I received the following correspondence in May 2012. It was forwarded by 'John' a retired Federal employee who lives in northern Nevada and who wishes to remain anonymous. The story centers around an experience John had while living with his Grandfather. John later stated to me that the property was in a rural area of Aleppo Township in Greene County, Pennsylvania. He did not want to pinpoint the location but did say that he wanted the anecdote dedicated to his Grandfather - Samuel Hill, who he considers the most remarkable man he has ever known.
John seemed quite sincere in my opinion. He decided to come forth with the account after he had a rather strange encounter a few months ago (which he did not want to discuss). John did mention in his most recent email that he was 81 years old and a veteran of the Korean War. He also stated that he truly felt his Grandfather's actions were taken in defense of his family:
When I was a boy my mother and I lived with my grandfather who had a farmhouse in a rural location in southwestern Pennsylvania. My grandfather was a handyman who also worked a small blacksmith shop in his old barn. My grandmother had died before I was born and my father had also passed away while serving overseas in the U.S. Army.
Beginning in the summer of 1946 we noticed strange howling sounds coming from the woods that surrounded the property. The activity came at night and was very frightening when the howling came close. The sounds didn’t seem to bother my grandfather though my mother and I were shaken when it would begin. The sounds continued off and on for about a year but we never noticed any animals. My grandfather and I would hunt for deer and squirrel in the woods during the colder months but we never saw signs of unusual animal activity.
One late afternoon in the spring of 1947 I was helping my grandfather in his shop when I noticed something moving around the edge of the woods near an area where by grandfather had a few junk cars and other items. It was about 200 feet from our location but I clearly noticed someone or something moving around. I told my grandfather to look. He walked to the door, lit his pipe and said nothing. After a minute or two he turned around and got back to work. About that time this thing moved into the woods and disappeared. I couldn’t judge how big it was but it sort of reminded me of a magazine picture I had seen of a large ape that was said to inhabit in the Asian jungles.
Later that evening I told my mother what I had seen. She was shocked because she knew I wouldn’t lie to her and that the howling sounds had been closer lately. I also told her of my grandfather’s response when I pointed the creature out to him. She immediately stood up and walked into the sitting room in order to ask my grandfather what it was. He started to shake his head slowly and said that he was hoping that we wouldn’t ‘see it’ because he was worried we would be scared and leave him.
After assuring him that we’d never leave him my mother again insisted that he tell us what this creature was. He looked away, took a deep breath and said ‘it’s a Dark Walker’ and said that it had lived in the woods for many years. He said the native Indians called it ‘Stone Spirit’ and they thought that it was an evil spirit who would appear when someone was about to die. The last time he had seen the ‘Dark Walker’ was the night before my grandmother died. My mother was skeptical of the ‘harbinger of death’ angle but she sensed that there was something unnatural nearby.
The howling continued each night though we hadn’t seen any signs of the ‘Dark Walker’. One warm evening we were sitting on the back porch. There were a few howls but it seemed like the sounds were further away. We were listening to the radio when all at once my grandfather stood up and looked out towards the barn. He turned to me and said 'John, go get my pistol and ammo - hurry now'. I ran into the sitting room and grabbed the .455 Webley revolver and a handful of bullets from the old steamer trunk. I handed it to him and watched him load the gun. He then picked up a hatchet and slid it in his pants belt. 'Now both of you get into the house – now!' We were in the kitchen looking through the screen door and watched my grandfather walk slowly towards the barn. We saw him turn and walk out of sight into the dark. I decided to grab my shotgun and keep it nearby. After a minute or so we heard three gunshots and a blood curdling scream emanate from the woods near the barn. Then it suddenly stopped and there was complete quiet. We were frozen and wondering if we should go look for my grandfather. A few seconds later we heard him yell ‘stay in the house until I come back.’
I heard the pickup truck start up. I looked out the storage room window and saw my grandfather drive to the back of the barn and park. Several minutes later he backed up and drove by the side of the house out onto the road. I could see that there was something in the back covered up with a tarp. It was getting late so my mother told me to go to bed.
The next morning I came downstairs and sat beside my grandfather who was reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. My mother was sitting at the other end of the table staring at my grandfather. Not long later she said ‘well dad, tell him’. My grandfather put the paper down and looked at me. ‘I killed the Dark Walker’. That was all he said. My mother told me not to tell anyone and that the matter was closed.
We never talked about it again. My grandfather lived another 15 years and my mother stayed with him until his dying day. When I grew older I moved away and raised a family. I would return home to visit each summer – and never heard another howl. John
NOTE: I asked John if he thought the 'Dark Walker' was a Bigfoot or hominid. He responded by stating that he wasn't sure. He thought it seemed more animal-like than human and that it moved lower to the ground...at least during the brief time he observed it. John mentioned that there were Shawnee legends of similar creatures but he never found a reference to a 'Stone Spirit'...Lon
This sighting happened this past Friday, May 24th, 2019 of Memorial Day Weekend. It was around noon, and my family and I were driving to our extended family's lakehouse on Lake Wallenpaupack in Pennsylvania. It was a sunny, clear day and we were heading west along Highway 6. This long stretch is heavily wooded and rural on both sides, and at that instance we were driving through State Game Lands Number 180.
I was driving so my eyes were fixed upon the road ahead. There was another car roughly 50 feet in front of us. Then, from the left side of the road, I saw something emerge from the treetops and fly across the road right in front of the other car, so I would say it was about 60-70 feet from my point of view. I got a very good look at it as it crossed in the air, and it had all the features of a bird, except this animal was gigantic. I'm aware and have seen all the different types of birds in the area, the largest ones being bald eagles, hawks, and vultures. I'm also very familiar with all the different types of waterbirds (this did not resemble a waterbird whatsoever). The profile of the flying animal was as long as the car in front of me was wide, which was at minimum six feet. The other car quickly braked as it flew past them obviously astonished by the sight as well. The animal flew over the road and disappeared into the thick forest on the right side of the road.
My wife, who was in the passenger seat, saw it clearly as well and said aloud, "Wow, what's that?!" What we saw was evidently a bird, but an unusually massive one. - Keith in NJ
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Gigantic Dragonfly
“It's not a giant bird but me and my younger brother saw a huge dragonfly spanning well over a feet and half long in Bolton, England in 2002. It must have been over an inch in diameter as well at the centre. I would have questioned myself but as it was witnessed by someone else too. I'm pretty sure it wasn't just me seeing things. Sometimes I think was it an RC helicopter? But no way could it move with such swiftness, agility and silence especially with 2002 technology. I went to the Manchester museum and checked with the insect experts and they said it sounds like you've seen something from the prehistoric and that no species of dragonfly that exist today are that large. Has anyone ever seen these massive dragonflies? I would love some confirmation some more witnesses across the world. Cheers people!” Hassan Uddin
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If you would like to support the newsletter, blog, radio and my work, you can use one of the donation buttons on the blog or newsletter, or go to Paypal.com and use my email lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com as the payee. Thanks again. Lon
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Please Note:
On this day, November 27, 2014, in accord with 15 U.S. Code Chapter 107 - Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, I declare that my rights are attached to all personal data, voice recordings, photos, art, text, titles, etc. published or reproduced at any media source. For commercial and/or recreational use of the foregoing my written consent is required at all times. By this release, I tell all unauthorized person and/or parties that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, broadcast, or to take any other action against me on the basis of its contents. The actions mentioned above apply equally to employees, students, agents and/or other staff under the direction of the offending parties. The contents of my profile include private information. The violation of my privacy is punished by the law (UCC 1 1-308 - 308 1 -103 and the Rome Statute) NOTE: Any use of witness information, which includes any attempt to contact a witness or persons involved in an event, is strictly prohibited without the written consent of Phantoms & Monsters.
Hi,
I don’t know how exactly you guys function but I saw an article about a large black winged creature that flew without flapping its ‘wings’ and I have seen something like that before. It was at my old house, I no longer live there and don't know if it would still be around, but what I saw only came around at night. It was huge and blacker than the night sky. It never really moved, but when I looked away and back again it would be gone.
I am also very convinced I saw a shadow person while I still lived at the old house, though it was only once and I haven't seen one before or since that incident. It walked just like a normal person, but as it moved it gave off black smoke. It had no eyes that I could see, which I have done research on shadow people and know that that is a bit different than what others report. But the experience was overall the same as what is typically reported.
My current house seems to be haunted to some degree though. I've seen what looks like a woman, though only once, but I’ve felt her, or something else, multiple times. I never hear voices and for the most part am left alone, but every once in a while I get a bit more activity than usual. Like something in the basement getting knocked over, but when I go to look for it, nothing is out of place. Or when I was walking through my dining room I felt a strong presence right behind me, on my heels, but when I turned around nothing was there.
I live in Ohio, but the article said something about Illinois. I was really looking for was some advise or insight as to what I may be dealing with or what I was dealing with while at my old residence.
Thank you for your time, LB
I asked the witness for further information and received the following:
I can't remember the dates very well, but it was less than a year ago. I’d say around September/October of 2018 is when I saw the black winged figure for the last time. I moved in December though, so I have no idea if it would still be there. As for location - Navaho Drive in Lebanon, Ohio. My old neighborhood had a small creek that ran through the backyards. It divided the houses and gave privacy because there were trees too.
What I saw was a big black bat. But it didn't really have any defining features. It was like a silhouette of a bat. It didn't move at all, no flapping its wings, nothing about this thing moved, but the second I took my eyes off it it was gone. LB
NOTE: The witness is going to follow up with a sketch. I will add to this post. Lon
Have you had a sighting of a flying humanoid or huge bat-like creature? Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated. You can call me directly at 410-241-5974 as well. Thanks...Lon Strickler #ChicagoMothman #ChicagoPhantom
“I live in Kenosha, Wisconsin were werewolves have been sighted for centuries. I was walking back in May 2017 around 3:00 AM to a girlfriend's house. When I was close to her street, I looked behind a house with an alleyway in the back. I seen, at first, what I thought to be a big deer, but when I looked closer, it was a big humanoid creature bent down sniffing. It turned its head. It was a wolf head. It was big. So I looked even closer. It was a wolf-like man on two legs, bent down. It was huge! I ran down the street because I did not want to get its attention. In my mind, I wanted to go back but something told me not too.” DD
NOTE: There is talk of a wolfman in Kenosha, BTW. Some people have associated it with the Beast of Bray Road even though Kenosha is along Lake Michigan. Lon
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Cat Used Up All 9 Lives
"As a child a cat of my sisters was run over by a car in the road out in front of our house. Being the oldest child and dad not home my mother made me go out there and get it out of the road and bury it. I went out there and picked it up. It had been out there all night so rigor mortis had set in and the animal was stiff as a board. I picked it up and put it in a trash bag. Walked back to the garage and set it down to get a shovel. I fooled around a few minutes before going to get the cat in the bag to bury when all of a sudden right when I picked it up the cat started thrashing around inside the bag. I mean going crazy. It scared me to death, a total surprising shock. That cat was dead and stiff, but within minutes this cat was more than alive, it was frantic.. I ripped open the bag and the cat took off like a rocket around the side of the house. It was the craziest thing I’d ever seen, that cat was dead, it’s body was clearly smashed and stiff. My sister was standing there crying over her kitty and she just about crapped her pants screaming when it started moving in that bag...anyway that’s my crazy cat tale. Brent Slack
PLEASE CONSIDER A DONATION...THANKS!
If you would like to support the newsletter, blog, radio and my work, you can use one of the donation buttons on the blog or newsletter, or go to Paypal.com and use my email lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com as the payee. Thanks again. Lon
This newsletter is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Disclaimer:
The publication of any and all content e.g., articles, reports, editorials, commentary, opinions, as well as graphics and or images on this web-site does not constitute sanction or acquiescence of said content unless specified; it is solely for informational purposes.
Fair Use Notice:
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not be specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, social justice, and religious issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
You understand that all Content posted on, transmitted through, or linked from the Phantoms and Monsters Site, are the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. You are responsible for all Content that you post, email or otherwise make available via the Phantoms and Monsters Site. Phantoms and Monsters does not control, and is not responsible for Content made available through the Phantoms and Monsters Site. By using the Phantoms and Monsters Site, you acknowledge that you may be exposed to Content from other users that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise objectionable.
Please Note:
On this day, November 27, 2014, in accord with 15 U.S. Code Chapter 107 - Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, I declare that my rights are attached to all personal data, voice recordings, photos, art, text, titles, etc. published or reproduced at any media source. For commercial and/or recreational use of the foregoing my written consent is required at all times. By this release, I tell all unauthorized person and/or parties that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, broadcast, or to take any other action against me on the basis of its contents. The actions mentioned above apply equally to employees, students, agents and/or other staff under the direction of the offending parties. The contents of my profile include private information. The violation of my privacy is punished by the law (UCC 1 1-308 - 308 1 -103 and the Rome Statute) NOTE: Any use of witness information, which includes any attempt to contact a witness or persons involved in an event, is strictly prohibited without the written consent of Phantoms & Monsters.
