With the recent release of the Fringe Weird Report (mentioned more fully below), the West Mids Ghost Club have once more been called on to ‘step up to the plate’ and talk some more about the mysterious matter of the Cannock Chase Werewolf!! (Cue suitably chilling music and piercing howl!!! Laugh!!)
Our involvement in this somewhat bizarre topic came to public attention a few years ago via a chance conversation with a journalist who worked on a Staffordshire newspaper. We happened to mention that a gentleman had contacted us some while previously with details of a bizarre sighting on Cannock Chase. The account involved two motorcyclists who were crossing the Chase one evening and saw, what they initially took to be, an enormous dog at the side of the road. As they approached the creature, it allegedly began to run away from them at speed….. bizarrely leaping up onto its ‘two hind legs’ as it made its swift getaway !!!!
When news of this experience hit the local press, it was also claimed that a number of similar encounters had been reported over the years and the story gathered momentum…. eventually being picked up by a number of other media sources. In the end, word of the ‘Chase Werewolf’ – and our alleged association with the case - was reproduced across the globe!!
Around two years ago, the WMGC were surprised to receive a phone call from the (absolutely lovely!) Rev. Lionel Fanthorpe, who was (then) making some enquiries on the subject. Needless to say, the matter evidently impressed Rev. Fanthorpe enough as to be included in his recent report.
There is something of an irony in this tale, as it has generated infinitely more publicity for the W.M.G.C. – led to more mentions in print, general media interest etc, for the group – than any other matter that we have ever been involved with. In truth, our interest and involvement in the Werewolf topic itself has to really be logged as ‘minimal’…. While the Chase area has been of great interest to the group over the space of many years, this particular aspect of the regions ‘strange history’ has barely registered on the group. A considerable number of other associations – cryptozoological and otherwise – have contacted us for information on the case since the initial reports, however.
As mentioned above, the recent release of Rev Fanthorpes report has once again drawn interest to the Chase Werewolf subject..... ultimately leading to further, related interest in the WMGC too!
BBC Website Entry - Tuesday, 29th September 2009:
‘Werewolves in Staffordshire’
"If you’re a fan of horror films, you’ll know a werewolf is a person who changes into a wolf-like creature when the moon is full. But did you know Staffordshire is the place to visit if you want to see one? A new supernatural survey – the Fringe Weird report – says there have been 20 reported Werewolf sightings on Cannock Chase. The report has been put together by Lionel Fanthorpe – who’s a leading figure in paranormal research – by studying police reports and archives of groups who explore ghostly and unexplained events. Sightings The survey shows that a paranormal group visited Cannock Chase in 1975 with several of them claiming they saw a snarling beast ‘rear up onto it’s hind legs and run off into the bushes’. But there have been more recent ‘sightings’. In April 2007, the Stafford post newspaper ran a report which said the West Midlands Ghost Club had been called in to investigate calls from people who’d seen a ‘werewolf-type creature’ prowling around the Chase. Several people claimed they’d seen the ‘wolf’ walking on it’s hind legs in the German War Cemetery on Camp Road. The WM Ghost Club took what it called ‘credible eyewitness accounts’ from a local scout master and postman, who claimed they’d come face to face with the Werewolf. They said they thought it was a large dog until it raised itself up to it’s full height of which was almost 7 foot tall. It darted into the bushes when it was startled. Other theories The Cannock Chase Post ran a story a month later in which it quoted a un-named paranormal expert who claimed the werewolf sightings could actually be a ‘subterranean stone-age throwback’. He offered the theory that the creatures could have lived and thrived in the old mines under Cannock Chase for centuries, coming up to the surface via old earthworks to hunt, for local deer. He also claimed that there had been a number of domestic pet disappearances in the area around the War Cemetery - especially dogs who’re let off their leads while out on walks. Paranormal hotspot? Werewolf or not, there’s no doubt there’s something spooky about Cannock Chase. There have been a number of sightings of a big cat which people believed to be a leopard or panther, and was an unwanted pet that has been released into the wild. The area was also named in a Ministry of Defence report in 2008 as a hot-spot for reported UFO activity. De-classified Government documents showed accounts of silent balls of light circling Pye Green Tower, cigar-shaped tubes flying over Burntwood, and a 10ft light hovering over the Stafford Road. The documents - dated from 1986 to 1992 – revealed a number of letters sent between MoD officers and Staffordshire Police to try and explain the objects in the sky".
We’re pretty sure this won’t be the last to be heard on this particular subject….. not by a long chalk!! Laugh!!
Best wishes,
The West Midlands 'Werewolf' Club
Our involvement in this somewhat bizarre topic came to public attention a few years ago via a chance conversation with a journalist who worked on a Staffordshire newspaper. We happened to mention that a gentleman had contacted us some while previously with details of a bizarre sighting on Cannock Chase. The account involved two motorcyclists who were crossing the Chase one evening and saw, what they initially took to be, an enormous dog at the side of the road. As they approached the creature, it allegedly began to run away from them at speed….. bizarrely leaping up onto its ‘two hind legs’ as it made its swift getaway !!!!
When news of this experience hit the local press, it was also claimed that a number of similar encounters had been reported over the years and the story gathered momentum…. eventually being picked up by a number of other media sources. In the end, word of the ‘Chase Werewolf’ – and our alleged association with the case - was reproduced across the globe!!
Around two years ago, the WMGC were surprised to receive a phone call from the (absolutely lovely!) Rev. Lionel Fanthorpe, who was (then) making some enquiries on the subject. Needless to say, the matter evidently impressed Rev. Fanthorpe enough as to be included in his recent report.
There is something of an irony in this tale, as it has generated infinitely more publicity for the W.M.G.C. – led to more mentions in print, general media interest etc, for the group – than any other matter that we have ever been involved with. In truth, our interest and involvement in the Werewolf topic itself has to really be logged as ‘minimal’…. While the Chase area has been of great interest to the group over the space of many years, this particular aspect of the regions ‘strange history’ has barely registered on the group. A considerable number of other associations – cryptozoological and otherwise – have contacted us for information on the case since the initial reports, however.
As mentioned above, the recent release of Rev Fanthorpes report has once again drawn interest to the Chase Werewolf subject..... ultimately leading to further, related interest in the WMGC too!
BBC Website Entry - Tuesday, 29th September 2009:
‘Werewolves in Staffordshire’
"If you’re a fan of horror films, you’ll know a werewolf is a person who changes into a wolf-like creature when the moon is full. But did you know Staffordshire is the place to visit if you want to see one? A new supernatural survey – the Fringe Weird report – says there have been 20 reported Werewolf sightings on Cannock Chase. The report has been put together by Lionel Fanthorpe – who’s a leading figure in paranormal research – by studying police reports and archives of groups who explore ghostly and unexplained events. Sightings The survey shows that a paranormal group visited Cannock Chase in 1975 with several of them claiming they saw a snarling beast ‘rear up onto it’s hind legs and run off into the bushes’. But there have been more recent ‘sightings’. In April 2007, the Stafford post newspaper ran a report which said the West Midlands Ghost Club had been called in to investigate calls from people who’d seen a ‘werewolf-type creature’ prowling around the Chase. Several people claimed they’d seen the ‘wolf’ walking on it’s hind legs in the German War Cemetery on Camp Road. The WM Ghost Club took what it called ‘credible eyewitness accounts’ from a local scout master and postman, who claimed they’d come face to face with the Werewolf. They said they thought it was a large dog until it raised itself up to it’s full height of which was almost 7 foot tall. It darted into the bushes when it was startled. Other theories The Cannock Chase Post ran a story a month later in which it quoted a un-named paranormal expert who claimed the werewolf sightings could actually be a ‘subterranean stone-age throwback’. He offered the theory that the creatures could have lived and thrived in the old mines under Cannock Chase for centuries, coming up to the surface via old earthworks to hunt, for local deer. He also claimed that there had been a number of domestic pet disappearances in the area around the War Cemetery - especially dogs who’re let off their leads while out on walks. Paranormal hotspot? Werewolf or not, there’s no doubt there’s something spooky about Cannock Chase. There have been a number of sightings of a big cat which people believed to be a leopard or panther, and was an unwanted pet that has been released into the wild. The area was also named in a Ministry of Defence report in 2008 as a hot-spot for reported UFO activity. De-classified Government documents showed accounts of silent balls of light circling Pye Green Tower, cigar-shaped tubes flying over Burntwood, and a 10ft light hovering over the Stafford Road. The documents - dated from 1986 to 1992 – revealed a number of letters sent between MoD officers and Staffordshire Police to try and explain the objects in the sky".
We’re pretty sure this won’t be the last to be heard on this particular subject….. not by a long chalk!! Laugh!!
Best wishes,
The West Midlands 'Werewolf' Club
No comments:
Post a Comment