The site where Preston Riley heard the howl. (Preston Riley / YouTube) — The site where Preston Riley heard the howl. *(Preston Riley / YouTube)*

YouTube user Preston Riley uploaded a video to his channel on February 9th that features a series of eerie howls captured outside of his residence.

According to the video’s description,

At 2:43 [pm] February 9th, 2020, I was inside my house feeding my dog, and me and my dog were both curious [as to] what we were hearing outside. I ran outside as fast as I could to try to understand what it was, but I couldn’t understand what I was hearing because I’ve never heard anything like this before near the woods at my house. This video is not FAKE. I swear this just happened out of the middle of nowhere randomly. Caught in Ohio.

The disturbing sound can be heard faintly as it repeats in the video.

Reactions to the video have been mixed, with some proposing that the sound was made by a mundane animal—such as a hound dog, bobcat, or mountain lion—while others said they thought a cryptid could be responsible.

"Definitely the Ohio Grassman," Tiffany T. commented. "I know someone that had a close encounter with one before while hunting and they said that’s exactly what they heard without a doubt."

"Dogman in the area. Please stay safe out there. Don't go out at night. And lock those windows and doors," advised Adam Torres.

The sound captured by Riley is similar to the howling recorded by hunter Gino Meekis in northern Ontario, Canada, last October.

Meekis’ video elicited a response similar to Riley’s, with speculative explanations ranging from wolves to coyotes to Bigfoot.

Similar sounds heard off of northern Vancouver Island in 2015 were also ascribed to Sasquatch, especially since, in that instance, no known large mammal species live in the area those sounds were heard.

To report your own encounter with the impossible, reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

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