MIKE HALLOWELL: More Cleadon Conundra

In some parts of our globe there is a mooted connection between certain cryptids and the UFO phenomenon. Sightings of Bigfoot, for example, are occasionally accompanied by reports of weird lights in the sky and the odd silvery-coloured disc or two. Likewise, in Puerto Rico those who espy the Chupacabras may also be privileged to spot glowing orbs or metallic-looking spheres hovering above in the ether.

In my last blog I announced that Darren W. Ritson and I have been planning a trip to Cleadon Hills in South Tyneside, which is now famous (or perhaps infamous) for two cryptids; a strange felid known as the Cleadon Big Cat and an even stranger hairy hominid called the Beast. Cleadon Hills has also had its fair share of UFO sightings, although what connection they have, if any, to the afore-mentioned cryptids is difficult to determine. "The Hills", as they are known locally, were even the location of a mysterious "Black Helicopter" incident some years ago, which I had the privilege of covering in a newspaper column.

Back in the 1990s I scripted a documentary called Anatomy of a Haunting, which was produced by filmmaker Gary Wilkinson and his company Northeastern Films. Jon and Richard kindly travelled to the Frozen North to take part, and provided an excellent (if somewhat eerie) introduction to the Fortean phenomena at Marsden Bay. Marsden Bay, for the uninitiated, is only a hop, skip and jump away from Cleadon. During the intro, Mssrs. Downes and Freeman spoke about the existence of "window areas", in which all sorts of diverse phenomena can, and usually do, occur. The thought struck me that Cleadon Hills may be just such a window area. Perhaps, then, UFO sightings in the area might be connected in some way to the appearance of the afore-mentioned cryptids or at least, their existence in the same spot may not be entirely coincidental. It was a long shot, but who knows?

In preparation for our trip Darren and I reviewed some of the photographs we'd taken on previous visits. One caught my attention in particular, not because of the scene, but simply because I'd forgotten to re-size the image previously. I decided on a whim to re-size it there and then and make it "book ready" should I want to use it in the future.

The picture was of the ruins of the old mill house at Cleadon – allegedly the home of the ghost of a young woman in a red dress who had killed herself when her father insisted she terminate her relationship with a young local lad. I'd taken the picture on Sunday 26 March, 2000, which I noticed, oddly, was almost ten years to the day before Darren and I's next trip.

I double-clicked on the image and re-sized it. I then tweaked around with the lighting and contrast. It was then that I noticed what looked like a small blemish in the top right-hand (facing) corner. As I zoomed in on the anomaly I was struck quite forcibly by its odd appearance. It certainly wasn't a bird or a plane, and looked for all the world like an elongated dumbbell hovering vertically in the sky. Curious, I decided to hunt out the original picture and take a look. Sod's Law, I didn't have it, having destroyed the original pic after copying it electronically. However, on another picture taken at the same time the strange object can still be seen, although it is much further away and barely visible.

To be honest, I haven't a clue what it is, but I do know that I'm not the first person to capture airborne anomalies with their camera upon Cleadon Hills. I checked to see whether there had been any UFO sightings over the area the last time either the Beast or the Cleadon Big Cat was seen, and was gratified to find that a number of strange lights had been observed in the sky over adjacent Sunderland.

Personally, I reckon that the Beast of Cleadon Hills was taking his Big Cat for a walk before settling down in front of the telly, and that the lights were the souls of his ancestors, who according to my spirit guide include Elvis and Doris Stokes.

Unless any CFZ acolytes have a better theory, of course, which you'd better not have coz I know where you live….