Van Meter Visitor

The Van Meter Visitor was sighted in Van Meter, Iowa in the autumn of 1903. The event was later recounted by Chad Lewis, Noah Voss, and Kevin Nelson in a book called “The Van Meter Visitor.” This creature emerged from an abandoned mineshaft and flew towards the downtown area. This creature was described as huge and bat-like, half human and half animal. It had large membranous wings and a blunt horn coming from its forehead which glowed brightly. It had a large hooked beak and stood at an estimated eight feet tall. A local named Ulysses Griffith reported an unknown light hopping from rooftop to rooftop. Another local named Dr. Alcott woke up when a mysterious light shone into his dark bedroom as he slept. He grabbed a gun to confront what he thought was a burglar, only to find a gargoyle-like creature. He shot at the creature five times, but the creature didn’t respond. In another sighting a man named Clarence Dunn was going to the bank, to protect from the supposed burglar from the last incident. He saw a shadowy figure outside shining a bright light and fired at it with a shotgun which had seemingly no effect. He did find a three-toed footprint, however. Another businessman sighted the creature and fired at it to no effect. It turned to him with its bright light and shimmied down the light pole with its beak. Another person saw it standing upright when it reached the ground. It then hopped like a kangaroo and started flying away back to a nearby mine shaft. A few days later, more witnesses saw two of these creatures, one smaller than the other, leaving the mine shaft while glowing brightly. An armed mob formed, and when they all shot at it, everyone reported a horrid stench being released. After that, they returned to the mine and disappeared.

Citations:

Godfrey, Linda S.. American Monsters: A History of Monster Lore, Legends, and Sightings in America. United States, Penguin Publishing Group, 2014.