Reports from the Void: 'It Looked Like a Tall Man with Really Big Wings'

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 resulting from attempts to speak with those involved.

This series is meant only to present you with the full breadth of information sent to us or our investigatory partners and makes no judgment regarding the veracity of any stories shared within it.

Lon Strickler of Phantoms & Monsters recently published the following account of a person who said they saw a “tall man with really big wings” while fishing early in the evening of October 10th, 2020, near the power plant south of Marseilles, Illinois.

On October 10, 2020, I was out bass fishing with my buddy and his son and another friend over at the cooling pond near the power plant south of Marseilles, Illinois. This location is in LaSalle County, in southern Illinois. It was very warm that day and we decided to take the chance to get some late season fishing done before it got too cold to be out on the water. We were at our usual spot over by one of the barriers, about a mile and half from the boat launch where the water is about 15 feet deep.
We were sitting around talking and casting our lines, it was about six pm and we were just about to wrap it up for the day and head on back to the house. My buddy’s son saw it first and said look at that big bird over there! We all looked to see this thing fly over the top of us, it must have been 20-30 feet up in the air and it was moving silently. It wasn’t squawking and making noise like a flock of goose [sic] would and it was barely moving its wings. We watched it as it flew over us and in the direction of the power plant, and we seen [sic] that it looked like a tall man with really big wings.
It flew off toward the plant without making any changes in its path until it was out of sight. We saw nothing else after that and we decided that it was enough for us to call it a day and head back to the launch before the sun went down.

Strickler told the Singular Fortean Society that this report had been sent to him several years ago, but he only now decided to publish it because it might be relevant to the Lake Michigan Mothman investigation. He added that he thought he had spoken to the witness, but regardless of if he had or not, the report appears to be complete based on the information included.

Marseilles is a city of just under 5,000 people that sits along the Illinois River and is several dozen miles south/southwest of many areas in northeastern Illinois which have hosted unexplained sightings of winged humanoids. It is unclear why the witness stated that Marseilles is in “southern Illinois” when it is firmly within the northern third of the state.

Because of its proximity to other sighting locations, the creature described in the above report could be related to the larger Lake Michigan Mothman phenomenon. Those sightings are commonly reported within a few hundred miles of 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. 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, sometimes with glowing or reflective red, yellow, green, or orange eyes, and humanoid features such as a clear torso 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.

A map of the sightings, compiled by Strickler, is available here.