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The Hexham Heads

CreaturesHexham, Northumberland, England, UK · 1971–1978Disputed
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Two small stone heads dug up in a garden in Northumberland were followed, the families said, by visits from a half-man, half-sheep creature.

What was reported

In 1971, two children digging in their garden in Hexham found two small carved stone heads, about the size of an apple. Soon after, the families in the house next door said they saw a strange creature, half-man and half-sheep, in their home at night.

The heads were passed to Dr Anne Ross, a scholar of Celtic religion, who thought they could be ancient Celtic carvings. She later said that while she had them, she and her family saw a tall, dark, wolf-like figure in her house.

Explanations offered

In 1978, a former resident of the house said he had made the heads himself in the 1950s as toys for his daughter. Others were not convinced. Tests on the stone were inconclusive, and the heads have since been lost.

When
1971–1978
Where
Hexham, Northumberland, England, UK
Witnesses
Two families, a Celtic scholar and her household
Status
Disputed

Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.

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