Cannock Chase is a beautiful piece of country in Staffordshire,
England. It has been designated an “Area
of Outstanding Beauty” by the British government. The Chase is home to a number of rare bird
species as well as a herd of about 800 fallow deer. It’s also been designated an area of “special
scientific interest.”
Natural beauty aside, there’s another intriguing aspect to
Cannock Chase—it’s an area of high strangeness and paranormal activity. From cryptids to ghosts, UFOs and weird
crimes, the Chase seems to have it all.
Such areas of concentrated weirdness are often called “portal areas” or
“window areas” and they have always been a special interest of mine. That being the case, it’s always nice to add
a new book about these portals areas to the library. The most recent addition is “UFOs Werewolves
& The Pig-Man” by author Lee Brickley.
Brickley grew up in the area so he offers insights and
accounts directly from his own experiences as well as from locals that he has
interacted with over his time investigating the region.
Lee starts the book off with a brief rundown of some of the
strange history of Cannock Chase showing that bizarre murders and weird
encounters have been a part of the area’s history for a very long time. From there, the book moves on to Alien
Encounters with some modern cases, abduction accounts and a look at the
Penkridge UFO crash of 1964.
One of my favorite sections of the book covers the weird
case of the Werewolf of Hazelslade Wood.
The werewolf struck in 2004.
There wasn’t even a full moon out; in fact, the attack took place in
broad daylight, certainly not typical of classical werewolf mythology. While some aspects of the incident sound as
though the creature was a dogman, the young lady who was attacked experienced
strange hair growth such as that found in traditional werewolf lore.
Brickley goes on to cover giant snake sightings in the Chase
as well as the Cannock Chase Panther a famous “Alien Big Cat” that has been
sighted on many occasions.
Next we get a chapter devoted to the Pig-Man. Undoubtedly, the most bizarre being purported
to roam about in Cannock Chase. As the
name implies, the Pig-Man is a humanoid hybrid of man and pig whose story starts
many years ago. The tale involves taboo
science experiments, Nazis and a birth that reminds one of the infamous Jersey
Devil. Adding to the strangeness,
encounters with the Pig-Man continue to be reported in modern times and
Brickley includes some interesting accounts that he’s collected from locals to
add to the lore.
The book moves on to cover some ghostly events in Cannock
Chase. A number of tales are presented
including some recent (2012) encounters with ghosts of Roman soldiers in
Birches Valley and details of the Black Phantom of Slitting Mill Road. This creepy figure has glowing eyes and has
been witnessed levitating over the area.
Lee ends the chapter with a report on demonic children, always a creepy
topic.
Brickley rounds the book out with a chapter on secret
military activity in Cannock Chase. Some
interesting information is presented that indicates a series of tunnels may run
under the area. Not a big surprise as military
and government presence often occurs in portal areas.
I recommend this book.
All in all, it is well worth a read if you’re interested in locations of
concentrated strangeness or if you just like to read weird accounts of the
paranormal. I’m looking forward to more
from Lee Brickley and hope he serves up more tales from the mysterious Cannock
Chase.
Lee Brickley also has a blog on Paranormal Cannock Chase. It can be found here:
