The Cryptid Zoo: Shug Monkey

The Shug Monkey is a ghost-like hairy humanoid that fits squarely into the "big hairy monster" or "hairy biped" category of Bigfoot's weirder cousins. It is sighted in Rendlesham Forest in Britain, in the Suffolk area, particularly on the road that runs between West Wratting and Balsham. Witnesses describe it as combining the chacteristics of a big dog and a monkey. Sometimes it is linked with British werewolf legends because of its canine features. It leaves footprints that look like a dog's tracks, except that they are gigantic and have flattened "claws" that seem shaped more like human fingernails.

In behavior and habits, it resembles the numerous spectral black dogs that are sighted in Britain to this day, such as Black Shuck. Both "Shug" and "Shuck" derive from an Old English word for demon. Most researchers, in fact, classify the Shug Monkey among the weirder types of ghostly black dog. For example, some black dogs have cat features, cow features, are headless, have human heads, or possess other extremely weird features.

You can find out more about the Shug Monkey from the following sources:

McEwan, Graham J. Mystery Animals of Britain and Ireland. London: Robert Hale, 1986. Page 127

Redfern, Nick. Three Men Seeking Monsters: Six Weeks in Pursuit of Werewolves, Lake Monsters, Giant Cats, Ghostly Devil Dogs, and Ape-Men. New York: Paraview Pocket Books, 2004. Pages 36, 52, 165, 176-180, 182