The Canvey Island Monsters
On an November day in 1954, some citizens of Canvey
Island, Britain, were said to have found a bizarre looking
animal in the shallow water of a beach.
Those who found the dead thing dragged it up onto the
sand, covered it with seaweed, and ran to tell the
authorities; the local authorities contacted the federal
authorities, and the federal authorities responded by
sending two zoologists. These two gentlemen examined and
photographed the corpse, then admitted they had never seen
anything like it.
The unknown creature appeared to be a marine animal, but
with feet and legs it could walk on if it chose; standing
upright, it would have been about two and a half feet tall.
The feet had five toes arranged in a 'U' shape, with a
concave arch. the creature also had a thick, brownish-red
skin and a pulpy head with two protruding eyes.
The body was cremated by the zoologists, who then left
without making a public statement about the corpse.
On August 11, 1954, the Reverend Joseph Overs was walking
along the beaches of Canvey Island a couple of miles from
the site of the corpse's discovery, when he ran across a
second body floating in a shallow tidepool. He contacted
the local authorities, and they, once again, sent for
expert help.
This new body was not only taller than the last -- four
feet tall, standing -- but was in overall better condition
too. The specialists stated that the body weighed about
twenty-five pounds, had two large eyes, nostrils, strong,
sharp teeth in its mouth, and gills. Its skin was pink and
tough, like the hide of a healthy pig. Like the corpse
found before it, the new body had two legs and feet, the
feet possesing the odd toes arranged in a 'U' shape with a
concave center. Observations and theories
I have only one source for this story, Frank Edward's
factually challenged book Stranger Than Science. It should
be noted as odd that he doesn't state what happened to the
second body, and only provides one definite name in
relation to the whole case.
With the above details listed out, Mr. Edwards then
theorizes about a possible connection between these odd
creatures and the incident of Feb 8, 1855, when a strange
line of 'U' shaped tracks appeared in the snow of southern
England