The Wulver| Scotland's Werewolf

First
Comes

                There are werewolves in almost
every country that has people living within. Sometimes they are called
werewolves but most times they have their own distinct names and behaviors.
What we see as werewolves today relies mostly on media, we’ve come to learn
that they are bloodlust creatures at which most times they cannot control their
animalistic behaviors. They are weak to silver and turn during full moons, you
can become one by being bitten or scratched but this is not true. Though some
of what we know, via learn from T.V and YA books, does stem from somewhere are
usually greatly exaggerated.

                Today I will be talking about
the Werewolf of Scotland known as the Wulver. A completely different type of
werewolf that we never hear about from pop culture, come with me into the
Shetland Islands of Scotland.

Wulver

                Unlike the aggressive beasts
we’ve come to fear and love, the Wulver kept to itself and preferred to remain
peaceful if not provoked. Unlike most werewolves which are often portrayed as
shapeshifters, the Wulver is more of an immortal spirit and lacks any human
blood. Contrary to this, it is said that he takes the form of a man with a
wolf’s head, with thick brown hair. The ancient Celts believed that the Wulver
evolved from wolves and is a symbolic for the in-between stage of man and wolf.

                On a regular basis, Wulvers’ are
spotted around Shetland even til the start of the 20^th century.

                Nobody better describes the
Wulver than Jessie Saxby, here is a quote from “Shetland Traditional Lore”:

                The Wulver was a creature like a man with a wolf’s head. He had short
brown hair all over his body. His home was a cave dug out of the side of a
steep knowe, half-way up a hill. He didn’t molest folk is folk didn’t molest
him. He was fond of fishing, and had a small rock in the deep water which is
known to this day as the “Wulver’s Stane.” There he would sit fishing sillaks
and pitlaks hour after hour. He was reported to have frequently left a few fish
on the window-sill of some poor body.

                They
are described as being kindhearted and generous, they were known for helping
the most unfortunate people in the country by either delivering fish onto
windowsills of the poor or help los travelers by guiding them to nearby towns
and villages. He felt so much remorse for the unforuntate that when households
with a sick family member, he would be found sitting mournfully outside their
house. He is said to live alone in a cave somewhere on Shetland.

There
haven’t been reports for more than 100 years.

May
it Be?

                With science quickly turning the
world from an open minded one to a closed one, many have speculated the other
possibilities of this creature. Who was it? What was it? Did it really exist
and if so, was it really a cryptid? I gathered what I could of others
speculations from sites all over and I pick through each curiosity to see if it
is possible, the Wulver was a real person.

        Hunter Syndrome: Susan Schoon Eberly, an
expert in congenital disorders, sets out to discern fairie lore with possible
real causes and disorders says that the Wulver may have been a basis with the
medical condition Hunter Syndrome.  The
symptoms of Hunter Syndrome are: An
enlarged head, thickening of the lips, a broad nose and flared nostrils, a
protruding tongue, a deep, hoarse voice, abnormal bone size or shape and other
skeletal irregularities, a distended abdomen, as a result of enlarged internal
organs, diarrhea, white skin growths that resemble pebbles, joint stiffness, aggressive
behavior, stunted growth, delayed development, such as late walking or talking.
Companied with the pictures and what I can read, the syndrome doesn’t really
express what the claims of a Wulver are, lacking a wolf head which has a
elongated snot, ears on the head and covered in short brown fur. To me that is
enough to disprove that this Syndrome could explain a Wulver. The
characteristics don’t match up.

        Lycanthropy: Lycanthropy is a mental
illness where an individual has a strong delusional belief that they can
transform into an animal, most often a wolf. The belief is caused by a form of
psychosis or dementia that causes the person to whole-heartedly believe that
they have become a certain animal. Mental illnesses such as these don’t general
change a person physical appearance. No extra hair is added, no dog head
replaces the humans – so comparing this to a Wulver, whom doesn’t go around
screaming or chanting that “they are a werewolf.” And who generally seem to
know what they are doing: such as fishing and helping others is quite different
from a person suffering from Lycanthropy.

        Hypertrichosis: The excessive growth of hair,
this can also grow all over the body in multiple different types of hair follicles.
If it weren’t for the fact that I have an open mind and believe in the possible
impossible, I would say that Hypertrichosis is the most likely culprit of the
Wulver. Though it doesn’t result in a dog or wolf head, people seeing a person
covered in so much hair can make a person imagine and come up with stories. The
Wulver acts humans, has care for others and gets aggressive only when others
are aggressive. It is highly likely it could be a person, afraid of judgment,
became a hermit living in a cave and uses fishing to feed himself but has a big
enough heart to give and help others also regardless of his appearance.

        I couldn’t find any stories on the
Wulver even from the past and from the claim of a sighting in the 20^th
century. Though it was said there was a sighting, no story came from any site I
read that said this claim so I can’t say for sure that, that “20^th
century” sighting ever really existed. There is nothing else much known about
this creature either, only what I’ve been able to tell. So tell me, what do you
believe? Is the Wulver a real, true wolf man or a person who lived with
Hypertrichosis or some other illness?

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Kemper Hall-The Headless Nun| Between Monsters and Men

Kemper
Hall

                Kemper
Hall sits on the banks of Lake Michigan, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Originally known
as Durkee Mansion, the gothic structure was built in 1861, and settled in by
Charles Durkee who was completing his term in the United States Senate. Four
years after settling, he donated the building to St. Matthew’s Episcopal
Church, who would convert the house into a girls’ boarding school. It was then
renamed to Kemper Hall in honor of Jackson Kemper, who was the first missionary
bishop of the Episcopal church of the United States.

                In
1875, the church built a chapel north of Kemper Hall, and a year later the first
graduating class had its ceremony there.  In 1894 a four story dormitory was built to
the south of the complex, and in 1901 was extended. In 1908 the mansion was
linked to the church due to the construction of the music house. Later, in
1905, a boiler room was built behind the complex. Finally six years later, a
convent was built to the north, which linked to the chapel with a nun’s
residence.

                The
School itself was never large, graduating 1600 students in its history. Kemper
Hall closed in June 7^th, 1976 but now is a museum.

Ghosts
Inhabiting Kemper

·        
                Mother
Mary Therese/ Sister Margaret Clare: Let’s settle this before we get started.
There are two names that revolve around this particular haunting. Most call the
spirit Mother Mary Therese, however, there is no documentation of a Mother Mary
Therese ever working or living at Kemper Hall. With that said, let’s move onto
Sister Margaret Clare, who is also the name of this spirit. Sister Margaret
Clare was a stern nun who ran the school with an iron hand when she took charge
in 1883. The stories vary into a few ways: from her tripping on her habit and
falling down the stairways to the observatory, to her being pushed out of the
window to her death from the same tower. Each coming to the conclusions that
she had lost her head and now roams the grounds headless, to her black form
falling from the tower, or to even her being heard or seen falling down the
stairs before disappearing. Other witnesses claim that they’ve seen her peeking
down at them from the top of the stairs. This proves to only be a legend though,
for Sister Margaret died in 1921 from a chronic illness.

·        
Suicidal Student/Sister Augusta:
This is a simple legend with few tales spreading from it. It concerns a student
who jumped from the observatory tower and committed suicide, she did this
because she was forced to attend the all female school and to leave her lover
in the process, and now people see her leaping off from the top of the
observatory on occasion. Though, not a student, a suicide did occur at Kemper
in 1900. A sister named Augusta came to Kemper from Chicago to attend an annual
retreat at the school. While she was in Kenosha, she vanished without a trace
leaving behind for her handbag, crucifix and her insignia of Holy Sisterhood.
When authorities were alerted, they sent word to Chicago and to St. Louis,
where her family lived. On January 5^th, a message came from Kemper
Hall that Sister Augusta was in Springfield, Missouri. However…This was false.
On January 8^th, a little girl named Bertha Smith and her younger
brother were playing on the beach at the East End of Semiary Street when they
spotted the robes of Sister Augusta floating in the water. They ran home, told
their mother and she reported it to the police. Within the drenched robes was
the lifeless body of the missing nun. During questioning, her friends spoke of
her strange behavior on the night she vanished. Claiming she had become,
“Mentally deranged from her work, which had been exceedingly hard during the
last few months.” She had requested time off and it was granted, but as to why
she took her own life is unknown, that is …if she did take her own life. Two
young girls did end up testifying that they had seen her walking on the beach
on the night of January 2^nd, but that was the last time anyone saw
her alive.

·        
Durkee Mansion: Regardless of the
construction, Durkee Mansion still remained on the campus, attached to the
Kemper Hall, and within its antique walls is said to be another ghost of a nun
who died in a fire. She is said to haunt the 3^rd floor of the
mansion which has been turned into a historical museum. There are also other
claims of different ghosts, possibly Charles or Caroline, the original owners
of the mansion.

·        
Other Apparitions:

-         
1930s – A bakery worker at the
school saw a phantom dressed in brown clinging to the railing of a stairwell.
When she went to tell others of her sightings, and they returned to the
staircase, the figure was gone.

-         
 1985 – A student of the Lakeside Players
theater group was standing inside of the old gymnasium when she sensed a
presence in the back of the room, as if someone was watching her. When she
turned, she caught movement at the corner of her eyes following with the sound
of scraping and footsteps climbing up the balcony staircase. No one else was
presence and no one was on the balcony.

-         
October 1997- The crew from the
Channel Four local news station was filming a Halloween story inside Kemper
Hall. After filming, the photographer editing the tape began experiencing
problems with the tape. While editing, each time the tape would reach the portrait
of Found Charles Durkee, the tape would roll and begin flashing with static
before turning to normal when the shot changed. This happened every time.

-         
A group of third graders were on a
tour at the Durkee Mansion, while they were in the dining room, all of the
sudden the cabinets opened up. The children became frightened. The tour guide
tried to assure them it was due to humidity, she closed the cabinet door and it
opened up again.

Other occurrences

        Other
occurrences people have experienced revolve around screaming, high pitched
cries, dark figures rolling down the stairs where the nun was said to have
fallen, to cold chills, bad feelings, hearing voices, footsteps, the feeling of
being watched. Shadows also have been seen in the science lab, in the library,
in the ladies bathroom and outside. Tales of schoolgirls being seen in the
windows and on the school grounds still are rumored, and a strange black shadow
that crawls on the grounds and outer walls have been seen.

        David
Schmickel, a photographer, had taken pictures were spectral shadows and images
were seen in the second story windows of the former science hall. He called
Richard Crowe, a famous Chicago psychic, and asked his thoughts and feelings on
Kemper. Richard Crowe agreed and admitted he felt there was something
definitely happening at Kemper. The Kenosha News reported weird sightings as
well, one even told of William Saxby, who was taking pictures of the dome when
he saw a blurry object fall from the tower. He also experienced his camera
jamming when he was trying to take pictures of the stairway.

Tell me, do you believe in the
ghosts of Kemper Hall? If you have been there and experienced anything
spiritual feel free to message me.

Due to Youtube demonetizing videos like mine,
feel free to check out my Patreon page and if you’d like, come support me. I do
videos on true crime, Cryptids, haunting, Abductions and more. I’d like to
thank my supporting Patron thus far. Please Like, Comment and Subscribe.

Sawney Bean| Serious Killers

Alexander
“Sawney” Bean:

                Before beginning I’d like to
mention that Sawney Bean is often considered a mythical figure, there is no
real conclusion if his story is real or fake. There are also many different
versions of the story, expanding from the 1300s to the 1600s: so I will be
telling the tale that I found the most of. The first documented mentioning of
Sawney comes from “The Newgate Calender,” which was a crime catalogue of the
Newgate Prison in London. Within this documentation, it states that Sawney was
born in East Lothian during the 1500s. His father was a ditch digger and a
hedge trimmer, but when it came to taking up the family trade Sawney felt
little to no interest in the honest labor. He left home with a woman sometimes
named Black Agnes Douglas, and the couple found their way to a coastal cave in
Bennane Head between Girvan and Ballantrae. The cave was 200 yards deep and
during high tide the entrance was blocked by water. This is where they lived,
committing their crime, for twenty-five some years.

                Between the two, they had eight
sons, six daughters, eighteen grandsons and fourteen granddaughters; various
grandchildren were products of incest. 
The clan survived by ambushing at night to rob and murder individuals
and groups. After the murders, their bodies were brought back to the cave where
they were dismembered and eaten. Any leftovers were pickled and often body
parts would wash up on nearby beaches.

                Regardless the disappearances
didn’t go unnoticed, but the Beans were smart on their antics and stayed in the
caves by day and attacked by nights and due to their secretiveness, the
villagers were unaware of the murderers living nearby.  Eventually the villagers organized a search to
find the criminals, and on such a search they found the cave, however the men
refused to believe that anyone could live inside. Angered they couldn’t find
the real culprits the villagers began to lynch several innocent people, hoping
they’d catch the culprits but the disappearances kept going. One of the suspects
was the local innkeepers since they were the last to have seen many of the
people who’d gone missing.

                Caught
Red Handed

                One night the Beans
ambushed a married couple who were riding home from a fair on a single horse,
but what they didn’t expect was that the husband was a skilled fighter and was
able to hold off the clan with sword and pistol. He was able to hold them off
until a large group of fairgoers appeared on the trail. Before fleeing, the
clan was able to fatally maul the wife when she fell off the horse during the
conflict but it is said the husband survived. 

                The Bean’s existence was
revealed and it wasn’t long before King James VI of Scotland led a manhunt with
a team of 400 men and several bloodhounds. They soon found the Beans’ cave and
within they saw a horrendous site. Within the cave was scattered human remains;
body parts were pickled in jars and some were even hung up on the walls.
Possessions of the numerous victims were left in piles throughout the cave.

                The clan was captured alive and
taken in chains to the Tolbooth Jail in Edinburg, from there they were
transferred to Leith or Glasgow where they were executed without trial: the men
had their genitalia cut off, hands and feet severed and then bled to death, the
women and children watched as the men died and then were burned alive.

                A
Runaway?

            The acclaimed town that was
said to be located near the scene of the murder, known as Girvan, has another
legend about the clan. One that states that one of the Beans’ daughters left the
clan before their capture and settled in Girvan where she planted a Dule Tree
that became known as “The Hairy Tree.” After the capture of the clan, the
daughter’s identity was revealed and the angry locals hung her from the very
tree she planted.

                Another tale tells of the
daughter escaping and being adopted by a local family; at 17, she married and
they had a son. The family would kill two to three people in times of hunger in
order to survive. The villagers found out, captured the daughter and hung her
while the husband and son escaped. They bought a charter to one of the colonies
in the New World and establish within the colony of Roanoke Island.

            Today:

                There is a display of Sawney
Bean at the Edinburgh Dungeon that is very popular. And most in North America
would recognize a similar story to that of the Wes Craven 1977 movie, “The
Hills Have Eyes,” Which Wes Craven was inspired by an article on Sawney Bean.
There is also a small influence from the tale in the “The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre,” which was also inspired by Ed Gein.

               

Fact
or Fiction:

                These are just my theories and
what I was able to gather up logically and scientifically from my standing – it
does not all mean it’s the truth. Let’s begin: Sawney Bean was said to be the
leader of a clan of 48, most of the grandchildren – I can imagine – if not all,
were by incest. With six daughters and having to wait 12-13 years each of them
to be able to produce children up to about 48 is actually possible. I’ve even
tried debunking this by doing the math, extracting 12 years for each girl and
then adding a child to per girl after the following years if they were to give
birth every year would be close to 60 grandbabies if I collected right.
Surprisingly, I have to rule out that logic. Let’s now try ruling out the cave
situation – that floods during high tide. Believe it or not it is still
possible for them to live in that cave since it is recorded to have tunnels up
to 2-3 miles long (at least that I read.) But to kill up to 100 and now being
said to have killed up to a 1,000 in 25 years? If you were to kill 1 person per
day, it is very likely.

                So I looked into when pistols
were invented and brought over to Scotland if they were not already made in the
Highlands. Pistols were invented around 1364, matching early on with the
possible years but unfortunately I couldn’t find when they were brought to
invent in Scotland. But most likely early on as they were invented.

                If the tale I read is the most
likely to believed (which I am not sure, I only found one other tale, though
I’ve read there are tons of others.) Then I dug into James VI, he was born 1566
and died in 1625, marking that the Beans’, if they existed would have been in
the late 1500s but prior to the 1605s; since he was coronated and living in
England in the early 1600s. So from that information we can pinpoint them
living possibly around the 1580s to the 1600s. King James was the sort of King
that told his people what he was doing when things got down to business – so if
he were hunting for a clan of cannibalistic murderers, it would have been known
and popularized and detailed in accounts that mostly would have been preserved.

                More on how it was impossible
for the Bean clan to exist in the 1300s is them being taken to the Tolbooth
Jail – which was completed in the 1400s. To expand on this timeline theory is
this, if the daughter escaping and marrying to be true, and husband and son
reaching Roanoke that also puts the Beans’ existence in the late 1500s due to
Roanoke being established around that time. Now before I move onto another
persons’ viewpoint on the matter, let me bring up one other thing:

                The story of the daughter
escaping to Girvan. I am not saying this is not possible but it’s an odd
coincidence. Why, you ask? Dule trees are widely known in Britain, but do grow
in Scotland, but are known as the Gallows for public hangings. They are known
for this very aspect throughout history and yet, the daughter planted a Dule
tree and then was hung from one is just an unexpected coincidence if it were to
have ever actually happen. It was as if, she planted her own demise. I did look
into Girvan and any possible “Dule” or “Hairy Tree” there and couldn’t find
anything so it could or might not exist.

                In the 2005 article released by
Sean Thomas, he notes that the historical documents such as newspapers and
diaries during the era that Bean was said to be active, doesn’t mention any
hundreds to thousands of disappearances. He also notes that there are inconsistencies
in the stories but believes there could be some small truths as well as
possible inspiration from other murder cases. I am not saying his research is
invalid, I am 100% positive he had better sources than me but since the legend
ranges from the 1300s to the 1600s, I’d imagine it to be impossible to get all
the documentation from all the newspapers and diaries of those eras, especially
with a high chance that they were lost in time, destroyed, or even hard to
translate.

                Let’s talk politics. A subject I
am actually quite terrible at. The first books mentioning the story, including
the Newgate Article, were published in England at a time where there was
widespread prejudice against the Scots. On the rise of this, the name Sawney
itself, was a popular English name that was more of a racial slur for the
Scots. Many historians believe now that the story was made up for propaganda,
or that if the Bean Clan did exist that it was greatly exaggerated.

                Now tell me, what do you
believe?

                Due to Youtube demonetizing
videos like mine, please check out my patreon page and if you choose too,
become a patron and support me. I do videos on true crime, Cryptids, Abductions,
haunting and much more. I would also like to thank my supporting Patron thus
far.

                Please Like, comment and
subscribe.