Encounter Atlas
At about 10 pm on 25 April 1973, Henry McDaniel of Enfield, Illinois heard scratching at his door. Outside, he later said, stood a greyish creature about 4.5 feet tall with three legs, a short body, two short arms and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. He fired at it, it hissed like a wildcat, and it bounded off toward the railway embankment, covering 50 feet in three jumps.
Police found odd six-padded tracks. A neighbour boy's claim that it had torn his shoes was later admitted to be a joke. McDaniel reported seeing it again on 6 May, and a radio search party said they heard something in the brush. The case later became a textbook example of how scares spread through a community.
What witnesses report
- Three legs and two short arms
- Large pink, glowing eyes
- A wildcat-like hiss
- Huge leaps
- Dog-like tracks with six toe pads
Famous cases
- 1973McDaniel encounter
Enfield, Illinois
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