Tommy Rawhead

The legend of Tommy Rawhead aka Bloody Bones is particularly popular in Ireland, in Britain and in some parts of the United States especially on the southern region.  The information in this article is particularly about the Tommy Rawhead of the United States.

Tommy Rawhead has a lot of similarity to the Cutty Black Sow in terms of their appearance.  Tommy Raw Head is a reanimated corpse of a hog on which his flesh has been stripped of their bones.

During the times that they are still alive, Tommy Rawhead is said to be the favorite pet of a witch.  Sometimes the Bloody Bones also acted as the witch’s familiar.  One day a pack of hunters managed to kill the hog.  They decapitated his head, butchered him and carved off the meat from its bones. When the witch realized what happened to his favorite pet, the witch devised a plan to get revenge to the hunters.  The witch allegedly used her black magic and reanimated the corpse of the hog.  His bones and decapitated head has been reattached and the horrible monster was brought back to life.  One by one the creature hunted the hunters who killed him.

"Rawhead and Bloody BonesSteals naughty children from their homes,Takes them to his dirty den,And they are never seen again."-Nursery Rhymes

After his revenge, the creature started preying on the kids.  This time he is now acting as a bogeyman who nabbed children who refused to go to sleep.

The rawhead is said to appear upright like a human and with its super human strength, it is said that winning against it in a hand to hand combat is impossible.  It also has the ability to take the parts of other animals and add it to his body.  In Irish and British lore, the Rawhead has the ability to shape shift.