Witness Reports Sighting of Giant, Red-Eyed "Man-Bat" in Bensenville, Illinois

A sketch of the creature drawn by Phantoms & Monsters Fortean Research Team member Vincent Richardson. *(Vincent Richardson / UFO Clearinghouse)*

Manuel Navarette of UFO Clearinghouse said he received the following report at the end of April, which details an encounter with a winged humanoid in Bensenville, Illinois, that reportedly occurred on the 28th of that month.

I was at work Thursday night. I had just brought back a manlift from a construction site that we had picked up and brought back to the yard. I had just driven the manlift off of the trailer and was just about to get back into the truck to park it, when I saw some movement from the back of the yard. I grabbed a flashlight and headed back toward the storage containers that are kept in the back.
I saw something on top of the container and I shined the light on it and asked them what the hell they were doing back there and [said] that I was about to call the police if they didn’t get out of there. I kept walking toward them and yelling when I heard a series of clicks, rapid-fire clicks and what sounded like chirping. I’m a bit of a history buff and back in [World War II], U.S. troops used to carry these clickers called “crickets” that they used to communicate with one another. This sounded like these clickers only faster and louder, same pitch and tone.
I was about 12 feet from the containers, [when] I looked up and was met with a pair of red eyes that were staring directly at me. These were attached to what looked like a tall being that must have been at least [six to seven] feet tall and looked like a giant man-bat kind of thing. I lost my shit and started backing up while trying not to scream like a little girl.
This man-bat was partially lit up by the lights we have around the yard. I tried to shine my flashlight on this thing and it started clicking at me and took off into the air. It took off toward the north. I practically ran back to the truck and got in and parked it.
I swear to God, I sprinted toward my car, which was parked by the main building where it was lit up by the street lights. Thoughts of something swooping down to attack me were swirling around in my head. I got in my car and left, not stopping till I got home.

The witness was reluctant at first to speak with Navarette but, the investigator said, he was eventually able to convince the man to speak with him about his experience.

The witness reportedly told Navarette that he has been a driver for an industrial equipment rental company for about three years.

It was while parking his semitruck and trailer after returning to work to drop off a manlift—a movable platform used to raise and lower workers—that the witness said he encountered the entity.

According to Navarette, the witness told him that he had seen movement along a row of transportation containers used for storage in the back of the yard and decided to investigate.

At first, he thought it was an intruder looking to steal tools or equipment, so he reached into his truck and retrieved a large Maglite flashlight.

As the man walked toward the containers, Navarette said, "he saw something standing on top of the containers and as he got closer he noticed a pair of bright red eyes looking directly at him."

Navarette said the witness estimated that the creature stood between six and seven feet tall, and that he described it as a "Man-Bat,” similar to the villain of the same name who appears in DC Comics.

Navarette said that, as the witness approached the containers, he started to "hear clicking coming from the direction of the entity," which he described as sounding like it was "coming from a [World War II]-era clicker, commonly referred to as a 'cricket' by Allied soldiers."

The referenced devices, Navarette said, "were handheld brass clickers used by soldiers to communicate and identify each other during nighttime raids. They were most famously used by American Airborne soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division."

The sound was similar to the device in tone, Navarette said the witness told him, "only faster and louder and [it] only got faster and louder as he approached the storage containers."

"As the witness approached the containers he stated that the entity stood up and took flight toward the north and was out of sight within seconds," Navarette said. "[He] described running back to his truck and then, after parking it, running to his car with an overwhelming feeling that something might swoop down and attack him."

Even after the witness arrived home, he still "could not shake the feeling,” and he stayed in his car for another two or three minutes before going inside, Navarette said.

The following day, the witness went online and found the contact information for UFO Clearinghouse and submitted his report, added the investigator.

"The witness appeared to be sincere in his recounting of the events of that night and did not change any of his story and even corrected [me] when [I] tried to purposely embellish the story," Navarette said of the interview. "The next step will be field investigation and with the witness’s permission, that will be conducted at the earliest available opportunity."

There have been two other purported sightings in Bensenville since Navarette received this report, but neither sighting has yet had the requisite witness contact and investigatory follow-up to be considered for publication by the Singular Fortean Society.

Further updates on those reports may qualify them for publication at a later date.

The chirping and clicking reported in the above testimony has been reported in at least three other cases: on September 12th, 2017, a woman walking home from work reportedly encountered a "black devil" in Chicago's Little Village; on April 13th, 2018, a couple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, reportedly encountered a bat-like flying humanoid with "large glowing red eyes”; and on September 24th, 2020, a woman reportedly encountered a seven-foot-tall, red-eyed creature after leaving work at the United States Postal Service sorting facility in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Each of those reports mentions a clicking or chirping sound associated with the creature.

The village of Bensenville is directly adjacent to O’Hare International Airport, which 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.

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

If you enjoyed this article and would like to support the Singular Fortean Society, please consider becoming an official member by signing up through our Patreon page—membership includes a ton of extra content and behind-the-scenes access to the Society’s inner workings.