Monsters Myths and Manias
Monsters, Myths and Manias explores strange and forgotten corners of history. Join Professor Weird (Paul Weatherhead) as he explores bizarre but true stories of mass hysteria, ghost panics, scary folklore and strange creatures...
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Episodes
Friday Jun 20, 2025
Friday Jun 20, 2025
This episode tells the story of one of the strangest entities ever to haunt this land - the demonic headless bear from hell. This strange monster is nowadays forgotten, but he left odd tracks in the realms of demonology, the works of William Shakespeare and also in the language we speak.
A monstrous headless bear, a flaming demonic snail, levitation and a possessed woman rolled around the house like a human hula hoop. And that’s just the beginning...
SOURCES:
A True and Most Dreadful Discourse (1584 and 1614) is easy to find online, or see Joseph Laycock’s excellent Penguin Book of Exorcisms for the full text in a readable format
Richard David Macey, Fake News and News Anxiety in Early Modern England (2018), PhD thesis, Loyola University Chicago
Gary Bills-Geddes, ‘Ghost bear in a time of war at Worcester Cathedral, Worcester News, 25th October 2019 Available at: https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/17992749.ghost-bear-time-war-worcester-cathedral/ I’ve slightly modernised spelling and punctuation
https://www.mysteriesofmercia.com/post/edgar-tower-it-s-spectral-bear