Comparing Cryptid Ape Tracks

Some Comparisons of the Yeti "Mittenfoot" track cast of Cronin as provided by Dr. Meldrum
with Asian apes (Orangutan) and some purported "Unknown" ape tracks:

First the cast compared to the foot of an adult male orangutan,

 and then the cast "Trimmed" to show only the contact (footprint) area

 

The Yeti track is more developed but the big toe does seem to come off about the same

 place as it does in the orangutan. The (uncurled) toes are much shorter and both adaptations

 are for a ground living (terrestrial) species as opposed to a tree-climbing one.

 

Above, Orang Pendek and a young orangutan foot (extended)

and below the Yeti track cast compared to the Orang Pendek track cast

Please remember that Heuvelmans referred to the commoner reddish form of Yeti as

"The Little Yeti (Le Petit Yeti), later saying it was likely only another form of orangutan,

 and that Ivan T. Sanderson said this one was the same as the Orang Pendek

 

The fact that orangutan feet can be very variable even in the same individual at different ages makes it more difficult to say whether or not the Yetis and Orangutans or Orang Pendeks are actually completely different species. It also makes sorting out "Yeti" tracks more difficult.

 

 

 

Gordon Mullet's Eastern Bigfoot cast

 (Evidentally the same as the Skunk ape of Florida and Swamp ape of Texas/Louisiana) 

Shows resemblance to both Yeti and Orang Pendek-Broader and heavier like the Yeti but  with the reduced big toe like the Orang Pendek and Orangutan.

 

Gordon Mullet Writes:

 

Hello, Here is a ORANGATANS HAND,, looks like the one I photographed on the EASTERN BIGFOOT, Coshocton, county ,Ohio,, See: Cover MY page f/b,See: profile

 

 Above, photograph by Glen Mullet, and below the closeup

 

 

Impression of Eastern Bigfoot by Gordon Mullet

 

Gordon Mullet and a track cast, from Dr Meldrum's Facebook page

 

Hoax footprint of the Honey Island Swamp Monster. From M K Davis' Facebook wall, and Davis writes: This person is Ricky Holiness. He is the discoverer of the shoe out in the swamp.

 He had to look for quite a while in his home for the shoe, but eventually found it.

 This is really a great story and Jay Michael  tells it eloquently in his documentary.

 

This same type of hoax footprint (Alligator's foot fastened to the bottom of a shoe) has been repeated elsewhere and some of the Skunk Ape, Swamp Monster or Eastern Bigfoot tracks

 (including "3-Toed tracks") come from such a source.

 The footprint does unfortunately have some similarities to the more legitimate, more apelike tracks  

 

 

Some of the Ape tracks feature a long narrow foot and heel and resemble this "Dogman" footprint (from Scott Campbell on Facebook) and are probably actually from dog footprints where the whole foot is printed and not just the paw pads, and composite tracks from more than one footprint from the dog, superimposed.

'Big Muddy' Exposed

A friend of mine put in the link to the following article on "Phantoms and Monsters" and added his own comment, which I shall post before the main article:

Ben Peveler

Okay to finally put this whole Murphysboro Mud Monster to rest once and for all. I only live about 25 miles from Murphysboro and go through there all of the time. Yes the first and most famous incident took place 2 years before I was born, but it is a very popular story around these parts. And I have done alot of research on the case, and the fact of the matter is the first and most famous sighting was a blatant hoax, nothing more and nothing less. It was pulled off by a guy who was a paranormal and science fiction fan. He is very skilled in theatrical makeup, costume design and amateur film making. Kinda sounds like ol' Mike Agrusa don't it? In the summer of 1973 this man got together with 2 of his associates and concocted a hairy monster costume to play a prank on the locals. The costume...

is over 6 foot tall and covered with a synthetic fur like material. Plus it was heavily covered in mud from the creek bank also. They went as far as making large, realistic feet that would leave tracks in the muddy banks along the river. They also put together some kind of "stink oil" to spray in the surrounding area as to give the impression the "Mud Monster" was giving off a terrible stench. So on the night of June 25, 1973 at Riverside Park in Murphysboro, Illinois they pulled of their hoax. Shortly before midnight too young people pulled up and parked on this "Lovers Lane" And after waiting a short time the guy came out of the woods in his homemade mud monster suit, making loud grunts and screams. His 2 accomplices, hiding in the bushes, sprayed the "stink oil" all over the ground. After seeing, hearing, and smelling this monster, the 2 young people fled and immediately reported this to the local police. So there you have it...."The Legendary Hoax of the Murphysboro Mud Monster"

Friday, October 14, 2011

The Murphysboro Mud Monster

Around midnight on June 25, 1973, a young couple was parked by a desolate riverside for a romantic interlude when they came face to face with a huge, wet, hairy, mud-slathered monstrosity with a penchant for disturbing teenage lovers.

During two harrowing weeks in the summer of 1973, the rural town of Murphysboro, Illinois became the epicenter of a terrifying series of encounters with a huge, albino beast, which would come to be known as the “Murphysboro Mud Monster” or the “Big Muddy Monster.”

This bizarre beast tormented the citizens of this small community for approximately fourteen days before its reign of terror abruptly ended, resulting in one of the strangest and, in some ways, most frightening cases in the history of hairy hominid research.

The first official encounter with this decidedly unhygienic beast occurred at approximately midnight on the on June 25th, 1973. A youthful couple, Randy Needham and Judy Johnson, who were parked at the foot of 23rd Street, in Riverside Park, near the town’s old boat ramp overlooking the Big Muddy River.

According to their account, Johnson claimed that they were listening to the radio, engaged in a debate about when they should leave and, presumably, doing what couples are want to do, when they heard a piercing roar (which Needham compared to an “eagle shrieking into a microphone”) that seemed to emanate from the thick underbrush not far from his car. Needham quickly snapped off the radio and scanned the area, listening intently.

Suddenly, another horrific shriek echoed through the night accompanied by a rattling of the brushwood in front of them. Needham flicked on his headlights and Johnson gasped as they both saw a huge, foul scented creature lumbering toward them...a creature whose very existence would tax the limits of their imaginations.

Needham wasted no time in starting his car and accelerating away from the scene with his frightened girlfriend. As the pair entered more civilized territory they made a beeline for the Murphysboro Police Station.

Monsters of Illinois: Mysterious Creatures in the Prairie State
The couple arrived at the station and made out what is known as an “unknown creature” report, describing a beast that looked like an “over-sized gorilla,” which they estimated to be almost 8-feet tall, with matted, mud streaked, white hair. Former patrolman, now retired Murphysboro police Chief, Ron Manwaring, was still able to recite the facts of this strange incident from memory almost three decades later:

“The first report came in just before midnight on June 25. A couple had been ‘parked’ near the boat dock on the southwestern edge of Riverside Park, next to the woods.”

“The two, who were not married, said they were in the car when they heard a loud screaming sound in the wooded area and observed a large creature approximately 7- feet tall. The creature appeared to have light-colored hair matted with mud. The creature appeared to be walking on two legs and was proceeding toward his car.”

Manwaring felt that the couple’s account was lent credibility due to the fact they risked exposing their alleged indiscretions...which would no doubt bring them public ridicule and, even more alarmingly, Johnson’s father’s wrath. They were so frightened by what they had seen by the river: “There was no advantage for them to come up and report this.”

While the officers who took down Needham and Johnson’s statement were understandably skeptical of the event, they dutifully sent out two patrolmen, Meryl Lindsay and Jimmie Nash, to investigate their report. Within minutes of the sighting the officers arrived at the boat ramp in the Riverside Park area to inspect the scene.

History, Mystery, and Hauntings of Southern Illinois
Officer Nash was the first to discover a plethora of “peculiar” tracks, “approximately 10 to 12-inches long and approximately three inches wide”, deeply impressed in the mud by the riverbank. Nash claimed that as he bent over to inspect the prints from a closer vantage point he was shocked to hear a horrifyingly shrill screech nearby. Nash took off posthaste, accidentally dropping his revolver in his panic.

The officer, who admitted that he initially thought the story to be little more than hogwash, described the hideous sound as: “The most incredible shriek I’ve ever heard. It was in those bushes. It was no bobcat or screech owl. We hightailed it out of there.”

Nash and Lindsay quickly went back to the station to report their findings and gather more men for a search party. The officers later estimated that whatever had made that sharp cry was no more than 300-feet away from them.

Approximately two hours later, at 2:00 am. on the 26th of June, officers Nash and Lindsay returned to the scene accompanied by officer Bob Scott and Needham. The quartet swiftly discovered another spate of tracks near the river. As Lindsay ran back to the patrol car to retrieve a camera the rest of the group intrepidly followed the prints along the bank.

Without warning, the stillness of the black night was shattered by the same horrible scream that Needham and Nash had heard earlier. Fear rapidly usurped curiosity as the trio of men summarily abandoned their search and raced back to the patrol car for safety.

Tales and Trails of Illinois
After huddling in the car for what must have felt like an eternity. No doubt waiting for the beast to attack, the men managed to regain their courage and continued their pursuit of this enigmatic monster once more. This mini-posse worked until dawn trying to track down the “splashing” sounds, which they described as being like a large creature rushing through the knee-deep water in the distance...to no avail.

As the sun rose, the officers felt that this so-called “monster” would evaporate with the rest of the night-shadows, never to be seen again, but this presumably nocturnal fiend had a surprise in store for them.

At approximately 10:30 pm. on the evening of June 26th, 5 year-old Christian Baril was playing in his backyard, which was located relatively close to the Big Muddy River, attempting to catch fireflies in the glass jar his mother had given him.

The child frolicked about delightedly when he spied a colossal, white shape looming up from behind the fence that separated his yard from the neighbor’s property...the Ray family.

The terrified Baril dropped his jar and raced inside, crying out: “Daddy, Daddy! There’s a big ghost in the backyard!” The child’s father was understandably dubious of his son’s story, that was, until, his neighbors corroborated the tale.

This account of a terrifying backyard encounter is uncannily similar to one that befell another young Illinois boy named Greg Garrett just a few months earlier on April 25th, 1973.

Garrett claimed to have been attacked while playing in his backyard by a truly bizarre, slimy, three-legged beast known as the 'Enfield Horror'. Like Baril, Garrett immediately retreated to the relative safety of his parent’s house.

While Baril was sobbing in his father’s arms, teenager Cheryl Ray was sitting on her darkened back porch next door with her young suitor, Randy Creath. The pair claimed that they were talking and looking at the stars when they heard a rustling in the bushes about 15-feet away from the porch.

Assuming that is was neighborhood kids come to spy on them; an enraged Ray went inside to turn on the porch light, while Creath, the son of a state trooper, now a minister at the First Baptish Church in Sheffield, Iowa, leapt to his feet and opened the door. This intention vanished the moment that the light came on revealing the same appalling apparition that had terrified Baril just minutes before — as well as Needham and Johnson the previous night. Ray recounted the scene:

“Randy and I were sitting in my parents’ breezeway when we heard something in the woods. We both went down, but Randy was walking a little bit ahead. Then he said ‘Come here,’ and there it was. We stood there looking at it.”

Creath and Ray stood frozen with shock as this filthy, white monstrosity seemed to stare back at them. Creath recalled the moment vividly:

“The thing I remember was the bulk of it, the shape, the human form, and the stench of the river slime it apparently had on it. It was about eight feet tall, and at least as stocky as NY football player. We were within 15-feet of it, close enough to see the body, the texture of the fur, long and hairy, like an English sheepdog.”

Ray also described the beast, which she claimed bore inhuman features and stood more erect than an ape:

“It was real tall, hairy. I think it was white, but it was dirty, matted. It had a real bad odor. It was really rank. I never smelled anything like it. It seemed like an eternity we stood there, and then it just turned around and walked off into the woods. We could hear it trampling through the woods.”

Creath claimed that the “animal” stared at them for what felt like a long time, although he later estimated that the incident lasted only about 30 seconds. Both agreed that the creature had “glowing red eyes,” which Creath accredited to the glow of a distant streetlight.

This description of the eyes is significant if one is to assume that the Murphysboro Mud Monster is actually a prototypical Bigfoot-like creature that just happens to be albino. While pink eyes are a common trait in animals lacking pigmentation, Ray would insist that this beast’s eyes were actually “glowing” and were not reflecting light from some other source.

After this strange interaction, the couple claimed that the shaggy beast simply turned and pushed through the shrubbery, thrashing its way back to the nearby river.

Creath and Ray testified that the creature they saw weighed at least 350-pounds, stood about 7-feet tall. They also stated that it had a “roundish” head and long, gorilla-like arms. Officers Nash and Manwaring were swiftly dispatched to the scene, where they noticed a powerful odor that quickly dissipated. They also found a cluster of footprints where the creature had been lurking.

Following the officer’s discovery, Chief Toby Berger immediately dispatched the rest of his men to the scene then sent for an officer and trained dog handler with the nearby Carbondale Police Department, a man named Jerry Nellis.

Nellis was the owner of a tough German Shepard named “Reb,” who had assisted the Murphysboro police in the past as a search and rescue, attack dog and, most pertinently, as a tracker.

The officers discovered a trail of unidentified “black slime” that seemed to lead directly from the Ray’s back porch to the river. Officer Manwaring confirmed the existence of this still unknown material:

“I saw this substance and smelled the smell myself.”

Almost instantly, Reb picked up the scent of his prey and took off. The men then followed the dog down the recently forged path of broken tree limbs and trampled underbrush toward their bizarre quarry.

The dog managed to track the monster through the dense forest and down a steep embankment toward a small pond, but the brush became too thick for it to continue. The officers began searching the area with flashlights for clues as to where this creature might have escaped, but in no time Reb picked up the scent again.

The determined dog darted toward an abandoned barn on the Bullar property, which was located just east of the Ray’s house and a little north of the river, but once he got to the decaying door the usually courageous canine began trembling and yelping with fear.

This mystified both Nellis and the officers who had noted over the years that Reb was the most relentless tracking dog in the county. Nellis attempted to grab the dog by the scruff of his neck and thrust him through the open door of the barn, but Reb just dropped to his belly and scampered backwards, whimpering.

The usually bold Reb’s terrified reaction to whatever lurked within the barn was enough to convince Chief Berger to call in the “troops.”

He radioed for help from neighboring police departments and within hours a dozen patrol cars had responded to his call.

Unfortunately, in the time that had elapsed between Reb’s fearful display the arrival of backup, whatever it was that had hidden in the barn managed to slip out through the back. Not long after, the search was called off for the night and the disappointed officers returned to their home bases.

But this would not mark the end of the Murphysboro Mud Monster saga as sightings of this mysterious man-beast were reported two more times during the next week and a half. Berger claims that during this period he was worried less about the monster and more about one of the 10,000 Murphysboro residents shooting another in one of the many armed posses that seemed to spring up like wildfire.

The next reported encounter with the beast occurred approximately 10 days later after a traveling carnival set up camp in Riverside Park. The carnival workers chose a pleasant glade near the river between the boat ramp and the sewage treatment plant located below the Ray house.

Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations
At 2:00 am. on July 7th, long after the carnival had closed up for the night, three carnies, Otis Norris, Ray Adkerson and Wesley Lavender, where sitting behind one of the carnival trucks discussing the day’s receipts when they heard a series of whinnies coming from the Shetland ponies that were tied to the bramble on the other side of the truck.

The men quickly got up to see what the commotion was all about and were shocked to find the usually docile ponies where in a tizzy with their eyes rolling in terror, furiously tugging at their ropes in a desperate bid to free themselves from their constraints. It wasn’t long before the carnies would see what the frenzy was all about.

The men maintained that they spied an 8-foot, 400 lbs. creature that seemed to be “calmly” watching the ponies. The men decided not to wait around to see what happened next and immediately ran for help, claiming that the monster also ran in the opposite direction.

About an hour later, one of the carnival workers called in to help deal with this beast, Charles Kimbal, claimed that he saw the creature once again staring at ponies with its head cocked to the side in what was described as a “deeply curious” pose.

While this would prove to be the last “eyewitness” report of the creature, its reign of fear was not quite complete. Later that same night a woman named Nedra Green asserted that she heard a screaming sound coming from a shed on her rural farm. She chose to remain inside her home rather than go out to investigate.

Berger’s concerns for the townsfolk’s safety led to a request from the town fathers to bring in “expert” help.

The man they chose for the job was St. Louis insurance agent and serious researcher of Sasquatch reports Harkan Sorkin. Sorkin led a group of five men, including reporters from the Kansas City Star and a lawyer, into the woods near Murphysboro in the fall of 1973, in an effort to track and possibly capture the Murphysboro Mud Monster.

Sorkin claimed that private groups had offered as much as $2.5 million for the creature’s capture. With that in mind this small expedition came armed with a stun gun with the capacity to take down a for a 500-pound animal, as well as chocolate and bananas, which Sorkin stated they would use to pacify the beast.

They also carried loaded shotguns, which they claimed would only be used if their safety were threatened. Sorkin further claimed that they had local zoos standing by and that arrangements had been made for a cage to be flown in by helicopter should they get lucky and manage to imprison the monster.

Needless to say, this mini-expedition met with very little success. Sorkin asserted that they heard “a very loud yell or guttural sound, between a roar and a bellow” and saw huge footprints and found two-inch saplings pulled out of the ground.

Of course, it wasn’t long before the press got their talons into this tale of a colossal, mud-caked critter. The local paper, The Southern Illinoisan, ran a small story on the search, which was eventually picked up by the New York Times.

Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman investigated the sightings in the 1970s and came to the conclusion that the Mud Monster was a Bigfoot-type creature, stating: “I think it’s within the context of other reports of a Bigfoot.”

Bigfoot! : The True Story of Apes in America
Coleman also felt that the Murphysboro Mud Monster represented a distinct type of ape-like creature distinct from its west coast counterparts in that they are known to be more aggressive: “There’s something very unique about this eastern-midwestern Bigfoot. From the reports from the Mud Monster it seemed to frighten people the way it didn’t in the west.”

Over the next three years there were sporadic reports throughout the area of animals that resembled the Mud Monster. Perhaps the most intriguing of these sightings occurred on January 26th, 1975, when four truckers, all of whom were traveling separately, radioed in reports of seeing a bizarre “bear-like” creature near the Illinois 149 junction west of Murphysboro.

On July 7th, 1975, two Murphysboro men reported a sighting of a strange creature that they believed may have been the Big Muddy Monster near a pond in the Harrison community, north of Murphysboro. Needless to say these isolated events in no way compared to the tremendous flap of encounters that had plagued the community in the summer of ’73.

The case of the Mud Monster is just one of two cases that remain unsolved in the history of the Murphysboro Police Department. Police Chief Berger puts it most succinctly when he said: “A lot of things in life are unexplained, and this is another one. We don’t know what the creature is, but we do believe what these people saw was real.” - americanmonsters.com - unexplainable.net - trueillinoishaunts.com

The Field Guide to North American Monsters: Everything You Need to Know About Encountering Over 100 Terrifying Creatures in the Wild
Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and the Haunting
Bigfoot Across America

Labels: bigfoot, cryptozoology, hominid, Illinois, Murphysboro Mud Monster, unexplained phenomena

Enfield Horror Is Also a FW-Monkey?

The Enfield Horror: [Prairie Ghosts site]
The vast reaches of forest and open fields of southern Illinois, combined with the sparse population in some areas, seem to invite weirdness that might not occur in cities and more crowded locales. In the most southern portions of the region, the Shawnee National Forest covers miles and miles of territory. The acres of forest seem almost untouched by man and some believe that strange things occasionally pass through here, unseen by human eyes.

This southern portion of the state is sometimes referred to as the “Devil’s Kitchen”, a designation left behind by the Native Americans and the early settlers to explain strange sights and sounds like unexplained balls of light, apparitions, screams in the night and various other unsettling types of phenomena. The Native Americans often considered such sites as “sacred” but the settlers usually believed them to be “cursed”, or at least well avoided. The idea that such locations were linked to the "Devil" was the first thought that crossed the minds of the bible-reading, god-fearing folks and they promptly set about to do two things. They learned to avoid these strange and haunted places and secondly, they gave names to the spots to alert other visitors and settlers of the dangers of the area. In the case of the Devil’s Kitchen, just about anything is possible, from ghosts reports to mystery animals and weird monster sightings.

Perhaps strangest monster reports to ever take place in Illinois began in April 1973 in the small town of Enfield. This tiny community in southeastern Illinois became the scene of bizarre happenings for a short period of time and while the case has largely been forgotten today, it remains a part of the high strangeness of the region.

Henry McDaniel of Enfield almost became the first man to be arrested because of the Enfield Horror. White County Sheriff Roy Poshard Jr. threatened to lock McDaniel for telling folks about the weird events that took place at his home in April 1973, but McDaniel stuck by his story and his initial report would begin what became a nightmare for the small town. According to McDaniel, he was at home on the evening of April 25 when he heard a scratching on his door. When he opened it, he couldn't believe his eyes! "It had three legs on it," McDaniel swore, " as short body, two little short arms coming out of its breast area and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. It stood four and a half to five feet tall and was grayish-colored. It was trying to get into the house."

Needless to say, McDaniel was not letting it in and he quickly retrieved a pistol. He kicked open the door and opened fire. After his first shot, McDaniel knew that he had hit it. The creature "hissed like a wildcat" and scampered away, covering 50 feet in three jumps. It disappeared into the brush along a railroad embankment near the house.

McDaniel quickly called the police and Illinois state troopers who responded to the call found tracks "like those of a dog, except they had six toe pads." The tracks were measured and two of them were four inches across and the third was slightly smaller. [These are composite tracks of more than one footprint superimposed, most likely dog tracks and nothing to do with the sighting-DD]

Investigators soon learned that a young boy, Greg Garrett, who lived just behind McDaniel, had been playing in his yard about a half-hour before. Suddenly, the creature had appeared and attacked him. Apparently though, it just stepped on his feet, but this was enough to tear the boy's tennis shoes to shreds. Greg had run into the house, crying hysterically.

On May 6, Henry McDaniel was awakened in the middle of the night by howling neighborhood dogs. He looked out his front door and saw the monster again. It was standing out near the railroad tracks. "I didn't shoot at it or anything," McDaniel reported. "It started on down the railroad track. It wasn't in a hurry or anything."

McDaniel's reports soon brought publicity to Enfield and prompted the threats from the county sheriff, but it was too late. Soon, hordes of curiosity-seekers, reporters and researchers descended on the town. Among the "monster hunters" were five young men who were arrested by Deputy Sheriff Jim Clark as "threats to public safety" and for hunting violations. This was after they had opened fire on a gray, hairy thing that they had seen in some underbrush on May 8. Two of the men thought they had hit it, but it sped off, moving faster than a man could.

One more credible witness to the monster was Rick Rainbow, who was then the news director of radio station WWKI in Kokomo, Indiana. He and three other persons spotted the monster near an abandoned house, just a short distance from McDaniel's place. They didn't get much of a look at it as it was running away from them, but they later described it as about five feet tall, gray and stooped over. Rainbow did manage to tape record its cry. The wailing was also heard by eminent researcher Loren Coleman, who also came to try and track down the creature. He also heard the sound while searching an area near the McDaniel home.

A short time later, the sightings ended as abruptly as they began. No explanation was ever given as to what this bizarre monster may have been, where it may have come from, or where it disappeared to. Some had surmised that perhaps it was connected to UFO activity that was also reported in the general area at the time - but we will never really know for sure!

From: http://www.prairieghosts.com/enfield.html

-Much is made of the detail that the creature was supposed to have three legs. There were multiple sightings by several individuals, but so far as I can tell, only McDaniel said anything about it having three legs, a tail, or anything which might be mistaken for a third leg.Other observers added the detail that it was also covered in hair. To continue from here on with "Cryptozoologist's" page on the subject:
http://www.myspace.com/the_cryptozoologist/blog/532070394

　

.....

　

If McDaniel believed that his encounters with the unknown were a thing of the past, he would soon realize that he was sadly mistaken, when, on the eve of May 6, he was startled awake in the dead of the night by the howling of some neighborhood dogs. McDaniel's pulled himself out of bed, once again claimed his firearm, and — with what must have been great trepidation — opened his front door.

　

This time his encounter with this creature would not be so intimate. He claims he watched the thing at some distance, languidly negotiating the trestles of the railroad tracks near his home:

　

"I saw something moving out on the railroad track and there it stood. I didn't shoot at it or anything. It started on down the railroad track. It wasn't in a hurry or anything."

　

As is always the case with astounding events such as this, it wasn't long before the press got wind of the weirdness and came out in full force, but it wasn't until McDaniel's second report that the media frenzy truly kicked into overdrive.

　

White County Sheriff, Roy Poshard Jr., was so perturbed by this sudden influx of press and curiosity seekers (not to mention the alarm that was settling in on the locals) he threatened to incarcerate McDaniel if he didn't stop inciting panic by spreading his wildly terrifying tale.

　

To make matters worse, well armed posses of amateur "monster" hunters began patrolling the area near the L&N railroad track sightings. It was on one such expedition that five young men allegedly had a run in with a creature identical to the one that Garret and McDaniel encountered — with the notable addition being that they described the thing as being "hairy."

　

The men discovered the beast hiding in the underbrush and proceeded to open fire on it, but (much like in the McDaniel case) their bullets were unable to cause mortal injury and the monster bolted off at a speed that the eyewitnesses surmised was greatly in excess of any that a human being could achieve.

　

The final eyewitness to this improbable creature was Rick Rainbow, the news director of radio station WWKI in Kokomo, Indiana. He and three other unnamed individuals claimed to have seen a gray, stooping, 5-foot tall entity lurking outside an abandoned house not far from the Garret and McDaniel's homes.

　

Although they did not have nearly as close (or for that matter as harrowing) an encounter as the previous sets of witnesses, Rainbow and his crew did manage to do one thing the others had not — tape record the monster's disturbing scream.

　

It was then that noted cryptozoologist, Loren Coleman, arrived on the scene to investigate the eyewitnesses claims as well as the sound recording. Coleman also heard the haunting cry of the creature while searching an area where eyewitnesses claimed to have seen the thing:

"I traveled to Enfield, interviewed the witnesses, looked at the siding of the house the Enfield Monster had damaged, heard some strange screeching banshee-like sounds, and walked away bewildered."

　

In the July, 1974 edition of Fate Magazine, Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark featured the Enfield Horror in an article entitled: "Swamp Slobs Invade Illinois." Coleman even chronicled discussing this intriguing case with famed paranormal investigator—as well as bestselling author of The Mothman Prophecies—John A. Keel, in his book: Mothman and Other Curious Encounters.

"This reminds me of my exchange with Keel… in 1973, when we were discussing the new reports out of Illinois, from Enfield. On April 25, 1973, Mr. and Mrs. Henry McDaniel returned to their home and Henry had an encounter with a thing that looked like it had three legs, two pink eyes as big as flashlights, and short arms on a four-and-a-half-feet tall and grayish-colored body, along the L&N rail-road tracks, in front of his house."

　

Years later, Coleman would contrast his Enfield investigation with another he conducted regarding a legendary, unclassified creature that many assume was also from out of this world—a melon-headed monster known as the "Dover Demon":

　

"(The Enfield Horror) was my case investigation. It was much different than the Dover Demon, however, and was more like a combo phantom kangaroo, "Devil Monkey" and "Swamp Ape" situation." [Emphasis added by DD]

It should also be noted that between the years of 1941 and 1942, in the sleepy village of Mt. Vernon (less than 40 miles away from Enfield) there was a similar spate of encounters involving an anomalous "leaping" beast that terrorized the local populace and was reputedly responsible for numerous animal deaths in the region. Eyewitnesses claimed that the Mt. Vernon Monster was vaguely baboon-like (hence the "Devil Monkey" analogy) and able to leap 20 to 40[?]-feet in a single bound.

　

Is it possible that the Enfield Horror, whatever it may be, is working on 30 year cycle? While there are no reputable accounts of the creature hailing from the 21st century, one cannot entirely count out the possibility that the thing is a long slumbering anatomical oddity that rears its head every so often to feed on animals and terrify locals.

　

Whatever this creature is or is not, it has not been reported in almost 40 years. That, however, does not mean that it's not still lurking in the shadows of some old train yard, waiting to return to scratch on another door in the wee hours of the night.


[Cryptozoologist's Note: Ever since the events mentioned here took place, there has been speculation that the Enfield Horror was either an alien life form or even some sort of demon. As a scientist who is also well-versed in the metaphysical, it is my opinion that the majority of alien/UFO sightings or encounters can be explained by natural or manmade objects/activities. Those that cannot, I believe, are the result of supernatural manifestations. Since the Enfield Horror appears to have been, at the very least, frightened off by gunfire or possibly even wounded, and since the creature was observed at times going about mundane activities, which would seem meaningless for a supernatural being to be engaged in, I am of the opinion that it was neither alien nor demon, but some sort of bizzare, unknown, but entirely corporeal creature, possibly even a genetic mutation of some sort. But as I said, that is just my opinion. I leave it up to you, the reader, to draw your own conclusions.]

RESOURCES
http://americanmonsters.com/site/2010/03/enfield-horror-illinois-usa/

http://www.prairieghosts.com/enfield.html

--I have heard it suggested that the claim of "Three legs" is a garbling of an original statement the creature had "Three toes". My impression of the matter at this point is that if the suspicious and likely spurious third leg is dropped out of the description, we once again have one of Tyler Stone's freshwater monkeys, and one which comments on the American Monsters message board compared to the Loveland Frog.It is covered with grey hair that can be shaggy on the back, but which can also be seen as wetted down and thus "Slick and Slimy".The grey colour is what is elsewhere described as "Silvery" on occasion, presumably when it is being seen as more reflective. Interesting is the included feature of "Leaping" in such reports, something on the level of a human athlete's broad jump (I queried the statement of "40 feet in a single leap" in the description above because I did not think it was a valid estimate) There are several species of lemurs in Madagascar which travel bipedally on the ground-by leaping and it seems that these FW-Monkeys also have that great leaping ability for making dives into the water: other occasions such as the Loveland Frog case do mention that it can jump a pretty good distance off a bridge or whatever. Assuming a partial description stemmong from a combination of poor viewing conditions and the agitated wstate of the winess, and a confused description resulting from it, it could actually be one of the same things. The sightings from the 1940s were included in Ivan Sanderson's book, along with the passage on the "Little Red Men of the Delta"[=Pukwudgies?] And the "30 year cycle" would only be an artefact of the reports on file that are recognised to be the same type. When you count other sightings in different pigeonholes, the reports are far more common than it might seem at first.
The Strangeark Checklist of North American Cryptids includes under the heading of Primate:
1)Anthropoid ape-like animal Reported from North
American swamps and bottomland hollows. Heuvelmans
1986; Coleman 1983; [Sanderson, IvanT, 1969 and 1970, under
the name "Abominable Swamp Slobs"]
 Primate-like: Dover "demon" Reported from Dover,
Massachusetts Coleman 1983
Primate-like: "Devil Monkey" Reported sporadically from eastern U.S.;
ex. Virginia
Primate-like: Aquatic ape-like animal
Reported off eastern Maritime provinces, Canada [and] Great
Lakes Arment 2004
So now it becomes a good idea to mention Devil Monkeys.

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/lost-tapes/meet-the-creatures/devil-monkey.html

WHAT'S A DEVIL MONKEY?: The United States and Canada aren't home to any modern-day primates, which makes the appearance of a giant monkey-like creature in rural areas even more bizarre to those who've seen it. Dubbed the devil monkey, this primate-looking beast reportedly has pointed ears, a baboon- or doglike snout, a bushy tail and only three toes on each of its narrow feet. Ranging in height between 3 and 8[?-Coleman and Huyghe field guide reads 6] feet (0.9 and 2.4 meters) tall, this strange monkey gets around on all fours and travels by jumping. Devil monkeys are supposed to be aggressive, especially toward dogs and humans, and by most accounts, they are carnivorous and feed on livestock. This fearsome monkey makes a wide range of evil-sounding noises, including hoots, whistles and screams.

MONKEYING AROUND: According to George Eberhart, author and cryptid expert, the devil monkey can be found in British Columbia and the Appalachian Mountain region of the United States. One of the first reported sightings occurred in 1959 when a "monkeylike creature" rushed the car of a couple driving down a rural road in Virginia. A second encounter happened soon after, when two nurses reported that a similar creature tore the top off of their convertible. Other sightings have occurred as recently as 2001, when a giant black monkey was seen nine different times over the course of two weeks in rural New Hampshire.

POSSIBLE EXPLANATIONS: Some people think devil monkeys could be feral monkeys that have been released into the wild or escaped from research facilities, such as the ones that broke free in Florida due to Hurricane Andrew in 1992. While that's possible, Cryptozoologists Chad Arment and Mark A. Hall suggests devil monkeys could actually be a surviving species once thought to be extinct, like a fruit-eating spider monkey originating from Brazil, or a large baboon that lived 650,000 years ago in East Africa.

-The last sentence betrays a flaw in the construction of the category: the same animal cannot possibly be related to New World Monkeys in one part of its range (South America) and Old World monkeys in another part (Africa): the category must be unnecessarily lumping different sorts of monkeys together. And the description speaks of a three-toed foot while the illustration shows the opposed big toe. Still, the illustration is probably also a better and more objective depiction of Tyler Stone's Freshwater Monkey seen clearly and in good detail than any of the "Wierd" observations would lead the casual reader to believe. The type here should be tailless or have only a stump of a tail: a longtailed monkey would be something else. and checking with Coleman and Huyghe's field guide on the different three-toed tracks, the "Swamp Monster" tracks have sharp toes/claws at [8 to] 10 inches long while the three-toed "Devil Monkey" tracks are rounded at the toes (claws not showing?) and range from twelve to fifteen inches in length. The latter tracks match Momo, the Fouke Monster and the Midwest Frogfoot-probably the Scrape Ore "Lizardman" would have left something similar, except the hoaxers decided to make up one of their own instead. The average of all the tracks is just about a standard-sized human foot. I also imagine the flipper-like feet are disproportionately large to the creature in comparison to the usual human proportion of length of footprint to height: a 15 inch track need not have belonged to an excessively large creature, although perhaps that is the basis for the estimate of "Eight feet tall": there also could be some skidding and slipping in some of the longer tracks. The average of the reports is at 4 1/2 feet tall, usually reports say in the range of 4-5 feet tall, and there is a sizeable minority of reports which say "greater than human" size.  One trackway in Northern Louisiana showed three ovoid (toes not discernable) tracks in the middle of a muddy bed of a drained pond-but with the next nearest tracks 20 feet distant. Here we would have confirmation of another one of those 20 foot broad jumps.

Best Wishes, Dale D.

ADDENDUM: [From Mysterious Creatures (2002) both of the following categories are composites defined broadly enough to be only of limited value in determining any Zoological identities, but on the other hand both entries do include most of the pertinent data involved]
 George Eberhart under Devil Monkeys:

Devil Monkey Large, sometimes-tailed Primate of North America. Etymology: Name coined by Mark A. Hall. Variant names: Giant monkey, Nalusa Falaya. Physical description: Height, 3–8 feet. Light brown to black hair. Pointed ears. Baboonlike or doglike muzzle [NB: Descriptions of "Baboonlike" faces also mean Chimpanzeelike, includes Bulldoglike, both as specified by the witnesses involved-DD]. Strong chest. A blaze of white fur from neck to belly. Short forelegs with claws. Muscular hind legs. Large feet. A long tail is sometimes reported, alternately described as black and bushy or hairless. Behavior:Sometimes walks bipedally, at other times quadrupedally[and can leap long distances-DD]. Aggressive toward dogs and humans. Emits a wide range of hoots, calls, screams, and whistles. Said to kill livestock and small game. Tracks: Three rounded toes, with regular spacing between. Length, 12–15 inches. Distribution: British Columbia; Appalachian Mountain region of the United States. Significant sightings: Early one morning in 1959, a monkeylike creature rushed at the car of a couple driving down a rural road near Saltville, Virginia. It chased the vehicle for a short while, grabbing at it with its front paws. Later, they found three long, deep scratches in the metal from the front door to the rear. Around the same time, the animal apparently ripped off the con- vertible top of a car driven by two nurses. After midnight on June 26, 1997, Debbie Cross saw a strange animal outside her rural home near Dunkinsville, Ohio. It was 3–4 feet tall, hairy, and with long arms and a short tail. As it moved away from her, it walked on its knuckles. A giant black monkey was spotted in rural Danville, New Hampshire, on September 9, 2001, and on at least nine other occasions over a two-week period. Present status: Distinctions between North American Apes, Devil monkeys, Hairy Bipeds, and Bigfoot are nebulous and possibly arbitrary. In general, North American Apes are tailless and primarily quadrupedal, and they resemble chimpanzees; Devil monkeys are tailed and resemble baboons[or macaques-DD] ; Hairy Bipeds cover a wide range of descriptions from apes to wildmen and even paranormal entities; Bigfoot is a robust, tall hominid with a range that seems restricted to the Pacific Northwest. Loren Coleman even notes certain similarities with Phantom Kangaroo reports and suggests that juvenile Devil monkeys may resemble kangaroos [which is really stretching the definition!-DD]. Possible explanations: (1) Feral pet monkeys have formed breeding colonies, especially in Florida. A group of Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) live in Broward County’s Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, and Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) became well established around Silver Springs after they were first released into the wild in Marion County during the filming of Tarzan movies in 1933. Rhesus monkeys are also known in Jack Kaye Park in Fort Lauderdale. A few of the 500 monkeys uncaged in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew from research labs, private owners, and the Miami Metrozoo are probably still living and breeding in the Everglades. Some officials believe Capuchin monkeys (Cebus spp.) are forming troops in south Florida. A free-roaming group of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) was brought to Dilley, Texas, in 1972 to save the animals from destruction in Kyoto, Japan, where they are regarded as a nuisance; in 1980, the monkeys became the property of the South Texas Primate Observatory and were confined for behavioral research at a ranch there. But in the late 1980s, their enclosure fell into disrepair, and several escaped. The monkeys have roamed the south Texas brush ever since, their population swelling to more than 600 by 1995. However, none of these colonies are in areas where Devil monkeys have been reported. (2) Surviving Protopithecus brasiliensis (or related species), an extinct, fruit-eating spider monkey from the Late Pleistocene of eastern Brazil that was twice as large as any extant species, suggested by Chad Arment. (3) Surviving Theropithecus oswaldi, a large baboon that lived 650,000 years ago in East Africa and is the ancestor of the modern Gelada baboon (T. gelada), suggested by Mark A. Hall. The male was roughly the size of a female gorilla and weighed 250 pounds. A ground dweller, this animal was too big to live in trees and could not use its long forearms for swinging. Sources: Chad Arment, “Virginia Devil Monkey Reports,” North American BioFortean Review 2, no. 1 (2000): 34–37, http://www. strangeark.com/nabr/NABR1.pdf; Chad Arment, “Devil Monkeys or Wampus Cats?” North American BioFortean Review 2, no. 2 (2000): 45–48, http://www.strangeark. com/nabr/NABR4.pdf; Loren Coleman, Mysterious America, rev. ed. (New York: Paraview, 2001), pp. 184–187.

Hairy Biped A humanlike or apelike Entityof North Amer- ica, possessing some of the characteristics of Giant Hominids or North American Apes. Etymology: Coined by Jerome Clark as a catchall term for humanoids reported in the midwestern and eastern United States and Canada. Variant names: Big hairy monster (BHM), Billiwack monster (in southern California), Booger, Buenafoot (in southern California), Cannibal Giant, Dwayyo, Eastern bigfoot, Fluorescent Freddie, Goatman, Goonyak (in Vermont), Grassman (in Ohio), Lake Worth Monster, Manbeast, Manimal, Momo, Old slipperyskin (in Vermont), Old yellow top (in Ontario), Ole woolly, Orange eyes (in Ohio), Precambrian Shield man, Taku he (Dakota/Siouan, “what’s that?”), Wejuk (in Vermont), Wood devil, Wookie, Woolly booger, Yeahoh (in Kentucky). Physical description: Not as uniform as the Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest, though al- ways covered with hair and walking on two legs (hence its name). It’s difficult to generalize traits from reports that might have multiple causes, but some of the following features are usually present. Height, 4–9 feet, though sizes up to 12 feet are mentioned. Hair or fur is reddish-brown to black, often described as 6–8 inches long. Often distinctly lacking in facial features, but a catlike face is occasionally reported. Red, or- ange, yellow, or green glowing eyes. Flat, broad nose. Pointed ears. Werewolflike fangs. Mane. Long arms. Hands are sometimes clawed. Long legs. Behavior: Primarily nocturnal. Usually has an awkward, bipedal gait but sometimes runs on all fours. Said to be able to swim. Occasionally seen with young. Reported calls are moans, grunts, howls, high-pitched shrieks. Strong, putrid odor like decaying flesh or rotten eggs. These crea- tures are sometimes ascribed such paranormal features as invulnerability, transparency, insub- stantiality, invisibility, and the ability to disap- pear instantaneously. Appears to show interest in and have no fear of human dwellings. Dis- likes cars and dogs, which often react with great fright. Sometimes associated with unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings. Tracks: Anywhere from two- to six-toed. Three-toed are perhaps commonest and have been reported from the South, the Midwest, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and southern California. Length, up to 14 inches. Stride, up to 5 feet. Hair samples have been found. All primates have five toes. Any Hairy biped that leaves clear imprints showing anything less than five toes constitutes an extreme evolution- ary anomaly. Pentadactyly (having five fingers or toes) is a common and primitive feature of reptiles and mammals. However, it is not an es- sential requirement, and many animals have modified the plan: frogs only have four digits, cows have two, horses have dropped all but one, and snakes have gotten rid of legs altogether. Most birds get by walking on only four (three in front and one behind), while the Ostrich (Struthio camelus) only has two. If three-toed, humanlike bipeds really exist as flesh-and-blood creatures and are not paranormal apparitions, it would be most interesting to find out more about their foot structure. Perhaps three toes is better than five when you’ve chosen a swamp or wetland as your habitat. Habitat: Secluded areas, often forested wet- lands or mountainous regions. Distribution: Nearly every U.S. state and Canadian province. Most sightings represent only transient individuals. A partial list of places where Hairy bipeds have been reported follows: Alabama—Choccolocco Valley, Town Creek. Arkansas—Center Ridge, Greene County, Jonesboro, Leachville, Poinsett County, St. Francis County, South Crossett, Springdale. California—Antelope Valley, Borrego Sink, Lytle Creek, Pearblossom, San Gorgonio Mountains, Santa Paula. Colorado—Green Mountain Falls. Connecticut—Bristol, Crystal Lake Reservoir, Winsted. Delaware—Selbyville. Georgia—Edison. Illinois—Big Muddy River, Cairo, Center- ville, Chittyville, Creve Coeur, East Peoria, Eff- ingham, Farmer City, Kickapoo Creek, Murphysboro. Indiana—Attica, French Lick, Galveston, Hoosier National Forest, Knox County, Pike County, Richmond, Rising Sun, Roachdale, Sharpsville, Winslow. Iowa—Clinton. Kentucky—Albany, Leslie County, Trimble County. Labrador, Canada—Goose Bay. Louisiana—Cotton Island, Honey Island Swamp. Maine—Durham. Manitoba, Canada—Gypsumville, Steinbach, Whiteshell Provincial Park. Maryland—Calvert County, Churchville, Dickerson, Harford County, Kingsville, Prince George’s County, Sykesville. Massachusetts—Bridgewater, Raynham Center. Michigan—Byron, Charlotte, Dowagiac Swamp, Fenton, Houghton Lake State Forest, Lake City, Marshall, Mason, Mio, Monroe, Os- coda County, Port Huron, Saginaw, Shiawassee River, Sister Lakes, Tuscola County, Yale. Minnesota—northern part of state. Mississippi—Meridian, Winona. Missouri—Louisiana, Pacific, Troy. Montana—Monarch, Vaughn. Nebraska—south of Lincoln. Nevada—Nevada Test Site. New Hampshire—Hollis, Salisbury. New Jersey—Great Bear Swamp, High Point, Middletown, Vineland. New York—Burlington County, Ellisburg, Morristown, Mount Misery, Richmondtown, Sherman, Watertown, Whitehall. Newfoundland, Canada—Trinity Bay. North Carolina—Dismal Swamp, Tabor City. Ohio—Alliance, Brookside Park, Carlisle, Coshocton County, Defiance, Eaton, Huron, Kenmore, Kimbolton, Mansfield, Minerva, Monroeville, Muskingum County, Newcomer- stown, Point Isabel, Rome. Oklahoma—Canton, Kiamichi Mountains, Mountain Fork River, Nowata, Noxie, Tahle- quah, Wann. Ontario, Canada—Cobalt, Webequie, Wee- nusk Indian Reservation. Oregon—Conser Lake, Roseburg. Pennsylvania—Allegheny County, Allison, Beaver County, Bradford County, Buffalo Mills, Chester County, Chestnut Ridge, Derry Township, East Pennsboro Township, Edin- boro, Fayette County, Gray Station, Indiana County, Jeannette, Lancaster, Latrobe, Lock Haven, Somerset County, Uniontown, West- moreland County, Whitney. Saskatchewan, Canada—Grand Rapids. South Dakota—Standing Rock Indian Reser- vation. Tennessee—Charlotte, Flintville, Lascassas, Knox County, Monteagle Mountain. Texas—Bells, Caddo, Denton, Haskell, Lamar County, Lake Worth, Newton County, Paris, Peerless, Polk County. Vermont—Chittenden, Hartland, Rutland County, Williamstown. Virginia—Colonial Beach, Middletown. West Virginia—Cacapon Bridge, Davis, Hickory Flats, Marlinton, Parsons. Wisconsin—Benton, Cashton, Deltox Swamp, Grafton, Granton, Jefferson, Medford. Significant sightings: Riley W. Smith saw a naked hairy man, about 6 feet tall, while picking berries near Winsted, Connecticut, on August 17, 1895. The incident was the first of about twenty that allegedly took place in western Con- necticut and the Catskill Mountains of New York over the next few weeks. Widely and pos- sibly erroneously regarded as a hoax by newspa- perman Louis T. Stone, the original incident may have involved a bear. An apelike, bipedal creature with a yellow head and mane was seen by workers near the Vi- olet Mine east of Cobalt, Ontario, in September 1906. In 1923, two prospectors saw a similar yel- low-headed, black-haired animal eating blueber- ries; they thought it was a bear until they threw a rock at it, prompting it to get up and walk away on two legs. Later sightings earned it the nickname “Old yellow top.” The last sighting was in August 1970 when Aimée Latreille, the driver of a bus carrying twenty-seven miners, was forced to swerve after he saw an apelike creature with a light mane cross the road; the bus nearly had a fatal crash down a nearby rock cut. In August 1963, Harlan E. Ford and a friend encountered a huge humanoid in Honey Island Swamp near Slidell, Louisiana. It glared menacingly at them and ran away on two legs. In May 1964, near Sister Lakes, Michigan, Gordon Brown and his brother saw a hairy man about 9 feet tall who made a whimpering sound. Shortly afterward, three teenagers saw a 7-foot creature with a black face running through the underbrush in Silver Creek Township. Many other witnesses came forth and were named in extensive newspaper coverage. A green, 10-foot-tall monster with glowing red eyes was seen in March 1965 by teenagers in the woods south of French Lick, Indiana. They called it “Fluorescent Freddie.” In 1965, two teenagers were chased from their campfire by a 9- to 10-foot hairy creature on the north slope of the San Gorgonio Moun- tains, California. On August 13, 1965, Christine Van Acker and her mother were driving near Monroe, Michigan, when a hairy, 7-foot giant stepped in front of their car. Van Acker hit the brakes, stalling the car, and the creature reached through the open window and grabbed the top of her head. The women’s screams and horn honking apparently made it retreat. On May 19, 1969, George Kaiser saw a man- sized creature covered in black fur on his farm near Rising Sun, Indiana. It made a strange grunting sound, jumped over a ditch, and swiftly ran down the road. Later, footprints with three small toes and a big toe were found. A greenish-white UFO was seen by a neighbor the next night. Odd, froglike noises woke up teenagers Wayne Hall and Dave Chapman early on July 24, 1972, at the latter’s home near Crystal Lake Reservoir in northwestern Connecticut. Look- ing outside, they saw an 8-foot hairy creature. It crossed a road and moved around in the shad- ows near a horse barn. After forty-five minutes, it crossed the road again and disappeared in the woods by the lake. On the night of April 22, 1973, William Roemermann, Brian Goldojarb, and Richard Engels saw a Bigfoot-like creature near the Sycamore Flats campground in Big Rock Canyon, Los Angeles County, California. It chased their truck for about twenty seconds, its long arms swinging in front of its chest. On re- turning, they found many huge, three-toed tracks. In May and June 1973, an apelike creature terrorized the area around Sykesville in Carroll County, Maryland. Five-toed, 13-inch foot- prints were found, separated by a stride of 6 feet. On June 25, 1973, Randy Needham and Judy Johnson were parked near a boat ramp on the Big Muddy River near Murphysboro, Illi- nois, when they heard a piercing cry that came from the nearby woods. They looked up and saw the sound came from a huge shape lumber- ing toward them. The creature was about 7 feet tall and covered with a matted, whitish hair. Others saw and heard the same creature over the next two weeks, and it reappeared in the sum- mers of 1974, 1975, 1988, and 1989. At 4:30 a.m. on September 2, 1973, Chester Yothers woke up and saw a Bigfoot-like crea- ture only 5 feet away outside his trailer near Whitney, Pennsylvania, apparently looking at the house next door. He woke his wife and called the police, who arrived shortly afterward. The monster was gone, but they found wet foot- prints on the concrete and in the flower bed. Dennis Smith and Jimmy Slate heard pound- ing and shrieking noises in the woods next to Overlook Drive, near Watertown, New York, in the early morning of August 10, 1976. As the sun was rising, they saw an erect, black hominid walking down the road about two city blocks away. When Smith yelled, the creature turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Later, two 15-inch-long tracks, trampled grass, and some long hairs were found. On May 18, 1977, two thirteen-year-old boys were walking their dog near the historic Roberts Covered Bridge south of Eaton, Ohio, when the dog got frightened and they smelled a rotten-meat odor. Turning around, they saw a 9-foot, apelike creature with dirty brown hair, white eyes, and long arms; it chased them to- ward the road. Both boys were terrified for weeks after the incident. Two 14-inch, human- like prints were found near Seven Mile Creek on a nearby farm. Some twenty-eight sightings of Bigfoot-like creatures 6–9 feet tall were reported in wooded areas around Little Eagle in the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota from September to November 1977. Numerous large footprints were found, and high-pitched shrieks were heard repeatedly. Cecelia Thunder Shield said the being was tall with gray, shining hair and a black face. In January 1980, an employee of Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company saw a 6- to 7-foot hairy creature while driving along a high- way at the northern end of the Nevada Test Site. It disappeared in the sagebrush. James Guyette saw a huge hairy humanoid walking and swinging its arms along an inter- state highway near Hartland Dam, Vermont, in April 1984. It moved down the embankment and headed west. A woodsman of Gray Station, Pennsylvania, was walking at the forest edge at dusk on December 13, 1986, when something threw a large piece of wood at him. He looked up and saw a hairy creature, standing 8–9 feet tall with wide shoulders and long arms, blocking the path. After a moment, it turned, stooped, and ran into the woods. Gary Lee Hayes was hunting near a tract of the Houghton Lake State Forest, Michigan, on No- vember 25, 1990, when he saw a tall, upright creature moving on the crest of a nearby hill. It had black hair all over its body and was 7 feet tall. The creature walked down to a large beaver dam, squatted down, stood up, then went back uphill. Robert Toal found huge, human-shaped tracks in the snow on his property in Kingsville, Maryland, on the night of February 4–5, 1995. Field investigators from the Baltimore-area Enigma Project arrived a few days later and photographed the tracks, which were 20 inches long, 11 inches wide, but only 1 inch deep in the powdery snow. The tracks had an average stride of 4 feet 10 inches in a straight line and apparently passed through a 4-foot-high wire fence. Since even humans weighing less than 200 pounds made deeper impressions in the snow, the Enigma group thought these were the full-body impressions of a much lighter animal, possibly a jumping rabbit. Early in the morning of March 28, 2000, James Hughes was driving his newspaper route near Grafton, Wisconsin, when he saw an 8- foot hairy humanoid standing by the side of the road. The creature was carrying something that looked like a dead goat. Human tracks 14 inches long and 5 inches wide were found in early June 2001 on the Weenusk Indian Reservation at the mouth of the Winisk River on Hudson Bay, Ontario. The stride measured 6 feet. Present status: Distinctions between North American Apes, Devil Monkeys, Hairy bipeds, and Bigfoot are nebulous and possibly arbitrary. In general, North American Apes are tailless and primarily quadrupedal, and they resemble chimpanzees; Devil Monkeys are tailed and resemble baboons; Hairy bipeds cover a wide range of descriptions, from apes to Wild- men and even paranormal Entities; Bigfoot is a robust, tall hominid with a range that seems restricted to the Pacific Northwest. Possible explanations: (1) Many hoaxes, such as pranksters wearing masks or suits. The Selbyville, Delaware, swamp monster of 1964 was admittedly a hoax perpetrated by a man in a monster suit. (2) Mentally unstable or homeless humans living in the woods. This explanation may have been especially true for nineteenth- century reports. (3) Misidentified American black bears (Ursus americanus). (4) Monkeys or apes escaped from zoos or circuses. (5) Entities associated with UFOs, suggested by Stan Gordon and Don Worley. (6) Occurrences of Bigfoot outside its traditional range in the Pacific Northwest. The only comparative analysis of Hairy biped data in eastern North America has been done by Craig Heinselman, who looked at 654 reports from fifteen eastern and northeastern states between 1838 and 2001 and found few differences in height or other narrowly selected physical characteristics from the Pacific Northwest Bigfoot. He arrived at a tentative population estimate of 210–420 adult individuals for all fifteen states. Sources: Leonard Roberts, South from Hell- fer-Sartin: Kentucky Mountain Folk Tales (Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1955), p. 162; Indianapolis News, March 15–17, 1965; “Monster Season,” Newsweek, August 30, 1965, p. 22; Gene Caesar, “The Hellzapoppin’ Hunt for the Michigan Monster,” True, June 1966, pp. 59–60, 84–85; Ivan T. Sanderson, “Wisconsin’s Abominable Snowman,” Argosy, April 1969, pp. 27–29, 70; Warren Smith, “America’s Terrifying Woodland Monster- Men,” Saga, July 1969, pp. 34–37, 92–94; John A. Keel, Strange Creatures from Time and Space (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett, 1970); Jerome Clark, “On the Trail of Unidentified Furry Objects,” Fate 26 (August 1973): 56–64; Allen V. Noe, “ABSMal Affairs in Pennsylvania and Elsewhere,” Pursuit, no. 24 (October 1973): 84–89; Stan Gordon, “UFOs in Relation to Creature Sightings in Pennsylvania,” in Walter H. Andrus Jr., ed., MUFON 1974 UFO Symposium Proceedings (Seguin, Tex.: Mutual UFO Network, 1974), pp. 132–154; Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman, “Swamp Slobs Invade Illinois,” Fate 27 (July 1974): 84–88; Berthold Eric Schwarz, “Berserk: A UFO- Creature Encounter,” Flying Saucer Review 20, no. 1 (July 1974): 3–11; Milton LaSalle, “Bigfoot Sighting,” Pursuit, no. 40 (Fall 1977): 120–123; Mark A. Hall, “Contemporary Stories of ‘Taku He’ or ‘Bigfoot’ in South Dakota as Drawn from Newspaper Accounts,” Minnesota Archeologist 37 (1978): 63–78; Jerome Clark and Loren Coleman, Creatures of the Outer Edge (New York: Warner, 1978); Mark A. Hall, “Stories of ‘Bigfoot’ in Iowa during 1978 as Drawn from Newspaper Sources,” Minnesota Archeologist 38 (1979): 2–17; S. Stover, “Does Maryland Have a Sasquatch?” INFO Journal, no. 34 (March-April 1979): 2–6; Dennis Pilichis, Night Siege: The Northern Ohio UFO- Creature Invasion (Rome, Ohio: Dennis Pilichis, 1982); Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Bob Bartholomew, and Paul Bartholomew, “Bigfoot in the Adirondacks,” Adirondack Bits ‘n Pieces 1, no. 3 (Spring-Summer 1984): 21–26, 49–50, 58–61; Mark Opsasnick, The Maryland Bigfoot Reference Guide (Greenbelt, Md.: Mark Opsasnick, 1987); Mike Marinacci, Mysterious California (Los Angeles, Calif.: Panpipes, 1988), pp. 84–86, 93–94; Mark Chorvinsky and Mark Opsasnick, “The Selbyville Swamp Monster Exposed,” Strange Magazine, no. 4 (1989): 6–8; Michael T. Shoemaker, “Searching for the Historical Bigfoot,” Strange Magazine, no. 5 (1990): 18–23, 57–62; David E. Philips, Legendary Connecticut (Willimantic, Conn.: Curbstone, 1992), pp. 175–177; Michael T. Shoemaker, “The Winsted Wild Man Revisited,” Strange Magazine, no. 11 (Spring- Summer 1993): 30–31, 59; Joseph A. Citro, Green Mountain Ghosts, Ghouls and Unsolved Mysteries (Montpelier: Vermont Life, 1994), pp. 93–101; Michael A. Frizzell, “The Kingsville Tracks,” INFO Journal, no. 74 (Winter 1996): 17–21; Loren Coleman, “Three Toes Are Better than Five,” Fortean Times, no. 98 (June 1997): 44; Christopher L. Murphy, Bigfoot in Ohio: Encounters with the Grassman (New Westminster, B.C., Canada: Pyramid, 1997); Christopher Kiernan Coleman, Strange Tales of the Dark and Bloody Ground (Nashville, Tenn.: Rutledge Hill, 1998), pp. 53–55; Don Keating, “Active Sasquatch in Coshocton County, Ohio,” North American BioFortean Review 1, no. 1 (April 1999): 5, 41, http://www. strangeark.com/nabr/NABR1.pdf; Dana Holyfield, Encounters with the Honey Island Swamp Monster (Pearl River, La.: Honey Island Swamp Books, 1999); Keith Edwards, “Wisconsin a New Home for Bigfoot?” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 4, 2000; Tim Swartz, “The Hairy Ones,” Strange Magazine, no. 21 (Fall 2000), on line at http://www. strangemag.com; Ron Schaffner, “Retrospective: Preble County, Ohio Incident,” Crypto Hominology Special, no. 1 (April 7, 2001), pp. 50–58, at http://www.strangeark.com/crypto/ Cryptohominids.pdf; Francine Dubé, “Big Footprints Stir Sasquatch Speculation,” National Post (Canada), June 25, 2001; Joe Nickell, “Tracking the Swamp Monsters,” Skeptical Inquirer 25, no. 4 (July 2001): 15; Craig Heinselman, “Eastern Sasquatch Analysis: Potential Patterns or Dubious Data?” paper presented at the Third East Coast Bigfoot Researchers Meeting, September 22, 2001, Delmont, Pennsylvania; Chester Moore Jr., “Monsterous Sounds: A Field Investigation of Texas Bigfoot Vocalizations,” The Anomalist, no. 10 (2002): 13–19.

--Among the other categories should be added the Lytle Creek Monster in the San Bernardino Hills, seen 1966, but with a more recent outbreak of "Monkey" sightings in the San Bernardino area in 2005-2010, often confused with rumors of escaped chimpanzees or such
http://www.pe.com/local-news/san-bernardino-county/san-bernardino-county-headlines-index/20111029-san-bernardino-lytle-creek-monster-had-short-reign.ece

Momo the Frogfoot

http://www.stateofhorror.com/momo.html

Momo Stalks the Midwest

Mysterious monster sighted in county
By Raymond Castile

Illustrator Hal D. Crawford drew this image for the 1970 book "The Aliens" by Crawford, Hayden Hewes and Kietha Hewes. It depicts a creature associated with 1950s UFO landings. Momo eyewitnesses in Louisiana, Mo., claimed the illustration looked almost exactly like the creature they saw during the summer of 1972. Used with permission.

Does a real-life monster roam the Missouri wilderness?

Witnesses claim to have seen a huge, hairy, hulking creature stalking the woods and lonely country roads. The creature is similar to the well-known Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest, only more otherworldly. It has glowing orange eyes, a pumpkin-shaped head, three-fingered hands and leaves three-toed footprints. Unlike the shy Bigfoot, this aggressive creature is known to kill animals and antagonize humans.
Its name is Momo – the Missouri Monster.
Momo sightings have been reported throughout Missouri, even in St. Charles County. But the most famous sightings occurred in Louisiana, Mo., a town of fewer than 4,000 people. Located in Pike County, Louisiana lies 75 miles northwest of St. Charles County.

Momo footprint illustrations by Raymond Castile

Bigfoot-like creatures have been reported in the Louisiana area since the 1940s, but it was not until the early 1970s that Momo attracted serious interest.
Bigfoot researcher Loren Coleman describes the now-legendary Momo scare in his book, "Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America."

According to Coleman, the Momo saga began in July, 1971. Joan Mills and Mary Ryan were driving along Highway 79, north of Louisiana, when they allegedly saw a hairy creature that made disturbing gurgling noises. The women described the thing as "half ape and half man."
The most notorious sighting took place one year later. On the afternoon of July 11, 1972, 8-year-old Terry Harrison and his 5-year-old brother, Wally, were playing in their backyard at the foot of Marzolf Hill on the outskirts of Louisiana. Their older sister, Doris, was inside the house. Doris heard her brothers scream. She looked out the bathroom window and saw a black, hairy manlike creature, standing by a tree.
The thing appeared to be six or seven feet tall. Its head sat directly atop its shoulders, with no visible neck. The face was likewise invisible, completely covered by a mass of hair.
The youths reported a chilling detail – the creature, streaked with blood, carried a dead dog under its arm

Momo mockup at far left. Middle, A sketch of the creature reported by Doris and Terry Harrison on July 11, 1972, in Louisiana, Mo. Courtesy of MUFON. Right, An illustration depicting the Troy creature wading across the Cuivre River. Courtesy of MUFON.

A local farmer reported his dog had disappeared. A neighbor reported hearing terrible growling sounds that afternoon.
Edgar Harrison, the children's father, also heard loud growls the evening of July 14. He and several other people smelled a strong, unpleasant odor as they investigated the area around Marzolf Hill. Investigators later reported smelling a similar stench, like rotting flesh.
On July 21 Momo revealed itself to Ellis Minor outside his home on River Road. It was around 10 p.m. when Minor heard his dogs barking. He grabbed a flashlight and stepped outside, expecting to see an intruding dog.

Instead, he saw a 6-foot-tall monster standing in his yard. The black, hairy creature turned and ran.

According to a July 23, 1972 story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, police sealed off a 200-acre wooded area while a team of 25 hunters searched for the creature, which many believed to be a black bear. Police received reports of a creature crossing the highway with a dog or sheep in its mouth. Another witness told police that the creature lifted the back of his automobile.
Not all hunters used guns. Many used pencil and paper.
Bigfoot investigators swarmed Louisiana, interviewing witnesses and taking plaster casts of the creature's unusual three-toed footprints. One of the preeminent researchers was Hayden Hewes, director of the Oklahoma City-based Sasquatch Investigations of Mid America.
"What impressed me was the willingness of people to talk to us. Normally people are reluctant to talk about these things," said Hewes, 61. "This was not just one person spitting in a can, saying `yes sir, I saw it right over there.' These were good quality people who were enthusiastic about what was going on."
Hewes said he was impressed with the witnesses' sincerity.
"These people didn't want to sell something. They didn't want publicity. They just wanted to share their stories. I never got any inkling that there was a hoax."

The Momo scare lasted only two weeks, but it triggered a media frenzy. Television and newspaper journalists from across the nation descended on the small town.
"I did close to 75 television and newspaper interviews," Hewes said. "They flew me to Chicago to do some television there. There were people around us shooting documentaries. We haven't had a case that well-documented since."
Sasquatch Investigations of Mid America is an offshoot of the International UFO Bureau, an organization Hewes founded in 1957.
"We researched Bigfoot sightings in eight states, mainly to see if there was any connection with UFO sightings," he said. "With Momo, we found there was no correlation whatsoever with UFOs."
Hewes said his investigations suggest there are families of nocturnal Bigfoot creatures that continuously migrate across the nation from the Pacific Northwest to the southeast.
"The path begins around Oregon and Washington state," he said. "It crosses Oklahoma around the first week of September, then finishes in Florida."
When he is not conducting paranormal investigations, Hewes runs a talent agency and works in warehouse distribution in Oklahoma City. Hewes has a degree in aeronautical and space engineering from the University of Oklahoma.
While Hewes and other researchers concentrated on Louisiana, one team of investigators focused on sightings in the St. Charles County vicinity.
John Schuessler was living in O'Fallon during the Momo scare. Schuessler worked for McDonnell Douglas as a group engineer for life support systems on the Sky Lab space station, then later as director of flight operations for the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
In 1969, Schuessler helped establish the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), an international collective of UFO researchers. The 71-year-old Schuessler still directs the organization from its headquarters in Colorado.
The Momo scare coincided with a rash of UFO sightings, including reports near his home in O'Fallon. The possible UFO connection intrigued Schuessler, so he joined the Momo investigation. Schuessler found no connection between Momo and UFO activity, but he did investigate two incidents that corroborated the presence of Bigfoot creatures in the region.
On June 30, 1972, a month before the Harrison sighting in Louisiana, two young men from Troy were fishing on a secluded bank of the Cuivre River near Cuivre River State Park in Lincoln County. The fishermen, named Vaughn and Tim, stood atop a high bank overlooking an unusually low bank on the river's opposite side.
According to Schuessler, Vaughn noticed a splash and looked up.

"They said they saw something wading across the river – a big, hairy thing. They didn't know what it was," Schuessler said. "Vaughn said, `Hey Tim, look at that silly hippie wading across the river.' Then they realized it was not a hippie."

The men described the creature as standing taller than a normal man and hairy all over, Schuessler said. Like the Louisiana creature, the Troy monster's hair completely covered its face. Its head looked like a dome resting on its shoulders.
Tim scrambled up a hillside while Vaughn held his ground. The creature continued its deliberate march toward him. Vaughn finally panicked and ran. The men found a conservation officer and returned to the scene.
"All they found were fresh, three-toed footprints where the creature came out of the water," Schuessler said.
Schuessler inspected the area the next day and found the prints.
"They were large prints, but I couldn't tell what made them," he said. "We looked for hair, but found nothing but tracks."
Schuessler said Vaughn and Tim seemed honest and genuinely frightened. Schuessler also interviewed the conservation officer.
"He said he'd gotten a lot of weird reports out of the park, but he didn't pay attention to them. I think he wanted to stay at arm's length from it all," he said.
Another Momo sighting took place July 24 near O'Fallon, just after the final Louisiana sighting. Two teenage girls reported seeing a hairy creature at sunset walking along the edge of a wooded area. The O'Fallon incident is mentioned in "The Bigfoot Casebook" by Janet and Colin Bord, but Schuessler does not remember the details.
"It was not as vivid as the Troy sighting," he said.
Momo must have enjoyed his sojourn in St. Charles County, because the creature apparently passed through town again four years later.
The "Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization" Web site lists Momo sightings in 29 Missouri counties, including a 1976 report from St. Charles County. According to the report, two people were in a boat on the Missouri River near Highway 40-61 when they saw what appeared to be a 6-to-7-foot tall creature covered in dark brown hair. The creature was drinking from the river when it saw the boat, stood up and ran into the trees.
Another local story is posted on the "Bigfoot Encounters" Web site. Mark Richardson, of Modesto, Calif., claims to have seen the creature in 1979 when he was living in St. Peters.
According to Richardson, he and a friend were on a railroad bridge over Dardenne Creek one night. Richardson saw shadows moving and assumed it was his friend.
To his shock, he discovered it was an 8-to-9-foot-tall creature with long, matted brown hair covering its body and face. Its shoulders were five feet wide. Its three-fingered hands hung below its knees.

The creature smelled like rotting hair and screamed like a panther. Richardson claims it lifted the railroad timbers and tried to grab his friend.

The two escaped and ran home.
Richardson claims he knows other people who saw the St. Peters creature. He could not be reached for comment.
So is Momo real? Investigators like Schuessler say the sincere testimony of eyewitnesses cannot be dismissed.
"There is definitely something going on," Schuessler said. "I just don't know what it is."

This story was originally published in the Suburban Journals of St. Charles County, Oct. 31, 2004. Used with permission.

A "Swamp Monster" Mask off the internet. What is interesting this time is that the segmented sections of the face are not scales but are patces of hair showing how the hair tracts are meant to lie when slicked down, there is the typical bony structure around the eye sockets, a hint of a sagittal crest, and a small fringing beard in the jowly  areas (Presumabluy more beard would show and the hair around the face bush up when dry)o seems to indicate a flat nose with two nostrils facing ahead that can be shut off by valves, long upper lip and the ears which look large when they are exposed, when the mane hair is slicked down. The ears being so large shows an early form of the aquatic adaptation, in a more evolved stage the ears should be reduced to the minimum possible.

In Momo the shaggy mane around the head is very shaggy and can obscure the face from some views when the hair is thoroughly dried and fluffed-out.es th larger and the contrast between the "Pumpkinheaded" Momo and the West-coast Sasquatch was noted in all of the original press releasesp of reports was going on in the 1970s.

A chart showing how the swamp monster or "Frogfoot" foot might develop from the foot of a large monkey, if the type of track is actually legitimate. It should be noted that the "Fouke Monster" in Arkansas is supposed to leave the same tracks and such tracks also show up in Florida. On the other hand, these are quite unlike the hoaxed alligator tracks and the toes do not correspond to that type. The outline drawing is from Sanderson's chart of footprints in the appendix of Abominable Snowmen and represents an old male rhesus macaque.

Previously posted at the Frontiers of Zoology Yahoo group, with original caption:

Feet and Tracks, Outsized Monkeys and Apes

Posted: Dec 9, 2006

Resolution: 800x281

Size: 23KB

The Woadd-al-uma of the Nile and swamps of the Sudan [and in Lake Chad?] might be a giant water-loving macaque related to the Barbary ape and parallel in size to the Chinese giant macaque (photos of hands and feet from PURSUIT illustrated previously)

--In this case we can see the parallel to the "Frogfoot" track plus the odd form of the opposed big toe, gone missing in the more advanced type of foot. The alternative hypothesis would be that this is a peculiar form of water-loving gorilla: that seems less likely now. The track and information about the Woadd el-Umma is from Heuvelmans and never translated into English yet.
But it would seem we have an even earlier stage of a "Missing Link" in the aquatic-monkey adaptive radiation.

Barbary Macaques (Barbary Apes)