Cryptids and UFOs in Texas

Creatures reported in Texas

Wild Man of the Navidadaka Wild Woman of the Navidad, The Thing That ComesA 'wild man' stealing food along a Texas river in the 1830s-1850s, later identified as an escaped enslaved man.Orbs and lightsaka Balls of light, Foo fightersGlowing balls of light that pace aircraft, dance over deserts or hang in the night sky.Mystery airshipsaka Phantom airship, Mystery airshipLit-up 'airships' reported across America years before anyone could build one.Boomerang and V-shaped UFOsaka Boomerang UFO, V-shaped UFOHuge V-shaped or chevron formations of lights, gliding silently overhead.Lake Worth Monsteraka Goat-Man of Lake Worth, Lake Worth GoatmanA furry, scaly 'goat-man' that threw a tire at a crowd in 1969.La Lechuzaaka Lechuza, Owl witchA witch who turns into a huge owl with a woman's face, from Texas-Mexican folklore.Big Bird of the Rio Grande Valleyaka Big Bird, Texas Big BirdA flap of giant bird sightings in South Texas in the winter of 1976.Black-eyed childrenaka Black-eyed kids, BEKPale children with solid black eyes who knock at night and insist on being invited in.Chupacabraaka Goat-sucker, ChupacabrasThe goat-sucker: a spiny creature blamed for draining livestock of blood.Minnesota Icemanaka Iceman, Frozen BigfootA hairy 'missing link' frozen in a block of ice, shown at fairs in the 1960s.

Famous cases

1. 1836Settlers report night thefts along the Navidad bottoms
   Wild Man of the Navidad · Sublime, Texas
2. 1883Marfa lights
   Orbs and lights · Marfa, Texas
3. 1897Aurora crash story
   Mystery airships · Aurora, Texas
4. 1951Lubbock Lights
   Boomerang and V-shaped UFOs · Lubbock, Texas
5. 1969Summer of sightings and the tire throw
   Lake Worth Monster · Lake Worth, Fort Worth, Texas
6. 1975Big Bird flap revives the legend
   La Lechuza · Robstown, Texas
7. 1976Harlingen New Year sighting
   Big Bird of the Rio Grande Valley · Harlingen, Texas
8. 1976Armando Grimaldo attack
   Big Bird of the Rio Grande Valley · Raymondville, Texas
9. 1996Brian Bethel encounter
   Black-eyed children · Abilene, Texas
10. 2005Prank confession letter
    Lake Worth Monster · Fort Worth, Texas
11. 2007Cuero carcass
    Chupacabra · Cuero, Texas
12. 2013Sold on eBay to the Museum of the Weird
    Minnesota Iceman · Austin, Texas

UFO files

• 510 US Air Force Project Blue Book files from Texas, 1947 to 1969
• 37 FAA pilot reports of lights and objects over Texas, 2007 to 2024
• Saw a strange light? Check whether it was a planet

From the old newspapers

Strange creatures, sea serpents and mystery airships reported in Texas papers before 1927.

1. 1891A wild man caught on Salado Creek
   San Antonio
2. 1897A rabbi's story of a landing near Beaumont
   Beaumont
3. 1897An undertaker sees it fly down the beach
   Galveston
4. 1897The anchor at Merkel
   Merkel

Browse all old newspaper reports

Places to visit

• Marfa Lights FestivalMarfaWest Texas toasts its mystery lights with a parade, street dances, food and music over Labor Day weekend. Most of it is free.
• Texas Bigfoot ConferenceJeffersonThe original Texas Bigfoot conference, run since 2001 in a historic Piney Woods town, with big-name speakers and vendors.
• Marfa Lights Viewing AreaMarfaA roadside pavilion 9 miles east of Marfa on US 90, built for watching the mystery lights that bob over the desert some nights.
• Aurora Cemetery "Alien Grave"AuroraA Texas historical marker here notes the 1897 story of an airship crash and a pilot "not of this world" said to be buried in the cemetery.

More about visiting in Texas · Events and festivals

Other states

ArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaOhioOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeUtahVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsin