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Devil's Footprints
After a snowfall, cloven-hoofed footprints appeared across 100 miles of Devon. They went over rooftops, through walls, across rivers. They stopped at nothing. People believed the Devil himself had walked through.
February 9, 1855
Devon, England
1000+ witnesses
The Devil’s Footprints remain one of Victorian England’s greatest mysteries.
The Event
On February 9, 1855:
According to documented reports:
- Fresh snow fell overnight
- Morning revealed strange tracks
- Cloven-hoof prints
- Extending for 100 miles
- Through multiple villages
The Prints
The tracks were:
- Approximately 4 inches by 3 inches
- Cloven-hoofed shape
- About 8 inches apart
- In a straight line
- Unvarying in size
The Impossible Path
The prints:
- Climbed walls
- Crossed rooftops
- Passed through narrow pipes
- Crossed the River Exe
- Continued on the other side
Theories
Proposed explanations:
- A kangaroo escaped from a zoo
- A balloon trailing rope
- Multiple animals
- A hopping bird
- Mass hysteria
The Devil Theory
Many believed:
- The Devil himself
- Had walked through Devon
- Testing the faithful
- Churches packed next Sunday
- Genuine fear spread
Never Explained
Despite investigation:
- No satisfactory answer
- No similar event since
- Documentary evidence exists
- Letters to The Times
- Sketches of prints