Irish Phoenix (1897)? May 20, 2016
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Beach likes to think that he presents an interesting series of monsters to the international anomalist, folklore horror and ghost community. But he has one regret. In largely limiting himself to British and Irish newspapers the range of fauna is often fairly modest, certainly when compared to the marvelous stuff that appears in some American publications and so often aired by Haunted Ohio Books and other American sites. He was particularly happy, then, to come across this example from 1897 that, he thinks, might finally give some of the American bogeys a run for their money. We are in Ireland as the sun begins to set on the western Raj:
Dunbought Fort, on which, in times gone by the fairies were wont to disport, was some time ago visited by an animal of very striking peculiarities. Unfortunately, only one person had the privilege of seeing it, but as he is a man who at ordinary times speaks the truth, we must accept his word for what follows. Briefly the facts as related by him to me are these: Being engaged in agricultural pursuits in a field convenient to the fort, his attention was attracted to an old fairy bush at the north-east corner of the fort by the barking of his dog. On proceeding to examine the place he discovered an animal, evidently belonging to the bird tribe, with long legs of enormous thickness, webbed feet, pleasing eye, a long curved bill, and feathered like a Turkey, sitting on one of the lower branches.
Beach, the son of an ornithologist, at this point began to tick off the possible real world species that could have led to this confusion. But just in case you, reader, are attempting something similar perhaps first read to the end, as ‘Ireland’s Rarer Birds’ will only get you so far in this instance.
On going closer to it the bird sat unmoved, but what was my informant’s surprise and amazement to see its feathers change gradually into fur; its long beak disappear; its tail, which had consisted of feathers, change into a tail like that of a dog, so that at the end it assumed the appearance of a four-footed animal. When this miraculous change was completed it leapt with an unearthly scream to the ground, performed a few wild gyrations around my informant, and with the speed of the wind bolted off across the fort on four legs like a god [love this], and has since been lost to human sight.
Message to American cousins, readers and friends, can anyone beat this: drbeachcombing At yahoo DOT com
Source: Ballymena Observer, (21 May 1897), 1
30 May 2016, Bruce writes ‘That report resembles some late 19th century sightings of the “Jersey Devil”. The greater NYC area was filled with refugees of the Potato Famine and their offspring by then. Did the Jersey Devil stories filter back to Ireland, or were the 19th century Devil sightings starting to fall in line with an older cultural motif brought by the famine Irish to the New York-New Jersey region?’
