The doctor, who lived in the English city of Southampton and about 150 miles from Hexham, had heard nothing at that time of the strange goings-on encountered by the previous owners of the heads. Having put the two stone heads with the rest of her collection, however, Dr. Ross, too, encountered the mysterious werewolf-like creature a few nights later. She awoke from her sleep feeling cold and frightened and, upon looking up, found herself confronted by a horrific man-beast identical to that seen at Hexham.
Of the terrible creature, Dr. Ross said: “It was about six feet high, slightly stooping, and it was black, against the white door, and it was half animal and half man. The upper part, I would have said, was a wolf, and the lower part was human and, I would have again said, that it was covered with a kind of black, very dark fur. It went out and I just saw it clearly, and then it disappeared, and something made me run after it, a thing I wouldn’t normally have done, but I felt compelled to run after it. I got out of bed and I ran, and I could hear it going down the stairs; then it disappeared toward the back of the house.”
The fear-filled affair was not yet over, however: the man-monster manifested in the family home on several more occasions, usually on the staircase and making heavy, “padding” noises as it roamed around under cover of darkness. It wasn’t just Dr. Ross who saw the beast: her daughter, Berenice, did too. It soon became clear to Dr. Ross that not only was her family being plagued by a monster, but the house itself appeared to be cloaked by an “evil presence.” So, she did the only thing she could to rid the family of the turmoil: she got rid of the stone heads.
Werewolves and wolfmen have been a part of British folklore for ages. In this fifteenth-century illustration, the beast is shown as a man with a wolf’s head.
For a while they were actually on display at the British Museum, later falling into the hands of a man named Don Robins, the author of a book titled Circles of Silence, on the subject of ancient, sacred sites. Robins, apparently concerned by the air of negativity that descended upon him when he came into possession of the heads, passed them onto a dowser by the name of Frank Hyde. He decided to try and lessen the malevolent powers of the stones by coating them in a mesh made of copper, which he believed would prevent any supernatural phenomena from being released. Hyde, however, had no wish to hold onto the heads for too long and, as a result, they made their way around more than a few researchers of ancient anomalies. It’s most revealing that no one kept them for long. Today, the location, and ownership, of the Hexham Heads is a mystery.
LYCANTHROPES
For those who believe in the existence of literal werewolves, the image of the hairy shape-shifting beast that is part-human and part-wolf, and that embarks on a marauding killing spree at the sight of a full moon, is no joke. But if such creatures really exist, are they true werewolves of the type that have been so successfully portrayed onscreen time and again by Hollywood movie moguls? Or could at least some of them be deranged souls, afflicted by a variety of mental illnesses and delusions? The answer might very well be “yes” to the second question.
Clinical lycanthropy is a rare psychiatric condition that is typified by a delusion that the afflicted person has the ability to morph into the form of a wild animal—and very often that of a berserk, killer wolf. Of course, this does not fully explain why so many such people believe they are changing into a specific animal—such as a wolf—rather than just experiencing random changes in, say, their arms or legs. But, nevertheless, it is without doubt a significant part of the puzzle. And there is another aspect to this affair that may go some way towards explaining the inner-workings of the mind of the clinical lycanthrope.
Linda Godfrey, a leading authority on werewolves in the United States, and the author of Hunting the American Were-wolf, The Beast of Bray Road, and The Michigan Dogman, states: “One other medical explanation that turns up frequently in relation to lycanthropy is the ergot equation. A fungus that affects rye, ergot is now widely regarded as a possible cause of the bestial madness. According to this theory, it was not demonic influence but the ingestion of Claviceps purpurea (which contains a compound similar to LSD), which led to the demented behavior.”
Some mentally ill people believe that they can transform themselves into animals, usually vicious wolves.
“According to this theory, it was not demonic influence but the ingestion of Claviceps purpurea (which contains a compound similar to LSD), which led to the demented behavior.”
And then there are just the plain deranged and evil characters who have been lumped in with lycanthropy. Beyond any shadow of doubt at all, one of the most notorious serial killers of all time was Peter Stumpp (sometimes referred to as Peter Stuube, see below), a German farmer who became infamously known as the Werewolf of Bedburg. Born in the village of Epprath, Cologne, Stumpp was a wealthy, respected, and influential farmer in the local community. But he was also hiding a dark and diabolical secret—one that surfaced graphically and sensationally in 1589, when he was brought to trial for the crimes of murder and cannibalism.
Having been subjected to the torture of the rack, Stumpp confessed to countless horrific acts, including feasting on the flesh of sheep, lambs and goats, and even that of men, women, and children, too. Indeed, Stumpp further revealed that he had killed and devoured no fewer than fourteen children, two pregnant women and their fetuses, and even his own son’s brain. Stumpp, however, had an extraordinary excuse to explain his actions. He maintained that since the age of twelve, he had engaged in black magic, and on one occasion had succeeded in summoning the Devil, who provided him with a “magical belt” that gave him the ability to morph into “the likeness of a greedy, devouring wolf, strong and mighty, with eyes great and large, which in the night sparkled like fire, a mouth great and wide, with most sharp and cruel teeth, a huge body, and mighty paws.”
The court, needless to say, was not impressed, and Stumpp was put to death in brutal fashion: flesh was torn from his body, his arms and legs were broken, and, finally, he was beheaded. The Werewolf of Bedburg was no more. Stumpp was not alone, however.
MAN-DOG MONSTER
If, like me, you’re a fan of the writings of Linda Godfrey—and particularly her werewolf-themed book, The Michigan Dogman, then what I’m about to share with you now is likely to be of deep interest. It’s an old newspaper story—dating back more than a century—that is eerily reminiscent of some of Linda’s findings. And, it demonstrates that when we dig into the past, we can sometimes find fascinating tales that have a direct bearing on the present.
The story in question was published in the pages of several newspapers, including the Pittsburgh Press on May 3, 1905, and the Rake, Iowa, Register on June 15, 1905. The Register’s article has the eye-catching title of “Dog with a Human Face.” Its sub-title: “Strange Monstrosity Seen By Many Persons in Colorado Hills—Attempt Capture in Vain.” According to the newspaper staff, an unidentified creature had then recently been seen “roaming the hills” of Buena Vista, Colorado, and specifically in the vicinity of Wildhorse—a station on the Colorado Midland Railway.
The Register reporter continued that “a prominent ranchwoman” driving across the Arkansas River had the shock of her life when something terrible loomed into view. As she crossed one particular bridge, the woman was