Nick Redfern March 22, 2022

My previous article was on the issue of just how dangerous the Bigfoot creatures can really be. Violent attacks on people, and even death appear to have occurred – although, admittedly, we don’t know the specific numbers. With that said, I thought, today, I would share with you several examples of death by other dangerous cryptids. We’ll begin with the deadly Kelpies of numerous Scottish lochs . Interestingly, most of the reports of the activities of the Kelpies come from Loch Ness. Within the folklore of Loch Ness and much of Scotland, there are centuries-old legends and myths concerning supernatural, violent, shape-shifting creatures known as Kelpies. Or, in English, the term is “Water-Horses.” It should be noted, though, that although the creatures are assumed to be one and the same, there is one noticeable difference between the tales that specifically refer to Kelpies and those that talk about water-horses. Typically, Water-Horses are far more at home in deep, sprawling lakes, while Kelpies prefer pools, rivers, marshes, and lakes of a particularly compact kind. Then, there is a variant of the Kelpie known as the Each-Uisge, which is a far more murderous monster than the Kelpie, but which is clearly of the same supernatural stock.

(Nick Redfern) Drowned by a dangeorus Kelpie

The term, Kelpie, has unclear origins; although the most likely explanation is that it is a distortion of the Gaelic calpa, which translates as heifer. Kelpies are terrifying, murderous creatures that lurk in the depths of Scottish lochs, canals and rivers – and more than a few of them in Loch Ness. Not only that, like werewolves, kelpies are definitive shape-shifters; creatures that can take on multiple guises, including hideous serpentine monsters, horses, hair-covered humanoids, beautiful maidens of the mermaid variety, and horse-like creatures. The kelpie is solely driven to by a crazed goal to drown the unwary by enticing and dragging them into the depths, killing them in the process. Not a good way to go! Now, let us get onto the creepy story of the Man-Monkey of central England.

Within the worlds of folklore and legend, encounters with magical and monstrous beasts abound at certain, specific locations. They include crossroads, cemeteries, and sites of archaeological significance. Such encounters are also highly prevalent in the vicinity of old bridges. There is, perhaps, no greater example of this latter point than the saga of an infernal, glowing-eyed beast known as the Man-Monkey. It’s a creature that lurks in and around the dense, wooded areas of England’s Shropshire Union Canal, which was built in the early 1800s. So far as can be determined, sightings of the man-thing date back to January 1879, possibly earlier, based upon some rumors. It was late on the night of January 21 that a terrible, semi-spectral, ape-like thing with glowing eyes burst into view at the top of the large Bridge 39, which spans the Shropshire Union Canal in the vicinity of the picturesque and tranquil village of Ranton, Staffordshire, the origins of which date back to at least the 11th century. Notably, only days after the first encounter, the body of a man was found in the canal – something that even the local police suspected might have been caused by the Man-Monkey.

(Nick Redfern) Death by drowning at Bridge 39, the lair of the Man-Monkey

And, finally, there is the matter of the legendary, red-eyed, winged thing known as Mothman. From 1966 to December 1967, sightings of the monster were all around the area of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. There was, however, something else, too. On December 15, 1967, Point Pleasant’s Silver Bridge, that spanned the Ohio River and connected Point Pleasant to Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed into the river, claiming no less than forty-six lives. Two of the bodies were never found, despite a large search of the waters. After the disaster at the bridge, encounters with Mothman largely came to a halt, albeit not completely; there are still sightings, now and again. While a down to earth explanation for the bridge circulated – that a flaw in a single eye-bar in a suspension chain was the culprit – many of the people in town saw the cause of the disaster as being connected to the dark presence of Mothman.

(Nick Redfern) Have cryptids really killed people? And, in the process, killed more than a few of us? Maybe…

MU*

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