In September 1903, the quiet farming town of Van Meter, Iowa became the stage for one of the most credible and terrifying cryptid encounters in American history. For five consecutive nights, townspeople reported a winged creatureunlike anything they’d ever seen — an enormous being with leathery bat-like wings and a glowing horn on its headthat emitted a blinding beam of light powerful enough to pierce the darkness.

This wasn’t the tale of drunkards or overactive imaginations. The witnesses included the town doctor, the bank cashier who later became mayor, and multiple respected businessmen — credible, level-headed citizens with everything to lose and nothing to gain by reporting what they saw.The creature stood eight to nine feet tall, with smooth skin, a blunt horn, and glowing eyes, described consistently by multiple witnesses.

 Even more disturbing, it appeared immune to bullets. Dr. Alcott fired five shots at close range without effect. Clarence Dunn opened fire through a bank window. O.V. White shot at the creature while it perched atop a telephone pole. Nothing slowed it down. The confrontation reached its climax when an armed mob tracked the being to an abandoned coal mine at the edge of town. There, they discovered not one creature—but two.

A larger and a smaller entity emerged from the shaft, seemingly impervious to the barrage of gunfire that followed. The townsfolk, terrified beyond reason, sealed the mine entrance with brick and mortar, entombing the unknown visitors deep underground.

This episode examines every documented event from those five nights and explores the enduring mystery of the Van Meter Visitor — a creature that continues to defy explanation more than a century later. From pterosaurs and demonsto extraterrestrial beings and underground species, we dig into every theory — and why none can explain all the evidence.

Have you experienced a Bigfoot sighting, Sasquatch encounter, Dogman experience, UFO sighting, or any unexplained cryptid or paranormal event deep in the woods? We want to hear your story.

Email your encounter to [email protected] for a chance to be featured on a future episode of Backwoods Bigfoot Stories.

Backwoods Bigfoot Stories is a paranormal storytelling podcast featuring real Bigfoot encounters, Sasquatch sightings, Dogman reports, cryptid experiences, and true scary stories from the backwoods.

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