A listener writes “I live in Southern Wisconsin. My first encounter took place around 1980. I was around 11 or 12 at the time. This was in extreme southern Wisconsin, only a few miles from Illinois border.
I had been helping out at a small greenhouse up the rd from our house and was heading home, mid afternoon. This in, I would say July. I was riding down the rd on my bike and saw someone up in the soybean field. I thought this was my neighbor out checking his crop or irrigation. I stopped at the end of the field drive and was going to say hi. As I watched, I realized this was not my 60 plus year old neighbor, because whoever it was was hopping over top the 3ft tall bean plants!
I kinda froze, totally mesmerized. This thing was hopping flat footed , from a stand still, over these plants and clearing them with ease. It came out on to the field rd about 60-70 yards in front of me and realized I was there. We were just staring at each other, for what seemed like forever, then it turned started lumbering toward me. I knew it was not my neighbor, or even human. It almost seemed as though it was just wondering down to chat! I freaked and got the hell outta there. I’ve only told a few people over the years and of course have taken so much shit. This is a fairly open area but there are river bottoms relatively close. I would say, judging by where the plants came to, that it was around six and a half to seven ft tall, maybe around 350-400 lbs. Yet popped over those damn plants like he was on springs. Hair was a dark chocolate color with the skin being a dark charcoal color. I couldn’t see its face real good, but as strange as this sounds, it kinda reminded me of Mike Tyson. Very thick broad nose, really thick heavy brow, couldn’t really see the eyes, but they seemed fairly small and dark. It was covered in hair. Except the eyes, nose and mouth area, and the backs of its hands. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see it in my head. And I constantly question what the hell would it be doing there, doing that!
I was talking to my mother a couple months ago and she told me that her and my dad watched something huge and very dark, darting out of a small thick wood lot across the the rd, trying to grab the neighbors calves in the pasture. She said they thought it was odd, but just kinda got tired of watching and went about their business.
My second was about eight years ago near cornucopia Wisconsin, at the farthest north tip. This was in late summer early fall, and we were walking back into the woods to check out a water fall. We got a little ways in and I was hit with the most God awful horrendous small I have ever smelled! I have been around wild fur animals, hunting and farming my whole life. This stuff was like a male mink and a skunk got in a fight in a half rotted gut pile! It was so bad that I was gagging and my nose and throat burned from the strength of it. I turned to my wife and told her to get the hell outta there. She headed out and I stayed to try to keep any focus, from whatever this was, on me. Once I heard her car door I backed out most of the way then turned and ran the last bit on the rd. Never saw or heard anything, but that is another thing. There was o animal or bird sounds at all. It was totally silent. I can’t say what this was, but I do know it took me at 15-20 minutes to get that burning out my nose and throat, and longer to get the smell and almost a taste out.”