Soho's phantom dog!

Read Neil's latest Londonist article HERE in regards to the spectral dog that once roamed a club situated in Soho.

MYSTERY ANIMALS OF KENT: THE BOOK

Hopefully around Christmas/New Year the CFZ will have published Neil Arnold's long awaited, and unique book: MYSTERY ANIMALS OF KENT as part of their MYSTERY ANIMALS OF THE BRITISH ISLES series.

Mystery Bears in London ?

Check out Neil's latest article at THE LONDON WORD

'Beasts of London' in Fate Magazine

FATE MAGAZINE has been in existence for 60 years and remains America's leading journal of the paranormal and Earth mysteries. In the Nov'/Dec' issue Neil Arnold has an article on strange creatures in London history.

Link HERE to the website.

The Wanstead beast is back!

Just what are people seeing in Wanstead Woods ? It seems the press haven't a clue and neither have the witnesses despite mentions of Bigfoot. However, some 'thing' is roaming the wilds, and here's the story.

Londonist covers the monster of Wanstead Woods

Neil's latest SATURDAY STRANGENESS

Neil giving a talk...

On Monday 17th November at 7:00 pm Neil will be giving a talk to The Sceptics In The Pub. Venue: The Penderel's Oak (The Cellar Bar), 283-288 High Holborn, London,

Dragon feature.

At The London Word check out Neil's latest feature, sightings of dragons over London. Surely not ?!

What lurks in Wanstead Woods ?

Bigfoot ? Bear ? Prankster ? You decide.

Surrey 'puma' is back!

On Sunday 2nd November 2008 at 9:40 pm, a man and his wife were travelling through Heydon Heath, an isolated part of Surrey, when, as they came round a bend, they noticed a large cat walking away from them in the road. The witnesses got to within 40 yards of the animal which was light fawn in colour, slinky and having a long drooping tail.

The male witness believed the animal was a small puma, it was only the size of a Springer Spaniel. The cat made its way into the woods and out of sight.

Fortean Times Unconvention 2008

So, after an 18-month gap, the Fortean Times Unconvention is back. Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd November was the date, the venue being the University of Westminster at Regent Street...the verdict ? AWFUL!

Is it me or are a majority of 'forteans' just sad anoraks who walk around in their black hats, long cloaks and smelling of b.o. ? Is it me or are a majority of the speakers the same every year, part of the FT clique who, despite large ego's and big heads, waffle on like robots bereft of any kind of humanity or character, kinda like Tim Henman with that smarmy grin, well educated haircut and frothy lip from babbling on about such lifeless information. I admit, I was actually looking forward to Mike Dash and his Spring-Heeled Jack lecture but after twenty-minutes without a pause, milky lip and complete damnation of Peter Haining's original book on the subject, he must surely have realised that his robotic waffling had put all in attendance into a trance. Well, thank goodness for 'The Woman In Black' I thought, surely to be a lecture on a very eerie matter, but alas, all we got was Theo Paijmans and his internet print-outs of sightings of women in black, and nothing more, not even a connectivity with the audience.

So, it was an escape to the traders area where I discovered there was more life at a church fete as a literal handful of tables exhibited a small selection of dreary books, except for the only effort being made by the Centre For Fortean Zoology guys who, complete with wrinkly mermaid displayed their books and made the day for me. Thank goodness for Jonathan Downes and the gang, who saved the day with the talk on the re-evaluation of the Chupacabra...

For me, Uncon 2008 was the final nail in the coffin as lecture after lecture passed by like a stingy haze...or was that just the procession of 'forteans' who filed into the two halls like dopplegangers of one another, convinced that conspiracy, aliens and ghosts are truly among us without ever realising that in their stubborn and lifeless facade they had, in two days, summed up a lifetime of Forteana including the empty Fortean Times magazine whose pages continue to bore even the most hardened pony-tailed UFO fans.

I recall a fine '60s soul track called 'The In Crowd', which at the time conjured up unity in its lyrics of, "I'm in with the in-crowd, I go where the in-crowd goes...", but not any more, and if you've got any sense, you'll avoid the Unconvention like the plague, because until they realise how robotic and stiff the whole event is, they'll forever remain buried deep within the realm of their owns arses, where the sun refuses to shine...

The Winged Beast of London

At THE LONDON WORD Neil speaks about the Brentford Griffin which was allegedly sighted over the capital in the '80s.

Neil appearing on White Noise Radio

On Halloween, from 10:00 pm Neil will be discussing all manner of weirdness on WHITE NOISE PARANORMAL RADIO

More horrifying tales of mystery assailants...

Neil follows up his previous post with another ghastly tale of phantom leapers, spectral predators and ill rumour...at THE LONDON WORD

Slashers, Snippers, Stabbers & Rippers!

Neil Arnold's latest grisly installment at THE LONDON WORD

Highgate Vampire. The Movie!

Initial excitement turned to rust on this one, but check out the details on what looks to be a totally unconnected horror flick with awful soundtrack, bad acting etc...in fact, the perfect example of modern horror..shame, because a film about the 'vampire' of Highgate would be something very special indeed...Link HERE

Photo by Jez Waddington Oct 2008

Wednesday October 15th - Put it in your diary..

For those of you in the south, Neil Arnold will be discussing 'big cat' sightings on the Isle of Sheppey as part of the BBC Inside Out series on BBC Wednesday 15th October at 7:30 pm.

More issues with London's fox population.

From THE LONDON WORD

Poisonous fish in the Thames.

Nick Redfern sent me an interesting article from The Daily Mail which'll make all skinny dipper's wary of paddling in Londonw aters! Link HERE

Moonlight Investigation

Moonlight Investigation blog gives mention to Neil's Spring Heeled Jack article which was written for The London Word

Spring-Heeled Jack

The caped assailant from the 1830s is the subject of Neil's latest article at THE LONDON WORD

Neil giving a talk to:- London Earth Mysteries

Neil Arnold will be discussing London's population of exotic cats and other local mystery creatures, at the London Earth Mysteries Circle, on Tuesday 23rd September 2008 at 7:00pm at: 50 Gloucester Place, Nr Baker Street, London. Closest tube is Baker Street. The link for the site is HERE

The Thamesmead 'panther' at Londonist

Link HERE to read Neil Arnold's latest Londonist installment.

THIS IS NOT THE ESSEX PANTHER

This photo made THE SUN on Tuesday 9th September, convincing many it was the Essex panther....here's the link, but the picture speaks for itself!

Do vampires haunt London ?

Check out Neil Arnold's coverage of the Highgate 'vampire' and other blood-sucking anomalies of the capital HERE

Strange bones found in Mitcham

A creepy story courtesy of THIS IS LOCAL LONDON

Seeing red on the London foxes...

At The London Word

Bexley 'beast' sighted...

During late August 2008 at around 3:20 am, a resident at Glenhurst Avenue was awoken by a strange screeching sound. Upon looking out of his window he saw a fox scurrying into the darkness followed by a huge, black animal he took to be a 'panther'. Is this the same animal that has also been seen around Thamesmead ?

London 'big cats' at THE LONDON WORD

THE LONDON WORD is a fantastic website which Neil Arnold is contributing to on a regular basis. His first post pertains to mystery cats roaming the capital.

A strange race of people beneath London...

In the latest episode of THE SATURDAY STRANGENESS Neil Arnold looks into the legend pertaining to a race of subterranean dwellers inhabiting the deserted railway tracks, sewers and tunnels of London. Do beings, known as Troglodytes, feed off the food we throw away, and as some rumours suggest, also live off the occasional drunk tramp or two ? Do such primal people have their own language, evade human contact and exist in the world below one of the world's busiest cities ?

The Vampire of Coventry Street

This episode of The Saturday Strangeness, Neil uncovers the obscure tale of the alleged vampyric attacker said to have bitten a few victims back in the 1920s. Was a vampire really to blame ?

Hampstead Heath and it's unusual wildlife.

The latest issue (44) of 'Animals & Men', the magazine put together by the Centre For Fortean Zoology features an article by Neil Arnold on sightings and folklore of feral pigs, seals, bizarre spiders, crocodiles and the likes around Hamsptead Heath.

Thames Explorer

This excellent little website mentions a variety of common, and uncommonly sighted creatures along the London river. The most interesting being the sea lamprey's said to inhabit the waterway.

Black Leopard seen at Thamesmead

A Black Leopard has been reported from Goldfinch Road, West Thamesmead. A man, who did not wish to be named, was awoken at 3:00 am during Saturday 9th August, by a strange screeching sound. Upon peering out out of the curtains he saw a small animal race along the pathway, and then something larger caught his attention, he said: "I saw a black animal rolling on the grass between two trees. I thought to myself, 'Bloody hell! That's the biggest moggy I've ever seen', and then thought, 'It must be a dog'. However, its head was cat-like and its tail was very long. It walked to the left to some bushes and I moved the other curtain but couldn't see it."
The animal the man saw was a black leopard which over the last few years has become known as the beast of Bexley, a creature around 4-5 ft in length. For the last 18 years KENT BIG CAT RESEARCH has collated evidence and eye-witness sightings of large exotic cats in the wilds of Kent, London and Sussex.The Bexley big cat has also been seen at Welling, Erith, Bexleyheath, Belvedere, Bromley, Abbey Wood and towards Dartford.A large puma has been seen in Southwark recently, and each year Neil Arnold receives more than 250 sightings of such animals, and conducts talks on the research. In a few months Neil will be releasing a unique book called MYSTERY ANIMALS OF KENT pertaining to his research into large cats and other strange animals around London and Kent.

The London 'vampire'...that never was!

Over at Londonist, the latest SATURDAY STRANGENESS episode from Neil Arnold.

A Wildman In London!

Was a strange, hairy humanoid once contained beneath London's gloomy underground in the 1940s ? Neil tells us about this intriguing story HERE

Photo by geese on flickr

Phantom Horse Of London

Neil's tale of the spectral coach and horses said to have once haunted an area near Windsor.

Parakeets cause damage in Shirley!

Check out the story at Londonist

The Maniac On The Platform

Neil discusses a chilling legend HERE said to once haunt the London Underground system.

New species of insect...in London!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080715/ap_on_sc/britain_mystery_insect

Reptile...or just a branch ?

From THIS IS LOCAL LONDON

The Pig-Faced Monster Of Chelsea

Follow the link HERE to read more on the horror of Markham...

BEASTS OF LONDON - THE BOOK!

Neil is currently working on his next book pertaining to strange creatures sighted around London which will cover everything from exotic cats, to dragons and other non-flesh and blood monsters, and also vampires...stay tuned...something wicked this way comes!

Giant, graffiti covered snails on the rampage...

Strange, but very true... http://www.forteanzoology.com/cgi-bin/CFZ/YaBB.cgi?board=anin;action=display;num=1213819793

Mystery spiders of Hampstead Heath

Londonist features the latest Neil Arnold SATURDAY STRANGENESS episode on eight-legged freaks roaming the Heath.

Puma sighting in London

Neil Arnold recently received a report from the Southwark area of London concerning a possible puma sighting. This report has now been backed up by another sighting this time from May 31st at 8:00 am at the site of the old London Park Hotel, Chruchyard Row, and was observed by a male witness who described the animal as the size of a Labrador, 150 metres away. Grey/sandy-mottled coat with a very long curving tail.

Creepy crawlies in a KFC!

Check out This Is Local London for a story that'll have you thinking twice (if you haven't already!) about fast food restaurant's!

Southwark News cover the 'puma' story

http://www.southwarknews.co.uk/00,news,10566,440,00.htm

MYSTERY ANIMALS OF THE BRITISH ISLES SERIES

My friends at the Centre For Fortean Zoology will be publsihing a huge, unique series of books pertaining to mystery animals sighted in various counties throughout Britain. The series, titled, 'Mystery Animals Of...' will feature counties such as Devon, Cornwall, Staffordshire and there's also mention of my forthcoming books on Kent and London. Check out the link HERE courtesy of researcher Nick Redfern.

A Puma in Southwark ?

PUMA IN SOUTHWARK

Crypto-talk in London

Press Release from JACK ASHBY:

Dear all, You are warmly invited to a very exciting free event at the Grant Museum as part of our Cryptozoology Season...
A Beginner’s Guide to CryptozoologyTuesday 20th May, 6pmDarwin Lecture Theatre, UCLHow do you search for an animal that has never been seen? Are there mysterious beasts roaming our moors? How can you tell superstition from reality? Jonathan Downes and Richard Freeman, Director and Zoological Director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology - the world’s only professional organisation dedicated to cryptozoology - join us to discuss what cryptozoology is and how it is studied. They will give fascinating highlights of their many expeditions in search of hidden animals like the Mongolian Deathworm, the Mexican goat-sucker and the Loch Ness Monster. Following the talk, join us for a free glass of wine in a private view of the Museum.This event is free, there is no need to book.The Cryptozoology SeasonThe Cryptozoology Season explores the world of hidden animals and the people who work with them. From the lives of those who study species unknown to science, like Nessie and Bigfoot, to expeditions in search of animals presumed extinct, our talks, events and film-night will investigate this marginalised subject in exciting ways. Is it mainstream science or paranormal research? Come and make up your own mind.For more events in the Cryptzoology Season log on to: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology/whats-on/index.html

Snakes in the capital.

Another Londonist feature from Neil Arnold HERE

Killer Moth!

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/weird/display.var.2238446.0.invasion_of_the_killer_moths.php

BEXLEYHEATH BIG CAT TALK

Neil Arnold will be giving a lecture on his 'big cat' research at the Bexley U3A on Thursday 8th May 2008 at 2:00 pm. The venue is: ROBERTS HALL, behind CHRIST CHURCH BROADWAY, BEXLEYHEATH, DA6 8DG

The Beast of Winchmore Hill

To celebrate 50 posts at Londonist, here's the milestone post, on a mystery 'lioness' roaming the capital THE BEAST OF WINCHMORE HILL

Tour of Highgate!!

Beasts of London was rather astonished to see that someone out there is attemtping to make money out of tours, to be conducted throughout the cemetery. Investigations in the past proved fruitless when mentioning the 'vampire' and yet now, during Spring '08 it seems as though the legend of the 'vampire' is being advertised....will the public swarm the area like back in the '60s...check the link HERE

The 'bear' of Hackney Marshes

Neil's latest Londonist episode concerns the mystery bear-like animal spotted on the marshes in the '80s. http://londonist.com/2008/04/the_saturday_st_44.php

Neil Arnold on London Radio

On Tuesday 22nd April at 8:20 am Neil will be appearing on London Radio with Paul Ross and JoAnne Goode. Check HERE for the link to the show. Be sure to tune in.

MAN-BEAST UK!

http://manbeastuk.blogspot.com/ A new, unique website run by author Nick Redfern, investigating reports and legends of Bigfoot-like humanoids, mystyerious gorillas and monkey-men roaming the UK.

TIME OUT Magazine article (April 10th - 16th)

In the April 10th - 16th issue of TIME OUT magazine, Neil Arnold has written an article on London's mysterious creatures, bizarre entities and prowling big cats. Check out the article on page 52.

And more Highgate!

Psychic investigator David Farrant, who was involved in much of the anomalous phenomena of the '60s and '70s pertaining to the 'vampire' of Highgate, has his own website, located at: http://www.davidfarrant.org

Highgate again....

This fascinating clip from You Tube is something akin to a '70s horror movie...probably is, but it's certainly atmospheric and a wonderfully murky portrayal of the cemetery from a time when vampires allegedly prowled the catacombs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faAr5txp2zI&feature=related

A TALK ON BIG CATS AROUND LONDON

Neil Arnold will be talking to the SOUTH EAST LONDON FOLKLORE SOCIETY, on Thursday April 10th 2008 at 8:00 pm.
Details HERE

Strange creatures from London's murky depths!

A crocodile and a freshwater shark in the capital ?! http://londonist.com/2008/03/the_saturday_st_41.php

A wolf in London ?

Read Neil Arnold's article HERE on legends pertaining to wolf sightings in the capital.

Beasts Of London In Time Out magazine's TOP 50

BEASTS OF LONDON is proud to say that it's been voted in the TOP 50 London-based websites, check out the review here:

http://www.timeout.com/london/features/4273.html?DCMP=OTC-Mag-50BestWebsites

BEASTS OF LONDON has also been given the prestigious Time Out magazine badge of recommendation.

Neil's 'Londonist' Sunday article

A big cat encounter from 1995 in the capital. Read it here:
http://londonist.com/2008/03/the_saturday_st_39.php

Hampstead's phantom ape...

http://londonist.com/2008/03/the_saturday_st_38.php An article written by Neil Arnold for Londonist.

Man wanted to keep leopards...

A story here from 2006 regarding a Peckham man who applied to keep two Clouded Leopard's in his garden.

Talks...Books...

Neil is scheduled to conduct several talks in the London area...stay tuned for details...he is also working on his next book, MYSTERY ANIMALS OF KENT.

Taking the hiss!!

How can someone mistake a can of De-Icer for a snake ? http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/weird/display.var.1962163.0.deicer_can_makes_woman_go_hissterical_about_snake_in_her_car.php

London 'big cat' articles

The new Centre For Fortean Zoology Yearbook 2008 is now available from http://www.cfz.org.uk/ and includes two articles of note to London-based weirdness. The first is Neil Arnold's 'Cats Around The Capital' plus Karl Shuker's 'A Trio Of Mystery Cats At London Zoo'.

The phantom cat-ripper!

1998 was a very grisly year throughout the city with regards to frequent mysterious moggie murders, by way of decapitation and tail removal. Forty cats had turned up in eight months from as far a field as Bexley and Sidcup towards Kent, and further into the heart of London at Camden, Tottenham and Hackney. Environmental officers from Bexley Council investigated one particular carcass that had been completely drained of blood and bereft of head. Strangely, most of the victims were found not far from their homes, often discovered in the back or front gardens.
On Halloween 1998 a pet cat with a severed head was found in a garden in Wimbledon. The horrifying discovery led some to believe that a satanic cult were on the prowl at night, whilst others claimed that the ‘M25 Monster’, a local big cat, possibly a lynx, had devoured the domestic variety.
At Stepney and New Barnet around the same time, other cats were found, but their heads remained absent and on November 11th a psychologist was called in by police to create a profile of what the press had dubbed ‘the cat-ripper’, with The Independent reporting that, “…cat ripper may attack humans next”, causing a reasonable stir in the press and the local community. Ten rabbits were next on the hit-list, but further south, and towards the festive season at Twickenham, an Eileen Tattershall lost her cat Bonkers in grisly fashion, but even a £1,000 reward couldn’t flush the mystery attacker out.
As the sliced up moggies turned up, many cat owners would be spending their Christmas without their beloved pussies.

Invasion of the...mussels!

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.1960160.0.aliens_mussel_way_into_thames.php

Round-up of 2007 London-related 'big cat' sightings

Londonist has Neil Arnold's end of year sightings round-up located at: http://londonist.com/2007/12/the_saturday_st_31.php

Neil's book voted 'best of year'!

Loren Coleman, cryptozoologist at http://www.cryptomundo.com has voted Neil Arnold's MONSTER! THE A-Z OF ZOOFORM PHENOMENA the award of 'BEST FORTEAN CRYPTOZOOLOGY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2007' http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/cz-books-2007/