Spooky Appalachia

Perhaps the most famous cryptid of all time is Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Normally, I like to do a “Story of…” post before I start posting stories and sightings of these creatures. It has been tough to track down one source of the first story; there are many opinions on where it all began. So, I will try to summarize a few that I think may have started it. At a later time, I will be posting sightings from in or around Appalachia because they seem to happen all the time!

Leif Ericson and his men are thought to be the first European explorers of North America. During their first visit in 986 AD, they reported seeing something strange. Leif wrote of huge hairy men who towered over him and his men. These men were loud and foul-smelling and lived in the woods. They had several encounters with the creatures and noted they were very different from the other natives they found in the new world.

Another documented early story I found happened in 1924. Albert Ostman, a lumberjack and outdoorsman, was asleep in his sleeping bag on a vacation camping trip in British Columbia when a Sasquatch picked him up and carried him for about 3 hours. He was taken to what seemed like a family of four creatures. Most reports say he was held captive for 6 days by the creatures. All that is known about Ostman’s time with them is that they fed him some type of sweet grass. Ostman was able to escape after he gave the largest creature some snuff, which caused it to get sick.

On August 27, 1958, near Bluff Creek, California, Jerry Crew arrived at a road construction site for work one morning and found tracks measuring a whopping 18 inches in length. He showed the prints to his co-workers, who referred to whatever was making the prints as “Big Foot,” thus giving the creature its name. A month later, more prints were found, and a plaster casting was made of one of them.

The Patterson and Gimlin footage from 1967 is the last one I’ll cover this go-round. On October 20, 1967, Patterson and Gimlin were horseback riding around 1:15 in the afternoon. They went around a downed tree and noticed a figure crouching, a man-like creature. They observed that it was about 7 foot 6 inches tall and covered in dark reddish-brown or black hair. Thinking this was odd, Patterson dismounted his horse and took out his camera. Paterson started running towards it while filming, which he explains is why the footage is so shaky, and at one point he even tripped. The creature eventually noticed the two and began walking away but looked back at them before disappearing. This video is probably the one that started the hype surrounding Bigfoot. It is how I first heard of him as a kid.

There you have it. These are some of the biggest stories that have encouraged Bigfoot fever. There are reports, pictures, and even videos of sightings of the creature all over the US these days. I have even seen several very near where I live. One day, I might cover some of those. If you have ever had an encounter with Bigfoot and would like to share your story, please email me at [email protected]. I would love to hear your story and share it here.

Do you have a Paranormal story? Let us know we would love to feature it! Email us at [email protected]

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This was sent over by one of the members of our discord. If you haven’t yet, be sure to join to get all of the latest updates and come chat with other fans of the site! You can join our discord here.

Very interesting story, thank you for sending it in. I know if I were working and started smelling that smell being the only one around I would be pretty creeped out myself. Don’t forget if you have your own stories, be sure to send them in to [email protected]!

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Skyquakes or Trumpets are a strange new phenomenon being reported all over the world. Reports state a trumpet sounds or sonic boom coming from the sky. In some cases, a shock caused buildings to shake. 

The odd thing about this one is the amount of evidence there is out there. Go on social media and search “trumpet sounds coming from the sky,” and you’ll find several pages full of records and news reports about the phenomenon. It was even included in the X-Files revival.

The question is, what is this?! Some who have experienced the phenomenon fear that it is a warning sign from heaven itself. In the Bible’s book of Matthew, there is a mention of trumpet sounds signaling a great disaster or the end of times. Let’s hope this isn’t the case! Here is the passage:

I myself have experienced this phenomenon. In May 2019, I was in my yard playing with my dog when I started hearing a terrible sound coming from the sky. The sound even startled my dog. Me being me, the first thing I did was pull out my phone and record it. You can view that below. The sound lasted for about half an hour before it stopped, and I have not heard it since. My friends in the area were all puzzled on what it could be.

Do you have a Paranormal story? Let us know we would love to feature it! Email us at [email protected]

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Perryville Kentucky, founded in 1758, appears to be a typical, quiet small town in the middle of Kentucky with a population of about 780 people, but it has something of a dark history. If you’ve heard of Perryville, it might be because Kentucky’s bloodiest Civil War battle took place there. More than 7,600 soldiers were killed, wounded, or went missing. Or you may have heard about its reputation for being haunted…

Many of Perryville’s residents have stories of things they cannot explain. Residents report being on their front porch or in their yards when men dressed in Confederate soldier uniforms show up and have normal conversations, only to disappear moments later.

One story that stood out to me was from a woman who lived in the town as a child. She recounted hearing footsteps coming up the stairs and then looking to see a gray figure walking up the steps. At this point, paralyzed by fear, she couldn’t move. The figure walked into her bedroom and moved toward her bed with a creepy grin on his face. She closed her eyes, hoping it would go away. She then felt something drop on her bed. When she opened her eyes, there was an arm on the bed crawling towards her. The girl screamed. After this her parents came running. By the time they arrived, the ghostly figure had vanished. When the family looked into the property’s history, they discovered that it had belonged to an officer who had lost their arm in the nearby battle. 

There are many stories of hauntings in Perryville, Kentucky. Tours of the battlefield and other historical locations can be booked through Perryville Battlefield.

Do you have a Paranormal story? Let us know we would love to feature it! Email us at [email protected].

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This week we have a story from Lori, with a possible Mothman Sighting from Southern Michigan back in 2019. It’s a pretty exciting story and I’m happy to be able to share it here. Also check out our original post on the Mothman for more information on the creature. 

This story gave me goosebumps just reading it. It’s also exciting because it’s a more recent sighting. I’ve been seeing a lot of talk about Mothman sightings in the Illinois and Michigan areas. Maybe this is where it is living these days? Let me know what you think in the comments!

Do you have a Paranormal story? Let us know we would love to feature it! Email us at [email protected]

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This story was emailed in by a fan named TJ. He said he really enjoyed the story I posted last week and that had one he wanted to share.

Thank you for the story TJ! I really enjoyed this one, it was really creepy, and it sounds like the black-eyed kids show up at restaurants as well. I hope everyone enjoyed this story and that folks continue to send these in.

Do you have a Paranormal story? Let us know we would love to feature it! Email us at [email protected]

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Black-eyed kids are one of the more creepy urban legends because no one really knows what they are or what they want. Most encounters seem to take place either with a creepy duo showing up at a victim’s house asking to be let in during the middle of the night or at the window of a car asking for a ride. Witnesses always state that these kids appear to be between the ages of 5 and 15, with ragged clothes, pale skin, and big black eyes. For tonight’s story, I decided to find an earlier story, and it just so happens that it took place right here in Appalachia. 

This early account of black-eyed children comes from Virginia in 1950 and concerns a 16-year-old boy, known only as “Harold.”

According to the story, Harold was walking home one afternoon when he came across another boy leaning against a fence, as if waiting for someone. The teenager attempted to speak to him but received no response. He was about to walk off and go on with his journey, when the strange boy suddenly stated to Harold, “I want to go to your house. You’re going to take me to your house.”

It was then that Harold noticed the blackness of the boy’s eyes. There was no white in them, just solid black. Harold began to contemplate turning and running home as fast as he could when something even stranger and more chilling happened: the boy blurted out, “Now, don’t you run away from me. You’re going to walk me up to your house.”

Harold turned and ran anyway, faster than his legs had ever carried him before. He later recalled to his parents that as he did so, he heard a scream behind him—a scream that sounded very similar to that of a bobcat.

Interestingly, his parents believed their son’s account, so much so that his father was said to have grabbed his gun and immediately gone out looking for the menacing boy who had demanded his son take him to their family home. His mother apparently thought her son had an encounter with the Devil himself and stated that she would take him to see the local priest.

I’ve always found the urban legend of the black-eyed kids equally creepy and interesting. Let me know what you think about the story in the comments section. I will more than likely be posting more stories about The Black-Eyed Kids in the future.

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If you have never heard of it, the Mothman is a creature made famous by encounters in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Several eyewitnesses have described it as a human-shaped and sized creature with bird-like wings and feathers. Its most distinguishing feature is its reflective red eyes. There have been several sightings of this creature throughout the years, even before the incidents reported in Point Pleasant. Some believe that it may even be the same creature as the Thunderbird from Native American legend.

This first story is not as well known as some of the other Mothman stories. However, it is believed to be one of the first encounters with the creature. On November 1, 1966, several National Guardsmen in Point Pleasant saw what they described as a large, brown, man-shaped figure on a tree limb near the National Guard Armory.

Our next story took place on November 12, 1966, in Clendenin, West Virginia – a few days before the more famous sighting on the 15th. Kenneth Duncan, along with four other men, was digging a grave for his father-in-law when he noticed a pair of red, glowing dots coming from the nearby woods. He then noticed the pair of dotted eyes that belonged to what looked like a tall brown man. Shortly after he noticed this, a set of wings spread from the man. Then, it jumped up and momentarily flew over the men’s heads before disappearing. This creature eventually became known as the Mothman.

The Mothman has always been one of my favorite cryptids. I remember reading about it when I was very young and being extremely creeped out. That’s probably what started my interest in the creature. I plan on doing additional posts in the future about the Mothman and the strange occurrences in Point Pleasant.

If you want to learn more about the Mothman, I recommend visiting the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant. You can also watch a 24/7 stream of The Mothman Statue on YouTube. Being the administrator of this stream, I highly recommend it.

Check out Part 2 of this story!

Do you have a Paranormal story? Let us know we would love to feature it! Email us at [email protected].

Source(s):

Jeff Wamsley Director Mothman Museum and Mothman expert

appalachianoddity http://www.appalachianoddity.org/

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This story starts out in the summer of 1817, when the Bell family began seeing strange looking animals on their 320 acre farm. Soon after, they began hearing knocking sounds on their doors and the outer walls of their farm house. Shortly after the knocking started, the family began hearing chains being drug through the house, the sounds of stones being dropped on their wood floors, and gulping and choking sounds. 

As you might imagine, the family was terrified by these events. Fearing ridicule, they kept the strange occurrences to themselves for about a year until it became unbearable. The father, John Bell, confided in their neighbors, the Johnsons. John invited them to stay over for a few nights so that they too could witness the events. After a few nights of strange events, Mr. Johnson suggested more people be told, and a committee was formed to start an investigation.

It was not long after this that people began traveling from many miles away to witness these strange occurrences, and soon this entity gained a voice. It said it was a witch named Kate Batts but soon became referred to as the Bell Witch. Kate said she wanted two things. First, she wanted John Bell dead, and, second, she wanted to prevent John’s youngest daughter, Betsy, from marrying a neighbor boy named Joshua Gardner.

Over the next few years, the family was tormented almost daily. John and Betsy received the worst of it. Betsy was scratched, having her hair pulled, and even receiving beatings. John began suffering from spells of swelling, mostly in the throat, as well as physical beatings. John said that Kate would blast him with threats and curses.

Finally in 1820, after drawing huge crowds, Kate seemed to accomplish her mission. On December 20, John Bell died; it was believed that he was poisoned by Kate. Then in March of the next year, Betsy broke off her engagement to Joshua Gardner. After this, Kate bid everyone farewell and said she would return in 7 years.

In 1828, Kate did return for a few weeks. She visited the home of John Bell, Jr. and had several long talks with him about the past and future. She said there was a reason for stopping Betsy’s marriage and for the death of John Sr. but it was never explained. She said that she would return again in 100 years.

People in the area said she never left, and there are reports of strange occurrences still happening on the Bell family’s old farm and at the Bell Witch Cave in Adams, Tennessee. I may circle back and add a few of these stories if there’s interest among you readers. Tours are available of a replica of the Bell family cabin as well as the Bell Witch Cave in Robertson County, Tennessee. Let me know what you think in the comment section!

Do you have a Paranormal story? Let us know we would love to feature it! Email us at [email protected].

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According to Japanese legend, Kuchisake-onna, or the Slit-Mouthed Woman, was a human woman who was mutilated during her life. Her mouth was slit from ear to ear, like The Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight. In some versions of the story, Kuchisake-onna was the adulterous wife of a samurai during her life, and, as punishment for her infidelity, her husband sliced the corners of her mouth from ear to ear. Other versions of the lore include that her mouth was mutilated during a medical or dental procedure, that she was mutilated by another woman who was jealous of her beauty, or that her mouth is filled with numerous sharp teeth.

After her death, the woman returned as a vengeful spirit, or onryō. As an onryō, she covers her mouth with a cloth mask (often specified as a surgical mask or, in some iterations, a hand fan or handkerchief). She also carries a sharp instrument with her, which has been described as a knife or a large pair of scissors. She is said to ask potential victims if they think she is pretty or attractive.. If they answer “no,” she will kill them with her weapon, and if they answer “yes,” she will reveal her mutilated mouth. She then repeats her question, “Even now?” If the individual responds with “no” or screams in fright, she will kill them with her weapon. If they respond with “yes,” she will slice the corners of their mouth from ear to ear, resembling her own disfigurement. It’s said that the only way to survive the encounter is to answer, “so-so” or “What do you think?” to confuse the spirit. I’ll be giving you one of the most commonly told stories of the Slit-Mouthed Woman from Japanese culture.

Many years ago there was a young man of 20 called Kosuke, who worked at a shop called Daikokuya in Motogikucho, Edo. Being a fresh new employee, he was asked by his boss to run an errand in Ookubohyakunincho (present day Shinjuku). He was asked to deliver a letter and wait for the reply, but the reply took a considerable amount of time. By the time he was able to return, the sun was already setting, and, to top it all off, it had started to rain. Kosuke pulled out his umbrella and lit a lantern, then put the letter in his pocket and hurried along the street back to the shop.

Along the way he noticed a young woman, soaked and running along the street.. He called out to the woman and told her he was returning to Motogikucho, but if she would like to share his umbrella along the way she could. The woman stopped dead in her tracks and quickly turned around. The moment she did, Kosuke screamed and fell backwards. The woman’s mouth was cut from ear to ear. Fangs jutted out, and her eyes sparkled at the sight of him.

Kosuke had worried about returning to the shop late but ended up being carried back. On his arrival it was as though he had aged all at once. His teeth had fallen out, and his face had grown old. Without saying another word, he took his final breath.

There were several Slit-Mouthed Woman sightings in the area at the time. It is believed that Kosuke was attacked by her based on the story he told them men who found him.

Do you have a Paranormal story? Let us know we would love to feature it! Email us at [email protected].

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