'Deerbat' Seen outside of Rockford Similar to Chicago Flying Humanoid

The Singular Fortean Society was contacted recently by a witness who claimed to have seen a creature similar to the flying humanoid that's been haunting the area around Lake Michigan.  The witness, who agreed to attach his first name, Dalton, to the sighting, first reported his encounter online two years ago.  The sighting itself took place in 2010.

If I had not experienced it first hand I would have probably dismissed it as fiction. Please, I assure you this is 100 percent the whole story of that particular night.

So, it began as a typical summer day approximately 5 years ago. These events take place in northern Illinois near Rockford. My friend, Nick, and I were cruising around in my 1997 Firebird. As the day progressed we decided to head towards the country roads to do some drifting. Typical behavior from a 16 year old with a sports car. This was something that we did quite often also.

Jump ahead 2 hours or so, and its around 11 p.m. and we are on a gravel road. We're in a location that was secluded but was farm land everywhere, so there were houses every so often. Now me and Nick are talking while I'm repeatedly slowing down and then applying the gas hard so I could get my vehicle sideways on this straight patch of road.

The corn on the sides of this old gravel road were head height as it was towards the end of their growing season. Anyways I began slowing down for probably the 5th time, only I could see the corn shaking. Me and Nick both had stopped talking and were both watching the corn. I had expected a group of deer to run out and cross the road so naturally I slowed down to a slow roll. The corn was now shaking fiercely and quickly headed toward the road.

Now at this point me and Nick are staring at the corn waiting for the expected wildlife to pass. Now, I'm not sure how to describe this but what we saw was frightening. The corn parted about eight feet in front of my car, I don’t know if you have ever seen a deer jump out of corn but its like a horse hop. This thing was the size of big buck but was completely black. Mind you my headlights are focused right at the stretch of road and corn area, so the whole scene was well illuminated. As it proceeded to jump out of the corn it opened these huge set of wings and remained airborne. It flew right in front of my car and did this zigzag flight pattern incredible fast. Almost like a fly or bug would do. After the quick zigzags it shot straight up in to the air. I mean shot like it was placed in a canon and blasted in the sky.

My Firebird was a model that had T-tops, so me and Nick both jerked our heads up but due to my lights pointing forward obviously, and it being dark out, we couldn't see where the creature went. I shit bricks and floored my car, while Nick’s screaming, "GO GO GO GO GO GO!" I drive as fast as I can while still maintaining control in the gravel. We drive for a good 15 minutes completely quiet. The whole time we were watching around us, I don’t know why but we instantly assumed that the thing was chasing us. Now mind you that from the moment when we started to see the corn move to when the thing left our view was only a matter of maybe 30 second.

We finally start to calm down and are on a road that was frequented more. We can see farmers in the fields on tractors. Being that I can see other people I feel safe. So I decide to pull over on the side of the road and immediately say "What the fuck was that!?" But we had no answers. The only thing we came up with was that it was the size of a deer but flew like a bat. We named it accordingly, The Deerbat. We say it was the size of a deer but it was actually humanoid shape. It just ran out of the corn like a deer. The Deerbat was incredibly black like its was covered in tar.

After we stop talking we notice in the field a couple yards by us is a "harvest in progress" sign. So again being dumb teenagers we decide to steal the sign. I run and grab it and shove it in the back seat and throw hoodies over it. It was a large sign and had the metal pole still attached to it. It didn't hide in the back of a Firebird very well. But we managed and we headed out of the country and made it to a neighboring town, New Milford. We both were thirsty and wanted a snack so I pull into a gas station and back my car into a space that faces the main road. As soon as I shut my car off this old beat up rusted Chevy pulls in front of me as if he's blocking us in. His windows are tinted dark, we couldn't tell who was in it or what was going on. He remained there for several minutes. Just sitting. We didn't get out the car because this night was already a big nope, and the last thing I wanted was a hillbilly fuck trying to start something. As mysteriously as he pulled up, without warning he drove off.

We assumed that it was somebody who seen us take the sign and that he was getting my plates. Maybe he was waiting for us to get out of the car to confront us. The only problem was that he entered from our left and exited on the right. He was never behind my car to get my plates, I didn't have a plate on the front of my car. Anyways though he left so we went and got our drinks and chips and drove to my house to asleep.

I have no idea if the truck was related to any of the other events of that night or not but it was creepy nonetheless. To me the only way I can describe the Deerbat is to compare it to the creature in the movies Jeepers Creepers. That's exactly what we saw. Obviously though that’s just a movie. I'm not religious, but this is how I picture a demon.

Jump ahead a month or so and I'm watching the pretty idiotic show called Monster Quest, and they were focusing on a creator called Mothman. Instantly I shit bricks all over again. This thing fits was we saw except one detail. Witnesses describe glowing red eyes that pierce looks through you. We didn't see that. The Deerbat was completely black, it was absent of light.

We never seen the Deerbat again and to this day we tell people about what we saw. They always ask the same question, 'Bro what drugs were you on??' To be clear I don't do drugs.

The Singular Fortean Society was able to interview Dalton about his experience, and his story remained largely unchanged from the previously published account.  

According to Dalton, the entire sighting lasted between 15-20 seconds, and neither he nor his friend were able to discern any fine details about the creature's appearance.

"The thing arc jumped out of the cornfield but never landed," said Dalton.  "It zigzagged back and forth, like a bat."

"There were no glowing red eyes," he continued.  "It was just totally black...it was a big thing with big wings."

"It all happened so fast, we couldn't get details."

He was able to recall that the winged being definitely had four appendages in addition to its wings, although he's not certain if there were two arms and two legs, or if all four appendages were legs.

Dalton noted, too, that the fear he and his friend felt seemed like a "natural reaction to the situation," rather than any supernatural effect created by the creature.

This sighting occurred approximately 60 miles northwest of Chicago, and about 100 miles west of Lake Michigan.  It predates any of the earliest Chicago area sightings reported so far by a year, but as this story continues to run, older sightings are beginning to be reported.  

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, 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.