A Hagerstown, Maryland couple was driving south on the Sharpsburg Pike, about 3 miles north of the Antietam National Battlefield when they observed an upright cryptid canine approaching the highway.
"My wife and I witnessed a Dogman-looking creature (possibly a Dwayyo) Monday night (8/7/23) while driving northbound on Rt 65 (Sharpsburg Pike) south of Rockland Dr. just south of Hagerstown, Maryland at approximately 2200 hours EST.
We had just left the AC&T (AC&T Travel Center) that's located at the intersection of Rt 65 and Lappans Rd after eating dinner there. It was dark out with the only light illumination being that from my own headlights, some street lights, and headlights from a single approaching car. At the initial time of witnessing the creature, the approaching car was approximately 500 ft in front of us.
I was driving and my wife was in the front passenger seat. As we were approaching Rockland Dr., something immediately caught my attention in my left peripheral. When I looked over, I saw what appeared to be a dogman-looking creature running at a super fast pace right towards the road from an open field. I quickly realized that if I maintained my own driving speed I might actually hit it if it continued coming across the road so I immediately came down pretty hard on the brakes.
As it got closer to the road, my headlights put some limited illumination on the creature but I never got closer than approximately 25-50 feet from it. As soon as I hit my brakes, my wife exclaimed, "What the hell is that?!" As it got up by the road, the approaching car started to make it harder to see due to its own headlights and we lost sight of it, never to be seen again once the car had passed us. We don't know if the creature crossed behind the passing car or not as we never witnessed it actually come onto the road. As crazy as it sounds, I don't know if it actually may have hurdled our vehicles and we didn't see it do that or what. With its speed and build, I would have to say that it very well may have had that ability to do so but obviously, I can't say for any certainty. We were both very shaken by what we had just witnessed!
My wife and I described our accounts of what we witnessed very similarly. It was running upright (on 2 legs) eastbound (from my left to my right) from an open field directly towards the road. It had dog-like legs (v-shaped with its knees most forward) traveling an estimated 30-35 mph. I've never seen anything on 2 legs run so fast in my life! Its legs were significantly smaller in proportion to the upper body. It was kind of narrow at the waist. Its body got larger (wider, bulkier) through the torso from above the waist up to its shoulders, being largest in the chest area. Its head was pointy (snouty) with 2 upright pointed ears. It was completely black in color and appeared to be fully covered in fur/hair except around the face/snout area. Neither of us is super confident of seeing a tail as we were both more focused on other aspects of its build.
All I can say is that my absolute first thought when seeing it I immediately recognized it as being a Werewolf/Dogman-looking creature and they typically have been described as having a large bushy tail. My wife said the very first thing that caught her focus was how fast it was running and the shape and look of its head. She said she then took notice of its uniquely shaped legs. She is not super familiar with the cryptid field but when I showed her several different artists' renditions of what a Werewolf/Dogman may look like, she absolutely agreed that they were extremely similar to what she had seen. I also agree that this is what I witnessed as well.
Once we got home and continued to discuss this encounter, I began thinking this whole thing through to try and debunk it or come up with some kind of logical explanation as to how this may have been just an illusion or whatever you wanna call it. I have traversed this road in both directions probably well over 100 times in both day and night settings over the years, clearly never having anything anywhere close to this experience there ever before. I kept picturing in my head the area in which we witnessed this.
For the life of me, I was nearly certain that there was not a single thing in that field that could've possibly reflected off any light (structure, fence, wall,...etc.) to create a shadow effect. We drove back to this area later as I wanted to take the time to see if what we saw had been some odd shadow effect that had been created by the headlights of my car and/or the approaching car. We went back in the daylight and again at night and confirmed that the field was wide open there with absolutely nothing for light to reflect off of. We recreated the event as I drove in the same direction at the same location with oncoming traffic and was not able to reproduce a single aspect of what we had witnessed. This has left both my wife and I to conclude and be convinced that what we had witnessed was real. A physical creature.
While doing some light online research on possible similar sightings, I came across some articles about a creature named the Dwayyo. It has been documented to have been seen in Gambrill State Park and all along the Catoctin Mountains between Frederick, Wolfsville, and Thurmont, including in Cunningham Falls State Park where 2 Park Rangers claim to have witnessed the creature. After reading the creatures' descriptions from these witnessed accounts, I had my wife read them for herself. At this point, it is our belief that this is the very creature that we had witnessed that night." DM
WITNESS ADDENDUM:
"Throughout this particular day of our encounter beginning in the mid-afternoon hours, there was a very significant outbreak of severe weather that occurred in this region that continued into the early evening hours. This included torrential downpours, over 70 mph winds, large hail, and frequent lightning. There were successive severe cells that came through in waves throughout a several-hour time frame. The likes of this weather event hadn't been seen in this region in over 10 years. However, at the time of our encounter, there were no storms in the area. It wasn't raining and no wind to any degree whatsoever. It was a very peaceful night at this point as the last storm had passed through the area a few hours prior.
Could It have been possible that the creature had fled the mountainous area to seek safety as there had been very significant tree-falls along those mountains and surrounding areas during those weather events and it was on its way returning to its "home" when we saw it? As the crow flies, as they say, the nearest mountain is approximately 10 miles away. With as fast as this creature was witnessed running, it would only take a relatively short time for it to get back up into the dense woods of that mountain range from which it has been witnessed in the past. This was definitely the direction in which it was traveling when we had our encounter. No way of knowing for sure but just a thought." DM
NOTE: I interviewed the witness and can confirm his statements that were given to me personally and what was contained in the report. I was referred to this witness by another investigator who resides in Maryland.
The 'Dwayyo' is a moniker given to the upright cryptid canines first described by 19th-century German farmers, mostly Pennsylvania Dutch (High Order Mennonites), who had moved southwest into Western Maryland from their original locations in Lancaster & York PA Counties. Their descriptions were similar to the Old Country interpretations of 'werewolves' that were part of Central European culture and lore.
Here are a few links to related posts I have presented over the years"
The Dwayyo: Maryland's Cryptid Canine
Eyewitness Discusses MARYLAND CRYPTIDS - DOGMAN (DWAYYO) & BIGFOOT
UPRIGHT CANINE Reported in Frederick County, Maryland Near Camp David
I found the witnesses to be very forthright and honest. There has been a recent spat of cryptid canine sighting reports throughout the Maryland Piedmont, along the Susquehanna River near the Chesapeake Bay, and parts of the Appalachian range. The Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research team is actively investigating these incidents. Any updates will be presented to the public, on this site and the team site. Lon
Cops' True Stories Of The Paranormal: Ghost, UFOs, And Other Shivers
Strange Secrets: Real Government Files on the Unknown
Life After Death: An Analysis of the Evidence
Paranormal: My Life in Pursuit of the Afterlife
The Books of Enoch: The Angels, The Watchers and The Nephilim: (With Extensive Commentary on the Three Books of Enoch, the Fallen Angels, the Calendar of Enoch, and Daniel's Prophecy)
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