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Hunter describes strange encounters and finds a possible footprint near Kickapoo State Park
The witness was bowhunting deer alone from a tree stand in the evening and shot a buck. While climbing down and tracking the deer in near-dark, the witness heard loud screaming-growling noises, smelled a strong pungent odor, and saw a huge silhouette about 30 yards away on a hillside. The witness left the woods while still hearing the noises and returned the next morning to find the blood trail ended with no deer.
Possible nighttime sighting from a home by a young woman near Lake Lou Yaeger
The witness, staying at a house for a short time, was looking out a window in the early morning and saw a tall figure by the clothesline pole. The figure was described as about a foot taller than the 7-foot-8-inch pole, brown on top with gray speckled lower areas, moving hunched over and scratching its back, with a strong skunk and manure-like odor. After watching for several minutes, the witness saw it take two steps into the nearby woods.
Late night observation by a home owner near Lake Decatur
The witness was smoking on the front porch at night when rustling was heard nearby. A dark massive upright figure stood up about 30 yards away, looked both ways, then ran across the street into a wooded area. Later that night the witness noted a musty odor and heard a deep scream-howl sound on and off.
Possible nighttime sighting and vocalizations in a backyard near Old Ripley
The witness was in bed late at night when barking dogs prompted them to go outside. They saw a dog run under the porch and something retreat into the woods. After shouting and tossing a small stone into the trees, the witness heard a shriek/howl and the stone was thrown back to land at their feet. The witness ran inside, then returned with a flashlight to find twisted vegetation and snapped branches and noted a foul smell.
Possible footprint found near Peoria
The witness was walking along a creek bed in heavily wooded terrain when they found a very large footprint with five distinct toes. After photographing it with makeshift scale items, they heard movement and a large branch being twisted on the hillside and left the woods. An investigator later visited the site with the witness and summarized the track as a 17-inch-long left-foot impression.
Hunter finds a possible footprint near Olive Branch
The witness arrived at a hunting area well before dawn and waited in the car, noticing a chill and a faint skunky musky odor. After sunrise he walked to a pond and then east along a fire access road, where he found a single very fresh footprint with visible toes in the dust of a turkey scratch. He photographed the track beside his boot, but wind erased the dust detail by the next day.
Family experiences strange occurences while fishing Kankakee River
Four people were night fishing when the two who stayed by the fire reported footsteps and brush movement behind them. The witness later heard walking sounds, a grunt/growl from 20-30 yards away, noticed a strong pungent odor, and heard a whooping sound from the same direction. As the group walked out around 12:30 a.m. the witness felt they were being followed toward the bridge. No creature was seen.
Vocalizations recorded and possible footprint found near Sugar Creek
The witness was outside at home in the early evening with a west breeze when his dog became fearful, barking and running in circles while facing west. The witness reported a foul odor at the same time, similar to a previous foul-smell incident that had left the dog unsettled for days. No creature was seen, only the odor and the dog's fear behavior were reported.
Wood knocks, vocalizations and possible footprint found in rural cemetery near Shelbyville
Over a couple months of visits to a small rural cemetery, the witness and companions repeatedly heard wood knocks surrounding them, logs or objects being thrown, and a walnut thrown back toward them. They also heard growls, hissing, grunts, yells and screams on separate occasions, and once heard a large unseen thing charge to the cemetery edge then go silent. They never saw the source, reported no departing footsteps, and described a persistent feeling of being watched and warned from entering the woods.
Mushroom hunter hears vocalizations and finds footprints near Jubilee College State Park
The witness was hunting with a dog on a sunny afternoon when the dog became agitated and a strong odor was noticed. The witness heard grunt-like noises followed twice by a loud scream or yell, plus cracking and movement in trees and brush, while the dog returned frightened with raised hair. After driving to a more open area across a shallow creek, the witness found two very large barefoot-like footprints that seemed too large and out of place to be human.
Possible sighting of animal playing peek-a-boo at Argyle Lake State Park
Two companions hiking back toward their car noticed the woods go silent and heard something moving in brush alongside them and crossing behind them, along with a musky skunk-like odor. Near the last bend the reporter glanced back and saw a wide, dark-brown figure squatting beside a low dead tree about 100 yards away. They kept walking, then ran to the car and drove off and rarely spoke of it afterward.
Family experiences large rocks being thrown and hear an unknown scream outside the Shawnee National Forest
The witness and two relatives were setting up a telescope near a group campfire when rocks landed near them on three occasions while movement was heard in dense dark woods with nothing seen. Those at the fire denied throwing anything. Hours later a loud high-pitched scream was heard that the witness did not recognize, and a next-day search found no clear footprints due to heavy leaf cover.
Motorist has a possible nighttime sighting west of Albion
Late at night the witness was driving home from work when a strong odor was noticed through an open vehicle window. The witness then saw a very large dark figure beside the road between a ditch and a field about 120 feet away in the headlights, moving upright and pausing as the vehicle passed. The witness was frightened and said the figure was not a coyote, wolf, or bear known from the area.
Memory of possible vocalizations and rock throwing southwest of Atwood
The witness, then a child, was walking through woods and field toward ponds to feed fish when a loud high-pitched scream came from the woods and trees shook in a visible path without wind. After waiting, the witness continued to the pond embankment where a boulder-sized rock landed nearby from higher ground. Two sisters were present for the rock incident, and the witness reported repeated rock-throwing at that embankment and occasional feelings of being watched.
Young man hears nighttime vocalizations and is followed in woods near Mounds
On a summer night in 1990 the witness walked up a field road near his home when he heard a loud whistle followed by screams from nearby ridges. As he fled back toward his house he heard another scream close by and was followed to the creek behind his house, where he heard heavy breathing, growling and bipedal footsteps. He fired a large amount of ammunition toward the sounds without seeing the source, then stayed inside overnight, and the next day found bullet damage to trees and a flattened depression but no blood or tracks.
Memory told of possible vocalizations and rocks thrown at Lake Kinkaid
In 1978 two people were fishing from a boat on a lake at dusk and stopped in a cove. They heard grunting and saw trees shaking violently on a brushy cliff, but saw no animal. Two large rocks were thrown from shore toward the boat, landing very close, prompting them to leave.
Memory told of a possible encounter and footprint found along Horse Creek north of Pawnee
Two companions walking along a wooded driveway in the afternoon heard unidentified tapping sounds and entered the woods to investigate. They found freshly matted grass and a human-like bare footprint with five toes in dried mud. Shortly after, the companion shouted to run as loud timber-breaking crashes and movement occurred in dense undergrowth behind him. The reporter did not see the source, but the companion reportedly saw something about seven feet tall, after which both fled to the driveway.
Couple in car terrified by loud howl/scream near Carlinville
In spring 1978 the witness and a companion were parked in a car off a rural road in creek-bottom woods when a foul odor filled the area. They then heard nearby low grunts that erupted into an extremely loud, shrill scream that seemed to shake the car. Panicked, the witness drove away immediately and avoided the area afterward.
Woman recalls her possible encounter on a farm outside Prairie du Rocher.
The witness was camped alone with a dog near a sinkhole on a farm bluff to feed horses in the morning. After building a fire and cooking, loud grunts, growls and scream-like screeches came from the sinkhole while many young trees shook violently despite little wind. Horses stared then fled, the dog stayed close shaking, and a brief odd odor was noticed. Frightened, the witness doused the fire and left with the dog, and reports avoiding woods since.
Memory told of a possible childhood encounter at Georgefield Barracks
The witness was staying at home with her older sister while her parents were out. After hearing movement outside and seeing a large head at the window, she opened the front door, turned on the porch light, and came face to face with a tall hair-covered figure. Her middle sister arrived and ran toward the figure, which then left and quickly disappeared. The sisters did not discuss the incident at the time and only recalled it decades later.