Butler County Gargoyle

by Cole Herrold

Flying Humanoids are perhaps the most interesting of all cryptids. A great deal of this is because, unlike Bigfoot, lake monsters, or thunderbirds, there is nothing we can compare them to in either the fossil record or in the current known zoological categories. They are an entirely alien lifeform; however, they appear in almost every country and culture from around the world. Of all the flying humanoids reported, the most famous is Mothman. When someone pictures a flying humanoid as a cryptozoological being, they ultimately envision a dark winged creature with piercing red eyes. While there are certainly versions of this kind of creature aside from Mothman, such as the Lake Michigan Mothmen and The Owlman of Mawnan, they are not entirely uniform in this description. In Pennsylvania throughout 2011, there was a rash of winged humanoid sightings whose description was by far one of the most bizarre on the books.

This flying freak known as the Butler County Gargoyle or the Chicora Gargoyle as there is a high concentration of sightings near the Butler County borough. This creature first came to the public's attention in March of 2011 and has since gained some fame from cryptid enthusiasts and paranormal researchers, making it by far one of the most famous flying humanoids ever reported. The first “official” report of the Butler County Gargoyle was reported first to Stan Gordon and later Lon Strickler of Phantoms and Monsters and Daniel Hageman of BORU (Butler Organization of Research of the Unexplained). The initial witness, a businessman who would go unnamed until Lon Strickler in a follow-up interview, gave the name RK would be the first and most famous reported sighting of the Butler Gargoyle and would also draw a sketch of the creature he had seen in.

Siyiniao

by Cole Herrold

Recently a documentary was made by Crash Course Cryptozoology on the Lone Pine Mountain Devils. The Lone Pine Mountain Devils are believed to be small four-winged flying mammals similar in appearance to bats or carnivorous squirrels. These creatures have popped up a few times in some resources as a potential cryptid. It was through the documentary, however, that it came to light that the creatures most certainly like the Ozark Howler and Oklahoma Octopus are nothing but online urban legends. While this flying four-winged mammal is most certainly a hoax, one of the interesting features of the documentary was the hypothesis that what was seen was a Microraptor, a prehistoric dinosaur that did have feathers on its legs, giving it an appearance like it had four wings. One of the reasons this hypothesis was implausible, however, was the location of where the fossils had been discovered, namely China. Which, even without a connection to the Lone Pine Devils, could still be around.

In the Changbai Mountain Region, there are rumors and reports of a bizarre bird with four wings. This bizarre bird is known as the Siyiniao, which translates literally to 'four-winged bird,' is described as being covered in a pale-yellow plumage with a round head, a slender tail, and obviously four wings, the top or front pair being much larger than its lower pair. In 1908 Liu Jianfeng wrote in his book Changbai Shan Jianggang Zhilue, where we get this initial description from also goes into detail about the creatures alleged vocalizations claiming that they are similar to an Old-World Oriole's. Liu Jianfeng collected the tales of the Siyiniao from locals who were extremely familiar with this creature and its habits.