“Forward troubles Illinois, lock the front door, oh boy! Look at all the happy creatures dancin’ on the lawn…doo, doo, doo lookin’ out my back door.” – Credence Clearwater Revival, Lookin’ Out My Back Door (1970)

Although we are no closer to solving our mystery than when I was a kid, the reports just seem to keep on piling up. As we’ve explored previously, the world is home to a variety of purported hairy monsters with a number of variations occurring in Alaska and the lower 48. But what about the possibility of having an encounter close to home?

Now, I realize that my blog can wind up anywhere but since I reside in West Central Illinois, I’m going to explore some lore from my region of The Land of Lincoln. Should you wish to research reports from other locales I would suggest consulting The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization’s (BFRO) sightings database.

According to the BFRO, 83 of Illinois’ 102 counties have an entry in the database and Illinois ranks fourth in the U.S. with 284 submitted reports trailing only Washington (635), California (436) and Florida (312). Keep in mind, however, that these are only the reports that eyewitnesses have gotten around to submitting. It stands to reason that there are countless others that remain unreported for various reasons. People may not be aware that such a forum exists, maybe they are too embarrassed to pass along their encounter (despite relative anonymity) or perhaps they don’t want to create a stir near home due to a potential wave of curiosity seekers. Then again, they may not believe the experience themselves or are simply content to keep their sighting private.

To each their own, but I enjoy regularly poring over the reports to see what’s new in Illinois or to explore reports from neighboring states. For me, it’s akin to reading a ghost story that I can actually relate to after having spent many a night around a campfire pondering things weird and wild. And the closer the report to home, the more it falls under the “must read” category.

  

As good as my family can report while Messin’ with Bigfoot – McDonough County, IL 7-4-17

In addition to the BFRO database, the book entitled I-Files: True Reports of Unexplained Phenomena in Illinois details a number of sightings within a couple hours’ drive from Knox County, where I spent 47 of my 50 years. Among the counties included are Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, McDonough and Tazewell. The list of communities near which these encounters took place consists of Canton, East Peoria, Gulfport, Hamilton, Kewanee, Lewistown, Pekin, Vermont and Warsaw. Well now, there has to be something to those reports because I’ve been to those places and some of those people seem pretty familiar. They wouldn’t make this stuff up, would they?

Even much closer to home back in the mid 90’s was a report out of East Galesburg involving a woman who was frightened by an “ape” that approached her vehicle late one night. I can’t recall whether I heard this report on the radio or saw it posted in the newspaper but I’ve failed to turn up anything in the archives at the local library. I suppose it doesn’t really matter anyway as it disappointingly turned out to be a case of significant drunkenness upon further investigation. Imagination and inebriation are quite the combination.
More recently, in June of 2011, a footprint and later a headless rabbit were discovered amidst some apple trees south of Springfield. Further information on “The Chatham Bigfoot” can be found here and an internet search will turn up more than a few additional articles to keep you busy.

And while you’re searching, why not go looking for something called “The Cole Hollow Road Monster?” This hairy creature, nicknamed Cohomo, prompted several hundred calls to various Tazewell County law enforcement bodies during the spring and summer of 1972. Both the I-Files book and the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization website provide interesting tales and details on those wild few months. Among the fun was the prospect of administering lie detector tests to witnesses, an accidental shooting amongst a posse of searchers, Cohomo spotted swimming in the Illinois River and a report of strange lights descending in the vicinity on a night in late July.

  

Area of Henderson, County IL in the vicinity of the sighting described below.

However, my all time favorite local report comes from a Henderson County turkey hunter in May of 2008 and can be found on the BFRO website as Report #23949. The encounter occurred near Rozetta which I’m sure is “parts unknown” (to borrow an old professional wrestling term) to nearly everyone. But for around forty years, my dad and uncle had free reign on several parcels of land right where this sighting took place. Although we’ve now lost access to the largest portion of the ground we collectively called “Wilson’s”, for many years it was an outstanding outdoor classroom for hunting, fishing, trapping, camping and hiking. Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends featured annual camping visits and each November found us making the daily trek of several miles along the creek bed running through an area known as “The Big Timber” for the first week of trapping season. Throughout the years we never saw, heard or smelled any clues, but then again, we were more focused on fur, navigating the rocky creek bottom and retelling tales of previous wilderness experiences. Yet, I couldn’t help but imagine after finding this report that while we didn’t see him, I’d sure like to think that old Bigfoot had his eyes on us over the years from landmarks along the trapline like Eagle’s Point, The Rose Bowl, The Waterfall or The Big Sycamore.

A favorite Henderson County, IL outdoor spot we call “The Waterfall”, was Bigfoot keeping an eye on us over the years?

Perhaps if we’d only turned around to look back rather than always looking forward in anticipation of what the next trap might hold…
Talk to you tomorrow. Troy