YEAR: 1980

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 25-30

STATE: New Jersey

COUNTY: Burlington County

NEAREST TOWN: Woodmansie

NEAREST ROAD: RT. 72

OBSERVED: Heard very loud screams. The screams were louder than anything I ever heard in my life. Did not sound like any animal or bird I ever heard anywhere. Every hair on my body was standing on end. I heard it walking around my tree stand less than fifty yards away. I thought it was a deer or my hunting partner coming over until it started screaming. I was in a climbing tree stand and opted to jump out rather than shimmy down because I didn't want to lower my bow to the ground.

It followed me all the way out of the woods to the road I was parked on. When I came out on the road my hunting partner was standing on the roof of my car with his bow drawn back. He could not get into the car because I had the keys in my pocket.

ALSO NOTICED: It was making loud stepping sounds unlike a small animal

OTHER WITNESSES: One besides myself on the first occasion. Two besides myself on the the second occasion.

OTHER STORIES: Myself and two others heard the same noises in the same location the following year.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Dusk, right at Sunset. Cool night with bright moon light.

ENVIRONMENT: Thick Pine woods.

Follow-up investigation report:

I phoned the Witness and as we talked for a while on a number of subjects. The witness reports that twice during the early 1980's he heard a large animal moving around in the Lebanon State Forest in the Pine Barrens region while bowhunting. Both times he was with family or friends who also heard the animal. His informal inquiry of fellow hunters in the area turns up other encounters, but no sightings or footprints. The witness indicated that the very sandy soil does not hold prints well. The encounters typically consist of are extremely loud vocalizations, accompanied by footsteps and something very large walking through the woods, but staying just out of sight. The vocalizations are shrill, high pitched screams that are beyond the capability of a human. The witness described it as being louder than someone yelling through a megaphone. Both his encounters were w/in 15 miles of the Batsto River, which flows through the Pine Barrens and is the site of numerous other encounters.

The witness recalled that on the first encounter when while deer hunting he heard something screaming while he was in a treestand. The animal paralleled his retreat from the woods and would run when he ran while continuing to scream. Upon reaching a clearing, the Witness turned to see what was paralleling/following him but saw nothing. He had the definite feeling he was being stalked.

The animal followed him to the edge of the woods 400 yds to the road where his vehicle was parked. His hunting companion was at the vehicle, also heard the vocalizations and was concerned for the witness' safety. Both men were reportedly extremely frightened. The Witness is an avid hunter with 35 yrs experience. Hunting all over the US and Canada. No smells were reported. He reports that he has never heard anything like those screams, nor anything even remotely as loud. Both encounters occurred starting in late afternoon in October. Middlesex County is about 35 miles north as the crow flies.

See similar report investigated earlier this month from Middlesex County.