The Mystery of the Devil’s Footprints
In the dead of night on February 8, 1855, the quiet countryside of Devon, England, was blanketed in fresh snow. To the locals, it was an ordinary midwinter scene, until dawn broke and they found something extraordinary: a trail of hoof‑shaped prints stretching for miles across fields, rooftops, walls, and even frozen rivers. These were called the Devil’s Footprints, or sometimes the Devil’s Hoof Marks, an inexplicable trace in the snow that has baffled scientists, folklorists, and mystery lovers ever since.
The prints appeared suddenly after a heavy snowfall, and by morning they had stirred a mix of fear, fascination, and uproar. They were unlike anything known to local fauna and traversed every kind of obstacle with apparent impunity. In some places, the marks seemed to cross walls or shingles, pass over drainpipes, and run across rooftops in single file, as though the strange entity (or force) that made them simply ignored gravity and geometry.
Estimates of how far the prints stretched vary widely. Some say they covered 40 miles, while others suggest they may have ranged up to 100 miles across the snow-covered landscape of East and South Devon, and possibly into Dorset. Dozens of reports emerged from towns like Exmouth, Topsham, Dawlish, and Teignmouth, describing cloven‑hoof impressions about 4 inches long and 3 inches wide, spaced between 8 and 16 inches apart. Many villagers refused to leave their homes after dark, convinced the Devil himself might be roaming the countryside.
To this day, the mystery endures: what left those imprints? And how could it have walked over walls, rooftops, rivers, and fences without breaking stride?
The Curious Patterns and Obstacles
What makes the Devil’s Footprints especially perplexing is not just their length, but their path. Unlike a creature walking a winding course, these prints often followed straight lines, leaping over obstacles rather than navigating around them. Farmers reported that stacks of hay or fences did not interrupt the tracks. In some cases, the prints stopped on one side of an object and then restarted on the other, with no visible disturbance to the object itself. In others, footprints appeared on roofs and over the tops of walls.
There are even claims that some prints passed through drain pipes as small as 4 inches in diameter, though those accounts are contested. In various locations, the marks were found directly on either side of doorways, or cafés, or churchyards, without any visible disturbance to the intervening space. The prints were almost always in single file, suggesting a humanoid or bipedal gait rather than a quadruped.
It was, to Victorian sensibilities, a demon walking among them. And many baptised it so.
Theories That Tried to Explain It
Over the decades, a variety of explanations have been proposed, ranging from plausible to far-fetched. None has gained universal acceptance, but each adds colour to the mystery.
Hoax or Human Trickery
One of the earliest and simplest theories is that the prints were made deliberately by pranksters or groups of people. Some suggest stilts or improvised devices might have produced hoof‑like marks. Others propose that multiple characters coordinated to create the trail across village after village. Some have argued that the prints’ neatness and consistency suggest human design.
However, the scale and complexity of the prints complicate that explanation. To create tracks over 40 to 100 miles overnight, skipping fences, crossing rivers, and mounting roofs, while preserving continuity, would require an organised effort, speed, and secrecy. Many of the reported areas were remote and dispersed. The logistics alone make hoaxing the entire phenomenon improbable.
Animal Tracks and Rodents
Several animal-based theories have been advanced. Among them:
- Kangaroos: Perhaps the most sensational. Soon after news of the phenomenon spread, the Reverend G. M. Musgrave suggested a pair of kangaroos might have escaped from a private menagerie in Sidmouth. Kangaroos hop in ways that can leave prints reminiscent of hooves, and might bound over small obstacles. But kangaroos do not naturally roam Devon, and they could hardly scale rooftops, cross fencing flawlessly, or sustain prints over extensive snow terrain. Musgrave later admitted that the kangaroo idea was part humour, part distraction.
- Rodents or Mice: Some researchers, such as Mike Dash, proposed that hopping rodents like wood mice could leave double‑print marks that resemble cloven hooves. The idea is that when they hop, their hind feet land close together, creating paired impressions on the ground. Under certain snow conditions, particularly where thawing or refreezing occurs, these may coalesce into shapes that resemble a single hoof print. But rodents would struggle to cross large distances or climb walls or roofs as described in many reports.
- Badgers or Other Mammals: Another idea is that local quadrupeds, such as badgers, left prints in shallow snow that were distorted by wind or melting. The problem is that badgers rarely behave in a single file or leap over obstacles, such as rooftops or rivers. None fit all the observations.
Balloon or Rope Theory
One imaginative theory is that the prints were made by shackles or chains trailing from a drifting hot air balloon or an experimental balloon launched from the Devonport Dockyard. The idea is that a balloon’s mooring ropes or shackles might have scraped the snow as the balloon drifted, creating intermittent prints over a path. Proponents argue this could explain prints on roofs, across rivers, or over fields, as the balloon might have soared over obstacles.
However, sceptics point out that balloon tracks would likely snag on trees, brush, or structures. Also, maintaining a stable drift over dozens of miles in a zigzag path would be difficult. Moreover, one would expect disturbances, tangling, or failure of the device. Still, it remains a creative idea that has drawn interest in folk speculation circles.
Supernatural or Cryptid Explanations
Given the era and the nature of the phenomenon, many attributed the tracks to the supernatural, demons, Satanic visitation, or unknown creatures cloaked in myth. In Victorian Devon, religious interpretations were common: that the Devil was walking through the region, inspecting sinners, or performing some ritual walk.
Modern fringe theories have included UFOs, paranormal entities, or “time‑shifting creatures.” None has credible evidence. The supernatural remains within the realm of folklore and narrative, rather than being considered a scientific possibility.
Mixed Causes
Some researchers conclude that no single explanation accounts for all the evidence. Instead, they propose a mixture of causes: some genuine prints (perhaps from local animals or rodents under cold weather distortion), plus hoaxes in populated areas, plus exaggeration and retrospective embellishment in newspaper reports. In other words, the Devil’s Footprints may be partly myth, partly natural anomaly, and partly human mischief.
Contemporary Inquiry and Scepticism
Over time, the story of the Devil’s Footprints has passed into folklore, but scholars have periodically revisited the case. In 1994, folklorist and historian Mike Dash collected a trove of source material, newspapers, letters, and vicar records, and published The Devil’s Hoofmarks: Source Material on the Great Devon Mystery of 1855. He concluded that the tracks’ odd behaviour likely stemmed from multiple sources, with some hoaxing involved and some natural prints misinterpreted, noting that none of the single theories held up to all reported facts.
Modern sceptics also question the reliability of the original accounts. Many of the letters and reports were published days later, filtered through newspaper editors, and included hearsay. Eyewitness memory, especially in challenging circumstances such as snow, darkness, and panic, is unreliable. Snow conditions (thawing, wind, refreezing) may distort prints, amplify perception of straight paths, and erase subtle signs. It’s plausible that some prints were exaggerated, conflated, or misreported in multiple villages.
Moreover, some later reports describe footprints ceasing before certain homes or restarting beyond them, oddities that suggest variation in reportage or exaggeration. The absence of any single preserved original tracing or photograph further complicates verification.
In short, the mystery resists resolution because our evidence is secondhand, inconsistent, and filtered through sensational press.
Why the Mystery Lives On
The Devil’s Footprints endure in public imagination because they evoke primal questions. A path across the snow with no discernible walker invites awe. The prints cross obstacles as though gravity, fences, doors, and rooftops were insignificant. They combine nature, legend, fear, and narrative into a perfect Victorian enigma.
They also appeal to our desire for narrative. People want a story: the Devil walking across the countryside is a potent image. A daring prankster, a forgotten creature, or a freak natural event provides tension and wonder.
The marks also tap into themes of faith, the unknown, and the human need to explain anomalies. In 1855, religious sentiment was strong in Devon. The Devil’s Footprints were viewed as more than odd prints; they were omens, portents, or divine warnings.
In the modern era, the mystery is less about faith and more about the interplay of folklore, natural phenomena, human perception, and media. It reminds us of how easily wonder can escape explanation, and how stories fill gaps left by lost data.
In the Snow, at Dawn
Over 160 years later, the snow has melted, the villages have changed, and the eyewitnesses are gone. The Devil’s Footprints remain in letters, periodicals, folktales, and scholarly footnotes. They are footprints of a myth crawling through memory. They remind us that sometimes the most compelling mysteries are those we can only glimpse in frozen outlines, in silence broken by speculation. We may never know what crossed Devon that night, or how it bounded over walls and roofs. However, the tracks left their mark on folklore, curiosity, and the boundary where nature meets imagination.
The Mystery of the Devil’s Footprints FAQ
The Devil’s Footprints refer to mysterious hoof-like tracks that appeared in the snow across Devon, England, in February 1855. The prints stretched for miles and crossed over rooftops, walls, and rivers.
Estimates vary, but some reports claim the prints spanned 40 to 100 miles across the countryside, appearing in multiple towns and villages.
No definitive explanation has been agreed upon. Theories range from animal activity and weather distortions to hoaxes or even supernatural events.
The Devil’s Footprints continue to captivate because of their eerie path, the scale of the sightings, and the folkloric idea of a demonic visitation—all wrapped in a real historical event.