Mysterious naked ‘wolf man’ spotted in Germany’s Harz mountains: Hikers take photo of man ‘naked and holding a wooden spear near a ruined castle’

A mysterious ‘wolf man’ has been spotted roaming around the woods in the Harz mountains of central Germany.

The man, who is believed to have lived in the forest for five years, was captured on camera by two hikers, who reportedly saw him sitting naked and holding a wooden spear at the foot of a ruined castle.

The blurry photos show the man looking extremely hairy or covered in dirt, as he sits on the ground and appears to play with the sand.

Gina Weiss, 31, and her friend Tobi, 38, were walking in Blankenburg in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, as dusk fell on Tuesday evening.

Ms Weiss told German newspaper Bild: ‘When we reached the sand caves, we saw the wolf man. He stood up high on one of the caves and held a long wooden stick like a lance in his arm.

‘He wouldn’t take his eyes of us, said nothing. He looked dirty like a Stone Age man from a history book.’

The pair said the encounter with the man, thought to be in his 40s, lasted about ten minutes.

It is not the first time the supposed ‘wolf man’ has been spotted in the Blankenburg region.

Authorities said they have received multiple reports over the last half decade of a figure wearing wolf fur or in a wolf costume in the forest.

One frightened walker called police officers in March asking for ‘help’ after spotting a ‘wolf man running around’.

The man is thought to have been living in the mountainous region for five years. Pictured: Dead trees stand in Lower-Saxony state forests at the Harz mountains

On other occasions fire sites and shelters made out of branches have been spotted.

Alexander Beck, the head of Blackburn fire brigade said: ‘Someone clearly knows how to live outside and adapt to the changing seasons.’ 

However, a volunteer with the local fire service told the Telegraph that the most recent sighting was ‘nonsense’ and suggested the photos were ‘a prank’.

Almost a third of Germany is covered in dense forest and so myths and legends of people living off the land tend to crop up.

The dense woodland has been an inspiration for stories and fairy tales for centuries, including those created by German Brothers Grimm.