One of the greatest mysteries in the world has to be the strange case of the devil's footprints. Given the nature of the event the documentation is not exactly satisfactory, however no one contests that something extraordinary took place just after a snowfall on the night of February 7 - 8, 1855 in Devonshire, England. The Times of London reported February 16th: |
Considerable sensation has been evoked in the towns of Topsham, Lympstone, Exmouth, Teignmouth, and Dawlish, in the south of Devon, in consequence of the discovery of a vast number of foot-tracks of a most strange and mysterious description. The superstitious go so far as to believe that they are the marks of Satan himself; and that great excitement has been produced among all classes may be judged from the fact has been descanted on from the pulpit. It appears that on Thursday night last there was a very heavy fall of snow in the neighborhood of Exter and the south of Devon. On the following morning, the inhabitants of the above towns were surprised at discovering the tracks of some strange and mysterious animal, endowed with the power of ubiquity, as the footprints were to be seen in all kinds of inaccessible places - on the tops of houses and narrow walls, in gardens and courtyards enclosed by high walls and palings, as well as in open fields. There was hardly a garden in Lympstone where the footprints were not observed. The tracks appeared more like that of a biped than a quadruped, and the steps were generally eight inches in advance of each other. The impressions of the feet closely resembled that of a donkey's shoe, and measured from an inch and a half to (in some instances) two and a half inches across. Here and there it appeared as if cloven, but in the generality of the steps the shoe was continuous, and, from the snow in the center remaining entire, merely showing the outer crest of the foot, it must have been convex [concave?]. The creature seems to have approached the doors of several houses and then to have retreated, but no one has been able to discover the standing or resting point of this mysterious visitor. On Sunday last the Rev. Mr. Musgrave alluded to the subject in his sermon, and suggested the possibility of the footprints being those of a kangaroo; but this could scarcely have been the case, as they were found on both sides of the estuary of the Exe. At the present it remains a mystery, and many superstitious people in the above towns are actually afraid to go outside their doors after night. |
The Times .said no more on the occurrence. In fact the most detailed accounts are found in letters to the editor of Illustrated London News from locals who reported on what they saw and heard about the enigmatic prints, which covered an incredible 100 miles over a zig zag path. Of the horseshoe shape in general, each track was exactly eight and a half inches apart. Later theorists would offer all types of candidates for the track maker. But if the accounts are accurate, and there are hundreds, then none of the candidates work. |
