ObscUrban Legend Wikia
Wolfie

An artist's depiction
Background
Type Cryptid
Continent Europe
Country England
One-Time? Yes
Theories  · Cryptid
 · Extraterrestrial
 · Hoax

Wolfie was the nickname given to one of the weirdest cryptids ever encountered in Britain. The Lawson family lived in Abbey House, Cambridgeshire, from 1904 to 1910, during which time Wolfie was spied on many occasions by the children, and once at close range by their father as it sped down a corridor.

Appearance[]

One depiction of Wolfie superficially resembled a large, brown-furred, short-eared hare but with some notable additional attributes: always running on its hind legs, sporting a pair of flipper-like front paws, and equipped with a long bird-like beak. This depiction was possibly influenced by artistic license, with most original reports referencing primarily canine features.

Wolfie was mostly seen on the ground floor at twilight, or in the drawing room when lit by lamplight, but even unseen its presence was readily evinced by the distinctive pattering sound of its footsteps.

Possible Explanations[]

There are several explanations as to what the creature could be. Theories include:

  • An undiscovered species (a Cryptid)
  • An extraterrestrial
  • A ghost
  • A hoax

Trivia[]

  • In 1947 a mysterious “tiny doggie” was reported in the kitchen by Christopher, the young son of Celia Schofield, in referring to Wolfie.
  • In 1920, a 2-year-old girl named Charmian, living at Abbey House with her parents after the Lawsons had moved out, was once found crying in the doorway of the dining room. When asked by her mother what had frightened her, she replied "an animal". Charmian thereafter refused to enter the dining room alone, but continued to report sightings of the creature.
  • The first reported sighting of Wolfie was in 1904, when John, the Lawson's young son, was 3 years of age. His mother (Dorothy Lawson) had come up to his nursery to bring the child downstairs, and found her son staring "strangely" at the window curtains. He then asked her where "the little brown thing" had gone, claiming that just before his mother had entered the room, an animal had come in and stared at him before vanishing behind the curtains. Dorothy checked, but found nothing. Some time later, her little daughter Jane reported that a similar animal had come into her nursery, and asked her mother if there were wolves in the house. Both sightings - along with many other odd incidents - were recorded in detail by Dorothy in a diary she kept throughout their stay in the house.
  • A lawyer named Jacob Butler, who had owned Abbey House in the 18th century, was a noted eccentric who was said to have trained his dog to walk on its hind legs. Damien O'Dell, author of Paranormal Cambridgeshire , speculates that Wolfie may have been the ghost of this dog.
  • Author Leecy Davis wrote a cryptozoology-themed children's book about Wolfie. She added bird-like characteristics to her description of the creature, although the original source material describes it (in much vaguer terms) as having only dog- or rabbit-like features.
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Cryptids
North American Cryptids
Airborne Frogman · Alkali Lake Monster · Batsquatch · Beast of Bladenboro · Beast of Bray Road · Beast of Busco · Belled Buzzards · Bigfoot · Black Demon · Black Star Penguins · Blue Birdman · Boston Lemur · Buena Vista Giant Spider · Campfire Creature · Carmel Creature · Champ · Charles Mill Lake Monster · Chicago Mothman · Chupacabra · Coonigator · Crawfordsville Monster · Crocodingo · Deer Man · Demon Leaper · Deridder Roadkill · Dos Palmas Winged Snake · Dublin Lake Monsters · East River Monster · El Verde Creature · Enfield Horror · Farmer City Monster · Flannel Shirt Sasquatch · Flying Horse of Mexico · Flying Horse of Virginia · Flying Rays · Giant Penguin · Giant Shrimp in the Laundry Room · Glawackus · Gow-Row · Green Clawed Beast · Green Eyes · Grunch Road Monster · Herrington Lake Monster · Herring Cove Sea Serpent · Highway Beast · Honey Island Swamp Monster · Iliamna Lake Monster · Jackson Dragon · Jersey Devil · Killer Cactus · Kinderhook Blob · Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp · Manor Road Pig-Dog · Man in the Plastic Bag · Mantis Man · Melrose Creep · Metepec Creature · Michigan Dogman · Mill Race Monster · Mogollon Monster · Montauk Monster · Moss Man · Mothman · Mountain Boomers · Mud Mermaids · Mutant Canine · Nightcrawler · Octoman · Ogopogo · Oil Pit Squid · Oklahoma Octopus · Panama Creature · Pennsylvanian Albino Bigfoot · Red Devil-Bat of Chester · Ridge Road Monster · Riverside Monster · Rochester Rat-Dog · Sewer Blob · Sheepsquatch · Skunk Ape · Snallygaster · Sugar Bundle · Sun Birds · Swift Peter · Texas Big Bird · The Awful · Thetis Lake Monster · Tick Canyon Giant Rabbit · Tumor Seal · Tuttle Bottoms Monster · Werewolf of Defiance · Whatzit · Wood Devils · Yellow What-Is-It
South American Cryptids
Arica Monster · Atlantic Ocean Winged Abomination · Beast of Macachín Airport · Brazilian Werewolf · Calama Creature · De Loys' Ape · El Cuero · Gargantuan Globulous · Huallepen · Kap-Dwa · Manta Man · Mapinguari · Minhocão · Parana Creature · Sawtooth Dolphin · Telepathic Football · Tshenkutshen
Asian Cryptids
Ahool · Buru · Con Rit · Ebu Gogo · Gilled Antelope · Hibagon · Inflatable Hedgehog · Iranian Toothed Bird · Issie · Jodhpur Baby · Kting Voar · Kussie · Maltese Tiger · Man Dragon · Masbate Monster · Minho−Taro · Mussie of Kako River · Orang Bati · Orang Mawas · Orang Pendek · Rock Apes · Sakhalin Island Sea Wolf · Sukotyro · Tsuchinoko · Wuhnan Toads · Yeren · Yeti
European Cryptids
Awd Goggie · Beast of Bodmin Moor · Beast of Bosnia · Beast of Dean · Beast of Gévaudan · Beast Of Tenby · Black Bird of Chernobyl · Boneless · Canvey Island Monster · Catalonia Fallen Angel · Chudinov Organisms · Crimean War Monstrosities · Exmoor Beast · Freiburg Shrieker · Flying Worm of Prague · Gnome of Girona · Grampus · Grass Monster · Grecian Dolphin · Highway Humanoid · Hollingworth Lake Monster · Kovahsi Creature · Loch Ness Monster · Morag · Octosquatch · Owlman · Pennine Pterodactyl · River Thames Monster · Sea Monk · Sewer Humanoid · Shug Monkey · Singing Spiders of Paris · Sussex Serpent · Vampire Caterpillar · Werewolf of Camberwell · Wolfie · 1856 French Pterodactyl
African Cryptids
Agogwe · Ambize · Dingonek · Emela-ntouka · Ennedi Tiger · J'ba Fofi · Kongamato · Manatee of Helena · Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu · Mokele-Mbembe · Mutant Muppet · Ngoubou · Olitiau · Spiny-backed Chimpanzee · Trunko
Australian Cryptids
Bunyip · Burrunjor · Elephantman · Hairy Lizard · Hook Island Sea Monster · Landsborough Gangle · Moha Moha · Pukehina Predator · Queensland Tiger · Tusked Yowie
Miscellaneous Cryptids
Antarctic Godzilla · Bermuda Beast · Giglioli's Whale · Kabagon · Ningen · Qupqugiaq · Rhinoceros Dolphin · Sky Jellyfish · Sky Serpents
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Europe
European Cryptids
Awd Goggie · Beast of Bodmin Moor · Beast of Bosnia · Beast of Dean · Beast of Gévaudan · Beast Of Tenby · Black Bird of Chernobyl · Boneless · Brosno Dragon · Canvey Island Monster · Catalonia Fallen Angel · Chudinov Organisms · Crimean War Monstrosities · Exmoor Beast · Freiburg Shrieker · Flying Worm of Prague · Gnome of Girona · Grampus · Grass Monster · Grecian Dolphin · Highway Humanoid · Hollingworth Lake Monster · Kovahsi Creature · Loch Ness Monster · Morag · Octosquatch · Owlman · Pennine Pterodactyl · River Thames Monster · Sea Monk · Sewer Humanoid · Shug Monkey · Singing Spiders of Paris · Sussex Serpent · Vampire Caterpillar · Werewolf of Camberwell · Wolfie · 1856 French Pterodactyl
European Alien Sightings
Alien Octopoids · Badajoz UFO Creature · Bat Beast of Kent · Bird Beasts of Var · Conil Aliens · Crimean Slug · Cumberland Spaceman · Cussac Aliens · Domsten Blobs · Felixstowe Fire Demon · Ilkley Moor Alien · Kinnula Humanoid · Pendeli Egg · The Sandown Clown · Scottish Mines · The Silver Man · Villa Santina Aliens · Voronezh Aliens · Zanfretta's Aliens
European UFO Sightings
Berkshire UFO · Crucifix UFO · Plague-Bearing UFO · Rendlesham Forest Incident
European Hauntings
Ancient Ram Inn · Berkeley Square Horror · Black Shuck · Borley Rectory · Brown Lady of Raynham Hall · Cock Lane Ghost · Deogen · Derbyshire Ghost Plane · Drummer of Tedworth · Elemental of Leap Castle · Enfield Poltergeist · Gef the Talking Mongoose · Ghost Roman Soldiers in York · Glamis Castle · Hairy Hands · Houska Castle · Pupa the Doll · Rosslynlee Hospital · Specter of Newby Church
European Phenomena
Angels of Mons · Bélmez Faces · Black Volga · Busby Stoop Chair · Devil's Footprints · Eyes in the Wall · Hessdalen Lights · Hungry Grass · Invisible Crowd · Kitty Jay's Grave · Martebo Light · Rosenheim Poltergeist · The Crying Boy · The Green Hand · Trevor Silverwood Postcards · Wall-Jumping Dog · Zanetti Ghost Train
European Beings
Green Children of Woolpit · Headless Angel of Portugal · Highgate Vampire · Invisible Smoker · Jophar Vorin · Le Loyon · Lucy Lightfoot · The Manchester Pusher · Pérák · Ratman · Spring-heeled Jack · Whipping Tom
European Events
Dancing Plague of 1518 · Disappearance of James Worson · Hollinwell Incident · Moberly–Jourdain Incident
European Locations
Cannock Chase · Flannan Isles Lighthouse · Hoia Forest · Poveglia

Gallery[]

Photo Gallery[]