Well, I’ve finally poked my head out of my 2014 Holiday Bunker and am busy getting reacquainted with my strange and spooky world. So lots of catching up to do! With that in mind, let’s start with this bit o’ weirdness out of Highland County, Ohio.
Seems that on the evening of Friday, December 12th, a former Marine was driving along Carmel Road. As the gentleman’s vehicle crested a hill, he observed “a 7′ tall slim, gray creature with muscular legs that walked like its knees were backwards.”
Upon reaching his home, a report was filed with the Ohio division of Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) and the man even included a sketch of what he had seen:
Pretty weird, huh? But of course, these sort of sightings are never as clear-cut as they seem. So this case is already started to get a little confusing.
To begin with, the story first “broke” when it appeared in the December 19th edition of the Highland County Press. In the article, which may or may not have been written by Ron McGlone of MUFON-Ohio (the article’s byline simply states “information by Ron McGlone”), there is only a mention of a single witness, a “60-year-old former Marine”.
Things get even more confusing towards the end of the article, where there is a link and several random, unattributed quotes. Following that link will eventually lead you to the official MUFON report, which was filed by the former Marine’s wife, who was allegedly also in the vehicle at the time of the sighting.
Contradicting McGlone’s statement, the woman states her husband is “almost 60 years old”. Further, the woman gives quite a bit more detail about the alleged encounter:
“We went around the curve by the Carmel church and then up a small incline and approximately 10 feet over the incline and in front of our truck, the ‘alien’ ran across the road and into the woods.”
The woman’s statement also does a great job of clearing up exactly where the alleged encounter took place. After mentioning that they had recently purchased “a place in the Fort Hill area”, she describes how they were heading home on the night of the 12th:
“After turning on Carmel Road, which leads to our road, we went around the curve by the Carmel church and then up a small incline and approximately 10 feet over the incline and in front of our truck, the ‘alien’ ran across the road and into the woods.”
Based on that description, I’m convinced the encounter took place in Hillsboro, Ohio. I’ve plotted the Carmel Church (purple bull’s-eye) on the map below. So by my calculations, the encounter took place on Carmel Road, slightly to the left of the Carmel Church:
But that’s not to say the woman’s statement isn’t a bit confusing, because it raises a few more questions. For one, the woman implies that her husband drew the sketch because he was the only one who actually saw it, even going so far as to state “my husband saw it”:
“He wouldn’t have admitted to seeing it if he hadn’t been in shock. I had him draw it for me when we got to the house. He says it was asphalt gray (our asphalt is gray) and about 7 feet tall, no arms that he could see, but muscular in the legs area; no jawline, and its legs were bent backward and it leaned forward as it ran.”
That seems a little odd, especially since she had just finished stating how the creature ran in front of their vehicle. But perhaps she was just recounting what her husband described seeing and she never saw the creature at all.
Finally, the woman’s statement contains an interesting reference to their being “a perfect circle that stays fresh green, no matter what weather” in the couple’s front yard. So of course, government conspiracy fans are jumping all over this one.
So what sayeth you? Anyone out there have a recent encounter with a 7-foot grey creature with no arms and backwards legs? If you did, you know I’m dying to hear about it!
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You can access the Highland County Press article here.
Another article on the encounter, with a bit more information, can be viewed here.
A copy of the MUFON report that was filed can be accessed here.
Need to catch up on your Ohio News of the Weird? Check out the archives here.
Carmel is a small crossroads with a market and a church bearing that place name. There is a sign marking the area near the intersection of SR 506 and SR 753. The homes and businesses in the area use Hillsboro addresses since that’s the zip code (45133). I drive past this spot twice a day. My wife saw 3 Sandhills cranes in the area just days earlier.
There is a book written about the area called “North from the Mountains: A Folk History of the Carmel Melungeon Settlement, Highland County, Ohio” by John S Kessler and Donald B. Ball, Mercer Univ. Press, 2001. I have the book if you want to borrow it. – Jeff
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing! And of course I’d love to borrow that book, especially since it deals with what sounds like a ghost town.
3 sandhill cranes, huh? Were any of them 7-feet-tall? In all seriousness, makes me wonder if that’s not what they saw and misidentified it…and overestimated the size.
I lived out in carmel for the last 20 years and if there was any crazy shit like what ever it is i think i would know and i have it by good understanding from a friend who used to be that guys next door neighbor says hes a little coo coo thats all i got for u ppl hope u dont let this get to ur heads which seems already has
Adam, thanks for the info! Good stuff! And wo worries: i don’t think it has gone to our heads…yet!
I live in Carmel and I have never seen nor heard of such an event. I believe what he may have seen was an ostrich since there are a few around the area plus from the first statement it was said it was dark so it could have very well been an large ostrich…
Chris,
Thanks for the note! An an ostrich certainly sounds like it could be the culprit, especially based on the description of the “creature’s” legs.
Very true and the size makes sense as well and the no arms statement and as you said the legs as well make sense
What government conspiracies are there about the always fresh, green circle?
Well, some think that it is unnatural for grass to be that way, so that must mean there’s some sort of secret government experiments taking place in the area. Hence the weird, mutated creature, too. But as someone who recently moved to the “country”, i hear about grass like that and immediately think “septic tank”. But that’s just the jaded skeptic in me talking!
I live on 753 down the road to the north of carmel and last year my sister and I saw these things circling each other over carmel going very fast in the night sky and shooting our these red lazer beams at each other like they were fighting!!–don,t care if you believe this or not–just thought I,d report this.