Bigfoot announces his presence big-time at little-known Illinois Gothic hotspot
July 4, 6:39 PM
There is an isolated, wooded area just outside of the little town of Hartford, Illinois that has long been reputed to be a very spooky spot indeed. This is where the old LakeviewCastle was built in the late 19th Century by an eccentric and wealthy Frenchman as the dream home for his new wife. There is nothing left of this formerly palatial place now but crumbling ruins, most of it destroyed by fire in the early '70's. This mansion with real turrets was built right out in the middle of the woods. The romantic Frenchman even constructed a moat around it [view Google Earth aerial photo at www.untameddimensions.com ]. He had created his own private fantasy world for himself and his new bride. They thoroughly enjoyed their life here for a few years until she died. Then he moved away never to be heard from again [read the colorful, storybook history of this place at : http://www.altonhauntings.com/hartford.html].
But what almost nobody knows about is that this place is also heavily haunted by Bigfoot. There has been a recent rash of sightings of this being in the immediate vicinity of the old castle starting back in late April of this year that never got reported to the news media or even to any paranormal investigator. A correspondent of mine who lives about ten miles from Hartford just filled me in on the details. This man told me that he used to play in the woods around the castle when he was a kid and every now and then returns to have a look around. Back around May 2nd of this year, he was wandering over the property (in the daytime)and spotted tracks of what looked like a human foot---but were 15 inches long and twice as wide as his own foot! A few days later he was talking to a friend of his who works the late night shift at a warehouse directly across the road from the woods that harbor the remains of the old castle. This person told him that over the previous two week period she and two other gate guards on their respective late night shifts had been badly scared a number of times by what was obviously Bigfoot activity. In her case she had not actually seen the creature, but had heard over and over again throughout the wee hours of the night (nearly every night) loud reports of heavy rocks hitting the side of the building [rock throwing is atypical Bigfoot retaliatory tactic]. And when this was occuring, she also smelled an awful odor like that of rotting meat. The Bigfoot stench is often mentioned by those who have had close encounters with this being. One can imagine how unnerving this must have been, especially considering that she was all alone at the time.
Within this same two-week period another guard at the warehouse had an even more dramatic, up close and personal, encouter with Bigfoot. This guard had always ridden his bicycle to work. He was riding-in one night to assume his late night shift, traveling along a lonely stretch of Poag Road that runs by Cahokia Creek which winds through the woods and crosses the old castle acreage---when he suddenly found himself face to face with a 9 or 10 foot tall hairy manlike creature standing on the side of the road. This thing let out a blood-curdling howl just as this guy almost ran right into him. I guess it's a miracle that the guard didn't fall off his bicycle! He somehow continued to manage to peddle his vehicle---and a lot faster then. He raced on until he reached the guard gate, and in an extremely agitated state told the man he was relieving all about his encounter. This man, simply not believing his story, laughed at him, telling him he was full of sh**!
As fate would have it, on the next night this man who had made fun of the first guy's fantastic tale of a Bigfoot encouner had his chance to reconsider the wisdom of his ridicule. During his shift a Bigfoot came and stood directly across the road from the guard gate and vented a hideous howl at him. It would have been poetic justice had he actually messed inhis pants, considering the ugly thing he had said to the other guard. And for all we know this did happen as he was so shattered by what he witnessed that he quit his job the next day.
Postscript : My friend who found the huge footprints all around the moat area of the castle ruins tried to talk to the guard who had had the encounter on his bicycle, but this man refused to talk to him and, in fact, said he didn't ever want to talk to anybody about it again. I suppose this is typical of people who have experienced the unknown much too close for comfort. It's hard for those who have never had this privilege to imagine how traumatizing it can be.
LakeOkanagan in Canada is said to be the home of awater monster calledOgopogo The lake is approximately 120 kilometres long; 3.5 kilometres wide and is 235 metres at its deepest point. Indigenouspeoplehave legends abouta monster in the lake. Sightings are reported of a creature20 to 50 feet long, with a horse shaped head and an undulating serpent like body.The first recorded sighting was by John Allison in 1872.
In 2000marathon swimmer, Daryl Ellis, reported being accompanied for a short distance during his swim by two large creatures as he passed RattlesnakeIsland. He described them as one being 6 - 9 metres (20 - 30 feet) long and the second being smaller. They followed him for quite awhile and then disappeared. When he swam near OkanaganLake floating bridge in Kelowna, a creature with a large eye the size of a grapefruit came within 9 metres to get a close look at him."
The most recent search for Ogopogo was on OkanaganLake the week of November 3rd, 2008. A documentary was filmed for the History Channel.
Then this news item appeared :
British Columbia’s Daily Courier By Daily Courier Staff
Friday, June 26, 2009
Two scientists have agreed to analyze the remains of a mysterious-looking specimen found along the shore of OkanaganLake. Remains beg question.A tissue sample of the creature will be sent to a researcher in Ontario for DNA testing, and the carcass itself will be examined by a scientist in Alberta.
The remains were found last week by Kelowna resident Dan Poppoff as he paddled his kayak near the far end of Lakeshore Road. For now, he’s still got the carcass, which measures more than a metre-long in his freezer at home.
Poppoff is reluctant to suggest the strange-looking carcass might be those of an Ogopogo, the fabled inhabitant of OkanaganLake. But he is interested in finding out just what it is. He contacted Arlene Gaal, a Kelowna woman who was written extensively on Ogopogo sightings over the years. Gaal is making arrangements to send the tissue sample and carcass to the two researchers, who she declines to identify.
"If I name them, people will be calling them left and right, and they won’t be able to get on with the business of determining just what this creature is," Gaal said Thursday.
"But I can assure you that both of them are very reputable people, experts in their fields. Both of them are attached to universities," Gaal said. Gaal isn’t sure when the results of the investigation will be available, but she hopes it will be fairly soon.
Weatherford monster urban myth , folktale or have people seen something strange?
Along Waterford Lake Texas there are sites where the Weatherford Monster is rumoured to roam. The stories are supposed to have been around since the indigenous natives lived in the area and reported seeing a fire breathing bull that roamed the villages killing several warriors until one was brave enough to pierce his heart with a spear.
More recent sightings have been since the lake was expanded in the 1950’s and vary from descriptionsfor the “monster” as being either a Big Foot” or a giant hairless armadillo. The most recent sightings apparently match the stories of a giant bull with glowing eyes and in some cases with flames coming out of his nose.
The site states : Modern sightings of the beast started in the 1950s. In 1953 during a terrible drought the small lake originally owned by the Texas and Pacific Railroad was purchased by the community of Weatherford. The area was expanded to make a more permanent water supply.
This is when the sightings began to take hold of the community. Most of the reported encounters offer little true evidence of the existence of a mythical monster. However fascination with the beast has increased steadily over the years.
There is also a group called TheOrganization of Weatherford Witches which have ceremonies dedicated to the beast.
So another urban myth or does someone have some insight into where this story came from?
Two people told Rumford police dispatcher Sue Milligan on Wednesday morning that they saw a 17-foot-long boa constrictor enter the Rumford canal here behind Bartash's store, seen in the background. An over-abundance of spring rain has turned the banks of Rumford's canal system into lush brushy habitat that could be home to a giant snake if sightings on Wednesday morning turn out to be true. This view shows the Hartford Street bridge. High water from more than two weeks of rain has risen water levels in Rumford's canal system as illustrated by the Route 108 bridge in the background. On Wednesday, two people told police they saw a giant snake entering the water through the brush on the right off Canal Street.
RUMFORD - OK, snake owners. Check your cages. Anybody missing a 17-foot-long boa constrictor? On Wednesday morning, two people contacted Rumford police dispatcher Sue Milligan and told her they'd seen a monster snake entering the canal system off Canal Street behind Bartash's store. Milligan said that based on the descriptions of the reptile, she believed it to be a 17-foot-long boa constrictor. Because an apparent large snake sighting isn't a police matter, Milligan said she alerted the Maine Warden Service.
"Once it gets into the water, it's not our problem," Milligan said. Wardens will be investigating, spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte said early Wednesday evening via e-mail.
"The Maine Warden Service has received a report of an apparent large snake in the river, and a broad description of where it may be," Turcotte said. "If anyone has detailed information of a specific location where it may be for an extended period of time, please call the Warden Service so that the snake can be identified and removed, if necessary," she added. If there is a giant snake in the Rumford canal system, it would most likely be a red-tail boa constrictor or a Burmese python, according to Robbie White of Mexico. White keeps several large snakes as pets and is regarded as the local expert based on his annual show-and-tell sessions using his snakes to teach youngsters about the reptiles during summer reading programs in libraries. "When people see a snake of that length, they automatically think it's a boa," White said. "But there are no snakes in the state of Maine that I know of that are going to grow to that length, unless it was a pet and it escaped." If it's at least 14 feet long, it's a red-tail boa constrictor, he said. "But if it's much bigger - like 16 feet or 18 feet - then you're talking more along the lines of what I understand is a Burmese python," White said. "But a Burmese python, once it gets that size, would be very aggressive." "I mean, you wouldn't want to go in there after it unless you had a catch pole and a couple of people with you, because they are quite strong and they are very aggressive," he added. When told of the Rumford sightings, White said a 17-foot-long boa would have an elongated head the size of a grapefruit. It would also be right at home in the water. "Boa constrictors love the water, oh yeah," White said. "My 10-foot red-tail boa, she stayed in her pool of water for almost two months one time; just had her nose sticking out of it." So how does one spot a monster boa constrictor that enjoys its watery environment? "When it gets hungry or whenever the sun comes out so it can sun itself," White said. "That's the best chance to see it." If a 17-foot-long snake is actually living in the water and brush along the canal, it isn't likely to go anywhere if it's got plenty of food, he said. "When I get some free time, I will go over there to the canal system and see if I can spot it, because I can tell what it is from a piece of snake skin," he said. "I can also tell by the by product from them digesting something if it's a large pile of poop."
By Mike Conley | The McDowell News Published: June 24, 2009
In a previous column, we took a look at the thunderbirds, the legendary large winged creatures that are believed to fly above the skies of the Western states. Various American Indian tribes knew about these awesome creatures and told myths and legends about their mysterious powers. But it seems that the thunderbirds could also inhabit the eastern part of North America as well. One of them apparently provided a nasty scare for an unsuspecting man. According to a Web site, this man, who wanted to stay anonymous, was driving on a rural two-lane highway just outside of the town of Clendenin, W.Va. one morning in early October 2007. It was about 8 a.m. Suddenly, the man had to hit his brakes when he was confronted by the sight of a giant flying creature in the middle of the road. The huge bird was only a few yards ahead of him and it was feeding on some road kill. The witness, who is an avid hunter, was startled by the size of the creature. He estimated it stood at least 4 feet tall and it's head extended above the roofline of his vehicle.He described the large bird as being covered with very dark brown or black feathers. It had a large head and its long neck appeared to be slightly crooked. The beak was very long and the eyes were quite dark. But the most impressive thing about this animal was its massive wingspan. It was easily as wide as the two-lane road upon which it stood, according to the online report. "It had a very muscular upper torso and the wings were as if they were its arms," said the man. The startled man said the creature's wing tips stirred up the dust and gravel on both sides of the road as it started to fly away. The witness added he was in a state of shock as he watched it fly off. He later returned to the site and measured the distance across the road from edge to edge. It was about 21 feet.
The man also did some research to find out exactly what he had just seen. The closest creature he could find was in a book. It was a drawing of a teratornis, an extinct bird from the prehistoric era. It was larger than the Andean Condor and was the largest species of flying bird ever encountered by man. It became extinct around the end of the last Ice Age, according to a Web site.
But perhaps the teratornis is not extinct after all. Some researchers in cryptozoology believe that the massive bird could have survived after all and formed the basis of the thunderbird legend among Native Americans. It could be still by flying over our heads and make an appearance when we least expect it, they say.
There were reported sightings in 2002 .
Wednesday, October 16, 2002 Southwest Alaskans say bird is the size of a small plane
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANCHORAGE -- Reports of a giant winged creature seen in Southwest Alaska in recent weeks have biologists and residents puzzled. Villagers in Togiak and Manokotak say the huge bird has a wingspan of about 14-feet -- the size of a small plane -- and is much bigger than anything they have seen before. Scientists aren't sure what to make of the reports. No one doubts that people in the region west of Dillingham have seen a very large raptor like bird. But biologists and other people familiar with big Alaska birds say they're sceptical it's that big. A recent sighting of the mystery bird occurred last Thursday morning when Moses Coupchiak, a 43-year-old heavy equipment operator from Togiak, 40 miles west of Manokotak, saw the bird flying toward him from about two miles away as he worked his tractor. "At first I thought it was one of those old-time Otter planes," Coupchiak said. "Instead of continuing toward me, it banked to the left, and that's when I noticed it wasn't a plane." The bird was "something huge," he said. "The wing looks a little wider than the Otter's, maybe as long as the Otter plane." The bird flew behind a hill and disappeared. Coupchiak got on the radio and warned people in Togiak to tell their children to stay away. Pilot John Bouker said he was highly skeptical of reports of "this great big eagle" that is two or three times the size of a bald eagle. "I didn't put any thought into it." But early this week while flying into Manokotak, Bouker, owner of Bristol Bay Air Service, looked out his left window and 1,000 feet away, saw a very big bird. "The people in the plane all saw him," Bouker said. "He's huge, he's huge, he's really, really big. You wouldn't want to have your children out," Bouker said. Raptor specialist Phil Schemf in Juneau is sceptical of the size. "I'm certainly not aware of anything with a 14-foot wingspan that's been alive for the last 100,000 years," Schemf said. Schemf, other biologists, a village police officer and teachers at the ManokotakSchool said the sightings could be of a Steller's sea eagle, a species native to northeast Asia and one of the world's largest eagles. It's about 50 percent bigger than a bald eagle.The Steller's eagle has occasionally shown up in the Pribilof Islands, on the Aleutian chain and on Kodiak. A bird known to be a Steller's sea eagle has been spotted three times since May and in August of last year, 40 miles up the Nushagak River from Dillingham, according to Rob MacDonald of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.Another Steller's eagle took up residence on the Taku River south of Juneau for 10 summers starting in the late 1980s, Schemf said. The fish-eating Steller's sea eagle can weigh 20 pounds and have a wingspan of up to 8 feet. It has a distinctive and impressive appearance, Schemf said, with a pronounced yellow beak, a black or dark brown body and large white shoulder patches.
So Thunderbird or mistaken identity? Well it is difficult judge the size of something flying , but imagine if it were real ? The chance to study it would be really fantastic.
The Xinjiang's "Kanas Lake Monster" in China has been in the news in previous years with hot weather so I thought I would revisit it. . KanasLake is in BuerjinCounty, Altay Region of Xinjiang Uygur .It is actually the widest section of the KanasRiver, a tributary of the ErixRiver. The Erix originates in the Erix glacier. On its banks are European primeval coniferous and birch forests, creating the scenery typical of forested areas in Scandinavia and Russia. In the lake are 8 varieties of rare cold water fish, including the huge and ferocious hucho taimen, capable of swallowing a whole duck in the lake waters. . In 1985, Xinjiang Daily carried a headline announcing discovery of giant Red Fish in the lake, saying they were 10 to 15 meters long, weighing more than 4 tons and each having a head over one meter wide. Sightings have spiked in the past few years .
On June 6th and 8th, 2004 the media reported three shocking sightings of "lake monster" at Kanas Lake and one traveller even snapped shots of the "monster". This has stirred up interest with, tourists flocking to the region . In recent years, media both inside and outside China have, in succession, reported on solving the mystery of the "lake monster", pointing out that the "monster" was nothing but a huge red fish; but this view was controverted by other experts. There is still no definitive answer to the real identity of this "lake monster".
(Source: chinanews.cn)
.Then on the afternoon of June 7, 2007 (around 7:50 pm, Beijing time), seven tourists from Beijing were sailing on the KanasLake, a scenic spot in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China. When they stopped near Sandaowan for a photo, they suddenly spotted two dark objects, very large in size, springing out of the water, breaking a wave one meter high. They leapt forward one following the other, headed swiftly towards the middle of the lake and disappeared from sight in about two minutes. Then peace reigned again. Each of the "monsters" looked about 10 meters long, said the seven Beijing tourists, who were the only witnesses to this bizarre encounter.
So giant fish or something else? I hope someone investigates as even giant fish are cryptids in their own right. Lets see if the sun brings out any more reports
There are tales in all folklore about werewolves , so what could werewolves have been ?Well maybe the story of the Wulver in Scotland can shed some light on it.
Wulver - Shetland Isles :
The wulver is described in Jessie Saxby's Shetland Traditional Lore as being a man with a wolf's head, with short brown hair all over him. He lived in a cave dug out of the side of a steep knowe,(knoll I think that is ) half-way up a hill. The wulver did not molest folk if they did not molest him. He was fond of fishing. A small rock in the deep water is known to this day as the "Wulver's Stane". He would sit there for hours, fishing for sillaks and piltaks. He was reported to have frequently left a few fish on the window sill of some poor person.
Briggs, Katharine. An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Chapter 9, pp. 445-446.
A Wulver is a kind of werewolf described as a man, covered with short brown hair but with a wolf's head. He lived in a cave and kept to himself and was not aggressive if left in peace. He was apparently to be seen fishing.
The ancient Celts believed that the wulver evolved from wolves, and that the Wulver symbolized the intermediary phase between wolf and man. Wulvers were considered to be kind hearted and would guide lost travellers to nearby villages. Thewulver was an evil-looking, but harmless creature that looked like a man with a wolf’s head.The last reported sighting was early in the 20th century.
There are conditions such as hypertrichosis (excessive hair growth over the entire body) which would explain the Wulver. There is also a mental disorder called clinical lycanthropy, in which an affected person has a delusional belief that they are transforming into another animal, although not always a wolf . It is a rare condition. So were wulvers just a poor human with a condition that made them outcasts? It is a genetic condition and a place like the Shetlands centuries ago would be quite isolated and families would marry into each other passing the genes on. This would also explain the kind heartedness of the Wulver, not the aggressive werewolf of legend, but a man outcast due to his inherited condition.
Saxby Jessie (1932). Shetland Traditional Lore. Edinburgh, Grant & Murray. ASIN: B000O9XQ6M.
New book on kindle- myths, murder, monsters and magic in modern day Loch Ness
New Cryptofiction book out
mysterious creatures roam the countryside,what is the secret of the horror tunnel and what are the modern day witches up to with the fifth reich? our Friends from the book Dark Ness once again meet cryptids and danger . s
Mother, author, cat lover, amateur cryptozoologist, cook and bottle washer, some times lover, single parent,middle aged,a mad woman without an attic, red wine and chocolate lover.Now housebound due to ill health so an armchair researcher.Too wheezy to sit in a hide and watch for cryptids anymore lol.Have now taken up crafting when I feel able.I now have a Fiction book out on amazon Kindle Dark Ness by Tabitca Cope set in, you guessed it, Loch Ness with monsters , murder , myth and magic.
