The Story of the Devil’s Footprints

By Tracey Anderson

In February 1855 one of the UK’s greatest unexplained mysteries occurred. Yet few people outside of Devon have ever heard about the mystery of the Devil’s footprints. On the evening of February 8th, a heavy snowfall blanketed the entire South Devon countryside. The last snow fell around midnight, and the following morning early risers were shocked to see a mysterious trail of footprints stretching for hundreds of miles in a straight line. Reports came in from Dawlish, Exmouth, Lympstone, Teignmouth and Topsham and everyone reported the same phenomenon. It was as though some creature had raced through the countryside leaving behind them tracks that no-one could identify. The tracks were exactly 8 inches apart, and approximately 2-3 inches long. Although they were shaped like a hoofprint they appeared to have been made by a two-legged rather than a four-legged animal. Bizarrely they passed over rooftops, along windowsills and through solid walls. In one place they reached a river and reappeared on the opposite side, two miles away! A rumour started that it was the devil roaming the countryside in search of sinners. Clergymen were keen to suggest this was indeed the case, and parishioners became scared to go out after dark. The footprints were reported in the national press at the time, which sparked some lively correspondence including plenty of theories; that the footprints were made by an escaped kangaroo, a badger (because their hind footprints fall exactly into their front footprints so give the appearance of a two-legged animal), and even a large balloon trailing a rope or a chain. Yet none of the theories could explain away everything the Devon residents reported that night, so the myth of the Devil’s footprints persisted. It even inspired the 2014 film; Dark was the Night. Modern day psychologists have mooted a possible explanation for the events in the concept of ‘social contagion’ or ‘social epidemic,’ when an idea spreads by suggestion.. Journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell proposes three rules of social epidemics. First is ‘the law of the few,’ which involves influential people helping to tip an idea into widespread popularity. The clergy in 19th Century England would certainly have been influential in this regard. Secondly is ‘the stickiness factor’ which suggests that some ideas are more contagious than others. The idea of the Devil racing through the countryside would have been both exciting and terrifying. Finally, there is ‘…the importance of the cultural environment contributing to the spread of an idea.’ In 19th Century culture people were certainly more God-fearing and so more likely to be influenced by the Church. A more modern example of social contagion occurred in Holland, in 1978. A panda was reported in the press to have escaped from Rotterdam Zoo, which resulted in 100 sightings of the animal all over Holland, in spite of the fact the poor beast had been killed by train just a few yards from the zoo! In this case the authority of the press placed the idea in people’s minds, while excitement and anticipation caused them to perceive dogs and native wild animals as the panda and each ‘sighting’ triggered another… contagion in action. This phenomenon is also frequently observed with UFO sightings and other paranormal events. Whether a myth or just a trick of the mind, the Devil’s footprints remain an intriguing event and we’ll probably never know what really happened!