YEAR: 1988

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

DATE: 1988

STATE: Arkansas

COUNTY: Greene County

LOCATION DETAILS: From Paragould, take highway 135 north approximately 5 miles and you will come to Oak Grove Heights. Continue north and you will see Oak Grove School on the left, sighting was behind the gymnasium.

NEAREST TOWN: Paragould

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 135 North

OBSERVED: I have always been reluctant to tell this story because I am still not sure to this day what I actually witnessed. One night, early 1988 in Greene County, Arkansas, just outside of Paragould, my girlfriend and I were "parking" behind a school gymnasium. We had visited this location on many previous occasions without any strange occurances. This particular night was cold, about 40 degrees, but clear and no moon. The only light was from a distant yard light on the school grounds. Off to our right front side was a tennis court with 4 foot high chain link fence along the sides and 10 foot high chain link fence on each end. As the night moved on, my girlfriend and I got the feeling that we were being watched. We were unable to see any movement outside the truck and we did not hear any sounds, just the strange feeling. It was around 11 pm and as we started to leave, I noticed a dark figure standing next to the 10 foot tall section of the chain link fence. What ever it was stood approximately 8 1/2 to 9 feet tall and we could see it swaying slightly from side to side. It was approximately 30 yards away. With only the dim, distant light, I could only make out that it was dark in color and I was unable to distinguish any facial features or hair length. A wooded tree line stood about 30 yards away from the creature. We were both scared and did not want to scare or anger this thing, so we sit quietly for about 10 minutes trying to guess what it was. Then it turned from us and slowly walked toward the woodline, turning it's head to look back at us before disappering into the woods. We then left the area quickly. The next day, still scared, I returned in the daylight. I was unable to find any evidence that a creature was ever there.

ALSO NOTICED: Only a feeling of being watched before the creature was actually spotted.

OTHER WITNESSES: One witness and myself. Both witnesses had been "parking" as many teenagers did at that time.

OTHER STORIES: I have never heard of any other sightings of this nature in this area of northeast Arkansas.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 11 pm at night, cold, clear and no moon. Only light was from a distant yard light.

ENVIRONMENT: The sighting was on a school campus which is surrounded by pastures and wooded areas. No major rivers or swamps in this area, only a small creek about 2 miles away.

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