In the winter of 1855, after a heavy fall of snow, residents across a large area of the county of Devon, in the South West of the UK, awoke to find a mysterious trail of prints in the snow. Looking like an hoof, the single-file line of prints allegedly covered a distance of some 100 miles, ignoring obstructions in their path and continuing over high walls hayricks and even the roofs of houses. No satisfactory explanation has ever been given for the event, which became known as the Great Devon Mystery.
Although the case has been widely reported, interestingly it is not the only time that this has happened. Very similar lines of marks have been found in different parts of the world over the last 175 years or so. It's just that the other cases are much more obscure.
In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, creator and host Mark Norman compares and contrasts cases from 1840 through to 2009.
Episode 155: THE FOX IN ASIAN FOLKLORE
Episode 154: MONSTROUS WOMEN
Episode 153: EVERYDAY FOLKLORE
Episode 152: NICK MEDINA - Native American lore
Episode 151: RAT HOLES, POTHOLES AND MANHOLES
Episode 150 - AISLING: VISIONS OF IRELAND
Episode 149 - LOKI: A BAD GOD?
Episode 148 - REDISCOVERED PRATCHETT
Episode 147 - THE SNOW GIRL
ANNOUNCEMENT: Stories from the Hearth
Episode 146 - AMERICA'S FEMALE GHOSTS
Episode 145 - THREE RAVENS
Episode 144 - THE ELEMENTS
Episode 143 - IN CONVERSATION WITH PETER LAWS
Episode 142 - AN INTERVIEW WITH CHUCK TINGLE
Episode 141 - REBEL FOLKLORE
Episode 140 - FOLKLORE AND FICTION
FOLKLORE IN THE FIELD - Gunnella Thorgeirsdottir and Tommy Kuusela
Episode 139 - THE EXORCIST LEGACY
Episode 138 - THE AMAZING CRISWELL
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
The Rest Is History
Everything Everywhere Daily