THE GREY MAN OF BEN MACDHUI

We dont have bigfoot here in scotland unfortunatly. But i thought this was an intresting legend from scotland which is where i live. ive camped in the cairngorms many times but not on Ben Macdhui the mountain that the legend comes from. I can tell you though that area does have forests but is mainly barren so i doubt it could hide a massive creature. all in all i just thought it an intresting bit of folklore.

The highland mountain ranges in Scotland are rough, beautiful, and magnificent places that attract many international visitors, but their slopes have a darker side that has terrified many people throughout the years.

With a height of 1309 metres (4296 feet), Ben MacDhui is the highest peak in the Cairngorms and the second highest peak in Scotland, but it is claimed that the mountain is haunted.

Many mountaineers are certain that the regions of the Cairngorms and Skye harbour a malign humanoid entity known locally as 'Fear Liath Mor' (meaning big grey man) that is grey in colour, big, and fearsome in appearance. The legends tell of these beings stalking anyone who trespassed into their territory.

Actual sightings of the Big Grey Man have been rare, but "eye-witness" descriptions of his appearance describe him as being around ten feet tall, covered in hair, with very long arms and legs.

Ben MacDhui's sinister occupant first came to widespread notice when eminent climber Professor Norman Collie made an announcement to the members of the Annual General Meeting of the Cairngorm Club during their 1925 gathering. He reported that in 1891 he had been descending from this mountain's summit through heavy mist when suddenly: "I began to hear the sound of noises in the loose rock behind me coming down from the natural cairn on the high plateau. Every few steps I took, I heard a crunch, and then another crunch as if someone was walking after me but taking steps three or four times the length of my own."

Dismissing this as an aural hallucination, he continued, but so did the mysterious steps. Gradually he became more and more apprehensive, until he was seized with terror and fled blindly down the mountain for five miles until he reached Rothiemurchus Forest.

Although he was unable to catch any real sight of it, Collie was left with a sinister impression of being stalked by a huge and menacing creature. He vowed never to return to Ben Macdhui alone, and remained convinced that there was "something very queer about the top of Ben MacDhui".

Following his disclosure, he received a letter from Dr A.M.Kellas detailing his own strange experience on that mountain. Dr Kellas and his brother Henry were on the mountain close to the summit when they saw a 'giant figure' approaching them from the direction of the cairn. For a moment it disappeared from sight as it moved into a dip, but the men did not wait to see it reappear, and ran as fast as they could to get off the mountain.

This chilling account, coupled with the unquestionable reliability of professor Collie's story, attracted great media attention. Moreover, other mountaineers began to confess that they too had experienced similar sensations of uncontrollable fear and panic with no rational reason while on Ben MacDhui and had come away with the vivid impression that a malevolent, paranormal presence existed here, which sought to frighten away anyone venturing upon this lonely, desolate peak.

the text was taken from http://ghost-story.co.uk/stories/benmacdhui.html

more of a kind of ghost story vibe but found it intresting none the less

Thanks that was great. I've heard of that? Thanks

I am familiar with your Grey Man, But That thing is like 20-50ft. tall and has powers. lol Do people actually believe in that?

Well. when I was stationed in Hawaii, they have Pele (If I am spelling that right sounds like Pay lay) Sightings.. Pele is their Fire Goddess.

There was a guy in my unit that came back from Diamond head all freaked out because someone kicked him in the lower back with enough force to knock him to the ground. (And he was a big guy.) When he turned around to look, no one was within a 100 yards from him. It turns out that this sort of thing happens a lot up there and is contributed to Pele. Also if you take lava rock from the islands, it is said Pele will curse you until you replace them.

So maybe there is something to your Grey man

Yep here he is, I found him on newanimal.org



The Cryptid Zoo: Big Gray Man (Fear Liath Mor)

"The "Big Gray Man" (a literal translation of his Scottish Gaelic name "Fear Liath Mor") is a Bigfoot-like creature that is regularly sighted near Ben Macdhui in Britain, the highest mountain in the Cairngorm Range of Scotland. The "Big Gray Man" is described as being considerably taller than the typical Bigfoot, thus being eligible for inclusion in the category of hairy humanoids called true giants.

He is described as having a number of characteristics that make him seem more like a creature of mythology or the supernatural, rather than a suitable subject for cryptozoology. He seems to have paranormal powers, such as controlling the fog and causing such extreme fear in humans and animals that they will leap off cliffs or even die trying to get away. The Big Gray Man is attributed with the ability to manipulate emotions, such as causing his victims great fear, despair or a desire to commit suicide. Some reported "encounters" with the Big Gray Man are based only on experiences with extreme emotion and/or weird fog while climbing Ben Macdhui, and not on claims of actually seeing a big hairy monster.

In appearance, the Big Gray Man resembles an enormous human, at least twenty feet tall, covered all over with a thick layer of hair or fur. He is usually described as gray, sometimes as brown. The head and neck are disproportionately large in comparison to the rest of the body. The ears are pointed. The toes are very long, more like fingers than toes, and end in large, sharp talons. The Big Gray Man has long legs, but the arms are not longer in proportion to the rest of his body than they would be on a human being. In overall appearance, he is described as far closer to man than ape. The Big Gray Man walks very erect, not stooped over or humped like some hairy humanoids. In some sightings, he wears a top hat. He is often partially shrouded by mist or fog, which seems to come with him and retreat when he retreats.

Sightings have been reported since at least the 1700s, and continue to the present day. A number of famous mountain climbers have sworn that the Big Gray Man is real because of personal encounters. Footprints have been photographed, but these are abnormal even for a Bigfoot-type creature. The 19-inch prints are nearly as wide as they are long.

It should be noted that spelling variations between American and British versions of English sometimes make it hard to look up information about the Big Gray Man. Most American authors write "Big Gray Man" while European authors write "Big Grey Man" ("gray" is spelled with an "e" in Britain).

The Big Gray Man is quite similar to the Gray King of Welsh folklore. Both beings inhabit the mountains, are thought of as sinister, manipulate emotions, and are big hairy monsters that border on the spirit world, seeming more supernatural than biological."

Cool info mate in response to your does anyone believe in him nope as I said was just a story I found interesting. It's pretty safe to say there's not really any unexplained creatures running about here it's not that big a place. Just thought it was cool that there was a Bigfoot style legend in Scotland.