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Mysterious Creatures of Britain
Britain is a land of legends, myths and half-remembered stories from times past. It is a place of broad sweeping moors, dark dense forests, fern-choked glades, sparkling mountain streams, deep lakes and overgrown graveyards that sit next to ancient churches. It is a place where the natural lives in harmony with the supernatural, where the light and dark are sometimes lost in the gloaming, and where strange creatures have been reported for hundreds of years.
These are the mysterious creatures of Britain, ranging from the enticing Mermaid of Zennor in Cornwall, the Highgate Vampire, the Beast of Bodmin, the Owlman of Mawnan, to Morgawr, a huge plesiosaur-like beast believed to haunt the sea near Falmouth Bay, Cornwall. And yet these are not the only anomalies to be found in this green and pleasant land where fairies and imps abound and phantom black dogs frequent lonely country roads.
It is a place where a murderous fire-breathing entity called Spring Heeled Jack lurks in the dark streets of Victorian London and monsters lie in wait in the cold dark waters of the lochs and lakes. We have seen that ordinary people keep experiencing bizarre and sometimes quite frightening creatures that either could not, or should not exist, and yet, the experiences continue to this day.
JG Montgomery, cultural historian and member of the London Ghost Club (founded in 1862), takes the reader on a journey through these shadowy accounts where myths and legends blend with reality and the truth may be somewhat stranger than we could ever imagine!
These are the mysterious creatures of Britain, ranging from the enticing Mermaid of Zennor in Cornwall, the Highgate Vampire, the Beast of Bodmin, the Owlman of Mawnan, to Morgawr, a huge plesiosaur-like beast believed to haunt the sea near Falmouth Bay, Cornwall. And yet these are not the only anomalies to be found in this green and pleasant land where fairies and imps abound and phantom black dogs frequent lonely country roads.
It is a place where a murderous fire-breathing entity called Spring Heeled Jack lurks in the dark streets of Victorian London and monsters lie in wait in the cold dark waters of the lochs and lakes. We have seen that ordinary people keep experiencing bizarre and sometimes quite frightening creatures that either could not, or should not exist, and yet, the experiences continue to this day.
JG Montgomery, cultural historian and member of the London Ghost Club (founded in 1862), takes the reader on a journey through these shadowy accounts where myths and legends blend with reality and the truth may be somewhat stranger than we could ever imagine!
248 pages, Paperback
Published May 28, 2025
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 1, 2026
So Here Are The Chapters!
Photos of inside the book on my Amazon review, the first and only review currently!
I was searching for a book about mythological/legends creatures of Britain and this book caught my eye. There are not that many around and this seemed like the best buy.
I like the front cover, its blurb and the fact that it has 248 pages. But that's it, i couldn't find anymore information about this book. There are no reviews anywhere.
I emailed the author requesting some info but i got no reply, i appreciate that his inbox will likely be bursting at the seams.
So i took the risk and bought it hoping that it would be decent.
This review is to help others know what's in the book.
Its basically accounts of sights seen of mysterious creatures of Britain. Account after account most covering a paragraph so there's quite a lot but there isn't any depth, just the straightforward witness accounts.
There are mythological creatures stretching across time and literal strange creatures that people have and are currently seeing and they are fascinating.
But this book would've been so much better if it had been longer and with more detail to the background of these creatures. It has so much potential, why not write another longer version?
The author JG Montgomery gives his honest opinion on each creature witnessed.
I was hoping this book was going to involve lots of fairly detailed stories and history but that's not what it's about. There are a few little stories and some slightly longer and they're brilliant.
But it needed more!
One of these included Croglin Grange which I'd never heard of. That's in the Vampire chapter which i found the most interesting with some short stories.
Spring Heeled Jack is in here too but not all of the accounts are here, just a handful but great to have him in the book!
A huge disadvantage is that the book has no Index so it makes it that you can't dip into the book easily, never mind remembering things whilst reviewing!
Illustrations are included in black and white as a middle section which i add to my review.
See my photos for the chapters I'm listing here.
Chapter 1 - Mermaids & Other Creatures Of The Sea.
Chapter 2 - Creatures Of Lochs, Lakes & River.
Chapter 3 - Fairies, Imps & Other Mythical Creatures.
Chapter 4 - Black Dogs & Mysterious Panthers.
Chapter 5 - Vampires & Strange Hairy Men.
Chapter 6 - A Talking Mongoose, The Devil's Footprints & The Curious Case Of Spring Heeled Jack.
Chapter 7 - Too Weird For Words?
Chapter 8 - Final Thoughts.
The book's worth buying just for chapter 5, it's so spooky!
Over grown graveyards, a ghoul found in a crypt, a strange creature that crawls into your house making its way to your bed squeezing under doors, a figure that scurries out of your bedroom window when you wake up in utter fright and footprints in the snow that suddenly stop then start again further on.
It's all good spooky stuff and you'll learn lots about what mysteriously sneeks around Britain and they all remain a mystery.
No Redcaps here, guess I'll have to keep on searching.
Photos of inside the book on my Amazon review, the first and only review currently!
I was searching for a book about mythological/legends creatures of Britain and this book caught my eye. There are not that many around and this seemed like the best buy.
I like the front cover, its blurb and the fact that it has 248 pages. But that's it, i couldn't find anymore information about this book. There are no reviews anywhere.
I emailed the author requesting some info but i got no reply, i appreciate that his inbox will likely be bursting at the seams.
So i took the risk and bought it hoping that it would be decent.
This review is to help others know what's in the book.
Its basically accounts of sights seen of mysterious creatures of Britain. Account after account most covering a paragraph so there's quite a lot but there isn't any depth, just the straightforward witness accounts.
There are mythological creatures stretching across time and literal strange creatures that people have and are currently seeing and they are fascinating.
But this book would've been so much better if it had been longer and with more detail to the background of these creatures. It has so much potential, why not write another longer version?
The author JG Montgomery gives his honest opinion on each creature witnessed.
I was hoping this book was going to involve lots of fairly detailed stories and history but that's not what it's about. There are a few little stories and some slightly longer and they're brilliant.
But it needed more!
One of these included Croglin Grange which I'd never heard of. That's in the Vampire chapter which i found the most interesting with some short stories.
Spring Heeled Jack is in here too but not all of the accounts are here, just a handful but great to have him in the book!
A huge disadvantage is that the book has no Index so it makes it that you can't dip into the book easily, never mind remembering things whilst reviewing!
Illustrations are included in black and white as a middle section which i add to my review.
See my photos for the chapters I'm listing here.
Chapter 1 - Mermaids & Other Creatures Of The Sea.
Chapter 2 - Creatures Of Lochs, Lakes & River.
Chapter 3 - Fairies, Imps & Other Mythical Creatures.
Chapter 4 - Black Dogs & Mysterious Panthers.
Chapter 5 - Vampires & Strange Hairy Men.
Chapter 6 - A Talking Mongoose, The Devil's Footprints & The Curious Case Of Spring Heeled Jack.
Chapter 7 - Too Weird For Words?
Chapter 8 - Final Thoughts.
The book's worth buying just for chapter 5, it's so spooky!
Over grown graveyards, a ghoul found in a crypt, a strange creature that crawls into your house making its way to your bed squeezing under doors, a figure that scurries out of your bedroom window when you wake up in utter fright and footprints in the snow that suddenly stop then start again further on.
It's all good spooky stuff and you'll learn lots about what mysteriously sneeks around Britain and they all remain a mystery.
No Redcaps here, guess I'll have to keep on searching.
Displaying 1 of 1 review