Eerie Erie Sheepman of Waterford

 The Eerie Erie Sheepman of Waterford

By Cole Herrold

Half-human creatures are a constant occurrence in the worlds of Cryptozoology, Ufology, Demonology, and other Fortean studies. Some are constantly pegged into their appropriate categories, whereas others seem to cross the boundaries forming new and difficult to determine classifications. Bigfoot, for example, is generally accepted to be a large unknown ape that resides in the forested regions of the state, yet there are some reports where bigfoot is in fact either directly or coincidentally connected to UFOs or other anomalous phenomena. Other creatures like dogmen, frogmen, fishmen, and lizardmen are regularly reported, and some do teeter in that gray Keelian world of joint phenomenon. But of all the unknown creatures out there, there is one that has brought many to the brink of terror and, in some cases, their own demise and ventures of into both a cryptozoological, Fortean and demonological phenomenon. This unknown group of creatures is referred to as Goatmen.

Goatmen are a peculiar bunch of creatures that exist almost universally around the United States, the most famous cases being the Maryland Goatman and the Pope Lick Monster. These creatures are described as humanoid in form, typically 6-7ft tall with features reminiscent of goat-like horns and hooved feet. These creatures are a mixed bagged phenomenon as they are researched by folklorists, Cryptozoologists, and paranormal investigators. These creatures are considered extremely aggressive some varieties have supposedly been known to carry axes or lure individuals to perilous locations. These creatures are also reported to attack cars, pets, and livestock, leaving dismantled corpses or bloodless bodies behind.

While reading J. Nathan Couch’s book Goatman: Flesh or Folklore? I stumbled upon one particular beast I had never heard of and was very near in location to me. This creature was tucked away in a short chapter called "The Pennsylvania Sheepman". The creature was described in very much the same universal way as the classic Goatman type figure, yet to me, it was interesting as it added another feather in Pennsylvania's already remarkably gaudy cryptid hat.

Waterford is a small town located in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Waterford has a rich early history predating both the English and French arriving in the US. The site where Waterford now stands was at one point a Native American village. The area had some remnants of this previous civilization all the way up to the 1860s. The area was home to two forts created by the French, and a wagon road was developed that interconnected the two. This fort and roadway led to an increase in commerce, which eventually helped build the town. The area had a rich history, some violent and some peaceful between settlers and the native inhabitants. In fact, the first death that occurred on the land was of a boy by the name of Rutledge, who died of wounds from a native American skirmish in 1795.  Waterford today is a sleepy town, not unlike the vast majority of towns and boroughs that exist around the country, has a current population of 1,517 and possibly one sheepish citizen.

The Pennsylvania Sheepman or the Sheepman of Waterford is a beast that made its debut in the town in the70s. America, it seemed, was reaching an all-time high at this point in weird creature sightings, including those of Goatmen like beasts, and Pennsylvania was no stranger to such beasts. Trying to research information about this peculiar creature is very difficult as a lot of sightings were not reported to the police or any other media source. All documented knowledge of the creature comes from later accounts, particularly in October of 2012 when such tales tend to be reestablished by local sources. Before that point, however, the tales of the beast were spread orally in the town's schoolyards and playgrounds and homes, spoken only just above a whisper to keep the beast at bay.

The vast majority of this enigmatic entity's sightings occurred on what is known as the Waterford Covered Bridge or, as it's known locally, the Old Kissing Bridge, which is located on Niemeyer Road. The creature is said to frequent this location, and some of the most violent encounters have been reported to of occurred by this hoofed hooligan. The most famous being a tale told by Herb Kinney, who had a friend who would come face to face with the monster one rainy night. His account would be included in both J. Nathan Couch's Book as well as an article entitled "The Legend of the Sheepman of Waterford, PA" found on the now-defunct Examiner.com website. Attempting to find the original article proves impossible as the site now is linked to a website that sells concert tickets.

Herb Kinney’s friend was out one summer night enjoying a nice little drive with another individual he knew. The night was growing darker as the two traversed down the old road in his dark blue ford mustang convertible. The sky began to swarm with an amass of clouds, and as the two reached a certain point in their journey, the heavens wept. The rain was beating down on the young men's heads due to the fact that the two decided that since it was such a nice night to drive around with the top down a decision, they would most certainly regret it. Herb's friend saw the possible air of protection from the elements in the Old Kissing Bridge and proceeded to go and drive inside. Putting the car in park, the pair left the vehicle and began to lift and adjust the collapsed roof back into place.

 It was at that moment that the sounds of heavy footfalls emanated from the bridge. The two men, probably thinking it was some kind Samaritan who noticed their plight or someone who was annoyed by their halted presence on the bridge, began to turn around unperturbed by the sounds. As the men turned, they realized that this was by no means something that seemed heaven-sent but something that to them seemed to of ascended from the bowels of Old Scratch's lair. The two men stared at this strange anomaly taking in the foul apparition in every detail. The creature was a 6-7ft tall beast covered in wet, dank grayish-white hair on its body, and atop its head, the beast was adorned with large, curled horns like a goat or rams. Its maw was adorned with long sharp carnivorous fangs, and the beast walked upright on hairy goat-like haunches, and its human-like hands were adorned with long sharp claws. Before the duo could even comprehend the strange caprine creature that clambered before them, the beast began to rush toward the men. Herb's friend reached out as he was assaulted by the beast hitting and smacking the creature until it let go. The two rushed back to the safety of their car, but the creature was in hot pursuit. The creature continued its aggravated assault on the top of the vehicle beating its fists and scratching its claws on the roof of the car. The friends struggled to get the car moving, but in a quick motion, the engine roared to life, and the two sped out of the bridge, leaving their unknown attacker behind as it unleashed a series of guttural sheep like sounds.

 The two returned to town, and Herb's friend returned home. He sat in his car for a second, his eyes reeling from the ghastly horror show he was plunged into and, with a sigh of relief, got out of the car. His roof, which was the whole reason for his pause in coming home, was decimated, its frame bent, and rooftop clawed and beaten. He went inside and told his parents all about his encounter with the horned hellion on the bridge. The parents proceeded to go outside and see the carnage. When Herb's friend said about calling the police, the two adults looked down at their offspring and said that nothing of the sort would happen. The idea of their son's brush with the goateed nightmare to them would be embarrassing and not something they would want to be advertised in town. So, the story stayed quiet until Herb would recount his friends' perilous encounter with the beast some thirty-forty years later.

This account is by far the most aggressive and detailed account of the Sheepman in the very scant cases on it. In several sources, there are claims of over one hundred sightings of this creature from the sixties to at least 2012. Yet finding anything about a vast majority of these other sightings has proven fruitless. This tends to be the case with a lot of cryptid sightings, though. For everyone sighting of a strange animal, chances are there are another ten that goes unreported partially out of fear of ridicule and partially out of a lack of places to submit an encounter. While the internet now has countless sites where people can submit their reports like Phantoms and Monsters, Cryptopia, BFRO, Singular Fortean, and with us now at the New World Explorers Society. Back in the seventies and sixties, while there are countless UFO newsletters, magazines, and bulletins, monster or cryptid encounters really only got reported to individual investigators, police, or the local newspapers. These options go back to the reason’s reports went unwritten.

While cases of the Sheepman are difficult to come across, Herb's friend is not the only one to claim to come into contact with this malicious faun. A woman named Marilyn had actually seen the satyr on more than one occasion. Marilyn claimed to grow up on Baghdad Road, which is another area that is a hotspot for Sheepman sightings. Some claim the Sheepman lives in a cave located along the road. Her accounts are interesting, for while they lack the sensationalism that Herb's friend experience, these accounts point to something more biological in origin as opposed to some heinous beast. Marilyn had claimed that she had seen this allegedly horned beast crossing the road twice in her lifetime. The second and most recent sighting occurred on one dark night as she had just pulled into her long stretch of driveway when there in front of her a gray form sprinted in front of the car it looked at her as it ran and without stopping returned to the wild wilderness it called home.

In my research on the subject, I came across one other scant account that appeared on The Pennsylvania Rambler of a boy named Eric who claimed one night to of encountered a tall and hairy beast with horns under the Old Kissing Booth who the boys whom the author of the article heard the account from claimed lived under the structure to come out at night to harass those on the bridge and nearby woods. This account is probably the most recent account if authentic, but the boys who regaled the author with the story also made claim Eric was drunk at the time of his sighting.

Another witness called Sally B. said that the Sheepman had lived along an old dirt road near her family’s farm. She claimed that the creature was part man part sheep much like the other cases reported yet in a strange turn of events claimed that the beast also carried a hook that it would use to scare people out of the areas it would call home as well as presumedly kill anyone it could get its hairy hands on.

This last report tends to shred some of the authenticity of the creature. Goatmen type creatures are often discussed by folklorists for the fact that in many ways, they behave and enact in many of the same or similar manners as other urban legends such as the Hookman or Cropsy. These figures are essentially immortal serial killers rumored to come out of their wooded locals to kill and frighten teenagers stupid enough to venture or make love in their areas. The Maryland Goatman case has many of these same attributes, including coming out to accost teenagers making out in cars. The Maryland Goatman is said to attack vehicles, pets, and teens with a large hatchet or ax. The Pope Lick Monster of Louisville is another supposed ax and lantern wielding Goatman that lurks atop a train trestle. Many who have climbed the trestle either led by the siren song of the beast or by their own curiosity have actually lost their lives, making it a legend with actual danger. These ax wielders are not dissimilar to the Sheepman and his hook in this respect. In Massachusetts and New York, legends of Cropsy and the Hookman reign supreme, and in the legend of the Hookman, the story goes that he was an escaped mental patient who had a hook for a hand and would come out to attack lovers, usually scaring them by scraping his hook along the side of their car. The Pennsylvania Sheepman, in this way, seems to be a weird barrier between the two areas of legends. This makes this creature more than just a physical chimera but a folkloric one.

Another element that seems to point to something folkloric as opposed to Cryptozoological or paranormal is an anonymous email claiming to know the origin of the Sheepman. Paranormal researcher and folklorist Heidi Kirclich LaDow received this email from a local after she was investigating the legend of the beast. The email goes as follows:

“I will let you know that the Sheepman story, as far as I know, started in the vocational agriculture student's heads, and the fable grew until the general public adopted it as a local legend. I heard of Sheepman in the 1970, and as a seventh grader it awed me and others. [the story was] that a man could have sex with a sheep [and produce a sheep-man]. What started as a dirty little story grew into a small town legend. I ain’t telling no more!”

This email is not an original idea. Many times, in the world of folklore, there are countless beasts that were supposedly the offspring of man and animal. In Greek culture, for example, the god Zeus in the form of a great white bull seduced Minos's wife Europa, and the two in a union produced an offspring which would become known as the Minotaur. Many times, in folklore, the idea of two totally separate species producing an offspring is common in places where cryptids are reported. There are several ideas of separate species like alligators and a monkey crossbreeding to form the creature that is seen or terrorizing the area. While we know this is a ridiculous idea, it is not unheard of for separate species to create offspring ligers, zonkeys, and mules; for example, are some common varieties that zoos or sideshows would purposefully create. In human history, our species co-bred with other hominids like Denisovans and Neanderthals resulting in the wide genetic diversity we have today as a species. There even was an attempt at one point where a scientist had tried to create an ape-human hybrid by inseminating a woman with orangutan semen. The results were unsuccessful but possible. There are even reports of the Almas Zana who supposedly had given birth to a half-human half Almas offspring in Russia. Now a man breeding with a sheep, however, is an entirely different ballgame and not possible to occur.

While the Sally B. account does match and points towards a more folkloric kind of beast, Marilyn and Herb's friends' accounts, if authentic, definitely point to something other than the oral traditions that all cultures share. What this creature or creatures could be, those are difficult to determine. Most Cryptozoologists often lump these kinds of reports in with Bigfoot cases as bigfoot is frequently known to attack cars and the sprinting type figure is a common behavior described by witnesses. While Marilyn's account is rather vague as she described it simply as a dark gray form that streaked across the road, so there is the possibility she did see a bigfoot like creature. Herb's friend, even though it's told from a secondhand source however seems to point to something entirely different his liminal space Sleepy Hollow-esque account is something that clearly depicts a half-human half goat-like beast and not a traditional bigfoot like creature. With that said, what could this creature be?

A bear or bigfoot would be the most likely explanation for this creature seeing as the height would be about the same as the creature seen, and it wouldn't take much to think that in the darkness that a bear's ears could be in the right light look like horns. The problem with this hypothesis, though, is, of course, that while bears will walk upright if their front paws are injured, they do not have the fluid movement as seen in creatures that are described as walking bipedally. As sasquatch would be the next possibility, but again there's nothing that would appear as horns on a bigfoot, and while it may be the answer to a select amount of sightings, it cannot be the answer to the creature Herb's friend reported.

One cryptid that does bear a striking resemblance to the Goatman is the Sheepsquatch. These creatures are almost a direct match for the beast seen in Waterford. The color, height, fangs, horns, aggressive behavior are all features that are the same as the Sheepsquatch. Now one feature that is reported in some Sheepsquatch accounts is that of a possum-like tail, but a tail is something not described in any of the accounts. Another possibly misleading aspect that could point to a different kind of creature is Goatman accounts typically are described as a thin creature, not a big hulking monstrosity like what is seen typically in Sheepsquatch accounts.

The idea of a Goatman type creature as an undiscovered species is unlikely but of all the hypothetical answers seems to be one of the only possibilities that could explain biologically what this creature could be. True, there is no evidence for such a creature in the fossil record, but at one possible point in our history, the ancestors of sheep were carnivores. Andrewsarchus was a large animal found in China, which has some debate around it. This animal was at one point believed to be the ancestor of sheep, but some are thinking it could be related to whales.  If the original hypothetical origin is correct, though, it is possible that this could be the great grandfather of the Goatman. As evolution would take its course, the creature’s ability to stand upright for a short period could turn into longer and longer periods and ultimately freeing up the front paws, which could extend the phalanges to the point of fingers. Resulting in what we now know as Goatman and even possibly Sheepsquatch. Yet, as with everything when it comes to hypothesizing this kind of phenomenon, the evidence for this is basically nonexistence.

Interestingly this is not the only time PA has seen a strange goat hybrid beast. A group of sightings from late summer of 1973 of a strange creature described as a goat horned, white-maned, tiger fanged, bipedal beast was seen attacking Amish farms. This creature was seen rampaging from farm-to-farm, devouring wooden tools and grabbing geese with its hands, which it later threw at a brave Amish woman who pursued the beast. J. Nathan Couch hypothesizes in his book that this creature could very much be the same beast and that it managed to move from Erie to the southern section of the state where these sightings took place.

Another article argues that this creature might, in fact, be extinct or if it was a singular entity dead, seeing as how the average life span of a sheep is around a decade. This to the author could explain why sightings after the 1970s were essentially nonexistent. This is interesting if accurate because if this animal is advanced in every other element as it seems to be, it would be unique for it to maintain this primitive aging quality.

A demon is a common answer for this mystery for a lot of people who have researched this phenomenon. While the Sheepman of Waterford does seem to be a physical entity in many regards' creatures like the Pope Lick Monster appear as something more phantasmagorical. Supposedly many mediums have linked these creatures to the infernal realms or as negative entities whose only goal is to kill and destroy humans. I personally do not agree with this assertion into this phenomenon as a lot of our depictions of demons are the culmination of the church taking various cultures' gods and spirits and converting them into the cloven-hooved beasts we see now. While I suppose it is not outrageous for maybe if these spawns of the dark one do exist that one or a few of them could look like a Goatman.

The final possibility is that what is seen is something like a faun, Pan, or satyr. In Greece, there were several myths of half-human half-goat animal and nature spirits. These creatures were a paradox as they were loud, rowdy creatures that would have sexual encounters with humans and have drunken bouts with the god of wine Dionysus but also passive, peaceful creatures who would play music on the panpipes and walk peacefully in the woods. The leader of the satyrs and fauns was the god Pan who could create a sound that would result in humans running away in absolute terror hence the origin of the word panic. These creatures are tied into the faerie world and folklore of a variety of European cultures, and some Fortean researchers believe that some reports of cervine and caprine type humanoids could be these creatures returning to our world to either protect nature or some other as yet undetermined reason.

While I'm open to the idea for a lot of creatures to exist, the Sheepman seems to me to be a heavy mixture of folklore and some potentially real encounters with an as of yet unknown animal. Just what that animal is, is to be debated. It seems that all the answers to what this creature could be are shrouded in mystery. Unfortunately, most of the accounts we do have are from secondhand sources or from online interviews, emails, and comments, so trying to interview the witnesses even more thoroughly is almost impossible. This creature, if real, would be an evolutionary discovery that could change the fabric of what we know about the ancestry of a variety of creatures and how evolutionary change occurs. Yet there are too many folkloric variables to ignore as well and this, of course, just pushes this creature deeper into the shadows of fable and out of the light of science. But perhaps someday we will find the answer to this mystery down Baghdad Road.

 Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal/Hominid/Primate

Location: Waterford, Erie County, Pennsylvania

Sighted: Throughout 1970s

Works Cited

Couch, J. Nathan. Goatman: Flesh or Folklore?. CreateSpace Independent Publishing. 2014.

Styn, Rebecca. “Eerie Erie: Seven Tales to be Told After Dark” Erie Reader. October 17, 2012. https://www.eriereader.com/article/eerie-erie-. Accessed December 23, 2020.

Wanna See Something Weird?. February 7^th, 2019. https://cryptids-of-the-world.tumblr.com/post/182627376451/the-waterford-sheepman-is-a-goat-like-creature. Accessed December 22^nd, 2020.

Fort LeBoeuf Historical Society.http://fortleboeufhistory.com/about/waterford-erie-county-pa/. Accessed December 22^nd, 2020.

“Andrewsarchus”. https://walkingwith.fandom.com/wiki/Andrewsarchus. Accessed December 22^nd, 2020.

“Weirdness in Waterford”, The Pennsylvania Rambler. August 5, 2018. https://thepennsylvaniarambler.com/2018/08/05/weirdness-in-waterford/. Accessed December 22^nd, 2020.

Sheepsquatch

 Sheepsquatch

By Cole Herrold

When it comes to Cryptids, there are occasionally creatures that are relatively new to the scene that almost instantly become superstars. The Sheepsquatch is one such cryptid. Sheepsquatch is a bizarre amalgamation of man and mutton with a terrible attitude; very rarely do interactions with these creatures appear as peaceful. Sheepsquatch are described in the most basic descriptions as creatures that change in their locomotion from quadrupedal to bipedal have stark white or dirty white wooly hair, human-like hands or paws, a bear-like face with a snout, and long curved horns on the top of their heads. Most books that describe the Sheepsquatch will also go and claim that they have a long hairless tail like an opossum, but looking at all the confirmed or potential sightings, it's a feature that is never actually reported. The Sheepsquatch is a very regionally diverse cryptid but focuses on residing primarily in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia and Virginia, with some sightings spreading into Kentucky and Missouri. While Sheepsquatch might seem bizarre in its appearance and region, it is not alone as a secondary variety of cryptid known colloquially as the White Things are also reported in these areas and are often lumped in with Sheepsquatch reports even though they are smaller, move primarily as quadrupeds and tend to have supernatural qualities surrounding them.

While the White Things had been reported to folklorists and researchers for generations, some tales going all the way back to Native American times. Tales of the Sheepsquatch are relatively very new as reports of the monstrous mutton did not start being reported till the '90s.  Yet while physical accounts did not start getting published till the 90s, there have been several detailed sightings of the creature that went back to at least the 50s, and some sightings that were once labeled as Bigfoot encounters have from some researchers such as George Dudding been reassessed as possible Sheepsquatch encounters, therefore, indicating that these creatures are much older than previously thought.

The oldest known encounter with a creature matching the appearance of Sheepsquatch occurred in Spencer, Roane County, West Virginia, during the Mid-1950s. It was Wintertime when a 60-year-old witness had an encounter when she was 16. The elderly woman would reveal her tale to researcher George Dudding in his book on the subject Sheepsquatch; it was an encounter she was hesitant to reveal to anyone but one that she would never forget. As the snow had just started to fall, she was surprised by the sudden arrival of her 19-year-old friend, who swung by her house to see if she would accompany him to visit an elderly man who lived alone. The friend would go out and check on the elderly figure to see if he was doing ok and if he would need anything, as well as stay and visit with him for a bit to give a little bit of company. The young girl went to ask her mother if it was ok for the pair to go out, and her mother, not seeing an issue, granted her permission to go. So, the two raced outside of the house and climbed in his 53' chevy and drove towards Tuckers Run Road, where the man lived. The pair drove westward from Spencer on US Route 33 for about 3 miles, then turned right onto Tucker Run Road (County route 5/11). The elderly man lived about 2 miles down that road, and it took several minutes to get there. The two pulled up in front of the house and proceeded to knock on the door; the elderly chap abruptly opened the door, and after checking in on the man and having a quick little visit, the pair returned to Spencer. They decided since it was dark out to take a quicker route of about 1 mile back to US Route 33 by way of the Reedyville Road (County Route 10). Light snow was falling as they turned left onto US Route 33 and began their trip westward toward town. They were driving at 25 mph. The young teens had traveled only about a half a mile and about halfway to where Stover Fork Road (County Route 13/1) turns off to the right when a huge white furry creature, at least 8ft tall, ran directly across the road in front of them. Her friend slammed on the brakes bringing the car to a stop even though there was snow on the ground. There were no seatbelts at that time, and the young girl hit her head off the dashboard, causing only minor injuries. The bipedal creature had, by the time the pair realized what had happened, crossed the road and ran down the embankment. The friend, after checking to the girl and making sure she was alright, said, “what the heck was that” and jumped out of the car to see if he could catch sight of what it was that ran across the road. Meanwhile, the girl, more terrified than curious, yelled and told him to get back in the car due to the potential danger of this unknown entity. The friend, however, just stood there gawking down the snow-covered bank trying to discern the creature from the snow-covered terrain, but as he looked, it appeared as though he was unable to see it further. The friend continued to search until the headlights of a second car illuminated and began to approach them. Her friend, not trying to stop traffic or get into an accident, then proceeded to jump back in the car and return to Spencer. When the pair returned to Spencer and arrived at the girl's home, the pair proceeded in telling the girl’s mother of the strange creature that crossed the road, but the girl’s mother was more concerned with the bumps and bruises from when her daughter hit her head off the dashboard and was extremely upset with the young man. This sighting stayed with the now elderly woman as she grew, and she could never explain what it was that crossed in front of their car that winter night, but now she was wondering whether it was the brutal beast that about a decade later would potentially be responsible for the death of a young camper.

It was in Bedford County, Virginia, in the 1960s when a solemn occasion rang out through the county. A search party of three people went looking for a missing camper. The group had started the search that early morning and had worked their way to the location where the man was supposed to of been camping. The group managed to meander their way to the site and found that the area was torn apart as though some wild animal had entered the camp. As the searchers examined the location, the group found evidence while looking at the nearby trees in the area of what appeared to be large claw marks 9ft up in a tree. The group had thought that perhaps the missing camper had climbed the tree to escape the creature. They searched the boughs and branches but did not seem to find any evidence of the camper spending any allotted time there. The group then decided to travel slightly down an old worn path which was littered with bizarre white hair and strange tracks that they could not identify. As the group continued to follow these bizarre leftovers of some strange visitor that they came to a high section of grass where they ultimately discovered the dismembered remains of the camper. The group proceeded in calling the police, and as an investigation broke out, neither the police nor the search party were able to determine what creature killed the camper. Yet members of the search party could not shake the strange white hairs, and whispers were spoken from the party as they felt that the camper had met with a creature known as the Wooly Booger, which was a kind of albino sasquatch. While the group felt that this was an attack by a rouge bigfoot researcher George Dudding, felt that this attack might fit into the Sheepsquatch territory due to the color of fur left behind and the enormous claw marks left on the trees. Now I cannot speak for the accuracy of this account in trying to find more information. I was not able to on this death, so perhaps it might be an urban legend. I include this account simply because it was included in Dudding's book and therefore feel he had done and found more verifiable information on this account.

The next account of a creature that somewhat resembles a Sheepsquatch occurred in Mason County, West Virginia, in November 1966. This sighting is interesting because it occurred during the infamous Mothman flap of 66’. Farmer Cecil Lucas who owned a farm North of Point Pleasant near State Route 62 in the area of the TNT Area, was out one late evening when he noticed a disturbance out in one of his fields and went to investigate. As he approached the area where he saw the strange motion, he noticed several dark shapes in the distance. As he got closer, he was able to see what appeared to be three creatures resembling bears messing around an oilfield pumpjack. Unable to determine the color of the creatures because it was too dark. They walked on all fours and, when alerted to his presence, rose on their hind legs and ran off into the darkness. This incident is often included with bigfoot reports and sightings, but George Dudding feels that the creatures may have been Sheepsquatch since the darkness could have made the white or dirty white color difficult to discern and since the creatures went from quadrupedal to bipedal. I personally do not think their identity was this since even in dark lighting, a whitish color should have been noticeable, but once again, I included it simply because of Dudding's research.

While those bizarre quadrupedal-bipedal entities that were around Cecil Lucas's house may or may not have been Sheepsquatch, there were several similar sightings of either the same creatures or something similar along Jericho Road in Mason County, WV throughout 1966-1967. These accounts were allegedly collected by the friend of John Keel and coinvestigator of the Mothman and UFO sightings of the area Mary Hyre of the Athens Messenger. Mary allegedly had a collection of reports of a creature she came to call the "The Jericho Road Man-Bear". Jericho Road is a winding blacktop road approximately 3.1 miles in length that joins with 22^nd street in Point Pleasant and extends to its intersection with State Route 2 near Hickory Chapel Church. The TNT Area to Jericho Road is only 3.5 miles, so it's a relatively short distance for some of the bizarre beasts and enigmatic entities to travel that was said to dwell there. Property owners during this time span encountered a creature which they compared to similar to a bear, ape, and, interestingly enough, a white thing. The creature is reported to be both quadrupedal and bipedal, and farmers in Point Pleasant have heard loud howling and screeching in the woods on the back of his property. On several occasions, something had attacked and run their livestock. Further information on these accounts has been difficult to track down but could be once again an early Sheepsquatch account.

While many of the sightings from the 60s may or may not be the beloved mutant mutton that has taken the cryptid world by storm when the 90s hit, there was a definite series of sightings that clearly were the hallmarks of the farmyard freak. Once again, Mason County was the lair of the white weirdo, and in the 1990s, three girls, during the winter, were driving from Huntington to Charleston Via Point Pleasant on State Route 2 when they would have a sighting with the beast. The girls traveled from Route 2 and turned onto State Route 62, which followed the Northern Bank of the Kanawha River. The snow was falling rather heavily, and they slowed their speed as the snow increased. The group was near Arbuckle in a lonely, heavily wooded area when they rounded a bend due to the weather; they were only going about 5-10 mph. The driver, out of boredom and out of love for the winter wonderland, glanced to her left when she saw some bizarre form standing in the field. The figure, which they thought might have been some snow-covered tree or scarecrow, seemed to move just slightly in the descending snow. As she looked closer, she soon realized that this was not some inanimate object but a creature that was something out of this world. The creature she saw was a white furry creature that looked half man and half animal. It had a sheeplike face, ram-like horns, and doglike paws; the creature stood bipedally on its hind human-like legs. The driver, after passing the creature, proceeded to stop the car and, in a questionable judgment call, proceeded to back up the car to where the creature was. The other passengers realizing that something was off, started to look out of their windows to see as to why their friend would need to back up. It was at that moment the other two passengers saw the creature and started screaming. The creature moved its big hairy head and looked straight at the driver staring intently at the curious driver. The creature then, in a moment of what could be considered boredom, ran away on its hind legs. The friends in the car were beckoning the driver to get out of there for fear that the creature might attack them as the snow provided perfect cover for it to blend in with the surroundings. The friends waiting for some ambush held their breath as their friend slowly began to pull away, but one friend was so traumatized by the sight and, fearing the worse proceeded to lay down in the backseat the rest of the way home. In George Dudding's book, he puts the approximate latitude and longitude of the sighting as 38˚ 42’ 46” N-81˚ 56’ 53” W.

One of the most famous sightings of a Sheepsquatch would also take place in Mason County in 1994 when a navy seaman from Gallipolis, Ohio, would have an encounter with the creature while legend tripping. The seaman being right across Point Pleasant, gained an interest in Mothman and had decided to travel to nearby Point Pleasant to search for evidence to validate or debunk the creature. The witness had no real leads on the red-eyed fiend but did have a potential lead on several UFOs that were reported to of been seen in the TNT Area near a particular section of the creek. Deciding to check this further, he parked in a section of the McClintic Wildlife Area and head down a game trail that stretched down to this creekbank which was north of Bethel Church Road. He was walking this creek bank when he began to hear what sounded like a very large animal making its way through the brush in front of them. Not sure of what this creature was, he proceeded in hiding in the nearby vegetation. He thought the creature was possibly a stray dog or cow based on the way the brush was shaking, but he was unsure as to why either animal would be out this far from a farm. Yet he froze on the chance he was wrong since the idea of Mothman, and Grinning Men were still firmly placed in his mind. As the brush separated, he realized that none of his ideas were correct as a large creature worked its way down towards the creek. The creature was large and had matted brownish-white fur; he could not tell if it was dirty white or was brown with a white undercoat. The creature walked on all fours went to the creek where it knelt to take a drink, putting out paws that looked more like hands. The head was long and pointed doglike in shape, yet sprouted large, single-point horns. The creature seemed to reek as it smelled of sulfur. The man in terror drew back into the brush, afraid to make a sound or move, yet continued to watch the bizarre animal. After slashing its thirst, the creature crossed the creek and went off toward Sand Hill Road. The young man waited until he was certain the creature was far enough away and then ran as fast as he could to his parked car. When reporting this account to wvtrueghoststories.com, the witness did not assume that the sulfur smell was indicative of the creature being demonic but that the smell came from lingering chemical pollution in the TNT area and so animals in the area could have absorbed the smell.

The next sighting, which occurred in Boone County, West Virginia, in 1994, two witnesses saw a large white bear about 6ft tall walking bipedally in the tree line near their home. The witnesses, who were children, were outside of their house playing when they witnessed the creature. The children being full of the Moxy of youth, were not scared of the event but excited and proceeded to go in and, in excited breaths, tell their parents. The parents rushing out noticed that several branches had been broken off by the creature and promptly told the children that was enough time outside for the day.

A year later, in Boone County in 1995, a couple driving their car along an isolated road were looking for a suitable place for “parking”. The couple had driven down the dark, desolate road for the perfect spot to have a suitable session when they noticed something lying in the bank by the side of the road. The couple slammed their car to a halt when they spotted the form thinking perhaps someone could be injured or that it was some animal that might wander out into the road. What they found was anything from a normal animal. The curious couple, having passed the creature, decided to back their car up and get a better look, and there sitting on the side of the road, was a colossal weird white woolly creature with what appeared to be four eyes set in its broadhead. As the pair looked on at the creature, it seemed to notice that it was spotted, and without warning, the creature leaped from the ditch, came into the roadway, and proceeded to attack the car. The couple panicked as they heard the heavy claws scrape along the metal exterior of the vehicle. While they panicked eventually, the driver managed to return his wits and, putting his foot to the gas, proceeded to speed off, leaving their anomalous assailant in the road. When they got home, the shaken couple went and looked at the exterior of the car and, in turn, found large deep scratch marks on the side of their car. While this entity seems to be very similar to Sheepsquatch accounts, the one feature that makes it different is the alleged second set of eyes which has not been reported in any other accounts. Some investigators, upon reflection, do feel that the anomalous second pair of eyes were actually misidentified due to the possibility that the creature may have had curled horns.

The next sighting of a Sheepsquatch would once again come from Boone County, Wv in 1999. This sighting occurred when two campers deciding to go and spend the night in the woods near their house. The pair had set up their tents and began to make their fire ring; they had chosen a site that was not particularly far from the house with the idea being that should the weather get bad, they need something, or that they just decide to enjoy the creature comforts of the homestead it would only be a short walk away. The pair had begun to set up their fire and had just had the logs roaring when they heard snorting and snuffling sounds in the woods as they sat by the campfire. The campers thought that the creature might have been a bear encircling their campsite as such animals were fairly common in the woods. Yet this was not to be the case; while they were unsettled at the idea of something encircling them, they felt that the fire would provide some protection from danger. This would not have been the case. The snorting and eerie calls continued until a large white creature began to charge from the darkness of the woods towards them. The campers seeing this creature running straight at them, did not have a second thought and instinctively fled back to their house as they were pursued by the creature. When they cleared the woods, one of the campers looked back and saw that the hairy beast had stopped at the tree line. The creature stopped and stared at the campers as they scuttled back into their home and let out a bloodcurdling scream before returning back to the woods. The campers, terrified, stayed up all night and did not feel safe all night for fear that the creature might come back. The next day the campers returned to their site and found that the trail and the site were all torn up as though someone had taken a tiller to the earth.

This account is perhaps the most famous account of a Sheepsquatch, namely because of the coverage it got as well as the fact that it pushed the Sheepsquatch into the public attention. The Breckinridge County Kentucky Sheepsquatch encounter occurred during summer July 2004. Two men named Ricky Joyce and Dakota Cheeks out deer hunting traveled to an isolated piece of land owned by Ricky’s grandparents. The property consisted of 100 acres of hills and woods and a cabin. On previous trips, they had heard unidentified screams, growls, and cries in the hills. They were never able to figure out the sounds, and they never had a problem before, but on this particular trip, as Dakota Cheeks would say, "This was a night that would change our lives forever." The following morning, they had awoken and noticed that Ricky's main hunting dog was gone, so they tried to call out to see if they could find it. The pair searched the property until they found the dog lying in the ditch dead. Something had broken its neck by twisting it completely around. No clues as to what/who/or how the dog was killed were found; the pair felt that they had to find out what happened and why since no known animal could kill the way Ricky's dog was. The friends searched the area seeing if they could find tracks or anything that could indicate what could kill a 150lbs dog in the way that it was. The group ultimately found nothing, and they decided they were going to stake out the hilltop, which was the area where the sounds they heard over the years seemed to come from. They went towards the far side of the property and searched for evidence in areas where no one really traversed on the property but still found nothing. That night the pair did not stay in the cabin but a pop-up camper on the site. At 5:00 am, they were awakened by some strange noises. The dogs began barking and then left the area of the camper as they ran off into the woods downhill. Suddenly the pair heard something scraping into the aluminum skin of the trailer. The canvas sides were being pressed inward, and the trailer was lifted upward and dropped as some creature continuously ran into the camper. The men in the camper could hear the squeaking sound of the metal bending but stayed perfectly still as the anomalous assault continued. The men, terrified, waited for a bit after the assault stopped, and everything got quiet. The men grabbed their guns and went outside, returning to the cabin to get as much ammunition as they could. Cheeks had the following thought emanate through his mind “anything that aggressive doesn’t deserve to be here, if it can’t coexist it needs to go." In a televised interview and recreation of the event, Ricky explained the following for their actions" I had some beast that lived on my property that killed my dog already. I didn't know what to do about it. I was scared that it was going to come to my house". The group deadest on killing whatever creature this was. They went through a nearby cemetery and into a field located beyond it. In the distance, there appeared to be an object which looked like a tree trunk. As they grew closer to the object, they saw a tall white creature that seemed hunched over with its long arms extended. Its front paws had talons or claws, and the creature stood about 8-9ft tall. The creature let out an ungodly growl and charged them. The man shot at the creature; when the firing stopped, the two men ran straight back to the safety of the cabin. They did not know if they hit it, they did not know where it went, but they survived their encounter to retell it on Monsters and Mysteries in America. To this day, however, they search for the elusive beast with the sole purpose of killing it, and they fully intend to drag the creature dead from the woods.

Another witness who appeared on the episode, named Susan Noe, who told her story of a Sheepsquatch encounter, saw a creature coming down a road which she would describe as “a big hairy thing standing on the road," and as she got closer, she could see an eye. She thought the creature might have been a deer as it peaked out onto the road, but it was by far too big to be a conventional deer. She would describe it as "some kind of sheep thing with horns."

The first account of a Sheepsquatch outside of either West Virginia or Kentucky would happen in the Fairy Stone State Park in Patrick County, Southwest Virginia, on June 2011 or 2014 (sources differ on the exact year). A hiker by the name of Teena and her friend were walking and climbing for about 2hrs in the park when they stopped to take a break and get a drink of water. They were in a secluded area of the park, and one once rehydrated, continued hiking along the trail. The hike had been uneventful up until this point, and nothing to them could change their willingness to be in nature this day. That is until they reached a rocky section of the woods. The pair had stopped briefly and were taken in the beauty of nature when about 150 ft ahead of them, they detected movement near the edge of the woods. Their line of sight was a little obstructed, but they could see some type of animal which was white and huge was lumbering its way down the side of the hill.  The pair watched, expecting maybe some kind of albino deer or even an albino bear or someone’s dog to come bounding down the rocky treed mountain. The creature moved out into the opening as they came closer, and the creature ended up on a rock ledge. When the creature stood on the ledge, they could tell that this creature was far from what they had thought it was. The creature took on the appearance of a good size bear with fur that was yellowish-gray in color. Head was oddly shaped with a bear-like nose large dark eyes were lower on its face than a bear. They could tell as they stared this was not a bear. The creature seemed to notice them as they stood frozen in their tracks. The pair, not waiting for some interaction, then proceeded to turn around and sprinting back whence they came. The pair kept staring towards the sides of the woods, half expecting to see the strange creature bounding in the foliage after them. The group kept a good case and did not feel safe until they ultimately reached their car, hopped in, and promptly locked their doors.

The furthest account of a creature that appears to be a Sheepsquatch comes from Branson, Missouri, in January 2014. A couple motoring up US Route 65 from Branson, Missouri to Ozark, Missouri at 11 am would encounter a bizarre carnivorous animal that they never had seen before nor could even have imagined. They were slightly south of Ozark, and as they were driving down the road, they seemed to notice a strange object lying on the side of the road. The couple, not exactly slowing down, saw that the object was, in fact, some sort of strange creature along the side of the road. The animal was hugely based upon its heavy coat of dirty white colored wool; it appeared to be a large sheep but seemed different from a large sheep. The couple thought it odd that such an oversized sheep would be on the edge of the road by itself in the middle of nowhere since this road did not appear to be connected or even have any farms on it. A closer look revealed an entire flip to this theory, for as they looked closer, they saw that it was bent down eating on a dead deer that had probably been hit by a car. The creature was strangely tearing away at the remains, and they were unable to get a good look at its face because its head was buried inside the deer carcass on which it was feeding. The disgusted and traumatized travelers, even though they were curious, were traveling 60mph, and they were not about to stop and turn around, especially since the creature might be dangerous, but they did notice that a pickup truck following then reduced its speed probably to try to get a better look at the creature.

In Barbour County, Wv, in 2014, the Sheepsquatch seemed to return to its old haunts as a woman spotted a white creature with large green eyes standing on four legs in a field next to her house. The family’s dog, in either an effort to establish its territory or to protect the household, started barking and took off towards the creature. The creature then, in a turn of events, started to pursue the dog. The creature did not seem to get far, for apparently, when the woman screamed, the creature stood up on two legs and proceeded to run away until it disappeared over the hill. The woman would report later that the creature was tall and skinny when standing up.

With the Sheepsquatch once more back in West Virginia, the creature seemed to of returned to all of its old haunts; this included Boone County when in 2014, another sighting broke out. It was a Saturday morning in September when a couple had decided to go ginseng hunting. Ginseng is a very valuable crop that can, in huge bundles, be worth a fortune, so many people who know the horticulture of the plant will go out and search for it to gain some financial kickback. The two agriculturalists took two four-wheelers and brought tools, extra cans of gasoline, food for lunch, drinking water, and decided to set out to a particular mountainside that they had some success in the past. It was 9:00 am when they left their home in Prenter, WV, and traveled the various dirt roads and blacktops that morning. The couple took Prenter Road, also known as Country Route 5, east towards Williams Mountain, the spot on the mountain they picked from there they had to turn left onto a crude trail situated across the road from an old abandoned mobile home. They then began exploring the mountainside south of Prenter Road for a good spot to dig for some roots. They traveled by four-wheeler and found several locations they felt were ideal for harvest. They took a break at noon, having gathered a small quantity but not enough to gain the riches that anyone in the quest truly longed for. The day was uneventful so far, and the two, after their lunch, moved further on down the mountain towards a nearby hollow. After dismounting in this new location, the group began scouring the area, searching for the plant they so desired. After a short time, the man saw movement in the dense undergrowth of the woods on the mountainside just above them. He signaled to his wife to look up, and there standing there as if on cue as the two looked, was an 8ft tall creature 150ft away staring back at them; they instantly knew this was not a bear. The animal had big eyes that stood out and a bear-like face with a snout. Its head had what they thought were pointed ears which they later in reflection felt might have been horns. It had curly, dirty, yellowish-white hair at fur like a sheep. The creature stood upright and looked at them for a few seconds; it seemed agitated by their presence and then let out a screaming growl. Man and wife, terrified by the possibility of an attack, then made their retreat for their four-wheelers which were 100ft away, and managed to hop on and find a new location to search for ginseng.  Looking back as they sped off to another section of the mountain, the man noticed the creature was gone. However, in their continued pursuit, they did not leave the main road, and they couldn't help but keep their eyes peeled for any movement in the woods. Since then, they have never gone back to Williams Mountain.

Sheepsquatch's homeward bound did not seem to last long for a year later, after its massive series of West Virginia sightings, it was sighted in Fulks Run, Rockingham County in Virginia in 2015. The sighting happened in the George Washington National Forest when a small group of campers camping in the forest would have an encounter with the creature. It was just about noon when a group of campers had decided to set up camp near the Shenandoah River. While this might have been a picturesque sighting for the campers and certainly John Denver, it would slowly turn into an episode of the Twilight Zone. It was as the group was fixing their site that one camper noticed some movement across the river near the tree line. The camper squinting saw what he assumed was a typical animal crouched on a hill around 12 pm. He thought it might be a bear, went to warn the others in the group as he did; the creatures stood up on two legs revealing the full form of the creature. The creature, as the group was trying to figure out what this creature was, soon started to sprint downhill towards their camp. The creature was 8-9ft tall. The North Fork of the Shenandoah river was in between both the campers and the Sheepsquatch. When the creature got to the water, it stopped. The creature started to slowly work its way into the water as though it had great difficulties in maneuvering in the flowing liquid. The campers got together and watched the creature, they watched as the creature traveled through the river lowly, clearly not used to crossing waterways, and it looked like a white bipedal dog with long fur. The creature had just managed to cross the stream and shake the water off its soaked form when the creature and campers heard a bizarre loud shriek. The creature, out of fear or interest (the witnesses felt out of fear), then proceeded to return to the woods as silently as it came. Thus, also ending the last official Sheepsquatch account. As a sidebar note, I'm interested but also concerned as to what sound caused the Sheepsquatch to flee in what the witnesses felt was terror. Sheepsquatch are, if reports are to be believed, an incredible predator and extremely aggressive. So, unless this Sheepsquatch might have been called by others of its kind for more pressing matters, Id hate to even imagine what could cause it to flee.

When it comes to the Sheepsquatch, it is so easy just from the name itself to think it's a piece of fiction or some extensive hoax. From a skeptical standpoint, there is plenty of reasons to think this creature is a myth. Anytime a creature includes the term squatch to a potential entity that seems to point to something false. A piggyback off an already difficult-to-prove creature. Skeptics multiply that by 10 or more when the supposed creature is a cross between the sasquatch and a sheep. While a primate is plausible, a bipedal sheep or sheeplike or even a predator that has several sheeplike features creature is something that has never existed in the history of evolution. And so, several theories to the origin of Sheepsquatch have been proposed.

Some folklorists point out that the Sheepsquatch legend came from British sheepherders who migrated to America and settled in Appalachia may have brought tales of demons who frequented their herds while wearing sheepskins complete with the head. Stories such as this could have been the origin of Sheepsquatch. Similar tales appear in Native cultures revolving around large white animals, and these tales are also reported by coal miners and lumberjacks that described a large 8ft tall creature that could walk on two or four feet and weighed hundreds of pounds. While further details of these accounts are scarce, there is an oral tradition and some collected accounts that do seem to emphasize that there is some official tradition of these creatures.

While many folklorists feel that these stories are simply necessary coping mechanisms or career-oriented tales that were almost mandatory for the lifestyle of sheepherding. This is not necessarily accurate since there is the chance that what they were describing were true accounts of real creatures. If this is accurate, the question is how and why would such a creature exist. In many ways, this creatures existence makes a lot of sense since a creature that appears to be an herbivore would be perfect for ambushing prey. If you also account that the creature is white, which would be perfect for ambushing and hiding during the winter months, the Sheepsquatch seems almost an ideal predator. Now while evolutionarily, it is plausible that such a creature exists, there is no such evidence either from the fossil record or in the known Zoological records that such a creature could have existed.

While there is some biological reason for such a creature to exist, there is no true reason to think this. Evolutionarily there should have been several similar creatures that have existed or reported that could have led to this creature. Perhaps the similarly reported White Things could have been this, but there's still no certainty to this as these creatures seem to be very different outside of the white coloring of the fur and assumed carnivorous nature. The Sheepsquatch is also something that has, even with reports of White Things, never had an official ancestor that we could point to.

While the creatures definitely seem firmly cemented into the realms of cryptozoology, there are those that have suggested several alternatives to where and why the Sheepsquatch comes from. The horned cryptid is very similar to accounts of the stereotypical demon since it had horns and humanoid qualities. Many of the early folklore accounts, if they are true, may be correct in that these creatures are examples of some form of a demonic entity that appears in a sheeplike form. Many of the classical demons seem to be a conglomeration between human and animal features, yet none outside of the classical devil or demon seem to indicate some connection between the Sheepsquatch and the sinister.

Another hypothesis for the origin of the Sheepsquatch is that the Sheepsquatch is from another planet. The alien Sheepsquatch is something that I've never seem to find some answer to. It's a hypothesis that has appeared time and time again but has never had some connection to it. Lights in the sky have never officially been connected to the creature; hence the UFO angle seemed highly unlikely as opposed to the cryptid angle or even the folklore angle, but there is one other angle that is still possible.

While it might seem the least likely, the final most probable answer to this entity is that it might be a creature from another dimension. If this creature is multidimensional or interdimensional, it is a possibility of what Sheepsquatch maybe does since clearly nothing can compare either evolutionarily or from the known UFO lore from the area. These creatures have had no anomalies associated with UFOs with them and seem to be territorial hence the more biological aspects of the creature while still being absent with the alleged evolutionary line of the creature. Yet even this is speculative at best since there have been no known anomalous elements with the creature.

While there are several possibilities to this creature's origin, we are left with the continuous unknown as to what this creature might be. Yet, it is not for my decision to know the truth as I have no been there to experience any of the sightings of the creature. What I will say is while I'm very open to almost all hypotheses, the one thing I cannot deny or disprove is the sudden research and fanbase the creature has seemingly received, especially since the creature has appeared on such shows as Mountain Monsters and Monsters and Mysteries in America. While from an academic level will certainly never come close with an answer, there will always be a pop culture reference that will be with us for a long time.

 

 

Quick Facts:

Species/ Potential Species: Mammal

Location: West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri

Sighted: 1994-2016

Works Cited:

Chasing American Monsters By Jason Offutt

Goatman: Flesh or Folklore? By J. Nathan Couch

Monsters of West Virginia By Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Sheepsquatch By George Dudding

Strange Tales From Virginia's Mountains: The Norton Woodbooger, The Missing Beale Treasure, The Ghost Town of Lignite, and More By Denver Michaels

The Telltale Lilac Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales By Ruth Ann Musick

White Things: West Virginia’s Weird White Monsters By Kurt McCoy

Swancer, Brent “Beware the Sheepsquatch! And Other Truly Bizarre Mystery Monsters”. Mysterious Universe. February 15, 2016. https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2016/02/beware-the-sheepsquatch-and-other-truly-bizarre-mystery-monsters/. Accessed August 8, 2021.

---“The Mysterious White Things of West Virginia." Mysterious Universe. January 12, 2019. https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/01/the-mysterious-white-things-of-west-virginia/. Accessed August 8, 2021.

Monsters and Mysteries in America “Appalachia” Season One Episode One. March 24, 2013. Destination America.

Mountain Monsters “Sheepsquatch of Boone County” Season Two Episode Six. May 9, 2014. Destination America.

The Billiwhack Monster

 The Billiwhack Monster

By Cole Herrold

Around the United States, there are various reports of creatures described as being half man and half animal. The most famous of these accounts being Bigfoot, the half man half ape that has been reported in every state as well as in Canada. Bigfoot is often depicted as a shy lumbering giant that is curious of man but also very fond of running away from humans; however other manimals are much more violent and aggressive in their behavior. Perhaps the most aggressive of these creatures are the entities known as Goatmen. Goatmen are reported in a variety of different states, with the most famous versions being reported in Maryland and Kentucky. While most of these creatures are found in desolate forested areas, one creature is said to of taken up residence in an old dairy farm in sunny California.

The Billiwhack Monster, also sometimes spelled Billiwack Monster is a muscular and powerful grey or white-furred ram-headed humanoid with yellow-green cat-like eyes. This creature reportedly is approximately 9-10ft tall with hands tipped in razor-sharp talons and is said to dwell in the crumbling Billiwhack Dairy Farm. The farm is located on a back winding road in Aliso Canyon, which is in Ventura County and about 6 miles West of Santa Paula. The creature reportedly never leaves the compound except to travel to the nearby citrus orchards to feed on rabbits and other small animals.

The origins of this creature are assumedly interconnected with the founder of the Billiwhack Dairy. The dairy was opened by August Rubel in 1925 and was a struggling dairy farm that ultimately closed its doors after Rubel’s mysterious death in 1943. It was right after his death when the creature began to make its residence in the old dairy building. Some have come up because of this several hypotheses as to why this occurred; one theory was that Rubel had created a mutant offspring from breeding experiments to better the output of milk. Another more governmental conspiratorial hypothesis is that August Rubel, who died while fighting in WWII, was, in fact, a member of the Office of Strategic Services or the OSS, which was a precursor to the CIA. There is a belief that Rubel while being in the OSS, had several Nazi Scientists under his control. These scientists were forced to attempt to conduct experiments that were similar to the Marvel Comics Super Soldier ideology. The results of these experiments are believed to be the Billiwhack Monster.

While there is certainly tons of early lore attempting to explain how the creature came about and allegedly encounters that appeared all the way back in 1943. The very first reported encounter with the Billiwhack Monster comes from the 50s when a 9-year-old boy who, along with a group of friends, had decided to go and check out the reportedly haunted Billiwhack Dairy themselves. The group proceeded in entering the dilapidated structure; as they trespassingly traversed therein, they entered a particularly dark shadowy section. As the group moved around searching at the old cartons and production line, they noticed a pair of glowing eyes peering from within the shadows. The group proceeded to stare into the darkness at this set of glowing eyes, holding their breath. As the group stared, the eyes started to move and approach the group; it came closer and closer the sound of clicking on the tiled floors. The eyes seemed to stop before it hit the light, and it was only a short bit away. The group started to back away, slowly inching their way back. Just as the group felt that this form might be trapped by the darkness, it jumped out from the shadows a mere foot away from the group revealing the horrifying man goat creature. The group, not stopping to see what this creature might do, proceeded in running as fast as they could. As they were running, the 9-year-old felt a sharp pain in his back. This did not stop him, however, and he continued to run all the way home. When he arrived home, his mother noticed his shirt was torn, and upon removing it that his back was covered in large scratches.

In November 1964, several boys would encounter the creature while out hiking in the canyon. The creature, enraged at their intrusion into its lair, proceeded to chase the boys. The boys began sprinting as fast as they could away from this horned beast; they managed to make their way out of the area, and as suddenly as the creature came, it disappeared. On another separate encounter, a boy claimed he encountered a “snarling hairy man in a hole” in the property. Others who would travel up to the road would have encounters with the creature outside in the safety of their cars; the creature would allegedly throw 50lbs rocks at any who would travel up the road.

While there are very few official detailed accounts of interactions with this creature, it clearly did sweep up the community. Police were constantly traveling to the road and picking up various trespassers and would-be monster hunters. One such monster hunter was ready to face the Billiwhack Beast in a pure medieval showdown as the individual came prepared not with a gun or with any classic mob-based weapon like a pitchfork but instead one of the most mighty of weapons, a sword. The sword-wielding boy intended to smite the beast down in its lair and bring the remains back to free the town from the cantankerous caprine. Yet even this encounter is mild compared to what would transpire in almost a classic Universal style. Dorothy Renterra, a leaser who had kept tabs on the property and had tried to stop any further trespassing on the property, would be caught up in the monster mania when she had to hold off a group of 43 would be monster hunters with a shotgun until the police arrived to remove the mob. The angry mob had sought to capture and dispel the cursed beast from the plant to stop the assault on those who enter therein.

After the 60s, sightings seemed to dip down, and no major accounts were published. The creature, while sightings allegedly occurred sporadically and at night, primarily became a major focus on ghost hunters. In fact, the creature was in a contest won, being the best ghost in the area. Ghost hunters to this day often write about this creature and some contest that this creature is completely supernatural in origin, citing it as a demonic entity or some curse that was connected to August Rubel as there have been whispers of several ill-fated tragedies that have occurred to him. Another more skeptical hypothesis is that these reports are entirely the fabrications of young minds as most reports come from younger witnesses.

While rumors of the creature's origin are fiercely debated, there are allegedly sightings to this day. While these modern sightings are not exactly specified or even detailed, there is an increasing cultural growth with the legend. Due to the ever-increasing Latin culture that is being more embraced and expanded, so too is interest in the legend. The creature has been embraced by those of Latin descent and heritage, and they have given the creature its own name Chivo Man. The figure has been used as a more boogeyman type figure in that older generational figures like parents and grandparents will tell their children and grandchildren to behave, or Chivo Man will get you!

The Billiwhack Monster is one of the oldest American Goatmen in the books and is one that does seem to be a mixture of folklore and fact. Perhaps this creature is a deformed bigfoot or a supernatural entity, or perhaps it is just a case of mass hysteria, for some of the elements seem to be a dual of a real creature seen and the mass hysteria-oriented hype of others reporting the encounters. Yet while the jury is out on this particular creature, it is extremely interesting to see how the legend grows and the cultural effect it has on the community. It's a legend that I'm sure will last for a very long time.

Quick Facts:

Species/Potential Species: Mammal

Location: Billiwhack Dairy, Aliso Canyon Road, Aliso Canyon, Ventura County, California

Sighted: From 1943 to Modern Times

Works Cited

Goatman Flesh or Folklore? by J. Nathan Couch

Mysterious California: Strange Places and Eerie Phenomena in the Golden State by Mike Marinacci

Weird California by Greg Bishop, Joe Oesterle, and Mike Marinacci

The Los Angeles Times November 4, 1964

Ventura County Star-Free Press November 2, 1964

“THE BILLIWHACK MONSTER”. Rikki Rockett. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iltev1bG69k