Illinois

1Piasa Bird On the record

Winged · Mississippi River bluffs just north of Alton, Madison County · first reported 1673 · also called Piasa

When Father Jacques Marquette paddled down the Mississippi in 1673, he saw two monsters painted high on the limestone bluffs near present-day Alton. He described creatures as big as calves, with deer-like horns, red eyes, a beard, a scaly body and a long tail ending like a fish. His Illini guides were afraid of the image. Marquette never mentioned wings. In 1836 John Russell published a dramatic tale of a man-eating bird killed by a chief named Ouatoga, and he later admitted he had embellished it. The original painting was quarried away in the mid-1800s. Scholars link the image to Mississippian-era beliefs about underwater and sky powers. A large modern repainting now faces the Great River Road.

• 1673On the record Marquette recorded the painted monsters on the bluff and noted that his Illini paddlers were frightened of them and left offerings to pass safely. Source: mythicmississippi.illinois.edu
• 1836Told story John Russell published The Piasa: An Indian Tradition of Illinois, introducing the winged man-eater and the hero Ouatoga. He later told author William McAdams the story was largely his own invention. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: Modern Piasa mural on the bluff along the Great River Road (Illinois Route 100) just north of downtown Alton.

2Enfield Horror On the record

Beast · Enfield, White County · first reported April 1973 · also called Enfield Monster

In spring 1973 the small town of Enfield in southern Illinois briefly became famous for one of the strangest monster descriptions on record. Resident Henry McDaniel said a grayish creature about four and a half feet tall came to his door at night. He described three legs, a short body, two little arms on its chest and pink eyes as big as flashlights. He fired a pistol at it, and he said it hissed and bounded away toward a railroad embankment in three huge leaps. Investigators including Loren Coleman visited, and a radio news director reported his own encounter. A boy who also reported a sighting later admitted he made his up. Explanations range from an escaped kangaroo to pure invention.

• April 1973On the record Henry McDaniel told authorities a three-legged gray creature had scratched at his door. He fired four shots from close range with no visible effect. Odd tracks were reported in the yard. Source: astonishinglegends.com
• May 6, 1973, about 3 a.m.On the record McDaniel reported seeing a similar creature walking along the railroad tracks near his home. Source: folkbestiary.com
• 1973On the record Rick Rainbolt, news director at radio station WWKI, said he and companions also glimpsed a creature while investigating. A young neighbor, Greg Garrett, later admitted he had made up his own report. Source: astonishinglegends.com

3Big Muddy Monster On the record

Ape-like · Riverside Park and the Big Muddy River, Murphysboro, Jackson County · first reported June 25, 1973 · also called Murphysboro Mud Monster

Late on June 25, 1973, a young couple parked near a boat dock on the Big Muddy River in Murphysboro said a tall, pale, mud-caked figure came toward them screaming. Police went to the spot and reported finding deep tracks and hearing another scream from the woods. Over the next nights, more people described a creature about seven feet tall with light, matted hair and a strong stench. A police dog was said to have followed a scent to a barn and refused to go inside. The city still keeps an open case file with police reports and sketches. The monster has become a point of local pride, with an annual festival in its honor.

• June 25-26, 1973On the record A couple near the boat ramp reported the first sighting. Officers including future chief Ron Manwaring found tracks 10 to 12 inches long sunk several inches into the mud, and noted a smell and slime on branches. Source: stancourtney.com
• June 26, 1973On the record Teenagers in the Westwood Hills subdivision reported seeing the creature, and a small child described something at the edge of the woods. Source: stancourtney.com
• Early July 1973On the record Carbondale K-9 officer Jerry Nellis tracked a scent to a barn, where his dog refused to enter. Reports tapered off soon after. Source: stancourtney.com

Visiting: Riverside Park in Murphysboro, along the Big Muddy River.

4Cole Hollow Road Monster Proven hoax

Ape-like · Cole Hollow Road, between East Peoria and Pekin, Tazewell County · first reported July 1972 · also called Cohomo

In July 1972, while Missouri was buzzing over Momo, residents near Cole Hollow Road outside Peoria began reporting a towering white-haired creature with a terrible smell and a scream like a steam whistle. The first report described something about twelve feet tall, and police reportedly fielded around 200 calls during the peak. The scare earned the nickname Cohomo, short for Cole Hollow Monster. In 1991 the young man behind the original report said it had been a prank. That same year, though, a woman reported a hairy, eight-foot beast that grabbed at her pickup truck, which kept the legend going.

• July 1972On the record Randy Emert reported a 12-foot white, hairy creature with a foul smell. Many more calls followed, and the story spread through regional papers. Source: dailyherald.com
• 1991Proven hoax Emert said his report had been a hoax. Separately, an unnamed woman told of an eight-foot hairy beast that grabbed her truck while she was picking berries. Source: folkbestiary.com

5Farmer City Monster On the record

Ape-like · Salt Creek near Farmer City, DeWitt County · first reported 1970

In the early 1970s, young people camping by Salt Creek near Farmer City in central Illinois reported a hulking dark shape with bright yellow eyes. The Daily Herald notes that a police officer also saw it, and that it fled when spotted. Reports then spread to Bloomington, Heyworth and Waynesville. The episode is part of a run of Illinois monster scares between 1970 and 1973 that also included Cole Hollow Road, Enfield and Murphysboro. Skeptics point to misidentified animals, campfire nerves and the power of copycat reports during a busy news cycle.

• Early 1970sOn the record Campers at a spot near Salt Creek reported the creature, and a police officer who checked the area also reported seeing a large shape with glowing eyes before it ran off. Source: dailyherald.com

6Lawndale Thunderbird On the record

Winged · Lawndale, Logan County · first reported July 25, 1977 · also called Illinois Thunderbirds

On a summer evening in tiny Lawndale, a ten-year-old boy named Marlon Lowe was reportedly grabbed by one of two enormous birds and carried a short distance before being dropped. His mother, Ruth Lowe, and other adults said they saw the birds, describing them as like condors with wingspans of eight to twelve feet. Marlon's shirt was said to be torn. Other big-bird reports followed across central Illinois that summer. Wildlife experts note that no North American bird can lift a child of that size, and suggest turkey vultures or other large birds plus the confusion of a frightening moment. The family said they were ridiculed for years afterward.

• July 25, 1977On the record Marlon Lowe, 10, was reportedly lifted and carried 30 to 40 feet by a huge bird before being dropped. His mother and other residents described two condor-like birds. Source: hangar1publishing.com
• Summer 1977Told story Further reports of oversized birds came in from around central Illinois. Source: dailyherald.com

7Chicago Flying Humanoid Investigated report

Winged · Chicago and suburbs (Lincoln Park, lakefront, O'Hare) · first reported April 2017 · also called Chicago Mothman, Chicago Phantom

Starting in April 2017, Chicago residents began reporting a large, dark, winged figure with glowing red eyes over parks, the lakefront and city streets. Investigators Manuel Navarette and Lon Strickler logged dozens of reports that year, from Oz Park and the Adler Planetarium to Navy Pier, Lake Shore Drive and suburbs such as McCook. Witnesses often called it bat-like or human-shaped, with a wingspan of ten feet or more. Comparisons to West Virginia's Mothman quickly followed. Skeptics point to large owls and herons, drones and the snowball effect of online reporting. Scattered reports, including one from O'Hare Airport in 2021, kept the story alive.

• Apr 10, 2017Investigated report A witness at Oz Park reported a winged being that seemed to freeze them in place. It is often cited as the start of the 2017 wave. Source: singularfortean.com
• June 23, 2017Investigated report A report near the Adler Planetarium described a large, black, bat-like creature flying along the lakefront. Source: singularfortean.com
• 2021Investigated report An employee of the Chicago aviation department reported a winged figure at O'Hare International Airport, according to Singular Fortean. Source: folkbestiary.com

8Chicago Phantom Kangaroo On the record

Beast · Northwest side of Chicago and Schiller Woods; Plano · first reported 1974

In 1974 two Chicago police officers answered a call about a kangaroo standing on someone's porch. They found the animal in an alley but could not catch it. Over the next month, kangaroo reports popped up around the Chicago area, including Schiller Woods, and spread into Indiana and Wisconsin. In Plano, an officer said he saw one jump about eight feet from a field onto the road. The reports stopped about a month later. The most common explanation is an escaped or released pet wallaby or kangaroo, though no animal was ever recovered. The case is a classic example of the phantom-kangaroo reports that pop up around the world.

• 1974On the record Two Chicago police officers cornered a kangaroo in an alley after a porch sighting but could not capture it. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1974On the record An officer in Plano reported a kangaroo leaping about eight feet from a field onto a road. Source: en.wikipedia.org

9Lake Michigan Sea Serpent Told story

Water monster · Lake Michigan off Chicago's South Side · first reported 1867

Between 1867 and about 1890, Chicago-area newspapers ran a string of reports about a sea serpent in Lake Michigan. Descriptions gave it a scaled body 40 to 50 feet long, dark blue on top with a grayish-white belly. In one 1867 account, a fisherman said it swam within 20 feet of his boat about a mile and a half off the South Side. Victorian newspapers loved serpent stories, and few of these reports were ever followed up. Big lake sturgeon, floating logs and boat wakes are the usual suggestions. The serpent faded from the news as the city grew, but it still turns up in Chicago folklore round-ups.

• 1867Told story A fisherman reported a long scaled serpent passing within 20 feet of his boat about 1.5 miles off the South Side. Source: dailyherald.com

10Stump Pond Serpent Told story

Water monster · Stump Pond, Perry County · first reported 1879

Stump Pond in southern Illinois's Perry County had a monster story that lasted almost ninety years. From 1879, people described a thick green body with black fins that rocked boats and frightened fishermen. The legend carried on until 1968, when the pond was drained. What turned up was not a serpent but large catfish, at least one said to weigh more than 30 pounds. Many people took that as the answer. It is a rare case where a lake monster story got something close to a real-world test, and the result points to big fish rather than an unknown animal.

• 1968On the record Draining the pond revealed large catfish, including one over 30 pounds, which most people took as the source of the stories. Source: dailyherald.com

11Mad Gasser of Mattoon On the record

Other · Mattoon, Coles County · first reported Sept 1, 1944 · also called Phantom Anesthetist

Not a creature but one of Illinois's most famous mysteries, the Mad Gasser was a prowler who supposedly sprayed a sweet-smelling gas into homes in Mattoon in September 1944. Victims described nausea, weakness and temporary numbness in their legs, and a few said they saw a tall figure in dark clothes near their windows. The first widely reported case involved Aline Kearney on September 1. Dozens of reports followed, and armed residents patrolled the streets. Police never caught anyone. Many researchers see it as a case of mass anxiety in wartime, while others have suggested a real culprit or industrial fumes. Eastern Illinois University keeps an online archive on the case.

• Sept 1, 1944On the record Aline Kearney reported a sweet odor in her bedroom followed by numbness in her legs. Her husband later said he saw a tall figure near the window. Source: folkbestiary.com

12Wolfman of Chestnut Mountain Told story

Humanoid · Chestnut Mountain near Galena, Jo Daviess County · first reported 2010

A modern Dogman-style story from the hills near Galena in northwest Illinois. According to a cryptid publisher, a vacationing couple from Chicago reported a creature over five feet tall, covered in dark shaggy fur, running on two legs with glowing red eyes. Later tellings add scratches on vehicles. The account has no named witnesses and little documentation, so it is best treated as recent folklore. It fits a wider pattern of upright-canine reports across the Upper Midwest that followed Wisconsin's Beast of Bray Road and the Michigan Dogman song.

• 2010Told story A Chicago couple on vacation reportedly saw a dark, upright, wolf-like figure near Chestnut Mountain. Source: hangar1publishing.com

Visiting: Chestnut Mountain Resort near Galena overlooks the Mississippi River.