Monday, July 11, 2011 Werewolves Need Loving, Too

From some UK paper I've never heard of:

Werewolf hunt on Cannock Chase interrupted by dogging couples and angry youths

Jun 24 2011

Paranormal investigators who descended on Cannock Chase for a documentary on the fabled werewolf that’s said to prowl the area had to flee after stumbling across stunned ‘dogging’ couples.

And if that wasn’t enough, the crew were surrounded by angry youths - who believed they were swingers themselves - when they got to their car.

It was more X rated than X Files when filmaker Damon Simms and his team came across couples seeking cheap thrills in the undergrowth at the German War Cemetery.

The group were certainly confronted by the naked truth while hunting for clues during a late-night foray.

Cannock Chase has long been a hotspot for sightings of strange phenomena, with reports of a strange wolf-like beast and big cats among the 26 mile woodland. But the mythical beasts aren’t the only secretive nocturnal inhabitants. It’s a favoured haunt for doggers and swinging couples from all over the country.

“We went up the Chase with a team of researchers to try to get some evidence about these sightings,” Damon, 37, said.

“But, unfortunately, we also had a bit of a problem with doggers while we were there. They were all in the bushes and it was obvious what they were doing. We moved on to other areas. It was wise to give them a wide berth. Unfortunately, we were then completely surrounded by gangs of youths in about six cars. They were hurling abuse at us and it got a bit nasty.

“I think they thought we were a gang of doggers ourselves and started to shout abuse at us. Unfortunately, we had to move on again,.”

Damon has been researching paranormal sightings over the Chase for a number of months. He is particularly interested in a glut of alleged werewolf sightings.

He was interviewed last week by satellite paranormal show Mindscape TV about the phenomena. He is currently awaiting permission form Cannock Chase Council to investigate closed-off areas of the Chase.

“We are looking at getting permission to investigate certain areas of the Chase. There are certain areas that might pose a health and safety risk, so we need to liaise with the council before we go there,” he said.There has been a lot of interest in the film and a number of cable TV stations have shown interest in it and can’t wait for us to completed the project.”

A quick Googling will explain what "dogging" is (and probably install a virus on your computer).

If the conflux of canine concerns sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A similar incident was portrayed on the British TV series, Being Human, earlier this year - the werewolf protagonist was arrested while traipsing through a popular dogging site. This may be a"life imitating art" Fortean synchronicity, but it can also be a case of an enterprising fellow publicizing his documentary in a unique way. Given that there's only one source for the info and no police quote, well...

Cannock Chase has a bit of a rep when it comes to the paranormal. The blog of Fortean Times contributor Nick Redfern has plenty of info on the topic, including a nice summation of a wave of werewolf sightings in 2008.

This picture is far creepier than anything you could encounter on the moors.