Other / Unknown reports from the 1880s
20 cases, best-documented first. Page 1 of 1.
We map claims, not creatures. A case is what some source says someone saw or heard, with the link to that source. It is not proof that anything was there, and a retelling counts once, not as a second sighting.
Other / Unknown · Crosswick, Ohio · 1882
Witnesses report two boys fishing in a creek were attacked by a huge, snakelike monster with limbs that dragged one boy into a hollow tree.
Other / Unknown · Wahpeton, North Dakota · 1885
Mrs. [name] reports being confronted by a strange animal with large eyes and long ears in the Athenaeum library.
Other / Unknown · Hurley, South Dakota · 1884
A witness reports a two-minute fight with a Gila monster described as being as large as an elephant, which bit his arm and breathed a blinding vapor.
Other / Unknown · Plainfield, Indiana · 1888
Witness reports that he and his wife observed a white calf-shaped object gliding through a field without moving its legs, which kept pace with their horse before disappearing.
Other / Unknown · New London, Connecticut · 1880
A strange animal believed to have escaped from a menagerie is reported prowling in Montville.
Other / Unknown · Conowingo Creek, Pennsylvania · 1889
Other persons report having seen the tracks of a strange animal in the neighborhood of the Susquehanna Paper Mills.
Other / Unknown · Madison County, Florida · 1885
A correspondent reports that a Black person killed a strange white animal in Broomstraw prairie near Madison, which was described as dog-sized with features of a raccoon, cat, and polecat.
Other / Unknown · Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee · 1880s
Witnesses report an animal named 'The GraveDigger' with a goat face and kangaroo body was shot on a ridge in the early 1900s.
Other / Unknown · McLean County, Illinois · 1885
Witnesses report a forty-foot serpent with spots and a roaring sound was seen crossing a road near Kilison.
Other / Unknown · Seneca County, Ohio · 1886
Witness reports a strange animal seen in woods near the river, described as child-sized with monkey-like feet, reddish-brown hair, and fangs, hunting frogs.
Other / Unknown · Monmouth County, New Jersey · 1881
Witnesses in Green Bank, N.J. report a strange beast that appears to be part bear and part fish, which emits terrifying cries and is shot at by locals.
Other / Unknown · Patagonia, Santa Cruz · 1880s
Mr. [name] worth Musters reports that ostriches disappeared from his camp and were found torn apart with tracks larger than those of a puma.
Other / Unknown · Hochfilzen, Tirol · 1883
Witness reports [name] saw a two-legged Tatzelwurm from a mountain restaurant for twenty minutes.
Other / Unknown · Maysville, Kentucky · 1882
Witness reports that a strange animal causing sensation in Maysville was shot at but escaped without injury, mutilating dogs that attacked it.
Other / Unknown · Perry Township, Ohio · 1884
A gentleman reports a strange beast desecrating graves in Perry Township, Ohio, which burrows into coffins and devours their contents.
Other / Unknown · Corydon, Indiana · 1889
Witness reports that Levi McKinney encountered and killed a large snake with a horn on its head in Corydon.
Other / Unknown · Hailey, Idaho · 1883
Witness reports that Henry Goering caught a strange animal resembling a coon with pink eyes and a long flat tail while trapping for mink.
Other / Unknown · Tucson, Arizona · 1889
Braves sent to investigate found a mighty bob in the rock barrier at Mountain Lake after water vanished.
Other / Unknown · Augusta, Maine · 1885
Reports claim that a mysterious creature known as 'What is it' has been prowling near the Insane Hospital Tracks, leaving tracks of unusual length and shape.
Other / Unknown · Los Angeles, California · 1884
Mr. D. P. Commandicfa reports vomiting a strange creature about three inches long, shaped like an eel with a smooth crown and darkened lines resembling matted hair.