Doppelgangers, Unknown People, Invincible Animals and a Talking Cow (Eels Lake, Ontario)

A man recounts a group of unusual stories and tales centered around Eels Lake, Ontario, Canada

"This story was relayed to me a while ago by a close friend of the family. The event took place in the 1990s at Eels Lake, Ontario, Canada. We'll refer to the witness as 'Cliff' (Not his real name). So Cliff was out one Fall night making the rounds on his ATV, drinking at all the local hunting camps. Some time in the early morning (1-5 am) he decided to head home. When he pulled in to his camp he noticed that somebody was standing out by his small wood shed, bordering a tree line. When he dismounted his ATV this person approached him, and asked to go on a night time walk through the woods and up to a clearing we call 'The mountain.' He instantly recognized the voice as his wife's and agreed, but first he had to run inside and use the toilet. His wife protested, saying that he could just go in the bush along the walk. And that if he went inside, he'd just rile up the dogs. Still, he refused. He told her to just hang on for one minute and ran inside.

After finishing his business he noticed that his dogs had been absent this whole time. Checking to see if they were okay he found them both cowering under the main table of the camp. Even when called, they would not budge. They just lay there under the table. Not thinking much of the situation he headed into the bunk room to grab an extra flashlight for his wife. As when he entered the bunk room he was struck stiff as his wife lie sleeping in her bunk. After a moment of fear he went and grabbed a rifle. He loaded it, lit a fire and sat inside until the sun came up. In the morning he did a quick look around the camp and didn’t notice anything out of place. Nothing was stolen or broken. He puts emphasis on just how real the experience was. Whatever spoke to him sounded exactly like his wife, and even spoke like she would. It was very insistent on going into the wood that instant, but never sounded annoyed or frustrated at his rejection. He didn’t get a great look at the person, but he says that it was identical to her. Recognizable even in the dark.

I was just speaking to him recently and we talked about the story. My family has been in that area for many, many years. And I've heard lots of strange stories about the area but I've never really encountered anything there myself.

There are a few other strange accounts. For instance my great grandfather built some of the first roads that lead into the woods in that area. They did it using hand tools and a horse drawn buggy. My grandfather told me that when his dad went out to dig the roads, there were lots of people in the woods. Apparently they would see distant people casually walking through the swamps, watching them from clearings, etc. Though these people never answered any calls, or came too close. They just carefully watched him and the other men, seemingly disappearing when viewed with binoculars or scopes. I feel like I have to add that the forest up there is thick, and the swamps are deep. Even now, it's not a place where you often see people. Some other stories I've heard involve an impossible mine, giant invincible animals, strange lights and a talking cow. Again, I've never seen anything at all out there. And I feel like most people haven’t. Still, who knows. I've seen some weird things too that other people haven’t.

The talking cow is a pretty old story. And although I know who it happened to, he died a while ago. This guy was a real bushman, he made a living selling skins and whatnot. He also had free range cattle that would hang out in the wood around his home. (I didn't even know people did that sort of thing). Shortly after acquiring the cattle, he started seeing an odd cow hanging around the herd. Nothing was strange about it, other than the fact that it was just some random extra cow. Whenever he would see it and head over to the herd to check it out, it would be gone before he got there. And nobody else in the area had cattle.

One day, while out checking his snares he spotted it again. The story goes that when he approached the cow this time, he heard a voice greet him. He described it is a cheerful male voice, with an odd accent. Slow and almost choppy. I cannot tell you the exact conversation, but it supposedly told him that it had never seen an animal like a cow before, and that it liked them. It then went on to say that it enjoyed his small herd of cattle, and considered them to be friends. It then thanked him for his company and wondered off deeper into the brush. He never actually spoke to it. It just stood with its back to him and talked at him briefly. He was too rattled to even say anything back. He went on to see the odd cow in his herd from time to time but never made any effort to approach it. He actually did own free range cattle. I've spoke to some of the older guys out there who confirm this. Though none of us know how he managed to keep a herd. He never had an issue with wolves, mountain lions or bears ever preying on them. And he never lost any cattle. The only cow he ever lost was when somebody accidentally shot one.

This is bizarre as even to this day, people occasionally lose dogs to wolves, moose, etc. And this story makes me think of the other tales of giant invincible animals that hunters have seen out there. A lot of people have experienced this, but it is always the same. An oversized moose, bear, deer, etc. standing in a clearing or at a lake. When shot at these animals don't run, and instead casually wander off. I heard one story of a guy putting 5 rounds into a huge buck. And instead of dying or fleeing, the animal just lazily walks off. I wish I could give more detail about this story, as it is my favorite. But a lot of the old timers from my grandfather's days are now dead, and all we have are second hand tellings."

UNEXPLAINED ENCOUNTER OR SIGHTING?