Historic monster reports in West Virginia

1. 1896
2. The Wichita Daily Eagle. Wichita, Kan. · Jan. 10, 1896 · Page 2

   A feathered monster shot in Lincoln County

   Mouth of Vannatters Creek near Hamlin, West Virginia approx. · Jan. 1896

   Elias Midkiff of Hamlin asked the West Virginia historical society to send a taxidermist for a monster bird, unlike anything seen in the state, that W. W. Adkins had killed with five rifle bullets at the mouth of Vannatters Creek. The item was reprinted from Kansas to Oregon.

   “a kind never seen before by anyone in West Virginia”

   Also printed in 6 other papers

   • The Dalles Daily Chronicle., The Dalles, Or., Feb. 4, 1896, p. 4
   • The Topeka State Journal., Topeka, Kansas, Feb. 21, 1896, p. 1
   • The Bryan Daily Eagle, Bryan, Tex., March 1, 1896, p. 2
   • The Meeker Herald, March 7, 1896, p. 4
   • The Saint Paul Globe, St. Paul, Minn., June 1, 1896, p. 1
   • The Meeker Herald, Nov. 14, 1896, p. 1
3. The Cambria Freeman. Ebensburg, Pa. · Dec. 25, 1896 · Page 2

   The catawampus of Doe Gully tunnel

   Doe Gully tunnel, B&O Railroad, near the Potomac approx. · Dec. 19, 1896

   Railroad men reported a strange beast near Doe Gully tunnel on the Baltimore and Ohio line that killed a mountain farmer's sheep. A railroad official said he saw it come down to the river to drink. Seven hunters saw it but could not get a shot, and men went to the fields armed. Locals called it the catawampus.

   “men go to and from their work in the fields armed”

4. 1897
5. The Evening Times April 20, 1897 · Page 4

   Sistersville signs an affidavit

   Sistersville, West Virginia · April 19, 1897

   A mysterious light approached Sistersville from the northwest at about 9 p.m., stopped over Cochransville, Ohio, across the river and flashed red, white and green. Citizens signed an affidavit that they had seen it.

6. The Evening Times. Washington, D.C. · April 26, 1897 · Page 3

   A travelling salesman saw it four times

   Wheeling, West Virginia · April 25, 1897

   George A. Williams, a travelling salesman for a large cloak firm, told Wheeling reporters he had seen the airship four times on his travels and had no doubt about it.

7. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer. Wheeling, W. Va. · June 8, 1897 · Page 1

   A wild woman who leaps fences like a deer

   Near Elkins, Randolph County, West Virginia approx. · June 1897

   Farmers near Elkins said a wild woman crossed their fields and was too fast to catch, leaping fences like a deer. At night they heard hideous noises like a dog's or fox's bark, and searchers from Elkins scoured the woods without finding her.

   Also printed in 4 other papers

   • Alexandria Gazette., Alexandria, D.C., June 9, 1897, p. 2
   • The Topeka State Journal, June 10, 1897, p. 8
   • The Cambria Freeman., Ebensburg, Pa., June 11, 1897, p. 2
   • The Republican., Oakland, Md., June 17, 1897, p. 5

Other states

• California 25
• Connecticut 6
• Illinois 7
• Kansas 7
• Massachusetts 12
• Nebraska 7
• New Jersey 13
• New York 9
• Washington 5
• Wisconsin 5

All historic encounters

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).