A mystical creature with hooves and his marks

There are a huge number of different tracks, which for various reasons are attributed to the unexplained. To this phenomenon we consider only copytophone traces, as in all cases of their appearance stand out common features, distinct from other phenomena, which involve the appearance of unusual marks.

Copytophone traces in many cultures, traditionally associated with evil spirits. Different people consider their source of devils, demons, the devil, and witches with hooves instead of feet, the damned, etc.

Thus, the phenomenon of "traces of the devil" will be considered copytophone signs that have appeared on a variety of surfaces that have certain signs of deviation from the norm (the rate of occurrence, the distance between the prints, etc.)

Stories about the "devil's footprints" is rooted in a remote antiquity. The first mention can be considered the 929 year. In Japan, the territory of the Imperial Palace were "the devil's footprints."

The earliest written reference that we could find dates back to the year 1205. According to Ralph Coggeshall (which also describes the strange phenomenon of his era), writer of the 13th century, 19 Jul 1205, strange hoof prints after a strong storm.

The most famous case is the incident called "traces of the Devil in Devon", which may have occurred in February 1855 around the axe estuary in South Devon. A brief description of this fact: on the night of 7 to 8 February 1855, at 1.00 or 2.00, after a heavy snowfall on the snow appeared copytophone signs. These footprints, most of which had a size of about 4 inches in length and about three inches in width, located at a distance of from eight to sixteen inches apart and following approximately on one straight direction (albeit with small deviations), was discovered in more than thirty places throughout Devon and part of Dorset. It has been estimated that the total length of the route, during which they met was from 40 to 100 miles. Houses, rivers, haystacks, fences and other obstacles did not stop the person who left these footprints: they were found on roofs of houses, their walls up to 14 feet and even the inlet and outlet of the small pipe diameter of four inches. The footprints were so called because some people believed that the traces of Satan, as they supposedly were made with cloven hooves. Many theories have been put forward to explain this incident, and many of its aspects as the accuracy, even at the time have been a doubt; however, this event caused a fairly serious (albeit short-lived and quickly zabyvshiesya) mass hysteria.

There are very few primary sources describing this event. Known only documents found after the publication in 1950 of the article about the incident Devon County historical society, which requested help in finding additional information. After this was discovered, a collection of articles and letters 1850-ies, vicar Elcombe, among which is a letter to him from his friend the vicar Makhrova, containing a letter to the newspaper The Illustrated London News marked "Not for printing" and print traces, allegedly made from nature, and there were found indications of other newspaper articles about this event; it was established the identity of the first who discoursed about the traces correspondent: it was the future curator of one of the museums of Exeter, who at that time was 19 years old.

Only relatively reliable source about an event time close to it spaced, four: letters Ellacombe, letter Makhrova, reporting from Exeter and a letter of the anonymous author to a newspaper in which he suggests that the traces left otter. All subsequent articles, including those mentioned above, and article 1890, the Busk, where he cited the testimony of witnesses, reprinted in 1922, appeared much later, so they should be treated with caution.

There is information about several such incidents in other parts of the world, although none of them had the same scale, as is the case in Devon.

James Clark Ross, wrote that during the Antarctic expedition 1839-1843 years on the island of Kerguelen in 1840 it was discovered a strange horseshoe-shaped traces - first on the ground, in the snow, then on rock where there was no snow. The footprints were similar to the traces of a horse or a donkey, but such animals of the expedition, nor on the island was not.

Fifteen years before the events of the Devonian, in 1840, The Times wrote about that in Scotland, in Glen Orci, March 14, were found strange footprints, like the prints of cloven hooves, at a distance of 12 miles. The one who left them, was if to proceed from the depth of footprints, large size (approximately from large foal) and it was lame.

In The Illustrated London News in March 1855 was published the article of correspondent of the newspaper in Heidelberg, which, citing "authoritative Polish doctor of medicine," reported that on a Sandy Hill in the Kingdom of Poland, on the border with Galicia, such traces are found in the snow (and sometimes in the sand) every year, and the locals believe that leaves them a supernatural being.

1886: New Zealand.

1909: new Jersey, USA, beaches near Gloucester.

1945: Belgium.

1950: back to the Devon (beach).

1952: Scotland.

1954: Brazil.

In the autumn of 1957 in the journal Tomorrow ("Tomorrow") appeared an article by paranormal investigator Eric Dingwall, entitled "the Devil walks again." In it, in particular, cited the story of 26-year-old Colin Wilson (later famous writer) about how in the summer of 1950 in one of the deserted beaches of Devonshire, he saw the smooth and dense surface of wet sand, rammed the sea waves, weird prints like hoof prints.

1974: the slopes of mount Etna, Sicily.

1976: the Alps in the heart of nice and near lake Siljan (Norway).

2000 (January 23): Cleveland (Ohio).

12 Mar 2009 in press reports emerged that night in Devon appeared again the same traces, was even published photographs, but the official science did not give any comments about it.

This can be attributed to various urban legends and little stories about a woman with hooves. They do not have a specific geographic location. Very similar references to people with hooves are almost the entire territory of modern Russia and neighboring countries. Vaguely urban legends have been known to almost all parts of the world.

For example, in the Voronezh region the emergence of "women with hooves" is famous for Verkhnyaya Khava and Kashirsky area. The cases and little stories Upper Chava no longer describe the appearance of the footprints and the "baby". Same case occurred in Kashira district in 1997, rather similar to the Devonian.

Hypothesis of the origin of the "devil's footprints" similar to the hypotheses to explain the traces of incident in Devon.

For many years collecting materials about the event researcher Mike dash has put together all they found primary and secondary sources in the article, "The Devil's Hoofmarks: Source Material on the Great Devon Mystery of 1855" ("traces of the Devil: materials for the study of the great Devon Mystery of 1855"), first published in Fortean Studies in 1994. He, while not denying the reality of the facts, came to the conclusion that it was not and could not be any one "source" of origin of traces: some of them were almost certainly a hoax, some were left quite an ordinary four-legged animals such as donkeys or horses, and some mice. However, he admitted that it cannot explain all reports of tracks (especially those that seem to be found in the cities), and that "a mystery remains".

Conditionally they can be divided into a mystical, natural and a hoax.

Natural

• Balloon. Author Jeffrey Kaushal suggested that the traces left of the pilot balloon, released by mistake from Devonport, through the links at the end of its mooring ropes. The source version was a local resident, major Carter, whose grandfather worked in Devonport at the time. Carter said that the incident was hushed up because the balloon destroyed several conservatories, greenhouses, and Windows before fell to the ground in Hantone. Although this version may explain the trace amounts, it is highly doubtful that the ball could follow such a strict path for a long time and not to be hooked with ropes over a tree or other object.
• The jumping mouse. Referred to Mike dash in his article indicates that at least some marks, especially found on the roofs of homes, could be left in forest mice, which due to the unusually cold weather rushed into the city. Trace remaining in the snow after a jump of the mouse, similar to cloven hoof due to mouse movement during a jump. Dash argues that the theory of the "mouse factor" appeared in The Illustrated London News in March 1855 (because as the article about the event, despite the request of the vicar, were still printed, for the first time - Feb 13). It was noticed that in some places the traces as if all has been interrupted due to an attack on the mice, birds of prey (e.g., owls), and supposedly next to the tracks and sometimes even have found the bodies of mice. The mouse could also climb along walls and climb through the pipe. Thus, to date, the version of forest mice is the only one that could at least partially explain this event from the point of view of science.
• Mass hysteria. Moreover, it was assumed that the whole story is the result of a sudden mass hysteria caused by the comparison of various different traces of the same origin (which could be left by cattle, badgers, otters and so on) and their wydawania for a single unit. This includes the version of the origin of traces of known living beings.
• Kangaroo. In his letter to The Illustrated London News the vicar Makhrov wrote that there were rumors, though from a private menagerie in Sidmouth's seafront escaped kangaroo. However, any sources of information on authenticity of this event is not, how could the kangaroo to cross the estuary - is unclear, and indeed Makhrov wrote then that he made up the story about the kangaroo to calm and distract his congregation that believed that their land was visited by the Devil.

Mystical

• The one-legged. According to one version, made by someone unknown, the footprints were left by the animals called the one-legged - it, as reported, first seen in the year 1001 on the island of Labrador a Viking Barf Herealso; the animal had only one leg, but moved with extraordinary speed. However, in the newspaper printed this version, it was said that you can probably believe that the traces left by the Devil than believe in the existence of one-legged.
• Jack the jumper. The history of Traces of the Devil was also associated with Jack the jumper, the character of the English urban legend of those times. But even if we assume that Jack the jumper actually existed, but this version seems to be very questionable. First, in Devon at the time of the appearance of Jack was not fixed. Second, the description of the traces of the "real" Jack there and they are unlike any found in Devon.

Jack-jumper or Jack-springs-on-heels (Engl. Spring-Heeled Jack), is a character in English folklore of the Victorian era, humanoid creature, notable primarily for its ability to jump amazing heights. The first reports about the appearance of Jack-jumper in London, dated 1837. Later its occurrence was recorded in many places of England, especially in London, its suburbs, Liverpool, Sheffield, Midlands (Central England) and even Scotland. The "peak" was published in the 1850s-1880's years; despite the fact that a number of reports of encounters with Jack from England and even from other countries did in the twentieth century, the last date of its appearance is considered to be 1904.

There are many theories about the nature and identity of Jack the jumper, but none of them is scientifically proven and does not provide affirmative answers to all questions related to the "activity" of Jack. Thus, its history remains unexplained so far, science does not know about the device with which people could commit such Jack jumps, and the fact of his actual existence is disputed by a significant number of historians. The urban legend about Jack the jumper was incredibly popular in England in the second half of the nineteenth century primarily because of its unusual appearance, bizarre aggressive behavior (Jack often attacked people) and the ability to make the incredible height of the jumps, to the point that Jack became the hero of several works of art of European "pulp literature" of the XIX-XX centuries.

The story of Jack the jumper is significant because of two things. First, he has had a huge impact on "comic book culture" of the twentieth century, and that his dress became the prototype of the "superhero (or super villain) costume." Secondly, it is the only one in the history of mankind "reasonable mystical creature", "thing" which was discussed at the level of state institutions, came to the recognition of its reality.



Hoax

• There are many versions of the ways of mystification. For example, traces could be left by some "unknown hot metal object".

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»