Van Meter remembers 1903 visit

[Commander CMG]

Imagine what a smartphone in 1903 Van Meter could have accomplished.

Instead of shouldering shotguns and blasting away at an eight-foot winged creature with a forehead horn that cast a beam of light, panicked citizens could have quickly posted a YouTube video. Case closed. Monster confirmed.

Camping out all night 110 years later, at an old coal mine outside of town where the alleged creature is believed to have lived, a researcher of odd legends is still trying to get sight of it.

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[Frank Merton]

We like camping in such places because we can have a thrill of possible danger without the reality. Better than horror movies and even ghost stories.

[Lava_Lady]

I love these stories, adventure, mystery, throw in a little science and folk lore and let the stones fly.

[pallidin]

How do I spell ludicrous?

I was OK with the possibility until it was described as " half human" "impervious to bullets" and "fired beams of bright light from it's forehead"

Too much moonshine back then I guess.

[little_dreamer]

Nice folklore story. I had not heard of this before.

[jbondo]

Outlandish stories like this were common among newspaper editors of the day. Pulp Fiction in a way.

[ali smack]

Think someone smoked to much funny stuff back in the day

[95-Nasty]

I love all that folk lore stuff.

[dummy2b]

You see what you want to see.If most people want to see a monster they look in the mirror::::

[g00dfella]

How do I spell ludicrous?

I was OK with the possibility until it was described as " half human" "impervious to bullets" and "fired beams of bright light from it's forehead"

Too much moonshine back then I guess.

Reminds me a lot of Marvel villain, Sauron...

[Frank Merton]

Mirrors only serve to remind me of the ravages of time.

[falconxwes]

mothman maybe

[fred_mc]

Maybe it was a dragon. Maybe dragons really had a fluorecent light shining from their forehead. Maybe, because people in old times could only generate light through fire, people thought that that it was some kind of fire, and hence the legend about dragons breathing fire.

[pepper-steph]

Oooooh 'fred_mc', interesting point! I totally agree.

[keninsc]

I disagree, my pet dragon breaths fire all the time. The stupid thing got the hic-ups not too long ago and set fire to a condo unit. Talk about an insurance nightmare? Jeez, some people simply don't understand the complexities in raising dragons.

[ancient astronaut]

Somebody send this story to SYFY they can make another crappy movie out of it.

[masaimara]

Its the same creature known as "popobawa: that terrorised people in Pemba, Zanzibar

[Lava_Lady]

Somebody send this story to SYFY they can make another crappy movie out of it.

They do make the most awful movies... like 10 year olds wrote the dialogue and 5 year olds drew the graphics.

[Lava_Lady]

Its the same creature known as "popobawa: that terrorised people in Pemba, Zanzibar

I don`t think it`s the same. According to the demon hunters compendium:

"The Popobawa is much like an incubus, but unlike that particular demon, the Popobawa attacks men in their own beds. As a result, many men take to sleeping outside of their houses in the streets or on their porches. The creature attacks the men while they sleep, overpowering them. Then, it holds their faces to the floor and forcefully sodomizes them for up to an hour (an extremely painful experience for anyone). It then threatens the victim with repeated and longer attacks if they don’t let friends and neighbors know of their experience. It then flies off into the night to search for another victim. The creature’s presence is usually detected by the sound of scraping claws on the roof and a sharp, pungent odor (although some report that there is a puff of smoke as well). It is thought by skeptics that these attacks are the result of sleep paralysis, not a homosexual bat-creature."

http://demonhunterscompendium.blogspot.com/2011/04/popobawa.html

[Kahn]

Modern myth. As with myths of old, there may be some truth to the events, obscured by imagination of the observers in an attempt to explain what they could not.

[NatureBoff]

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This winged lizard with the foul odour fits the Mystery Aircraft Frightens Quincy Residents thread.

[Q-C]

I'm surprised the mystery hasn't been solved. That's just not like a cryptid.

He didn't mention what sense he got from camping at the mine, just referenced the unease of others. (buy the book I guess) But I'm all for seeking out creepy. And that would be an individual thing.

Unless I missed it, the size was never mentioned in the article either. Just "enormous" batlike wings.

What about the drawing of the creature is "half-human" as the creature was described?

Edited May 14, 2013 by QuiteContrary

[Gatofeo]

Most people forget that newspapers of the 19th and early 20th century fabricated stories to sell more papers. This is almost certainly one of those "whoppers."

If you think that today's journalism is irresponsible, you obviously haven't deeply examined a 19th century newspaper, especially one with small or limited circulation.

One newspaper would fabricate a "whopper," and competing papers would not only pick up the story, but embellish it even more, to lure more readers to their paper.

I wouldn't put much stock in any odd story from the 19th century up to the 1930s, especially the smaller ones.

Remember, many citizens during these years were illiterate, or could barely read. They had little education, and certainly not enough worldliness to be very skeptical. Besides, life was grueling and they wanted to be entertained, as well as informed -- just as readers do today.

There have always been very fine reporters on these papers, who worked hard to find the truth and present it objectively, but reporters who could cook up a good "whopper" were also welcomed by editors.

Such stories also lured the curious to small communities, where boarding, food, guides, horses, wagons and souvenirs were rented or purchased. It was good for the economy.

The same scam continues today, in towns and regions that claim to have Bigfoot nearby.

Time change, but the motivation of people does not.

[AbyssWalker]

If I was in the early 20th century, I didn't have UM forums or websites like that, my newspaper or a magazine would be my source for crypto-reports, and If I was a newspaper reporter, I'd be tempted to put as many as I can. It's fun and thought-provoking, even if just to give you a little spook in the woods maybe.

To think how much we have changed in a 100+ years, but in many ways, still the same.

[Lance Winslow]

A contract of Insurance comes into being when a person seeking insurance protection enters into a contract with the insurer to indemnify him against loss of property by or incidental to fire and or lightening, explosion, etc. This is primarily a contract and hence as is governed by the general law of contract. However, it has certain special features as insurance transactions, such as utmost faith, insurable interest, indemnity, subrogation and contribution, etc. these principles are common in all insurance contracts and are governed by special principles of law.

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