Warning to hikers: alien big cat spotted in Scotland

by Sean McLachlan on

If you thought the only monster in Scotland was the one in Loch Ness, you thought wrong. Mysterious giant cats are stalking the land, and while many people consider them as big a hoax as Nessie, one has recently been sighted and filmed. The video, taken by an off-duty Ministry of Defense dog handler, shows what appears to be a black feline measuring, if you judge by some nearby railway tracks, to be about four feet long. It’s certainly way too big to be a normal cat and doesn’t look at all like a dog. In fact it looks for all the world like a jaguar, although jaguars don’t exist in the wild in Scotland or anywhere else in the British Isles.

Sightings of wild cats are fairly common in the British Isles and have been dubbed by the easy to remember moniker Alien Big Cat (that’s ABC). Many look like pumas or jaguars. The Big Cat Research group has gathered data on more than 5,000 sightings and has lots of photos on their website, some laughable, some downright eerie.

You might just fob this off as a bit of harmless mystery, or some pussy on steroids, but one Scottish woman was attacked by an alien big cat and required numerous stitches. After that incident local police warned people not to approach or feed any giant cats they come across. So if you’re planning a hike in Scotland, be careful. Oh wait, I’M planning a hike in Scotland. Uh oh.

A legendary stone circle in England

by Sean McLachlan on

Everyone knows about Stonehenge, England’s most famous ancient monument, but did you know that there are nearly a thousand similar stone circles in the United Kingdom? Some are almost as big as Stonehenge, and all are steeped in folklore and legend.

A favorite of mine are the Rollright Stones, which you can get to as an easy day trip from Oxford or London. They’re near Chipping Norton, a fifty-minute bus ride from Oxford. This is a chance to get out of town and experience some of England’s peaceful countryside as well as a bit of prehistoric mystery.

The Rollright Stones is actually a general name for three ancient monuments within sight of each other. There’s a circle of low stones called the King’s Men, and nearby is a tall, strangely shaped stone called the King Stone (pictured here). A little further away is a cluster of five tall stones called the Whispering Knights. The names come from an old legend.

A long time ago, the legend says, a king and his army were passing through the countryside when five of his knights drew apart and conspired against him. As this was happening, a witch appeared and told him that if he could see the village of Long Compton a mile to the north by taking seven steps, he would become king of England. The king headed off, stretching out his legs as long as he could to get as far as possible, but on his seventh step a ridge rose up ahead of him. This ridge is still there and is called the Arch-Druid’s Barrow. The witch cackled and told him that he would never be king of England. Then the king, his knights, and the conspirators all turned to stone.

(I’m only repeating a legend, folks, so please don’t start a religious flame war like the last time I mentioned witches)

Stone circles are also associated with fertility, and old reports tell of young men and women meeting at the stones to eat, drink and, ahem, “be merry.” Ladies, if you want to find out the name of your future husband, press your ear against one of the Whispering Knights and he’ll whisper it to you. If you’re trying to get pregnant, press your breasts against the King Stone and you soon will be. “Making merry” with someone would probably help too.

So much for legend, what’s the real story of the Rollright Stones?

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The Whispering Knights used to have a roof, making a little building called a dolmen. Dolmens were used as tombs for important people and were generally covered with earth to make an artificial hill. It dates to about 4000-3500 BC. This was during the Neolithic, what archaeologists call the last phase of the Stone Age.

The King’s Men was built in the late Neolithic around 2500-2000 BC and is one of many stone circles set up at that time. Many of these circles have astronomical alignments, and the King’s Men is no exception. Two stones line up to mark the spot on the horizon where the moon rises on midsummer’s night. What does this mean? Nobody knows, since they hadn’t invented writing yet.

The King Stone is a bit more recent, probably erected around 1800-1500 BC in the Bronze Age. It’s a single standing stone and marked the spot for a cemetery. It’s interesting that people chose to bury their dead here at this site, already ancient in their day. Some researchers have tried to find astronomical alignments with the King’s Men, but there’s no solid theory yet.

There’s an easy, eight-mile circular hike to get to the Rollright Stones from Chipping Norton, the nearest town of any size. Details of the hike can be found in most hiking guides covering Oxfordshire. I used 50 Walks in Oxfordshire (AA Publishing, 2003).

Travel Read: Trail of Feathers, Searching for Philip True

by Jamie Rhein on

“‘If I’m not back in 10 days, come looking for me,” he said, then waved goodbye through the open window as the taxi disappeared from view up the steep, winding street.

No one who knew True ever saw him alive again.”

–from Trail of Feathers, searching for Philip True.

The description of what happened to Philip True in Mexico intrigued me. It was written on the inside flap of the jacket cover of Trail of Feathers. True, a journalist, was brutally murdered in Mexico in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains ten years ago. My uncle, also a writer, was shot to death in Mexico more than thirty years ago. Both of them were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

True’s account is told by Robert Rivard, his former editor at the San Antonio Express. After finding out about True’s death, Rivard set out for Mexico to find out what happened and locate True’s body. Rivard’s journey continued long after True was found buried in a shallow grave in a 150-mile canyon, deep in Huichol Indian territory.

When he was murdered, True was chasing a story and was traveling alone, something he did frequently. Rivard was drawn to find out more about what elements in True’s life pushed him towards such dangerous, solo travel. As he uncovered True’s mysteries, Rivard discovered more about himself–another mark of a traveler’s tale. Aren’t we all linked somehow?

As I read Rivard’s account of True’s life and death, as well as, what pulled Rivard in the direction of this book, I found a traveler’s story that sounds similar to the stories of many people I have met. For True, travel was a way to be his best self. An abusive, tumultuous upbringing gave him the umph to hit the road later in life. Becoming a journalist provided him the focus that enabled him to find peace and eventually marry. His wife was pregnant when he was killed.

Like any traveler who has distant horizons in his or her blood, settled or not, one is never quite settled. That’s the reason True journeyed into those mountains in December of 1998.

What happened to True is not exactly a warning, but it is a reminder that there are cultural elements that can trip up the most seasoned travelers. It doesn’t matter the size of a person’s heart or the pureness of intentions.

Along with delving into those elements of True’s life that helped make him a traveler, Rivard’s book is an intriguing look at what happens when a person is killed in another country and what needs to happen in order for justice to be served. In True’s case, and in the case of my uncle, the people from both countries, including the U.S. government and the Mexican government became involved.

If it wasn’t for Carl Perkins, who was a senator from Kentucky at the time of my uncle’s death, my uncle would have been buried in Mexico and we may not have found what happened in that ambush where he was shot five times.

Rivard’s book is an alluring read that drew me into its nuances. It’s a chance to find out an insider’s tale and see how a crime is solved, as well as, journey into a traveler’s soul.

Philip True was killed December 6, 1998, 10 years ago tomorrow.

* the photo is of Copper Canyon, not the same place where True was killed, but in the Sierra Madre mountains.

Tony Hillerman’s Four Corners region of the U.S. and an encounter

by Jamie Rhein on

“An author knows his landscape best; he can stand around, smell the wind, get a feel for his place.” –Tony Hillerman

Yesterday, when I read that Tony Hillerman died, I flashed back to one afternoon when I went as a guest to a writer’s group meeting at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As I introduced myself, was I surprised when I shook one man’s hand, and his warm voice said, “My name’s Tony Hillerman.” I had no idea that this was the writers’ group he attended.

What struck me about Hillerman was his unassuming aura. He was generous and thoughtful with his comments to the other writers, and not any more important than the others in the room.

Like anyone else who lives in Albuquerque, I was aware of Hillerman’s work as a mystery writer whose stories center around the Southwest. A person cannot live in that city without being aware of how he brought weight to the region. Plus, his books are everywhere. I recall racks of them.

I’m in awe of writers who are able to attach themselves to a place and dive deep into its nuances. Reading a Hillerman novel is a trip to the Four Corners region of the Southwest. His version is not the one that requires putting one foot in New Mexico, one foot in Arizona, one hand in Utah and the other in Colorado before buying a Navajo taco from one of the food vendors.

If you go to Four Corners with Hillerman’s eye, you look for the person behind the scenery. Who is the person who is selling you that turquoise bracelet? Who lives in the houses far flung at the edge of the hills? What about life matters most to them?

Although tourists may visit the various pueblos and Native American reservations across the Southwest, those experiences are merely glimpses of these cultures. Hillerman wrote about people here by getting under their skin.

As he said, “I always have one or two, sometimes more, Navajo or other tribes’ cultural elements in mind when I start a plot. In Thief of Time, I wanted to make readers aware of Navajo attitude toward the dead, respect for burial sites.” [Brainy Quotes]

Considering that Halloween is coming up this week, here’s a Hillerman title for you: Dance of the Dead. The novel is the second one in his series featuring protagonist Lt. Joe Leaphorn. It won the Edgar Award for best novel.

For an interview with Hillerman in Book Page, click here, and for yesterday’s NPR All Things Considered segment on Hillerman, click here.

Journey to Alaska for the Mystery Writers Conference

by Neil Woodburn on

The cold, snowy lands of Alaska are the perfect place for a crime.

Perhaps that’s why Bouchercon, the annual mystery writers conference, is being held in Anchorage this year.

The event, which kicks off September 27, brings together more than 225 mystery writers as well as actual professionals routinely spotlighted in their work–such as Dr. Abby Chidambaram who will be lecturing on the use of DNA technology in crime solving. There will be symposiums, signings, work shops, children’s events, and even a local version of CSI Alaska.

I’m no big fan of the mystery genre, but what other arm of literature so actively encourages its writers and readers to interact in such a cool way? Agatha Christie would be so proud!