The Peluda

by Cole Herrold

Outside of Lake, River, and Sea Monsters, Europe is surprisingly devoid of cryptids. There, of course, are famous encounters like the Beast of Gevaudan, the famous cryptid canine that killed countless women in children in the French countryside, and the Owlman of Mawnan England's answer to the Mothman, yet these creatures, if legends are to be believed is not the only strange creature reported to dwell in the European countryside. Reports of a strange venomous mammalian reptile were reported during the Medieval Times in France. This strange chimeral beast may seem like fiction, but some cryptozoologists have entertained the notion that what was reported in French legend was, in fact, a living creature.

My first encounter with the strange beast known as the Peluda came from the Cartoon Network show Secret Saturdays. A show about cryptozoologists protecting, researching, and hiding the existence of cryptids. It was an ambitious show at the time and extremely fun to watch, and in one particular episode where the hero Zak Saturday and his family raid the villain V.V. Argost's lair full of cryptids, they encounter a shaggy hair covered beast that, when sighting the hero suddenly revealed a reptile head and long quills. I was fascinated by this creature as it didn't seem to match any cryptid I had known. A quick search on the show's wiki website led to the confirmation that the creature was the Peluda.

The Fayette County Dragon

by Cole Herrold

Dragons are one of the most noticeable figures in culture. They appear in almost every culture and have plagued and aided many characters in Fantasy. The massive flying fire breathing beasts is something that many fans of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings have wanted to exist, yet the sheer impossibility of such a creature is staggering. Interestingly enough, however, people to this day and throughout history have reported encounters of flying reptiles outside of the normal Pteranodon or pterodactyl type variety, and these reports can truly only be filed as a dragon.

One of these cases was reported not in some desolate mountain peak or gold-filled cave but in my home state. The only report of what has been dubbed the Fayette County Dragon comes from the files of famed Pennsylvania researcher Stan Gordon. The case appeared in an article on his UFO Anomalies Zone as well as in his amazing book Astonishing Encounters. A must-have for any Pennsylvania Fortean researcher.

The Prime Hook Swamp Monster

by Cole Herrold

Swamp monsters have always been an enduring part of fantasy, comic books, and science fiction. From Meg Mucklebones, the semiaquatic hag from Ridley Scott’s Legend to my second favorite comic book character Swamp Thing and his Marvel equivalent Man-Thing these creatures exist in a muddied mixture of the earth and water coexisting and proving to be either interconnected with all forms of nature or the ultimate predators. In the world of cryptozoology, there are several famous swamp monsters like the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp that plagued Bishopville in South Carolina or the Crocodile footed Honey Island Swamp Monster of Louisiana, who is probably the best of the murky marauders. Swamp monsters are extremely predominant in the south, constantly slithering in and out of the marshy mire, yet the south is not the only area of this country to own swamps and strange creatures.

I first across the creature known as the Prime Hook Swamp Creature or Prime Hook Swamp Monster was on the now-defunct About.com site. It was one of the first online cases I came across in a time when every case and info I knew about cryptids came from books and magazine sources. I thankfully was able to procure the only information that was ever posted on the creature. This creature has since teetered on the point of unknown since then.

The Wolf Pond Monster

by Cole Herrold

When people think of lake monsters, the first creature that instantly is brought to mind is Nessie. The still surviving aquatic prehistoric reptile is a pop icon and instantly recognizable to even those who know nothing of the history of the beast. In America, though, we are teeming with lake monsters. Some are exceptionally famous like Champ of Lake Champlain or The Flathead Lake Monster, yet others are less known, living in absolute obscurity to the vast majority of the public. Then there are those that no one talks about; there is little written, and usually only then it is just a blurb. 

When beginning my research into cryptozoology being from Pennsylvania, I, of course, had to wonder whether Pennsylvania had any lake monsters. In the early days, I had little access to the internet, so pining away through books was my only option, and through countless tomes, there seemed to be no reference to anything mysterious lurking in the waterways of PA. It was not until opening a copy of Loren Coleman's Mysterious America that I found somewhat of a local marine resident. In his index on lake monsters, Pennsylvania had one entry, Wolf Pond. As a kid reading it, I was skeptical a pond is small; how could anything as big as a Nessie or Champ live in a small body of water?

New World on the Web

The NEW WORLD EXPLORERS SOCIETY is now on Facebook! We have an official page and fan group, both of which will contain content not available in print or on the blog. Other social media platforms we are currently considering are Instagram and Twitter. As for web content, look for new articles and an interactive map coming soon!

The Giant Caterpillars of Mount Pleasant

by Cole Herrold

Insects are one of the most extensive forms of life on this planet. In this vast family of creatures, some of the most disturbing and exciting species on this planet reside in this clan. While I have a love of most of life on this planet with few exceptions. I was always intrigued by these conquerors of all environments. My personal favorites, though, are their cousins, the arachnids.

Stan Gordon, a Pennsylvania researcher who is one of the most seasoned researchers in Fortean studies, has had countless cases and years of research under his belt. While I do not agree entirely with some of his conclusions, I deeply respect the work this man had done. He is a true legend in the field of this kind of research and the best Pennsylvania researchers I've ever come across. I own all of his books, and they are incredible. I cannot endorse him enough, especially for those who are like me from the Keystone State. With that said, one of the most bizarre in the normality of the description of the reported Cryptids out there was sent to him by four nameless witnesses who reported a curious case of what appears to be giant caterpillars or maggots.

The Boonville Monster

by Cole Herrold

Boonville, Indiana is located in Warrick County and has an estimated population of around 6,300. It is approximately 17 miles from Evansville, one of the state's largest cities, and is known interestingly enough, named after folk hero Daniel Boon's cousin Ratliff Boon who was predominate in the area. Boonville also has some presidential history too as the town was where Abraham Lincoln had gone to study law. While the town has a rich history, it is also home to a legend that is just as interesting. For it was in August of 1936 and 1937 when a large unknown shambling beast was both seen and, to the terror of those around heard, in the forested regions known as the Cyprus Beach area of Boonville, Indiana.

The first official sighting of this creature occurred on August 1936 and was covered in the Hammond Times article “Sounds like a Bear Yarn” It was on a dark night that Ralph Duff, a professional fisherman had first begun to hear loud unearthly screams that came from the woods outside of his property. These bellowing cries echoed through the night air filling his house with the unearthly clamor of the strange creature. These noises, however, would not be the end to the strange creature that would soon plague and terrorize his residence and family. This creature's cacophony could be heard ringing out on one fateful night when the ferocious din was not the only presence of the beast. The shrouded darkness clothed the beast as it lumbered its way onto Ralph's property. His police dog had begun to act up as the creature came ever closer to the homestead. The animal, whether annoyed by the family pet or fearful of an attack, proceeded to commit a heinous action that would result in the dismemberment of the militarized mutt. The fisherman would find the severed remains of his family friend dead on the lawn the next morning with large footprints bigger than a human's around the dead pup. Yet this was still not the finale of this family's encounter with the beast.

The Abominable Chicken Man

by Craig Mullins

On the surface, Oklahoma doesn't seem to offer much to the casual Fortean. It's almost as if the paranormal has passed us by. Sure there are ghosts. There always are. All a good ghost needs is an old cemetery, run down building or a place where some sort of tragedy took place. Same goes for Bigfoot and UFOs. They're here, just as likely as they're anywhere else. But what about the strange? The weird? The truly bizarre that haunts other states. Where are the mysterious flying creatures, phantom prowlers and living dinosaurs? What does Oklahoma offer that is unusual and uniquely its own?

 

Believe it or not, it's here. It's all around, if you are willing to dig a little deeper to find it. If you do, you'll be rewarded with tales of Haunts and Howlers, Devil Monkeys and Deer Women. Things that hide in the shadows and the darkness of night. Things that only a few have seen, and even fewer believe in.

Northeastern Oklahoma Graveyard Orcs

In memory of Jason J. Patterson. (June 29, 1973 - August 25, 2019)

by Jason J. Patterson

There are a few various phenomenal stories from around this area of Oklahoma (though not a ton and not very much of substance). One of the least qualifiable or known, but more compelling, stories is the tale of the graveyard "orcs" in a small town of around 3,000 dusty, non-hipsters on Route 66 in northeast Oklahoma between Tulsa and Joplin.

This account is third-hand and I was made aware of it an uncertain number of years ago when it happened, but I know it was somewhere around 2003 to 2006. I found out about this from late-teen friends of some family members of mine, which I'll be the first to agree one should be wary of such sources, but I know at least some of them and have always seemed fairly sincere and honestly intrigued by this sort of thing themselves (also reported by these people have been shadow people, ghosts, UFOs, werewolves, etc.)

De-arming the Myth of the Oklahoma Octopus

by Jim Whitehead

Have you ever heard a rumor based on nothing that just refused to die? This is the case of the much-publicized Oklahoma Octopus. Nearly a decade ago I tracked the rumor to its source online. The first appearance of the Oklahoma Octopus was on a website for The Travel Magazine back in 2001. Sadly the website has long since disappeared, and my original write up has also been eradicated. It was on the MABRC forums, but the old forums were lost when a rather nasty hacker attacked them; and notes and E-mails with the writer from the magazine were lost when the computer I was using at the time (from 2003 to 2008) was fried when my home was struck by lightning. I never bothered to back my data up at the time, but I do now, having learned this lesson the hard way. I know this may make this story sound like hearsay, but this is the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not. Having gotten to the bottom of the matter, I never felt the urge to retrace my digital tracks. While I no longer have the original article, or have been able to find it online again, I do remember essentially what it said. I will try to reproduce it for you to the best of my recollection.

"The quiet waters of three lakes deep in the Ozark Mountains of Oklahoma hide a terrifying secret. The secluded lakes of Lake Thunder Bird, Lake Oolagah, and Lake Tenkiller have been home to what can only be described as a giant man eating octopus. The lakes have dozens of unexplained drownings, and the local tribes have legends going back thousands of years in the area about a black monster with many arms living in the waters that could eat a horse."

Clearwater Oklahoma Bigfoot Incident

In memory of Jason J. Patterson. (June 29, 1973 - August 25, 2019)

by Jason J. Patterson

Oklahoma has a rich history of classic Bigfoot encounters, from the El Reno Chicken Man of the late 60's and early 70's and the Green Hill Monster (also from the early 70's) to the Nowata County Noxie Monster of the mid 70's. There are, however, some reports that are less well known. Reports that didn't make the evening news, or become campfire tales that bigfooters tell each other late at night as they listen for those eerie howls from the impenetrable dark.

One such story happened in the 80's outside a Bingo parlor in the Clearwater, Oklahoma area during one of the state's many freak thunderstorms. As the storm weakened, the bingo players began to hear heavy thumping and metal creaking, sounds that could have been attributed to the storm had it not quieted down.