The Weeping Frog seen in Oldham Street, Manchester, UK: Caretaker Murdo Robertson was one who witnessed the beast. “[It] ... had a face on it like a misshapen wet sponge, horrible sight it was.” One might suspect that he did not mean it had a face like Spongebob here. Indeed, Mr Robertson went on to describe the blood curdling sound the creature produced. “It started out as a high-pitched whine then grew in intensity. Soon after it was howling like it had a serious problem. I didn’t stick around to find out what that problem was...”
From the few scant visual descriptions recorded, it appeared almost human. One observer described it as a pitiable wretched creature with a forlorn hangdog expression, bulging eyes, and a slow shuffling gait.
However, almost all reports of the creature related to the ghastly sound that it made, described variously as a “grief-stricken whine”, a “caterwauling-howl” and a “death-croak”.
The “Weeping Frog” was the name attributed to the strange phenomenon heard, but very rarely seen, in the North of Manchester during the early to mid-1990s. It regularly stalked the corridors of several establishments over this period. Those who saw it also knew it as “The Howling Snail” and “The Sobbing Amphibian”.
It is known to prowl the bowels of the maze-like buildings it inhabited. It only surfaced after dark, and could be heard dragging itself through the stairwells, as if undertaking some dreaded nightly ritual. After a time, the shuffling would stop, and then, after a lengthy pause, horrified witnesses would hear it emit that spine-chilling groan. Often this sound would continue for some time, then inevitably, the sound would stop, and the shuffling would start once again. The unspeakable horror then returned whence it came, and would not be seen or heard from again until darkness descended on another day.
After a period of about four years, and many suspected cases of the abomination’s nighttime habits, the occurrences suddenly ceased. Whether it moved on to another location or simply disappeared has never been established, as no other cases have since been reported. Local people, however, live in hope that the “Weeping Frog” has croaked its last.
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