The Blackwood Pigtaur

 The Blackwood Pigtaur

By Cole Herrold

Cryptids often appear to be a cross between at least two animals, typically a man and some other species like a bird, ape, or dog. Others, even though it's less common, are a total chimera of seemingly countless varieties of creatures. Perhaps the most famous chimera cryptid is the Jersey Devil with its bat-like wings, horse-like head, reptile-like tail, cloven hooves, and mammalian paws, and ram or deer-like horns, but it is not alone and seemingly is not the only chimeral cryptid creature in New Jersey if a particularly bizarre encounter from 1976 is to be believed.

It was on August 9, 1976, when a mother named Olivia and her daughter were preparing for the incoming gales of Hurricane Belle and, having gotten most of their mandatory prep work done, decided to get some horseback riding in before the storm started beating on their home. So, the two went to their barn, got their horses out, and proceeded to head towards the Lakeland area by Blackwood. They had visited the area several times and were quite familiar with the trails in and around the area. They chose on that day a specific dirt road that went along a nearby junkyard and began riding out into the woods. The winds were beating wildly already, but the pair already on hoof decided that they might as well make the best of it and continue on their trek. Things were normal even with the incoming storm that would soon hit the Jersey coast, that is until they got to a certain section of woods where everything went deathly silent. There were no bird songs or insects, just absolute quiet the pair noticed this as the woods on an average day were always so lively, and even before this section, there was a cacophony of noises. They listened to the eerie silence for some time when as if as some morbid prophetic omen, they heard the sound of a crow. The crow cawed three times and was heard no more, and as if on cue, the horses started acting up as if they were aware of something dangerous or frightening that the two could not see. The riders were trying to calm down their mounts and were doing their best to try to see what was upsetting the horses, but at their current spot, they could see nothing.

The mother and daughter continued on their path, and when they moved a little further up the path, they noticed something moving about 100 ft from them. They saw a dark form that appeared to be about 6ft in height, seemingly scratching its back on a tree. The creature had its back facing them, so they could not tell what the animal was. Olivia, when she first saw it thought that perhaps this was a large dog, or maybe they saw the top of the horse as the lower half was hidden by brush and nearby bushes. Olivia looked over to her daughter when she realized that neither of her guesses seemed to match, and so she asked, "What is that". As she said this, the figure moved away from the tree and began walking the path in front of them. They soon thought that whatever this was, it had to be a human since the figure was walking like a man, but they were confused since while it was windy, the person would be still extremely warm under all the fur clothing he seemed to wear. The two continued to follow the figure up the hill but kept their distance and moved extra slowly to try to discern just what was in front of them. All the while, the horses were becoming more and more difficult to control as they were seemingly deeply disturbed by the figure in front of them. All this soon broke out as the horses went wild, rearing up on their hind legs and whinnying loudly. This ruckus caught the attention of the figure in front of them, and as it turned around, Olivia and her daughter could tell that whatever this thing was, it was not human.

The figure before them seemed like something pulled from mythology; it was covered in whitish hair and had long curved horns. The creature stood on two feet, but in place of paws or toes, the creature had cloven hooves. The creature's hips had big spots on it like one would expect to see on a cow, and the creature had long muscular human-like arms with hands that were tipped with razor-sharp claws. While all this would seem like a classic Minotaur, there was one feature that seemed to indicate something of a more swinish origin as in place of a bull-like snout, the creature had an upturned and protruding pig-like nose. When she looked at the creature's face even further, she noticed that the creature had bright red slanting eyes and that the creature's fang-filled jaws were wide open and profusely drooling and slobbering. The creature, which was on the side of the path seeing these followers proceeded to jump into the middle of the road, arms outstretched, and proceeded to lower its head as if it was going to charge after them. Fearing that this would be an unconventional version of Spain's running with the bulls, the daughter was fretting frantically; however, as Olivia looked at the creature, she felt that she was almost in some sort of trance which she would later describe "like she was in a movie or something". Her daughter, seemingly noticed her mother's immobility began to yell to her, "Let's turn around and get out of here!" and only then did Olivia seem to snap from whatever trance she was in and realize the very real danger she could be in.

They could feel terror seething through their veins, and as they began to get the horses to turn around, the creature began to move. The creature began to charge at them but brought its arms into its body, tucking them inwards and running as the witness would describe "like the Bionic Man". The creature came extremely close to them and in an almost Legend of Ichabod and Mr. Toad style came so close to the witness that it almost grabbed one of their horse’s tails. But right before its clawed fist could close around the rear of the animal, they got their horses to speed off, running as fast as they could down the hill and the dirt path. When Olivia, in a moment of curiosity to see if they were still being chased by the creature, turned around, she could see that it still stood in the road at the exact spot where it had stopped to grab the horse's tail.

The pair, now mad dashing down the hill, had managed to make their way to the junkyard where almost in a scene reminiscent of such horror classics like My Bloody Valentine or Halloween, a police officer was parked seemingly oblivious to the nightmarish marauder that was lurking in his town. The Washington Township police officer saw the two on horseback running at break-neck pace towards his vehicle, and he proceeded to roll down the window. In strained and frenzied breath, Olivia and her daughter began to tell the officer of the strange creature that they encountered and, seeing the horrified expressions on their face, took them seriously enough to reach over and start to write a report on what the women were saying. As he was writing, he muttered, "Well I hope to hell we don't catch it," and almost as if on cue, the creature returned.

The creature exited the woods and entered the junkyard; it continued its bizarre bionic running and was coming straight towards the police car. The woman and officer could only look in horror as this Greek ghoul came sprinting through the old, dilapidated cars and hopped over the 8ft tall fence that surrounded the auto graveyard. The creature, however, either afraid of the law or for some other unknown reason, seemed not to care for the women and horses that it only moments earlier attempted to chase down and proceeded to gallop in front of the police car and into the nearby woods. The officer stared in disbelief at the awful abomination that he had just witnessed and looked over to Olivia and asked for her address as he wanted to speak to her later about the event the three of them had just witnessed. Olivia complied and began to lead the horses back home and into their stables. Olivia, however, never got to have that follow-up with the officer as apparently she did not make it home in time for his arrival, and he simply came and went.

Sometime later, a neighbor of hers who owned a local ranch told her that at one time, he had found one of his horses dead in the field with its stomach ripped open. Olivia kept this story secret for a long time until her daughter decided that she should come forward with her account and report it to the amazing New Jersey-oriented Fortean book and magazine writers and investigators Weird NJ. She discussed the full encounter over the phone and ended her account, stating, "I believe there is something out there. There were three witnesses that day and my daughter and I can recall vividly every moment of our encounter with this thing. Even after 40 years, Ill never forget it. I’ve never told this story to anyone outside of the family, but my daughter convinced me to tell it to Weird NJ”.

Some of the researchers took an interest in the tale and decided to do a follow-up focusing primarily on if there was an official report on the creature in the local police station. Upon asking several officers who were on the force during the time the event took place at the Lakeland Police Department, they were surprised to find that all of the officers knew about the encounter and claimed that the event did, in fact, happen. The officers also said that the creature seen in 76' was not alone as they frequently got reports about a bizarre flying creature that was also said to hang out in the same area.

This case is unique for many reasons, but perhaps the most interesting is that essentially what was described in the encounter was something like a cross between a known cryptid called a Pigman and a Minotaur, a seemingly mythological creature. Encounters with Minotaurs or Cowmen from a cryptozoological perspective are practically unheard of; these encounters are so rare that other rare cryptid species I've come to call Barnyard Beasts like Goatmen or Pigmen are common in comparison, so this encounter is very unique and rare simply for that reason. The creature's appearance, while cow like is also similar to a Pigman with features similar specifically akin to the Vermont Pigman as both creatures were reported to have whitish hair and a piggish proboscis. Now while I cannot rule out that this might be some unholy love child of a Minotaur and a Pigwoman (as there are reports even though they tend to be interconnected with ghosts), perhaps this pig-like feature could be a kind of deformity or because of Olivia's interpretation of the feature and it could actually be more cow-like.  Yet this is just speculation, and based on the description might just be some hybrid between the two cryptids or its own species altogether that just happens to bear a strong resemblance between the two kinds.

While this creature does appear to be a cryptid, there are some other options, obviously. One thing that points to a potential paranormal avenue for the origin of this creature is the almost trance-like state Olivia was seemingly put through. Now skeptically speaking, this could simply be Olivia attempting to rationalize what she was seeing in front of her and that she was so engulfed in fear that her fight or flight instinct had not kicked in. With that said, however, Olivia definitely described her encounter as being like a trance, so perhaps that is actually what occurred to her, but if so, where does that put this creature.

The creature being an extraterrestrial is highly unlikely, and arguably the same can go for the creature being a faerie unless this was some guise it ultimately was taking. Interestingly the cloven hooves, large horns, and humanoid form do seem to fit the iconic appearance of a demonic entity, yet the problem I have with just about any demonic claim is that the idea of a demon fits one specific kind of religious belief and that these entities would need to behave in the same ways that religion says they need to and almost in every case I've read including those involving the Warrens or Zak Bagans there is a lot of potential ambiguity with what these entities are and often after an exorcism or blessing the spirit is still there, or activity in the house continues years later. With this case, there is an extra layer when trying to fit this creature into this parameter as the creature would need to do something more ethereal such as disappear or possess someone, and outside of potentially putting someone in a trance, it did not do anything of the sort.

Another possibility is that this creature could be an interdimensional entity. The creature could have simply accidentally popped into our dimension and may not have noticed that it changed dimensions, and when the horses reacted, it was just as terrified to their reaction as they were to it, and the trance was its way of protecting itself or as a kind of predatory move. This, of course, is complete speculation. And alternatively, perhaps this creature could be an Ultraterrestrial as the creature seemingly only sought to scare the witnesses for food as it chased them, but they were able to get away as its appetite was satiated. This possibility is also extremely interesting when the creature is seen for a second time, and it seems to completely ignore those that only earlier it was seemingly attacking.

New Jersey has tons of bizarre beasts that are said to exist in the pines and woodlands of the state. While The Jersey Devil is perhaps the most famous along with Old Red Eyes, the Jersey Squatch, yet there are other equally bizarre creatures like a red-haired Collie faced cryptid that ran bipedally across Bowman Road in 1982 and, of course, the Musconetcong River Mantis Man (see entry for more information). This creature is clearly a fitting addition to the New Jersey Paranormal Pantheon, yet as with almost all paranormal entities, we are at a loss for a true answer. I would love a follow-up to this case either from Olivia, her daughter, or the officer who was there when the creature galloped across the road. Until the day comes when possibly one of the witnesses goes and adds more information to this account or perhaps others who had seen the same creature come forward, we are simply left questioning just what this creature is, where it came from, and perhaps more menacingly is there more of them.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal

Location: Blackwood, New Jersey

Sighted: August 9, 1976

Works Cited:

Jersey Devils, Bizarre Beasts And Other Creatures of Weird NJ By Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman 

Gil Trudeau the Red Dog Fox

 Gil Trudeau The Red Dog Fox

By Cole Herrold

In Pennsylvania, both ghost and werewolf accounts are surprisingly common. Sure, Pennsylvania has a reputation for being a major paranormal hotspot mainly because of cryptid and UFO-centered areas like the Chestnut Ridge or Coudersport Triangle, and ghosts are overly fond of making their presence known in Gettysburg but rarely do the two seem to meet. I covered one encounter recently of the Ghost Werewolf of Northumberland County (see entry for more information), which is the spectral form of a werewolf that was shot and killed; however, while it definitely seems unlikely that such a manifestation could possibly be recorded there is in fact not just one but two spectral lycanthropes that are said to roam in the wilds of Pennsylvania. In Brandywine Creek, also known as Brandywine River, there are rumors of a spectral red figure that is rumored to haunt both the Pennsylvania and, on some occasions, Delaware side of the river.

The origin of this apparition can be traced back to the American Revolution, specifically the time around the Battle of the Brandywine in September of 1777. A young French descended man by the name of Gil Trudeau (some sources specifically focused on Delaware’s account spell it Gil Thoreau) whose father served General Lafayette in the continental army. Gil's age was estimated to be anywhere from being a teenager to 45, but from the more detailed occurrences of the account, it appears that he was more than likely somewhere in the ballpark of 16-25. However, while he was merely a boy, he was an incredible tracker and mountain man. His appearance was rugged as someone who had spent most of his life in the woods, but he did have one vibrant feature, which was his bright red hair.

During the all-consuming war, Gil, along with his father, joined the growing army militia against the British, but unlike the others in the brigade, he was not a soldier but a guide and scout for the soldiers to help them in their war against the invading Red Coats. Gil proved a useful guide as the platoon he was involved with worked their way up through the central states of the 13 colonies. Yet somewhere along the platoon's journey up to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, something happened to Gil, and the rest of the troops seemed to notice. While he managed to continue being a guide and making his keep doing so, when the nights of the full moon would come, he would disappear.

The troop would notice Gil's disappearance, but search parties were never made, nor were there ever any suspicion of him aiding their enemies as he would always return a day or two later. Gil in these periods was usually tired, scratched, battered, occasionally covered in blood yet seemingly refreshed, almost as though whatever happened to him reinvigorated his senses. The soldier's seeing that Gil was a mountain man, thought that perhaps this was his way of checking out the area since the moonlight would help make paths clearer at night and living off the land could explain the blood and cuts, whereas others in the platoon felt that Gil was called by the moon and that something more sinister was at foot.

However, while the men came up with rational explanations for Gil's absence, they noticed that whenever Gil was gone, there was seemingly a surge in wolves and other large animals in the area. The group would hear yips and strange cries in the night that were like a fox's only louder and clearer, and animals and livestock around the area would be found torn to shred and partially feasted on. Yet, for the longest time, they could not see the creature that was causing the havoc around the campsites. This, however, would not last long as one night, a group of soldiers nestled around a roaring fire noticed a bizarre figure running near the edge of the campsite. As the group looked at the running form, they noticed that it was a gigantic fox-like creature. The animal was bright red in color but bigger than a wolf. They would see the creature only when Gil was gone for those days, and it always seemed to follow the platoon. Whenever they would move site on a full moon, it was there often darting near the edge running into brushes and hiding in the shadows as it watched the platoon in almost a guardian sort of way.

As is with most human nature, the men were filled with both fear and want of the creature's hide, and so on several occasions, they would aim their muskets at the creature and fire. However, the creature always managed to elude them as it showed almost an intelligence like that of a human's. As the soldiers sat beside the fire, they began to discuss the creature, and while they did so, a new hypothesis sprung up based on an ancient belief. The soldiers whispered remembered lore of men who could change form from wolf to man by magic or infection and that these shapeshifters stalked the night hunting like uncontrolled killing machines.

Sometime later, the moon once again was full, and Gil slipped off into the darkness. The first night of his departure, the men heard the sound of strange dog-like cries, but more alarming was the fact that as this creature called out into the night, other similar wolf-like sounds seemed to answer the beast's yips and howls. These noises freaked the men out to the point that they had felt for the safety of the platoon; they had to put a guard at the edge of the campsite to watch for any potential beast that would seek to harm the group.

On the second night of Gil's disappearance, a guard walked the path along the edge of the camp, musket in hand, watching tentatively for any possible movement. As he stood looking out into the darkness, he saw a bright red blur run in front of him, and realizing it was the red beast they'd seen over the course of weeks, he lifted his rifle and took aim at the creature. Yet either because of the creature's swift movement, the gunman's aim, or the impenetrable darkness, he missed the shot, and the creature vanished like a phantasm. It would not be so lucky on the next night.

On the third night, a guard was walking along the perimeter dead set on killing the beast. The sentry was armed with a preloaded musket and was attempting to blend into the darkness to avoid being seen by the creature. Being a hunter, he thought that perhaps the best way to capture the beast was to sit by a tree and wait for it to come into the area. This is a method that hunters have used for generations to hunt deer and other animals. As he sat near the path, it was getting close to midnight, and almost as if on cue, the creature slowly began to walk out in front of him from the encroaching darkness. He noticed that it looked like a fox, but it was bigger than any dog or wolf that he had ever seen. His head was lowered to give the impression that he was asleep, but in reality, he was waiting for the ideal moment to take the shot as the creature seemingly felt that it was not in danger. The full moon in the sky seemed to make the creature's pelt shine like a bright target, and the sentry watched as it slowed its steps in front of him. The man ever so slowly proceeded to lift the musket to a height and steadiness that as he breathed slowly allowed him to take the shot.

The creature gave a yip of pain, and the man uncurled a smile, knowing that he had hit his target. The creature made a mad chase through the woods, and the man realizing it is dangerous to follow a wounded animal, especially at night, decided to let the creature run off until morning. The others in his platoon were awoken by the loud ringing shot and ran towards the noise, and the soldier hollered to them, explaining that he had shot the creature. The group congratulated him but since they were unsure if the creature was dead stayed up the rest of the night to watch for any vengeful attack from the creature. It was a quiet night, and when dawn's first light broke, the group went to where the creature was hit and began to follow the blood trail that led deep into the woods. For over an hour, they followed the blood, but as the men looked at the trail, they noticed that there was something peculiar about it as at times it would be at the height of something the size of an incredibly large wolf would be but in other cases it was on tree branches and much higher than it should have been. They had found a large puddle of blood near an old, rooted tree where it seemed to rest, and they knew that the creature was not going to survive the shot and that the trail seemed to be heading towards the River, seemingly to become hydrated. The men rounded a curve as they followed the blood, and there leaning against a tree near the water's edge, was the creature. As the men came closer to it, the creature raised its head and seemed to plead for help giving faint dog-like whines as the platoon surrounded the creature muskets aimed. The creature then, with teary eyes, slowly lowered its head on a nearby root and gave a deep sigh and with it gave up the ghost. The sentry that shot the creature smiled and began to grab his hunting knife as he wanted the creature's hide, but as he bent down to begin the skinning and gutting process, a peculiar thing began to happen. In a scene reminiscent of Universal's, the Wolf Man or perhaps more grotesquely like in John Landis’s An American Werewolf in London, the creature began to change the fur began to recede, and the body seemed to change its form and in a matter of second there laying on the ground was the body of Gil Trudeau his red hair tussling in the breeze. The group realizing what had just occurred were at a loss for words and seemingly could do one thing; they buried him right in that spot. After a moment of silence and the erection of a cross seemingly pulled from the Evil Dead, the platoon moved on. There was a war still to fight, and so the group moved from battle to battle, some of them losing their lives in the process, but after the war ended, the group would remember their fallen lycanthrope and would tell his tale around campfires late at night to their children and grandchildren keeping alive the story of the red-haired man.

Years later, people who would walk around Brandywine Creek would report seeing a bright red fox-like creature that would disappear when approached. This is believed to be Gil's ghost which even in death seemed to be cursed. Gil's spirit is said to be a shape-changer as the few reports that do occur from the area have claimed to see a ghost man, ghost red fox creature, ghost wolf, and even a ghost deer and ghost bear, which are often believed to be connected to him somehow yet reports of them are extremely rare, and most visitors to the area tend to see a ghost fox or ghost wolf. Today locals to the area retell the tale of Gil Trudeau and his shape-shifting ghost and have coined him officially the Red Dog Fox.

With stories like this, there is definitely some inkling of truth to it, but just where fact starts and fiction ends are difficult to tell. The encounter above and lore is the most accurate version of the encounter; other resources will change Gil's age and even the time when he died. Books, particularly those focused on Delaware, will mention the Revolutionary War but will state that Gil died in the 1830s, which is not even in United States history associated with any war. When one looks at the Pennsylvania sources, however, there is a stricter timeline where one can point when each event happened, which I've been able to record in this telling.

Now with all that said, what are we to make of this account. The story itself is very similar to countless other werewolf legends and folktales that have sprung up over the years, and this account bears a strong comparison to the Ghost Werewolf of Northumberland County case as both feature accounts of a creature seen in the area, livestock, and animals were killed, the creature however seemingly was not aggressive yet almost protective towards specific people May in the Northumberland case and the platoon in this one, the creature, however, was ultimately killed and discovered to be a person who regularly acted strangely and ultimately the lycanthrope was buried in an unnamed grave, and now their spirit haunts the area. These similarities in these accounts are uncanny and tend to lean more towards folklore than fact. In my research in trying to decipher the truth from the legend in both cases, I was able to verify that the Northumberland County case was authentic as descendants of May still live in the state and claim that the events did take place, whereas with this case I've come up cold. In this case, the only specifically named individuals are Gil Trudeau and General Lafayette. I had attempted to see if anyone in General Lafayette's platoon had the last name of Trudeau since Gil's father was allegedly in his ranks, but I could not find a mention to him and, therefore, no evidence of Gil being a potentially real person. The fact that Gil was put in an unnamed grave also makes it difficult to prove his existence.

Now with that said, it is interesting that people to this day allegedly claim to see spectral animals that match the description of what Gil was supposed to transform into. So perhaps this account could be an authentic case much like the Northumberland one. The only issue with the ghost animal aspect, however, is that there's also the chance that these entities are completely unrelated. Ghost animals are surprisingly common, and particularly ghost wolves known as spook wolves have been reported all across the United States, so maybe what is being seen today is an example of this kind of phenomenon and that the story of Gil Trudeau was a myth of sorts to help explain the phenomenon.

There's also another interesting side note to this case the area of Brandywine Creek is very close to Chester, which is home to another red-haired manimal. The Ape Boy of Chester Swamp is a bigfoot-like creature that has incredibly bright red hair. The Ape-Boy has a legend involving how it came to the swamps around Chester, and it deals with the boy being shunned by society to the point that he decided to live in the swamps, ultimately becoming feral. Now clearly, this is entirely different from Gil Trudeau, but in many ways, it's a very similar story a teenager who lives in the woods and ultimately becomes a red haired creature is very similar the only difference is that Gil turned into a were-fox whereas the Ape-Boy is more primate-like. Perhaps they are the same legend just told slightly different for whatever reason, or perhaps the Gil Trudeau encounter was, in fact, a misidentified Ape-Boy encounter; the platoon thought it was some large canine because of the fur color and size and that when the creature was shot what they thought was an animal turned out to be something more human, and so they buried it. When viewed this way, it's similar to other accounts of people who have allegedly shot bigfoot in the past. Or perhaps the ghost sightings of a red creature are not of a ghost but sightings of an Ape-Boy. With all that said, however, this is simply speculation, and there's no real definitive answer.

The case of Gil Trudeau is an extremely bizarre enigma that is similar to other accounts, but there is a lot of ambiguity with it that makes an official ruling difficult. My personal thoughts are mixed as there's a very good chance that this is just a folktale created as some tragic tale which is a common theme in almost every werewolf flick, especially in such classics as Werewolf of London, The Wolf Man, and An American Werewolf in London but there’s always that chance that it did happen. The name drop of General Lafayette is particularly interesting as it's very similar to Andrew Jackson being mentioned in connection to the Bell Witch or Stephen Decatur and Joseph Bonaparte, who saw the Jersey Devil in the 1800s, it just is a weirdly specific detail that might actually be based on reality. Whatever the truth, I’m sure we will have no definitive answer unless some diary is recovered or some war journal is brought forth confirming the strange events that occurred along Brandywine Creek.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Paranormal Entity

Location: Brandywine Creek, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and Brandywine Creek State Park, Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware

Sighted: September 1777 to Modern times

Works Cited:

Haunted Delaware By Patricia A. Martinelli

Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations By Dennis William Hauck

Monsters of Pennsylvania By Patty A. Wilson

Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania: Ghosts, Monsters, and Miracles By Thomas White

The Sam Sherry Encounter

 The Sam Sherry Encounter

By Cole Herrold

When it comes to Pennsylvania Bigfoot accounts, there are countless cases. The state is often included in the top 10 to 15 states with the most sightings, which depending on what site you go to, range from 120 to 300 separate occurrences. If you dig deeper, however, you'll find that this number is not accurate and that there is easily two times the amount of sightings from newspapers, online websites, and in the private collections of Fortean researchers. In these collections, there are some bizarre accounts, and Pennsylvania has been host to several out-of-this-world encounters with the big fella, from UFO-connected sightings like the Presque Island incident to the Uniontown sighting that Stan Gordon made famous. Yet, in all of these encounters, the Bigfoot seen typically looks as how you'd expect a tall hairy hominid that matches the description of what has been seen elsewhere in the United States. In May 1988, however, one man would have perhaps the weirdest sasquatch account on record with a creature that looks nothing like what one would see on Harry and the Hendersons.

It was 11:30 pm one late night on May 17, 1988, when 67-year-old WWII veteran Samuel “Sam” Sherry had driven down a dark path towards the Loyalhanna Creek in an area known as Sleepy Hollow. Sleepy Hollow is a bucolic piece of secluded hideaway that is well known for being a famous fishing spot. Its location is nestled in the Chestnut Ridge, specifically in between Latrobe and Ligonier by Route 30 in Westmoreland County. Sam was an experienced outdoorsman and had frequented the location on more than one occasion. It was a warm and cloudy night, and Sam was in his blue 75’ Maverick and had pulled up to the creek. Leaving the metal confines of his car, he went to the trunk to retrieve the various fishing gear that was in the back; he searched for the various lures by lantern light. While doing this, a sudden strange smell seemed to permeate the area that he could not identify. Unperturbed by this, he continued searching for his gear, and after grabbing a rod and several other lures, he headed toward the nearby creek and checked the water level to make sure it was currently deep enough to fish in.

Before he could even ascertain as to whether or not this was a good spot, he heard the most bizarre sounds that he had ever heard about forty feet to the left of him. The area the noises were coming from was a wooden area that was directly below the eastbound lane of Route 30.  “I heard this commotion…like something breaking up the woods," he later would state in follow-up interviews. The sounds of breaking branches, brushes rumbling, and footsteps of animals and general overall disruption that rang out in woods was not alone as disarming enough as that was there were also several bizarre noises which Sam would describe “there were shrill whistling, grunting, and monkey-like chattering sounds coming out of the woods”. Sam lifted his lantern up to attempt to see what was making the ruckus, but he could see nothing for the longest time until he noticed that there were a pair of bright orange eyes seemingly moving through the woods. These eyes burned like "coals of fire" and were about the size of golf balls. Sam attempted to figure out what animal these came from, but as he ruled out the usual suspects of bear and deer, he realized whatever this creature was, it was much bigger than anything that he knew should be in the woods. He attempted to see what the creature was, but all he could see in the darkness were the glowing eyes. He wouldn't have to wait long, however, for as he followed the path of the creature with his head, he soon saw a dark shape standing out of the woods some twenty feet away.

Sam reeled around towards the dark shape and lifted his lantern high there; he saw what is perhaps the most bizarre Bigfoot on the books. The creature he noticed was about an inch or two shy of being seven feet tall, and unlike the typical hairy hominid, the creature lacked the typical fluff and fur that is associated with the beast. The creature was covered in a reddish-brown leathery skin that was covered in wrinkles with the occasional gray, scabby, almost scaly patch here and there. The creature's head was bigger than a soccer ball but smaller than a basketball and had wide cheeks and small flat ears on the side of its face; the nose was flattened to the face and exposed two large nostrils. The creature's eyes which he could now see clearly, were giving off an orange eyeshine, yet there were no discernible pupils or iris; however, whenever the light was aimed at the head, the eyes appeared to constrict as if they were trying to refocus or that the creature was squinting. The creature, whenever it would turn its head the eyes would also change color to a yellow, green combination tint. He did not notice any neck, or if there was one, it was very thick or very short. The creature seemed to weigh several hundred pounds and incredibly massive, and was about 24 inches wide across the shoulders. The creature's arms were incredibly long and dangled down beyond the creature's knees, and the creature's body seemingly was bulky as there was no discernible waist, hips, buttocks, or genitalia. The creature's feet had five stubby toes and were hairless and very narrow, and Sam estimated them to of been about 13" long. The creature's features, however, were surprisingly proportional to each other, and no feature was extraordinarily large in comparison. The creature’s shoulders, knees, and elbows were extremely deteriorated in comparison to the rest of the body as there were excessive gray patches in those locations. While the creature seemingly was devoid of most of the hair on its body, specifically the arms, hands, legs, feet, or torso, there were several spots that did feature fur; these spots were mostly on the head, and they formed bizarre patterns. The creature had a tuft of reddish-brown fur on the top and center of its head that was two inches high by two inches wide and gave the creature the appearance of having a mohawk. The creature also had horseshoe-shaped fur patches that happened below the ears and ended underneath the eyes. As Sam looked at this creature, however, he noted that while there was very little hair, the hair that was on the creature's body seemed very preened as if it was recently groomed or taken care of. As Sam looked the creature over, he noticed that the creature's lips were pushed out, revealing the creature's colossal maw, but shockingly the mouth had very little or no teeth.

As Sam looked at the colossal creature, he felt a twinge of pity, for he felt that the creature was both extremely old and as he stared at the scabby gray splotches most likely suffering from a disease like mange. The creature, as the man watched, continued to be very animate in its motions as it seemingly scratched its coarse splotchy body, its thick long fingers seemingly digging into its skin. As the creature did this, Sam realized that the creature bore no fingernails or claws, perhaps due to its constant scratching. As Sam stared at the wildly bizarre creature, there was a sudden realization that he had no idea as to how the creature got there. While he saw eyes in the woods, the timing seemed off from when he saw the eyes of the creature to seeing the creature itself as if it had suddenly manifested before him.

Sam, overly surprised by this sudden realization, continued to stare at the creature lifting his lantern high up. The creature, becoming growingly annoyed by the light, lifted its hand to its face and blinked several times. This led the creature to seemingly make some of the most bizarre sounds that were similar to those in the forest; it first made a grunting sound like that of a pig. Then the creature began to have some form of respiratory problems as it unfurled several wheezing asthmatic sounding noises and drooled and unleashed a rain of spittle on the ground. The creature's mouth was puckered as it did this bizarre salivatory sprinkle, almost as if the creature had some issue swallowing as well as breathing. Sam would think that it "It appeared to suck in more air than it breathed out," but eventually, it seemed to catch its breath and let out a heavy sigh. As it did this, the creature stood perfectly erect with its arms at its side and was not bent at the shoulders or the hips as one would think a creature catching its breath or coughing would.

The creature then looked away from Sam, removing eye contact, and unfurled its lips with a loud snarl; suddenly, with long steps, it swayed back and forth and began seemingly challenging the would-be fisherman. The creature, in a behavior similar to what we see in gorillas, began to posture and grunt at the man while it swung its arms, beat its chest, flexed its muscles, and bellowed loudly. Sam was seemingly not perturbed by this display as he felt that’s all this creature was doing and felt that the creature did this to show off or as a defense display to protect other similar creatures that he could not see. Sam later would say when asked about why he was not afraid in the following “I wasn’t scared at all. My instincts told me this thing wasn’t going to harm me. I’ve been hunting and fishing for years and my instincts have always told me whether an animal is dangerous or not”.  Sam did not move but watched the creature continue its screaming, thumping, and thudding, and after a few minutes, the creature stopped and continued to stare at Sam for several minutes.

Realizing that he was in no imminent danger, Sam calmly and coolly turned his back on the creature and proceeded to walk towards the driver-side door of his Maverick. As he opened the door, suddenly he noticed that the creature was directly in front of him. He did not hear the footsteps of something running or even walking, so he felt that the creature had to of done something faster than traditional locomotion. The creature looked down at Sam and using one of its incredibly long arms, it reached out and began fingering and feeling his jacket on the shoulders, elbows, and side as if it was interested in the fabric. Sam, much like one would react to a dog seemingly nipping at their pants leg simply just shook himself quickly and hopped into the car's driver seat. Sam swung the door shut, and as he did so, the creature leaned into his car as the driver's side window was down. The creature had its hand on where the window would come up and was seemingly holding down the car. Sam could feel as the creature began to lean down on the car that the vehicle's suspension system was giving under the weight of the colossal creature. As the creature looked in at Sam once again, it began to wheeze, ultimately raining foul-smelling saliva all over the man's face. Sam could smell now the creature's terrible breath which he compared to rotting seafood that was so repugnant that it, along with the impromptu shower, made him want to vomit. Sam, however, did not wipe the spittle away and instead spoke to the creature after feeling that the creature might wreck his car. “Listen Biggie, you’re going to bust my tires if you don’t stop that”. The creature seemingly did not understand, and so he slowly reached over and turned the key in his ignition. The rumbling roar of the vehicle seemed to startle the creature as it stepped back and made a shocked facial expression. As soon as the creature stepped back, Sam began to drive away, leaving the creature behind, and as he looked in his rearview mirror, he could see in the taillights that the creature was still where he had left it. As he watched, the creature raised its right arm up into the air and was seemingly waving to him as if it was saying goodbye. He then watched as the creature began to move as it leaped across a ditch and back into the woods.

Sam continued to head out of the area, and as he did so, he seemed to notice something just as peculiar as the creature he witnessed. The causeway was unusually quiet; there was little to no traffic on Route 30, which was usually quite bustling at all hours of the day and night, but during his approximately 20-minute encounter with the creature, there was not a single car that exited Route 30 and crossed over the causeway. Sam continued, however, even with this lack of vehicular companions to his home in Wilpen, and after parking his car and sitting quietly for a short time, he got out and headed straight into his home. Naomi, his wife, was still up at the time and was extremely shocked to see him back so early as she expected him to of been gone for most of the night. Sam said nothing to his wife, who only stared in surprise and proceeded to head straight for the shower. Naomi grabbed his clothes, expecting them to be covered in creek water and mud was quick to notice that the clothes were wet but also reeking of a strange and powerful odor. Sam washed up for an incredibly long time as he tried to remove all smell and saliva from his encounter with the creature and proceeded once he finished to go straight to bed. He did not tell Naomi of his encounter out of embarrassment and confusion and felt that his encounter was too strange for anyone to believe him.

A short time later, Sam had decided to write to Rick Schwab, the editor of the Ligonier Echo Newspaper, as at the time that seemed to be the only place to possibly try to find out if others had the same or similar type of experience as he did. Rick Schwab read the letter, completely amazed at what was written, and, after talking with Sam for some time, decided he was the real deal and that he needed to talk to a professional. Rick Schwab felt that the main individual to send this information to was WCUFOSG leader and researcher Stan Gordon and so managed to tell Stan all about the bizarre encounter and put him in touch with Sam. This all took place one week after the initial sighting, and Stan proceeded to drive back to the location with Sam and look for any evidence that might still be around from his encounter. The group found ultimately nothing, but the area was recently heavily flooded due to a rainstorm that occurred a few nights prior. Stan felt that Sam was a reliable witness and genuinely believed his encounter, but all the while, Sam was starting to develop an itch that would drive him till the end of his days. He became a bigfoot researcher.

On December 20^th of that same year, Dr. Paul Johnson, a chemistry professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh who was heavily involved in Bigfoot and UFO research, received a phone call at 11:20 am from Sam asking whether he wanted to hear his encounter. Johnson expecting a hoax but curious about the call, drove out to his home at Wilpen and heard Sam's encounter while Naomi made them coffee. Johnson proceeded to investigate the merit of Sam's character and learned his full history; his father immigrated to the area from Hungary in 1912 and was a coal miner and built the house he now lived in, he was the third oldest of four siblings, he fought in World War II specifically against the Japanese in the South Pacific, and it was in one of these epic battles that he was severely wounded and ended up in a coma for months. Upon awaking and after a years' time of recovery, he married Naomi and had two children. When asking Naomi about whether or not Sam had any interest in the bigfoot subject before the incident, she claimed that while Sam was an avid reader, he never read or showed any interest in Bigfoot or UFOs. It was from this that Johnson felt Sam was reliable and that he truly saw the inexplicable that night. Johnson would later work hand in hand with Sam on several bigfoot investigations then over the remaining 15 years of Sam’s life. Sam was driven after his encounter and, with his background in hunting and trapping, to find a way to capture a live specimen of the creature to prove not only that the creature did exist but that he was not lying, but he never encountered it again.

The Sam Sherry encounter is perhaps one of the most bizarre ostensibly Bigfoot accounts on the books. Everything about the encounter is bizarre; from the overall appearance of the creature to its behavior to the possible supernatural implications of the creature, it's simply incredibly surreal. Unlike other accounts, there's not much that could be mistaken for this creature, and even a hoax is unlikely; however, it is important to note that Dr. Johnson did notice that when Sam was telling his encounter to other researchers and chroniclers, he did quite often embellish on the story, but he was firm that the main points were constant. With that said, there is the chance he made some of the behavior or his reactions to the creature up but the fact that he spent the remainder of his life searching for a creature that for 66 years he never even cared about seems to prove that he saw something near Loyalhanna Creek.

When breaking down this case, there's plenty of avenues to look at, but I think the best one, to begin with, is the creature itself. The creature has many features of the typical Bigfoot, from the long dangling arms to the thick body and egg-shaped head; however, the creature's lack of some features of a typical bigfoot which at a glance make it look almost like Rick from Netflix's Big Mouth. To me, this is indicative of three possibilities, the first being that this is simply an example of a sasquatch with mange. We know in the animal kingdom that many species can, unfortunately, succumb to the disease, but since we don't have a sasquatch in captivity or any biological samples which can confirm or deny this possibility, we are left with just speculation. However, the creature's behavior does seem to indicate that this might be the most probable possibility.

The second possibility is that this might simply be an old sasquatch. We currently do not know how old Bigfoot can get or if, like humans, they have effects to aging, such as hair and tooth loss. There have been some reports of silver back Bigfoot, which many feel is associated with older sasquatch as well as reports of white-haired Bigfoot, which could also be connected to old age but perhaps much like people, this is not exactly universal and that some would have an equivalent to male and female pattern baldness with maturity.

The third possibility is that this creature is not a bigfoot. While this creature bears many features similar to the typical sasquatch, many things about it seem incredibly wrong, so perhaps this is an example of an entirely different kind of hominid cryptid. I feel that there may be something to this even though it is unlikely, but looking at all the various kinds of hairy hominids reported in the united states alone, from the Honey Island Swamp Monster to the Skunk Apes to Momo to the classic Pacific Northwest type there seems to either be multiple species, subspecies, or at least incredible geographic variation of the sasquatch species.

Now while there's plenty of biological aspects to look at when it comes to this creature, there's one feature in particular that some researchers feel might be indicative of a supernatural origin to the creature. Sam would notice on several occurrences that this creature seemed to either move at incredible speeds without making a sound or that it could simply teleport or materialize in a matter of seconds. This is something that has been surprisingly described before, even though these accounts are exceptionally rare, and some feel that this creature could be from either another dimension or a supernatural shaman of sorts, as some Native American tribes indicate. Now this creature's behavior seems to indicate something more primate-like than what we would associate with a highly intelligent dimension shifting entity or supernatural nature spirit, which seems to make this unlikely. From a biological perspective, these creatures would have to be masters of their environment to of remained hidden for so long, and so in this time, they could easily be able to seem almost supernatural when in reality, they simply know the best ways to get from point A to point B. Now alternatively, if this creature was simply shifting through dimensions by some cosmic force, there's a chance it's completely random and that the creature has no real control over it, but if it did indeed pop up by the car on its own accord as the report seems to be the case that almost has to imply some control of this force.

This is one of perhaps the most bizarre Bigfoot encounters ever. Cases where the creature seemingly disappears or turns into a ball of light or even is seen in conjunction with UFOs just don't compare. The fact that the creature is so incredibly bizarre in appearance and behavior, as well as the potential teleporting, just seems to add layer and layer of absurdity and, in some ways, absolute disgust that is mind-boggling. The only case that might be even more bizarre is the Uniontown UFO-Bigfoot case because that had a spectral scythe wielder, bulletproof Bigfoot, a shape-changing and disappearing UFO, men in black and psychic bird control, and that's on a whole other level and ventures onto Mothman flap and Jersey Devil flap high strangeness. With that said, there's no clear answer as nobody since has encountered a creature anywhere near as close to what Sam encountered, be it Bigfoot or otherwise, and Sam now is hopefully at rest even though he never bagged his quarry and so we are left scratching our heads in the same way as the creature that is until another one is reported.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal most likely a Hominid

Location: Loyalhanna Creek, Sleepy Hollow, Latrobe and Ligonier, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

Sighted: May 17, 1988

Works Cited

Astonishing Encounters: Pennsylvania’s Unknown Creatures- Casebook Three by Stan Gordon

Chasing the Elusive Pennsylvania Bigfoot: A Cryptid from Another Reality By Paul G. Johnson

Monsters of Pennsylvania: Mysterious Creatures of the Keystone State by Patty A. Wilson

Strange Pennsylvania Monsters By Michael Newton

Invasion on Chestnut Ridge. Small Town Monsters. 2017.

 

The Kettle Creek Monster and the Susquehanna Mystery Thing: The Susquehanna River Monsters

 The Kettle Creek Monster and the Susquehanna Mystery Thing: The Susquehanna River Monsters

By Cole Herrold

Waterways have always been areas of high strangeness and places of mystery. Rumors of lake serpents or river monsters have encapsulated the mindsets of communities that choose to call the shores home. There are several famous examples from Champ of Lake Champlain or Chessie of the Chesapeake Bay, yet typically, when one thinks of Pennsylvania and Fortean studies, creatures of this type typically do not come to mind. As a researcher, I’ve found that PA has tons of alleged lake and river monsters, some I’ve covered previously from Raystown Ray to the Allegheny River Monster, and then there's the rivers and lakes that PA shares with other states that have reports of creatures such as the Monongahela River which hosts three different cryptids and Lake Erie which is home to Bessie. Yet there's one river that cuts through almost all of the state and has several monster legends, all of which have seemingly gone unnoticed by most researchers, that being the Susquehanna River.

I live along the Susquehanna River's bank, and I have always heard the same stories of giant catfish that are in every body of water, but years later, I found out seemingly that the water is teeming with several possible cryptids that have been reported throughout time. The Armless Horror of the Susquehanna, an armless aquatic humanoid that was seen shambling in the waters near Cly and Goldsboro, is one such entity that was reported in 1905, but eight years earlier, a totally different type of creature was reported in Clinton County and was seen both in the River itself and the adjoining Kettle Creek where it got the names, the West Branch Dugong, the Kettle Creek Monster and the Susquehanna Seal.

Native Americans in the area of the Susquehanna River, particularly near the Kettle Creek area for generations, had tales of some bizarre creature said to swim in the river, but as with most native accounts, settlers did not take them seriously. As towns and communities began to be built along the river, however, people would report seeing a bizarre figure swimming in the river and habitually knocking over lumber barges, rafts, and boats. On February 27, 1897, the first documented reports of the creature were published in the Daily Democrat; the writer, a man by the name of "John of York" wrote, “A marine animal or sea monster is said to have inhabited the dead water… making his home down in its depths among the big, black rocks.” And would go on in several articles to discuss the various reports and theories revolving around the alleged creature.

Those living around the river or fishing would frequently hear the sounds of slapping water and bizarre noises, which would be described as “strange sounds that emanate from the deep, dark water like the groaning of some expiring giant, then like the struggling and snorting of some big hippopotamus.” And” Those who have crossed the animal’s path heard its terrible roar, his disturbing the waters and lashing them into a foam." Those who would take rafts out onto the river would constantly report having them be capsized by the colossal creature, and several others would report seeing the creature frolic through the rushing water. Descriptions of the creature were never clear aside that it was a dark form, with most terminology used as a sea monster or marine animal or as one quote in the original article states, “He was not the form or image of anything else on earth,” however, eventually one witness would get a good enough look at the creature and describe it something like a cross between a hippopotamus and a dinosaur with a size like that of an ox or a hippo.

In 1889 a huge flood hit, and many felt that the creature had finally managed to make its way back to the ocean; meanwhile, others knew better as rafts and boats were still being bumped and turned over all the way into the 1900s. Sightings and rumors of the creature persisted for some time, and even I had heard tales told by many fishermen of seeing incredibly large creatures dwelling in the river, yet most felt it could be a giant catfish. Then in July of 2009, an official report came to light in the Daily Item. The Daily Item is a local newspaper that is run in the city I live in, and in the July 30^th edition, there was a report published by the Great Outdoors section of the paper writer and local fishing guide Ken Maurer, who when asked if there was anything mysterious that he heard of or new that occurred in the river. Ken would describe a bizarre creature that he had seen on several occasions stating, "At first I thought it was a deer or beaver, but nothing was sticking out above the water. It came to within fifty yards of me, then sank under the surface. As it swam, it pushed a hump of water and a “V” that made a wake. It did this for several hundred yards. It was much, much larger than any fish I’ve ever seen, such as a large carp or a fifty-inch musky. Either the navy is testing a small submarine, or we have our own Loch Ness Monster. I saw it several times and it always sank out of sight before it got close enough to see clearly, almost as if it knew I was there”.

A couple weeks after the publication of this account, a larger article came out on August 16, 2009, entitled “Mystery of the ‘thing’ deepens” Ken would return to write about the bizarre beast said to exist in the Susquehanna. In it, he would elaborate on his own encounter as well as how a friend and unnamed acquaintance had seen the creature in the dark waters of the river. Ken stated that he first found out about the creature in 2001 when a good friend of his told him about a bizarre creature he saw swimming in the river that he proceeded to describe as a small submarine that was about to surface. He at the time thought his friend was either making it up or mistaken until the two decided to go out fishing on the river one evening and as the two waited for something to bite their lines, the two saw the mysterious object seemingly rise up out of the water. Ken tried to rationalize what kind of creature this could be, but he could tell that it was not a mammal as its head never rose above the surface and that it was big enough with its wake to create waves that splashed along the shoreline as the creature moved. When the creature got bout 50 yards away, it submerged from sight. Over the next two years, Ken would report seeing the creature several times, and it always managed to disappear before he could get a clear look as to what the creature could be. Years later, in 2009, an acquaintance of his, after reading the original reported encounter in the July 30^th edition, came to him and told him that he too had seen the strange creature, but this time a couple miles downstream from where he typically saw the creature. The two discussed their sightings and came up with very different possibilities as to the identity of the animal; his acquaintance felt that based on the size, it had to be a mammal, possibly a seal or otter, but Ken, even after comparing his encounter with his acquaintance still felt it must be some sort of fish and thought that maybe it was some sort of colossal carp. Ken feels that this creature is extremely rare as sightings are practically nonexistent and only seem to be reported by fishermen and people who are constantly on the river; in fact, he hadn't seen for years since his string of sightings; however, he was made aware in the summer of 2008 of a man who encountered a similar creature in the same general area.

As with most cryptid sightings, there is often a stigma that comes with reporting an encounter, and Ken was no stranger to that. At the beginning of the follow-up article, he mentioned how he received some backlash with his sightings as many had come to question his mental state, eyesight, and whether what he had seen was a figment of his imagination. Yet I think it's very important and applaudable that he did, so this is a creature that needs to be investigated further. Also, the fact that Ken is as close to an expert as one can find when it comes to the species that are supposed to be in the area and that he could point out that clearly, this does not belong is extremely important and adds more credibility to his claims than a lot of the other kinds of cryptid sightings that are out there where the animal is not completely visible.

Aside from Ken Maurer, who reinvigorated tales of a strange creature in the Susquehanna and called the creature he saw the Susquehanna Mystery Thing, Paranormal Researcher Lou Bernard is another person for who we have to thank for keeping this creature alive as he has in recent years written several articles, done several Susquehanna River investigations looking for the creature, and discussed the creature in great lengths at several presentations at nature parks near Kettle Creek and libraries. He has as recently as July 2021 looked for the creature and has managed to bring this creature to the attention of the people, specifically around Clinton County. Now it is important to note that the Kettle Creek Monster and the Susquehanna Mystery Thing are often never connected. I have a strong suspicion that they very well might be the same creature as the descriptions seem to be very similar to a mammal or fish-like creature that is rarely seen and seemingly large in size. If this is the case, I think that the creature should, for the sake of simplicity and completeness, be called the Susquehanna River Monster or Monsters.

This case obviously means a lot to me because of the fact that this is the closest I'll come to live on the shores of Lake Champlain or Loch Ness or Lake Iliamna, and these types of cryptids have always been a favorite of mine. Yet while I'm only a stone's throw away from the Susquehanna, I have never seen anything too incredibly bizarre aside from some of the people that decide to engage in aquatic recreation. With this creature, if it exists, there are several possibilities as to what it could and couldn't be some extremely plausible others not so yet the most peculiar thing about this is that how did this creature manage to make its way into the river. One idea as to how the creature managed to get into the river, which appeared in the Daily Democrat, was that during a heavy flood, the creature managed to swim up from the ocean or a nearby bay like the Chesapeake and followed several other fish species which it used as food. Eventually, the creature made its way to where the Kettle Creek area was and, finding an adequate supply of food, decided to reside there and proceeded to get stuck firmly in that location once the waters receded. One idea that "John of York" hypothesized was that the creature became too large from the abundance of food that it, even with the smaller waterways, could not return back to the ocean.

Scientists during the time the creature was initially sighted had several ideas of what the creature could be; some from a more skeptical standpoint felt that the creature was a sea lion based on the roaring sound the creature supposedly made. Others suggested perhaps it was a whale or a shark and another group suggested that perhaps it was a prehistoric reptile that made its way from the ocean. A prominent theory at the time was that underneath the river were a series of tunnels that led to the ocean; it is believed that these tunnels and caverns were easy enough to maneuver through and that they perhaps were the key as to how the creature got there. "John of York" would mention these caverns as well as a possible shelter for the creature to escape bad weather and, of course, people. However, no real expedition or investigation was conducted as "John" states, “with some arguing for and some against his existence. No one seems willing to investigate for himself, as the water is said to be of great depth, so that it would be accompanied with great danger, for the dugong is said to be a man eater.”

These theories are similar to theories that are connected with other river monsters and lake monsters. Nessie and Champ are believed to of traveled into Loch Ness and Lake Champlain through underwater caverns, and the St. Johns River Monsters (see entry) also were believed to of come into the St. Johns from the sea. I personally think there may be something to this with some accounts, but I am not sure when it comes to the creatures reported in the Susquehanna.

While the possibilities as to how this creature or creatures made their way into the Susquehanna are numerous, so too are the possible identities. Early scientists, as previously stated, suggested everything from a marine reptile like a plesiosaur or mosasaur to a mammal like a whale or a seal, and Ken Maurer had felt that what might be there in the river is some form of colossal carp or other fantastic fish. All of these possibilities are the same that show up time and time again in almost every lake or river cryptid encounter. I think it's safe to rule out a marine reptile as if the creature was a reptile; there would be reports of it coming up to breathe air more often, which we really don’t have.

A hypothesis I came across regarding this creature is that perhaps it is a relic member or descendent of Hynerpeton. Hynerpeton is an amphibian species that lived in the rivers and ponds of Pennsylvania in the Late Devonian period. The creature was estimated to grow to about 2.3 ft long; however, the fossil found was an incomplete skeleton much like Gigantopithecus, so there's a lot of speculation as to how this creature was, so there's a chance that the fossil collected could be from a juvenile or that the creature could be even larger than what has been estimated. I find this hypothesis interesting for several reasons amphibians actually have the incredible ability to breathe through their skin and can hold their breath for incredibly long periods of time, usually between 4-7 hours; this could help a large creature evade being seen, and if this creature is more aquatic than land oriented it could have capabilities that could put to shame all those of currently studied amphibians.

The fish hypothesis is interesting when one looks at the description of the creature, which is often described as submarine-like. I instantly compare it in my head to the Lake Iliamna monsters, which are often described as being large aluminum-colored submarine-like creatures which most liken to a large fish. Similar submarine-like descriptions have been used to describe the Loch Ness Monster, which some researchers feel might be a giant variety of eel. As mentioned earlier, there are countless stories in the Susquehanna of colossal catfish that possibly might be actually close-up encounters with the creature everyone else refers to as a mystery thing or monster.

Another possibility that I think is less likely since there should be more land sightings or loud noises associated with modern sightings is that it could be a seal or otter. Seals and otters are highly intelligent and could be capable of reacting more quickly to humans than other creatures to evade them. However, if a creature like a seal or an otter was in the river, it would be extremely noticeable, and that there would be places where it would come ashore, so I truly think that this is not what the creature (s) is.

A final possibility I feel I must include simply because of how ingrained it is in Pennsylvania Cryptozoology is that it could be a giant snake. Giant Snakes are insanely common in Pennsylvania, almost as common as Bigfoot, Thunderbirds, or Mountain Lions in Pennsylvania reports. There's the infamous Broad Top Serpent, a 30-40ft black snake as big as a stovepipe that makes its home on Broad Top Mountain a similar secretive serpent known as the Devil's Den Serpent is reported in Gettysburg and is only slightly smaller. In the lake Wolf Pond, a lake monster that I covered a long time ago (see entry) was described as being a colossal snake black or dark in color with peculiar rings along its back, and much like the Kettle Creek Monster, it had a penchant for knocking over and capsizing boats. I also entertained this notion with Raystown Ray since many of the sightings and descriptions are very similar to a colossal snake. Perhaps that is what this creature could be since snakes do tend to swim and spend a lot of their time in the water. The only problem with this, especially with Ken's sightings and research, is that the creature seemingly moves more like a submarine than a serpentine form implying more bulk and appendages to move its form, so chances are this creature is not a super snake.

The mystery of the Susquehanna River Monsters to me is extremely interesting, mainly since this is a subject I can investigate practically on my own front yard. I have no clear definitive answers to what these creatures might be even though there are several things I feel we can rule out, and I'm flabbergasted that there has not been more research done or at least written about on the subject aside from a few articles in the Daily Item and several online sites. This is perhaps one of the least talked about river monsters that I’ve found, and so I feel that further inquiries need to be made to get more information on this beast as clearly others had to of seen it. This creature, while not perhaps as memorable as Pinky from St. Johns River or the White River Monster, does hold a special and important place in the halls of Pennsylvania Forteana and so deserves to have its time to shine and will definitely be a creature I have to investigate personally very soon.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal, Reptile, Fish

Location: Kettle Creek, Susquehanna River, Lock Haven, Clinton County, and Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Sighted: Native accounts -Modern Times

Works Cited:

Bernard, Lou “Deep thoughts about the Susquehanna Seal”. The Express. December 30, 2017. https://www.lockhaven.com/news/community/2017/12/deep-thoughts-about-the-susquehanna-seal/. Accessed November 20, 2021.

Bernard, Lou “The discovery of the Susquehanna Seal” The Express. August 14, 2021. https://www.lockhaven.com/news/health-and-home/2021/08/the-discovery-of-the-susquehanna-seal/. Accessed November 20, 2021.

Bernard, Lou “Seal of Approval: The Monster of the Susquehanna” PA Wilds. May 6, 2019. https://pawilds.com/monster-of-the-susquehanna/. Accessed November 20, 2021.

Tabitca “Kettle Creek Monster ?” Cryptozoo-oscity. June 24, 2020. http://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2020/06/kettle-creek-monster.html. Accessed November 20, 2021.

Daily Democrat (Clinton County, Pennsylvania) February 27, 1897

Daily Item (Sunbury, Pennsylvania) July 30, 2009

Daily Item (Sunbury, Pennsylvania) August 16, 2009 

The Electro-Hopper of Lancaster County

 The Electro-Hopper of Lancaster County

By Cole Herrold

Lancaster County is a peculiar area in the realm of Fortean studies. The most famous area is Chickie's Rock which has tons of cryptids, ghosts, and UFO encounters such as the Albatwitches and the hauntingly eerie Chickie's Hill Mummy. Yet perhaps the most interesting cases in the County come from the humblest of people, namely the countless Amish communities that dart the green fields and surrounding woodlands. Reports of cryptids like the Wood Eating Amish Country Goose Grabber (see entry for more information) and the potentially paranormal Goat Baby have caused terror for any who come across them; however, in 1979, one of the most bizarre creatures was reported, and the effect it had on four members of an Amish community would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

In August of 1979, four unnamed Amish men were working hard in a field one warm day when they noticed something in the field nearby. The group looked up and were shocked to see what they thought to be a naked man seemingly walking in a bizarre hopping fashion towards them. As they watched the bizarre figure in front of them, however, the more they stared, the more they realized that this was not some streaker or free-minded nudist but something far more bizarre than they ever could have realized. One of the men would describe what he saw in front of him in the following: "we simply had no idea what this thing could be. But we were suddenly afraid. It had arms and legs, and a face with semi-human features. It was covered with coarse, sandy hair, and bounding along in this strange hopping fashion. It occurred to me that the thing was hopping like a kangaroo, but of course it wasn’t one of those”.

They watched as the creature continued to meander its way towards the group continuing its bizarre hopping. The group was trying to rationalize what in God’s Green Earth this anomalous abomination could be, but they soon would find out that whatever this entity was, it was something well beyond the natural order or even the holy ordained order. As the creature got within 100ft of the men when one of the men felt "a stabbing sensation, like an electrical jolt." Upon feeling this electrical charge, there was suddenly a bizarre, almost overpowering sense that entered one of the men overtaking him to the point that he did something completely unexpected. The witness would describe the feeling in the following: “I had this eerie feeling that something was inside me. I felt strange things happen to my brain and nervous system. I could hear myself crying out, shouting words that made no sense to me. I couldn’t understand where these words came from. Then the creature opened its mouth and began shouting at me in the same foreign language”.

The group was terrified beyond the point of rational thought, especially after hearing their comrade speak in what to their religiously centered mindset could only be interpreted as speaking in tongues and then hearing the monstrous mutant speak in the same language. While horrified by this entity, they could not move and proceeded to watch the creature as it continued its bizarre hopping in the area. The group, however, did not have to wait long in the area; however, for a short time later, the creature ran off at superhuman speed in the same hopping fashion as it came, eventually disappearing into the nearby woods, never to be seen again.

This case is incredibly bizarre, even for the already insane number of high strangeness encounters reported in the state. If you look at the description of the creature, one instantly would think that this creature is some sort of Bigfoot, yet the hopping walk and all of the added paranormal paraphernalia that the creature did seem to not point to the classical Bigfoot. Now with that said, there's always the Supernatural Bigfoot as an option; it is interesting that this encounter occurred during the 70s, which was when there were countless sightings of a seemingly paranormal primate; in 1973, there was the infamous Uniontown UFO-Bigfoot sighting where a man saw a red craft that changed to a white dome shape and in the area where it landed there were two incredibly tall green-eyed Bigfoot-like creatures (for more information see entry). There also were sightings of Bigfoot that were shot and turned into glowing balls of light, Bigfoot that were hit by cars and seemingly disappeared upon impact, a white bigfoot was seen holding a glowing orb, and a UFO then went over the woods where it ran into, and a bigfoot case where the creature had mange but could seemingly teleport at incredible speeds. There are scads of encounters of this type from PA, and there's always the chance that this is yet another example of that. Now with that said, there's never been an encounter that exactly matches this case. The description of the creature's motion does not typically match that of a sasquatch or even a supernatural one, and the creature's effects, while similar to claims of extraterrestrial psychic communication, still are not exact in its description.

There are not too many other possibilities for what this creature could be; it's safe to say the creature is not an extraterrestrial since there was no UFO seen in conjunction with this sighting. There's a chance that the creature may be a faerie, but in the countless cases reported of ostensibly real faerie encounters and I've never heard of one where the creature seemingly controlled a person and made them speak from far away like something from Beetlejuice even though there are several cases where faeries seem to speak in a strange language. An interdimensional creature is more plausible as a possibility since a creature from another dimension could have countless abilities that we could only imagine, and the electro-communication/control could be one such example.

The final possibility that could explain this creature is that it could be something demonic. While I personally do not think demons are what religions say they are if they exist. It is interesting that this creature appeared before several highly religious people and proceeded to what, for all intents and purpose, we could call "possess" one of the witnesses. The fact that the creature spoke in a language that none were familiar with is similar as well to what demons are supposed to be able to do since they can make people speak in tongues. Perhaps this creature came to the community to test the faith of those involved. It is interesting to note that John Keel had made the comparison to demons and creatures similar to Bigfoot in several of his book but used this idea to help form his Ultraterrestrial hypothesis, but perhaps there is a direct connection to these creatures and the lower realms. I must admit this is pure speculation, and I personally do not think it to be the case, but I feel it is important for the sake of completeness to be brought up.

This encounter is extremely bizarre, and I have no definitive answer as to what occurred in 1979. I do think that this encounter definitely needs to be brought to the attention of more researchers simply because of how bizarre this is and that it seems to fit right along with all the other bizarre Bigfoot and high strangeness cases that are out there. I also have to wonder where those men who encountered this creature are today, sure almost 40 years have gone by, and chances are they are long since gone, but if they're not, there are tons of questions about their encounter that id love to pick their brains on. Unfortunately, I'm sure that, as with most cases however there will be no follow up and we'll be left wondering just what truly happened in the field that day.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal

Location: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Sighted: August 1979

Works Cited:

America’s Nightmare Monsters By Phillip L. Rife

Beyond the Seventh Gate By Timothy Renner

Humanoid Encounters- The Others Amongst Us: 1975-1979 By Albert S. Rosales

Strange Pennsylvania Monsters By Michael Newton

Ideal’s UFO #9 pp. 27-28