Sheer lunar-cy or the beginning of a worrying trend?
Thousands of people from up and down the UK braved the cold and took to the streets last night to catch a rare glimpse of the supermoon. This unique astrological phenomenon, which is only visible every few generations, occurs when the moon’s orbit brings it in close proximity to the earth. 30% brighter and 14% larger than your run-of-the-mill full moon, this unique lunar light show makes for a breathtaking and beautiful sight.
While this rare celestial event was a cause for celebration for many, there are some who will look back on the evening of November 15 with fear, not fondness, in their hearts.
During the night, while the supermoon rode high in the sky, UK Emergency Services were inundated with calls from panic-stricken members of the Great British public, many claiming to have seen or been attacked by creatures they described as 'werewolves'. At first, the operators were baffled by these bizarre reports, but that bafflement soon turned to bewilderment as more and more calls from terrified UK residents began pouring in.
One of the callers was Basingstoke resident Joan Landis. The 45-year-old mother of two was awoken in the early hours of the morning by the sound of persistent scratching and banging. “Sometimes we gets stray cats making noise round the back, but straightaway I could tell this weren’t a cat. There were a lot of banging and this horrible, like, snorting sound.”
Upon going to investigate, the former healthcare assistant was horrified to discover what appeared to be a 'massive, two-legged wolf' smashing its way through her conservatory windows. “At first I thought it were just kids mucking about,” she said, “but as I got closer I could see it weren’t a costume.There was drool all coming out of its mouth and its eyes were rolling this way and that.”
Whether Joan’s nocturnal visitor was an actual werewolf or just a youthful yob spreading mischief has yet to be determined, but, prank or not, Joan was taking no chances with her family’s safety: “Soon as I realised what it was I went to the kitchen drawer, grabbed a knife and me phone and ran upstairs.” Suitably armed, Joan roused her two children Jess, 3, and Max, 5, before barricading her family in the bathroom and making a call to the local police.
The first officer on the scene was 25-year veteran Boris Chaney who reported finding traces of blood and clumps of “thick, wiry grey hair” among the scattered pieces of the Landis’ smashed conservatory windows.
While Chaney refused to be drawn on the subject of wolfmen, he did confirm that the Landis’ were not the only people to contact Basingstoke's police department with reports of werewolf-related disturbances that night.
When asked if he thought this was strange, Chaney replied: “I may not believe in werewolves or monsters, but I do believe there are people out there who can think of nothing more entertaining than pulling on an old Halloween costume and ruining someone’s evening. Sadly, this kind of thing happens a lot more than you’d think.”
Chaney’s words would be a lot more comforting if stories of alleged werewolf sightings were restricted to just Basingstoke, but people in places as widespread as Portsmouth, Glasgow, Aberystwyth, and even Northern Ireland have all reported seeing werewolf-like creatures prowling beneath the light of the supermoon.
While many were quick to label the sightings as nothing more than an elaborate hoax, Dr. J.R. Hirsch, a professor at Glyndwr University whom specialises in Fables, Folklore and Ancient Legends, believes people should not dismiss them so readily.
“Normally, I would be the first person to denounce these accounts as a hoax,” he said, “but the fact that so many people, from such a diverse number of places and social backgrounds, are claiming to have come into contact with creatures characteristic of werewolves is fascinating. Of course, I’m not saying that this proves the existence of things that go bump in the night, but I believe it does warrant further investigation.”
If it is proof Hirsch seeks, he would be well advised to pay a visit to popular video-sharing website Youtube. Overnight, hundreds of videos purporting to contain footage of real, live werewolves were uploaded to the streaming service.
Nick Baker, known on Youtube as Skreeonk84, was one of the first people to post a video of a supermoon werewolf. The 32-year-old IT consultant, who lives on the outskirts of Glasgow, was taking his Corgi, Molly, for a walk when he glimpsed a strange creature slinking through the undergrowth bordering the secluded country lane upon which he and his beloved pet take their usual evening stroll. Baker, who described his ordeal as “total-brown-trouser-time”, used his iPhone to document his werewolf encounter before uploading it to Youtube. Within hours, the video had gone viral, racking up over a million views and attracting tens of thousand of comments.
Although some commentators believe Baker’s shocking video, which clearly shows a huge, bipedal, dog-like creature silhouetted against the disc of the moon, is incontrovertible proof of the existence of werewolves, not everyone is convinced. Youtube user PWNZassassINZ69 was among the sceptics, leaving a comment beneath the video that read: OMGz get a grip u f*ckin p***ies….. ive seen better special affects (sic) on syfy channel.”
Poorly expressed though their scepticism may be, it is at least understable; after all, this wouldn’t be the first time someone has doctored video footage as part of an attempt to prove the existence of the supernatural. Much harder to discredit, however, are the grisly wounds received by a homeless man living on the streets of Northamptonshire.
Jack Kessler, 19, was rushed into Kettering Hospital during the early hours of Tuesday morning, his body covered in wounds believed to have been sustained during an animal attack. A nurse who saw Kessler as he was brought in the ER described him as looking “like a waking meatloaf.”
The attack itself was witnessed by 52-year-old taxi operator Eddie Quist. A local father-of-three, Quist was driving home after a late shift when he saw a “large, grey animal” tearing into the unfortunate Kessler’s body. When asked if he thought the transient youth may have been attacked, as some people were reporting, by a werewolf, Quist laughed, saying: “No, of course not, it was some kind of bear, one of them big grizzly b*stards. Probably just escaped from the local zoo.”
We reached out to the staff at Hamerton Zoo Park, situated just outside Kettering, in an attempt to confirm Quist’s suspicions, but the staff were quick to assure us that all their exhibits were present, accounted for and safely tucked away in their cages.
A hospital employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, was on duty when Kessler arrived and was shocked by the state of the young man’s appearance: “I’ve never seen anything like it, there was blood everywhere. His body was covered in claw and bite marks - it was like something out of a horror movie.”
“He was unconscious when he came in, but as we were prepping him for surgery he woke up and threw a right fit. In the end, it took four orderlies to hold him down and sedate him. The whole time he was thrashing about like a madman and screaming about monsters. The lads and me had a good chuckle about it afterwards, but I don’t mind admitting, at the time, I was bloody terrified.”
Although Kettering Council refuses to indulge in speculation about the existence of werewolves, a council spokeswoman said they were taking what happened to Jack Kessler extremely seriously. In a bid to ease the public’s fears, she assured nervous onlookers gathered outside the council’s municipal offices this morning that animal control experts were being brought in to assess the situation, before promising them that the perpetrator would soon be brought to heel.
Despite the life-threatening nature of Kessler’s wounds, surgeons were able to repair most of the damage and are optimistic he will make a full recovery. Dr. Yogami, one of the hospital staff that helped save Kessler’s life, said: “Jack is doing extremely well. In fact, to the amazement of me and my colleagues, some of his wounds are almost already completely healed. I fully expect him to be up and about in time for the next full moon.”
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