-The headliners aren't always the most scary
Green Clawed Monster
It was August 1955, Revenger of The Creature had just released months prior, but was it movie drama or did something actually grab Naomi Johnson that summer? This is the tale of the Green Clawed Monster of Evansville, IN, and a handful of assorted tales of neighboring areas.
Naomi and her friend Louise Lamble took Naomi's three children to the Dogwood area of Evansville's west side. It was a hot summer day in the early weeks of August, reaching temperatures in the mid-high 90s; and if you were alive in those days, air-conditioning was little to none. They decided to spend the day on the Ohio River, cool off in the water and enjoy some much-needed time relaxing. Now if you know the Ohio, it is not known for a good place to swim in today's society, we have no idea what is out there anymore, and it's just not a good "swimming hole", back then in those parts it was a calm and relaxing area. Naomi, a mere 15' from the shoreline, paddled around while her kids sat with Louise on land, soaking up the sun. That's when something straight from a movie happened...
Something grabbed a hold of Naomi from beneath the surface. What was later described as a large green claw-like hand, sometimes described as hairy, clasped around her leg, and pulled her under. Naomi fought back and kicked her way back above water, gasping for air and screaming for Louise just as the creature snatched her leg again and, pulling her back under. This time she was able to grab a hold of the innertube she was using, trying to climb aboard, and making her way back to the shore (the legend varies here a little as it is also said Louise forced her own innertube out into the water and over where the creature seemed to be, which only then it backed off and Naomi back to shore). Shortly thereafter, authorities were contacted, and she was treated for the scrapes and cuts on her lower leg, but she had a bluish-green impression left on her leg, in the rough shape and size of a large hand. This odd stain remained on Naomi's leg for several days to weeks. To add to the legend, it's rumored that a man claiming to be an US Air Force colonel visited the Johnson home, instructing Naomi to never speak of the incident again. This 21st day of August in 1955 was the only time the Green-Clawed Monster was ever sighted, yet the legend remains. To add to the mystery of August 21, 1955, there is a famous alien invasion story that happened on the same day in nearby Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
WILD MEN & The CROSLEY MONSTER
First off, no, the title is not alluding to my brother or myself. However, the Hoosier State has cryptid legends galore, and while some may not be the headliners like Bigfoot, Mothman, or Nessie, some are just as terrifying. We have tales of the Gullywompus, Lake Manitou Sea Monster, Pike County Monster, Cable Line Monster, The Beast of Busco, Meshekenbek, the Gibson County Beast, and of course Pukwudgies complete the list. There have been tales of Bigfoot in several areas, alien sightings, and paranormal proceedings that can keep me writing for months, if not years. Onto the Wild Men.
Most of the Bigfoot sightings come from the northwestern corner of the state, but the counterpart that the Wild Men offer can be seen to the southern tip. Ranging from Michigan City, IN to Boonville, IN, six or more hours apart, the Wild Men run rampant. An article published back on December 30, 1839 details a 4' tall hairy "wild child" running through the countryside of Michigan City, another being chased and tracked by a group of 300 "hunters" in 1860 just outside of Carroll County, about two hours south. With a handful of sightings in between, it wasn't until 1937 that we were treated to a huge hairy ape-like creature, possibly mixed between an ape and a sloth, roaming around Boonville, IN. Boonville has it's own paranormal tale of Black Annie in Scales Lake, another good tale for another day.
Near Vernon, IN, present day, specifically around the Crosley State Fish and Wildlife Area, sightings of the "Crosley Monster" are commonly reported. The Crosley Monster had it's first reported sighting in July of 2006, saying it was over 8' tall, bipedal, had dark matted hair covering its body, yellow teeth, walked with a "feral attitude", and has a horrifyingly howl that will make your blood run cold and freeze you in your path. Four young boys were camping in Jennings County, closer to Louisville, KY when they spotted it. At first all they could see was the seemingly glowing red orbs hovering about 8', when they realized it was a pair of eyes watching them. Upon shining their lights at the monster, it became enraged, let out it's hideous howl, and sent the boys running and cowering. Several weeks later, the creature was spotted again, this time however, said to be almost playful. A boy was out squirrel hunting when the creature snuck up behind him, scaring him, then began circling him, then threw leaves at the boy before bounding off into a field. Another sighting of the Crosley Monster is when a woman was out walking her dog on their usual routine through the woods behind her home, only to come across a massive hairy creature that was peering through a tree line at them. Had her dog not started barking and yanking on its leash, she would have never noticed the eyes peering at her. The pup must have scared the creature just enough as it half barked/half howled back in retort and took off across the trail, and where it differs from Bigfoot, it started off bipedal half jogging across the road before dropping to all fours and bounding off with the speed and stride like a large dog.
MUD MERMAIDS
A good portion of Indiana is treated to the scenery of the Ohio River, making it entirely possible that something lurks in the murky waters, but the idea of a mermaid would seem pretty farfetched, right? Two separate newspapers in Ohio reported sightings of a creature on the Ohio River, near Vevay, Indiana. Dubbed "mud mermaids", these aquatic creatures were found on a sand bar on the river. Given the description, these creatures were four to five foot long, had a light head of chestnut-colored hair, and were yellowish in color, they also had hands that were webbed with a type of sharp claw on them. What could be seen of their ears were said to be pointed and standing up, like a Doberman, while some of the legend says they looked more human and other times more amphibious. On the banks they were said to "run" on their hands with the tail-like appendage dragging behind, and could do this at an alarming speed, and when in the water they could move just as fast if not faster.
It was reported that a man, Edgar Riley, from Ghent, KY, right across the river, had an encounter with the creatures early one morning. He described the creatures as states as above, but was close enough to see they had sharp, pointed teeth, but the jaws and face were almost frog-like. He stated that he believed they used teeth to mainly eat fish, frogs, and other aquatic wildlife as they did not seem too interested in pursuing him. Ed had tried to move in closer to get a better look at the mud mermaids, creeping his boat ever close to see what exactly what they were, when he was spotted. The creatures emitted a high-pitched squeal, bared their sharp teeth, and plunged into the water fleeing from his sight. It's also reported that around the same time, there were two different occasions that unknown fish-like creatures were found dead on the riverbank, what happened to the corpses? Someone stating to be from Fish and Wildlife intervened and confiscated the remains, giving the folks who found them a "hush order".
The MILL RACE MONSTER
1974, November 1st, two reports were received from the Columbus, IN police department from two separate witnesses claiming to see a giant, green-skinned monster. One report claims to have possibly been attacked by this creature as well. It was near the water inside Mill Race Park that the four young women involved made the late afternoon call, seeing the creature crouched between two large trees. It's reported that the creature was very large, hairy, and had a greenish tinted skin.
Unrelated to the first report, another pair of women had spotted the same creature. Years later, in 2015, Tyra Cataline came forward on a local Fox News station, she was one of the pair of women. She had also come forward in 2014 on the show Monsters and Mysteries in America stating "It was something. I don't know what it was, but it wasn't somebody wearing a costume." The initial report from Cataline stated that the creature had large, sharp claws and looked as though it had slime covering its already gross face. These two women were the ones who reported having been attacked, saying their car had giant scratch marks, deep in the metal, and a horrid smell of decomposing animals lingered on the vehicle around the gouges. Cataline had stated in one interview about the attack:
“IT WAS BEATING ON THE WINDSHIELD, TRYING TO GET IN AND WE WERE SCREAMING… WHO WOULDN’T BE SCREAMING? WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO DIE… I SAID WE’VE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE, BUT THE DRIVER’S LEG WAS SHAKING SO BADLY SHE COULDN’T GET THE CAR STARTED.”
Terrified and trapped in the car, looking back through the battered and broken windshield, Tyra continued her report of what she could make out of the monster,
“There was a greenish tinge to him. The thing’s face. I don’t know if it had been in the river drinking and it got moss on it because there was so much slime on its face… it did have fangs and he was trying to bite through the glass, and I was afraid he was going to tear the door off. Nothing has ever scared me as much as that.”
Over the next few weeks, just like any other hysteria trend, reports came flooding in. Newspapers were busy with headlines of "Monster- Women Report Seeing 'Beast' in Mill Race", while another dubbed the creature the "Mill Race Monster" after the report from two men in their mid-20s. Another newspaper, the Indianapolis Star, reported that Rick Duckworth and John Brown, two city dogcatchers, had another encounter with the monster. This time however, these two men took chase after the "monster" after it fled from them, upon catching it they found this one was just a large man wearing a green mask and covered in green blankets. As with any cryptid sighting, there is always someone trying to capitalize some fame from it. Shortly after this last report, "monster hunters" of all types began flooding into the area in search of the creature. Mill Race Park had to be closed at night by local law enforcement due to the sheer amount of public attention, even going as far as naming one officer as a "Monster Control Officer". It was also stated by that the monster may have been of alien origin, as UFO sightings had been reported frequently in the area during this time.
The Mill Race Monster continues to have sightings to this day, continuing its notoriety and legend. In fact, Tyra Cataline's appearance on Fox News was only prompted because of a local hunter coming forward in October of 2015 claiming he saw a bigfoot-like creature with green skin in Martinsville, IN's Morgan-Monroe State Forest. Not much more was confirmed from this report, leading us all to believe that the Mill Race Monster is still out there, still wandering its stomping grounds. But what is it? A relative to Bigfoot? Florida's Moss-Man? A skunk-ape? Something of alien origin? We'll let you decide.
Submitted and Researched by Phreak
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