On this day in engineering history, the county of Devon, England
was believed to have been visited by the Devil. After a night of heavy
snowfall, the residents of Devon awoke to
discover unfamiliar hoof-shaped footprints in the snow.
Unlike regular footprints, these prints were totally cleared
through to the ground, giving the impression that they were branded. The prints
were U-shaped and were measured to be four inches long by two and three-quarter
inches wide. Upon closer examination, the prints were found to be one in front
of the other, at a stride of eight and half inches apart. Based on their
distance, it was concluded that the prints most likely belonged to a biped than
a quadruped. The mysterious footprints reportedly stretched for over a hundred
miles, even through solid walls and haystacks. A set of prints was even to have
bridged a two mile space of the river Exe, continuing on the other side as if the
creature had walked over water.
As newspapers began picking up the story, different theories
began to emerge. Possible printmakers included escaped kangaroos, badgers, and
an experimental balloon. However, the most popular theory was that the
footprints belonged to the Prince of Darkness, the Devil. Clergymen suggested
that the Devil was roaming the countryside in search of sinners. The clergy filled
the churches by suggesting that the footprints may have been left to suggest
that the Devil wanted the people of Devon to
change their sinful ways. The town of Devon
waited in nervous anticipation to see if the prints would reappear, when they
did not the story broke out nationally.
Other villages in Southern Devon,
from Totnes to Topsham, also found the strange tracks. The prints had some
absurdities, such as stopping abruptly and starting again after a large break. As
in Devon, some tracks stopped at walls as high
as 14 ft, while continuing on the other side. Other reports claims that prints
traveled through areas as narrow as drainpipes.
While there have been other suggested explanations for this phenomena,
the Devil's footprints remain a mystery. The only want to really know is if the
prints appear again; but if they belong to the Devil, do we really want them
to?
Resources:
http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/fortean/devils_foot.html
http://www.mysterymag.com/theunexplained/?page=article&subID=104&artID=437
http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2005/devil_footprints.shtml
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