Incident Detail Report Shows Man Called 911 to Report Sighting of '7-8 ft Tall' Winged Creature in Woodstock, Illinois

*(Emily Wayland / Singular Fortean Society)*

The Singular Fortean Society was contacted recently by a man who said he had seen an "unusual being" with wings and "bright green eyes" charge at him from the McHenry County Fairgrounds in the early morning hours of February 28th. The witness compared his encounter to a sighting that had been reported in Woodstock earlier in the month.

According to a message received through the Singular Fortean Society's contact page:

I was outside Jewel Osco in Woodstock, Illinois and believe to [have seen] the same visual of an unusual being in the McHenry County fairground. It screeched at me then charged the fence, about thirty feet from the fence, it had very bright green eyes, [and] had wings and was all black leathery colored. It ran back towards the woods in the McHenry County fairgrounds. I called [the Woodstock police department] and [they] had county sheriffs respond to the location.

Investigator Tobias Wayland attempted to contact the witness via telephone at a predetermined time agreed to by all parties, but was forced to leave a voicemail. The witness has not yet responded.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for any information pertinent to the incident was then filed with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, and while an official report was not written, the 911 call information was released.

According to the incident detail report documenting the call, at 2:46 a.m. on February 28th, an officer responded to the 911 call of a man who said he’d seen a “mysterious creature described as being 7-8 ft tall and wearing all black” that “charged at him from the fair grounds screeching at him while he was in the Jewel lot and then it retreated.”

“[The witness] named the creature the ‘Dufield Pond Swamp Monster,’ since he had the first sighting with police involvement,” the report continued. “Investigation to continue.”

The McHenry County Fairgrounds are directly opposite of the Dufield Pond Conservation Area, out of which another witness saw a large, winged being "covered in dark fur" emerge on February 22nd. The locations of these sightings are approximately 35 miles west of Lake Michigan. Several large, wooded parks and conservation areas exist within a few miles of these locations; many more are within a several-dozen mile radius.

This is the latest news in a string of flying creature sightings from within a few hundred mile radius surrounding Lake Michigan, including every state bordering the great lake. These sightings ostensibly began in the spring of 2017, but more historical accounts are being reported as more people become aware of the phenomenon. They generally take place in the evening or at night, often in or near a park, and around water. Witnesses consistently describe a large, gray-or-black 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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