In 1891, J. Norman Collie A skilled hiker, professor, and member of the Royal Geographical Society was hiking alone around the Summit of Ben Macdui, the second highest mountain in the United Kingdom. He was returning from a burial ground when he began to hear someone else’s footsteps. Extremely foggy where he was, with every couple of footsteps he would hear another set crunching in the snow. Collie, extremely terrified, would descend down quickly into the Rothiemurchus forest into safety. Something though had followed him, something Collie felt and although he didn’t see it, Collie recognized that something strange was on the mountain.
Years later he would recall his tale in 1925 to the press. While many would ridicule him, others would come forward to share their strange and frightening experiences while climbing the mountain.
Hugh D. Welsh, a climber, said that he ascended the summit with his brother in 1904. All day and all night, the two heard “slurring footsteps, as if someone was walking through water-saturated gravel.” Both men were scared and felt something was near them, and they felt an eerie apprehension.
Years later another strange event would occur in the Cairngorm Mountains, which is the same Mountain range that houses the Ben Macdui Mountain.
In 1945, Pete Densham was volunteering in the Cairngorm mountains when one day he reported hearing strange noises. Then, a mist began closing in on him and as this was occurring, he felt he was being strangled. He quickly ran away before seeing anything.
A few years later another strange event would occur to a friend of Denshams, Richard Frere. In 1948, climber Frere wrote about feeling a presence while in the mountain range and even hearing a high singing note.
Frere would also tell the story of another person who had climbed Ben Macdui but wished to remain anonymous.
One day, this climber was camping on Ben Macdui when he woke up to a feeling of inescapable dread. He looked out of his tent and saw a large figure with dark hair but no discernible features.
While these men and others would witness something in these mountains, it wasn’t until 1958 that the grey man was first wrote about by Alexander Tewnion in the Scots Magazine.
Tewnion recalls a 10-day hiking trip he had in 1943 ascending Ben Macdui. Tewnion says one afternoon he was reaching the summit of the mountain when a mist swirled in. The environment became dark with strong winds and odd sounds. He would hear loud footsteps and as they grew louder and louder, he suddenly was able to make out a large shape coming at him. Terrified, he pulled out his revolver and fired three shots. It didn’t stop the charging though and Tewnion fled down the path.
While these sightings as well as many other undocumented exist, there relatively few descriptions of the Big Grey Man. Those that have witnessed it, say the creature is large and broad shouldered, standing over 10 feet tall, with long waving arms. Also, the creature has an olive complexion, or sometimes is covered with short brown hair. Still, it’s important to point out in the majority of cases, the creature is only heard or sensed among the high passes of the mountain. Some report seeing him just below the skyline near the Lairg Ghru Pass. Witnesses who sense the presence are almost always overwhelmed with a sense of dread or terror. Sometimes the case of dread becomes so intense that hikers are seemingly pulled to the cliff edges prepared to jump.
The only physical evidence of something unexplained in these mountains are several large footprint pictures and blurry pictures of something in the mountain.
Over the years several theories have been discussed as to what these hikers saw or experienced.
The first is an optical illusion known as the Brocken spectre . A Brocken spectre, is a natural phenomenon observed on mountains, where the shadow of an observer is magnified and suspended, as if mid-air, through a unique combination of atmospheric conditions This natural illusion is known to exist, and some believe that the hikers experienced this. This would explain why no one saw specifics on the big grey man.
Others believe that the big grey man or strange activity is due to something else. Some say it is the spirit of the mountain. Others believe it is undiscovered cryptid or something paranormal or perhaps extraterrestrial in nature.
One other theory is that the hikers experienced infrasound. It can be started by the wind and is said to cause feelings of nervousness and anxiety.
Others suggest that the exhaustion played a role and led the hikers to have these illusions. Many disagree with this though as many of the hikers were experienced and a variety of men felt the strange dreadful feelings.
To date, there’s been no explanation as to what happened to these men on the mountain.
