As there has been such a positive response to my idea to post some vintage newspapers reports here dealing with a few ghost investigations, thought this one might be of some interest dealing (albeit somewhat generally) with sightings of phantom black cats seen in the West Country.
My friend Trevor Beer, a naturalist and newspaper columnist from Barnstaple with whom I have maintained a lengthy correspondence over the years, has been studying these elusive black cats for decades, and even written a book “The Beast of Exmoor” which sets out many of his findings. Trevor invited me to stay at his home for a week in 1995 and he told me about many of the locales in the immediately vicinity where these sightings had allegedly occurred. We exchanged notes and opinions on possible paranormal causations for these recurrent sightings, and while we agreed that many of these sightings were of physical beasts that had either escaped from captivity or been released to roam in the wild, other cases were probably supernatural by origin when they were often sighted on desolate country roads at nights only to just disappear suddenly in the headlights of passing cars.
We left the possibilities open; but I enjoyed a pleasant week at his home enjoying the clean Devon air, and the company of someone who shared a mutual interest in all aspects of paranormal research.
So, hope you enjoy the article . . .
David
