The Elk River Cuttlefish

Elk River at Addison, WV (Webster Springs)
Source: City Data

Back in 1946, newspapers across West Virginia were eager to run a story about an octopus found in Thomas, WV. Found by a couple of children, at least two of these creatures were uncovered in the Blackwater River, with up to six more being seen swimming through the cold, turbulent waters. But this wasn't the first time a similar marine creature would be found in a West Virginia River.

In 1875, a cuttlefish was allegedly making its home in the Elk River in the Addison/Webster Springs area!

According to an article in the Weston Democrat dated 15 November 1875, two brothers were in their skiff, going down the Elk River. Mr. James Andrew Thorpe (who had recently been suggested to serve as the Sergeant at Arms for the State Senate) and his brother, Zachariah, had just passed an area of the river known as Blue Hole, rumored to be so deep that it was practically bottomless. They were approaching a fish reservoir built by Samuel Given, landlord of the Addison Hotel. 

Suddenly, their attention was drawn to a loud noise and splashing. That's when they saw a horrific creature just tearing it up in the fish reservoir. The creature's body was the size of a barrel. Its eyes were "large, bright, and horrid." It had a horny jaw resembling a hawk's beak. And, it had multiple sucker-covered arms, 8-10 feet in length.

These arms were used to push itself through the water, its head trailing behind. As it noticed the brothers, it grabbed a nearby tree branch and swung itself, Tarzan-style through the air at them. Luckily, James was able to grab an axe and chop off two of the creature's limbs, which plopped down into their boat. 

After rowing to safety, the brothers brought the limbs to P.F. Duffy's store. The idea was to have them taxidermized and sent off with several other local oddities to Philadelphia for the upcoming Centennial celebration. Meanwhile, a few of the townspeople vowed to catch this local devil, and others pondered on the debate as to whether the creature's existence indicated the possibility of subterranean streams and lakes.  As the Addison/Webster Springs area is known for its hot springs and various salt sulfur wells, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch! 

Article: Freshwater Octopus in Thomas, WV

The Weston Democrat
15 November 1875

Ohio River Mud Mermaids

One visual interpretation of the Mud Mermaids.
Why is he so jacked?

Back in 2021, I came across an article about a potential MERMAID spotted near Clarksburg, WV. Something was splashing around the river there, and the article notes that it could have been a sea serpent, a mermaid, or even a ghost...but was probably a skinny-dipping milkmaid taking a swim under the cover of darkness. Although this particular incident probably wasn't a very reliable sighting of an actual undiscovered creature, the idea of inland mermaids existing within Appalachia was intriguing.  However, I didn't really continue the search until June of 2025. That was when I published a blog post about Naomi Johnson of Evansville, Indiana being grabbed by a green-clawed monster while swimming in the Ohio River. That incident led me down a rabbit hole of Ohio River weirdness, which included learning about the Mud Mermaids. 

According to some sources, the Mud Mermaids first made an appearance in a 1839 Pennsylvania newspaper. Unfortunately, as of this writing, I couldn't find the article in question. The main source of information about these creatures comes from a 1894 article that was reprinted over and over again in newspapers across the nation for at least the next TWO YEARS. This article was about a pair of mud mermaids that had made their home along the Ohio River in the Vevay, Indiana area. 

Originally appearing in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the article explains that for at least four years, a pair of amphibious humanoids lived on a sandbar in the Ohio River. The sandbar was full of 'snags,' or logs and stumps placed there by snag boats trying to keep the channel clear. When the water was high enough to cover these snags is when the two creatures, presumably male and female, were said to frolic in the area. When the water was low, evidence of their carnivorous diet became apparent, as the sandbar was littered with mussel shells and the bones of fish and other small animals. They, on the other hand, retreated into an unknown lair elsewhere. 

The first sighting of the Vevay Mud Mermaids is cited as being around 1890 when a fisherman who had no idea what a mermaid was gave a description of what he saw that to others, sounded pretty much like a mermaid. It wasn't until the following year that we get the best description of the creatures. 

William Henry Johnson
Displayed by P.T. Barnum as Zip the Pinhead

Captain J.M. Ozier of Covington, KY was in charge of a traveling art exhibit and was in town to set up a showing. He heard of the mud mermaids and was determined to catch a glimpse for himself. He was granted his wish when he was able to observe the male from about 20 feet away. He sat on the bank of the river and managed to sketch the creature's features.

The merman was about 5 feet long and weighed approximately 150 pounds. He was yellowish in color, and had coarse, straggly chestnut-colored hair down his back, but his head was bald. He had four 'legs,' with the upper extremities resembling human arms, ending in claws. It didn't have a tail like what we'd normally associate with a mermaid---between its back legs it had a tapering point, almost like an alligator tail. 

Despite being bald with pointed ears like a dog, the head was said to be the most human-like feature. The timid creature is described as having no intelligence within its facial features, and the article in question even goes on to compare it to Zip, a popular 'freak' in P.T. Barnum's sideshow. Zip was an African-American man who suffered from microcephaly (commonly referred to as a pinhead during that time) who was dressed up in a fur suit and exhibited as a missing link. 

As a sidenote to these sightings, I was reminded of an article I came across when I was researching the Naomi Johnson incident. I found a newspaper article from 1903 describing a terrifying near-abduction. The family of Frank Sedler was camping along the Kentucky side of the Ohio River across from Lawrenceburg, Indiana. In the night, Frank heard screaming coming from his children's tent. He jumped up in time to see a half-human, half beast clutching his one-year old and making its way to the river. His shouting startled the creature, who luckily dropped the child before jumping into the river and swimming away. Sedler gave the opinion that it was a baboon that had escaped from a riverboat. Lawrenceburg is about 227 miles away from Vevay, and this incident happened 9 years after the infamous newspaper article brought the attention of the mud mermaids to a national audience. Still, I can't help but notice a few similarities. Anyway...

Are the Vevay Mud Mermaids a missing link in their own right, or are they the victims of mistaken identity? Or, was the whole thing just a story?

Sources and Further Reading:

The Mysterious Mud Mermaids of Vevay: Indiana's Hidden Cryptids (YouTube/Uncle Perry)

Talking With Shadows Episode 106: Indiana Mud Mermaid (YouTube/One Candle Society)

The Courier-Journal
24 July 1903

21 November 1894
The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph

The Ohio River Octo-Man

Monster Hunters!
14 February 1959
The Cincinnati Enquirer

I think we've well established that the Ohio River is one weird waterway. From the Parkersburg Sea Serpent of 1893 to the Evansville Green-Clawed Monster of 1955 (and so, so many other incidents), there doesn't seem to be a stretch of the river that doesn't have some type of strange story associated with it. In January of 1959, it was the greater Cincinnati region's turn to experience some aquatic high strangeness.

But it wasn't just the Ohio River. Cincinnati is where the Ohio, the Little Miami, and the Licking River all come together, essentially making it an ideal spot for someone...or someTHING...to travel great distances, mostly undetected. Except in this case, the Octo-Man WAS detected. 

The calls began flooding local police stations in the early hours of Friday, January 30th. The first was from a man four miles outside of the town of New Richmond. This unnamed gentleman called the police to report something indescribable emerging out of the Ohio River. The police did nothing. 

However, when a truck driver en route to Indianapolis called in a short time later saying that HE had also seen something, the reports were taken seriously. The truck driver, calling from a Kellog service station near the Little Miami claims that he was on Ohio 125 when he also saw something climb out of the river that was indescribable and unlike anything he had ever seen before. Police sent out several cars who searched in vain throughout the early morning hours. 

Reports continued to come in to multiple agencies throughout Friday morning. A "scientist working on things out of this world" allegedly saw the creature and gave us the first real description of the previously indescribable monster. He claims that as he was driving across the Licking River, the beast leaped onto the bridge. It was bipedal and large---two or three times the size of a human in its bulk, standing higher than his automobile. He notes it definitely wasn't a cat or dog. 

A further description came from a young lady who had her own encounter with the creature near the Ft. Thomas pumping station. She saw the creature emerge in and out of a creek leading into the Ohio River. In her words, it was 'like an octopus.' Thus, the moniker of the Ohio River Octo-Man was born. 

Although newspaper articles of the time didn't elaborate on this particular sighting, additional details would surface in 1978 when Dennis Pilchis, a ufologist and Bigfoot researcher, published a booklet called Bigfoot: Tales of Unexplained Creatures. The booklet goes on to say that the young woman witness actually saw the creature bent over. She said it was grayish in color, had a lopsided chest, ugly tentacles, and rolls of fat running horizontally over its bald head. 

That sounds absolutely hideous! I'm not sure what that could be, but it certainly doesn't sound like the 'official' explanation given by officials at the time. 

So, while all these reports were coming in during the wee hours of Friday morning, there was another unsettling piece to the puzzle. All the streetlights along Kellog Avenue between Coney Island and Lunken Airport went out. With the streetlights being out and reports of a strange creature being reported multiple times, the first working theory was that a vehicle had crashed along Kellog Avenue, taking out a power pole and ending up in or around the water, with the driver and/or passenger emerging from the wreck covered in mud. But, after patrol cars spent several hours in the area, finding nothing, another theory was presented. 

During this time, the Cincinnati area was receiving wind gusts of up to 40 mph. Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company reported that the strong winds blew a connection on a feeder circuit, causing the lights to go out. Further, swaying trees and logs bobbing down the churning river, all framed by the uncanny darkness led to the belief that one was seeing something...indescribable. 

Whatever the Octo-Man was or wasn't, he had apparently moved on. Reports waned and by Saturday, there were no longer any reports of a bipedal, tentacled monster roaming the Cincinnati region. 

Sources and Further Reading:

Indescribable Octo-Man, by Rob Morphy. Published 07 February 2015. Cryptopia

31 January 1959
The Cincinnati Enquirer

31 January 1959
The Cincinnati Post

30 January 1959
The Cincinnati Post

Huntington's Mischievous Monkey

 

In the Autmn of 1915, a little monkey named Mary Jane wreaked havoc in the streets of Huntington, WV. 

 

In Early October, Mary Jane, who was owned by the Huntington Police Department, escaped her cage at headquarters and went on a month-long mischief-making romp throughout the city. At first, Mary Jane stayed fairly close by to the police department, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and scurrying overtop streets via telephone lines. No real effort was made to capture Mary Jane until the mischievous little monkey turned to a life of breaking and entering and petty theft. 

Mary Jane wasn't content just to play cat-and-mouse with her former owners. She was heading towards a life of crime. She terrorized the local citizens when she started entering their houses. Once she had found entry into a home, she would go through the residents' drawers, pull pictures off the walls, and even steal purses and other small items. Sometimes all it took was her to show up unannounced in some poor, unsuspecting woman's boudoir.  

The crime spree would not last long. Chief Davis ordered Mary Jane be captured. Shortly after, she was found in the pantry of a local home by City Turnkey, Jack Cole. Mary Jane was busy smearing jam all over her face at the time of the apprehension and apparently returned to her 'prison' without further incident. 

I've yet to find any information on how Mary Jane became a permanent resident of the Huntington Police Department, but ironically, a similar situation was playing out about an hour away in Charleston. The Charleston Daily Mail ran an article on December 18th pleading for someone to come get Jim and give him a home. 

Jim was the pet monkey of Hubert Kelly, fireman with the central fire department in Charleston. He had bought the little monkey and had quickly come to the conclusion that it was too much to handle and was causing too much mischief. The animal was being held at the fire department after Jim's admittance that his attempt of pet ownership was a failure. 

PSA Time: All pets, especially exotic ones with special needs, are a lifelong commitment. Please make sure you are able to provide for the needs of your specific animal before adopting---including safe and adequate housing, exercise, and mental stimulation. There have been a lot of 'cryptid' sightings over the years that can probably be explained by exotic animals that either escaped captivity or were dumped by their owners when it became too difficult to care for them. I hope Mary Jane and Jim lived out the rest of their lives in loving environments suited to their unique needs. They wouldn't be the only monkeys to make the news, though. I'll be sharing some similar stories in the near future, so keep an eye on Theresa's Haunted History! 

12 November 1915
Charleston Daily Mail

13 November 1915
The West Virginian

18 December 1915
Charleston Daily Mail

Parkersburg Sea Serpent

ChatGPT's interpretation of the
Parkersburg Sea Serpent

When you hear the term 'sea serpent,' I'm guessing the Ohio River doesn't necessarily come to mind, especially since it's an inland river and not a sea. But, the Ohio River is FULL of strange creatures, spanning its entire length.  In 1893, it was the Parkersburg, WV area that would become the focus for some Ohio River weirdness.

In late June/early July, a 'sea serpent' was seen in various places between Neale's/Neal Island (about two miles above Parkersburg) and Blennerhassett Island (about two miles below the city). For a couple of weeks, multiple witnesses, many young people out on social boating outings, described an encounter with a long, snake-like creature, floating on the surface of the water. 

This creature was black in color, and anywhere between 8-15 feet long, with an estimated 10 feet long being the average reported length. The creature had a broad head as big as a barrel and bulging eyes that were almost canine in appearance. Although spotted floating atop the water, when approached by a boat, the creature would then quickly dive, causing dangerous waves. 

Many locals believed the tales, with some citizens reporting that they, too, had seen the serpent almost on a daily basis. It was said that the witnesses were reliable and truthful---a belief that was reiterated over and over in newspaper reports. However, out of state newspapers who covered the story were a little less impressed and accused the witnesses of lying, being drunk, etc. 

Was the Parkersburg Sea Serpent simply a hoax by some bored kids trying to liven up their summer festivities, or was it a simple misidentification? Or, was there really a monster living in the Ohio River in 1893? 

Location of Neal Island and Blennerhassett Island

The Cincinnati Enquirer
02 July 1893

Stay Out of the Ohio River!

My AI attempt at illustrating
Naomi Johnson's attack in the Ohio River

I would NEVER advise anyone to go swimming in the Ohio River, especially around the Huntington, WV area. However, there was a time when the Ohio River flowing near Evansville, Indiana, was not only relatively clean, but it was fairly shallow at a maximum depth of 15 feet, and reasonably slow moving, at less than 1mph. Therefore, when temperatures became unbearably hot one summer day, two friends in the Dogtown area near Evansville decided the Ohio River would be the perfect place to cool off with a swim. 

It was Sunday, August 14, 1955. Naomi Johnson (35-year-old wife of Darwin Johnson) along with her three children and her friend Louise Lamble (wife of Chris Lamble) went down to the river for a swim. While the children played on the shore, Naomi swam out about 15 feet. Suddenly, she felt an enormous furry, clawed hand grab her left leg from beneath the water! It managed to pull her under, but she squirmed free. She resurfaced and managed to scream before the creature grabbed her again and pulled her under. Meanwhile, Louise was about 4 feet away and although she couldn't see what had a hold of Naomi, was desperately trying to get to her friend. Naomi managed once again to resurface and grab a rubber innertube that Louise had brought along. As she struggled to pull herself up onto the innertube, it made a loud, rubbery thump, which apparently scared the creature away long enough for the women to get safely to shore. 

Naomi's leg was covered in scratches and bruises for which she sought medical treatment. And although I couldn't find it in any of the news articles at the time, there was apparently a strange greenish-bluish handprint-shaped stain on her leg, which couldn't be washed off. My guess would be that if this 'fact' was known at the time the articles were written, it was probably just explained away as being a bruise and not some supernatural proof of contact with a strange being. 

Evansville Press
15 August 1955

Although it was a frightening and probably traumatic experience (Naomi even swore off ever swimming in the Ohio River again and vehemently warned neighbors that they, too, should avoid swimming there) one would think that the story really wasn't all that important to the annals of Fortean history. After all, no one actually SAW the furry claw that had a death grip on Naomi's leg. Was it actually some sort of monster...or could it have simply been a misidentification? One theory is that it could have been some plant material or other debris that Naomi got caught in. The sequel to the Creature from the Black Lagoon, called Revenge of the Creature, had just been released to theaters across the USA a few months before. And, having a 13-year-old son, Naomi was probably pretty familiar with popular movie monsters. It's possible that in that scary moment of almost drowning, those movies came to mind, and she mistook a piece of debris wrapped around her leg as being a hairy claw. 

But the story doesn't actually end there. In fact, it goes off into several directions and had me hopping down different rabbit holes, which cannot possibly be done justice in this one blog post. Nevertheless, I'll try to summarize a few of the directions in which this story took me, and as always, provide you with links and sources for more information. Anyway....

One week later, another strange incident would occur. On Sunday, August 21, 1955, a family in Kentucky were victims to a siege of "little green men," which would come to be known in the ufology field as the Kelly-Hopkinsville Little Green Men incident. The little creatures, believed to have ascended from a UFO spotted in the area, terrorized the family's property for hours. Their description, especially that of their long, webbed fingers with sharped claws, immediately resonated with Naomi when she read the story in her local paper. In a later news article, Naomi reiterates that the arms of the creature must have been long to have grabbed her the way they did (a description shared by the Hopkinsville creatures) and also was twice as strong as a human. 

Not only is she certain that the hand that grabbed her was the same as the hands on these little creatures, but hearing also that they were associated with a UFO landing nearby sparked a memory for her. Apparently, right before entering the river a week before, she and the rest of their swimming party had seen their own UFO! They had seen a shiny object in the sky, "about as big as the bottom of a bushel basket." Mrs. Lamble also saw the object, which they jokingly said at the time must have been a flying saucer, but her description was slightly different. She described a "long, slender looking light about the size of a wash pan or dishpan," but couldn't be more descriptive than that. 

Source

Within a week, two very strange incidents occurred, each involving a flying saucer and potentially a creature or creatures with long, furry, claw-like hands. And honestly, the distance between Evansville and Hopkinsville is not long, especially for a flying saucer! Presumably, such a craft would make the 83-mile journey well before the estimated hour and 15 minutes by modern car. Because of their proximity and shared details, these two events, whether related or not, are now closely tied together. But the rabbit holes don't stop with just that connection!

On Monday, August 22, an unknown woman drowned in the Ohio River at Evansville. She was described as an attractive brunette, about 20-30 years old. That evening, she had gone swimming in the river with two men she had met at a local tavern. The two men, who were questioned by police, said they tried to save the woman when it became apparent she was in trouble, but were unable to get to her in time. It wouldn't be until two days later that her body was recovered. 

I can only imagine how Naomi felt when she saw that another woman lost her life in almost the same place and same way that she narrowly avoided just a week before. But what happened? It is important to note that there is always an inherent danger when swimming, which increases exponentially in a body of water such as the Ohio River and also when you're swimming at NIGHT. Did she, too, get tangled up in some debris underwater? Were the men she was with not telling the truth about what happened that night? Or was she victim to an otherworldly creature lurking beneath the depths of the water? Again, drownings in the Ohio River were not uncommon. I actually found several articles about people drowning in the Ohio in or around Evansville, but it is kinda strange that this particular incident happened just a week after Naomi's experience, and a day after the Hopkinsville incident. 

Kelly-Hopkinsville Goblin/Little Green Men
Sketch by Bud Ledwith 
Source: UFO Evidence

These events all happened within a week during the summer of 1955. However, it wouldn't be the first time that a strange creature from the Ohio River between Kentucky and Indiana would cause problems. In July of 1903, a man named Frank Sedler was camping along the bank of the Ohio River on the Kentucky side, just across from Lawrenceburg, Indiana. Around midnight, he heard a terrible scream coming from one of his kids in a separate tent. As he rushed to see what was wrong, he saw his one-year-old child in the clutches of a half-man/half-beast. The creature took off with the child, but when Sedler yelled, it dropped it at the river's edge, before jumping into the river itself. Sedler theorized that the creature was a baboon that had escaped from a boat show. 

Lawrenceburg and Evansville are admittedly quite a way away from each other, but what is fascinating is that in both the Hopkinsville case and Sedler's experience, MONKEYS were theorized to be the culprit as opposed to a monster, terrestrial or from outer space. And, since Naomi is so sure that what she experienced was the same thing as what was going on in Hopkinsville, her experience can theoretically be linked to monkeys as well. But why monkeys? 

I honestly can't answer that. If we can rule out escaped monkeys from circuses, private collectors, and zoos, where does that leave us? I saw an interesting idea brought up that perhaps the Hopkinsville "little green men," who weren't actually green, by the way, may HAVE come from that landed/crashed UFO seen by witnesses. In the 1950's, the United States was using monkeys as test subjects in its space program. What if all these flying saucers reported throughout the decade were experimental terrestrial aircraft containing monkey test subjects? Maybe these creatures were from another planet or even plane of existence and just resemble our earth primates. Again, I have no idea. What I do know, however, is that I will absolutely not be going swimming anywhere NEAR the Ohio River any time soon!

Sources and Further Reading:

Green Clawed Beast of the Ohio River

An Evansville Legend: The Attack of the Green Clawed Monster at Dogtown

The Courier-Journal 
24 July 1903

The Paducah Sun
16 August 1955

Evansville Press
15 August 1955

Evansville Press
23 August 1955
Pt. 1/2

Evansville Press
23 August 1955
Pt. 2/2

The Republic
26 August 1955

Dr. Humphreys and the Civil War Ape

1920 was an interesting year for those living in Pocahontas, Greenbrier, and Monroe Counties. From October through December, multiple newspapers reported multiple eye-witness accounts of what was originally called an 'ape, baboon, gorilla, wild man, or terror' by the Shepherdstown Register. What was believed to be an escaped gorilla with a broken chain around its neck was chiefly seen around Black Mountain, and also around Flat Mountain. Witnesses, including a woman who claimed the beast tried to get inside her house, were pretty sure it was a half-tame gorilla, around 6 feet tall, 350lbs, with reddish-blackish fur. So, nothing paranormal to see here, right?

Right, but the widespread interest in these events sparked a rather interesting story to come to light. On December 31, 1920, the Greenbrier Independent published a very strange tale from the revered Dr. Milton Humphreys. After a lengthy biography of Humphreys, the newspaper reprinted the story as told to the Monroe Watchman. It comes from when Humphreys served the Confederacy with Bryan's Battery and was encamped near Princeton, WV, although the sightings themselves seem to come from an area of nearby Virginia known as the Narrows of the New River. I'm not sure what the heck these witnesses saw, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't an escaped gorilla...

Here's that portion of the article in his own words:

"In the fall of 1863 the 36th and 60th Va. Regiments and Bryan's Battery were encamped at Princeton. Sergeant A.A. McAllister and Corporal James F. Clark, both of whom were from Covington, obtained furloughs. McAllister took his horse with him and they rode time about. When they returned to camp they told me that they had seen a panther. Questioning them as to the details I saw that it could not have been a panther. They stated that they had never seen a panther before and merely inferred that this was one because they had never seen an animal like it. Their description of it will be given presently.

A year and several months afterwards, in the mid-winter of 1864-5 the 13th Battallion Va. Artillery, consisting of Bryan's, Chapmans, and Lowry's Batteries, was in winter quarters just above the Narrows of New River on the Left Bank. There were two men in Bryan's Battery named Weaver----Aylette and John C. One of these, I'm not sure which (not that I have forgotten the men, but only which was John and which was Aylette) was telling ghost stories one night as actual facts. I ridiculed him for even believing in ghosts, and he challenged me to go with him only two or three miles before day and promised to show me a ghost or supernatural being between early dawn and sunrise. I promptly accepted the challenge, but Weaver changed his mind and said he would not go unless there were several men in the party and some arms. There were several men in the cabin and Weaver proceeded to narrate what we would witness if we would go with him. (Just here I should say that he had previously served in the cavalry and had only recently been transferred to the artillery.) Without pretending to reproduce his actual words, I shall give their substance using the first personal pronoun to denote him. 

'You know,' he said, 'down just below the Narrows there begins a stretch of level land about a mile long and maybe a quarter of a mile wide at the middle tapering off to a point at the lower end where the road starts up the mountain. It is bounded on the right by the river and on the left by a mountain or bluff. About two years ago, the cavalry command to which I belonged was stationed here to guard the Narrows and a picket of several men was kept at the lower end of this strip of level land to watch the road where it comes down the mountain. I was several times on this duty and witnessed what I am going to tell. Regularly between early dawn and broad day, and between sunset and dark one or the other of two things happened. One of them was as follows: We would hear a great rumbling up in the mountain and presently a man on a horse would come down through the woods and descend the bluff almost vertically, across the road, pass along by a big log making the earth tremble all the while, until they reached a bunch of alders beside the log and there they suddenly vanished just as a light goes out. The other thing that happened sometimes was this: We would hear the same awful rumbling, and instead of a man and a horse, a beast would appear and pursue the same course till he reached the road, and then he would sit down as a dog sits, in a certain fence corner, always the same one, for fifteen or twenty minutes, then he would go to the log and walk on it till he reached the bunch of alders, when he would suddenly vanish. He was the most terrible thing I ever saw---rough, bony, knotty, of a tawny color, and his head and face just enough like a man's to make him perfectly horrible. Once a large number of men waited for him with loaded carbines; but when he came making the earth tremble at every step, no man dared to fire on him.'

Such was Weaver's story. McAllister was in camp and I am fairly sure Clark was also. I went at once and brought them (certainly McAllister) and questioned them without their knowing anything about Weaver's story, and brought out the fact that the animal they saw was sitting in a fence corner looking across the road and was exactly as Weaver had described him, and that the place was the same. I asked what time of day it was when they passed the animal, and brought out the fact that the sun had just set and they were hastening to reach the ford a mile away before darkness set in. 

A great storm came that night and next day when we were trying our one small arm, an Enfield rifle, it burst in the hands of young John E. Lewis hurting him severely. Before we could procure other arms the drivers (including Weaver) were sent home with their horses. Before they returned, Richmond fell, and the Battalion marched to Dublin. Our guns had been left in Lynchburg. 

I have no theory as to what the animal was that McAllister and Clark saw, nor how the remarkable agreement between the facts and part of Weaver's story is to be explained; only I am sure that there was no collusion among the men concerned.

Milton W. Humphreys

Monroe Watchman"

Greenbrier Independent
31 December 1920

Catching Bigfoot in Oregon

Photo by Lee Juillerat

Decades before the Mountain Monsters crew roamed the Appalachians, building traps and searching for elusive cryptids, such as the Grafton Monster, Mothman, and the Dire Wolves, a group from the Pacific Northwest was hoping it's DIY trap would finally bring proof that the infamous Sasquatch was real!

It started with a miner named Perry Lovell. After finding 18 inch footprints in his garden, he got in contact with Roger Patterson of the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot footage fame. Patterson reached out to filmmaker Ron Olson, who in turn reached out to the forestry service and received a special permit. This permit wasn't for filming, however. It was a permit to build what was presumably the world's first (and only?) Bigfoot TRAP.

The trap, located within the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, was built in 1974. It is a ten foot by ten foot wooden and metal box, anchored to the ground with telephone poles. A strong, heavy metal grate acts as a door. The idea behind the design was to bait the trap with a carcass of goat, rabbit, etc. When the Bigfoot would enter the trap and reach for the bait, the metal door would slam down, trapping it inside. At the same time, an alarm would sound in a nearby watchman's cabin.

For six years, members of the North American Wildlife Research Team kept the trap baited and the watchman's cabin manned. Unfortunately, it only managed to trap a few bears, and possibly a hunter and/or a hippie. When the project was abandoned in 1980, the door was bolted into a permanently open position to avoid any people becoming accidentally trapped. 

However, people still made the trek to visit this unique little building, to see a piece of weird history and hopefully have their own encounter with a Sasquatch. Located in southern Jackson County, just a few miles from the California border, the Bigfoot trap continued to receive visitors. After nearly being destroyed by a fallen tree in 2005, plans were made to restore the trap in 2006. Since then, the trap is maintained by the US Forestry Service and continues to receive visitors. Once in a remote area of woods, the trap is now quite accessible, thanks to the building of the Applegate Dam and road. It is a short hike along the Collings Mountain Hiking Trail, which also contains the ruins of the old watchman's cabin as well. 

Bigfoot tourists here in West Virginia have several great outdoor areas to visit where Bigfoot have been seen and heard in the past. For those a little less outdoorsy, there's the WV Bigfoot Museum in Sutton. But, what we don't have is our very own permanent Bigfoot trap! 

Sources and Further Reading:

Bigfoot Trap--Wonderfully Weird, by Lee Juillerat for the Herald and News. 29 September 2017

Oregon Hikers

Roadside America

US Forest Service

Mothman in Charleston: Richard West Encounter

1588 Lee St. Charleston, WV

During the height of the 1966-67 Mothman flap in Point Pleasant, West Virginia's favorite winged humanoid really got around! While seemingly based in Mason County, reports came in from around West Virginia and Ohio, mainly concentrated in towns along or close to the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. The capital city of Charleston, WV was no exception.  While on a recent trip to the Gray Barker UFO Files in Clarksburg, I found an article dated 29 November 1966. Unfortunately, it was just a clipping with the name of the newspaper omitted. I'll add a photo of the clipping, but below is a transcription, followed by some further commentary from yours truly!

MOTHMAN (BATMAN?) MAKES VISIT TO THE CITY

Batman, or Mothman, it depends on who is seeing him, made his first appearance in the city of Charleston Monday. 

Richard West of 1588 Lee St. called the Charleston Police Department at 10:15 p.m. to complain about the creature staring into his apartment window.

West talked to Patrolman D.L. Tucker, who said the conversation went something like this:

West---"You're going to think this is silly but I've seen Batman."

Tucker--"Really? Where?"

West--"He's on the roof next door. Just sitting there looking at me."

Tucker--"Describe him for me."

West-- :Well, aren't you going to get excited. I see Batman! I see Batman!"

Tucker--"I have to get this information, that's why I'm so calm."

West--" It looks just like a man. It's about six feet tall and has a wingspread of six or eight feet. It has great big red eyes."

Tucker--"Did it fly?"

West--"Straight up, just like a helicopter."

Tucker--"Can you see him now? Is he still there."

West--"No, I pulled the drapes."

There have been many sightings of a creature such as the one described by West. They originated in Mason County near Point Pleasant and the creature has been commonly referred to as Mothman or the Mason County Monster. 

29 November 1966

It's interesting that West never refers to the creature as Mothman...only as Batman. It's possible that West wasn't familiar with what was going on in Point Pleasant at the time, or didn't make the connection that the 'big bird' (as many articles were referring to it) that was being seen over an hour away could have anything to do with the winged MAN he was seeing on his neighbor's roof. However, it's important to note that in September of that year, paperboys in Charleston were being harassed in the early morning hours by some weirdo reported as being dressed up like Batman. West was probably a little more familiar with this story, as it was something of a local sensation of the time. (See my article, Batman in Charleston)

I also find it hilarious that he simply pulled the drapes after observing this creature fly straight up and presumably away. It's like he said to himself, "Not today, Batman!" I do wish I had a little more information about what neighbor was lucky enough to have the monster perch upon their roof. As you can see from the picture above, today, there is only the brick house, but there is an empty lot on the other side, which may not have been empty at the time. The apartment at 1588 itself has been renovated over the years, so it's not a great representation of what the area looked like in 1966. As a side note: I didn't realize it at the time, but this address is literally less than two blocks away from my apartment! So, it's possible that many decades ago, Mothman flapped his way across the moonlight directly over where I live today. That's kind of fun to think about! What's not so fun was trying to get a photo of the address where this went down. I swear, every time I went by to take a photo, there was someone sitting on the front porch or out on the sidewalk in front of the apartment. I finally found a stealthy moment to snap a quick picture out my car window, with hopes that no one thought I was some weirdo, or worse, become part of a new legend myself....

Anyway, this wasn't the only time Mothman was sighted in Charleston. A week before the article above was released, another article from an unnamed paper (found also in the Gray Barker archives) dated November 21, 1966 mentioned that Charleston city patrolman, Carl L. Bender received a report from a couple driving a truck near Ferry Branch who spotted a "huge bird with a wingspread wider than the truck" which swooped at them, then landed briefly in a tree before flying off up Ferry Branch Hollow.

This occurred on the Sunday before the article was published, which would have been on November 20th. That same day, a large bird was also seen in Nicholas County. 

UPDATE: I've found a third sighting of the mysterious Mothman in the Charleston area! On November 19, 1966, Lyle Atkins reported seeing a 'monkey-faced' bird with wingspan of 6-7 feet on Homewood Drive! This is a day before the Ferry Branch encounter, happened within just a few miles of it, and is eerily similar in description---well, much more similar than Batman flying straight up off a neighbor's roof! You can read about the Monkey-Faced Mothman in my newest blog: Mothman in Charleston Part 2! 

The Charleston Daily Mail
21 November 1966

Wild Man Near Elkins: Wild Man Wednesday

Back in 2023 I shared a series of posts featuring 'Wild Men' of West Virginia. These stories came from articles found in old newspapers. Some of these wild men were obviously humans who had shunned society to live in solitude off the land. Others seemed to have a more...cryptozoological slant...possibly describing beings that we may consider to be Bigfoot. 

Apparently, I forgot to include today's tale, which occurred near Elkins in the small town of Harman, WV!  Honestly, I'm torn as to the identity of this particular wild man. The fact that he has been spotted wearing tattered clothes implies that he is human, but his "bearish appearance" and body covered in long hair DOES sound a little Squatchy. Geographical Note: Harman is in Randolph County, located in a narrow valley between the Allegheny and Rich Mountains. It's also located extremely close to Canaan Valley, and the Davis/Blackwater Falls area, which are both hotbeds of Bigfoot sightings. 

Salisbury Evening Sun (North Carolina)
13 October 1900

Beckley is Full of Beasts!

Eyewitness sketch of the Beast of Beckley
Source: The National Cryptid Society

My mom grew up in Beckley, West Virginia and my grandparents continued to live there up until their deaths in 1997 and 2005. As a kid, I spent a LOT of weekends and summers at my grandparents' house, where they fostered my love of all things weird and spooky. I didn't realize it until becoming an adult, that the very place where I learned so much about the paranormal was actually a hotbed of Fortean phenomena! Not only are there multiple locations with a haunted history, but the area has a high number of UFO reports as well. And, from what I've realized just recently...

Beckley is FULL of Beasts!

It probably all dates back well before the 20th century, but the general public first heard about a monster lurking around Raleigh County back in 1934. Although it was sighted for several years before and after, late Spring of 1934 was the year of the Fireco Varmint. 

Fireco is a small community, located about 14 miles south of Beckley. In May, newspapers began running the story about a strange creature being seen and harassed by locals. Described as being anywhere from 2-4 feet tall , 6 feet long, and with yellow-gray hair, this small but swift beast was known for attacking animals and being immune to gun shots. It was seen by two brothers, Thomas (18) and Lawrence (23) Roark, spotted the creature one night around 9pm and fired upon it with no results. The creature was seen in the same area later on by witness, Berlin Shumate.

15 year old Willis Wooten came across a headless dog and found tracks that were as big as a man's hand nearby. Wallace Bowling, however, had one of his cows attacked; the creature was found with its stomach split open and its intestines spilling out. Miraculously, the animal survived the attack with the quick help from a veterinarian. 

By the summer of 1936, the Fireco Varmint was back, but it has grown to 10 feet long, and was also snatching the heads off full-grown hogs. So, what in the world were these citizens seeing, and what was killing their pets and livestock?  

Some say that the Fireco Varmint never left the area, and perhaps has even been sighted in modern times, but the newspapers largely gave up on documenting the unknown creature. However, in 1959 another monster showed up on the radar. Well, kind of.

The Raleigh Register
23 October 1959

In October of that year, the local newspaper ran a couple of articles about the 'East Beckley Monster.' Residents in that area were convinced that something was stalking their neighborhood. Newspaper offices were flooded with calls, but the Beckley Police Department adamantly denied the existence of anything supernatural. When residents brought up the fact that the police were out late one night shooting at what they believed to be the monster, the police calmly explained that it was simply a pack of wild dogs. 

Oddly enough, none of the newspaper articles mentioning the beast bothered to actually describe its physical characteristics in any way. I really wish they would have, though. If we had some sort of description, we might be able to link it to the Fireco Varmint or even to ANOTHER Beast of Beckley that would appear on the scene decades later!

On March 9, 2019 the website for the National Cryptid Society published an account submitted by a user going by the name of Raven. Raven and Raven's family had seen a mysterious, terrifying beast near their Beckley property, dating back to at least 2001-2002. It was Raven's little brother who saw it first. Around 8 pm one summer evening, their mother got a call from their grandmother saying that they needed to come pick the little brother up from her house. She only lived a very short distance away; in fact, they could SEE the grandmother's front porch from their own house. Usually, the little brother had no issues in going back and forth by himself, but this time, he had seen something that had scared him BADLY. 

When they finally got him to talk about it, he described a black creature with yellow eyes. The beast stood taller than the boy's father (who was quite tall himself at 6'6'') and smiled at him with sharp teeth. Even at the rate the Fireco Varmint seemed to 'grow,' it seems unlikely that THIS beast was the same 'species.' 

Not long after the brother's encounter, Raven and a friend decided to look for the beast themselves on the grandmother's property. Raven, feeling uneasy, stayed back while the friend went down over a small hill. That would prove to be the wrong course of action, as Raven soon noticed crouched in the brush, a dark creature with not two, but FOUR yellow eyes staring back. The friend also reported seeing the beast, and the two quickly got out of the area when the creature roared at them and picked up a branch. The next day, the two friends returned to the site and found claw marks in a tree where the beast had been.

The last time Raven personally saw the creature was in November of 2014 after returning home late one evening. Looking out the window towards where the cars were parked around 3 am, Raven noticed the outline of a horrific creature that was pitch black, humanoid in shape, and thickly built. It was tall...at least 6'8'' by estimates. After staring Raven down for a few minutes, it ran off. 

Raven's brother had seen the beast as recently as a month before the story was submitted to the website, and it was reported that even after Raven moved away, screams and roars continued to be reported in the area. However, the creepy part is that wherever Raven went, the beast seemed to follow. From across town to even vacationing in South Carolina, Raven could FEEL the beast nearby. 

The Beast of Beckley seemed to be more active in the summer months, and would sometimes be accompanied by unexplained lights in the woods. Skeptics tried to pass off the sightings as a black bear, but I think that some of the reported behavior suggests that not only was this NOT a black bear, but perhaps a creature not of this natural world. Since that report was published, at least one other independent witness has come forward and claimed to have seen the exact same thing in the general area. 

Are we dealing with multiple 'types' of beasts, reported over the span of nearly 100 years, or is there some thread connecting the Fireco Varmint, the East Beckley Beast, and the Beast of Beckley together? I'd love to know YOUR thoughts, and if you've had an encounter with an unknown creature in the Beckley/Raleigh County area, please let me know in the comments below...or find me over on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State FaceBook!  

Sources and Further Reading:

The Fireco Varmint-Theresa's Haunted History Blog

Legend of Beast Resurfaces Near Fireco, WV-WV Explorer

The Raleigh Register. 23 October 1959

Beast of Beckley-The National Cryptid Society

WV's Canyon Monster

Blackwater Falls State Park

This upcoming Saturday, I'll once again be joining Wild and Weird WV at the Kanawha State Forest for a hands-on Bigfoot workshop! (Click HERE for my blog on the 2021 workshop.) I'm looking forward to a day filled with food, friends, and fun, learning all about Bigfoot and how best to document any explorations into his existence. Therefore, I've spent the summer doing a lot of reading, watching, and listening to any and all media I can find concerning Bigfoot. But, I've yet to actually WRITE anything about Bigfoot...until now. I thought today would be the perfect time to share a little about West Virginia's Canyon Monster. 

Much of West Virginia has had its fair share of Bigfoot sightings and reports, but between 1960 and 1975, a major flap of encounters were coming out of Tucker County, located in the northeastern part of the state. Many of these sightings were located in or near the town of Davis, particularly an area near the Monongahela National Forest and Blackwater Falls State Park. The monster (or monsters) were named the Canyon Monster after the Blackwater Canyon, an eight-mile gorge containing the Blackwater River. 

Things seem to have gotten their start with an incident occurring during the summer of 1960. Several young men were camping in a wooded area just outside of Davis, when one of the guys was tasked with chopping some firewood. As he was working, he heard a noise and felt a jab to his ribs. Probably pretty perturbed that his buddies were messing with him while he was laboring over the firewood, he turned around and came face to face with what he described as a 'horrible monster.' Standing in front of him was a creature with "two huge eyes that shone like big balls of fire." The eyes were very far apart, and the creature, standing at least 8 feet tall, was covered in shaggy hair. 

We found these "Bigfoot" structures at Blackwater 
Falls State Park on vacation in 2020!

After staring at each other in shock for a moment, the creature ran off into the woods. The witness, although pretty shaken, decided along with his buddies that it would be better to go ahead and spend the night there, rather than try to trek out in the darkness. It's hard to say whether or not the young man's friends initially believed his fantastical story, but at first light, the group found large footprints in the mud, leading into the woods going the same route as the creature was reported to go. 

The same, or similar creature, was spotted around Parsons, WV that summer as well. And, even though sources say the 'flap' ended in 1975, the area around Blackwater Falls is STILL getting Bigfoot reports. In 2007, a footprint found off the Canaan Loop Road was investigated by Cliff Barackman and shown on the television program, Finding Bigfoot.

Blackwater Falls State Park and the surrounding areas are absolutely beautiful and tranquil, and I can see where Bigfoot would enjoy living in the area. If you or somebody you know has had a Bigfoot encounter in this area, I'd love to hear about it. Please let me know in the comments below, or find m over on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State Facebook Page! 

Happy Squatchin'!

Public Art: Mothman in Charleston

In addition to my passion for all things paranormal, I'm also a huge fan of local art and artists...especially when their subject matter is ABOUT the paranormal! Luckily, I live in the Charleston area, which is a wonderful location to see a variety of public art installations from a variety of different artists. 

One such place to take in the colorful paintings from around the area is right under the Interstate 64 bridge, between downtown Charleston and the West Side. Thanks to an awesome project now known as Gallery 64 (formerly Peer to Pier), the otherwise mundane concrete pillars supporting the interstate have been transformed into works of art! Driving under the bridge, there's a ton of really cool murals gracing many of the pillars, but one in particular is MY absolute favorite!

In 2016, another phase of the project kicked off, and among the murals added was The Mothman by Kelly Bryant! Featuring WV's famous red-eyed monster flying over the Silver Bridge through a gray sky, this pillar is hands-down the coolest one of the bunch (okay, they're ALL really, really awesome, but come on...MOTHMAN). 

Anyway, I've driven past this so many times, but until I decided to feature it here on Theresa's Haunted History, I wasn't sure who the artist was. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was actually somewhat familiar with the artist and her work! Kelly Bryant was born in Gallipolis, OH and grew up in the Pliny area of Putnam County, WV, so she was right in the heart of Mothman Country. As a result, much of her artwork is inspired by West Virginia folklore, especially Appalachian music and of course, Appalachian ghost and monster tales. 

She is a staple at the annual Mothman Festival and related events, where she sells her art. I actually own THREE of her spooky stained glass pieces, and will hopefully be adding a print or two of some of her pastel or acrylic pieces. She's an awesome artist who deals in different mediums as well as different subject matter. I'm still partial to her spooky pieces, though! 

If you see her out and about at different festivals, definitely check out her booth. Her prices are extremely reasonable, and if you can't make it to her in person, please see her ETSY SHOP.  And, if you're in the Charleston area, take a drive under the interstate and check out The Mothman, located on the corner of Lee Street West and Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Learn More About Gallery 64

Article About Kelly Bryant from In Focus

Book Review: Beasts Between the Rivers

Title: Beasts Between the Rivers

Author: Martin Groves

Published 2022

Amazon Purchase Information

Back in October, Theresa's Haunted History and Spectral Research and Investigations both set up tables at the annual Wild and Weird Con, hosted by Joe Perdue, Ron Lanham, and the rest of the team over at Wild and Weird WV. The event, which was held at the Chief Logan State Park Lodge in Logan County, WV, was an absolutely stellar event full of awesome workshops, vendors, and of course, speakers.

During the presentation by the Hellbent Holler team, the audience got a special treat. Martin Groves, a retired police officer,  took the podium and shared his personal experience. I regret that I missed the first part of his talk, but I sat fascinated and heard the rest of his tale from his own perspective. He had a whole room packed full of enthralled guests hanging on his every word, as he told the story of an encounter with a group of Dogmen in the Land Between the Lakes region, back in the 1990's. 

After the presentation, he handed out some free copies of his book, Beasts Between the Rivers, and I am so grateful that I was able to receive a copy to add to my paranormal library. 

Beasts Between the Rivers is Martin's account of the strange and horrifying events that he and his friend experienced while out turkey hunting in a secluded spot in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area in the 1990's. I don't want to share much of the story because I don't want to give it away...but OMG. I had first heard Martin's story earlier in the year when he was featured on the Small Town Monsters documentary, American Werewolves. Even in the documentary, it was apparent that Martin was sincere, and that this experience really affected him on a personal level. That sincerity also comes across in this book. It's not a long book, but it's an honest and thorough eyewitness account of what happened to Martin and his friend. 

Even if you're on the skeptical side of encounters like this, I'd definitely recommend the book as it is a very personable, page-turning read. There are also plenty of full-colored photographs to help the reader really get a feel for where this happened. There's also sketches, digital art, and diagrams as well, giving a nice, finished product that anyone in the cryptozoology field should read. 

I absolutely love this book, and I really applaud Martin for getting his story out there and making it accessible to so many people. While many of us will read this encounter and enjoy it as a spooky story, I think it's important to remember that sharing this story and getting this information out there is important to understanding these obviously dangerous creatures. Yeah, it's a fun read...but it could also save someone's life. 

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