Search results

146 encounters
July 1985 Vermilionville, La Salle County, Illinois Class B #34980

Fisherman recalls his possible nighttime sighting near Vermilionville

A fisherman was driving out on a dirt road by a river after dark with headlights on while his dog ran ahead. The headlights revealed an upright animal standing in the road ahead, which then dropped to all fours and ran out of sight. The dog ran back to the truck and jumped in through an opened door, and the witness drove away without getting out.

Full-body sighting
Summer 1985 Metropolis, Massac County, Illinois Class A #39569

Youth watches animal digging in burn barrel behind home near Metropolis.

When the witness was about ten, a backyard motion light drew attention at the family farm late at night. The witness watched from a back bedroom through blinds as an animal pulled trash bags from cans and a burn barrel, scattering and rummaging through garbage. The witness told no one at the time and cleaned up the scattered trash the next morning.

Full-body sightingProperty disturbance
January 1985 Glasford, Fulton County, Illinois Class A #31968

Midday observation by young hunters near Glasford

While hunting in a wooded area, the witness and a friend watched from a hill as their dog barked nearby. They saw a hair-covered figure where two ravines met about 100 yards below. The figure looked at them, took two steps, and disappeared back up the ravine. The witness confirmed the sighting with the friend at the time and told no one else for years.

Full-body sighting
Summer 1984 Between New Douglas And Livingston, Madison County, Illinois Class A #49302

Memory told of nighttime sighting by motorists on New Douglas Road

Two people driving west at night saw a large brown hairy creature cross the road in their headlights. It moved very quickly from one steep bank to the other, shifting from all fours to two legs as it crossed. They returned about 30 minutes later with two others but saw nothing further.

Road crossingFull-body sighting
24 December 1980 St. Jacob, Madison County, Illinois Class A #25267

Memory told of a sasquatch standing in headlights on Christmas Eve west of St. Jacob

On Christmas Eve evening the witness was driving north on a rural Illinois road when headlights revealed a tall, hair-covered figure standing in the roadway. The witness slowed to almost a complete stop, moved into the opposite lane to avoid hitting it, and observed it closely from inches away before driving on to turn around. When the witness returned about 1.5-2 minutes later, the figure was gone.

Full-body sighting
April 1980 Canton, Fulton County, Illinois Class A #10892

Youth has daylight sighting in swampy area near Canton Lake

The witness went to the bottom of a hill near a relative's home at Canton Lake to smoke. After hearing a crushing and rustling noise, the witness saw a tall black bipedal being about twenty yards away that looked at the witness and raised its arms. The witness then ran back up the hill to the relative's home.

Full-body sightingOdorMovement onlyAnimal behaviour
1 January 1980 Decatur, Macon County, Illinois Class A #37522

Homeowner recalls night time sighting in NW Decatur

Late at night the witness stood at an upstairs window watching barking dogs when a very large fur-covered figure crossed the backyard clearing. The figure paused, turned and looked up at the witness for nearly a minute before continuing downhill, ducking under tree branches and disappearing from view as the dogs fell silent. At daylight the dogs were unharmed and no physical traces were found on the frozen ground.

Full-body sighting
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
June 1979 Seneca, Grundy County, Illinois Class A #12140

Two teenagers have sighting east of Seneca

In the summer of 1979 the witness and a companion had pulled off the road east of Seneca when they heard a loud shrieking growl. A large human-like animal approached their vehicle in bounding steps. The witness shouted for the companion to get in, locked the doors, and fled at high speed, remaining frightened and avoiding that road afterward.

Full-body sightingScreamGrowl
21 October 1978 Edwardsville, Madison County, Illinois Class A #28516

Memory told of a daytime sighting near Edwardsville

The witness was driving on a dirt road behind a church in fall 1978 when he saw a large dark figure bent over a puddle. He drove to within about ten yards, got out with the car door between them, and watched it stand upright. He fired a shotgun to either side of it without effect, after which it shrugged and bounded into nearby woods in long leaps.

Full-body sighting
Summer 1978 Granite City, Madison County, Illinois Class A #41786

Memory told of daylight sighting along railroad tracks near Granite City

Five children playing behind the family property during a get-together noticed something moving along the railroad tracks behind the yard. When they looked, it stopped, turned, and looked back at them from about 60 yards away before they ran back to the house in fright. They described it as a huge, tall, dark, muscular figure about seven and a half feet tall.

Full-body sightingAnimal behaviour
September 1977 Granite City, Madison County, Illinois Class B #39852

Memory told of a possible sighting while parked in a car near Granite City

While a dating couple sat talking in a parked car near woods and lakes, the woman saw a large dark figure standing behind the car about 10 to 15 feet away. She reacted with sudden shock and told her companion what she had seen. The figure moved away and had disappeared by the time both occupants looked back, so only the woman directly saw it.

Full-body sighting
September 1977 Plumfield, Franklin County, Illinois Class A #42945

Memory told of a daylight sighting along railroad tracks east of Plumfield

Two friends rode dirt bikes along railroad tracks to a creek under a trestle. They heard a noise and saw a large dark-haired creature on a nearby hill squatting and rubbing its back against a tree. Frightened, they left quickly on their bikes.

Full-body sighting
October 1975 Gorham, Jackson County, Illinois Class B #40842

Memory told of a possible sighting along Happy Hollow Road near Gorham

The witness was riding in a vehicle with three relatives on a wooded road after sundown. As the vehicle came around a curve, the headlights illuminated a creature standing on a creek bank by a wooden bridge. The creature looked toward the vehicle, its eyes caught in the headlights, then turned and walked away.

Full-body sightingEyeshine
October 1975 Rantoul, Champaign County, Illinois Class A #41318

Memory told of roadside sighting at night south of Rantoul

An investigator summarized a phone interview about an evening encounter involving two witnesses in a vehicle. A dark brown, hairy animal described as 7 feet tall and beefy was seen about 30 feet away in the headlights near a drainage ditch in harvested farmland. The animal reportedly came out of the ditch on all fours, then stood on two legs and walked away.

Full-body sighting
Winter 1975 Vandalia, Fayette County, Illinois Class A #2805

Early morning sighting of creature looking at "something" in the snow in Vandalia

The witness looked out a bedroom window early in the morning to check the snow and saw a large dark creature close to the window bent down in the snow. The creature looked up at the witness, stood up slowly, and took a step toward the window. The frightened witness ran to another room and hid until a parent arrived.

Full-body sighting
6 June 1973 Madison County, Illinois Class C #3472

Series of three incidents describing a human sized creature near edge of Edwardsville

Three residents described separate encounters in early June 1973 with a human-sized creature that chased them. The creature was said to be about 5 feet 8 inches tall and broad-shouldered, with red eyes sensitive to light, a musty odor, and silent movement. One man told police it tore his shirt and scratched his chest.

Full-body sightingOdorAnimal behaviour
June 1973 Victoria, Knox County, Illinois Class A #32162

Recollection of daylight sighting as youth near Victoria

The witness and three companions were hiking on hilltops in a strip-mine area when a bellowing cow drew attention to a nearby clearing. A large white bipedal creature emerged, stopped and stared toward the witness for several seconds after the witness shouted, then turned and walked back in the direction it came from. The group ran back to their campsite and reported the sighting to adults, who did not take it seriously.

Full-body sighting
13 May 1973 Kankakee, Kankakee County, Illinois Class A #26905

Fisherman has closeup encounter with a juvenile near Kankakee

While fishing with two companions in a rural backwater area, the witness walked the shoreline away from the group and then pushed backward through a tall hedge onto a grassy lane. Face-to-face at close range he encountered a short, stocky, brown-haired biped that then fled upright down the lane while he ran toward his companions. He described the being as fully hair-covered with dark eyes and elongated arms, moving with a flailing-armed jog, with no sound or odor noted.

Full-body sighting