March 9, 2025 • 17 mins
Devil's night stroll or nature's twisted joke? 100 miles of impossible tracks appear overnight in 1855 Devon, defying physics and sanity. Unravel the hair-raising mystery that turned the quiet English county of Devon into a hotbed of paranormal panic.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
Strange mysteries, unexplained phenomena.
And the shadows in between.
This is The InBetween Official Podcastwith your host,
Carol Ann!
Imagine waking up on a crisp wintermorning
to find your town blanketed in snow.
(00:38):
And something else.
Mysterious tracksunlike anything you've ever seen.
Zigzagging through your streets, over
rooftops and even scaling sheer walls.
Now picture those tracksstretching for over a hundred miles,
crossing riversand baffling an entire region.
Welcome to The InBetween.
I'm Carol Ann, and today we're treadingcarefully through one of history's
(01:02):
most perplexing mysteries -the case of the Devil's
Footprints.
February 8th,
1855, in the quaint county of Devonin southwest England.
Rolling hills, charming villages.
(01:22):
And on this particular morning, a freshblanket of snow covering the ground.
It's like a postcard,
except for one tiny detailthat's about to turn this idyllic setting
into the backdrop for one of history'smost baffling mysteries.
As the good folk of South Devonroll out of bed
and look out their frost covered windows,they're met with a sight
(01:44):
that would make even the stiffestEnglishman spill his tea.
Snaking through the pristinesnow are tracks.
But not just any tracks.
These aren't the paw printsof a neighbor's cat
or the boottracks of an early rising milkman.
These are something altogether different.
There on the ground is a line of kind
(02:07):
of horseshoe shaped, hoof like marks,
each about four incheslong and three inches wide, running
single file,with each print about eight inches apart.
Now my first thought was
maybe it's just a really welltrained horse.
Well, setting asidethe fact that it would have to be a super
(02:29):
small horse,I suggest you grab your beverage of choice
and kick back for a bitbecause we are just getting started.
These tracksdon't just stick to the ground.
No no no.
That would be way too boring.
They scale walls.
They traipse over rooftop.
They even seem to pass through narrowdrainpipes,
(02:51):
emerging on the other sidewithout missing a step.
And perhaps the most amazing of all,they cross a two mile
stretch of the River Exe estuary
or the spot where the River Exe meetsthe English Channel.
That's right.
Whatever's making these tracks apparentlytakes a little stroll across the water.
(03:12):
Jesus himself would be impressed.
But wait, there's more.
These tracksaren't from some strange animal
that decided to cut across a few backyards.
These tracks stretch for a mindboggling 100 miles,
maybe more, from Exmouth to Topsham,from Dawlish to Teignmouth.
(03:34):
Across fields and farms.
Through towns and villages.
This trail of impossible footprintsstretches the entire South Devon area.
It's like a paranormal pub crawl.
Now imagine you're a simple Devonfarmer or shopkeeper.
You lived your whole life in this
one little areawhere the strangest thing you've ever seen
(03:57):
is maybe a two headed calfat the county fair.
Suddenly you're trying to make senseof something that defies
all logical explanation,something that can climb walls,
cross rivers, and covervast distances in a single night.
What would you do?
Well, if you're anythinglike the good people of Devon in 1855,
(04:19):
you'd probably panic,which is exactly what they do.
As news of the track spreadsfaster than a fox in a henhouse,
the whole area eruptsinto a frenzy of fear and speculation.
Churches filled to bursting as terrifiedresidents seek divine protection.
Local militia groups formpatrolling the streets with muskets
(04:41):
and pitchforks, thoughwhat good they think these things will do
against a wall climbing, rivercrossing entity is beyond me.
But here's where thingsget really interesting.
In times of inexplicable events,
humans have a tendency to reachfor the most dramatic explanations.
And in the 19th century England, steepedin centuries of folklore and Christian
(05:05):
tradition, there is one explanationthat pops to the top of everyone's mind.
The devil himself has paid a visitto Devon.
That's right.
Old Scratch, Beelzebub,
the Prince of Darkness,whatever you want to call him.
But suddenly he's the talkof every pub and parlor in the country.
(05:26):
The idea spreads like wildfire.
After all?
Who else could leave such bizarre tracks?
Who else could traversesuch impossible terrain so fast?
And don't forget the hoof like prints.
There's one thingeveryone knows about the devil.
It's that he's got a ratherdistinctive choice in footwear.
(05:46):
Local legends and superstitions,long simmering
beneath the surface of polite society,bubble up with renewed vigor.
Stories of demonic visitationsfrom centuries past
are dusted offand retold with fresh urgency.
That old tale about Farmer Giles’sgreat grandfather,
who claimed to have seen a cloven hoofedfigure dancing in the moonlight.
(06:10):
Suddenly it isn't just a quaintfireside story,
but potential evidencein the case of the century.
Some locals even claim to have heardunearthly shrieks in the night,
or to have seen a dark, shadowy figure
leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
But not everyone is convincedthat Old Nick has decided
(06:31):
to take a winter vacation in Devon.
Some of the more skeptical residentspropose alternative explanations.
Maybe it's an escaped exotic animalfrom a traveling circus.
Or maybe a flock of birds.
Stranger things have happened.
Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.
As the days wear on and no more tracks,the initial panic dials back a notch.
(06:55):
But the mystery remains.
The tracks are real.
Hundreds of people have seen
them, sketched them, measured them.
Something crisscrossedDevon that February night,
leaving behind a puzzlethat is unsolved to this day.
So we find ourselves with a mystery
that has endured for over 150 years.
(07:16):
A set of tracks that seemingly defyall logical explanation,
a panicked populace convincedthey've been visited by the devil himself,
and a whole lot of questionsleft unanswered.
But is any of this true?
It's time to channel upsome Benedict Cumberbatch
and dive into the evidence on both sides.
(07:37):
Let's startwith any historical documentation.
Is there any?
Luckily for us, the devil'sfootprints caused such a satanic panic
that it made headlinesin several newspapers
like the Exeter and Plymouth Gazetteand the Western Luminary.
Not to mention the London Times.
The Illustrated London News on February17th,
1855, reports (08:00):
“It appears on Thursday night last, there was a very heavy
fall of snow in the neighborhood of Exeterand the South of Devon.
On the following morning,
the inhabitants of the above townswere surprised at discovering the tracks
of some strange and mysterious animal,endowed with the power of ubiquity,
as the footprints were to be seenin all kinds of unaccountable places –
(08:25):
on the tops of houses and narrowwalls, in gardens
and court-yards,enclosed by high walls and palings
(picket fences), as well in open fields.”All righty then.
But it isn't just the papers that arebuzzing about this bizarre occurrence.
We have numerous eyewitness accountsfrom people who saw the tracks first hand.
(08:48):
One such account comes from Reverend H.T.
Ellacombe,the vicar of Clyst Saint George.
In a letter to the IllustratedLondon News, he writes:
“The creature seems to have approachedthe doors of several houses,
and then to have retreated,but no one has been able to discover
the standing or restingpoint of this mysterious visitor.
(09:11):
On Sunday last, the Reverend Mr.
Musgrave alluded to the subjectin his sermon and suggested
the possibility of the footprintsbeing those of a kangaroo.” A kangaroo?
But let's get down to the nitty gritty.
What do these tracks actually look like?
Spoiler alert!
They don't look like a kangaroo.
(09:32):
But we're in luck because several sketcheswere made at the time.
The most famous of these, publishedin the Illustrated London News,
shows a series of hooflike prints in a single file.
Each print is describedas being about four inches long
and 2.75in wide,with a stride of about 8 to 16in.
(09:54):
And the tracksdon't just stick to open fields or roads.
They are reported to go overhouses, high walls,
and even haystackswithout disturbing the snow on the top.
In some places, the tracks seem to gothrough small holes or tight spaces,
emerging on the other sideas if whatever made them
had simply passed through solid objects.
(10:17):
But maybe the most insane aspect of
all is the sheer extent of the tracks.
They are reported acrossan area of 100mi²,
crossing rivers and other obstaclesthat would have been impassable
for any known animal.
And all of this, in a single night.
(10:38):
Now, what about the weather conditionsthat night?
Because they play a crucial rolein this mystery.
The night of February 8th isparticularly cold, with a heavy snowfall.
I don't know how much snow,but it was at least enough
to cover everythingin a pretty good blanket.
This fresh snow provides the perfectcanvas for our mysterious track maker,
(11:01):
but it also means thatwhatever left these tracks did so
in a relatively short window of timebetween the end of the snowfall
and the early morning,when the tracks were discovered.
It's worth notingthat this isn't an isolated incident.
Similar tracks have been reportedin other places at different times.
In 1840, similarmysterious tracks were found in Scotland.
(11:25):
And in 1855,just a month after the Devon incident,
similar tracks are reportedin South Molton, Devon.
So we have multiple eyewitness accounts,newspaper reports and even sketches
of the tracksthat occurred over a vast area in a short
period of time, leaving a trailthat seems to defy logical explanation.
(11:49):
On the other hand, we're dealing withevents that happened over 150 years ago.
We can't go back and examine the tracksourselves or interview the witnesses.
We're relying on second hand accountsand interpretations,
all filteredthrough the lens of 19th century
superstition and sensationalism.
And evidence, especially a 150 yearold evidence, can be tricky.
(12:15):
It can be misinterpreted, exaggerated,or even fabricated.
But now that it's out therefor consideration,
it's time to play devil's advocate.
Pun very much intended.
And explore some potential explanationsfor our mysterious tracks.
Let's start with the most obviousexplanation, animals.
(12:36):
After all,we're talking about tracks in the snow.
And last time I checked,animals were pretty good at that.
Some have suggested that the culpritmight have been a badger,
a fox, or even an escaped kangaroo.
Thank you, Reverend Musgrave.
The problem is,none of these animals quite fit the facts.
Badgers and foxes don't typically travel
(12:59):
in straight lines for miles on end,
and I'm pretty sure they haven't masteredthe art of scaling walls.
As for the kangaroo theory, well, let'sjust say that if there was a six foot
marsupial bouncing around Devon in 1855,
someone probably would have noticed.
Some researchers have proposedthat the tracks might have been made
(13:21):
by a wood mouse.
These little critters are knownto make strange tracks in the snow
by hopping, leavingwhat looks like a line of hoof prints.
It's an intriguing idea,but it doesn't explain how these tracks
appeared on rooftops, or how they crossed
such long distances in one night.
Moving on to the weather explanation,some have suggested that the tracks
(13:45):
were actually formedby some kind of natural phenomenon.
One theory proposesthat chunks of ice might have fallen
from telegraph wires, creating hooflike impressions in the snow.
It's an interesting thought,but it doesn't account for the track's
continuity or their appearance in areaswithout telegraph wires.
(14:06):
Another weather related theory involvessomething called frost polygons.
These are honeycomb like patternsthat can form in frozen soil
under certain conditions.
When snow fallson the top of these patterns,
it can create tracks that look somewhatsimilar to the devil's footprints.
But again, it doesn't explain the tracks
(14:27):
on the rooftops or their linear nature.
Now let's venture into more controversial
territory, hoaxes and pranks.
Wouldn't be the first timesomeone faked out their neighbors,
especially in a small communitywhere entertainment might have been hard
to come by in the dead of winter.
But let's think about the logisticsfor a moment.
(14:49):
We're talking about tracksthat covered over a hundred
miles, allegedly in a single night.
That would be a level of commitmentthat I cannot even comprehend.
Some have suggested that multiple peoplemight have been involved,
each creating a section of the tracks.
But that would require a levelof coordination and secrecy
(15:11):
that seems highly unlikely.
And no one ever came forwardto claim responsibility.
Ever.
Then there's the theory of mass hysteriaor exaggeration.
And it's possiblethat a few odd tracks in the snow
were blown way out of proportionas the news spread, with each retelling
(15:31):
adding more fantastical elementslike a hysterical version of operator.
We've seen this kind of thing happenbefore with other mysterious phenomena,
but this doesn't quite explainthe consistent descriptions
from multiple eyewitnessesor the sketches made at the time.
And of course,we can't rule out the possibility
(15:52):
that the truth liesin some combination of these factors.
Maybe an animal did leavesome unusual tracks,
which were then exaggerated in retellings,and perhaps even embellished
by a few opportunistic hoaxersjumping on the bandwagon.
And then, of course,there's the explanation that started it
(16:12):
all that these were indeedthe footprints of the devil himself,
out for a nighttime strollthrough the Devon countryside.
So the next time you're out on a snowynight, take a moment to look around.
You never know what you might find
or who might find you.
(16:36):
I have always loved this story.
I'm not even going to pretend thatI have any idea of what made those prints.
I just hopeI don't ever see them in my backyard.
Can't get enough of the devil's mischief?
Well, you're in luck.
Click right here for more devilishly (seewhat I did there?)
good storiesthat’ll set your curiosity ablaze.
(17:00):
Be careful out there.
And I will see youhere again, on The InBetween.
Thanks for tuning into The InBetween Podcast.
Enjoy the full visual experiencewith me over on YouTube.
Just search for @TheInBetweentales.
I'm Carol Ann,and until next time, be careful
(17:22):
out there.
Strange mysteries, unexplained phenomena.
And the shadows in between.
This is The InBetween Official Podcastwith your host,
Carol Ann!
Imagine waking up on a crisp wintermorning
to find your town blanketed in snow.
(00:38):
And something else.
Mysterious tracksunlike anything you've ever seen.
Zigzagging through your streets, over
rooftops and even scaling sheer walls.
Now picture those tracksstretching for over a hundred miles,
crossing riversand baffling an entire region.
Welcome to The InBetween.
I'm Carol Ann, and today we're treadingcarefully through one of history's
(01:02):
most perplexing mysteries -the case of the Devil's
Footprints.
February 8th,
1855, in the quaint county of Devonin southwest England.
Rolling hills, charming villages.
(01:22):
And on this particular morning, a freshblanket of snow covering the ground.
It's like a postcard,
except for one tiny detailthat's about to turn this idyllic setting
into the backdrop for one of history'smost baffling mysteries.
As the good folk of South Devonroll out of bed
and look out their frost covered windows,they're met with a sight
(01:44):
that would make even the stiffestEnglishman spill his tea.
Snaking through the pristinesnow are tracks.
But not just any tracks.
These aren't the paw printsof a neighbor's cat
or the boottracks of an early rising milkman.
These are something altogether different.
There on the ground is a line of kind
(02:07):
of horseshoe shaped, hoof like marks,
each about four incheslong and three inches wide, running
single file,with each print about eight inches apart.
Now my first thought was
maybe it's just a really welltrained horse.
Well, setting asidethe fact that it would have to be a super
(02:29):
small horse,I suggest you grab your beverage of choice
and kick back for a bitbecause we are just getting started.
These tracksdon't just stick to the ground.
No no no.
That would be way too boring.
They scale walls.
They traipse over rooftop.
They even seem to pass through narrowdrainpipes,
(02:51):
emerging on the other sidewithout missing a step.
And perhaps the most amazing of all,they cross a two mile
stretch of the River Exe estuary
or the spot where the River Exe meetsthe English Channel.
That's right.
Whatever's making these tracks apparentlytakes a little stroll across the water.
(03:12):
Jesus himself would be impressed.
But wait, there's more.
These tracksaren't from some strange animal
that decided to cut across a few backyards.
These tracks stretch for a mindboggling 100 miles,
maybe more, from Exmouth to Topsham,from Dawlish to Teignmouth.
(03:34):
Across fields and farms.
Through towns and villages.
This trail of impossible footprintsstretches the entire South Devon area.
It's like a paranormal pub crawl.
Now imagine you're a simple Devonfarmer or shopkeeper.
You lived your whole life in this
one little areawhere the strangest thing you've ever seen
(03:57):
is maybe a two headed calfat the county fair.
Suddenly you're trying to make senseof something that defies
all logical explanation,something that can climb walls,
cross rivers, and covervast distances in a single night.
What would you do?
Well, if you're anythinglike the good people of Devon in 1855,
(04:19):
you'd probably panic,which is exactly what they do.
As news of the track spreadsfaster than a fox in a henhouse,
the whole area eruptsinto a frenzy of fear and speculation.
Churches filled to bursting as terrifiedresidents seek divine protection.
Local militia groups formpatrolling the streets with muskets
(04:41):
and pitchforks, thoughwhat good they think these things will do
against a wall climbing, rivercrossing entity is beyond me.
But here's where thingsget really interesting.
In times of inexplicable events,
humans have a tendency to reachfor the most dramatic explanations.
And in the 19th century England, steepedin centuries of folklore and Christian
(05:05):
tradition, there is one explanationthat pops to the top of everyone's mind.
The devil himself has paid a visitto Devon.
That's right.
Old Scratch, Beelzebub,
the Prince of Darkness,whatever you want to call him.
But suddenly he's the talkof every pub and parlor in the country.
(05:26):
The idea spreads like wildfire.
After all?
Who else could leave such bizarre tracks?
Who else could traversesuch impossible terrain so fast?
And don't forget the hoof like prints.
There's one thingeveryone knows about the devil.
It's that he's got a ratherdistinctive choice in footwear.
(05:46):
Local legends and superstitions,long simmering
beneath the surface of polite society,bubble up with renewed vigor.
Stories of demonic visitationsfrom centuries past
are dusted offand retold with fresh urgency.
That old tale about Farmer Giles’sgreat grandfather,
who claimed to have seen a cloven hoofedfigure dancing in the moonlight.
(06:10):
Suddenly it isn't just a quaintfireside story,
but potential evidencein the case of the century.
Some locals even claim to have heardunearthly shrieks in the night,
or to have seen a dark, shadowy figure
leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
But not everyone is convincedthat Old Nick has decided
(06:31):
to take a winter vacation in Devon.
Some of the more skeptical residentspropose alternative explanations.
Maybe it's an escaped exotic animalfrom a traveling circus.
Or maybe a flock of birds.
Stranger things have happened.
Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.
As the days wear on and no more tracks,the initial panic dials back a notch.
(06:55):
But the mystery remains.
The tracks are real.
Hundreds of people have seen
them, sketched them, measured them.
Something crisscrossedDevon that February night,
leaving behind a puzzlethat is unsolved to this day.
So we find ourselves with a mystery
that has endured for over 150 years.
(07:16):
A set of tracks that seemingly defyall logical explanation,
a panicked populace convincedthey've been visited by the devil himself,
and a whole lot of questionsleft unanswered.
But is any of this true?
It's time to channel upsome Benedict Cumberbatch
and dive into the evidence on both sides.
(07:37):
Let's startwith any historical documentation.
Is there any?
Luckily for us, the devil'sfootprints caused such a satanic panic
that it made headlinesin several newspapers
like the Exeter and Plymouth Gazetteand the Western Luminary.
Not to mention the London Times.
The Illustrated London News on February17th,
1855, reports (08:00):
“It appears on Thursday night last, there was a very heavy
fall of snow in the neighborhood of Exeterand the South of Devon.
On the following morning,
the inhabitants of the above townswere surprised at discovering the tracks
of some strange and mysterious animal,endowed with the power of ubiquity,
as the footprints were to be seenin all kinds of unaccountable places –
(08:25):
on the tops of houses and narrowwalls, in gardens
and court-yards,enclosed by high walls and palings
(picket fences), as well in open fields.”All righty then.
But it isn't just the papers that arebuzzing about this bizarre occurrence.
We have numerous eyewitness accountsfrom people who saw the tracks first hand.
(08:48):
One such account comes from Reverend H.T.
Ellacombe,the vicar of Clyst Saint George.
In a letter to the IllustratedLondon News, he writes:
“The creature seems to have approachedthe doors of several houses,
and then to have retreated,but no one has been able to discover
the standing or restingpoint of this mysterious visitor.
(09:11):
On Sunday last, the Reverend Mr.
Musgrave alluded to the subjectin his sermon and suggested
the possibility of the footprintsbeing those of a kangaroo.” A kangaroo?
But let's get down to the nitty gritty.
What do these tracks actually look like?
Spoiler alert!
They don't look like a kangaroo.
(09:32):
But we're in luck because several sketcheswere made at the time.
The most famous of these, publishedin the Illustrated London News,
shows a series of hooflike prints in a single file.
Each print is describedas being about four inches long
and 2.75in wide,with a stride of about 8 to 16in.
(09:54):
And the tracksdon't just stick to open fields or roads.
They are reported to go overhouses, high walls,
and even haystackswithout disturbing the snow on the top.
In some places, the tracks seem to gothrough small holes or tight spaces,
emerging on the other sideas if whatever made them
had simply passed through solid objects.
(10:17):
But maybe the most insane aspect of
all is the sheer extent of the tracks.
They are reported acrossan area of 100mi²,
crossing rivers and other obstaclesthat would have been impassable
for any known animal.
And all of this, in a single night.
(10:38):
Now, what about the weather conditionsthat night?
Because they play a crucial rolein this mystery.
The night of February 8th isparticularly cold, with a heavy snowfall.
I don't know how much snow,but it was at least enough
to cover everythingin a pretty good blanket.
This fresh snow provides the perfectcanvas for our mysterious track maker,
(11:01):
but it also means thatwhatever left these tracks did so
in a relatively short window of timebetween the end of the snowfall
and the early morning,when the tracks were discovered.
It's worth notingthat this isn't an isolated incident.
Similar tracks have been reportedin other places at different times.
In 1840, similarmysterious tracks were found in Scotland.
(11:25):
And in 1855,just a month after the Devon incident,
similar tracks are reportedin South Molton, Devon.
So we have multiple eyewitness accounts,newspaper reports and even sketches
of the tracksthat occurred over a vast area in a short
period of time, leaving a trailthat seems to defy logical explanation.
(11:49):
On the other hand, we're dealing withevents that happened over 150 years ago.
We can't go back and examine the tracksourselves or interview the witnesses.
We're relying on second hand accountsand interpretations,
all filteredthrough the lens of 19th century
superstition and sensationalism.
And evidence, especially a 150 yearold evidence, can be tricky.
(12:15):
It can be misinterpreted, exaggerated,or even fabricated.
But now that it's out therefor consideration,
it's time to play devil's advocate.
Pun very much intended.
And explore some potential explanationsfor our mysterious tracks.
Let's start with the most obviousexplanation, animals.
(12:36):
After all,we're talking about tracks in the snow.
And last time I checked,animals were pretty good at that.
Some have suggested that the culpritmight have been a badger,
a fox, or even an escaped kangaroo.
Thank you, Reverend Musgrave.
The problem is,none of these animals quite fit the facts.
Badgers and foxes don't typically travel
(12:59):
in straight lines for miles on end,
and I'm pretty sure they haven't masteredthe art of scaling walls.
As for the kangaroo theory, well, let'sjust say that if there was a six foot
marsupial bouncing around Devon in 1855,
someone probably would have noticed.
Some researchers have proposedthat the tracks might have been made
(13:21):
by a wood mouse.
These little critters are knownto make strange tracks in the snow
by hopping, leavingwhat looks like a line of hoof prints.
It's an intriguing idea,but it doesn't explain how these tracks
appeared on rooftops, or how they crossed
such long distances in one night.
Moving on to the weather explanation,some have suggested that the tracks
(13:45):
were actually formedby some kind of natural phenomenon.
One theory proposesthat chunks of ice might have fallen
from telegraph wires, creating hooflike impressions in the snow.
It's an interesting thought,but it doesn't account for the track's
continuity or their appearance in areaswithout telegraph wires.
(14:06):
Another weather related theory involvessomething called frost polygons.
These are honeycomb like patternsthat can form in frozen soil
under certain conditions.
When snow fallson the top of these patterns,
it can create tracks that look somewhatsimilar to the devil's footprints.
But again, it doesn't explain the tracks
(14:27):
on the rooftops or their linear nature.
Now let's venture into more controversial
territory, hoaxes and pranks.
Wouldn't be the first timesomeone faked out their neighbors,
especially in a small communitywhere entertainment might have been hard
to come by in the dead of winter.
But let's think about the logisticsfor a moment.
(14:49):
We're talking about tracksthat covered over a hundred
miles, allegedly in a single night.
That would be a level of commitmentthat I cannot even comprehend.
Some have suggested that multiple peoplemight have been involved,
each creating a section of the tracks.
But that would require a levelof coordination and secrecy
(15:11):
that seems highly unlikely.
And no one ever came forwardto claim responsibility.
Ever.
Then there's the theory of mass hysteriaor exaggeration.
And it's possiblethat a few odd tracks in the snow
were blown way out of proportionas the news spread, with each retelling
(15:31):
adding more fantastical elementslike a hysterical version of operator.
We've seen this kind of thing happenbefore with other mysterious phenomena,
but this doesn't quite explainthe consistent descriptions
from multiple eyewitnessesor the sketches made at the time.
And of course,we can't rule out the possibility
(15:52):
that the truth liesin some combination of these factors.
Maybe an animal did leavesome unusual tracks,
which were then exaggerated in retellings,and perhaps even embellished
by a few opportunistic hoaxersjumping on the bandwagon.
And then, of course,there's the explanation that started it
(16:12):
all that these were indeedthe footprints of the devil himself,
out for a nighttime strollthrough the Devon countryside.
So the next time you're out on a snowynight, take a moment to look around.
You never know what you might find
or who might find you.
(16:36):
I have always loved this story.
I'm not even going to pretend thatI have any idea of what made those prints.
I just hopeI don't ever see them in my backyard.
Can't get enough of the devil's mischief?
Well, you're in luck.
Click right here for more devilishly (seewhat I did there?)
good storiesthat’ll set your curiosity ablaze.
(17:00):
Be careful out there.
And I will see youhere again, on The InBetween.
Thanks for tuning into The InBetween Podcast.
Enjoy the full visual experiencewith me over on YouTube.
Just search for @TheInBetweentales.
I'm Carol Ann,and until next time, be careful
(17:22):
out there.
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