Reports from the Void: 'Two Giant Bats'

Reports from the Void is a repository to share those stories for which I 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. I will always provide as much information as possible regarding any correspondence during my attempts to speak with those involved.

This series is meant only to present you with the full breadth of the information sent to me and makes no judgments about the veracity of any stories shared within it.

I received the following email entitled “Two Giant Bats” on April 11th, 2024.

Good morning!
I live in Rochester, Minnesota.
About an hour ago, while watching for shooting stars on my back balcony, I observed two large, bat-shaped creatures about 20 minutes apart from each other.
Both of them were heading northwest, away from the light pollution of the city.
It is common to see geese here, and although I saw several geese, too, the large, bat-shaped creatures I observed did not make any noise, nor did they move in the same way.
Their silhouettes did not show any kind of flapping motion—instead, they appeared to be gliding. The second creature that I observed circled several times before continuing northwest, dipping in and out of cloud cover. Their silhouettes were darker than the night sky, but still difficult to see against the clouds—most bats have translucent wings which may explain why it was so difficult to see.
The first creature was significantly smaller than the second, but both were very intimidating in size. My best guess is a minimum of eight to twelve-foot wingspan on the first creature. The second one dwarfed the first and appeared to be about twice as large. At first, I was confused because I thought I was looking at a small aircraft with no lights, like some kind of glider or similar.
The first sighting was at 11:45 p.m.
The second sighting was at 12:21 a.m.

I replied to this email in an attempt to gather more information about the sighting but received no response.

The largest bat species native to Minnesota is the hoary bat with a wingspan of 14 inches, far smaller than what the witness described. By comparison, the largest bat in North America, the western mastiff bat, has a wingspan of about two feet. Even the largest bat in the world, the flying fox, native to parts of the southern hemisphere, only has a wingspan of five feet or so.

Like many anomalous winged creature witnesses, this person mentioned specifically that what they saw seemed to glide rather than flap its wings—something reported often among Mothman experiencers.

Furthermore, while it is unusual for a witness to report multiple creatures in such close proximity, it is not unheard of.

A woman in Berwyn, Illinois, reportedly watched four winged humanoids with red eyes fly over her home on September 8th, 2001.

Over the past several years, many sightings of giant bats or bat-like creatures have been reported throughout the Midwest. Too many in number to list here, although I’ve compiled a timeline of winged humanoid reports as part of the Lake Michigan Mothman investigation that the curious reader might find helpful.