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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Movie Review: American Werewolves

Last night, my husband and I decided to have a lil' impromptu home movie night. Being as we're cheap, we popped some popcorn, snuggled into bed, and brought up the Tubi app on my tablet to see what was available. Our original plan was to find a pretty bad B-level sci-fi horror to riff on ( awhile back we watched a horribly hilarious movie called Christmas Twisters, but the title card was misspelled as Christams Twisters and we still laugh about it to this day). But, Tubi has really stepped up its level of programming, especially when it comes to paranormal documentaries, and is even carrying quite a few of the Small Town Monsters selections!

As a native West Virginian, I've been following Seth Breedlove and the rest of the STMs crew almost since the beginning. I've loved their work on films featuring West Virginia favorites like the Flatwoods Monster and the Mothman...and I've (almost) forgiven them for leaving me out of the UFO feature---I swear, it felt like I was the only WV researcher NOT interviewed for that one, and I've actually seen quite a few UFOs in addition to my documentation of old UFO cases. Anyway, I digress. I try to keep up with all the new releases, and when I contributed to the 2022 Kickstarter, American Werewolves was one of the projects I was most looking forward to. 

Each STM movie is its own documentary. I've enjoyed seeing the the filmmakers' style evolve with each new production, but not just evolve. Each movie really is unique in the way it is shot and laid out. American Werewolves is a rather dark, atmospheric documentary that relies almost entirely on eyewitness accounts. There's a little folklore and history thrown in for context, but for the most part American Werewolves is a collection of stories told by the people who lived them. And these stories are absolutely terrifying.

When I think of an American werewolf, my thoughts go straight to the rougarou of the southern states. That's not really the focus of this documentary, however. Rather, the focus is on what cryptozoologists generally have come to call dogmen, a phenomenon largely associated in the case known famously as the Beast of Bray Road (Wisconsin). The dogmen of American Werewolves, however, are tales mostly from Ohio and Kentucky,  but especially an area of Tennessee known as The Land Between the Lakes. I kind of wish that the distinction between a dogman and a werewolf was explained a little more thoroughly, but to some, there really is no distinction, as we have no idea exactly what these 'dogmen' are. It's interesting to note, however, that many of the witnesses who told their stories, despite describing flesh and blood bipedal creatures with a canine head and ears, swore that they felt there was some sort of supernatural element to these beings. They weren't just animals; they were truly monsters beyond our current realm of understanding.

I don't want to give away too much of the actual stories because I really think you need to watch this film. But, I'm pleased that they mentioned a few things that research has seemed to link with these sightings, such as encounters being reported near Adena burial mounds and near sources of water. With all the Adena burial mounds that were (and the many that still are standing) in West Virginia, I'm really surprised that we don't have a ton more reports of dogmen. However, that may be a good thing, as another common thread in many of the stories shared in American Werewolves was a theme of violence. At best, the encounter left the witness with a feeling of fear and dread. At worst, people were presumed to be massacred. 

Overall, I'd definitely recommend giving this film a watch. It's a little under an hour and a half long, and is available on a variety of streaming platforms. Even a die hard skeptic who might not necessarily give much credence to eyewitness testimony alone, can still enjoy these tales for simply just being well told spooky campfire stories---in some cases, literally. American Werewolves is an interesting look at a cryptid that doesn't seem to get as much attention as some of the others in this field, but if there is any truth at all to these claims, it's definitely a phenomenon that warrants all the attention we can give it. It might just save someone from becoming the next victim of the dogman. 

Small Town Monsters Website

Small Town Monsters YouTube

West Virginia's Werewolf Hitchhiker

There are several iconic works within the ghost lore of West Virginia.  A Guide to Haunted West Virginia, by Walter Gavenda and Michael T. Shoemaker is one of those works that I have often referred to for information and inspiration in writing this blog.  Within its pages is a short little blurb of a story.  It almost gets lost among the more well-known and established haunts of the Mountain State, but I find it so utterly weird that I have to share it!

The story comes from Vicki Cunningham, who was a manager at the Days Inn in Elkins at the time of the book's publication (2001).  Vicki tells the authors, who stayed at the motel during one of their research trips to the area, quite the strange tale.  It happened one cold, snowy night along CR-151, somewhere between Jimtown and Norton.  Vicki and her husband were driving down this stretch of road rather late that night when they were surprised to see a man out walking.  They were even more surprised when they drove past the man---he turned to look directly at the couple, revealing that he had the face of a dog!

Unfortunately, the story leaves out whether or not it was a full moon when this weird creature was sighted.  Perhaps he didn't need a full moon, though...

Several years ago, I read Linda S. Godfrey's book, Real Wolfmen--True Encounters in Modern America.  Wolfmen or dogmen are similar to a werewolf in some aspects, but very characteristically different in other ways.  These creatures don't appear to be humans who experience a monthly transformation with the phases of the moon.  Rather, they seem to be in a class of creatures all by themselves.  As noted by Godfrey, wolfmen are prevalent in heavily wooded areas, areas near water, and locations of Native American significance, particularly near burial mounds.  I also noticed that the vast majority of encounters occurred on the road.

Based on this criteria, you'd think West Virginia would be CRAWLING with Wolfmen and Dogmen...but tales of such, including classic werewolf sightings, are sorely lacking here.  If you have a dogman, wolfman, or werewolf story you'd like to share, (it doesn't have to be from West Virginia) I'd love to hear it!  You can find me on Facebook at Theresa's Haunted History or email me at theresarhps@yahoo.com.   And...be careful out there!  The next time you see someone walking alongside the road, especially late at night, try to get a good look at them.  You never know what you might see!