The Clutchbone

Clutchbone is the popular name of a monster or cryptozoological biped belonging to a category of folktales which flourished particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries. Described as being black in colour, between 190 and 230 cm tall and with leathery skin, the Clutchbone is said to have a head consisting of a lit torch positioned within a large, raised collar of material resembling rawhide. Other variations of the general description of the creature describe the collar as consisting of a sort of meshed black metal. The chronology of accounts relating to the Clutchbone is uncertain at best, due to the largely oral nature of the legend. Yet, one estimate would date the first accounts to the early 1800's in northern England and even the US. Geographically, accounts of the creature in Finland and Sweden have also been known to exist, claiming that households in the isolated countryside were "terrorised by a creature" fitting the description of the Clutchbone and seen to exhibit a nearly continuous back-and-forth, bowing or davening motion while stationary or moving. The wide geographical spread of this more uncommon of the odious folktales renders unclear the actual source and mythological origins of the creature as it is described. The Clutchbone would not appear to resemble more established folkloristic figures common in the Nordic countries such as Trolls or even ancient Nordic gods . Figures somewhat similar to the description of the Clutchbone in European-American literature and folklore would include the Headless Horseman. The exceptionally violent nature of the Clutchbone including alleged disappearances, destruction by burning and dismemberment of alleged victims would tend to suggest that the Clutchbone is not a variation on the Headless Horseman.

See also

• Sasquatch
• Loch Ness Monster
• Yeti
• Monsters
• Legends