This terrifying cycloptic sky demon was said to be a bizarre amalgam of reptile and bird with octopus-like tentacles and a beak and talons that eyewitnesses swore were made of metal.
The Blue Ridge Mountains in Maryland are a stunning and austere stretch of isolated landscape. Home to numerous species of predatory animals — such as wild boars, black bears and rattlesnakes — there is one ferocious fiend that stands out above all others… the dubiously dubbed “Snallygaster.”
At first glance the name Snallygaster seems to be a strange amalgamation of letters designed to form a silly name for this legendary beast, but it is actually a mispronunciation of the word “Schnellegeister.”This in and it itself is a corruption of the German words “schnelle” and “geist,” which refer to a “swift spirit.” In Pennsylvania Dutch traditions, a “swift spirit” is often credited with small objects that usually fall due to drafts.
This AVIAN ANOMALY, however, was described as being a single eyed, bird-like, reptilian beast with a feline torso and a humanoid or “ghoul-like” face; a description not unlike that of the Texas BIG BIRD or the ALAN. As peculiar as the aforementioned traits may be, far and away the most frightening characteristic of this creature was said to be its pointed “metallic” beak, which was allegedly lined with razor-sharp teeth.
As if its other attributes weren’t bizarre enough, there have been some eyewitness reports of the Snallygaster that have included tentacles and even three eyes! Reports also claimed that — much like the THUNDERBIRD — it had talons like “steel hooks” with which it would purportedly swoop down and snag its prey, human or otherwise.The first reports of this mysterious monster hail from the German immigrants who settled in what would become Frederick County, Maryland in the 1730s. These sparse accounts describe a demonic apparition that descended from the skies to snatch up children and livestock — not unlike Papua New Guinea’s vicious ROPEN and DUAH — and terrorize this panicked population of German descendants.
It would seem that encounters with the flying fiend died down — or at least went unreported — until the monster reared its ghastly head again in the opening years of the 19th century. Numerous farmers claimed that this soaring predator was responsible for late night raids on their chicken coops and was even responsible for exsanguinating their livestock.
For anyone familiar with the history of cryptozoology, this description of a flying, predatory, quasi-reptilian creature — which is notorious for sucking the blood from its victims — will reek of tales of South America’s most notorious cryptid, the CHUPACABRA.These bizarre HYBRID BEASTS are not to be mistaken with the hairless, canine-like critters which have been seen all across the United States and Mexico border, which we here at American Monsters have dubbed the NEO-CHUPACABRA.
In an effort to ward off this terrifying aerial apparition, many Fredrick County residents took to painting a heptagram, or seven-pointed star, on their rooftops and barns.
This symbol or “hex sign” — which is used in both pagan rituals and in some Christian sects to represent the seven days of creation — became a traditional symbol for warding off evil and was said to have an adverse affect on the creature, suggesting that the local populace believed this animal to be of demonic origin.In 1909, the Valley Register published the first newspaper accounts of the Snallygaster. The primary witness was one James Harding. He described the brute as having: “…enormous wings, a long pointed bill, claws like steel hooks, and an eye in the center of its forehead.”
Harding further asserted that this strange creature made piercing screeching noises — which he testified resembled the sound of a “locomotive whistle” — as it soared over his barn. He also claimed that its features looked like a cross between a vampire and a tiger.
While it is difficult to ascertain what Harding meant by describing a creature that synthesized the appearance of a wild feline and a vampire, it would seem that he was not far off the mark as this fiend reportedly killed an African-American man, Bill Gifferson, by piercing his neck with its pointed bill and sucking his blood.
It was around this time that the Valley Register began reporting the migratory habits of this blood thirsty beast, which seemed to travel a route that included West Virginia, Ohio, and New Jersey, where its footprints were found imprinted in the snow.It is hard to resist the temptation to speculate that the Snallygaster may have not been migrating from its Blue Ridge Mountain home at all, but, in fact, may have been the infamous NEW JERSEY DEVIL making an occasional visit to Maryland.
In West Virginia — the reputed home of the legendary MOTHMAN — it was reported that the Snallygaster nearly snatched a woman who narrowly escaped with her life, after which it roosted in the barn of a farmer named Alex Crow, then — most astoundingly — laid a enormous egg near Sharpsburg, where it was reportedly found by a group of men who jury-rigged a makeshift incubator in an effort to try and hatch it. What became of the egg or the novice zoologists remains a mystery.T.C. Harbaugh — of Casstown, Ohio — wrote a letter to the Valley Register, recounting the tale of an outlandish creature that flew over him emitting horrible screeching sounds. Harbaugh described the DRAGON-like thing as having: “…a large horny head, two huge wings and a tail twenty feet long.”
It was spotted again in Maryland in 1909 by a man who fired a brick-burning kiln near Cumberland. The anonymous fellow claimed that he had inadvertently woken the huge critter, which immediately unleashed a terrifying scream and took off.
Hunters supposedly shot at the Snallygaster near Hagerstown and it was seen flying over the range connecting Burkittsville and Gapland, where — like the Middle Eastern ANKA — it was reported to have laid another egg big enough to hatch an elephant. What became of this mastadonic egg is also unknown.The final and most harrowing encounter with this creature chronicled during the 1909, Frederick County flap, allegedly occurred near Emmitsburg in early March. According to the account, three men battled the beast near a railroad station for the better part of two hours before the thing retreated into the nearby forests of Carroll County.
Sightings of this unique animal had created such a furor in the press that it was alleged that no less an auspicious outdoorsman as President Theodore Roosevelt was considering postponing a European excursion — although in some reports it was said to be an African safari — in order to lead an expedition to capture or kill the creature. Even the auspicious Smithsonian Institute got in on the act when they offered a reward for anyone who could capture or at least retrieve the hide of the beast.
In 1932, the Snallygaster once again became the talk of Frederick County. It was suggested that this animal was not the same one that had terrorized the populace 23-years earlier, but the offspring from one of its monumental eggs that must have lain undiscovered somewhere in the Blue Ridge Mountains.Eyewitness claimed that the now colossal creature, which was described as being the size of a zeppelin, could be seen soaring above the community with dangling appendages that resembled the tentacles of a cephalopod. While the beast seemed to have lost its notoriously aggressive nature, most locals thought it prudent to retreat to the relative safety of their homes as it flew overhead.
Just a week after this new spate of sightings began, locals Edward M. L. Lighter and Charles F. Martin, claimed to have caught sight of the creature in question while driving a truck on the National Pike just east of Braddock Heights. They confirmed that the tentacle bearing monster was flying approximately 25-feet above them. Sadly, despite the numerous eyewitness reports, no one had the presence of mind to snap a photograph of this allegedly titanic airborne entity.
This curious case took its most interesting turn in November of 1932, when the Baltimore Sun reported that two Federal Prohibition Officers, Charles Cushwa and George Dansforth — following a tip that there was an illegal still located at a Baltimore County farm owned by one “John Barleycorn” — arrived at the site and set five hundred pounds of dynamite under a 2500-gallon vat of moonshine. Before they ignited the dynamite, however, one of the agents noticed, much to his consternation, a huge, dead creature immersed in the vat of whiskey.
The two agents snapped what has been described as a “shadowy photo” of the recently deceased monster — which, while notoriously difficult to find, was allegedly published in the Baltimore Sun as well as other local newspapers — then proceed to “inadvertently” detonate the vat, destroying not only Barleycorn’s still, but what might well have been the most significant zoological discovery in 20th century history.The Baltimore Sun speculated that this unusual animal was likely intrigued by the aroma of the moonshine and, as it swooped down to investigate, it was evidently overcome by the noxious fumes and plummeted into the boiling mash where it presumably drown. Ironically prohibition would end within the week, had the agents been delayed by even a few days perhaps this CURIOUS CARCASS would have been preserved rather than incinerated.
It has been suggested by some that the resurgence of this creature during the early 20th century was due to the fact that moonshiners lurking in the forested mountains of northern Maryland were attempting to conceal their illicit activities by scaring away children and the superstitious with tales of the Snallygaster.In fact, in order to conceal deaths caused by still explosions — as well as cover up the loud booming and screeching sounds made by the stills — moonshiners claimed that the beast would swoop down and snatch grown men up and drag them off into the night, where their bodies would be drained of blood and scorched.
This, of course, does not discount the existence of the Snallygaster. Perhaps, in much the same way the United States Government used the very real phenomenon of UFOs to cover up their own covert activities, the moonshiners may well have been using this equally real animal to obscure their own nefarious dealings.Following the creature’s untimely demise in 1932, there was a multi-decade hiatus in the Snallygaster’s public habits. This hiatus was terminated in June of 1973, when the beast apparently returned, albeit in a decidedly different form than the one encountered in years past.
Described as a prototypical HAIRY HOMINID, this massive, shaggy, ape-like being was known for its startling midnight shrieks and was accused of mutilating cattle. During a two week period dozens of eyewitness reports flooded the local police station, prompting a posse — consisting of state police, game wardens, zoo officials and tracking dogs — to push into the nearby forests armed only with nets, tranquilizer guns and a sturdy steel cage. The expedition found nothing of consequence.
It seems worth noting that this account closely resembles the two week ordeal endured by Illinois residents at the hands of the frightening MURPHYSBORO MUD MONSTER during the very same month and year.Possibly we are dealing with a copycat event or — even more intriguingly — perhaps there was a rare migration of BIGFOOT-like creatures in the mid-west and east coast resulting in an unparalleled wave of ape-man encounters during this comparatively short time span.
To many it’s obvious that this new incarnation of the Snallygaster was, more likely than not, an entirely different creature then the one encountered over 40-years ago. It would seem that — much like in the case of the BUNYIP and various other creatures — locals are fond of corralling any new anomalous animal in their line of sight into one cohesive creature, rather than acknowledging the fact that they are likely dealing with completely different species.
In 1976, the Washington Post even sponsored an unsuccessful search for the Snallygaster and other Maryland cryptids to no avail.The Washington Post also began to investigate the creature and the prestigious National Geographic was even said to be planning an expedition to capture the entity on film. Unfortunately, the expedition was never mounted.
Whatever this amazing animal was — be it a migrating Chupacabra, a lost Jersey Devil or an alien from OUT OF THIS WORLD — one thing remains clear, one of the most unique creature’s ever recorded was apparently accidentally drown in a vat of moonshine during the waning days of prohibition and destroyed before it could change the course of history.
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