'Bat-like' Winged Being Reported near Oak Park
Was the creature this witness spotted a large bird, or something far stranger?
Investigator Lon Strickler of Phantoms and Monsters has received the second report in two days of a strange winged being flying around Chicago; this time near the Oak Park neighborhood. Although Strickler received the report yesterday evening, the event itself reportedly took place the previous evening just after 8 p.m.
Strickler received the following text message on Wednesday, April 11th, 2018 at 11:07 ET.
Hi - I was on Reddit and came across a post with a link to your website about the thing that is flying around Chicago. I was driving down Lake St., and had just turned off Central Ave, so it was between Austin Ave. and Lake St. - near the Chicago/Oak Park border last night shortly after 8:00 PM CT. Anyways I was heading west and just slightly to my north I saw this massive thing in the air. It kind of swooped behind an apartment building so my view was blocked. I only saw it for maybe 8-10 seconds but it was enough to leave me absolutely stunned.
I grew up in Chicago and have NEVER seen anything like that before in the city. My first reaction was maybe it was something that escaped from a wildlife rescue but - this thing was massive - like easily over 10 ft wide. Now that I know I'm not crazy and other people have seen it I feel better. Like for real, it was huge. I've never seen a bird that large before. I spent time in the Army and was Military Police - and this thing was no drone, that's for sure! I keep trying to come up with any logical explanation for what I saw last night, but I'm completely baffled. KM
Strickler said he was able to contact the witness and interview her about her experience.
"The witness states that she had just turned west onto Lake St. from N. Central Ave," Strickler said in his blog. "It was close to 8:00 PM CT (local time) because she was meeting a friend. As she proceeded west on Lake St. and approaching N. Menard Ave. she noticed a huge flying being gliding above a nearby 4-storey apartment building, approximately 60 ft. above the ground. The flying being ducked behind the apartment building and she lost sight of it. The witness estimates that she watched the flying being for 8-10 seconds. She turned onto an alleyway in order to get another look at the being, but was unsuccessful."
The witness gave a description of the creature consistent with other recent reports; that of an enormous flying entity with a long, thin body and legs stretched out behind it.
"The witness states that the being had a 10 ft.+ wingspan with bat-like wings and dark in color. The wings never flapped. The body was quite long and thin, approx 6-8 ft. in length and there were 2 appendages / legs, since she noticed a separation. She did not notice any further structures on the body or head," said Strickler.
He noted, too, that the witness seemed nervous to speak of her experience.
"The witness did seem a bit nervous while talking to me, and was very surprised at the number of sightings in the general area since early 2017," Strickler added. "She had no previous knowledge of the phenomenon."
A report from the same night described an "owl man" seen nine miles southeast of this sighting at around 8:30 p.m., and in February of this year a similar entity sighted in the Oak Park area was reported to UFO Clearinghouse, although the creature described by witnesses in that incident had eyes that glowed "bright ruby red."
Oak Park is a village on the western border of Chicago, less than 10 miles from Lake Michigan. The village is bordered on the southwest by the Fullersburg Woods Forest Preserve, and the Des Plaines River to the south. Nearer to this sighting would be Thatcher Woods to the west. The Brookfield Zoo is also less than five miles to the southwest, with Possum Hollow Woods, the location of another sighting of a large flying creature, just two miles west of that.
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.