UK Bigfoot -more phantom than flesh?

Cannock Chase Bigfoot has paranormal origins as far back as 1879

Nov 14 2008

CANNOCK Chase’s very own Bigfoot has been with us since 1879, documents have revealed. And as sightings of the creature continue to flood in, prominent cryptzoologist Nick Redfern declares: “It has paranormal origins!” Dozens of eyewitness accounts of Bigfoot have been recorded in the area in recent years. As recently as September, a sighting was reported by a local resident, who described being chased by a terrifying beast whilst driving through Cannock Chase at 2am. “This thing was the shape of a human, but stood about seven to eight foot tall. As soon as it realised we had seen it, it stood up straight and ran towards us. This thing was definitely not human, it was huge! It wasn’t just tall, but broad and stocky, too. I don’t know whether it was flying or jumping or what.” However, far from this being a modern phenomenon, local documents telling of a ghostly apeman have been uncovered dating back as far as 1883.In ‘Shropshire Folk-Lore’, Charlotte Sophia Burne writes: “A very weird story of an encounter with an animal ghost arose of late years within my own knowledge. “On the 21st of January 1879, a labouring man was employed to take a cart of luggage from Ranton in Staffordshire to Woodcock, beyond Newport in Shropshire. “He was late in coming back. His horse was tired, and could only crawl along at a foot’s pace, so that it was ten o’ clock at night when he arrived at the place where the highroad crosses the Birmingham and Liverpool canal. “Just before he reached the canal bridge, a strange black creature with great white eyes sprang out of the plantation by the roadside and alighted on his horse’s back. He tried to push it off with his whip, but to his horror the whip went through the thing, and he dropped it on the ground in fright.” According to Mrs. Burne, when the man recovered from the fright, he returned home and excitedly spread the story. A few days later, a policeman appeared and told the man: “That was the Man-Monkey sir.” Nick Redfern, a notable expert in the field who grew up in Staffordshire, insists that the Cannock Bigfoot is real - but not just a flesh-and-blood animal. Mr. Redfern said: “I think the Cannock Chase Bigfoot has paranormal origins and is linked with the large amount of paranormal activity in the area. “If this creature was flesh-and-blood, there would have to be more than one to ensure reproduction. “!If there was a colony of them on the Chase, we would be seeing massive evidence of them feeding on the local animal population. “But the amount of deer kills that have taken place are not anywhere near enough to feed a colony of these creatures. “However, I am in no doubt that the reports people have made are genuine. I have spoken to a number of witnesses to the creature myself and I am convinced of their honesty. “The Cannock Chase Bigfoot has to be a ghostly, paranormal-type thing, and not a large, physical ape.” Writing online, Mr. Redfern says he agrees with the conclusion that “ancient man - who certainly constructed the Castle Ring - had mental abilities that extended far beyond our own, and was able to essentially tap into other realms of existence, and construct ‘from the mind’ images of bizarre and monstrous beasts that inhabited those same realms. “The purpose of these beasts? To act as guardians to prevent any harm being done to the areas that ancient man deemed to be of spiritual significance.

http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2008/11/14/cannock-chase-bigfoot-has-paranormal-origins-as-far-back-as-1879-66331-22256955/

So is the Cannock Chase bigfoot more metaphysical than ape? And what does that say about the American Bigfoot….could it also be more esoteric than flesh? It would explain the lack of physical evidence but then why do only some people see it? Maybe you have to believe to see .