Reports from the Void: 'It Felt Like Something was Staring Back'

The Singular Fortean Society received the following email on October 18th, 2020. It likely came in response to one of the articles published regarding a series of flying creature sightings around Lake Michigan.

I believe I've seen this thing twice. The first time, I was hiking and on the ridge above me there was a fox. I've always had a strong connection with foxes, and I thought it was interesting because this one was following me along the ridge. I couldn't always see it but I could hear the leaves moving as I climbed the hill across from the ridge.
When I got to the top and looked back, the fox was gone, but where I'd expected it to be there was what appeared to be a huge bird. I assumed it was a vulture but it seemed really large and ominous. It continued to watch me and turned with my movement. It followed me all the way back down the hill staying on the ridge and I kept feeling this overwhelming feeling of being watched.
The next time I was at home. I live across from a church. The screen in my bathroom window is gone because my cat likes to go out onto the rafters in the carport. I was staring out the window at a shadowy spot in the church parking lot and it felt like something was staring back.
There are deer and things that walk around out there so I wasn't worried, more curious about what it was. My cat was on the window ledge next to me, staring at the same spot. I suddenly got this overwhelming feeling something was coming for me. I thought it was silly, but then my cat's hair stood up and she jumped down and ran out the bathroom door.
I immediately had an intense feeling I needed to close the window. I felt like a sense of panic, and right after I slammed the window shut my motion lights came on and there was nothing there but a puff of gray smoke lit up by the light. I saw a flash in my mind of that large black bird with glowing red eyes.
It was a day or two after I had seen it hiking. I sketched a picture of what I saw. I don't know if my story is anything significant but it was really creepy and the pictures and description you posted looked a lot like what I saw.

Lead investigator Tobias Wayland replied to the email, asking a series of questions and requesting to see the sketch, but never received any response.

Unusually large flying animals have been a part of the Lake Michigan Mothman investigation from its advent, when three reports—one of which involved a giant bat and the others enormous humanoid owls—were received by the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) in 2017. An investigator also photographed what he described as an "enormous" bird in St. Charles, Illinois, in March of 2018, almost two months before another witness, this time in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, recorded a large flying animal, likely a bird, while on his way to work.

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.

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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