2012 Sighting of 'Bat-Like' Being with 'Little Red Eyes' Reported near Indianapolis International Airport

Lon Strickler of Phantoms and Monsters recently received an eyewitness report from a woman who said she saw a “bat-like” being with “little red eyes” fly directly in front of the van she was driving on her way to the Indianapolis International Airport in 2012.

A friend of mine just sent me an article on sightings about the humanoid type flying creature in Indiana. It had written in it about a recent sighting of this thing. My girlfriend and I both witnessed this same creature about 6 years ago (summer 2012) while traveling I-465 north headed to the Indianapolis International Airport around 3 a.m.
The creature (Mothman) as we have been calling it, flew right in front of our windshield! It soared in between 2 buildings and came right in front of the van (taxi van, I was on a cab fare). It turned its head and looked right at us with little red eyes. It then flapped its wings one time and flew to the left really fast. The wings were so beautiful. I'll never forget how amazing they were. It was a very bat-like being. You could almost see through his wings. You could see the veins bulging from all angles of the wings and light that illuminated through them in the background. And I'll NEVER forget the eyes. They were piercing and felt as if they looked right into my soul. It was definitely a very deep feeling.
And you know funny thing was? Even though this massive thing flew so close in front of the van, I felt I was going to hit him, I never once put my breaks on. And I think back about that and why I didn't a lot. I mean I'm a taxi driver with a chauffeur license trained to be safe and cautious. Yet I never once slammed on my brakes or attempted to stop.
Just thought I should contact you. I hope to hear back from you. I would like to know more about this thing. We wanted to tell someone bigger than just our circle of friends and family but didn’t know who.

Strickler was able to contact the witness for more information.

"I contacted [the witness] and her companion for additional information," Strickler said. "She and her companion (in the front) were with two fares (soldier and his girlfriend in the back). [She] states that the winged being had a thin 7 ft. body, brownish in color. The bat-like wingspan was at least 12 ft. in length. The red eyes had a distinct illumination and were very bright."

The feeling of being ‘pierced’ by the creature’s eyes is commonly reported by witnesses, and often a feeling of unease or dread accompanies the sighting; although in this case the witness appears to have been more mesmerized than afraid.

I-465 in Indiana forms a large circular route around Indianapolis, and passes nearby Eagle Creek Park to the west and Fort Harrison State Park to the east. 80 miles northeast of the Indianapolis International Airport is the Prairie Creek Reservoir, where two sightings of a similar creature have been reported—those sightings took place in 2011 and 2018. Just over 150 miles to the north/northwest lies Lake Michigan, which has so far acted as the epicenter of flying humanoid sighting reports in the Midwest. Gary, Indiana—a city on the southern shore of Lake Michigan—has seen a recent spate of flying creature reports, and is roughly the same distance from this sighting location as is the great lake.

This is the latest in a string of flying creature sightings around Lake Michigan that ostensibly began in the spring of 2017, but more historical accounts are being reported as more people become aware of the phenomenon. Most of the sightings have taken place near the lakefront in Chicago within a few miles of Lake Michigan, although increasingly reports are coming from within a few hundred mile radius surrounding the great lake—including every state bordering it. 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—sometimes with glowing or reflective red, yellow, or orange eyes; 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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