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Historic encounters / Ohio
7 old newspaper reports of strange things in Ohio. Other strange creatures (4); Wild men (3). Each links to the original page.
Gallipolis, Ohio · Jan. 1869
The Gallipolis Bulletin reported a wild man in the woods near town: naked, covered in hair, very tall and with bulging eyes. Some older boys first saw him behind Carrell's Hill, and later he chased women along the Chillicothe road. The story was reprinted as far away as Vermont.
Perry Township, Wood County, Ohio approx. · Jan. 1884
People in Perry Township, Wood County, were alarmed when an unknown animal burrowed into graves in the township cemetery, leaving claw marks and fur. Weeks later papers said the animal had been captured.
Enon, Ohio · Dec. 9, 1884
When Barret's circus train was stopped by a burned railroad bridge near Enon, a jaguar escaped from its cage unnoticed. It ran across the countryside, stampeding and killing cattle, and the story ran in thirteen papers.
Woods along the river near Mexico, Wyandot County, Ohio approx. · Aug. 1886
Several people near Sycamore described an animal the size of a four- or five-year-old child when it stood up, with monkey-like feet, short reddish-brown hair, a flat nose, fox ears and big fangs. They said it hunted frogs on the riverbank by day, and its cry sounded like a child and a wolf at once.
Near Middlebourne, Guernsey County, Ohio · Oct. 1886
For weeks people around Middlebourne reported glimpses of an animal at least seven feet long, something like a grey fox, that could leap thirty feet and left only light tracks. The paper reporting it couldn't decide whether it was a lion or a lie.
Near Big Spring and Killbuck Creek, northern Holmes County, Ohio approx. · Nov. 1886
Four armed pheasant hunters said a naked man covered in matted hair ran at them from a thicket, making strange guttural sounds, and chased them to the road. It then dropped onto all fours, plunged into Killbuck Creek and swam it like a dog.
Near Rome, Ohio (exact Rome not given) approx. · May 1897
Weeks after a wild man frightened people near Rome, Ohio, two woodcutters, Charles Lukins and Bob Former, said they met him while cutting timber. After a hard struggle they drove the gorilla-like figure, which wore nothing but long curly hair, back into its retreat.
“He Wears Nothing but Hair, Which Is Long and Curly.”
Newspaper pages: Library of Congress, Chronicling America (US newspapers published before 1927 are in the public domain). Text search: American Stories (Dell, Bryan, Carlson and others, CC BY 4.0). Summaries are our own. Place data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).