The woodwose, or wild man, is believed to live in Yellowham Woods in Dorchester

The simian-like creature of American folklore, otherwise known as Sasquatch, has long been a staple of the ‘Wild Men’ stories found among the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast.

Said to inhabit the forests of that region, with sightings spread throughout North America however, Bigfoot is now something of a phenomenon in popular culture, yet he may have a British cousin…

Legends of large, hairy, bipedal creatures are prevalent amongst many different cultures around the world, hence Bigfoot having so many different names; the Yeti stalks the regions around the Himalayas, sometimes called the Abominable Snowman, while the Yeren lives in the forests of China.

Closer to home, however, tales of the ‘Woodwose’, or Wild Man, said to inhabit the forests of Europe have been doing the rounds since pre-Christian times.

A mythical figure akin to the enduring leafy ‘Green Man’ of English folklore, the Woodwose appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe. Often likened to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands, from the 12th century, these wild men, and indeed wild women were consistently depicted as being covered with hair, a defining characteristic of their ‘wildness’, as one would expect!

While various explanations have been put forward to explain the existence of Bigfoot, the scientific community typically attributes such sightings to either hoaxes or misidentification of known animals, with the tracks of black bears often posited as an explanation, yet while the American black bear is the world's most common bear species, the bears inhabiting the wild woods of our Isles became extinct around a 1000 years ago. So what monstrous creature is it that still lurks the environs of Yellowham Wood today, less than four miles from Dorchester town?

It was said that the Woodwoses who frequented the woodlands around Yellowham Hill, savage, hairy, humanoid creatures, were more than partial to carrying off maidens from the nearby villages, and their convenient existence, not to mention their penchant for virgins was, in the past, often cited as probable cause for many young ladies who might have found themselves in a compromising position.

Folklorist Aubrey L Parke, who preserved a rich and varied collection of stories passed down from previous generations of Dorset villagers, recounted the case of one expectant, but unmarried mother, who, on being brought before the Dorchester Magistrates, laid the blame for her condition squarely with the Woodwose, exclaiming “Please your worshipfuls, 'twere the Wild Man of Yal'ham.”

In Thomas Hardy’s fictional Wessex landscape, Yellowham Wood features as Yalbury Wood, and in view of Hardy’s acknowledged fascination with the folklore of Dorset he was certainly aware of the "superstition of Yellowham Wood, which was supposed to be haunted by the 'Wild Man o'Yall'm' who fathered many of the 'love-children' born in nearby villages."

Historic accounts and literary references aside, Woodwose still makes his presence felt today.

In the summer of 2014 two members of the BBR - the British Bigfoot Research organisation who actively investigate sightings of hairy, ape-men type creatures that occur in the UK, paid a visit to Yellowham Woods.

Over the course of two evenings spent in the lonely forest, their ‘clapping’ technique was rewarded with responsive tree knocks, and the sound of ‘something’ moving through the woods near to their position. The discovery of a stick structure, possible tree breaks, and some impressions in the mud that may have been footprints, followed by further whooping howls certainly spooked them, as did what sounded like a tree being pushed over as they made for their car!

Left in no doubt that something of the Bigfoot variety still calls Yellowham Wood its home, whether it be the 'Wildman of Y'allam' said to have dwelt there for hundreds of years, if you go down in the woods today, you might be sure of a Bigfooted surprise!

SUMMER STREVENS