Top 5 American Monsters

GhostQuest.net

Brian Weaver

Contents

Introduction

The Jersey Devil

The Mothman

The Lake Champlain Monster

The Wendigo

Sasquatch

About the Author

Introduction

Hey there, and thank you so much for checking out my eBook, Top 5 American Monsters! I’m Brian from GhostQuest.net, and I’ve written this eBook as a special thank you gift for signing up for the GhostQuest.net newsletter! In addition to getting this book, you’ll also receive monthly updates with the latest paranormal news, as well as a special monthly coupon for 10% off all orders at the GhostQuest.net store, and free shipping on all orders! The discount code is sent out in each month’s newsletter, and is usable on as many orders as you want as long as you’re signed up for the GhostQuest.net newsletter!

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The Jersey Devil

Five

Deep in the woods of southern New Jersey lies a vast area of dense forest and swampy marshlands known as the Pine Barrens. Although the first European settlers arrived in the colony of New Jersey in 1609, the Pine Barrens were only sparsely settled due to the sandy, acidic, and poor nutrient quality of its soil; thus the nickname, the Pine Barrens. Even today, despite its close vicinity to the sprawling metropolitan areas of Philadelphia and New York City, the Pine Barrens still remain rural and largely uninhabited.

In 1978, the United States Congress passed legislation that designated 1.1 million acres of the Pine Barrens as a nature reserve called the Pinelands National Reserve, and five years later in 1983 the United Nations designated the area an internationally recognized biosphere reserve. These actions helped to seal the Pine Barrens’ fate as one of America’s largest and most mysterious uninhabited areas, with over 1,700 square miles of undiscovered woodlands and marshes.

It’s here in the Pine Barrens that one of America’s most infamous legends was born. In 1735 at a location known as Leeds Point, a New Jersey colonist named Deborah Leeds and her husband Japhet received news that Deborah was pregnant with their 13th child.

Upon learning that she was pregnant, it’s said that Deborah cursed her unborn child, saying, “let this child be the devil.” Whether or not this curse was intentional or just a product of frustration is unknown, but it appears the devil was indeed listening. Later that year Deborah gave birth to one of the most infamous monsters in American folklore; The Jersey Devil.

According to legend, it was a dark and stormy night when Deborah Leeds went into labor with her 13th child. Several midwives showed up to help deliver the new baby, and by all accounts the birth was routine and uneventful. However, after delivering the newborn baby–a boy–it’s said that the child began to thrash around uncontrollably.

The baby began to emit a loud, piercing, inhuman screech, which sent feelings of dread into the hearts of the awestruck midwives. As moments passed, the thrashing boy began to transform, becoming more and more fearsome until finally the metamorphosis was complete.

Standing before the Leeds family was a monster, described as being tall and reptilian with hooves and the head of a goat, leathery, bat-like wings, a forked tail, and brightly glowing red eyes. According to legend, the devil spread its wings, let out another screech, and promptly escaped by flying up the chimney and out into the dark night.

Over the following weeks and months, settlers of the Pine Barrens began reporting a variety of mysterious activity believed to be related to the Jersey Devil. Farmers began noticing livestock animals frequently going missing, or being found in fields bloody and mutilated. Children began to go missing, and were often found mutilated and decomposing in the woods, with deep claw marks and wounds that appeared to be caused by a mysterious, unidentified animal. Some farmers even claim to have witnessed their livestock being carried away into the night by a large, bat-like creature with glowing red eyes.

In 1740 a local minister was brought to the Pine Barrens to attempt to perform an exorcism. Although many claim that sightings of the Jersey Devil drastically decreased at this time, it’s estimated that thousands of people have reported encountering the devil since.

In 1800, a United States Naval Officer named Stephen Decatur claimed to encounter the Jersey Devil while visiting the nearby Hanover Iron Works. It’s said that while testing out a new cannon on the firing range, Mr. Decatur saw a strange, flying beast in the air above. Without thinking twice, he took aim at the creature and fired. While some claim that Mr. Decatur missed his mark, others claim his shot hit the beast, which continued to fly without being visibly affected.

In 1820 a man named Joseph Bonaparte, elder brother to the French conqueror Napoleon Bonaparte, reported encountering the Jersey Devil while hunting in nearby Bordentown, and in 1840 a string of mysterious livestock killings was blamed on the devil.

In January of 1909, thousands of residents across the state of New Jersey reported witnessing the mysterious flying creature, causing mass widespread panic. Schools and businesses were closed, and hundreds of police officers were dispatched to investigate claims throughout the states of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland. The nearby Philadelphia Zoo even put out a $10,000 reward for anyone who was able to kill or capture the beast. After hundreds of newspaper articles were published about the sightings, the mysterious beast was given an official name: The Jersey Devil.

By the end of January, things had returned to normal, with very few sightings of the Jersey Devil reported over the following months. Although 1909 was considered by many to be the peak of the Jersey Devil hysteria, several credible reports have made headlines in the years since.

In 1925 a local farmer claimed to have shot and killed the Jersey Devil after he found it killing and eating his livestock. According to legend, over 100 people showed up to attempt to identify the creature’s remains, but were unsuccessful in doing so.

On the evening of July 27, 1937, residents of Downing, Pennsylvania called in dozens of reports of an unidentified flying beast with glowing red eyes, which were published the following day by a newspaper called The Pennsylvania Bulletin.

In 1951 a group of young boys in Gibbstown, New Jersey reported encountering a creature in the woods matching the description of the Jersey Devil, and in 1960 in nearby Mays Landing locals claim to have found a set of unidentified animal footprints that were said to belong to the devil.

Having been talked about for almost 300 years, the Jersey Devil is one of the most prominent and well-known urban legends in the United States, with people today still claiming to encounter the enigmatic beast.

The Mothman

Four

On November 16th, 1966 two young married couples from Point Pleasant, West Virginia reported encountering a large, winged, humanoid figure with glowing red eyes. When they reported it to a local newspaper called The Point Pleasant Register the following day, they described the figure as having a wingspan of over 10 feet (3+ meters), and a height between 6 and 9 feet (2-3 meters). In the police report filed by the group, they claim to have been driving down a rural road near an abandoned World War II munitions factory in Point Pleasant when they spotted something strange.

At first it appeared to be just a pair of eyes belonging to an animal in the road, but upon driving closer, the creature stood up, spread its giant wings, and began to fly alongside the car. The driver of the car sped up, but the creature kept pace easily, even when allegedly reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour. Eventually though, the creature ceased its pursuit and the group was able to escape.

Another group of witnesses claim to have encountered the same, giant, humanoid bat-like creature three times that same night, and many more reports followed.

They described the creature as looking like a moth in the headlights, and it was given the name, The Mothman.

Later that month, two men were out riding motorcycles and spotted a pair of strange red lights coming from the old munitions plant. They decided to investigate, and were horrified to encounter the same moth-like creature inside. The Mothman once again spread it’s enormous wings and retreated into the sky.

With more and more encounters with the alleged Mothman being reported to newspaper outlets and police stations, many theories began to circulate about the Mothman’s true nature.

One biologist at West Virginia University named Dr. Robert L. Smith theorized that the Mothman may actually be a Sandhill Crane, which has a wingspan of over 7 feet (2+ meters) and stands as tall as an average person. He went on to say that due to the creature not being native to the Point Pleasant area, locals wouldn’t have immediately recognized the bird, especially late at night.

Some speculated that The Mothman was some type of alien entity that arrived on earth for unknown reasons, while others were convinced the creature was the result of a top-secret government experiment that had gone wrong. During this time, there was also an increase in UFO reports and sightings in the Point Pleasant area.

Others were convinced that The Mothman was actually a creature from Native American folklore called the Thunderbird, which is considered a powerful supernatural being, and many were convinced that the entire thing was just a hoax.

But as time went by, more encounters were still being reported. To add another layer of mystery to the situation, many who reported coming face to face with the Mothman also began to report having strange recurring nightmares, with many experiencing extreme anxiety and psychological distress lasting for months.

One such woman, named Mrs. Marcella Bennet, reported having frightening nightmares about the Mothman for months after the encounter, resulting in acute episodes of anxiety and paranoia. These feelings of paranoia became so unbearable that she eventually was forced to seek medical attention.

One woman reported having strange dreams of Christmas presents floating in a river, which turned out to be an omen of what was coming next.

After a year of sightings, The Mothman hysteria finally came to an end at around 5:00pm on December 15th, 1967 when the Silver Bridge, which connects Point Pleasant to Gallipolis Ohio, collapsed into the Ohio River below. The event killed 46 motorists who were stuck on the bridge during rush-hour traffic, and dozens of others were injured.

Then, strangely enough, sightings of the Mothman stopped, and life returned to normal, with many speculating that The Mothman was some sort of omen sent to warn them of the catastrophe ahead.

The Lake Champlain Monster

Three

Lake Champlain is a 125-mile-long freshwater lake located on the border of northwestern Vermont and northeastern New York, with a small portion of the lake extending into Quebec, Canada. The lake has an average depth of around 20 feet (6 meters), with a maximum depth of 122 feet (37 Meters). It’s a popular tourist destination during the summer, and a popular location for boating, fishing, and other outdoor activities. But for as long as Vermont and New York have been inhabited by European settlers, people have told stories of a strange creature that dwells deep in the depths of Lake Champlain.

Although the creature was nicknamed Champ, or Champy by European settlers, Native American tribesmen and women of the Iroquois and Abenaki tribes for hundreds of years before had referred to the creature as Tatoskok.

The first documented sighting of the Lake Champlain Monster, aka Champy, by eastern settlers occurred in 1609, when it was discovered by a French cartographer named Samuel de Champlain, who would later describe the creature as “a 20-foot serpent thick as a barrel, and a head like a horse.”

In 1819 a New York newspaper called the Plattsburgh Republican published an article claiming that a captain sailing on Lake Champlain had encountered a massive, serpent-like creature. He described it as being almost 190-feet long, with large teeth, and a red ring around its neck.

In 1883 Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney reported encountering the same serpent-like creature while fishing on the shores of Lake Champlain. His disclosure led to dozens of other eyewitnesses coming forward to report seeing a similar creature, described as being a 30-foot-long sea serpent. In 1887 the myth of Champy the serpent had become so popular that the famous politician and founder of Barnum & Bailey Circus, P. T. Barnum, offered a reward for its capture.

Reports of Vermont and New York locals encountering Champy continued over the years. In 1977 a woman named Sandra Mansi allegedly captured a picture of the serpent while on vacation with her family. In the summer of 2005 two fishermen allegedly captured a video of a massive, eel-like creature swimming in the lake. The video was reviewed by two FBI forensic image analysts, who both agreed that the video was authentic, and hadn’t been altered in any way.

With cellphones and other technology making it easier for average people to capture pictures and videos on the go, alleged video evidence of the Champlain Lake Monster is becoming more and more common. But are these videos real, or is Champy the serpent just a figure of our collective imaginations?

The Wendigo

Two

In Native American folklore, the wendigo is described as a mythical monster or evil spirit that feeds exclusively on human flesh. Roughly translated, the word wendigo means “the evil spirit that devours mankind.” In some cases, a human is possessed by an evil, cannibalistic spirit, causing them to commit acts of murder and cannibalism, whereas in other cases the person slowly becomes a wendigo by indulging in cannibalism of their own free will. In some folklore, the wendigo is able to shape shift to assume the form of a human that it’s cannibalized, and can mimic voices and other sounds to lure victims into it’s lair.

They are described as being tall and human-like in appearance, with some allegedly standing up to 15 feet (4.5 meters) tall, with gaunt, pale, skeleton-like features, and dark, sunken eyes. They are described as being lanky and having supernatural hunting abilities, with sharp claws and fangs. They appear to be driven mad by the urge to consume human flesh, and their hunger is never sated. It’s said that over time the wendigo’s appearance becomes more and more fearsome as the possessed individual is stripped of their humanity.

Whether or not the wendigo really exists, or is used to enforce cultural taboos against cannibalism is still a mystery, but encounters with the creature have been reported throughout the United States and Canada dating back hundreds of years and continue to present day. Many doctors and psychologists during the early colonization of America were convinced that the wendigo was real, with some even going so far as diagnosing patients with a rare condition known as Wendigo Psychosis.

One famous case of alleged Wendigo Psychosis was reported in 1878, when a Native American trapper from Alberta, Canada named Swift Runner claimed to be possessed by the spirit of a wendigo. During the winter Swift Runner, his wife, and their five children lived in a cabin in the woods, trapping animals and hunting for food. The cabin was located approximately 25 miles from the nearest village.

According to legend, when Swift Runner returned to the village the next spring, he was alone. When people began to ask what happened to his wife and family, he replied that they had become trapped in the cabin over the winter and died of starvation. When authorities later went to investigate the cabin, they found a gruesome, horrific scene inside.

Swift Runner’s deceased family clearly appeared to have been murdered, and their remains cannibalized. Due to the relatively close proximity of the cabin to civilization, it was concluded that Swift Runner’s cannibalism was not a last resort to avoid starvation, and he was diagnosed with a case of Wendigo Psychosis. He confessed, and was later executed at nearby Fort Saskatchewan.

Another well documented case of Wendigo Psychosis occurred in 1907, when an Oji-Cree medicine man named Jack Fiddler, who claimed to have killed 14 wendigos over the course of his lifetime, was arrested for homicide. At the age of 87, Jack Fiddler confessed to murdering an elderly tribeswoman on the grounds that she had been possessed by a wendigo spirit. According to Jack, the woman was on the verge of fully transforming into a wendigo, and he had no choice but to kill her before she became a threat.

Jack Fiddler was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, however he chose to end his life instead and committed suicide shortly after.

In recent years the wendigo has made it’s way into pop culture as a horror icon, with many Hollywood movies and television shows featuring similar creature. But even more disturbing is that due to technology like the internet, more and more sightings are being reported today, with most originating in rural, wooded areas.

Whether the wendigo exists as a metaphor, or a fairy tale to prevent unethical behavior, one can’t help but wonder if such horrific creatures can truly exist.

Sasquatch

One

While many monsters and undiscovered creatures are said to lurk in the vast forests, caves, mountains, and swamplands of North America, none are as infamous or well known as the Sasquatch, aka Bigfoot; a giant, hairy, bipedal man-ape that has eluded human discovery for hundreds of years, if not longer. Although most alleged sightings of Sasquatch occur in the Pacific Northwest, sightings of the legendary beast have been reported throughout North America as far east as New Hampshire and Maine, and as far south as Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida, with most sightings being reported in rural, wooded areas.

Long before European settlers came to America, Native Americans told stories of the Sasquatch. Some called it the Wild Man, and others called it Bigfoot. Some tribes even designated certain areas as “Sasquatch territory,” and refrained from entering those areas. The Sasquatch is described as being between 6 feet and 9 feet tall (1.8 meters and 2.7 meters), resembling a giant ape with thick brown or reddish fur, and human-like intelligence and features.

Although most simply dismiss the Sasquatch as a scary story told around campfires, there have been thousands of reports of people claiming to encounter the legendary beast, with even more reports emerging in recent years due to the increase in cellphone cameras and internet usage among the population.

In 2018 alone there were dozens of alleged Sasquatch sightings and videos uploaded to the popular video sharing website, YouTube. One video taken by a Canadian family in January of 2018 appears to show a giant, hulking humanoid figure near the edge of a forest clearing. It appears to be standing on two legs, and takes unnaturally long strides when walking. After several seconds the creature disappears back into the woods, leaving the family unnerved and speechless.

In February of 2018, a Michigan man was hiking through the woods when he captured a video of what appears to be a tall, hairy humanoid strolling casually through the woods.

In March, 2018 the news station CBS Connecticut reported that the number of Bigfoot sightings in the area has been steadily increasing over the years, with many sightings occurring in an uninhabited area of New Jersey known as the Pine Barrens. The station went on to report that there have been 70 reported Sasquatch sightings in the state of New Jersey since 1966.

One news report from a news outlet called The Daily Express claims a man found a set of mysteriously large human-like footprints in Alderwood State Wayside Park in Oregon while hiking. The prints were barefoot, and measured over 16 inches in length, with strides measuring over 4 feet (3.1 meters). Experts looking at the footprints estimated that the creature that made them was at least 40% larger than an average adult male, but were also unable to identify a possible source.

With rural areas in the United States and Canada continuing to shrink rapidly, it’s no wonder Sasquatch sightings are becoming more and more common, and the number of believers in the legendary beast is constantly rising. Each year there seems to be more videos, pictures, and stories circulating that prove the existence of Sasquatch, and with those stories comes more believers.

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