Shug Monkey

In the folklore of Cambridgeshire, the Shug Monkey is a creature that shares features of a dog and monkey, which reportedly haunted Slough Hill Lane (a street that leads from the village of West Wratting to nearby Balsham).^[1][2] The creature, believed to have the body of a jet-black shaggy sheepdog and the face of a monkey with staring eyes,^[3][4] was believed to be a supernatural ghost or demon.^[2][4] Local writer and broadcaster James Wentworth Day, who first related stories of the Shug Monkey in Here Are Ghosts and Witches (1954), described it as a curious variation of Black Shuck,^[1] while local folklorist Polly Howat suggests that both share common origins in Norse mythology.^[5]

According to Howat, sightings of the Shug Monkey have not been reported since before World War II.^[5]

Further reading

• Redfern, Nick (2004). "The Final Countdown". Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape-Men. Paraview Pocket Books. pp. 227–243. ISBN 0-7434-8254-9.
• Redfern, Nick (2007). Man-Monkey: In search of the British Bigfoot. CFZ Press. pp. 227–243. ISBN 978-1-905723-16-4.