Монстр Кроуфордсвилля. Соединённые Штаты Америки

On September 5, 1891, the Crawfordsville Journal reported that two ice delivery men sighted "a strange phenomenon" that hovered in the air above their location, describing it as a "horrible apparition" that "filled them with dread." A similar sighting was reported by a Methodist pastor and his wife. The Crawfordsville Journal described it as "about eighteen feet [5.5 m] long and eight feet [2.5 m] wide and moved rapidly through the air by means of several pairs of side fins. It was pure white and had no definite shape or form, resembling somewhat a great white shroud fitted with propelling fins. There was no tail or head visible but there was one great flaming eye, and a sort of a wheezing plaintive sound was emitted from a mouth which was invisible. It flapped like a flag in the winds as it came on and frequently gave a great squirm as though suffering unutterable agony."[2] According to interviews conducted years later by Crawfordsville reporter and Fortean Society member Vincent Gaddis, hundreds of residents observed the phenomenon on the following evening, with some claiming they could feel the monster's "hot breath" as it swooped over them.[1]

The Indianapolis Journal repeated the September 5th sightings, as did other newspapers across the country,[3] including the Brooklyn Eagle,[4] whose article later attracted the attention of early paranormal investigator Charles Fort.[1] The Crawfordsville Postmaster was deluged with mail, and reports of the sightings generated both ridicule and a number of believers. Two local men, John Hornbeck and Abe Hernley, "followed the wraith about town and finally discovered it to be a flock of many hundred killdeer." The Crawfordsville Journal suggested that Crawfordsville's newly installed electric lights disoriented the birds, which caused them to hover above the city. The birds' wings and white under-feathers likely resulted in misidentification.[2]

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Around two o’clock on the morning of Saturday, September 5, 1891, Crawfordsville ice delivery men Marshall McIntyre and Bill Gray prepared their wagon for morning rounds when suddenly a feeling of “awe and dread” overcame them.  Peering heavenward, the men saw a “horrible apparition.”  The Crawfordsville Journal described what they witnessed:

[It was] about eighteen feet long and eight feet wide and moved rapidly through the air by means of several pairs of side fins. . . . It was pure white and had no definite shape or form, resembling somewhat a great white shroud fitted with propelling fins.  There was no tail or head visible but there was one great flaming eye, and a sort of a wheezing plaintive sound was emitted from a mouth which was invisible.  It flapped like a flag in the winds as it came on and frequently gave a great squirm as though suffering unutterable agony.

McIntyre and Gray observed the phenomenon hover three or four hundred feet in the air for nearly an hour before they retreated to the safety of the barn.  They then quickly finished harnessing their horses and left the vicinity.