The Monster of the Pool

During the summer of 2003, all hell broke loose when sightings began of a strange creature, or creatures, said to inhabit a sizable body of water in central England called the Roman View Pond (pictured left) – situated only a mile or so from where I grew up.

And, rather oddly, the location was within near-literal-spitting distance of where the infamous George Edalji lived - he of "horse-ripping" infamy who I have referenced in an earlier post at this blog.

And that Edalji's alleged crimes occurred 100-years prior to the sightings of the Roman View Pond "thing" only added to the strangeness. A monstrous anniversary indeed!

Local police, representatives of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and the nation’s media all quickly descended upon the scene, as they valiantly and collectively sought to ascertain the truth about what, at a local level, fast became known to one and all as the "Cannock Nessie."

Of course, the facts were somewhat more sober and down to earth.

As my good friends Jonathan Downes and Richard Freeman - of the Center for Fortean Zoology - demonstrated to practically everyone’s satisfaction when they visited the area at the height of the sightings, the “beast,” as the more sensationalistic elements of the press tirelessly insisted on calling it, was likely nothing stranger than a three-foot-long Spectacled Caiman – a crocodilian reptile found throughout much of Central and South America.

It was the conclusion of Jon and Richard that the unfortunate creature had probably been housed locally by an unknown exotic-pet-keeper – that is, until it grew to a point where it became completely unmanageable, and was then unceremoniously dumped in the pool late one night and under the protective cover and camouflage of overwhelming darkness.

Almost certainly, Jon believed, the creature would not survive the harsh fall and winter months that were destined to follow.

And, sure enough, as the English weather changed for the worse, sightings of the mysterious beast came to an abrupt end.

To this day, Jon is convinced that the bones of the crocodilian lay buried deep in the muddy floor of Roman View Pond. And he's almost certainly correct.

Whatever it was, the "Cannock Nessie" of Roman View Pond is long gone.