Shug Monkey
Encyclopedia
The Shug monkey is a cryptid
or mythical creature reported from the area of Cambridgeshire
between the villages of Balsham
and West Wratting
. Folklorists
and investigators of the supernatural
classify it as closely related to British hellhound
s such as Barghest
and Black Shuck
, more distantly related to werewolves
and the woodwose
. Cryptozoologists
classify it as either a cryptid canine or as a cousin of Bigfoot
.
The myth is thought to have originated from Norse
settlers.
and monkey
. The head and general body build resemble a humanoid more than a canine, but the feet are like a dog and allegedly leave gigantic dog tracks. The stance is usually quadrupedal. Sometimes it is supposed to fade away like a ghost
or apparition.
Cryptid
In cryptozoology and sometimes in cryptobotany, a cryptid is a creature or plant whose existence has been suggested but is unrecognized by scientific consensus and often regarded as highly unlikely. Famous examples include the Yeti in the Himalayas and the Loch Ness Monster in...
or mythical creature reported from the area of Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
between the villages of Balsham
Balsham
Balsham is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom which has much expanded since the 1960s and is now one of several dormitory settlements of Cambridge...
and West Wratting
West Wratting
West Wratting is a village and civil parish 10 miles southeast of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire. At above sea level, it can claim to be the highest village in Cambridgeshire, although the Gog Magog Hills are a little higher....
. Folklorists
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and investigators of the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
classify it as closely related to British hellhound
Hellhound
A hellhound is a supernatural dog, found in folklore. A wide variety of ominous or hellish supernatural dogs occur in mythologies around the world, similar to the ubiquitous dragon...
s such as Barghest
Barghest
Barghest, Bargtjest, Bo-guest, Bargheist, Bargeist, Barguist, Bargest or Barguest is the name often given in the north of England, especially in Yorkshire, to a legendary monstrous black dog with huge teeth and claws, though in other cases the name can refer to a ghost or Household elf, especially...
and Black Shuck
Black Shuck
Black Shuck, Old Shuck, Old Shock or simply Shuck is the name given to a ghostly black dog which is said to roam the coastline and countryside of East Anglia...
, more distantly related to werewolves
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
and the woodwose
Woodwose
The wild man is a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands.The defining characteristic of the figure is its "wildness"; from the 12th century...
. Cryptozoologists
Cryptozoology
Cryptozoology refers to the search for animals whose existence has not been proven...
classify it as either a cryptid canine or as a cousin of Bigfoot
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
.
The myth is thought to have originated from Norse
Norsemen
Norsemen is used to refer to the group of people as a whole who spoke what is now called the Old Norse language belonging to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European languages, especially Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese, Swedish and Danish in their earlier forms.The meaning of Norseman was "people...
settlers.
Description
It has features of a dogDog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
and monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
. The head and general body build resemble a humanoid more than a canine, but the feet are like a dog and allegedly leave gigantic dog tracks. The stance is usually quadrupedal. Sometimes it is supposed to fade away like a ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
or apparition.