On the 9th of Feb 1855 people in #Devon awoke to heavy snow & a trail of cloven prints that were dubbed the Devil's Footprints. They ran for 100 miles across the county, over walls, under a gooseberry bush & through narrow pipes, & are still unexplained today #WyrdWednesday

At Dawlish the prints seemed to lead to a thicket but when dogs were brought to flush the undergrowth they retreated howling in terror.

Besides Satan taking a winter stroll, other explanations for the prints included field mice, hoaxes, an experimental balloon & even a kangaroo!

Illustration from the classic Reader's Digest Folklore Myths and Legends of Britain (1973), and I think it's by Charles Keeping