Cryptid Profile: The Crosswick Monster
Crosswick, Ohio, a small unincorporated community in Warren County that isn’t really known for much. The unofficial borders sit right alongside Waynesville, its current population isn’t recorded, and only one road passes through it. But for everything this small community doesn’t have, it makes up for with one thing, it’s recorded monster attack.
Established in 1821 by James Jennings, the monster wouldn’t make itself officially known to the residents of Crosswick until May of 1882. While many large unknown tracks had occasionally been found throughout the area, most often crossing over the dirt road that ran through the community, nobody ever thought to find out what was making them. Most reports chalk this up to fear held by the residents and the belief that if they didn’t bother whatever creature was leaving them, it wouldn’t bother them either. But that way of thinking, as the residents would soon find out, was all about to change.
While out fishing in Satterthwaites Run, a stream that passes through Crosswick, two boys by the names of Ed and Joe Lynch (ages 13 and 11) began hearing loud unknown sounds emanating from the tall grass behind them. Curious as to what the cause could be, the boys began to approach the area. Before they could investigate though, a gigantic lizard burst through the brush and ran towards them on its four thick legs. Terrified, the boys began to scream and run back towards their home. The creature though, proving to be much faster than the pair, caught Ed in its mouth and pulled him down to the ground.
Joe began to scream louder as he watched the terrifying reptile drag his brother along the stream edge towards a large hollowed out sycamore tree which it was apparently using as a den. Eventually, the screams of the boys were heard by three men in the area who came rushing to their aid. The men, Rev. Jacob Horn, George Peterson, and Allen Jordan, arrived at the scene to find the near dead boy still in the creatures mouth and almost completely pulled into the tree. Upon seeing this, the men raced over to the tree and retrieved Ed after being dropped by the creature before it climbed farther up into its hollowed out home and out of reach.
After summoning the nearest doctor in Waynesville to look after the boy, a man by the name of Dr. L.C. Lukens, the three men rounded up a group of more than sixty residents to destroy the beast. Armed with axes, clubs, and well trained hunting dogs, the group marched towards the tree. Soon after arriving, the men started to chop at the tree with their axes in order to get to the creature out. With the dogs growling and barking at the creature they knew was within, the men waited anxiously for the beast to show itself.
Thinking the creature would try to escape from the large hole at the bottom of the tree, the group was taken by surprise when the reptile leapt towards the ground from a hole at the top. Upon hitting the ground, the creature stood upright on its hind legs, balanced itself with its tail, and awkwardly took off away from the group. Some members of the group, obviously shocked and frightened by the appearance of the beast, dove out of the way and allowed the creature to make its escape. Others, not quick to be scared, chased after the monster without a second thought.
The group chased the beast for nearly a mile over fences, through streams, up hills, and around trees. Eventually though, the creature managed to escape its pursuers by charging headfirst into a hole surrounded by large rocks on a hillside. Members of the group, along with their dogs, surrounded the entrance to the hole and waited for the creature to once again emerge. Believing this was the only way in and out of the hole, the men kept watch. But it appeared as if there was another unknown exit from the hole as the creature never emerged and was never seen in the area again.
The Crosswick Monster was described as being roughly 12ft long and covered with scales. It was black and white in color with dull yellow spots, had feet roughly 12in long, a wide head, and a long forked tongue. Because of the description, many researchers believe that the Crosswick Monster was more than likely an out of place monitor lizard. Possible candidates include the Australian Perentie (Varanus giganteus), the Asian Water Monitor (Varanus salvator), the New Guinea Crocodile Monitor (Varanus salvadorii), or the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis). Although this specific one found in Crosswick would be far larger than those on record as the monitors above are only known to grow to lengths around 8-10ft, and even those lengths are rare and inconsistent throughout the species.
-The Pine Barrens Institute
*Image Credit: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-trained-monitor-lizards-not-chow-down-poisonous-toads-180957730/
"…Calling for the Captain once again, the Second Mate began to knock on the door just as he had done just moments ago, but still, there was no answer. Concerned that the Captain could not hear him for some reason, the Second Mate made the decision to enter the room, but when he attempted to turn the handle, it would not move. The door it appeared, was locked from the inside…”
“…You first must soak three wrought iron nails in the same water in which the nymph dwells. These nails must remain submerged the entire duration of one new moon to the next. After the specific length of time has passed, you remove the nails and drive them into a piece of driftwood removed from the same body of water. You place the newly nailed piece of wood on the shore at night and place some sort of shiny object on top of it…”
“The first hour passed by with nothing out of the ordinary, then the second came and went just as uneventfully. The deputies were beginning to fall asleep at their posts and Chief Marlowe started to think that whatever was bothering the three members of the old home had decided to leave them be. Content that the matter was now resolved, Chief Marlowe decided to follow in his men’s steps and get a little bit of shut eye. But no sooner did he shut his eyes and tilt his head back when a bang loud enough and hard enough to shake the whole house slammed into the walls from the outside.”
“…Dr. Gridley continued to assist the mother and daughter for quite some time, and over the course of his assistance, it is said that he removed enough objects to fill a normal-sized teacup. The objects, which ranged in size from a few millimeters to nearly an inch, were always organic and never confined themselves to one specific type.”
“We had two more cars on U.S. 2 in the northern part of Ashland County and I was transmitting to the deputies in that location. Two deputies were watching from a fire tower on Birch Hill and another, Drolson, was northwest of them on Lake Superior when one of these objects we were watching took off at a very high rate of speed. I radioed to Drolson and told him, ‘It’s going your way,’ and all of a sudden he said, ‘I see it coming-’ and then his radio went blank.”
Not long after the Mary Jane went missing, talk started to filter out around the area speculating what could have happened. Lakemen from all over gave their two cents and provided insight into what the ship could have encountered or dealt with while out in the water. The lake was a dangerous place, and the men who worked it had first-hand experience on just what those dangers were. So when the well-weathered dock workers who saw the strange black dog started talking, people listened. And as with most bizarre occurrences, once the door was opened for stories of the Great Lakes Black Dog to be told, others came forward to tell their stories involving the paranormal pooch as well.
Concerned that something may have happened to the old man, a group of men decided to take a trip out to Hermit Island to perform an 1800s wellness check. When the group arrived, it appeared to them that no activity had taken place on the island for quite some time. It was beginning to look unkempt and abandoned. Sensing something was wrong, the group proceeded towards the cabin to find Wilson. When they arrived at the dwelling they found the door was unlocked, the fire had not been lit in quite some time, and the unmistakable stench of death hung in the air all around them…
It is believed that there are upwards of 6,000+ shipwrecks within the five lakes known as Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, and Ontario. Their beds have become the final resting place for an estimated 30,000+ mariners, many of which have never been recovered. The sheer number of souls that have been lost within these waters can easily get one thinking of the possibility that there may be something more going on within these lakes than originally thought. That there may be a force at work under the water that decides the fate of those who dare to interact with it. Something magical, something supernatural, something Godlike. Something, as crazy as it is to believe, like a Merman.
While nobody ever wants a case involving a missing individual to grow cold and go unsolved, it must be recognized that there is something inherently fascinating about the ones that do eventually get designated as such. To know that there is an individual out there who has remained missing regardless of the consistent efforts made by multiple people and agencies to find them and bring them home, well, it’s just downright spooky and unsettling. What happened to these people and where did they go? Did some choose to vanish and start a new life somewhere else? Or did they meet a tragic end at the hands of some vile individual? Only the missing knows the truth.
What did Mr. Cady and Mr. Peterson encounter that day on the 23rd of March, 1887, was it truly a ghost as they believed? Could it really have been the spiritual echo of an old French logger from back in the day who died nearly a century before? Or could this have been a perfect storm of random occurrences that made a run of the mill encounter between strangers ultimately seem supernatural?
Originally thinking the sound was coming from the sky above, John looked all around for the source but was unable to find one. As the noise continued to grow louder, the young man stood motionless and focused his hearing on the direction in which he believed it was coming from. Not long after doing so, he discovered that the sound appeared to be moving up the very path he had just walked. In an instant after that realization, everything he had ever heard about The Night Rider flooded back into his head.
Way back in the 1800s and well into the early 1900s, Wisconsin offered some of the nations best lakeside resorts outside of those on the coasts. Many historically recognized families of wealth and power, as well as many infamous mobsters and crime bosses, flocked to Wisconsin in order to relax, fish, swim, camp, hunt, and of course, spot a lake monster or two. You know, the typical stuff one does while on a vacation.
In 1904, in a community located halfway between the towns of Warrens and Scott, both of which are located within Monroe County, WI, an abandoned farmhouse began to exhibit multiple forms of strange phenomena.
Some residents in the area reported seeing odd lights emanating through the broken windows late at night, while others claim to have heard spine-tingling sounds echoing throughout the empty dwelling. Some even went as far as to state that upon investigating the bizarre lights and sounds, they had witnessed the nearly full human form of a ghostly woman running through the home.
“…that famous “sea serpent” has bobbed up in Lake Michigan. ‘We were about four miles off shore,’ said Capt. G.E. Stufflebeam of the S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, Friday night, ‘when Donald Steele, the lookout saw it.’ ‘I ordered two floodlights thrown on the creature, and there he was wriggling and twisting around and going faster than the ship. We kept it in sight for five minutes. The passengers on deck cried out, ‘what is it,’ but I didn’t know nor did H.J. Cook, former steamship line official who was with me. ‘It flipped its tail and the creature - about 60 feet long - started toward Benton Harbor, Mich.’ That’s Captain Stufflebeam’s story and he said he’ll stick to it…”
Spotted roughly a mile away from the farm, one of the men spotted what appeared to be the back of a large creature slowly moving through the water. Immediately recognizing that what he was witnessing was not a normal animal, the lone gunman shouted for every available man to hurry towards his location. With rifles loaded and aim taken, several men fired multiple shots at the creatures back as it moved slowly through the water. Yet after the smoke had cleared, it was apparent that none of the shots had managed to pierce the thick skin of the creature. What it did do though, was cause the large creature to change direction and move slowly towards the bank of the river. The same bank in which they were all standing.
What if everything we know about the Mastodon was true just up until the end when it is believed to have gone extinct? Would people be able to accept that? Maybe they didn’t go extinct nearly 110 centuries ago as scientists believe. Maybe they changed with the times and kept on evolving to bypass their fate. Is it possible that they were able to change so much, that they literally slipped into the cracks of our world and disappeared into the unknown?
“…There within the darkness of the lake was a bright green light, moving slowly and spreading out nearly thirty feet in diameter. While the sight was both beautiful and mesmerizing to most of the men, causing them to rise and move as close to the water as possible, one of the members in the group remembered stories he had heard told by the tribes living around the lake. The ones about a powerful creature living within the water, a creature that could easily snatch unsuspecting men right from the shore and drag them down to the bottom in order to consume them…”
As they progressed farther into the sea of trees, completely alone and miles away from any area of habitation, Bert caught sight of an odd-looking spot beneath a lone hemlock tree in the middle of nowhere. Unknown to them at the time, this spot which they had come across and noticed completely by chance, would soon be responsible for a mystery neither of them saw coming.
“…As the rider charged his horse forward, the doctor watched as he raised a rifle high in the air and swung it forward like a club. A large pumpkin, speared through the center by the barrel, smashed into the doctor’s head and knocked him from his horse. He fell to the ground with a hard thud and landed in the dirt. With his head pounding and his eyes beginning to gloss over, he recognized that he was starting to lose consciousness….”
The sun was starting to rise and scant traces of light were beginning to fill the area. Allen's eyes darted across the area with focused determination, hoping to quickly lock on to the culprit. The dog raced through and around the large cows moving across the path upwards. Finally, the canine stopped and the barks grew louder. Allen's eyes focused on his companion within the ravine and moved them along the invisible path in which the barks were directed. There within his gaze, he had finally found the cause of the dog's anger.
When Great Eagle and his one hundred men reached the cave, they were already mentally prepared for what they would encounter. While they didn't know the specifics of what was causing it, they knew that the cave was making people disappear. So to combat this terrible thing from happening again, the men grabbed hands and marched forward as a human chain into the mouth of the cavern. As the light grew dim for those in front and the echoes of footsteps hit the ears of those in back, it seemed as if the human chain was unbreakable. That is until the second man in front realized the leader who at one moment was holding his hand, seemed to have completely vanished.
Imagine a full sized hippo slowly lumbering along through a forest, now imagine a large musk ox walking along in the opposite direction towards the hippo. When the two giants meet head to head in the middle of the swamp, merge them together into one large abomination. What you have just created in your mind is what one witness of the Whatsit claimed it looked like.
On the cool and crisp Monday night of November 10, 1975, Anne Eilbes and her husband Peter began the standard processes every homeowner goes through prior to turning in for the night. They were closing curtains, locking doors, and just generally relaxing. As the clock ticked by, inching ever closer to eight pm, the couple chatted about their day and discussed the upcoming plans for the week. In all sense, it was just a typical Monday evening, one that would fade from memory as quickly as it had arrived. That is until the clock struck 7:50 pm.
It goes without saying that monster stories are an interesting thing. They can be found anywhere in the world, from the most heavily populated areas, all the way to the most barren places with the fewest people on the planet. It seems that wherever people gather, stories of monsters pop up as well. These can range from the terrifying and haunting, to the amusing and comical. It seems there are no set guidelines on how a monster story is supposed to go, what requirements it needs to be considered memorable, and what boxes it needs to check in order to be thought of as possibly true. But sometimes, the story of the monster is overshadowed by an even bigger story, one that involves tragedy, and one that gets rid of the monster forever.
“Now the Water Man is not a devil, but he will try also to get your soul. He is not a ghost, for there are villagers who have actually seen him. My grandfather, who transported timber on the river, talked and walked with him. He told me that the Water Man looks like any other man. He dresses in a long cloak, slit into tails. You may recognize him by the water dripping from his handkerchief thrust into the slit tails.”
Here at the Pine Barrens Institute, we are always on the look out for the most bizarre and obscure folklore the state of Wisconsin has to offer. We want the stuff that nobody has ever heard of, the homespun stories and legends that you just cant stop thinking about after you are done reading them. We want the weird, the spooky, and the only told once and never again kind of stories that make you realize just how interesting the Midwest truly is. Well readers, I think we have one for you that hits every single one of those targets.
I can't exactly tell you how I came across this story, but I think it was fate. I know I originally set out to find extremely obscure monster legends from the state of Wisconsin, and somehow ended up going down a proverbial rabbit hole that was filled with Native American folklore, ghosts, lake monsters, UFO's, haunted bars, and even Men In Black. But among all those topics, the last thing I ever expected was to come across an encounter with Trolls from over 100yrs ago, but here we are. So sit back, get comfortable, and let me share with you all what I so strangely stumbled across.
When it comes to investigating cryptid creatures, the investigative camps are usually split into two sides; those who believe these creatures are strictly flesh and blood, and those who feel they possess a more supernatural quality. Typically the the creatures that fall into a specific category are easy to sort, but every so often, you get a creature that hangs out equally on both sides.
Upon completion of the dam, 775 acres of land were flooded and five small lakes around the area of the soon to be mill became one giant lake. The resulting body of water was given the name Manitou and almost immediately, a monster by the name of Meshekenabek took up residence within it.
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tags / crosswick monster, ohio, warren county, giant lizard, waynesville, crosswick
“…many people were in their homes enjoying what they thought was just a normal evening. But when they ran outside to see what was the matter, and heard the ever-growing roar steadily moving closer towards them, they also caught sight of a strange object both rotating and moving through the sky above the trees.”