#22 – Brown Willy, Rough

Or: Carl and Sigmund Have a Field Day

The Beast of Bodmin Moor is the most recent of the monsters I’ve been given for this challenge. However, since it predates the heights of internet-born mythological fecundity but doesn’t have the cultural weight of centuries behind it, every entry I’ve sourced on it is curiously short, and as bare-boned as the moors themselves: there were wild cats, there may be still. A myth that’s younger than me is odd to encapsulate. I was in a dry mood when I wrote this, clearly…


They say that there’s a Creature on the moor.
They say Luke’s uncle’s mate saw it at dusk.
They say that he was absolutely sure.
They laid on brandy for this trembling husk.

The nameless experts nod and stroke their chins.
They say that they believe it to be so.
I trawl through ugly sites and turn to sin;
Laugh, marvelling: this was so short ago!

Three pumas freed in 1978,
Exotic rug abandoned in a stream;
These opened up and propped that deep-down gate
That lets us populate the mists with dreams.

We’ll always need these beasts of our creation
So pour them now credulity’s libation.

– FR

COULD THIS BE IT?! scream the online article captions...