Jicotea sugar spirits

 

One of the most strangest cryptid sightings involve the sugar creatures or Sugar Bundle of Jicotea in Cuba. It happened in 1915 when two mounted guards were patrolling a field of sugar cane. The names of the two men are not known, but their story was told by Albert Rosales, an author and UFO researcher. In Las Villas, is a small place of Jicotea with farmland including sugar canes. As the two guards were riding on horseback along a path during the evening. Their horses became agitated when they turned a corner and noticed a small object on the ground further along the trail. It looked like a small white bag of sugar, and it moved on its own! The horses were refusing to go forwards and the little sack crawled towards them. The guards shot at  the small bag, hoping to disable it and instead the white bag turned larger. They shot at it again, and the bag grew even more bigger. As the men kept shooting at it, the bag was growing every time! Soon the object became as large as the horses. The men dismounted and chose to flee the area, but its not clear what made them get off their horses and left them, or why the horses didn't leave. The men told everyone their fantastic tale. The following day, they returned to the site to get their horses, who were discovered unharmed, and grazing in a field.  

This sounds like a weird 1950's science fiction film similar to "The Blob" although this happened in 1915. So what did the men really witness? Cryptid it might be, but this sounds almost paranormal and with a hint of ghosts at work. It's not the first time that an entity was seen growing in size. In the book Phantom Black Dogs of Latin America by Simon Burchell, there is mention of a story about a man who found a strange black puppy in a field that suddenly grew to adult size within moments, frightening him. Many other spirits and creatures have magical abilities that cause shape-shifting and size changing. Sugarcane fields are places of hauntings in many parts of the world. In fact all fields, crops and plantations are haunted as these draw in many types of spirits. 

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Haunted village of Pluckley

This is said to be the most haunted creepiest villages in England. Pluckley is a visually beautiful village in Kent, a region in South England, which has been made famous for featuring in TV series "The Darling Buds of May". Despite its picture perfect appearance, it's far from peaceful and quiet. 

The Church of St Nicholas has a tomb for the Dering family, believed to be responsible for a lot of spooky goings on, including eerie lights, manifestations and loud banging. During the 1970's a team of paranormal researchers spent the night locked inside the church with their cameras and recorders. They were only troubled by an aggressive dog outside of the church, who kept barking all of the time, giving them troubled sleep. When the vicar unlocked the door the next morning to let them out, they mentioned this dog and told him to keep it under control, but the vicar told them he doesn't have a dog and there isn't one let inside the grounds at night. 

A monk haunts the large house of Greystones, believed to be the same monk who died of depression after losing his beloved, a young woman who was tragically killed. In the same neighbourhood, another haunted house is Rose Court. Another frightening phantom is the Watercress Lady, who haunts the bridge, often seen screaming in a ball of flames. It's well known that early in the century, an eccentric elderly gypsy woman used to collect watercress from the river. She was killed in an accidental fire, caused by sleeping with a lit clay pipe she often smoked. Sometimes she's seen as a pink glow.

There is a ghost of a highwayman who was killed by soldiers at an oak tree, which itself no longer stands. However, the scene replays with the ghost of swords entering his body as he falls to his death against a ghost tree. Many witnesses have been traumatised by this haunting as it was violent and bloody, showing even the man's screams. It recurs often at a place known as Fright Corner.  

There are many more haunted sites in Pluckley from the Black Horse Inn of so much ghostly activities, to the spooky Screaming Woods, all of which are chilling. It's recent famous haunt was in 2019 when a woman took a photograph of two ghosts watching children playing. One of the ghosts looked like a shadow of a man behind the trees. The other ghost clearly was a girl wearing a long dress, and she was up in a tree.

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Walpurga Hausmannin

Walpurga Hausmannin was a true vision of a frightening witch, who died in 1587. She was involved in horrible activities including vampirism, cannibalism, murder and infanticide. She confessed to making a pact with demons and using dark magic. Many can assume that she was one of many unfortunate victims of witch mania that was rife throughout Medieval Europe. However, there seems to be a lot more to her and she didn't seem at all worried about admitting anything.

It all began in Dillingen, Bavaria, where she worked as a respected midwife for two decades. Soon after the death of her husband, she grew lonely, and sought company of a man who lived in the neighbourhood. She expected him to visit her at home one evening, but another man arrived instead, who was named Federlin. They got intimate and then she realised that he was a demon, who soon left quickly after she cried out. Federlin returned another day and wooed her, promising her security and love if she gave herself to him. She became convinced that he was in love with her, and she started to do creepy things that he told her to do. Some of those things she was ordered to do by him was to kill animals and people.  

Federlin often raped her whenever and wherever he could. She was totally and completely under his control. As she worked as a midwife, she used her position to kill helpless mothers and their innocent babies. She infected them with poisons and even used their corpses in diabolical feasts. She was sentenced to death by the Archbishop of Augsburg. People at the time were far more upset that she rejected the Church than with all of her killing spree on women and children. As a witch who openly confessed what she'd done, she was given brutal punishment. She was mutilated with red hot pincers, and then torn to pieces by an angry mob. Still alive, her disfigured hand was chopped off, then she was lashed on the wooden stake where she would shortly then be burned to death. Afterwards, her executioner gathered up her remains and threw it in the river. 

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Cadejo

There are many types of spectral hounds, most well know are the shucks or black dogs that are harbingers of doom. It isn't only in the British Isles and European continent that these entities have been seen. Many are found throughout the Americas, especially in Latin American countries. I shall focus on the type of phantom black dog shucks called Cadejo. The Cadejo is a name given to a phantom black dog in Central America, in places such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.  

The Cadejo is considered a strange demon hound for it's eye colours alter. It's eyes are glowing blue to show when it is calm, although perhaps more like watching and observing. The moment it's provoked, its eyes turn a glowing red. Seeing an angry dog with shining red eyes is terrifying, but there is more. They come in pairs, according to some folklore. One looks like a shaggy black dog, with glowing purple eyes. The other dog is white and eats flowers that grow on volcanoes. 

While this creature is often active at night, in dark hours, in quiet remote places, secluded yards, cemeteries, streets, lanes and alleyways, appearing to lone wary travellers. It also seems to have hybrid features with hooves instead of paws. It's said to smell "like a goat". The black dog Cadejo has been able to manipulate people into making bad choices, according to folklore, and devours newborn infants. Some people have tried to kill the Cadejo and ended up dead themselves. If a Cadejo is killed, it gives off a horrific smell that lingers for ages. The phantom white Cadejo has been considered a protector and is benign. 

One story goes that two boys were helping a magician make a fire during a stormy night. The task they were given was much too busy for them, as they turned lazy and consumed the magicians' food. Later the magician found there was few wood for the fire but most of the food was eaten. He put a curse on the boys, who then turned into dogs, the black and white Cadejo dogs.

For much more on the subject, there is this book: Phantom Black Dogs in Latin America by Simon Burchell.

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Ozark Howler

Among the strange creatures found in North American folklore and urban legends is the Ozark Howler. It's believed to be from middle-of-nowhere places in Texas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. It's described as being as large as a bear, with a similar physique apart from it's horns and glowing red eyes. The sounds it makes is similar to either a wolf's howl, a hyena's laugh and an elk's noise. Some also believe that this fabled monster is truly a red wolf, but it doesn't include horns. It's also been considered a big cat or unknown species. Other names of the Ozark Howler include Ozark Black Howler, Nightshade Bear, Hoo Hoo and Devil Cat. 

Anyone that sees this creature would die soon, according to legends. So the Ozard Howler is a death omen, and may even be linked to the Black Dog spectres and shucks of Britain and Europe. Some think the true creature is probably a bison or wild boar. While some think it's a complete hoax, an author and cryptozoologist asserts that the Ozark Howler has been seen way back in the 1800's. A man named Daniel Boone living in Missouri in the early 19the century had shot at the Ozark Howler but it's not known if he killed the creature or not. There's been more sightings of the creature in recent years in Arkansas and Devil's Den State Park.  

Books:

Chasing American Monsters by Jason Offut.

 Curious Encounters by Loren Coleman. 

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Wildlife picture of the month

 Each month I will post about a certain wild animal species native to British Isles and Europe continent. There are too many wonderful animals to choose from and this project is for a topic once a month, at the beginning of a month, and it lasts for a year. I had to randomly select an animal from the countryside instead of just spending ages deciding what to pick for this post. 

Foxes are the subject of this month of May. Also belonging to Vulpes vulpes the fox are well known members of the British countryside. Most commonly found in Britain, Ireland and Western Europe are the red foxes who dwell in woodlands. They have vivid coloured fur, some varying shades of colour and patterns called morphs. Omnivores that go for small prey, insects and berries. 

There are also urban foxes that are larger and tend to live closer to humans. Many of these foxes dwell in small towns and cities, regarded as a nuisance as they can carry diseases. Urban foxes tend to be lighter coloured, pale yellow or sometimes greyish yellow. I've encountered many urban foxes and they're a different colour to the reds in the countryside. They're also nocturnal and are sole animals as they don't hunt in packs. 

Foxes are able to climb trees!

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