Old Stinker
Reports of werewolves, or werewolf-like creatures, span the centuries and multiple culture’s folklore. The idea of part dog-part human beasts roaming around just seem to have a special place in human’s mind. One of these tales is ‘Old Stinker’ a Yorkshire-based werewolf first reported in the 1700s, with sightings all the way up to the 2010s and beyond. But what is Old Stinker’s story...and is there really only one?
Sightings largely happen around Hull so, some may know Old Stinker by a more distinguished name: The Hull Werewolf. However, I still prefer Old Stinker. How did he get that name? A variety of tales and lore all agree on one thing: this werewolf’s breath was particularly foul. It was also said to stand between 7-8ft tall, had red eyes, viscous teeth and claws. Not something you’d like to run into on your daily walk.
One thing that is particularly interesting about werewolf sightings and England is that, well, wolves went largely extinct in England by the 1500s. So, continued sightings of wolf-like creatures may seem dismaying because, unlike in other parts of the world, it can’t be easily dismissed as being ‘just a wolf’ or other similar predator.
In 2016, there were almost a dozen eye-witness reports of a werewolf-like creature lurking around Hull. At first, it was dismissed as just a mangy dog that had been set loose or gotten loose and returned to a more wild state. However, as more accounts poured in the legend of Old Stinker rose again.
According to Huffington Post UK one eye witness said, “It was stood upright one moment. The next it was down on all fours running like a dog. I was terrified. It bounded along on all fours, then stopped and reared up on its back legs, before running down the embankment towards the water. It vaulted 30ft over to the other side and vanished up the embankment and over a wall into some allotments.”
It seems almost English in and of itself to fear wolves. Wolves caused huge losses to many English families and, in fact, wolf-bounties were often put out and were largely responsible for their massive deaths throughout England and eventual extinction. Seeing Old Stinker likely brings up centuries-long fear...and adrenaline.
The Conversation puts forth an enlightening argument at their end of their article about the recent sightings: “Rather than being dismissed as a rather fishy tale, Old Stinker can activate the wolf warrior in all of us and allow us to lament the last wolves that ran free in English forests. Far from being a curse, he is a gift: he can initiate rewilding debates and redeem the big bad wolf that filled our childhood nightmares, reminding us that it is often humans, not wolves or the supernatural, that we should be afraid of.
Thanks to Hannah C for this blogstonishing suggestion!
The blog image comes from An Anglo-Saxon wolf hunt, as illustrated in The British wolf-hunters: A Tale of England in the Olden Time by Thomas Miller and is in the Public Domain.