Reports from the Void: 'I Thought the Home Was a Possessed House'

In late January of 2019, the Singular Fortean Society received an email with “Glowing eyed demon w/bat wing stick leg body” in the subject line. It was sent by a woman who claimed to have seen something similar to the ‘Mothman’ being reported around Lake Michigan.

The house wherein the reported phenomena reportedly occurred is in Bloomington, Indiana, but the names and specific addresses have been removed to protect the identity of those involved.

The body of the email read:

I saw this thing back in [1983 or 1984]. I thought the home was a possessed house; water would turn off and turn back on after I'd walk away from the kitchen or bathroom. I felt very uneasy there. I found a pentagram on the basement floor covered with dirt and had swept it off. It was an old house with a drive-below basement garage; it also had some really weird painting and a slab room to the side with a dirt slab—like for killing things, like sacrifices.
I didn't see any [actual] things, but felt the presence of evil. It appeared to me several times, and with me and my ex-husband before the people thought I was nuts at his work. [I] only saw it at night, and [after] seeing it on many different occasions we moved and the land lord thought I was high or drunk instead of just extra sensitive. I actually had a judgment against me I think for moving, but it was dropped later.
I can draw a picture of it. My son later on in life, like 2000, drew a drunken picture of it on a wall when they were messing around. Showing the party pics, I later looked back through and realized "Hey, that's the THING!" I asked him "Hey, who drew this thing on the wall?" He said "Oh I did.” I asked him "What is that?" He replied "Um, I don't know." I said "How did you come up with it?" He said "I just drew it." It was freakish. [It had] the sideways, almond-shaped eyes glowing [with] red fire...in the dark...
I told him that day that the thing I and my ex/his dad saw was that THING. I call it a demon, because we hid in the bed under the covers. I asked my husband to "get rid of it!!!" He said "HOW?!" I TOLD HIM I WENT TO BIBLE STUDY WITH HIS MOM AND THAT THEY TALKED ABOUT CASTING OUT DEMONS, "IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BEGONE." I ASKED HIM TO LOOK UP AND SEE IF IT WAS GONE, HE SAID NO. I SAID "YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE." I PRAYED THE SAME QUOTE OUT LOUD AGAIN AND MEANT IT. WE PEEPED OUT FROM UNDER THE COVERS AGAIN AND IT HAD GONE. I told my ex that we were moving asap.
[We had] black birds all the time [in the] big trees out back. I'd put out some bird food [and] no song birds would come, [except] maybe a stray blue Jay or two, but nothing else but starlings, grackles, and raven-type birds there, too. I look back now and think "what was it???!" My husband will give the same story. I have told many people, but always had laughs. I still feel to this day that it knows where I am. I now live in Florida. Please contact me if you want me to talk more about this THING.

Investigator Tobias Wayland corresponded with the woman and attempted to schedule an interview, but was ultimately unsuccessful.

The witness originally agreed to be interviewed the following weekend, explaining that she would be off of work then, but adding that she has "always been afraid of this thing coming back into my life. I'm all wound up and have to try to forget about it."

Wayland offered to schedule the interview during the day to provide a less oppressive atmosphere, but did not receive a response.

He received the following message a few days later after following up with the witness and asking if everything was alright.

"Yes, everything is fine. I just hadn't had time yet," she said. "I will be back to you when I get this drawn up. I'm not a real good artist."

"Sounds good," Wayland replied. "I'm glad things are going well."

"Thanks, you too!" said the witness.

That was the last message Wayland received from the witness.

Bloomington, Indiana, is less than 200 miles south of Lake Michigan, and is bordered by Brown County State Park.

The occult elements and “presence of evil” felt are reminiscent of other reports received throughout the Lake Michigan Mothman investigation—including a witch in Chicago who described a ritual held on the September 2015 blood moon that she believed may have summoned some dark, shadowy, bat-like beings, and a woman in Wauconda, Illinois, who said she felt “a palpable sense of evil” emanating from a bat-winged monster she encountered in 2016.

Given the description provided by the witness, this encounter could be related to the string of ‘Mothman’ sightings from within a few hundred mile radius surrounding Lake Michigan, including every state bordering the great lake. The sightings ostensibly began in the spring of 2017, but more historical accounts are being reported as more people become aware of the phenomenon. Sightings of weird winged beings around Lake Michigan have been reported at all hours, 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 avian being could explain some encounters. Sightings of anomalous avians, including thunderbirds and pterosaurs, are often reported in or near the same locations as those where witnesses have reported winged humanoids.

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 Lake Michigan Mothman sightings so far here, and an interactive map here.

Reports from the Void is a repository to share those stories for which we do not have enough information to make a full report. This is usually because of little or no communication from the witness following their initial submission. The Singular Fortean Society will always provide as much information as possible regarding any correspondence during our attempts to speak with those involved.

This series is meant only to present you with the full breadth of the information sent to us, and makes no judgments towards the veracity of any stories shared within it.

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