I want to thank Eric who is a listener of the show for sending this to me. Very interesting!
“Bloomington, IN in January or February 2009. My friend and I were returning to her home after having dinner. I stepped out of the car and immediately noticed a moaning sound coming from behind her home. Whatever it was moaned about every 10-20 seconds and it was getting louder (and I assumed closer). It sounded similar to a cow mooing but without the leading grunt, just the “ooo” sound, though longer and louder. The calls were mournful in tone. I went out on the back porch to see if there were cows or other livestock in the area. None were present, just soybean fields. There was a stand of trees to my right, along with several houses. The stand angled to match the angles of the properties and ended at the farm fields, creating a triangle shape. As the moaning moved closer, the dogs at each house would bark ferociously then retreat and hide. It was extremely strange.
The moaning sound reached the end of the trees and stopped. I asked my friend what was that and she said “The Troll.” Apparently, this creature was known to the locals. She said it lived out past the farm fields and would come close to the homes on occasion. Just then, I saw a grayish blur run from the stand of trees to behind a hill directly in front of us. The stand of trees was about 300 feet away to the northwest and the hill was about 200 feet away to the west. The blur ran low to the ground, arms parallel to the ground but pumping. That was all I could see – the legs were below a berm and the head was either tucked down or also parallel to the ground. I felt like it was time to go inside immediately. My friend related that occasionally this “troll” would look in the windows.
I did not want to see it so I did not look back outside. After about 15 minutes, I could hear a commotion outside. When I looked out, the lawn furniture about 150 feet from the back door had been thrown all over the place. It looked like someone had a massive temper tantrum. Nothing had been thrown a superhuman distance but neither had someone just tipped everything over. My friend advised me to not go out there as it wasn’t safe. I stayed about another hour, heard nor saw anything else and went home.”
Katherine D
Was this picture sent in with the story? If so how very scary
Wes
No it wasn’t sent in with the story. This is an old picture used online just as an illustration.
Mary W
What is creepy to me is the level of conditioning the locals exhibited towards” the troll. “Make you wonder what else had occurred there ie ” don’t go out its not safe” . Yet a pane of glass between them is no better than being outside. I guess it’s the old titanium tent theory would apply here.
Sunny N
????
Amy D
Scary!
Rich A
Yes it seems that areas familiar with these creatures live as “just a matter of fact ” or “common knowledge ” that the creatures are out there. It’s hard to imagine that but I hear it time and again. I hear it all the time on the show you know, boogers or nick names like that.
JON F
Creepy!
pam
This story brought back a childhood memory. As an Army brat I lived in Germany for 4 1/2 years, and we had to attend german elementary school until our base elementary was set up.
The german teacher there was Frau Jolly, and she told us German fairytales (I was in 2 nd grade) which taught us how to “sprechen Deutch”.
Several tales she told us were of Trolls….I had trouble sleeping after those awful tales; but they always had a good ending with the troll being vanquished to the black forest. The trolls were ALWAYS looking in the cabin windows in the stories! Coincidence?
pam
A side note about Frau Jolly;
she was a striking black haired woman of about 30, talk and very Germanic, fashionable dresser and feminine.
One summer day at the end of the school year we were on the playground and it was very warm out. She was wearing a sunny yellow sleeveless dress and when she raised her arm to use a whistle to call us in to class, I saw a huge bush of black armpit hair fly out from under her arm—the color against the yellow dress was shocking!! I had never seen anything like it and told my mom later that day, “I think Frau Jolly is really a man.” She also never shaved her legs (many of the European ladies did not then) and she would wear hosiery with black hair under the nylons. Culture Shock for an 8 year old. LOL
Leah G
Pam Purple Rose- Your side note reminded me of a very long train ride from Munich to Amsterdam over night. I was in Europe for a semester abroad and boarded the train with some school mates and found room in a compartment to squeeze in with others who were stretched out on bunk-type “beds” that were side by side. As the train continued it’s trek making many stops along the way, our dark train car had quieted down and people were lightly sleeping. After a stop, I heard the car door open and the most horrible body odor stench permeated the entire cabin. The vile smell was openly called out by one of our group who said she might hurl at any moment. Many Europeans like that “natural” smell. Needless to say, It was a very long ride that night;but we quickly forgot the experience once we arrived in the group great city of Amsterdam!
Janetta V
Thanks for those stories Pam and Leah. Made me laugh recalling my own similar experiences back in the days.
Kay S
Thanks Eric, that is a spooky story. Especially how relaxed they seemed considering the danger they were in.
Yes Pam, I’ve often wondered about the European Troll. The fact that the stories tell of them looking in windows, makes it even more suspicious.
As an aside regards Frau Jolly. Her hair problem would have improved as she got older. Hair growth slows on the arms and legs the older you get…. Which is handy because it gives you more time to deal with the ones that start to sprout on your top lip. ☺️
pam
Kay…. So true, sadly enough!
wolfheathen
The Trolls and Jotunar of Germanic legends are similar in function to the legends of Sasquatch. Large, brutish nature spirits that avoid the day, devour men and make off with livestock and children/women.
Later tales, in an era when little wildness remained in Europe, attributed far more fanciful powers and attributes to trolls…but their primal essence was still there beneath it all.
Beowulf’s great foe Grendel is a perfect example. The description is a bit fanciful…but Grendel’s behavior and actions are all too similar.
How much both legends resemble a real flesh and blood creature is always up for debate but they certainly share much in common. I often use the term “Troll” myself for Bigs as it feels quite appropriate.
However…If Trolls are/were as much a flesh and blood critter as Sasquatch, it’s likely that they are/were a unique species though. Perhaps more like the Russian Alma or Neandertals.
Farrell Stormcrow
cool, this is my neck of the woods