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Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui
Scotland's second-highest peak is home to the Big Grey Man—a giant presence that follows climbers. Professor Norman Collie first reported it in 1891: footsteps following him, a sense of dread, then fleeing in terror. Many experienced mountaineers have reported the same phenomenon.
1891
Cairngorms, Scotland
100+ witnesses
Something stalks climbers on Scotland’s second-highest peak.
The Mountain
Ben MacDhui:
- Cairngorms, Scotland
- 4,295 feet high
- Second highest in UK
- Remote summit
- Often in fog
First Account
Professor Norman Collie, 1891:
- Experienced climber
- Alone on summit
- Heard footsteps behind
- Much larger than human
- Fled in terror
The Encounters
What people experience:
- Crunching footsteps
- Sense of presence
- Overwhelming dread
- Compulsion to flee
- Sometimes a shape glimpsed
The Witnesses
Who reported it:
- Experienced mountaineers
- Scientists
- Soldiers
- Multiple credible accounts
- Similar descriptions
The Theories
Explanations proposed:
- Brocken spectre (shadow)
- Infrasound from wind
- Isolation effect
- Altitude sickness
- Actual creature
The Legend
Am Fear Liath Mòr:
- Gaelic name
- Grey Man legend
- Celtic folklore
- Mountain spirit
- Still reported today