dog's barking and that was when Mr Coyne and his son
realised and could see it was some sort of large animal. In his younger days, Stephen Coyne had shot seals and otters, but could
clearly see that this creature belonged to neither species.

The skin was black, hairless and slick-looking very much in the same fashion as an eel's. It had a black head rounded "like a kettle"
that sat upon a neck an estimated nine inches to a foot in diameter.

With the dog's continuous barking, the creature swam around the small lough and seemed agitated by the rude awakening.
Seeing the strange aquatic animal turn towards where the dog was positioned and with an open mouth implying an attack,
Mr Coyne went to his pet's side and the creature retreated back to its aimless swim around the lake.

Mr. Coyne reported that whenever it would duck its head underwater two humps would come into view.  A flat tail was also seen
and in one instance, even was extended up towards the head. Directing his son to return home for a camera, Mr. Coyne monitored
the animal's movements until his son returned.

Sadly, the camera held no film, but the strange encounter had intrigued his wife and six other siblings enough to brave the darkness
and to come out to the lough to witness the weird scene.

Mrs Coyne approached the waters edge and from her vantage point, she noticed 'horns' emitting from the animal's head.
A feature unnoticed by Stephen or the children. The time passed and the beast continued its patrolling of Lough Nahooin.
Eventually, the Coyne family felt that they'd seen enough and returned home. 

The creature in Nahooin Lough was first sighted in 1948 by two local men. Another sighting of what has been described as a large
'eel like' creature was made in 1968. During the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau investigation (1969) of the Lough Fadda sighting
a local farmer reported having recently seen the Nahioon Lough creature on land.

1968 wasn't the only time Stephen Coyne had seen the creature. In a later interview, Mr Coyne explained to a researcher that some
twenty years prior, he and his brother had seen one in the same lake.  At first they believed it was a heifer cow that had fallen in the
water until it began rolling over, revealing a white underbelly. Mr Coyne estimated that the animal looked as wide as a car.
.........................................

Scenes From The Window.

Lough Derrylea sits right beside the N59, a road one could take to get to Clifden. The same general area where Georgina Carberry
and her three chums had seen their unnatural sight in 1954. But on an April day in 1961, Lough Derrylea would be the venue for
another sighting of these slippery 'Horse-Eels'.

Tom Connelly was admiring the tree-barren scenery from the window of his home near the lake when he saw what he believed were
a group of otters. These usually romping animals weren't moving and allowing his curiosity to get the better of him, he left his cottage
and went to the lake's shore to see what might be wrong.

However, it was Tom that was wrong or at least, mistaken. The trio -of what he believed were otters, were in fact three segments of
a single animal! Later, the shocked Mr Connelly described what he saw. He estimated the creature to be twelve to fourteen feet in
length and only being able to see the top part of its head, he recounted it was 'rounded and sloped'
He saw an eel-shaped tail and the creature's skin was described as dark and "velvetty". Mr Connelly also implied the texture had a
shiny aspect to the skin.

He continued with his account of how the animal would repeatedly submerge and then after about a minute arise in three segments
of its head, body and tail. Over a period of thirty minutes, Tom witnessed the motion of 'wiggling' and the continuous submerging
and surfacing act of the creature.

Wishing to get a better look without the perils of getting closer, Mr Connelly raced to his neighbours house to obtain some field-glasses.
Finding they weren't home, he returned to the lough's shore and kept his vigil on the animal performing the same routine as before.

Pressed by a researcher years later, Mr Connelly recalled that his parents would always warn him and his siblings to avoid going near
that lake due the talk from people who used live aound Lough Derrylea. The older generations used many names and the title
"Horse-Eel" being one of them.

Tom added that these same old people often claimed that the creatures would travel overland from lake to lake and that his parents
once spoke of an instance when a horse-eel become entrapped and eventually died in a nearby culvert.


The things they've seen.


.........................................

The Remoteness.

To the north of Clifden are the glacial valley lakes of Auna and Shanakeever. A significant number of sightings have been recorded
from these two otherwise modest sized bodies of water and thankfully, acquired by diligent researchers.

On Google Maps, Auna Lough is connected by a marshy waterway to Lough Shanakeever, which -by the way of a similar stretch of
flooded land, flows to Glenbriekeen Lough that eventually empties into the sea at the west coast.
For many researchers of the past, the two pools of water were much closer together due to the constant flooding of the surrounding
bogs and the narrow stream that connects the loughs.
Just as an add-in, near Lough Auna there's a remote Megalithic tomb... for another tale perhaps!


Lough Auna.

Lough Shanakeever had very little of families overlooking the remote lake and most of the past accounts come from a longtime
resident of Shanakeever, Mr. Tom Joyce. Mr. Joyce often heard locals speak of  the "horse-eels" but it wasn't until 1963 when he
himself watched a large hump coursing through Lough Shanakeever before finally terminating in a patch of reeds.

Tom had been guiding sheep to his farmyard when a commotion broke out upon the otherwise calm surface of the lake.
Moving away from the shore before curving slightly parallel to it was a large grayish hump, glistening in the sunlight, with a length
of seven or eight feet and around two feet in height. The object entered a patch of reeds where its larger submerged dimensions
crushed over the plants as it went along before finally sinking below.

Tom sought other tales, now that his own sighting had fascinated him and drawing stories from neighbours and friends, racked up
a fair amount for when the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau visited Lough Shanakeever in 1968. To researchers, Mr Joyce's recollections
and introductions to witnesses proved most valuable.
.........................................

Encounters on Lough Auna.

During a summer barbecue-party held at Mr. Joyce's cottage, his guests noticed a strange shape moving across the lake at a
'walking pace'. The size of the unknown object was estimated at five feet in length and about a foot in height.

One of the curious elements of the sighting was the unusual projections said to present along the shape's back. Some of the guests
suggested the object was an otter carrying young on its back or possibly the projection of a fin belonging to a large fish.

One of the attendees -an  Air Commodore of the Royal Netherlands Air Force, noted that there was no wake or any disturbance
by the passage of the shape and all watched until the mysterious object disappeared in to a patch of reeds. 

The following day, Mr Joyce asked a local farmer who'd been tending to his cattle along Lough Auna if he had seen anything unusual
the day prior. The farmer related that he'd ben searching for a missing cow and upon hearing a loud splash among a bed of reeds in
the lake, he had feared the worst and ran to see if his cow had become trapped.
Reaching a viewing point, he saw that all was calm nad nothing was there.

Another story Tom Joyce told researchers was something of a close encounter.  Sometime in the latter part of the 19th century a
Mrs Whalen had been attending to the turf along the edge of Lough Auna during the evening when a commotion erupted in the water. 

Climbing out from the lake and onto the shore right beside her came a horse-eel; the front half resembling a horse with the back portions
tapering off like an eel.  Naturally, Mrs. Whalen didn't stick around to get acquainted and immediately fled.

A man not wishing to be identified, told of a large eel-shaped creature seen by his mother and himself as they were stacking peat along
the bank of Lough Auna. From around a couple hundred yards away a 30-40-foot eel-like animal could be seen rising out of the water
in the shape of three or four humps.

One of the humps -assumed to be the neck, sported something of a large mane that stood up as though it were a fin or composed of
bristles. The creature would rise up to the surface and then roll along its side and submerge, sending waves lapping along the shore.
It repeated this odd behavior, rising only to roll and sink, for around fifteen minutes.
Mr. Joyce added that there were "many, many, many," such accounts similar to Mrs. Whalen's incident and others.

During a researcher's visit in 1998, Tom told an interesting story involving a previous neighbour on the lough Auna.
Something had been taking the man's sheep and a dog or fox was suspected. A sheep's carcass was set down by the lake shore as
bait for the nocturnal killer, while the man sat up away from the lake, wrapped in a blanket and armed with a rifle.

Eventually something was heard approaching the spot where the carcass had been set though nothing could be made out even in the
moonlight. Hoping to get at least some identification of what the sheep-eater might be,  he fired off the rifle with expectation that a
dog or a fox would be sent running up the hill.

But something else unexpected had occurred.  In response to the shot there was a great splash as something lunged into the water.
Arriving at the lake's edge, the shepherd scanned the surfacefor any fleeing animal, but nothing could be seen. No animal swimming 
away and so the man's assumption was that whatever was inspecting the carcass had dived beneath the surface.
The witness added that the spray it created was far too great for an otter.
.........................................

Donkey Tales.

Patrick Canning was another witness suggested by Mr Joyce to be visited by the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau. 
Mr. Canning -a former soldier, had worked at the local convent until 1958 and would recall his experience during his time at
Lough Shanakeever.

One rainy morning in either 1944 or 1945, while on his way to work, Canning made his way down to Lough Shanakeever to
retrieve his pregnant mare. The expectant donkey had been resting on the reed-surrounded bank along the stream pouring
out of Shanakeever.

As Pat Canning neared the animal, the donkey stood up as if realising its human owner was close. At that same moment,
Mr Canning saw a black-coloured creature circling the donkey from behind. Assuming the birth had taken place and the smaller
animal was the newly-born foal, Mr Canning hastened his step as he was concerned the infant donkey may wander too close to
the lough's edge.

Nearing the mother, he recognised that the donkey was still bearing and so turned to see what the second animal could be.
In an instant, the mysterious creature dove into the stream and disappeared from sight.


The mare and the unidentified creature seen by Patrick Canning had been on the rise pictured at the right. 
Most likely the animal had been passing through the stream when it spotted the donkey.

Patrick Canning noted later to researchers that at the time he had thought the foal was a bit bigger than normal and on reflection,
the body had struck him as somewhat elongated. He noted in particular that the neck was longer than expected and that it had legs.

Mr. Canning also believed he may have seen ears on the head of the animal, but agreed such features would be assumed due to him
thinking the creature was a new-born foal.

The strange comment that the witness said was the animal's motions were 'gentle' as it circled the pregenat mare and being familiar with
the stories of Horse-Eels, concluded that what he'd seen was such a creature.

Another Patrick -this time Patrick Walsh, was rowing his boat across the calm waters of Lough Shanakeever,  when the head and neck
of an unusual creature surfaced nearby. Fearing he would be capsized, Mr Walsh headed immediately to the shore. 
Patrick knew of two men who had gone down to the shore in order to inspect an strangel object near land when it came to life and
swam off.  They described it as eel-like and 16 feet long.
.........................................

So... what was and is it that these people saw? The Irish are known for their enchanting tales and mystical history, but considering
the size of many of these small out-of-the-way lakes, the idea of luring tourists seems doubtful at best. Is it possible that such a
creature has been overlooked by the scientific community or are these more-than-mythical animals just yarns from the bottom of
a Guinness glass?

You decide.

Great storys and all of them new to me.

(12-27-2020, 06:31 PM)Wallfire Wrote: Great storys and all of them new to me.

I was going to commit abut the 3 priests thinking it was a group of young boys swimming naked but that would not be nice  But still I cant help but thing how disappointed the 3 must of been

I originally made a post in this space regarding similar North American cryptids to the Water Monsters of Irish and Scottish legend mentioned above, but it became a mega-post, so I removed it and created another thread for it, to avoid polluting a thread on Great Britain's myths with a post on North American myths. It can be found here: http://rogue-nation3.com/showthread.php?tid=6952 

.

Here's a little story that belongs to a not-so-well-known place and holds information that should really set it as
an extraordinary place of interest. It's called the Gulf of Corryvreckan and is a whirlpool that lies just off the west
coast of Scotland.

For many outside of Great Britain, the country's perception is of a large mainland comprised of England, Scotland
and Wales and Ireland to the west. But there are small islands -especially in Scotland, that have held communities
for thousands of years.

For our tale, we're looking at an area of the Inner Hebrides, a narrow strait between the islands of Jura and Scarba
that holds a natural phenomena, an interesting factual history and a eyebrow-raising mythology.

Here's a map to show you where the tale is located and did you know that the Gulf of Corryvreckan is the third largest
whirlpool in the world? It's a perilous place and described by experienced scuba divers as the most dangerous stretch
of water in the world.



There was this guy you may know, George Orwell. In his later years, he suffered with tuberculosis and decided to move
to the island of Jura. One day he was forced to visit a sanatorium in Gloucestershire for his health and never returned
to the tranquility of the island.
But during his time there, Orwell was writing a novel titled '1984' and whilst enjoying a boat trip near the Corryvreckan,
almost fell victim to the treacherous vortex.

Back to the mythology.

The 'cauldron of the speckled seas' -as the Gaelic name means, is the place where the Norse Prince Breacan
took on a task to impress the father of a local princess, who the King of Denmark's son wished to take as his wife.
(The Princess -that is, not the father!)

To rouse such an impression of commitment to the young lady, Prince Breacan agreed to the wishes of the
young lady's father, that he would anchor his crewed-boat for three days and three nights at the swirling maelstrom.
Realising the dangers amongst the awful churning waters, Breacan believed he needed bonds of magic to save
himself and his men from such an aqueous doom.

Returning to Norway, the Prince demanded three items to secure his protection from the whirlpool and these
were a rope made of hemp, a rope created from wool and a rope of maiden's hair. The gallant Scandinavian
believed that such purity of these virtuous females would ensure that the cable would be unbreakable.

The ladies of innocence willingly cut off their locks and after plaiting the the rope for the young Prince, they
watched the courageous men sail away in search for their captain's one-true love.

Arriving back at the west coast of Scotland, Prince Breacan set about impressing the Princess' father and
enduring his three days and nights near the mouth of the Corryvreckan whirlpool. The thirty-foot waves lashed
and the terrible roar that -to this day, can be heard from ten miles away, drowned out any of the Princess' cries
for the welfare of her hopefully husband-to-be.

During the first night, the hemp line broke and Breacan's men brought the boat back under control by using the
anchor-rope manufactured from sheep-fleece. The second evening, the Prince and his crew rode the spiralling
waves until his mooring gave way due to the hawser of wool snapping.

Realising he only had one more day and night to undergo the menacing tempest, Prince Breacan ordered the rope
of chaste womens' hair and secured the boat to a nearby rock. As darkness fell and the Atlantic currents strained the
nerves of the crew and the bonds of the vessel, the rope of virgin's hair broke and the whirlpool swallowed the boat
and its contents.

But there were two survivors, one seaman and Breacan's faithful dog. Together, the soaken pair managed to save
themselves and drag the drowned body of Prince Breacan to shore.
Today, careful visitors to the island of Jura can see the cave where the Norse Prince was said to be buried.
Aird Bhreacain (the heights of Breacan) is a hill that stands just above where the raging waters of the Corryvreckan
whirlpool waits for its next victim.


The Whirlpool and the alleged Prince's place of rest, 'The King's Cave'.

Oh... before I forget, the sailor who survived the watery ordeal returned to his homeland of Norway with his account
of what had happened. Hearing the fate of their Prince, one of the maidens -who had gladly given her hair to make
the rope, was so wracked with guilt that she came forward and admitted that maybe she hadn't been as 'maidenly
and virginal' as she'd first inferred!

I'm watching this now, but have not yet seen the whole thing. Still, I thought it might fit here in this thread. I present to you "Legendary Creatures of Britain - A Documentary"



It's 45 minutes long, so pour a drink before you sit down to watch it!

.

Not So Much A Nice Beaver.

If there's one thing I enjoy, it's reading tales of yore and looking for the inner meanings of societal benefit.
Usually, a story from the past involves a group of uneducated working-class that experience a negative
occurrence and unable to 'think-out-of-the-box', look to their betters for a positive outcome.

Knights and Noblemen are the classic protagonists in British parables, they take on a quest that traditionally
involves a curse or jinx that befalls the champion. Thus, the higher bracket of society displays its sympathetic
awareness of those who serve them!

In many tales, a beautiful maiden is also part of the storyline, along with romance and sacrifice. Such narratives
are hoped to influence the importance of civil comportment and the true meaning of a unified society to the
listener. Men and women together, solving problems.

So here we go.

Legend has it that in a small Welsh community, a unique scheme was hatched to get rid of a nasty-looking monster
that assisted in ruining crops and drowning livestock. This creature held the title 'Afanc' and lived in waters  inside
-now what is known as Snowdonia National Park of North-West Wales.

In Welsh, Afanc means 'Beaver' and although descriptions of the beast range from a crocodile, an ugly demon, Afanc's
standard brand is of what its name means, a giant Beaver.



The monster's residence was a pool that connected to the River Conwy, where farmers and villagers endured Afanc's
periodic rage by causing the river to flood and decimate their livelihoods. The people knew that the only way to solve
their dilemma was to either destroy the huge brute or come up with another idea of making Afanc go away.

Most myths -at this point, introduce a Knight or a gallant character of nobility to take care of the business, but not this one.
It seems the Welsh legends were better plotted than simply relying on traditional story formulas. Some researchers attach
the Welsh fabled figure of Hu Gadarn to the story, the customary interjection of a hero, but the main characters are the
villagers.

This fairly unique twist of limiting a 'hero's' interaction in a thought-provoking story around the fire's hearth on a cold
Winter's night, offers the need to display that all of us are important and can conquer any problems together.
Yes, this tale is strictly about the denizens of the Conwy valley.

As the floods increased, the folk along the river agreed something had to be done and pondering on the resident of
Llyn-yr-Afanc -translated as 'The Beaver Pool', they recalled how their ancestors had failed to simply kill the monster
due to it's tough, spear/arrow and sword-resistant skin.

Now this is where the tale of the River Conwy monster makes a twist in the usual legend recipe. Instead of relying on
a handsome chap riding to their rescue on a flared-nostriled steed, the story stays within the troubled community of
the farming villagers.

Not wishing to leave the fertile lands along the river, the Elders of the Betws-y-Coed parish are looked to for a plan of
action and the result was quite unusual. Under the summit of Yr Widdfa  the highest mountain in Wales and known in
English as Mount Snowdon, is a remote body of water named 'Llyn Glaslyn'.

Surrounded by steep banks, the wise men believed this lonely pool would be ideal to move the monster to.
Remember, the thick hide of Afanc had proven many times that any attempt to kill the brute was futile.

Requesting that the best Blacksmiths in Wales to forge the strongest chains of iron ever made in the hope that the Afanc
could be bound secure by them, they also commissioned Hu Gadarn to bring his two mighty long-horned oxen to pull the
grizzly fiend out of its home and drag the beast up to its new residence.

Now... how to entice Afanc from it's watery den?
One of the older Elders recalled that in most instances of monster behaviour (here come the story-telling formula!) these horrible
creatures are coquettish when it comes to beautiful females. It seems beaver-shaped leviathans have a romantic penchant for
nubile women!

Although the thought of being snatched by the ugly inhabitant of the pool wasn't something a maiden would put on their bucket-list,
a farmer's daughter eventually stepped forth and volunteered to stand as... well, bait! She is reported to be a beautiful maiden and
had one arrow in her quiver that the Elders did not know about. She possessed a angelic voice.

With total silence, the chains were laid and the strong oxen were hidden nearby. The men of the village concealed themselves in
bushes close to the shore of Afanc's pool and waited for the stratagem to succeed. As the maiden approached  Afanc's pool, she
began to call to him. The water bubbled and churned as the huge monstrous head broke the water's surface and stared at the lone
woman with it's great green eyes.

The terrified girl began to sing and as Afanc approached, his his rage-filled speed slowed as her sweet voice offering a Welsh
 lullaby began to calm the beast. The maiden followed the instructions of the Elders and slowly retreated away from the pool's edge,
but kept up her mesmerising lilt. Such action caused Afanc's enchantment to force himself to follow the singing lady and swaying
to the beautiful sound, the monster lumbered onto the shore to listen further.

A few minutes later, as the soft melody washed over the huge animal, Afanc closed his eyes and fell asleep.

At the anxious girl's sign, the men crept up to the sleeping monster and began carefully fastening the chains around the huge body.
Harnessing the shackles to the mighty oxen, the strain of the initial pulling woke Afanc from his slumber and realising it had been
tricked, began to make its escape back into its lair.

Roaring and snorting with rage, the beast struggled in its restraints as the men and oxen dragged it from the edge of the water.  
With reinforcements arriving, the men slowly began their trek up the Lledr Valley and towards the north-west where Llyn Glaslyn
resided. In English, Llyn Glaslyn means Lake of the Blue Spring.

The oxen and men struggled to pull  Afanc up one mountain and one of the oxen pulled so hard one of its eyes popped out. 
From the poor beast's tears a new lake was formed called Pwll Llygad yr Ych, in Welsh which means Pool of the Ox's Eye in English.
With the captured prize slowly losing the will to fight, they finally reached Llyn Glaslyn just below the summit of Mount Snowdon.
Releasing the chains the Afanc shook and roared and leaped into the deep water of its new home.

Here, like most stories the true meaning of the tale is fully displayed. The men cheered as the beast submerged into the lake and
began to boast of their individual endeavours. The Elders looked on and sighed as the bragging turned into scuffles and arguments
about who was better than who.

For it was only the combined strength of the men, women and the oxen working together in unison that defeated the monster and
to the wise, the only true boast. Such is the foolishness of man.

As for Afanc the giant Beaver, it is said it remains to this day in Llyn Glaslyn. But just be careful if you're ever hiking in that area...
resist the need to sing!

(04-11-2021, 12:15 PM)BIAD Wrote: Not So Much A Nice Beaver...


...Legend has it that in a small Welsh community, a unique scheme was hatched to get rid of a nasty-looking monster
that assisted in ruining crops and drowning livestock. This creature held the title 'Afanc' and lived in waters  inside
-now what is known as Snowdonia National Park of North-West Wales.

In Welsh, Afanc means 'Beaver' and although descriptions of the beast range from a crocodile, an ugly demon, Afanc's
standard brand is of what its name means, a giant Beaver...

Hi @BIAD,
The Afanc cropped up in a thread I participated in on the "other site" some years back!
Interestingly... the beast was likely originally associated with Global catastrophe rather than just local folklore.

From a post by ATS member beansidhe:

Quote:The afanc/kelpie then did not originally kill individual people who walked too near the water's edge - it wrought destruction on nations in the form of a flood. More hints at a comet/natural disaster in the early dark ages.

We reckoned that the ancient folk tales were used as a metaphors for the movement of the stars and other space-related objects. In this case, probably a comet from the constellation Scorpio/Scorpius. (*Since the Scorpion was unknown to western Europe, the Greek constellation of Scorpius actually became known as the Afanc or Beaver to the Ancient Celts!)
In Scottish Celtic mythology, the equivalent beastie was known as The Kelpie.

The warning about being drowned by the Afanc/Kelpie could have been a sort of coded message for those in the know to keep an eye out for the appearance or return of the cometary beast from the stars?

Great stuff!
G