CRAWFORDSVILLE MONSTER - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

I guess I would be remiss if I did not include The Crawfordsville Monster in the Who’s Who as the interest of this mirage (or not)  has never waned since its sighting on Sept. 5, 1891.  Just exactly what it was may still be unknown but many had their opinions for sure (Zach, Karen. Crawfordsville: Athens of Indiana p 140).  This sky monster was 18 to 20’ long, at least 8’ wide and had no tail or head.  Just kind of blowing in the wind.  Some said a red eye was noticeable but then again he’d had to have had a head.  The way it moved folks thought it was in terrible pain.  The papers called it, “A mysterious apparition which hovered over our city.”  One of the local pastors, Rev. GW Switzer (ME Church) said he saw when he stepped into back yard (212 E. Wabash) to drink from his well.  He noted a weird sensation and was compelled to look skyward.  He described it as above, adding that it seemed like a mass of floating drapery.”  That was about 2 o’clock in the morning. Our Marshall (McIntyre and Bill Gray) were at the barn of William Martin the ice man on East Main hitching horses to their ice wagon and their description of what they saw matched the above as well.  VQ Irwin said it was a spirit and Robert Burton may have been the smartest of the batch saying it was all a delusion.  However, everyone else said something was definitely above Crawfordsville that early morning.   All in all it seems that well over 100 people saw the Crawfordsville Monster, many discussing the odd feeling they had before it appeared.  The birds of the city were hyped calling warning to each other when the creature was on the move. Charles Fort, Vincent Gaddis and other well known writers/historians believed that there was indeed something in the sky that night!  So, watch out! (Hunt, Ghosts & Legends of Crawfordsville p 12).