FOXSYLVANIA

I think that the new MonsterQuest series has hit its stride now, with Episode 4 of Season 5 (“Hunted“) giving us features on the Ohio Dogman, Bigfoot, the Skunk Ape, and the Wisconsin Wendigo. It floated my boat, at least…

In Crawford, Ohio in 1985, a high school runner “Shane” was training by running through a cornfield when he felt that something was staring at him; he didn’t think that it was a bear or wolf as they aren’t indigenous to northwest Ohio. Deciding to flee, the young athlete was paced in his flight by the creature who traveled two or three cornrows to his right, stopping when he did as if toying with him. At the end of the cornfield, the student beheld a canid about 6′ tall with the head of a dog, pointed ears, and long arms…he was felt to be absolutely a predator…

At the end of the cornfield, the young man broke off to the left and sprinted to the house of a friend, finding temporary sanctuary at the bottom of a swimming pool before entering that friend’s house where he spent the night, happily surviving his encounter…

Another Dogman encounter in Green City, Ohio in 1972 was described during which a female teenager out with her boyfriend and others was standing outside their car when she perceived something out in the bushes with almond-shaped eyes. She heard rustling, and saw a silhouette of a large, upright animal which gradually came closer. Mesmerized, she couldn’t break eye contact with the creature, but was urged by her friends back into the car, which fled the scene…

Then in 1924, three miners staying in a hunting cabin heard whistling sounds when about 100 yards from their cabin procuring water. One beheld a large, hairy ape-like creature about 7′ tall, and fired at it, missing three times. That night around midnight, the miners heard a thud against their cabin, and later heard footsteps on its roof. Stones were heard thrown against the cabin, and one of three creatures like the one heard earlier apparently threw its weight against the cabin’s door. The walls were shaking as the assault continued, and many shots were attempted through gaps in the walls at the assailants as the battle continued through the night. Venturing out in daylight, the miners again fired at the creatures seen in the distance. Local newspapers referred to the Bigfoot-type creatures as “Mountain Devils.”

The Florida “Skunk Ape” is kind of a wetlands bog-dwelling Bigfoot of which there have been over 350 sightings over time. In Venice, Florida in 2001, a man while fishing with others heard a roar or howl that was described as being a mix of sounds that a tiger or bear might make. They jumped on their four wheelers, and heard cracking sounds from branches as they hastily departed, apparently being stalked by what they had heard. They went to the house of a girl that they knew nearby, and saw from it something black that stood as tall as a shed that was on the property. The creature later came up to the steps of the house, bringing with it a stench described as being a mix of skunk and road kill. They stayed in the house until the sun came up, and on returning to their camp, found it demolished…

Then in Eastern Wisconsin, we were brought a report of the Wendigo, a gray, gaunt creature described as being a “walking corpse” that often is seen as having the skull of a deer in the 70 to 100 sightings of it from the last century. While filming a movie in the forest towards nightfall, a group of young friends in 2022 heard something stirring beyond their campsite. The white shine of its eyes was seen as the creature approached, and they threw sticks at it, receiving in return a gargling hiss when the apparition was apparently hit. The eyes disappeared to then appear 7′ off the ground. Feeling in danger, the filming group fled, later discovering X-shaped stick structures in the nearby woods. Such structures are regarded to be territorial markers. The Wendigo was felt to be an evil presence, and to have a spiritual aspect to it…

“In the darkness, unknown predators may be on the hunt.”- – Ahahahahaha!

(I’m a predator, too. No pizza is safe around me!)