Witness Reports 'Big' Winged Being in Chicago Suburb

Lon Strickler of Phantoms and Monsters was contacted on Monday, August 14th, by a witness who claimed to have seen a large flying creature in the Tinley Park suburb of Chicago.  The sighting took place in March of 2017 at approximately midnight.

My name is OS and I believe I have seen the Mothman. My encounter took place back in March. It was in Tinley Park at the corner of 174th PL and 66th Ave.

I was walking my dog at around midnight and he suddenly stopped at the corner. As I looked down at him I saw him staring off. As I looked up I saw and heard something “swoooshhhh” overhead.

I didn’t know what it was. I have heard of big birds coming down and taking small dogs (we have a Pomeranian) so naturally I looked around more for what it may have been and began walking toward a tree in front of a house.

As I got to the tree I noticed my dog looking across the street. So I tried to see where he was looking. And my eyes went up to the rooftop across the street and there is when I noticed something big on the top of the roofline. It was as if it was crouching. I didn’t know what the heck it was, so I slowly moved toward it while fumbling to get my phone. As I turned the led light on on my phone, and aimed it at the roof (not a very bright light) I kept walking towards it. As I got about halfway in the street with my dog behind me, it seemed to have shot up and then it took a sharp downward turn down behind that house.

It was something big. As I have told people, as that thing was crouched on the rooftop, it was almost next to the chimney and it made the chimney look small.

I’ve attached a rough “map” of where we were and from what direction it swooped down and what rooftop it landed on. 

I’m not sure if you’ll believe me or not, but I’d like only my initials used if you plan on using this story.

My wife is the one who told me about these encounters. Her and my mother-in-law where the first ones I told as soon As I returned from walking our dog.

In a follow-up correspondence, the witness filled in some of the details.

It was March 16th, 2017 right after 12:00 a.m. Our dog liked taking late night walks. From what I saw when it flew above us it was not black in color, it was more of a dark brown. Because at the corner where we were standing are telephone poles and a streetlight at the end of the street where we were. This helped in showing the color a bit.

It was hard to get a specific description of it. I just know that it was big. The way it sat on the roofline and the lights behind it from the train station and bars in the downtown area, that back lighting helped in me seeing the crouched positioning it was in. The way it was crouching, it had bold shoulders. Odd, kind of the way a wide gargoyle would be perched. I can’t say the eyes were red though. It was just a slight reflection cat/dog eye reflection if you know what I mean. All dark in color except for the reflections. That is the reason I was trying to get my phone out to try to shine more light at it. It was odd.

You’d figure that our dog would have been going nuts at it, but it wasn’t. It seemed just as intrigued as I was.

When it did leave the roof it kind of shot up a couple feet and then shot straight down behind the house. And it was gone.

I carried a streamlight after that. But of course I didn’t get to see it again.

It was just strange to come back from Saudi Arabia where I was working, to be back in time to see my son born...then to see this being a week later.

This sighting has none of the reported dread of previous sightings, and the description of the creature is decidedly vague.  However, the loud sound of displaced air as it flies is consistent with other reports, such as the one just reported that took place in Indiana in the summer of 2000. 

The recent flap of flying humanoid reports in Chicago began in early 2017, and since then sightings have spread to the surrounding suburbs.  As the sightings continue to be reported, witnesses who have had similar experiences in the past are now coming forward; something that suggests this phenomenon may have a history previously unguessed. 

The sightings generally take place in the evening or at night, often in or near a park and around water, and witnesses consistently describe a large, bat or bird-like creature with humanoid features; although in one case the creature was reportedly "insect-like."

To report a sighting, contact Lon Strickler at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com or call him directly at 410-241-5974; fill out UFO Clearinghouse's contact form to get in touch with Manuel Navarette; or reach out to us directly at The Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

You can view a timeline of the sightings so far here, and an interactive map here.