This bizarre, 4-foot long, mammalian monstrosity was described by an eyewitness as being a bear-like beast with huge teeth and white rings around its eyes.
In July of 1979, Ron and Betty Harper discovered that the bark had been ripped off of their old oak tree by an animal with teeth at least twenty times larger than the squirrels that usually inhabited the region. They also noticed that the area, which was usually rife with birds and small wildlife, had become mysteriously barren.
By August 1st, over fifty trees had been stripped of their branches in the area. The creature allegedly responsible for the tree mangling and the sudden decline in the local fauna was finally seen by an eyewitness later that month. While some assumed that the culprit was just another ALIEN BIG CAT (ABC) — which are so often reported across the British Isles — an eyewitness would soon come forward with a description that would seem quite like no other creature on Earth.
According to the account, a man — who preferred to remain anonymous — was driving on a desolate stretch of road through Monkton Combe at night, when he encountered a bear-like creature, which was approximately 4-feet in length and bore two, striking, circular white rings around its eyes. The man presumably left the scene posthaste.
In September 1979, the West Holland newspaper “Het Binnenhof” published a story about the bizarre beast with the headline: “Beest van Bath lelaagt Briuts Bos,”which translates as “Beast of Bath destroys British Wood.” The story reported that a creature was allegedly at large in Brassknocker Hill, terrorizing the local populace and devouring the trees in the forests with its Dracula-like teeth.
During the next year additional eyewitnesses came forward and described the still UNCLASSIFIED animal as everything from a gibbon to a lemur to a baboon. 81-year old Brassknocker Hill resident, Frank Green, became so concerned he began a a shotgun vigil:
“I am very fond of some animals, but I reckon this creature could be dangerous and I am taking no chances.”
The following summer a police officer, Inspector Michael Price, claimed to have caught a glimpse of an animal, which he identified as a chimpanzee. Sadly, he was unable to capture the beast.
Although Price was unable to explain how the disparate descriptions of this unusual creature — including the strange ocular markings, lumbering, bear-like body and unusually large, predatory teeth — could fit within the biological parameters of a chimp, he remained convinced of his hypothesis:
“We were sure this mystery creature would turn out to be a monkey of some sort. After all, men from Mars aren’t hairy, are they?”
The dig about this entities otherworldly origins notwithstanding, the beast in question has yet to be positively identified.
© Copyright Rob Morphy 2002 — 2011