Man Reports Multiple Chicagoland Sightings of Winged Creatures

Lon Strickler of Phantoms & Monsters recently received two sighting reports from a man with whom he’s been corresponding about winged creatures in the Chicagoland area for years.

The first sighting, said the man, "was actually near a winged humanoids sighting that was here in the North Riverside in the Lyons area of the Chicago suburbs."

Numerous reports of winged humanoids have been received from this area, and a map of sightings is available here.

"Of course, you already know that the forest preserves basically surround the Chicago area and North Riverside, Illinois is a unique place," he continued. "Houses have been there right next to the parks since its inception. Residents there can literally walk to the Des Plaines River from their house. If only they would take the time to look up and observe, they would see many things. I have seen blue herons and blue jays and much every time I go. Cool place, strangled by the pollution of corporate America and Chicago's finest companies that have direct access to the waterways, but still surviving despite."

The sighting took place at 7930 Ogden Avenue in Lyons, Illinois at 8:30 p.m. local time on April 17th, 2019.

"I was in the parking lot, leaving a gym right next to the Des Plaines River," said the man.

It was quick and the thing noticed me. It was a huge bird with a six-foot wingspan, layers of feathers, with a crest on its head. The most notable feature was its long spaded tail. It looked so cool. It looked young and as soon as it noticed me it immediately made a turn right back in the canopy.

"It was actually kind of interesting," he added. "It definitely did not want to be seen. I wonder what kind of bird that was? Either way it was cool."

Unlike the first sighting, which may have been an unidentified, but otherwise mundane, bird, the man's next sighting was, as he said, "just plain bizarre."

This sighting took place less than 10 miles from the previous one on Friday, September 17th, 2019 at about 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. local time at 2640 South Sacramento Avenue in Chicago's Little Village.

"It was a hot day in September for us in Chicago," he said. "About 86 degrees [Fahrenheit]."

[...] I was at my front door. I look up and there's what appears to be a mythological Harpy flying really high and in a vertical pattern and very slow. The thing looked exhausted and looked like a shorter person or a kid. Definitely humanoid with feet dangling, wings barely flapping and obviously not flying straight, in that up and down vertical manner. It was flying in the northerly direction, towards O'Hare International [Airport]. Strange indeed. It was bald and no feathers on the body. Just feathers on its wings. It also looked dark or black.

That description is consistent with other witnesses who have reported similar winged humanoids in the area.

The witness may have misremembered the date of this sighting, since historical weather data shows that the temperature on September 17th of that year only reached a high of 78 degrees. However, later that week, on the 20th, the temperature did reach what he reported.

O’Hare International Airport has been the epicenter of recent winged humanoid sightings in the Lake Michigan Mothman investigation, with over a dozen sighting reports coming from the airport itself since August of 2019, and many more reported in the surrounding communities. Reports from the larger investigation have come from every state bordering Lake Michigan and date back to 1957.

This report constitutes the latest news in a string of ‘Mothman’ 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 or natural area, and around water. Witnesses consistently describe a large gray, brown, 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, green, or orange eyes, and humanoid features such as arms and legs are often reported. Some witnesses have reported feeling intense fear and an aura of evil emanating from the creature they encountered. 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 misidentified large bird—such as a heron or crane—or some type of anomalous avian species could explain some, although certainly not all, of the encounters. A number of associated high strangeness incidents have also occurred alongside the creature sightings; these include reports of UFOs, other anomalous flying creatures and mysterious humanoids, parapsychological phenomena, and bizarre events experienced by those investigating the sightings.

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.

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