User Submitted Cryptid Sighting: Large Black Cat
Name: Name kept private at request of the witness
Age: 57
Number of witnesses: First sighting: 1 Second sighting:2
Location of Sighting: Chippewa Falls (and surrounding area), Wisconsin
Date of sighting: 2012
What you believe the creature was: Large Black Cat
Message: “I had two separate sightings, about a month apart and the first was on the left side of the road as I was heading into town from the Lake Wissota area going to Chippewa Falls down Cty Rd J. I was just passing the Chippewa Valley Correctional Treatment Facility and noticed something in the distance moving through the field towards the tree line. I slowed down and watched a large black cat walking away and slightly uphill. I saw the entire length of the body as well as the long tail that curled upwards towards the end. I remember thinking it must be huge to see it so clearly. Honestly, I didn't think much of it after that. I know what I saw and I don't care if people say they aren't in the area. I saw what I saw. I owned a cat and was very familiar with the slinky, fluid way they move and that was exactly how this one moved. I happened to mention it to my son and he knew someone who worked at the facility and this person had mentioned to others there to be aware of their surroundings because he had been finding large tracks around the buildings.
The second sighting was about a month later and my daughter and I were heading into Chippewa Falls. It was dark and we had just crossed Seymour Cray Blvd and we're coming up on the curve by the bar on Park Ave when something pitch black shot out from the hillside on my left and ran across the road to the other side that would lead down to the river. As it went in front of my car it was just beyond my headlights but I distinctly saw the stretched long and low body of a large cat with it's front legs completely outstretched and the hind legs stretched behind followed by a long tail. The last thing I saw was it hunching up as it's legs were coming together to launch itself into another leap across the road. My daughter saw something as it went to her right and into the shrubby area across the street but didn't see what it was. I had never heard of the Beast of Eau Claire until a half hour ago and I found it very interesting considering what I had seen.”
“User Submitted” articles are shared by actual witnesses and posted without edits. The purpose is not to try and explain or prove/disprove the events which the witness experienced above, but allow them to share their story as a way for others to become knowledgeable on the strange subjects within our weird world. The PBI makes no claim on the validity of the encounter above, but allows you, the reader, to decide for yourself.
-The Pine Barrens Institute
Image Credit: National Geographic
“…It was about 3 feet long and the body was light in color, sleek, about 5 - 6 inches in width, thick bodied with so many legs….”
“…Our tires skidded on a patch of black ice, and the car started sliding uncontrollably. With only two choices, my mom veered the car towards the cliff so we wouldn't go over the edge of the drop-off.”
“I slowed down and watched a large black cat walking away and slightly uphill. I saw the entire length of the body as well as the long tail that curled upwards towards the end. I remember thinking it must be huge to see it so clearly.”
“I have heard it flying around at night, landing on roofs, and watching me and my husband out in our backyard at night.”
“…He said it walked around the house for 2 hours while my grandmother was helping him with his injured back. When his parents came back home, the thing went for them…”
“The wings were of no bird, but more of a bat, but gigantic. I came inside the house as soon it made a turn because it scared me, my brain couldn’t even comprehend what it had just seen.”
“My dad went back with me to get my books and check it out, but it was no where to be found. I will never forget what I saw.”
“This was no normal dog or coyote or wolf, this was an entirely different creature that should be looked into.”
“I turn my head for a second to watch my dog, and when I look back, the black dog is gone.”
“It had the snub nose face of a vampire bat, but it's face resembled more of a gorilla almost. The overpass is illuminated underneath by street lights and when the beasts wings were up I could see it's veins through the membrane of it's wings…”
“I noticed something glowing in the road, like a small ball of light. Then the light started to move and shoot straight up the road. At first I thought I was just seeing things and maybe just a lightning bug but lightning bugs aren’t that big…”
“The movement behind my friend became more apparent and I watched as something ran out of the trees and into the light of the fire. It stopped right in the middle of the road, directly in the firelight, and it looked me right in the eyes. Standing on all fours it was almost as tall as our jeep…”
“…as soon as I saw those eyes, I knew they were abnormally large. They were far too big to be those of an animal, and they had a strange look about them that made me feel like it could read every secret I had hiding in my soul, almost as if it could read every single thing I was thinking…”
“…When it landed on a tree branch in the middle of one of the pine trees, it’s body was nearly twice that of the tree trunk…”
“Off to the right, I could see something running in the distance coming my way. At first, I thought it was a deer until I saw it getting closer. I slowed my truck down and stopped when I saw it heading toward my truck.”
“It was long and skinny, (about 4 feet long) and had a diameter of about 3 1/2 inches. It was cylindrical. It was covered in short brown fur. The "head" of this thing was an indented cone….”
“In high school, my creative writing teacher (I'll call him Mr. J) told us a strangely detailed story that he claimed was 100% accurate…”
“The creature was human-like in body structure yet extremely muscular. It was built like an NFL running back. Huge muscular legs, super-strong abdominal muscles, 8 pack, very broad shoulders, and huge biceps….”
“…Some were running past, some had stopped to graze. One looked right at me as it stood on the back legs. I estimate it to have been 2 1/2 to 3 foot high…”
“…The fallen tree was propped up at an angle, as it had fallen over another tree. I was on the lower angle and I heard a grunting sound. I looked up and saw a tall, hairy creature standing on the raised end of the tree…”
“Then I noticed that it had a trunk. Not a long trunk like an elephant, but a trunk that hung maybe half a foot down past the lower jaw. The whole end of the mouth was hidden by this trunk.”
“She said it was opaque in color, almost shadow like. The wings it had didn't flap, it was just gliding in the air. This thing had bright red glowing eyes, and she absolutely freaked. I remember her scream.”
“My family and I were about halfway through the 45-minute swim. My mom was swimming ahead, my sisters behind. I felt something a little bit like a hand grab onto my left foot. My natural and immediate response was to turn around and berate my older sister for trying to scare me, but when I did I saw that she was at least ten feet away and whatever had a hold of my foot was still there.”
“Never have I ever believed in mythological creatures - nevertheless a werewolf type creature. But we both feel strongly that this is what we both saw at different times without knowing about the other. We are very freaked out now and don't want to go outside at night.”
“…I was with mum and dad, we were returning from our summer house through Mělník to Prague and strange star appeared in the sky, where nothing such shall be. We have noticed it. Then it "came closer" and was fixed on us, we were more and more scared and anxious. It was so strange. We know aircrafts, technology around the Earth and possibilities of the physics. This seemed to be under intelligent control, did strong, sharp angular moves and was really like a hunter and we were the prey…”
“…we all 3 said what is that, we started holding on the side of the boat. Its skin was grayish black, no scales, like a whale. I couldn't see a head or tail. It went down. This lasted about a minute.”
“As I got to the sidewalk and before I turned right to go next door, I caught a glimpse of something just behind me in the eastern sky. I turned and looked and couldn't believe my eyes. There was this pterodactyl flying overhead! It was about the size of a Piper Cub airplane and it had a grayish-blue body with bat-like wings and had mixed reddish-brown areas on it….”
Remember: It’s your story, so why not share it in your own words!
Want more strange stories in your life? If the answer is yes, then make sure to check out our books ‘Monsters In Print: A Collection Of Curious Creatures Known Mostly From Newspapers,’ ‘Ghosts In Print: An Assemblage of Spirits, Spooks, and Specters From Newspapers of Old,’ and ‘Oddities In Print: A Multitude of Bizarre Occurrences, Peculiar People, & Unexplained Events from Newspapers of Yore.’ All available from Amazon!
Make sure to also check out our shop for official PBI shirts, totes, buttons, and stickers!
tags / user submitted cryptid sighting, black cat, alien big cat, chippewa falls, lake wissota, beast of eau claire, wisconsin
“…It then issued an aggressive warning stance lifting it's two FRONT LEGS off the siding of the house & swinging them around whilst opening it's front pincers wide then closing as if saying "Don't try ANYTHING!". It seemed quite upset that it had been seen...”