The Inari white fox

The magical worship of the magical White Fox deity in Japan is known as Inari Okami. which also includes fertility, rice and tea. The foxes of the Inari are called Kitsune and these are pure white as snow. It's believed that in the beginning after creation, a goddess appeared with a white fox, bringing grains. There are different versions of the story. Here the goddess brought seeds for starving people, bringing about an end to famine. In 711 CE its believed the first Inari shrine was made on the Inari Mountain of Kyoto. Now there are many fox statues dedicated to Inari shrines. It's said these fox statues are there to guard the gates and protect those inside the shrines. Some of the most popular shrines are Fushimi Inari Taisha with its red gates.

There are many kinds of kitsune, about 13 of them, belonging to different elements such as forests, mountains, celestial, darkness, ocean, wind, spirits, fire, river, earth, thunder, sound and time. But often dual in nature, zenko (benign) and nogitsune (malevolent), the latter can shapeshift and turn into humans, often as beautiful women. Bad kitsune are not divine. These are said to possess girls and drain them of their vital life energy, while enjoying the torment. Friendly kitsune are believed to be reincarnations of spirits, growing extra tails and gaining power, but once they reach nine tails, they become golden or shining white, which would make them gods.  

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Beast of Bodmin

This is a legendary creature, found in Bodmin Moor, located in Cornwall, England. Bodmin The moor itself is a vast wilderness of granite, with a mystical hill named Brown Willy (Bronn Wenneli "hill of swallows"), a site of cairns and marshes. The entire place is full of haunting folklore including Arthurian legend.  Yet today there is a shadow creature in the form of a huge cat famously nicknamed the Beast of Bodmin Moor. 

It's believed to look like a panther or leopard. Many animals found mutilated in the region has been blamed on the large phantom cat. Many people have witnessed seeing the Beast of Bodmin. While many sightings of the wild big carnivore has been made, added to the number of attacks on livestock, it's assumed that this creature hides or disappears into thin air, only to come out again when it's hungry. Despite this, the Government denies any large cat was living in the countryside of Bodmin. A boy discovered a leopard skull in the site, which many sceptics think was imported but don't explain how so and why it was dumped in the Bodmin Moor. Although the creature has been witnessed a lot by many people, and even caught on camera, the mysterious creature disappears and leaves nothing. Some people have claimed that the Beast of Bodmin chased them. 

This mystery big cat is one of many seen throughout the British Isles. and is termed Britain's Big Cats, included in the realms of mystery and folklore. 

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Texas Big Bird

This is the nickname of a winged cryptid seen flying over Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. Although it's named "Big Bird" it wasn't really described as a bird, with a long beak, a monkey-like face, featherless, bat-like wings and its body was around human sized. Its wingspan was about 12 feet across, and the strange flying creature was witnessed by a lot of people. 

School teachers noticed it and immediately gave descriptions of it, and they later came across a picture in a book that closely resembles what they saw, which was none other than a pterosaur, a species that lived until the end of the Cretaceous era. On 1st January 1976, two girls, Tracey Lawson and Jackie Davies were outside playing when they saw the mysterious Texas Big Bird. They described it as around five foot tall, featherless, bald, a long beak although a gorilla's face, but it had red eyes. The creature made a horrific screech, which terrified them. The following day, their parents noticed weird footprints of three toes in the ground. It was also noticed that the pet dog was acting scared and refused to be outside. This entity was seen several days later by police officer Arturo Padilla, saw a huge birdlike creature in the headlights of his cruiser. Another policeman, Homer Galvan, noticed a large winged figure gliding across. Another witness saw the same creature to say that it looked like an enormous bat. 

This beast wasn't only seen by a number of people. It also attacked someone, as what happened to Armando Grimaldo, heard beating wings then large talons grabbed him, tearing his clothes. He was shocked to see a curious featherless creature with red eyes and a monkey face. But he never saw a beak. Is it possible that this was another creature to the one witnessed by many people in the area that month? Many theorise it was a Jabiru, a stork from South America that has flown into Texas. This bird has feathers and is five foot tall, with a long dark beak. 

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The Southern Necropolis

In Glasgow, Scotland, is a large cemetery called Southern Necropolis found in Gorbals. It was created in the 1840's as a burial place for many people of the location Gorbals and the city of Glasgow. There are many people buried there reaching hundreds of thousands. It was originally planned to be a cheap cemetery for the poor since an older graveyard at the Old Gorbals Burial Ground was too small. However, it was during the 1950's when supernatural stories really took off. 

A policeman found the Southern Necropolis was full of noisy children of different ages, between toddler and teenage, all playing around the graves. They seemed to be looking around and in a hyperactive way. They told him they were looking for a vampire with iron teeth. This creature supposedly lived there! The kids were ready to destroy the monster although they never found it. This became widely known and appeared in the newspapers, naming the entity Gorbals Vampire. According to the strange legend, the vampire is over seven feet tall and killed two boys. 

Apart from the famous Gorbals Vampire is the cemetery's White Lady. This phantom has been seen floating through the cemetery but also linked to a statue of a woman over the grave of John S Smith and his wife Magdalene and their maid Mary McNaughton. Both Magdalene and Mary were tragically killed by a tramcar while out walking during a storm. It's said that the statue turns her head as if coming to life.

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Wildlife picture of the month

This blog will begin each month with a nice post featuring a particular wild animal from Britain, Ireland and Europe. As this topic will feature what goes on in nature as the seasons change. It seems a pleasant shift from the gloomy supernatural posts that this blog mainly talks about. Last year I did a similar theme once a month about wolves being amusing and cute. 

January is cold and snowy, with lots of wind, icy rain, frost and thick fog. However, despite the freezing temperature, it's getting more lighter. The countryside, parks and wilderness is packed with hidden animals and some are hibernating in winter. Nothing is active much, although the birds are awake and busy. Yet the sight of deer is a really magical thing to experience.

There are many types of deer found across Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe. In England, there are lots of deer species including red, fallow and roe. Interestingly, the male red deer are called stags while the male roe and fallow deer are called bucks. Female red deer are called hind, and also female roe and fallow deer are does. Young red deer are called a calf, while the young of fallow deer is a fawn, but a young roe deer is called a kid. 

Sadly deer in the UK don't do very well in winter. Although British deer are physically capable of living in harsh cold with dry air, recent extreme winters with much rain and snow has caused a lot of deaths. Heavy snowfalls can come with periods of thick frost and layers of ice, burying access to foliage so the deer go hungry. People who want to help deer should follow guidelines. I will provide a link on info for that here: 

British Deer Society page on feeding deer

Happy New Year!

She Wolf Night