Reports from the Void: 'It Was Far Too Large to be an Owl'

(Emily Wayland / Singular Fortean Society)

The Singular Fortean Society received the following email on February 1st, 2019:

I live in northern Indiana, and while driving home from Fort Wayne around 5:45 a.m—just outside Roanoke—my friend and I saw a large dark winged creature come up from out of a drainage ditch and fly directly over my car. It was only about 30 feet above us. It was just starting to become light out, and it was late September anyway. It was dark in color, [and I] didn't see features because of the dark and because we only saw it for a couple seconds. But it was far too large to be an owl (only bird that flies at night around here that is decent size is an owl). It wasn't flapping its wings and was moving fast. We both have no idea what we saw, but the Mothman came to both of our minds right away! It was not a misidentification of something common. It was big, dark, moved fast and was unexplainable. This took place within a 40 minute drive of Muncie. I just read the report on the flying humanoid seen in Muncie and that's what prompted me to send this message to you.

Investigator Tobias Wayland responded to the email in an effort to interview the witness, but no response from the witness was ever received.

Three sightings of weird, winged humanoids have so far been reported near Muncie, Indiana; one each in 2007, 2011, and 2018.

These sightings all centered around the Prairie Creek Reservoir, which is around two miles southeast of Muncie, Indiana, and approximately 140 miles southeast of Lake Michigan. Less than five miles to its south is Summit Lake State Park. Gary, Indiana—a city on the southern shore of Lake Michigan—has also seen a recent spate of flying creature reports, and is the same distance from this sighting location as the great lake, ~140 miles.

A man near the Prairie Creek Reservoir has also spoken to the Singular Fortean Society about a series of glowing orb sightings from 1981 to 2016 that could be related to the Lake Michigan Mothman phenomenon.

The sighting location mentioned in the email—Roanoke, Indiana—is just over 60 miles north of the reservoir.

This is 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, 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. 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 large bird or bird-like being could explain some—although certainly not all—of the encounters. A number of associated high strangeness incidents have also occurred alongside the creature sightings; including reports of UFOs, other anomalous flying creatures, psychic phenomena, and the receipt of bizarre messages.

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, 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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