The Man Monkey that has been haunting the canals of the UK for centuries.
The Shropshire Man Monkey is a cryptid – that is, a creature not really considered to exist by conventional science but that influences legends nevertheless and grabs the interest of enthusiastic cryptozoologists.
You will already have heard of well-known cryptid examples such as of the Abominable Snowman, the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, and many others. Well, here we have our own local version of the UK Bigfoot.
The Man Monkey
The Man Monkey has been prowling around the Shropshire and West Midland canals for centuries or so it seems. This is its story.
Shropshire folklore specialist Amy Boucher takes on the stories: “The Man Monkey of Shropshire and Old Ned’s Devil is thought to be a Cryptid zooform primate type animal that has been spotted numerous times along the Shropshire Union Canal.
This canal like many others was constructed by Thomas Telford in the year 1828 and includes a number of UK canal networks consisting of Shropshire, Staffordshire, Birmingham, and sections of Cheshire, and Wales.
The most renowned sighting took place at 10 pm on the cold night of January 21st in 1879 and was examined by Folklorist Charlotte S. Burne.
Charlotte described that just prior to the eyewitness coming up to the canal bridge, an unusual, hairy dark creature ‘with terrific bright white eyes’ sprung out of the bushes by the road and lurched at the horse attaching itself to the horse’s rear and holding on. This obviously scared the man almost to death.
In despair, the man attempted to force it away using his horsewhip, however to his terror, the horsewhip went straight through the animal, which scared him so much he dropped the whip to the floor. The horse which was also scared then broke into a canter, then proceeded to run at full speed, with the animal continuing to hang on to the horse’s back as it ran.
The poor witness was so terrified by what had just happened that he went to his bed and stayed there for several days after the incident.
The canal was explored and examined the following day, and the horsewhip was located in the precise location that he had dropped it.
“Oh, was that it, sir? I know exactly what that was. That was the Man Monkey”
The authorities went to the victim a number of days later upon hearing that he had been mugged.
As the man described what had happened to him still in terror, the police officer appeared to be somewhat let down by what he was hearing, and responded: ‘Oh, was that it, sir? I know exactly what that was. That was the Man Monkey, he has been appearing at that bridge ever since a guy drowned in the canal here.
The man who went through this ordeal was apparently “disheartened” to know this kind of experience was a frequent incident.
Old Ned’s Devil
An animal or creature similar to the Man Monkey has also been documented close to the tail end of the 19th century by an individual called Ned. While steering a horse and trap on Rolfe Street in Smethwick just outside of Birmingham, he heard an unusual sound behind him and was jumped at by a strange-looking creature, which he then fought off and killed with his bare hands and his whip.
The creature was put on exhibit in a window case box in the Blue Gate pub on Rolfe Street, where the incident happened, and was called ‘Old Ned’s Devil’ by the people who lived in the area and frequented the pub.
Old Ned’s Devil was most likely a different creature to the one encountered in the January of 1879, as this was an animal of actual flesh and blood, which had been killed and put on display which many people witnessed.
Recent Sightings Of The Man Monkey Still Emerge To This Day
Even more Monkey Man sightings and encounters have been documented since this occasion, all with amazing similarities.
The very latest instance I could discover was one mentioned in 2002 and reported to British Waterways (currently the Canal & River Trust) after they put out an appeal for ghostly goings on around the waterways.
The gentlemen got in touch with the canal and river trust and stated that whilst on a boating holiday on the ‘Shroppie’ during the 1980s, as he was cruising towards a canal bridge he looked up and observed a massive, hairy black body’ looking back down at him with huge eyes. He shouted for his family and crew, however, the monster had vanished by the time they got there.
Remarkably, there are even more records and stories of a very similar ape-like Man Monkey creature from the Madeley Wood area during the 1870s that match the same description! – are these the UK’S equivalent to the Yeti?”
Have you seen the Man Monkey or Bigfoot type creature on your canal travels?
If so let us know what happened in the comments below
Books Available About The Man Monkey
On the Hunt for the British Bigfoot: An investigation into the UK’s most elusive cryptid written by Lee Brickley.
Brickley has proof that could prove the existence of the British Bigfoot (The Man Monkey) once and for all including photos and DNA samples, the details of which can be found in this book.
Click Here To Buy British Bigfoot
MAN-MONKEY – In Search of the British Bigfoot: Written by Nick Redfern
Nick Redfern takes a deep look into the ongoing mystery of the strange cryptid that lurks in the dark stretch of this UK canal network. Revealed for the very first time, man monkey lets you take a look into Nick’s original interviews, his files, and discoveries on the Man Monkey; as well as all his theories as to what lies at the bottom of this scary but interesting legend.