This blog has moved!

The builder and designer of the new version of Uncanny UK (to be launched soon) has asked that the associated blog be built with Wordpress to facilitate interconnection and ... er... other techy stuff.

SO - this blog will discontinue here. But it continues here: http://uncannyuk.wordpress.com/ 

Please visit the new blog and bookmark it. I look forward to seeing you there.

Richard Holland, Editor ofUncanny UK

Uncanny UK is moving......

.......but don't worry it's not moving very far.  Uncanny UK is changing from Blogger to Wordpress and you can view all previous posts and new posts at: http://uncannyuk.wordpress.com

You can still read, comment and contribute to more uncanny stuff at: www.uncannyuk.com

See you all there!

The Master Otter in Scotland

Enthusiastic Irish cryptozoologist Gary Cunningham wrote an article for me on the so-called Master Otter and other cryptids from the Emerald Isle when I was editing Paranormal Magazine. This strange, savage lutrid is one of Ireland's best known mystery beasts, but Dr Karl Shuker has now unearthed some reports, one dating back to the 16th century, which suggest that the critter has also been encountered in Scotland. Read his fascinating article on his blog, here: http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2011/02/irish-master-otter-in-scotland.html?spref=tw

'Tin Foil Man' in English country lane

Neil Arnold gets first-hand testimony of a very strange entity -a robot, an extraterrestrial or what? Read his account here: http://networkedblogs.com/ewEZx

Couple claim to have snapped 'Bownessie' on Lake Windermere

The Daily Mail on Friday (Feb 18) printed an image of a wobnbly black thing on a misty lake - allegedly none other than 'Bownessie', the supposed monster of Windermere in the English Lakes. The photo was taken on a cameraphone by a young couple kayaking on the lake while attending a team-building weekend organised by the IT firm they wok for. Could it be an exercise in viral marketing or a genuine photo with a British lake monster? Read the full story at:  http://is.gd/cKuhxb

Ghostly nun that climbs into your bed

Occultist Duncan Barford reveals an extraordinary experience with a physical, one might say intimate, ghostly presence in a podcast, with Martin Poole, on The Information site. With any luck, I can persuade Duncan to write up his encounter for Uncanny UK (the experience took place at Buddhist retreat in Devon). For the time being though you can listen to his experience at: http://theinformation.podbean.com/2011/02/12/ghosts-and-the-pendulum/

The Derbyshire fairy hoax

Looking back to a hoax from Derbyshire: the 'discovery' by artist Dan Baines of what was purported to be a mummified fairy, or, to be precise, 'butterfly man', in 2007. Read more at http://www.hoax-slayer.com/derbyshire-fairy-hoax.shtml#

Misty figure that walks through walls

A fascinating account of a haunted Government office building in Lincoln is the latest article to be posted under Ghosts on Uncanny UK. It has been contributed by Daniel Codd, author of Mysterious Lincolnshire, who interviewed the witness back in 2006. Since then Dan has received further spooky reports about the building, bringing the article bang up to date. Read the article at www.uncannyuk.com/2011/02/10/a-haunted-office-in-lincoln/

February's pagan festivals

Witchcraft expert Dr Leo Ruickbie has posted an interesting article on all the fun goings-on that used to happen during February. It might be a cold month but Lupercalia and Fornacalia sure warmed it up. Read Leo#s article here: http://www.witchology.com/contents/february/calendar.php

Theme park forced to relocate ride - by ghosts

According to the Daily Mail, Thorpe Park in Chertsey, Surrey, has abandoned plans to build a water slide because spooky activity has been frightening the workers. Sudden chills, objects being moved about and the apparition of a 'headless monk' have all contributed, states the Mail. Theme park bosses fear they have inadvertantly been building on an ancient burial ground... or something. Read the full story at: http://is.gd/grrIf3 

England's strangest forest is under threat

In recent years more has been written about strange goings-on at Cannock Chase, an area of woodland in Staffordshire, than anywhere else. Werewolves, big cats, Bigfoot-type things and UFOs have been particularly prevalent among the conifers. Nick Redfern, who was brought up in the area, is adding his voice to the outraged response to plans to sell off parts of the woodland. The threat is that large chunks of the forest will no longer be open to the public and may even be built upon or turned into golf courses. It's just the sort of site a leisure company like CenterParks might buy - if so, their visitors might get more than they bargained (scenes similar to those from a Primeval episode spring to mind!). To find out more follow the links from Nick's blog: http://monsterusa.blogspot.com/2011/02/cannock-chase-woes.html

Previously unreported ghost from Wiltshire

Wiltshire has had more than its fair share of posts on Uncanny UK but I'm delighted to post another one, especially since it has been forwarded by a visitor to the site. Not only that but it is previously unreported. A brief mention in a recently published village history recalled the sighting to mind and also offered some confirmation for the earlier sighting, so Teresa Lewis kindly got in touch to tell us all about it. It's the 'Latest Article' on www.uncannyuk.com

Phenomena Magazine highlights

In my old Paranormalling days I never seemed to find the chance to settle back and properly enjoy the UPIA's free Phenomena Magazine. The latest issue (Feb 2011) is a reminder as to what I may have been missing out on - it's packed full of good stuff. Andy Roberts contributes a fine piece on Foo Fighters but of more direct interest to Uncanny UK are the articles on weird goings-on at an ancient monument in Cheshire (by Dave Sadler) and the eerie 'lantern boy' seen wandering down a railway line in Yorkshire (by James Whittaker).

Steve Mera contributes a personal experience with an apparent time-slip and a little-known phenomenon he tentatively labels as 'Shadows'. This was a real highlight for me because I have experience of these oddities myself - more in a a future blog.

The magazine also features an interesting round-up of news, including an in-depth focus on the spate of mysterious animal deaths.

Phenomena Magazine can be downloaded free from www.phenomenamagazine.co.uk.

Jason Karl on an aspect of domestic magic

Popular writer and broadcaster Jason Karl has contributed the latest article on Uncanny UK. He discusses the odd, but not uncommon, practice of hiding shoes in walls and attics to help preserve the household from evil influences. You can read his article at: http://www.uncannyuk.com/2011/01/28/soles-to-save-our-souls/

On the track in old journals

Over the years I've found a great deal of interesting stuff in the letters pages and historical columns of old newspapers and journals. Jon Downes has unearthed a couple of interesting oddities in a long defunct Stockport newspaper: http://networkedblogs.com/dEbmk

Modern fairy sightings

The latest post on www.uncannyuk.com is about a chap who suddenly encountered a glowering goblin while out walking his dog back in the 1960s. It's a yarn I collected myself while giving a talk on Welsh fairylore some years ago.

I find modern fairy sightings particularly fascinating. In the current mindset they just shouldn't happen - but they do. The 'little people' aren't confined to folklore and quaint fireside tales. Like black dogs - another phenomenon out of keeping with modern ideas about returning spirits or playbacks of the past - they are still persistently reported.

I would be delighted to learn of further fairy sightings of modern times. If you have had a fairy sighting or know of one which occurred in the past 50 years (other than those recalled in Janet Bord's excellent 1997 book on Fairies) please do get in touch with me. Comment below or contact me direct via editor@uncannyuk.com

Many thanks!

Nick Redfern on Uncanny UK

Renowned mysteries author Nick Redfern, originally from the West Midlands but now resident in Texas, recalls a couple of 'time slip' cases from rural England in the latest www.uncannyuk.com 'More Uncanny' article. In one of the cases, a motorist in Shropshire suddenly finds his car surrounded by Civil War soldiers! Nick is best known for his UFO and cryptozoology research but says he has a particular interest in time slip incidents. You'll need to register on the Uncanny UK website if you haven't done so already to access the More Uncanny section.

Young ghosts

Fortean Times reader recounts sighting of ghostly Edwardian schoolchildren. Somewhere in Britain but unfortunately doesn't state where. Read the account at http://is.gd/ksDFHC

Hair-raising film in salon

The ThisisDerbyshire website reports that a ghost has been caught on camera in a salon in Derby. Staff viewed CCTV footage after a member's mobile phone went missing but were startled to see a ladder apparently moving on its own - unless you count the ghostly hand some say they can see in the vid. The hairdressers say that they have long been aware of a friendly presence in the salon and the footage hasn't overly spooked them. You can view the video at: http://is.gd/2eEaZM

Jailhouse shocks

A belated congratulations to occultist Duncan Barford for raising more than £1,000 by spending the night alone in the allegedly haunted Old Police Cells Museum in Brighton. Half the money will go towards helping to run the museum, the rest to MIND Brighton and Hove. Read all about his adventure, including his 'Blair Witch moment' at http://alonewithghosts.org.uk/

Beware the Black Fox!

After the recent news about a 'giant' fox shot in Maidstone, Kent - it was about twice the size of a normal fox, that is to say the same size as a coyote (see picture) - I have found something else of foxy interest on a bottle of booze.

From my local independent retailer of fine inebriates I picked up a bottle by perhaps my favourite cider manufacturers, Dunkertons in Herefordshire. Dunkertons make the finest perry I've ever tasted and grow alomost-extinct apple and pears in their own organic orchards, pressing them in an 18th century mill. But I digress (in fact, I'm drooling) - this particular brand, previously unknown to me, is a 7% cider called 'Black Fox'.

The name comes, states the label, from a piece of rural folklore - also unknown to me. Dunkertons informs us: 'From earlier times, rural communities have told stories of fantastic creatures which have supposedly  lived in their location. The lush rolling countryside of North West Herefordshire is no exception. Here stories tell of an animal which has evaded capture by farmer and huntsman alike: a Black Fox. The red fox has always existed but belief grew that there was a fox 'as black as night, so that it might live in man's shadow and never be seen'. A favoured haunt of the Black Fox is... the cider orchard.'

Genuine folk belief or a bit of cider-fuelled fantasy? I'd be interested to learn more.

Joanna Lumley and the Demons of the Nile

I recorded the four 'Joanna Lumley's Nile' programmes over the Christmas break and have just got round to watching them. I was intrigued by the conversation Lumley had (through an interpreter) with a felucca owner on the Nile near Aswan, southern Egypt. Echoing many a new age/Von Daniken style fantasy, the boatman told Lumley:

'The ancient Egyptians used to levitate a stone by pointing a wand at it ... each stone was as big as this boat and they would lift them with incantations. The stones would fly up on their own and stack one on top of the other.'

Lumley looked highly dubious at this information but listened politely while the boatman, who has fished the Nile for more than 50 years, told her about the demons haunting the river.

'There are deep whirlpools which are haunted,' he told her. 'Yes, I saw demons with my own eyes. They appeared to me not once, not twice, but three times. One of them attacked this boat, while I was holding the rudder, and set fire to it. My boat went up in flames.'

Lumley asked him what the demons looked like, and he replied: 'He could look like anything. He could look like a rabbit. He could look like a horse or a very big wild cat. He can even appear in human form. He dresses in clothes but, guess what, this demon's feet look like a donkey's.'

The similarity of belief in such djinn with the pwca etc of Celtic Britain and with appearances of the Devil in British folklore is striking. The only difference is in the eyes, which the felucca owner indicated were set vertically in the face rather than horizontally.

It's worth remembering how many people in primarily Muslim countries earnestly believe in the djinn. After all, many of the strange spooks from our own folklore, and weird things still reported today, such as poltergeists and Black Dogs, may have the same origin - entities created of smokeless fire who inhabit a parallel world which sometimes intrudes on our own.

Welcome to a new year, with John Stoker

Spooks of the Christmas season are well-known but in the latest post of www.uncannyuk.com guest author John Stoker provides an interesting selection of ghosts from the post-Christmas, New Year period. A house that seems to travel in time and the apparition of Jack the Ripper are among the treats in John's article, so please do go and check it out.