The Sceadugengan or "shadow-goer", are fantastical beasts which are neither living nor dead, and which can shape-shift. They purportedly dwell in the forests of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The first element of the name is from Old English sceaduwe (shadow) and the second elements is likely to be from Old English gong (a going or journey) or Old English gan (to go).

The Sceadugenga are mentioned in Beowulf

Beowulf

Beowulf , but modern scholars agree in naming it after the hero whose life is its subject." of an Old English heroic epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature.It survives in a single...

 and form part of a sub plot in The Saxon Stories

The Saxon Stories

The Saxon Tales is a continuing historical novel series written by the historical novelist Bernard Cornwell about 9th century Britain. The protagonist of the series is Uhtred Ragnarson, sometimes known as Uhtred Uhtredson. Uhtred is born in Northumbria, but captured and adopted by the Danes...

 series by Bernard Cornwell

Bernard Cornwell

Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...

, in which the principal protagonist dreams about becoming a Sceadugenga for much of the first novel.