YEAR: 2002

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: August

DATE: 13

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: Ritchie County

LOCATION DETAILS: At Pennsboro, WV follow 74 North for approximately 4 miles.

NEAREST TOWN: Pennsboro

NEAREST ROAD: Stull Hill

OBSERVED: This took place in the late summer of 2002. I was walking the property next to mine as logging interested me in how it worked and how the land looked afterward. I'd go onto the place after the workers left for the day at 3PM.

It was rather hot and plain nasty so I usually headed out after 4 -5 PM. This day they were at the far end of the valley (or "holler" as the locals call it-I'm from CA originally). I was armed as there are wild dogs, bears, and a black panther running round back here. Walking to the far end there are two smaller branches off to your right, the first is shallow and only extends a few yards.

Every time I walked to base of the hill before, I felt like I just didn't want to venture into the woods. I had found another way onto the ridge above on the right a few months before-but I also got pretty badly spooked and kind of stayed away.

I had trails and just went wherever-until the loggers hit this patch. The past few weeks before this I had roamed all over the logging trails and as soon as they got back there I began to feel very uneasy. Walking alone, I decided to keep looking around staying extra cautious.

This day I went left and followed a trail that took me to the ridge top which is dead center of the valley. I also had a very "something is watching me" feeling so I wasn't what you would call happy, just taking note of where things were and enjoying the view.

The trail followed along this ridge and would take me near where I had all the strange feelings. I stopped as the feeling of being watched was getting a bit too much when I heard a tree fall, just on the other side of the ridge not more than about maybe seventy yards away. I was wondered just why in the hell would a tree fall but something told me not to investigate and to get off that hill.

I decided to turn around to call it a day. I walked maybe ten yards when something loped between two trees on the ridge to my right. My first thought was some loggers or forestry guys were still on the property. It looked to be wearing Carhart brown clothes. I went maybe twenty more yards and then it hit me: I had been on that ridge a few days before, I knew where those trees were and if, IF it was a man he had to be around seven to eight feet tall.

A day or two later I went back to the ridge where I saw the thing and took a good look. I never felt any real strangeness on this side and didn't then, but I did confirm that whatever I saw was very big. I also could swear I saw the right arm and leg but not the head, thinking back it was kind of leaning forward as it walked along so the head was behind the tree when I noticed it.

ALSO NOTICED: This is the only time I ever saw anything, but the valley I live in has had some very odd things happen and very odd feelings over the years. I've heard some bizarre sound's in the woods at night, the feeling of being watched has occurred around my house and sometimes I just won't go into the woods. The sound's I've heard sound like the werewolf in the film "An American werewolf in London" and there are centered in that last long branch I spoke of before.

I ventured into this place a lot between 2002 and 2005. It was too freaky so I just avoid the place now.

OTHER WITNESSES: None

OTHER STORIES: Several odd things:

Friend two miles off has had screaming heard as his wife went to her car to go to work. She leaves before daylight in winter so at something like five AM, dog across the way had a large chunk bit out of it when the neighbors found it dead.

Older gent I knew told of walking in the woods and his coon hound was out running ahead-it screamed out and came running back not leaving his side until they got home.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early evening,around five or six, hot and humid with zero wind.

Sun was going down a bit but it was about three hours before dark.

ENVIRONMENT: Ridge line, mixed forest, being logged at the time.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stephen Willis:

Witness also reported:
The nightly screams have continued since the original sighting. Trees snapped off were between 3 and 6 inches thick broken off above his shoulder level.

He and a friend took the friend's jeep back to the sighting location at night last summer. They sat listening to something breaking limbs and branches for the entire time they stayed on the ridge. There was no wind; giving the impression a living creature was involved.

During the past year, he reports that something large lurks around his house, about 1/4th mile from the sighting location. It will occasionally make a “wah” (short-sharp sound) vocalization, repeated for several minutes. This happens within 50 feet of his house at night. He is considering selling the property and moving away due to these incidents.

About BFRO Investigator Stephen Willis:

Grew up in central West Virginia. Retired from the US Army in 2003. Small manufacturing business owner. Lived for almost 7 years in Germany and 1.5 years in the Mideast.

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