MONSTERS: Hidebehind

 

The hidebehind as illustrated by Margaret Ramsay Tryon for "Fearsome Critters" by Henry Harrington Tryon

A Hidebehind is a nocturnal fearsome critter from American folklore. It is a large and powerful creature that preys on humans that wander the woods at night. The creature will follow the human and conceals itself behind an object or the observer if there is an attempt to look at it directly. The creature will eventually attack the human and drag them to its home where it would devour the human, especially their intestines. They hate alcohol and avoid those who smell/drank it. It was said that they were to blame for many disappearances of early loggers. 

Maybe the noises heard in the forest is not just forest noises, but the hidebehind hunting for dinner.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Cryptid Wiki

INFANTICIDE: November 29, 1922 Brighton to Victoria, England Baby Doe

On November 29, 1922, on the 10:00 a.m. train from Brighton to Victoria, in England, the body of a baby boy was found wrapped in satin and brown paper. The baby was a newborn and had likely been suffocated from direct pressure on its mouth. There was evidence of the baby being placed in an oven and baked, but it's unknown if this happened before or after death. The baby was placed there at Brighton or one of 14 stops between Brighton and Victoria. It was assumed that the mother was a young woman and who was a cook.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Taunton Courier, Bristol and Exeter Journal and Western Advertiser December 13, 1922

Röst Girl

 

In 1926 the remains of a toddler, now known as Röst Girl, were found in a bog in the Schleswig-Holstein state of Germany. Because her body was in the bog her body was mummified. She had a woolen cloak over her body. 

Her body is presumed to have been destroyed during WWII. The cloak was however not destroyed and was used for date testing. It's believed that she was alive between 200 B.C.E and 80 C.E. in what is now current Germany. 

SOURCES:

Mummipedia Wiki

Wikipedia

UNIDENTIFIED: November 1590, Bicester, England Stranger

 On November 21, 1590 a body of a stranger (gender unstated) was found in a field in or near Bicester, England. There is little information in this case.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

MONSTERS: Cheval Mallet

 

Photo by Janosch Diggelmann

A Cheval Mallet (meaning Mallet Horse) is evil but fabulous horse in French folklore. It's seen around Vendée, Poitou, and Pays de Retz, near Lac de Grand Lieu. It's described as a beautiful white or black horse saddled and bridled. It tempts exhausted travelers and the unwary who choose to ride the horse are said to never be seen again. The only thing to protect the traveler from the horse is a protection spell as a medal of St. Benedict or have them n the price of traveling.


SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Monsters Wiki

Myths and Folklore Wiki

Murder of Maggie Pitt

 In 1894 Horace Cooper and Maggie Pitt were living together. He would ask her to marry him. She did not want to and would reject him. By November of 1894, Maggie would move out and would be living with a Perry Gibson in Cokesbury, Maryland. Horace would get angry at her thinking if she didn't choose him no one would have her.  He would threaten to kill her several times.

On the night of November 17, 1894 Horrace would sneak into Perry's home in  He would climb through a second-story window and would sneak into Maggie's room. She would wake up to Horrace and Perry would catch Horace with a gun pointed at Maggie. Perry would force Horace out of the home.

The next morning Horace would return wanting to finish what he wasn't able to do the night before. He would shoot Maggie three times. She was shot in the chest, abdomen, and thigh. Maggie would only live a few days.

After the shooting Horace would parade up and downtown threatening to kill anyone who dared arrest him. He would flee town and he would be caught in Columbia Pennsylvania by Harvey H. Mackey of Elkton. Horace would be tried for Maggie's murder. He would be found guilty and would be set to hang. On June 21, 1895, Horace would hang at the Elkton jail yard. 

SOURCES: 

Penalty USA

The Baltimore Sun November 20, 1894

The Baltimore Sun November 21, 1894

The Cecil Whig November 24, 1894

The Baltimore Sun December 10, 1894

The Midland Journal December 14, 1894

The Cecil Whig December 15, 1894

The Cecil Whig May 4, 1895

The Baltimore Sun June 22, 1895

Unsolved Murder of Jonathan Alonzo Anthony

 On November 17, 1953 neighbors of 75-year-old Jonathan Anthony went to check up on him as they had not seen him for two days. They went to his home Burnetts Chapel Rd in Greensboro, North Carolina. He had been bound, severely beaten, and gagged. He was beaten before he was bound and had been suffocated with a torn bed sheet. A blood-stained trowel was found on a shelf on the back porch.

SOURCES:

Rocky Mount Telegram November 19, 1953

The Herald-Sun November 19, 1953

The News and Observer November 19, 1953

The Durham Sun December 11, 1953

UNIDENTIFIED: November 14, 1869 Door County, Wisconsin John Doe

 On November 14, 1869, the body of a young man was found at the Southwest point of Washington Island, Wisconsin. He could not be identified and it was believed he was in the water for some time. It's possible that he was a sailor

John Doe's race is unstated, but he was a male around 17 to 18-years-old. He was around 5 ft and had black hair. 

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Find a Grave

Ghosts: La Vidua

Photo by Benjamin Lehman

La Vidua or The Widow or The Window in Black in Englis is a spirit that roams the lonely mines and path within Chile. In life, La Vidua went mad with grief and anger when her husband died and those feeling followed her in death. After death, she roams waiting for unsuspecting men. 

She is not noticeable to travelers on the road at first. The closer they get the more details they get. Dressed in a black dress that covers her entirely, the person she picks cannot see her face till they are close to her. Once close enough it is revealed that La Viuda is a very beautiful woman. She will then demand sex from the man and if he refuses she will kill him and go on looking for the next one. 

In the modern retelling of the story, she has been seen climbing onto cars of men who are alone and may have alcohol in their blood. 

SOURCES

Villians Wiki

Murder of Samuel Barker

 In 1904 44-year-old Arthur Jefferies and Samuel Barker were a part of a poaching gang. Arthur did not get along with the other members of the gang. When Arthur was drunk he would often threaten and curse other members stating he woukd do one of them in.

On November 12, 1904 Samuel and three others from the poaching gang came across Arthur and his wife near where he lived in Rotherham, England. Samuel would tell Arthur to have a "Good Night," and Arthur would respond with a foul expression. Samuel would repsond with a "back at you". This anger Arthur and he would strike Samuel and start a fight.

The two would begin to fight going down the alley. It was narrow and dark the three could not stop the fight. Samuel and Arthur then would step out of the alley and Samuel would drop dead. He had been stabbed with a cobbler's file under the ribs causing an 8 inch wound.

Arthur would be found guilty of murder. He would be executed on December 29th.

SOURCES:

British Executions

The Gaurdian November 19, 1904

The Times December 10, 1904

The Gaurdian December 9, 1904

UNIDENTIFIED: November 10, 1922 Tucson, Arizona John Doe

 On November 10, 1922, a man died a mile south of the city limits of Tucson, Arizona. He had died near the railroad tracks, and his death certificate is hard to decipher, but it mentions that the body was mangled, and back broken meaning he may have been hit by the train. 

He was a Hispanic male.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Unidentified Wiki

UNIDENTIFIED: 1660 Unknown Male Child London, England

In 1660 a child sewed up in cloth was found at the Parish of St. James Clerkenwell in London, England. He was laid near the New Churchyard and after the coroner viewed the child he was buried on November 8, 1660, in the New Churchyard. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave 

MONSTERS: Yama-Uba

 

Yama-Uba (Mountain Hag) is a female yokai who are considered old hags or witches in the Japanese Forests and Mountains. The Yama-Uba were born human but turn into monsters. They typically appear as kind old ladies, but sometimes they sport horn or fangs. They don't give sign to their evil nature.

Yama-Uba will live alone in huts by the road. They will offer shelter, food, and a place to sleep for travlers. Unbeknowist to the travlers she would wait for them to sleep before turning to their true form an old, ugly, demonic witch. She would then catch and feast on them using her magic. 

Stories of the Yama-Uba would spread and keep travlers to be safer. It's also told as bedisde stories to disobediant children. Sometimes these stories were told when young wome were accused of crimes or wicked deeds and they had to flee to the forest/mountain. They would live in exile becomeing an "old hag".

Sometimes during famines or economic hardship families would make hard choices to get rid a family member so the rest would survive. Often this was a newborn or an elderly family member would be removed. It's believed that some of the Yama-Uba may have been elderly senile women abandoned by family members in the forest or mountains. It's said that these women would either out of rage or desperation tranformaed into the Yama-Uba practicing black magic. 

SOURCES:

Yokai Wiki

Wikipedia

Yokai