By: Max Lorette, Peak Associate and Certified Cryptozoologist
Dressed in decrepit graduation robes, the Bennett creature lurks between the bookshelves of the reference section. Most who encounter the fearsome creature see little more than a flash of blue and red tattered fabric, before it dashes just out of sight. They say a mere glimpse of the monster’s face is enough to drive even the most hardened post-graduate students to fanaticism. This elusive being is said to hide the specific book you need for that one essay due tomorrow in its lair, sealing you to a fate of one less reliable academic source! Oh, the horror!
Much of the information we have regarding this creature comes from the tales told by a Mr. Hugh Jass, a mere first year in 1987, well before the era of the library’s handy-dandy online catalogue. While records of his story are scattered, we have done our best to piece together the events of that fateful autumnal eve.
It was approximately 6:09 p.m. when Hugh was scouring the reference section. He was already running on five cups of coffee that day, and his whole body was jitterbug with a mixture of anxiety and caffeine. Wandering the rows and rows of shelves stretched out before him, he felt as though he was trapped in a never ending academic maze. Yet, his quest for a particular volume was proving to be fruitless (our expert hypotheses is that it was some kind of scientific journal, but we’re English majors who stay far away from things like that). He was writing a study that was due the next day, and he was doomed if he couldn’t come up with a final source to tack onto his paper!
Despite all the caffeine coursing through his bloodstream, Hugh Jass found his eyelids growing heavier by the minute. It was due to his increasing fatigue that he was almost able to write off the flash of graduation robes darting in front of the maw of bookshelves before him. Almost.
When he saw those suspicious robes once more followed by a sinister laugh, his heart began to race with more than simply the caffeine-induced heart palpitations. Too frightened to move a muscle, he was petrified as he heard thick fabric moving behind him. As Hugh recounted that night in the notes we found, he always mentions how the air around him grew cold, and how for weeks afterwards, he was unable to get the smell of mildew and old paper out of his clothing. “Hugh Jass,” a voice as dry as autumnal leaves breathed into his ear, “The volume you seek has not been seen in years. Might I suggest another?” A loud thump behind him finally jolted him out of his trance. A book lay deserted in the middle of the aisle, coated in dust.
Though the academic source is dubious, we optimistically suppose it could have been helpful. Who knows the intentions of the Bennett creature, truly?
Little is known about Hugh Jass after his encounter with the Bennett creature, only that he never did get around to handing in his paper. Beware of the reference section, my dearest cryptid enthusiast, lest you encounter this fearsome creature on another frightfully chilly autumn evening. And remember, never trust your graduation robes.
