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16 encounters
22 January 2023 Custer Park, Will County, Illinois Class A #75453

Family describes multiple incidents in Custer Park, 45 SE of Chicago

Two children walking in a field reported seeing a figure standing in a ditch along a treeline watching them. They said it moved a short distance when they looked away and stopped when they looked back. They took photos of it and reported finding footprints.

Full-body sightingTracks
12 November 2015 Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois Class B #55144

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.

ScreamGrowlSilhouetteOdor
14 December 2012 Litchfield, Montgomery County, Illinois Class A #39568

Nighttime sighting from a window by a young woman near Lake Lou Yaeger

The witness was in bed around 2 a.m. when a powerful stench prompted a look out the bedroom window. A partially cut tree about 100 feet away began to topple, and a camera flash revealed a large brown hunched figure about ten feet from the house, possibly with a second figure near the woodline. The figures left into the woods, and the next day the witness found the tree down with the saw bar displaced and many tracks and cracked walnuts nearby.

OdorPartial sightingTree breakTracks
3 December 2012 Litchfield, Montgomery County, Illinois Class B #38337

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.

Full-body sightingOdor
8 December 2011 Greenville, Bond County, Illinois Class B #31419

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.

Partial sightingScreamHowlRock throwingObject throwing +3
10 October 2011 Olive Branch, Alexander County, Illinois Class A #36246

Hiker has daylight sighting near Olive Branch

The witness reported walking back along a trail after making calls with no response when he found a very large footprint and a scat pile containing vegetation and shell fragments. Moments later he saw a very tall, heavily built, dark brownish creature about 70-80 feet away that had been digging at a ground hornet nest. The creature then ran rapidly down one ridge and up another at a speed the witness felt could not be matched, and disappeared. The witness then collected his things and left for his car.

Full-body sightingTracksScatAnimal behaviour
8 June 2006 Edwardsville, Madison County, Illinois Class A #14872

Nighttime sighting and possible footprints found by homeowner near Edwardsville

The witness was pulling into the driveway late at night when she saw a tall grayish figure standing near a bush about 10 feet away in street light. The submitter, her husband, was at the residence and was not a witness. Around the time of the sighting night sounds became quiet and still for about 10 minutes and a dog refused to go outside, then sounds returned to normal.

Full-body sighting
26 October 2003 Pearl City, Stephenson County, Illinois Class A #15347

Deer hunter has early morning sighting from tree stand near Pearl City

The witness climbed into a tree stand before dawn to bow hunt. While it was still dark, something breathed heavily beneath the stand for about 10 minutes then walked away to the southeast. Shortly after sunrise in light fog, the witness saw a large human-like figure about 100 yards away walking east at a fast pace. After climbing down, the witness followed its footprints eastward.

Full-body sightingUnidentified soundFootstepsTracks
Summer 1999 Cuba, Fulton County, Illinois Class B #38765

Recollection of possible encounters at a cemetery in the village of Cuba

Late at night four friends walking past a graveyard noticed a very large object resting on a branch in a large tree. After they shone a flashlight at it, the object dropped about twenty feet and ran quickly toward woods behind the graveyard. The witness returned at sunrise and found very large impressions in the grass with a stride neither he nor a taller companion could match, leading him to estimate the creature at seven to nine feet tall.

Partial sightingTracks
29 November 1986 Hennepin, Putnam County, Illinois Class A #27374

Man remembers his daytime sighting as a youth living south of Hennepin

The witness was riding a BMX bike on a snow-covered road in the afternoon when they saw a tall, long-haired figure crossing the road about 50 yards ahead. The figure was described as about eight feet tall with light brown hair. The witness ran inside for a camera but could not find one, and the next day found footprints with a relative.

Full-body sightingRoad crossingTracks
15 November 1986 Erie, Whiteside County, Illinois Class B #12919

Youth has nighttime sighting along Rock River

The witness was home alone in the evening when the dogs became agitated and ran toward the pasture and river. The witness followed carrying a shotgun and observed a hairy humanlike figure near where the dogs stopped at the river edge. After a shot was fired into the air the figure departed with a distinctive walk and the witness returned quickly to the house. Large footprints were noted in the snow between the pasture and the river.

Full-body sightingTracks
1980–1999 Ottawa, La Salle County, Illinois Class A #36667

Memory told of encounters on a farm near Ottawa

The witness was walking back to the house on a relative's farm at night after feeding dogs when a tall, hairy, foul-smelling being stood in the path near the driveway. The witness froze as the being bent down and stared directly. A relative opened the door and reacted, after which the being looked up and walked away.

Full-body sightingOdor
1980 Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois Class C #2806

The "Big Muddy Monster" flap of Murphysboro

In the late 1970s to early 1980s, residents around the Big Muddy River reported a foul-smelling, hairy hominid-like creature. Witnesses described seeing and hearing it near the river and finding footprints, with size and color accounts varying. The writer compiled these secondhand accounts and notes the creature was never reported as violent.

Full-body sightingVocalizationOdorTracks
April 1978 Gorham, Jackson County, Illinois Class A #41916

Memory told of daylight sighting while mushroom hunting along Happy Hollow Road near Gorham

While mushroom hunting with a child near a creek, the witness noticed movement behind a tree across the creek and then saw part of a dark hair-covered entity, including knee, shoulder and face. The entity moved behind the tree out of view, and the witness left immediately with the child. She later returned with a firearm and found footprints where the entity had stood.

Partial sightingTracks
Summer 1978 Pawnee, Sangamon County, Illinois Class B #28370

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.

Unidentified soundTracksTree breakMovement onlyPartial sighting
7 November 1964 Villa Grove, Douglas County, Illinois Class A #30367

Memories told of encounters experienced by a family living near Villa Grove

On a clear November mid-afternoon in 1964, several children and later their mother watched a distant upright black figure standing in a harvested corn field. The children shouted at it, it appeared to turn toward them then away, and a dog chased after it out of view. The mother, frightened, brought the children inside. Decades later the witness still interprets the figure as a bigfoot.

Full-body sighting