Neil Arnold

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• Posted The Saturday Strangeness to Londonist
  131. Beware the Stick Man! There are some mysteries within the field of the paranormal which simply defy any explanation. Take for instance the creepy case of the Stick Man. In 2003 a story appeared on the message board of Fortean Times Magazine, from a man who claimed that 'several years ago' he'd encountered a bizarre humanoid in the Brockley area of south-east London.
• Posted The Saturday Strangeness to Londonist
  130. Neighbourhood Witch Scheme! On the 25th September 2009 the Daily Mail newspaper reported on actress Phyllida Law, and the fact that from her home at Crediton Hill, West Hampstead she'd had two ornamental gargoyles stolen. The woman, whose daughter is actress Emma Thompson, found her stone figures missing in the summer of 2007. Inspired by the film, Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix (in which her daughter stars) Ms Law designed a placard warning that whoever had taken the gargoyles would be cursed. The note, which read, "Be so kind as to return the children's stone statues. Otherwise curses will occur! You have been warned!" was accompanied by two Neighbourhood Watch mock-ups labelled 'Neighbourhood Witch', with a broomstick-riding figure drawn on.
• Posted The Saturday Strangeness to Londonist
  129. The Faceless Phantom of Langmead Street Even the police stationed outside the house in Langmead Street couldn't find an answer. They couldn't explain the strange buzzing noises heard by 26-year-old Cecil Greenfield. They couldn't find a suspect to arrest for the weird banging noises which kept the family awake every night. The family of eight were tormented by an unseen assailant who dragged furniture about the West Norwood residence. And then, at 2:15am on a warm July night in 1951, Dennis and his wife Gladys got the shock of their life when they entered their home and were confronted by a tall, grey figure without a face.
• Posted The Saturday Strangeness to Londonist
  128. Putting the 'cat' in Catford! The recent 'Palace puma' and 'Sydenham beast' fiascos had kind of given reports of large, exotic cats a bad name. Firstly there were the media inaccuracies of the former - there was no puma - meanwhile the latter saw a poor domestic cat eaten in Sydenham Park by an unknown predator. The tale fizzled out however when a local woman claimed she'd photographed the beast - even though...
• Posted The Saturday Strangeness to Londonist
  127. Museum of Monsters Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals - such creatures are given the tag 'cryptid', for researchers within the field believe such 'animals' to be on the verge of discovery. Although mysterious beasts such as the Yeti, Bigfoot and Nessie remain out of the reach of science, there are some creatures that remain as reasonably valid cryptids - undiscovered creatures around the next corner, or species thought extinct but which resurface.