The following accounts describe 3 different incidents told to me over the years:
Three Amish men were working in their field near Strasburg in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania when an odd looking man approached them from the direction of a neighboring farm. The man was yelling and jumping about. The Amish men were alarmed and noticed that this 'man' had arms, legs and a face that seemed different; more animal than human. He had coarse dark hair on his limbs and face and wore what appeared to be a dark colored and tattered pair of old style boxer shorts. As the man-creature approached closer, he was yelling something but it was not understood by the men.
The men ran towards their house; the man-creature was right behind them. One of the Amish men ducked into the dairy barn and the other two immediately went in the house. An elderly Amish woman, who had been in the garden, came to see what was going on. When the man-creature saw her it suddenly stopped running, sat down on the grass and remained quiet while staring at the sky.
The men came out of the house and one of them slowly walked over to the man-creature and attempted to talk to it. The man-creature continued to look at the sky but started to mumble. The man and woman noticed that a horrible stench permeated from this creature and described at rotting flesh.
After several minutes, the creature got to its feet and started to walk towards the dairy barn. As it did, the witnesses noticed that the creature started to 'fade away.’ Eventually it completely disappeared from view just before it reached the barn. Shocked, the Amish witnesses dropped to their knees, not knowing what they had witnessed.
NOTE: this account was communicated by one of the witnesses to a non-Amish friend who periodically purchased produce from them. It was disclosed to me several years after the incident though I do know of the location and who two of the witnesses were (I was raised in the general area). The other witnesses have since passed away. The witness who gave the account still lives at the location and has (reluctantly) verified the incident to me. In turn, I promised to keep personal information confidential.
Historically, Wild Men and/or Bigfoot-like creatures have become part of the Lancaster / York County folklore. There have been sightings as old as the earliest settlers in this area as well as the Susquehannock people who inhabited the land previously.
In 1987, I had a conversation with a self-described shaman whose native relatives had moved to Ohio after many others were killed off by smallpox and invading settlers. The Susquehannocks were said to be 'giants' by John Smith and the early settlers. Most were described as being 'well over 6 foot high' and broad-chested. This shaman told me that the Susquehannocks had placed a curse on the land before they left and that the dead would rise as shapeshifters and torment the white man. Lon
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In the mid-1980, I was privy to an encounter that occurred not too far from State College, PA. A 19-year old local resident happened to be looking out his bedroom window which provided an excellent view of a pasture just west of his house. It was early morning (about 6:30 am local time) but there was plenty of light to see clearly. He was in the process of getting ready for work.
When he looked out the window, he noticed a tall, hairy creature walking in the pasture, coming from the north. The creature was taking long smooth strides and its arms moved back and forth as a human would. It did not appear to have a neck but capable of turning its head as it was constantly looking around. Except for the face, the creature was covered entirely with brown or black medium length hair. The witness was able to see the face and noticed that the forehead protruded distinctly. Also, it appeared the nose was wide and pushed close to the face. The height was approximately eight feet.
As the witness observed, the creature continued walking until it was south of the house. Suddenly, the creature stopped walking when the witness noticed 2 other similar creatures join it. Both were about one foot shorter than the first. At this point, one of the creatures reached down and picked up a piece of lumber that was part of a new shed being built. The larger creature started walking swiftly towards the house until it was within 50 feet of the residence. It stopped suddenly, made a few loud grunting sounds and glared toward the window from where the witness was watching.
The witness ducked and crawled to the far end of the bedroom. After a few minutes, the witness got up and looked out the window. The creatures were gone. Later that day, the witness and a friend discovered large unusual tracks in the pasture.
It's not known if this incident was ever reported but I do know that at least one local police officer knew what had happened and confirmed it with me. He seemed to be convinced that the witness was upstanding and honest but very private. The witness did move away from the area not long after the encounter fearing that the creatures would harm him.
NOTE: this account was told to me several years ago by a woman who worked with the witness as well as the referenced police officer. I was in the area (Huntingdon, PA) investigating a haunting at the time and happened to come in contact with her. She did say that there were Bigfoot sightings before and after this incident. BFRO has a few sightings in surrounding counties listed though I don't know if these are related. Lon
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I received a correspondence from a man in Indiana who wanted to remain anonymous. He and his family had spent the week vacationing in Gettysburg and were on their way home on a Friday night at around 8:30 pm. From the information I have gathered, he was driving westbound on US 30 (Lincoln Way-Chambersburg Rd) near the intersection of Rt. 234 (Buchanan Valley Rd) on the central eastern edge of Michaux State Forest; approximately 10 mile west of Gettysburg. He noticed that about 40 yards ahead of him a large, tall dark-haired humanoid darted out onto the highway (4 lanes wide) and bound across from north to south into the adjacent woods. He states that it seemed to take only 8-10 long strides in order to cover the width of the highway. He also states that the beast was carrying an object under its left arm but couldn't make out what it was. He said it looked towards him and he was able to get a look at the face which was lighter in color than the rest of the body. It was somewhat different than Bigfoot images he had remembered seeing; the face and chin were distinctively long. Lon
The Essential Guide to Bigfoot
Don't Look Behind You: Following Ghost Roads Into the Unknown
Beyond the Seventh Gate: Exploring Toad Road, The Seven Gates of Hell, and Other Strangeness in York, Lancaster, and Adams Counties
Silent Invasion: The Pennsylvania UFO-Bigfoot Casebook
Astonishing Encounters: Pennsylvania's Unknown Creatures, Casebook 3
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