Beast of Bladenboro

Art by Mister Sam Shearon

During the 1950's in a town called Bladenboro in North Carolina, a lot of nasty deaths happened to domestic animals. Lots of people blamed it on wild big cats, although the nature of the deaths was strange. Most of the victims were dogs, and they were severely mutilated. Whatever killed them, was more powerful than the dogs. The killer was capable of lifting the animals, tearing them to pieces and crushing them. Some of the witnesses found their beloved dogs killed by a dangerous menace who didn't leave much clues behind. 

The actual culprit was never found although plenty said they'd seen it. People described seeing a creature that was "similar in size to a bear". Some had seen a dark shape that might've appeared to be a panther or a large black German shepherd dog. Also very curious is that it made "sounds like a crying baby", which might've been from more than one witness. It was estimated that the creature weighed "150 pounds (70kg)" by the way it moved through the forest. Another believed it weighed up to 40kg. Many reported that it looked "feline". Tracks believed to be of the killer showed claws that were 2.5cm long.

It was a different eye witness who found a "mountain lion" approaching her, but when she screamed, it turned and ran away. Was this mountain lion responsible for the number of dog attacks? It seems likely although some things don't make sense. Was it a cat or even a huge dog? The tracks themselves resembled canine prints but that idea was quickly dismissed due to the size of them! Whatever it was, gave the sleepy town of Bladenboro fame.

She Wolf Night 

Abura-sumashi

 Japan is full of very interesting ghost stories and some of them are very bizarre. This includes the legend of the Abura-sumashi. It comes from folklore of Amakusa, a city in the pretty green hilly region Kumamoto Prefecture. 

The Abura-sumashi is a type of ghost that dwells in the woodlands of the mountain pass named Kusazumigoe. The entity's name Abura-sumashi means "oil wringer", as this is probably rooted to the times when people were overworked, in poverty and often labouring over oil cloths, made from the seeds of camellia sasanqua plants. Such oil was used to generate light in houses before there was electricity.  

The entity itself appears small and dressed in straw, with an oversized head that looked like a potato or a stone. There is a story that an old woman was walking along the mountain pass with her grandchild, when she said "this place used to be where the Abura-sumashi lived." Just then a strange light voice shouted out: "I still do!" 

It's said that the Abura-sumashi jumped out in front of people who travelled there. It was also believed that this entity is the ghost of a thief who stole oil and ran away into the woods. Many viewed the theft of oil from shrines and temples as punishable by turning into a Yokai (earthbound spirit) as what might've happened with the Abura-sumashi.

She Wolf Night  

The pirate Lioness

Although very fantasy sounding, with many popular aspects of warrior women and female knights, are the ladies of the high seas, the ruthless and dangerous women pirates. There are many in fiction, fantasy and film, but in history there are many women pirates too. But the most striking of all was Jeanne de Clisson who was a lioness of the sea, huntress and a warrior. 

She lived during the 14th century during the Hundred Years War, and she was of noble stock from the Breton region of France. She married very young and birthed seven children. She raised them well until she became a grieving widow. Her second husband was executed by King Philip VI, she went darker. She had lovers and married again, falling into dispute over estates, and then a fourth time. 

Jeanne raised three ships after selling much of her inheritance, and designed them all painting them black with red sails. These ships were impressive and frightening. Then she went on a mission, revenge, and made war with France, and went on a killing spree, beheading nobles. 

For more info with a much more expanded detail of her adventures as well as illustrations, visit link "The Bloody Lioness of Britanny" page at Lions and Lilies Wordpress. details on women in piracy and the history of women pirates visit this link:Ferocious women pirates at Smugglers Adventure Smugglers

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Lorelei

 

The Lorelei is a folk story coming from Germany about a beautiful woman who became a mermaid. It was a tragic story and inspired many artists and poets. The story began with a heart broken young woman named Lorelei who became distressed when she found out her beloved was seeing another. She was so upset that she decided to take her own life. She flung into the depths of the river and drowned. The river is the famous Rhine, full of stories of magic and mystery. Lorelei transformed into a siren and her enchanting beauty lured fishermen to their death. 

It must also be mentioned that Lorelei is the name of a large stone that makes humming sounds. This Lorelei stone is found on the riverbank close to Sankt in Goarshausen in Germany. The Lorelei stone is also called Loreley, and stands at 433 ft tall. It's a place where many violent disasters have happened there along the river for thousands of years. Even today it's a busy waterway and as recent as 2011 a boat carrying sulphuric acid crashed 

It isn't only the siren but the "Luren" who are dwarves that live inside the stone. It's believed by folklore that the Loren protect treasures and other mystical objects. Some say that this is where the treasure from the Nibelungenlied is found. In 1612 the author Marquard Friedrich Freher wrote that the Lorelei is where mountain nymphs gather, including the place where Echo appeared, the famous nymph of Greek mythology. It was Heinrich Heine who created an unnamed beautiful poem of the siren in 1823 of which was set to music often by different composers. There is much more about the River Rhine to discuss another time.

She Wolf Night 

Cryptid news August

 Hi, it's the last time I will be doing Cryptid News reports each month. I've been doing this series for a year now and it's okay, I'm not abandoning cryptid stories. I shall be continuing to do this and also I'll include the latest reports on paranormal and strange stories too. 

There's tons of Bigfoot/Sasquatch sightings and brief stories coming from the USA, not to mention this one: A Japanese TV documentary "The Great North" visited Canada. It was set in Quebec and the TV crew were filming a herd of caribou by a river. The crew were basically miles out in the wilderness as they focused on the animals. On closer inspection, the footage shows a mysterious figure stalking the herd. To view that short clip visit this Youtube link to it. 

In Missouri, a man phoned a local radio station and said that he's communicated with Bigfoot. He spoke of his interaction with the cryptid and tried to show that he meant no harm to it. The Bigfoot responded with an attack of ultrasound as a way for the man to back off. More on this HERE on Unexplained Mysteries.

She Wolf Night