Creature record / 1971

Nellie Dodd's Half-Man, Half-Sheep Creature (the Hexham Heads)

c. 1971 · Rede Avenue, Hexham, Northumberland, England, United Kingdom

13Thinly documented Cryptid Creature 24 sources 5 videos

Hexham, Northumberland. Around 1971. Two brothers dig up a pair of small stone heads in their back garden on Rede Avenue. Soon the house is restless. The heads turn by themselves. Bottles fly. Next door, Ellen Dodd wakes in the night. Something is in her bedroom. Half man, half sheep. It turns, pads down the stairs as if on its hind legs, and goes out of the front door. Her family asks the council to move them. Later, an archaeologist who takes the heads home to Southampton sees a wolf-like figure of her own. The heads are now lost.

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Key facts

When	c. 1971 to 1972
Time of day	night
Where	Rede Avenue, Hexham, Northumberland, England,United Kingdom
Duration	brief
Witnesses	1
Witness roles	civilians
Found
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	none recorded
Status	disputed

The creature

A half-man, half-sheep creature seen in Ellen Dodd's bedroom at night. It walked upright, as if on its hind legs, turned when she saw it and padded softly down the stairs and out of the front door. No size, colour or other features were recorded.

Sound	other sound

Context

The Robson family took them indoors. Then the trouble began. The family reported the heads turning by themselves. Bottles were thrown.

Sources (24, most influential first)

Hexham Heads · Wikipedia · Wiki, blog, podcast · wiki
Heads and Tales · David Clarke· 2012-12-22 · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
The Hexham Heads · Mysterious Britain · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
The Hexham Heads, part 1: the discovery · The Urban Prehistorian· 2014-01-27 · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
1976: Lost HEXHAM HEADS Werewolf Report REDISCOVERED · BBC Archive· 2024-10-31 · Press, book, documentary · tv

Reputability

13/100Thinly documented

Editorial note: most sources for this case are later retellings; the press and book coverage is thin.

Keywords

People

Ellen "Nellie" DoddNeighbour of the Robsons and main witness to the half-man, half-sheep creature
Colin RobsonDug up the stone heads in the back garden of 3 Rede Avenue
Leslie RobsonDug up the stone heads with his brother Colin
Anne RossCeltic specialist and archaeologist who took the heads to Southampton and reported a wolf-like creature
BereniceAnne Ross's teenage daughter, who saw a werewolf-like figure on the stairs
Des CraigieFormer Rede Avenue resident who claimed he made the heads around 1956
David ClarkeFolklorist who wrote about the case in "Heads and Tales" (2012)
Paul ScreetonAuthor of the book-length study Quest for the Hexham Heads

Names

David Clarke Fortean Times Southampton Hexham