Skip to main content

Capcom made a huge chalk lycan on a hill in Somerset to promote Resident Evil Village

Howling.

This week, if you pottered along to the Mendip Hill near Cheddar, Somerset, you'd probably have caught a glimpse of something a bit off: a huge chalk artwork of a lycan.

Local press reported the strange image on Monday, 3rd May after it popped up overnight - and seemingly had no idea what it was about or who made it.

Watch on YouTube

Its true nature was revealed when Resident Evil Village came out on Friday - it was a Capcom PR stunt. And a pretty cool one, I'll admit.

The Somerset County Gazette sounded thrilled to find out one of their local hills had been used to promote a video game they'd never heard of with a 58m high and more than 100m long chalk lycan.

"The imposing creature, bearing some of the hallmarks of the country's historic and mystical chalk figures, was created in less than 24 hours," the County Gazette revealed.

"The giant installation appeared in a glow mysteriously overnight, nestled between some of the UK's most secluded villages in Somerset on the Blackdown Hills.

"The artwork was created in the dead of night to depict one of the new terrifying enemies in Resident Evil Village."

The artwork is now updated to mention Resident Evil Village, so everyone knows what it's about. Potential new Resident Evil fan pilgrimage destination?

It turns out there are loads of these chalk figures dotted around the English countryside. The Cerne Abbas Giant, near the village of Cerne Abbas in Dorset, is perhaps the most famous. It depicts a nude male figure with a prominent erection wielding a large club. As you do.

Capcom's lycan isn't quite as excited as Dorset's Cerne Abbas Giant, but it certainly stands out, don't you think?

Read this next