Carrbridge Films – the same team behind Carrbridge News – are about to embark on the production of a feature film of incredible ambition. ‘Brocken Spectre’ is to be based on the local myth of the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui, a legendary being who is said to reside in the Cairngorms.
There has always, it seems, been word of the Big Grey Man in the Cairngom mountains but it did not enter popular folklore until Professor Norman Collie reported his experiences of ‘Fearlas Mor’ (as the Big Grey Man is known locally) while on a trip to New Zealand in 1889. He later repeated the story at a Cairngorm Club meeting in 1925:
“I was returning from the cairn on the summit in a mist when I began to think I heard something else than merely the noise of my own footsteps. Every few steps I took I heard a crunch, then another crunch as if someone was walking after me but taking steps three or four times the length of my own. I said to myself ‘this is all nonsense’. I listened and heard it again but could see nothing in the mist . As I walked on and the eerie crunch, crunch sounded behind me I was seized with terror and took to my heels, staggering blindly among the boulders for four or five miles nearly down to Rothiemurchus Forest. Whatever you make of it I do not know, but there is something very queer about the top of Ben MacDhui and will not go back there again by myself I know.”
The term ‘Brocken Spectre’ refers to the natural phenomenon of seeing ones own reflection cast upon the upper surface of clouds – many see this as the root cause of tales of a Big Grey Man up Ben MacDhui.
The group director, Fergus Thom (18) said:
“We’re all very excited to be embarking on another big project and look forward to getting out and about and capturing all the wonderful locations we have on our doorsteps. Having said this we also have a lot of work ahead of us to prepare the plot and screenplay.”
The team are attempting to raise almost £2,500 in order to purchase a new camera to shoot the film on as up till now have only ever worked with low cost, consumer minidv camcorders. In order to raise this money they are accepting donations and offering a series of ‘perks’ in relation to specific donation amounts. They are also accepting corporate sponsorship and product placement deals. Further information is available on the website.
The group hope to complete the film for early 2011 and the entire process of producing the film will be documented in depth on the website, www.brockenspectremovie.co.uk
