YEAR: 1983

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

STATE: New Jersey

COUNTY: Morris County

LOCATION DETAILS: The location was near the Split Rock Reservoir Dam

NEAREST TOWN: Rockaway Township

NEAREST ROAD: Split Rock Road

OBSERVED: It was a warm May evening. Three High School friends and myself went up to Split Rock Resevoir one Friday night to hang out. We pulled off to a small parking area just south of the resevoir dam. We all got out of the car and as we were sitting around the car just talking, we all heard a loud sound, like a howl. Then we heard some large noises like something was shaking or moving branches. We all looked at each other and jumped back in the car as quickly as we possibly could and drove off.

Until recently, I hadn't given this incident much thought, but after reading some of the accounts listed on this website from this area of NJ, I have become aware that this could have been a similar creature described in these other documented accounts.

OTHER WITNESSES: 4 high school firends between 17-18 years old. Sitting on the hood of a car, just talking and laughing.

OTHER STORIES: Split Rock Resevoir is located in the Northwest corner of Morris County, NJ. It is very close to Sussex County where I have just read about some other written accounts. The Resevoir is to this day a very large area that is desolate, protected by the state and underdeveloped.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 8-9pm

ENVIRONMENT: A heavily wooded forest area. Split Rock Resevoir is a state protected watershed area.

Follow-up investigation report:

I spoke with this person over the phone on January 21st 2007. He is now in his forties and married with children. He recalled the encounter in detail even though it took place over twenty years ago. I found him to be very credible and grounded.

The vocalization came from an estimated 50 yards in the woods to his left. At first the witness and his friends thought it was the screams of a women in distress, until the scream transformed into a howl followed by the sound of something large moving through the brush. They quickly realized this was something else. It was then that they decided to leave the area.

I emailed the witness the 1973 Whoop-Howl from Puyallup, Washington and the 1978 Whoop-Howl from Snohomish County, Washington recordings for him to listen to. Here is his response to me.

Hey Mike,

The first link was a little too faint, but the second link definitely sounded very similar to what we heard at Split Rock. Well, as best as my recollection serves me.

The recording he makes reference to is the 1978 Whoop-Howl from Snohomish County, Washington.

Click here for the Snohomish Recording

The Split Rock reservoir area of New Jersey is very wooded with mainly deciduous hardwoods, some conifers, and various small lakes and streams. This wooded section of Morris County connects with both Sussex and Passaic Counties. This location is roughly 31 miles south of the Passaic County area in which a similar type of vocalization was heard 17 years later in
Report #16248

As a note, Split Rock reservoir is also located in the same town and very close to class B Report #6186

Also note, there are quite a few reports of a screaming animal commonly heard in the Garden State. Reference the following reports, which make mention of this.

Report #1427 Report #1428 Report #1429 Report #1452 Report #12825
Report #14232 Report #15292