The British Isle is rich with mythology
and legends from King Arthur to the Loch Ness Monster. However, there is one
legend that lives on today. In the misty splendor of Ben MacDhui Mountain, in
Scotland, the people still talk of the Grey
Man of Ben MacDhui - a malign ape-like creature known locally as 'Fear
Liath Mor'.
Over the centuries dozens of sightings on
Ben MacDhui Mountain have amalgamated into an image of a humanoid about ten
feet tall, covered in hair, and having long arms. In 1891 a climber reported finding
large footprints measuring over 14 inches and stride over 5 feet long.
The Grey Man mythology, which persists to
this day, has become a true mystery. There were many sightings, often from
reputable individuals, which keeps the legend alive. Aviemore, Scotland sits at
the based of Ben MacDhui Mountain and was one of the stops I made during a
research tour of Scotland for my book Sherlock Holmes - The Golden Years.
Nothing beats first-hand research so Sara and I trekked to Aviemore, the
gateway to the Cairngrom Plateau to more fully capture the surroundings and
local colour for a book of mysteries he was writing at the time. Not
surprisingly, the Grey Man of Ben MacDhui made it way into my book.
In the first of the five new Sherlock
Holmes adventures, A Bonnie Bag of Bones, Holmes and Watson climb Ben
MacDhui Mountain to discover the mystery behind human bones that were recently
discovered on Ben MacDhui Mountain. In the process, they encounter the Grey
Man.
Each of the five “post-retirement stories”
is meticulously researched and rich in local color and historically accurate
detail. In Sherlock Holmes – The Golden
Years, the infamous duo reunite in a wonderful new series of
post-retirement adventures that take them from peaks of Ben MacDhui to Undertown,
far below the streets of London, and finally to darkest Africa.
You can get Sherlock Holmes-The Golden Years at Amazon, the BookDepository.com, Barnes and Noble, and
any good bookstore.
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