A 19th Century Encounter with a Folk Devil?

Over the last several months I’ve been pondering a particular phrase, which I’ve taken slightly out of context and used to describe shadowy, evasive characters that occasionally show up at various locales around the globe. These “personages,” for lack of a better term, run the gamut from those phenomenon associated with cryptozoology, extraterrestrials, and presumed “interdimensional” beings the likes of Bigfoot, Mothman, and others strange Fortean creatures. It is possible that sightings of such creatures are explainable, and at other times they could be ethereal in nature, such as with the state of mind that occurs when Transcendental Meditation mantras are evoked. But getting to the heart of the matter, the term I’m referring to with relevance to these characters now is “folk devil,” which, in its original context (first used by sociologist Stanley Cohen in his 1972 book Folk Devils and Moral Panics), meant an individual or group blamed for inconveniences or social problems, as perceived by the media.
What got me thinking about the use of this term with regard to Fortean phenomenon is the less-often observed parallel many “strange beings” have with bad luck and general negativity. Take, for instance, the appearances of so-called “shadow people” and, in specific, shadowy entities who appear to have a penchant for wearing Stovepipe hats (a rather curious accessory that has long been associated with villains over the decades… just think Snidely Whiplash). Withing cryptozoological circles, this kind of character might be lumped in alongside reports of Bigfoot who, very strangely, are sometimes reported wearing human clothing!
But while we’re looking at strange, otherworldly beings who have been witnessed wearing peculiar apparel, I want to go ahead and share a unique encounter sent to me recently by a Gralien Report reader, pertaining to an 1838 encounter with a tall, hairy humanoid which, by virtue of its devilish claims, seemed to indicate that he was actually the biblical Cain from the book of Genesis.














