“Smithfield Snail Man” seen near Slough, UK.

The “Smithfield Snail Man” has been spotted again, this time near Slough in the United Kingdom.

Little is known of the Smithfield Snail Man. He is named after the earliest known appearance in the illustrations of the Smithfield Decretals, where he is depicted as a balding, bearded male head emerging from a spiralled snail shell – and being used as a mount by a jousting rabbit. The anthropomorphic rabbits are believed to be fictitious. This manuscript hails from the 13^th Century, making the Snail Man potentially very old, if indeed it is the same character rather than a lineage of Snail Men. It is believed that there is only one Snail Man however, as only one has ever been seen at a time and time between sightings is very large, despite his appearances in populated areas.

He has only been seen on mainland Britain. Normally this archivist would add references here to previous sightings, however all such references have been destroyed, rendering the exercise pointless. The Snail Man is believed to be dangerous to lone individuals, having occasionally left corpses covered with rasp marks if disturbed before he can completely consume them. Given the partially eaten state of such corpses however it is not known whether he is a danger to a healthy, wary adult or merely an opportunist. If seen by a group he usually escapes by burrowing beneath the ground at a rapid pace.

This latest sighting of the Snail Man, who quickly vanished behind a hedgerow, was made moments ago by an early morning dog walker on the edge of Stoke Poges. Details of his movement patterns are unknown, but seekers of the unusual near Slough are advised to be extra cautious if investigating alone for the next few months. There is unlikely to be a wider significance as there are no known relationships between the Smithfield Snail Man and other phenomena.