Dark Winged Being Mysteriously Vanishes in Chicago's West Lakeview Neighborhood, Report Witnesses

Lon Strickler of Phantoms and Monsters received a report last Friday from a woman and her friend who said they saw a "dark winged being" in Chicago's West Lakeview neighborhood.  The two women said their encounter took place on Thursday, April 12th, near the intersection of North Greenview Avenue and West Diversey Parkway.

"On Friday April 20, 2018 I received a telephone call from a woman in Chicago, in reference to a sighting that her and a friend had on Thursday, April 12, 2018 at approximately 7:15 p.m. CT," said Strickler. 

It was early dusk, but still plenty of ambient light available.

They both heard a brief 'deep bellowing sound' emanating from the area of the intersection. As they both looked towards that direction, a dark winged being flew in front of them, towards the west, at an altitude of 15 ft. or so. Then suddenly the being 'vanished' from their sight, as if it had been 'swallowed up' somehow. There was no further sound or remnants of the being. The women told me that a man across the street also observed the incident, and immediately began to run in the opposite direction. The women stated that they were 'paralyzed' and could not move or talk for almost 20 seconds after the event. They then hurriedly walked towards their residences.

When they returned home, they were “confused and drained of energy.” They were fearful of what they saw and agreed not to report the sighting. A week after the incident, one of the women had noticed some of the previous internet reports of a similar winged being in the Chicago. At that time, she contacted me. I was eventually able to talk with both witnesses.

“The observation of the winged being was very brief," Strickler noted.  "But the women stated that it was almost black in color and that the wings were somewhat folded along the body, which was 6-7 ft. in length. No other details of the winged being were available."

The witnesses in this case have expressed their desire for anonymity, and refuse to speak even to other members of the investigative task force with whom Strickler has been working since Chicago's most recent spate of flying creature sightings began in the spring of last year.

This sighting took place in the southeast corner of the West Lakeview neighborhood, about 1.5 miles west of Lake Michigan.  Its placement on Chicago's north side and proximity to Lake Michigan place it within several miles of dozens of other sightings.  No other witnesses so far have so explicitly stated that they saw the flying creature disappear into thin air, but that description of its behavior is consistent with speculation that there may be some metaphysical explanation for the being's presence--such as the idea that the creature could have been somehow summoned or otherwise appeared through some sort of portal.

This is the latest in a string of flying creature sightings reported in the Chicago area.  Most of the sightings have taken place near the lakefront within a few miles of Lake Michigan, although there are some reports coming from the suburbs surrounding Chicago and even farther afield.  The sightings generally take place in the evening or at night, often in or near a park, and around water.  Witnesses consistently describe a large, bat or bird-like creature, although in a small number of cases the creature was described as insect-like; and humanoid features such as arms and legs are often reported.  Many of the sightings are also of something seen only briefly or are described only as a flying creature with few details, which leaves open the possibility that a large bird or bird-like being could explain some encounters. 

To report a sighting, 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.

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