The following account is an excerpt from a recent post. This incident seems very familiar to an encounter in the Great Smoky Mountains, possibly from the same person. I'm not able to verify, so you make your own conclusion.
"After thirty long years, a Tennessee man has finally revealed the reason behind his abrupt decision to stop going into the woods. The man, who has chosen to remain anonymous, has kept this secret hidden for decades, but recent events have prompted him to speak out about the harrowing experience that led to his avoidance of the Tennessee wilderness. The tale he tells is one of fear, survival, and a brush with the unknown that changed his life forever.
On this particular day, he packed light and only hiked a couple miles into the Smokies. He set up camp and spent a perfect day exploring the area with his faithful canine companions.
As late afternoon arrived, the man was ready to settle down and start a fire to warm up the campsite. However, he noticed that his two dogs seemed unusually agitated, barking and growling at something in the distance. Even though they had always managed to keep bears away before, the man couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern.
As night began to fall, the warm summer air enveloped the campsite, prompting the man to leave the tent door open. He settled in for the night with his two dogs nestled close to him. He awoke too soon, seeing bright moonlight illuminating his camp before he realized the dogs were making deep, low growls and had hackles raised at something. He then noticed another noise like a thrumming groan coming from outside the tent.
The source of the groaning noise became apparent as the man's eyes adjusted to the darkness. He could now see a dark outline that seemed roughly the shape of a bear, lurking just beyond the now-cold embers of the campfire. The man shouted at the dark, looming figure outside the tent. To his surprise, the creature went quiet but then began to grow in size until it was towering over the screen window in the tent roof. The man could hardly believe what he was seeing. He had never encountered anything so massive outside of a zoo. Meanwhile, his two dogs continued to growl, their instincts telling them that this creature was not to be trusted.
He could hear the creature inhale a long, slow breath before letting out a trumpeting call. It sounded like a mixture of a lion’s roar and a human shout. The dogs were terrified into silence and the creature bolted away. He was helpless to stop his canine companions from giving chase of the creature as they ignored his commands in favor of the hunt.
Without a second thought, he grabbed his rifle and headlamp and ran after them. He could hear their barking in the distance, but they were moving too fast for him to keep up. Then, he heard something that sent chills down his spine, a maniacal laughing sound, like that of a hyena, coming from the same direction as the dogs. Despite his growing sense of dread, the man continued to follow the sounds of barking and laughter, hoping against hope that he would find his dogs safe and sound. But as the night wore on and the barks faded into silence, he realized he had to return to camp or risk becoming lost himself.
He stayed up all night waiting for the dogs to return to camp, calling for them occasionally but to no avail. As soon as the sun came up, he searched for his beloved pets again. After hours of searching, he finally stumbled upon them. One was badly injured and whimpering from within a thicket of bushes, the other torn to pieces. The loss of his dog’s life hit him hard and the surviving canine was never the same again, becoming fearful of both the night and the woods.
The man knows he had encountered something terrifying in the woods that night, far worse than any bear or other known predator. To this day, he has never been able to fully explain what he saw and heard that fateful night, but he is certain that it was an encounter with an unknown creature that made him give up exploring the wilds of Tennessee forever."
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Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman' or 'O'Hare Batman.' - Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map - 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.
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