Ohio

1Loveland Frogman On the record

Humanoid · Loveland, Clermont/Hamilton counties · first reported 1955 · also called Loveland Frog, Loveland Lizard

Loveland is a small river town on the Little Miami River northeast of Cincinnati, and its signature monster is a frog that walks on two legs. The story begins with a 1955 report of three small, leathery, frog-faced figures standing upright near the Branch Hill area. It came roaring back in March 1972, when two Loveland police officers each reported a strange animal on Riverside Drive near the river. One of those officers later said the animal he shot at was a large pet iguana missing its tail. Even so, the legend stuck. The town has embraced it with a musical, a horror film, a documentary and a city mascot, and a statue is now planned.

• 1955Told story A man driving through the Branch Hill area at night is said to have seen three figures, three to four feet tall, standing upright beside the road. Retellings give them leathery skin and frog-like faces. The witness is usually described as a businessman or traveling salesman, and his name is not part of the record. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• Mar 3, 1972, about 1 a.m.On the record Officer Ray Shockey reported an animal roughly three to four feet long and 50 to 75 pounds on Riverside Drive near the Little Miami River. He described leathery skin and said it crouched like a frog before climbing over a guardrail and heading toward the water. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• About two weeks later, March 1972On the record Officer Mark Matthews saw an animal on the same stretch of road and fired at it. He later said it was a large iguana about three feet long with no tail, likely an escaped or released pet. In 2016 he repeated on local TV that he did not believe in a frog monster. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 2016Told story A couple playing Pokémon Go near the river reported a frog-like creature standing on its hind legs, which brought the legend back into the news. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: Riverside Drive and the Little Miami Scenic Trail in Loveland; a Frogman statue is planned for Nisbet Park for the city's 150th anniversary.

2Ohio Grassman Investigated report

Ape-like · Salt Fork State Park, Guernsey County, and southeast Ohio · first reported late 1800s (regional wild-man reports); name popular from the 1980s-90s · also called Eastern Bigfoot, Wild Man

The Grassman is Ohio's own take on Bigfoot. Witnesses describe a tall, muscular, hair-covered biped, often six to nine feet tall, sometimes with glowing red or yellow eyes. The name comes from reports of lean-tos and nests woven from tall grass, and from the idea that it lives in grassy edges rather than deep forest. Sightings cluster in the hilly southeast, including Salt Fork State Park, Perry County and the Hocking Hills. Ohio ranks high nationally for Bigfoot reports, and the state now hosts several Bigfoot gatherings each year. Books by Christopher Murphy and Joedy Cook, a 2013 Mountain Monsters episode and Seth Breedlove's documentaries keep the name alive.

• 1960sTold story Raccoon hunters near Clear Creek in the Hocking Hills are said to have seen a hairy figure carrying a smaller one while climbing a cliff face. The story is told by the regional tourism bureau as part of the area's Bigfoot history. Source: hockinghillsohio.org
• June 29, 2013On the record The Travel Channel's Mountain Monsters aired an episode called Grassman of Perry County, filmed around New Straitsville. The episode brought new attention and visitors to the county. Source: perrytribune.com

Visiting: Salt Fork State Park hosts the Ohio Bigfoot Conference; Hocking Hills Bigfoot Festival (August) and Nelsonville Bigfoot Festival (October).

3Minerva Monster On the record

Ape-like · Minerva, Stark/Columbiana counties · first reported Aug 1978

In late summer 1978 a family living outside Minerva told sheriff's deputies that a large, hairy creature kept showing up around their home. They described something about six feet tall and 300 pounds, with matted hair and a smell like ammonia and rotten eggs. Deputies searched the area for hours, and hair and bone fragments were reportedly sent off for study, though their fate is unknown. Crowds of curious drivers soon jammed the road. The family repeated nearly the same story to researchers years later, which investigators found striking. Skeptics note the lack of surviving physical evidence. The case is now a cornerstone of Ohio Grassman lore and the subject of a 2015 documentary.

• Aug 20, 1978On the record The Cayton family on the edge of Minerva reported a hairy figure looking in a kitchen window. A Stark County deputy, James Shannon, and several others searched for six to seven hours using jeeps and horses. Shannon later said he could not say it was Bigfoot, but felt something had happened. Source: bigfootencounters.com
• 1985 and 1991Investigated report Researcher Donald Keating re-interviewed the family and said their accounts matched their 1978 statements almost word for word. Source: bigfootencounters.com

4Melon Heads of Kirtland Told story

Humanoid · Wisner Road, Kirtland, Lake County; Chardon Township · first reported unknown; spread widely online in the 2000s · also called Melonheads

Teenagers in northeast Ohio have long dared each other to drive Wisner Road in Kirtland at night to look for the Melon Heads. The tale says a cruel doctor, usually called Dr. Crow, experimented on orphaned children until their heads swelled. The children supposedly turned on him, burned the house and fled into the woods, where they still lurk. Similar legends exist in Michigan and Connecticut. Researchers who have looked into it say there is no record of a Dr. Crow. The story is best treated as an urban legend, and it carries an unkind view of people with real medical conditions. It has inspired several low-budget films.

• 2000sTold story The Kirtland version spread through regional weird-history sites such as Creepy Cleveland and DeadOhio, which helped fix Wisner Road as the place to go looking. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 2024On the record A feature film, The Melon Heads: House of Crow, drew on the Kirtland legend, and Cleveland TV stations covered the local premiere. Source: wkyc.com

Visiting: Penitentiary Glen Reservation in Kirtland is a public Lake Metroparks site in the legend's area; respect private property on Wisner Road.

5South Bay Bessie On the record

Water monster · Western Lake Erie, Sandusky Bay to Toledo and Marblehead · first reported 1793 · also called Lake Erie Monster, Bessie

Lake Erie's serpent has been reported for more than two centuries. Ship crews and shore watchers have described a long, dark or gray animal, often 20 to 40 feet, sometimes snake-like and sometimes like a sturgeon. The oldest story dates to 1793 near Sandusky. A cluster of reports followed in 1817 and in the 1890s, and more came in 1969, the 1980s and 1993, when a marina owner offered a $5,000 reward for a live capture. Lake sturgeon, which can grow very large, are the usual suggested explanation, along with logs and waves. Bessie is now a regional mascot, lending her name to Cleveland's hockey team and a popular beer.

• 1793Told story The captain of a sloop near Sandusky reported a creature more than a rod (about 16 feet) long while out duck hunting. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• July 1817Told story A schooner crew reported a dark serpent 30 to 40 feet long. Later that year another crew described a copper-colored animal around 60 feet long and said musket fire had no effect. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• July 1892Told story The crew of a ship bound from Buffalo to Toledo reported a creature roughly 50 feet long with its head held several feet above the water. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• May 5, 1896Told story Four people at Crystal Beach near Fort Erie, on the Ontario side, said they watched a 30-foot animal with a dog-like head and pointed tail for about 45 minutes. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: Marblehead Lighthouse State Park offers views of the lake; Conneaut has hosted a Lake Erie Monster festival.

6Werewolf of Defiance On the record

Humanoid · Norfolk & Western rail yard, Defiance · first reported July 1972 · also called Defiance Dogman, Defiance Wolfman

In the summer of 1972, railroad workers in Defiance told police that a hairy figure with fangs had come at them in the early morning near the tracks. Witnesses said it was very tall, hunched, wore dark clothes and blue jeans, and swung a length of lumber. More reports came from a motorist, a store employee and a man on River Road. The Toledo Blade covered the scare, and the police chief said he thought it was a person in a mask. Today the case is often filed with Dogman lore, and Defiance hosted a Dogman symposium in 2016. It remains unclear whether a prankster, a disturbed person or something else was behind it.

• July 25, 1972On the record Two Norfolk & Western brakemen from Toledo, Ted Davis and Tom Jones, reported a hairy, fanged figure near the tracks close to downtown. A crewman said he was struck with a board. Police Chief Donald Breckler told the Toledo Blade he believed it was someone in a disguise. Source: weirddarkness.com

Visiting: Independence Dam State Park near Defiance has a towpath trail along the Maumee River.

7Peninsula Python On the record

Beast · Peninsula, Summit County (Cuyahoga Valley) · first reported Summer 1944

During the summer of 1944, the village of Peninsula on the Cuyahoga River was gripped by reports of a giant snake. A farmer said it was as thick as his thigh and around fifteen feet long, with brown spots. Others found broad tracks in a cornfield, saw it climb a wire fence, or claimed it dropped from a tree. The police chief organized search parties, and the story made national news. The usual explanation was that a python had escaped from a traveling circus or a wrecked carnival truck. It was never caught, and reports faded with the cool weather. Peninsula still celebrates the tale.

• Summer 1944On the record Clarence Mitchell was the first to report the snake. Later witnesses included a Mrs. Vaughn, who saw it go over a three-and-a-half-foot fence, and a Mrs. Boroutick, who said it fell from a butternut tree near her. Police Chief Huey led search parties that never found it. Source: theclio.com

Visiting: Peninsula village and Cuyahoga Valley National Park; a mural at the Peninsula Library is said to evoke the serpent.

8Crosswick Monster Told story

Beast · Crosswick, near Waynesville, Warren County · first reported May 29, 1882 · also called Crosswick Snake Monster

In late May 1882 a local newspaper, the Western Star, printed a wild story from the hamlet of Crosswick near Waynesville. Two young brothers fishing by the creek were said to have been attacked by a huge scaly animal with lizard-like legs, a wide head and a forked tongue. The paper claimed the older boy was dragged toward a hollow sycamore before men rescued him. When they tried to cut down the tree, the creature burst out and fled to a hole under a rock ledge. It was never seen again. The story was printed as news, but such tall tales were common in 19th-century papers, and no other record backs it up.

• May 29, 1882Told story Ed and Joe Lynch, aged about 13 and 11, were reported attacked while fishing. The Western Star named several adult witnesses and gave the animal a length of 30 to 40 feet with four-foot legs, black and white coloring and yellow spots. Source: wchsmuseum.org

Visiting: The Harmon Museum in Lebanon (Warren County Historical Society) has written about the case.

9Charles Mill Lake Monster On the record

Water monster · Charles Mill Lake, near Mansfield, Richland/Ashland counties · first reported Mar 28, 1959

Charles Mill Lake is a reservoir east of Mansfield, and in March 1959 three teenage boys said they saw something come out of it. They described a tall, armless, upright figure with glowing green eyes and large webbed feet. Officers who checked the area reportedly found prints that looked like the swim fins worn by skin divers, which points many people toward a prank. Another luminous, green-eyed sighting was reported in 1963. Over time the monster has blended with another local legend, Orange Eyes, and some people treat them as one creature. A display about the monster has been kept at the lake's marina.

• Mar 28, 1959On the record Teenagers Denny Patterson, Wayne Armstrong and Michael Lane reported a huge armless figure with glowing green eyes near the lake. Responding officers reportedly found tracks resembling skin-diver fins. Source: richlandsource.com
• 1963Told story A second report described a luminous, green-eyed figure at the lake. Source: richlandsource.com

Visiting: Charles Mill Lake Park (Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District) has a marina, beach and trails.

10Orange Eyes Told story

Ape-like · Mansfield area, Richland County · first reported 1959 or 1963 (sources differ)

Orange Eyes is a giant hairy figure said to roam the woods of north-central Ohio, named for its large, glowing orange eyes. Descriptions push it to ten or eleven feet tall and around 1,000 pounds. Stories say it once lived in a tunnel near a cemetery until road building drove it out, and that a posse once went looking for it. Sightings are listed for 1963, 1968 and 1991. Sources disagree about where it lives, naming Mansfield's woods, Charles Mill Lake, Milan and even Cleveland, and some blend it with the Charles Mill Lake Monster. That confusion suggests a legend that has grown in the retelling.

• 1963Told story Several witnesses were said to describe a hairy giant about eleven feet tall, and a group of locals reportedly tried to hunt it. Source: richlandsource.com
• Apr 22, 1968Told story A group of children reportedly met the creature. Few details survive. Source: spookyappalachia.com
• June 1991Told story Two people fishing near Willis Creek gave what is often called the last report. Source: spookyappalachia.com

11Cedar Bog Monster Told story

Ape-like · Cedar Bog Nature Preserve, near Urbana, Champaign County · first reported 1940s

Cedar Bog is a rare fen preserve between Dayton and Columbus, and local lore says an ape-like creature haunts it. Tellers describe something about seven feet tall, pale-furred, with bright red eyes and a terrible smell, and date the first reports to the 1940s, around the time the preserve was set aside. Stories include parked teenagers who saw it beside their car. Some versions add a dark tale of missing campers, and claim the fence around the bog was built to keep something in. None of that is documented. The site is a well-loved nature preserve with a boardwalk, and the monster lives mainly in campfire retellings.

• 1940s (undated)Told story Two teenagers parked near the bog are said to have seen a tall, foul-smelling creature standing about ten feet from their car. Source: paranormalcatalog.net

Visiting: Cedar Bog Nature Preserve has a boardwalk and education center open to the public.

12Bigfoot in Ohio Investigated report

Ape-like · Hocking Hills, Salt Fork and Mohican state parks · first reported late 1800s

Ohio is one of the busiest Bigfoot states east of the Mississippi, with reports from the Hocking Hills, Salt Fork, Mohican and West Branch state parks. Local reports often go by the name Grassman. See the main Bigfoot dossier for the full story, and the Grassman and Minerva Monster entries for Ohio's own versions.

Full story: Bigfoot →

Visiting: Hocking Hills Bigfoot Festival (August) and Nelsonville Bigfoot Festival (October).