Strange Creature Sighting in Western Pennsylvania

[starise]

I was pretty certain that you were pretty certain that this was paranormal Griffynne Have you ever read about the skin walkers ?

I have family out in Western PA and I live in Eastern PA so I feel like I have a fair grasp of the state in general having lived here for a long time and traveled the area. Even so, I only knew about the paranormal aspects recently. A few of my aunts from Western PA. have some really strange stories to tell, but I always took it with a grain of salt.Only recently did I start to look deeper into some of it .

Konrad- You know when I seen the chimp on the roof it didn't scare me. I think I was simply too young to sense the danger. I remember reading the story about the chimp that killed its owner. Not good as pets for sure. This happened back when I don't think there was as much regulation and oversight to persons owning exotic animals. It would probably be more difficult to own chimps now....at least legally here in the US.

The best you may ever hope to find out about the incident Grifynne is to know that your mother who is a trusted witness first seen it, then you seen it, others seen it so this is something several people have witnessed that would confirm validity on some level. As I have experienced and others have noted, paranormal events , even very brief ones, are enough to change a persons outlook overnight. All of a sudden we know there is more out there than what most of us casually see on any given day. Some people run from it, some people are drawn to it, some people are consumed by it. Like a bug flying into a light bulb the search can be dangerous IMO. I like to know the facts , but I much prefer knowing the dangerous ones from a distance.

 

[Grifynne]

I was pretty certain that you were pretty certain that this was paranormal Griffynne Have you ever read about the skin walkers ?

I have. I always loved werewovles but it wasn't until the last year or two that I really learned about what the skinwalker is, how it is created and what it does. I find it highly intriguing. I also read George Knapp's book on the Skinwalker Ranch (which I realize includes a variety of phenomena, but the ties are there). Do you know of any good titles that are skinwalker specific that you would recommend checking out?

I have family out in Western PA and I live in Eastern PA so I feel like I have a fair grasp of the state in general having lived here for a long time and traveled the area. Even so, I only knew about the paranormal aspects recently. A few of my aunts from Western PA. have some really strange stories to tell, but I always took it with a grain of salt.Only recently did I start to look deeper into some of it .

I always heard the obligatory ghost story or haunted house story, but I never truly realized the extent of PA's strangeness until recently. Mostly through Paranormal radio. I used to have that one book with the orange cover about hauntings in Pennsylvania, but even that is a very small compilation (and probably contains mostly urban legends and local ghost stories that are usually passed around). I probably still have it around here somewhere lol. Are your aunts anywhere near Pittsburgh (if you don't mind my asking)? My stomping grounds are mostly north of the city.

The best you may ever hope to find out about the incident Grifynne is to know that your mother who is a trusted witness first seen it, then you seen it, others seen it so this is something several people have witnessed that would confirm validity on some level. As I have experienced and others have noted, paranormal events , even very brief ones, are enough to change a persons outlook overnight. All of a sudden we know there is more out there than what most of us casually see on any given day. Some people run from it, some people are drawn to it, some people are consumed by it. Like a bug flying into a light bulb the search can be dangerous IMO. I like to know the facts , but I much prefer knowing the dangerous ones from a distance.

There are still some stories and people I have heard that I am very skeptical of, but I definitely listen more when I hear stories from people who I believe sound sincere no matter how crazy or outlandish they seem. It makes it harder to dismiss when you yourself have experienced something strange.

If I was by myself when it happened, I likely would have chalked it up to a strange incident that I probably misinterpreted. But the fact that others have seen it - and multiple times at that - it really makes me think. I am the type of person that gets scared of the dark. My imagination is overactive, but if i had a chance to see whatever it was face to face, I don't know that I could pass that opportunity up. So I guess I'm a "go to it timidly" type of person. And I really appreciate facts, but I am also willing to consider possibilities that may go beyond the facts we currently have. The way I see it, new facts may be uncovered that lead us in directions we never expected.

 

[starise]

Grifynne, sorry I can't help you with many titles specifically on Skin-walkers. Most of my knowledge of them comes from reading reference material and reading personal accounts. I have read a few books on cryptids in general which covered a lot of territory.

If you go to Wikipedia this is what you get-

Skin-walker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Further reading in this article leads the reader to what is called the " Witchery Way" which is another Wikipedia link. Witch (Navajo) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is where I get the" bug into the hot light" analogy of this situation. The Indians who are aware of this clearly call it evil. It appears that a person needs to do some evil things in order to be initiated into "Witchery Way"....none of this bodes well for a Christian guy who is told to stay away from these kinds of things . So I made a conscious choice to steer away from that. My first wife was partial Indian, attended some Indian ceremonies. At the time I thought all of it was innocent. I personally am not interested in any kind of witchcraft and never will be. I know enough about it to know there are unseen forces and many of these are our enemies, not each other. Looking at others who delved too far is enough to keep me away from it for life

I always heard the obligatory ghost story or haunted house story, but I never truly realized the extent of PA's strangeness until recently. Mostly through Paranormal radio. I used to have that one book with the orange cover about hauntings in Pennsylvania, but even that is a very small compilation (and probably contains mostly urban legends and local ghost stories that are usually passed around). I probably still have it around here somewhere lol. Are your aunts anywhere near Pittsburgh (if you don't mind my asking)? My stomping grounds are mostly north of the city.

Some of my aunts and uncles live further north in the Corry area. I also have a few relatives in New York state not far from the line. I witnessed some UFOs while I was out there in the countryside surrounding Corry. We seen orbs that were moving around intelligently. One of my aunts seen a black mass in her bedroom that she claims came after her. Really no relation to seeing bizarre animals as far as I know, but who knows?Maybe.

If I was by myself when it happened, I likely would have chalked it up to a strange incident that I probably misinterpreted. But the fact that others have seen it - and multiple times at that - it really makes me think. I am the type of person that gets scared of the dark. My imagination is overactive, but if i had a chance to see whatever it was face to face, I don't know that I could pass that opportunity up. So I guess I'm a "go to it timidly" type of person. And I really appreciate facts, but I am also willing to consider possibilities that may go beyond the facts we currently have. The way I see it, new facts may be uncovered that lead us in directions we never expected.

You are a bolder person that I am and I have done some pretty scary things lol. I'm not going after "it". If it comes to me I believe someone has my back...even so, I'm not really interested in seeing it.

 

[Grifynne]

This is where I get the" bug into the hot light" analogy of this situation. The Indians who are aware of this clearly call it evil. It appears that a person needs to do some evil things in order to be initiated into "Witchery Way"....none of this bodes well for a Christian guy who is told to stay away from these kinds of things . So I made a conscious choice to steer away from that. My first wife was partial Indian, attended some Indian ceremonies. At the time I thought all of it was innocent. I personally am not interested in any kind of witchcraft and never will be. I know enough about it to know there are unseen forces and many of these are our enemies, not each other. Looking at others who delved too far is enough to keep me away from it for life

I think sometimes it's also a lack of understanding that gets people into trouble. I have heard about the way the Native American skinwalker is created, which I would like to think is something that the average person would not be willing to do. But I guess that's why they have such a horrible reputation - they are supposed to be completely evil (or at least that's how I understand it). Of course I believe there are positive practices and negative ones, just like there are with just about any religion or belief system.

Some of my aunts and uncles live further north in the Corry area. I also have a few relatives in New York state not far from the line. I witnessed some UFOs while I was out there in the countryside surrounding Corry. We seen orbs that were moving around intelligently. One of my aunts seen a black mass in her bedroom that she claims came after her. Really no relation to seeing bizarre animals as far as I know, but who knows?Maybe.

I'm not unconvinced that some paranormal incidents aren't linked, even if they seem different. Not saying I believe they always are, I just don't feel ready to rule that possibility out, especially considering how elusive some otherwise flesh and blood creatures seem to be. Plus I have heard stories that involved areas that see multiple types of phenomena, like big foot sightings and strange lights. I suppose in my case, there's the potentially haunted house and the weird creature sightings.

You are a bolder person that I am and I have done some pretty scary things lol. I'm not going after "it". If it comes to me I believe someone has my back...even so, I'm not really interested in seeing it.

I can't really claim to be too bold. I'm sure I would need a change of pants afterwards.

 

[starise]

I'm not unconvinced that some paranormal incidents aren't linked, even if they seem different. Not saying I believe they always are, I just don't feel ready to rule that possibility out, especially considering how elusive some otherwise flesh and blood creatures seem to be. Plus I have heard stories that involved areas that see multiple types of phenomena, like big foot sightings and strange lights. I suppose in my case, there's the potentially haunted house and the weird creature sightings.

I have considered this possibility for a long time.Something more intelligent than us that has a little more control over the environment than we do could certainly play with us in ways we probably couldn't imagine.

Entity seems to be a popular term. It covers a lot of bases. I tend to use the term as a catch all phrase An entity is an intelligent thing of some kind.

Angels,demons,djinn,evil spirits, entities, ghosts, the list goes on and on for the names of the things that are usually descriptive of something considered "other dimensional" and referred to in various cultures. Other creatures that are sometimes referred to as inter dimensional such as aliens of all kinds, Bigfoot,vampires,werewolves,swamp creatures etc. seem to have an ability to transition in some way into our world. I can certainly see ties and commonalities between some of these. An orb is a UFO if we don't know what it is. Orbs are seen at haunted locations and are reported to MUFON. There seem to be some connections between bigfoot and UFOs in some reported cases.

I tend to suspect more of a connection at times than otherwise. According to the Bible we were created "a little lower" than the angels but one day according to the book, some of mankind will be over angels. If a person is intellectually gifted or a thinking person this explanation is far too simple and unproven to satisfy most of them. Since many don't believe in anything but the observable and the scientifically explained this explanation is not plausible. I myself don't find it difficult to believe that there are strata and that we are not high up on it yet.

I'm not extremely familiar with other texts which might address this same issue, that is, the issue of being a little "lesser" than other creatures in this realm. The ancient alien theory is one similar approach. I don't really hold to the theory of ancient aliens myself but it is another example of a "them" and "us" with us being on the lower end. I'm sure there are other books that address the same issue.

The idea of contacting something in order to expand our knowledge , get some kind of power or achieve enlightenment goes without saying that humanity has always felt the need to do so. This inherent desire has been productive, unproductive and counter productive. YMMV depending on with who, what, and how this is all carried out.

Beings(entites) just a "little higher" than us have the ace. We are at a disadvantage if we don't know who or what they are IMHO. I think there may be some similarities between them and us though. Some of them only go into a pursuit involving us if they stand to gain something from it,or it will help their personal agenda. Some of them are probably simply following orders. Some of them have disobeyed the orders and are on a path of self destruction, and some of them mean us real harm as well as real good.

Of course I believe there are positive practices and negative ones, just like there are with just about any religion or belief system.

Same here.

 

[Grifynne]

Entity seems to be a popular term. It covers a lot of bases. I tend to use the term as a catch all phrase An entity is an intelligent thing of some kind.

Entity seems fitting just because I think applying words like ghost or angel or demon can sometimes corral the phenomena and usually hints at the person's background and/or religious beliefs. And when you look at things through a filter, then you are going to get filtered answers. I'm not saying I don't believe these things do or don't exist, I am just not willing to label something I don't fully understand yet. Sort of like how many people classify haunting activity as a demon. Well ya, it's scary to us, but how do we know it's not the spirit of someone who is just a jerk or maybe someone who died angry? You aren't necessarily a demon or evil just because you're pissed off. On the other hand, maybe that spirit or entity was never human, so maybe it doesn't understand how we would interpret its actions. There are so many "what ifs" that calling it a demon almost seems lazy to me. That's one example (and I guess a bit of a pet peeve given how many shows and stories I have seen where people jump on the demon bandwagon early on). And I'm sure for those who experience it, the phenomena is terrifying. But if we are being objective, then we shouldn't be quick to slap on a label

I tend to suspect more of a connection at times than otherwise. According to the Bible we were created "a little lower" than the angels but one day according to the book, some of mankind will be over angels. If a person is intellectually gifted or a thinking person this explanation is far too simple and unproven to satisfy most of them. Since many don't believe in anything but the observable and the scientifically explained this explanation is not plausible. I myself don't find it difficult to believe that there are strata and that we are not high up on it yet.

I think as a whole, we have a hard time thinking that we aren't on top of everything. But we really aren't. I mean look at how hard Mother Nature can screw us if she wants to. Everything we build and grow and maintain can be decimated in seconds if the wrong circumstances are present. And those are things we know and understand. What about the things we don't yet understand? And surely they are out there, just as hundreds of years ago the technology and knowledge we have access to today was unknown and undreamed of.

Beings(entites) just a "little higher" than us have the ace. We are at a disadvantage if we don't know who or what they are IMHO. I think there may be some similarities between them and us though. Some of them only go into a pursuit involving us if they stand to gain something from it,or it will help their personal agenda. Some of them are probably simply following orders. Some of them have disobeyed the orders and are on a path of self destruction, and some of them mean us real harm as well as real good.

I think it's very possible that we could be connected somehow. After all, why bother with us if there isn't some connection or need? Maybe they need us to serve as a catalyst or perhaps they can't exist here without us somehow. Or maybe we become whatever it is and so it wants to nurture us to make sure our path remains true to their ends. On the other hand, maybe the connection isn't so close sort of like the basic "aliens come to Earth and want to meet us when we're ready" concept.

So far I am still firmly rooted in the idea that this is multiple things going on, not just one. So there is going to be some extreme differences, just as there are differences in human personalities. You might get someone who seems mean and nasty or downright evil like a serial killer or you might get someone who is kind and gentle and caring like Mr. Rogers. And I'm sure there are those that are neutral and just going about their business when maybe they accidentally butt heads with us.

 

[Randall]

Because some other areas that are known for anomolous activities are sometimes associated with valleys. Ohio River Valley The Hudson Valley The San Luis Valley. I knew western PA. had quite a bit of anomalous activity so I thought maybe there was a valley associated with it.

Add the Columbia Valley to that list ( a.k.a. Rocky Mountain Trench ) Rocky Mountain Trench - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Grifynne]

Add the Columbia Valley to that list ( a.k.a. Rocky Mountain Trench ) Rocky Mountain Trench - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I find this very intriguing. I wonder if it could also indicate that at least some of the unexplained is deep rooted in the land itself.

 

[Wade]

I find this very intriguing. I wonder if it could also indicate that at least some of the unexplained is deep rooted in the land itself.

Add to that the hessdalen valley, the nahami valley (valley of the headless men) , and i think the copper domes in siberia are in a valley.

 

[Randall]

Add to that the hessdalen valley, the nahami valley (valley of the headless men) , and i think the copper domes in siberia are in a valley.

And we could also add the Valley of Death, Valley Girls, and Jaques Valley ...

 

[Wade]

And we could also add the Valley of Death, Valley Girls, and Jaques Valley ...

Not to mention The Rudy Vallee

 

[Wade]

And i can't believe i forgot about the valley of the gwangi "!!"

 

[Randall]

I find this very intriguing. I wonder if it could also indicate that at least some of the unexplained is deep rooted in the land itself.

Actually, you're not alone. There is the Earthlights theory as an explanation for some of the nocturnal light reports.

 

[Konrad Hartmann]

I find this very intriguing. I wonder if it could also indicate that at least some of the unexplained is deep rooted in the land itself.

Yeah, that is interesting. Even some of the local hollows seem to gather a lot of stories. Just speculating, but I think about the following:
-If entities use a sort of concealment technology, is there something about valleys that interferes with it?
-Is there a common thread in terms of geological features that attracts, reveals or changes the behavior of entities?
-Is there a level of human experience that is real but takes place in the imagination? That seems like a paradox, but the experience may be the same whether physically verifiable or not. And if this is the case, is there something about these locations that allows the event to occur?

I don't know if this means anything at all, but I find it interesting to look at:
Magnetic anomaly map of North America

 

[Grifynne]

Yeah, that is interesting. Even some of the local hollows seem to gather a lot of stories. Just speculating, but I think about the following:
-If entities use a sort of concealment technology, is there something about valleys that interferes with it?
-Is there a common thread in terms of geological features that attracts, reveals or changes the behavior of entities?
-Is there a level of human experience that is real but takes place in the imagination? That seems like a paradox, but the experience may be the same whether physically verifiable or not. And if this is the case, is there something about these locations that allows the event to occur?

I don't know if this means anything at all, but I find it interesting to look at:
Magnetic anomaly map of North America

These are some great questions, Konrad. I would love to have the answer to any one of them. And that's the most psychedelic map I have ever seen. It's quite interesting.

Here's a screenshot of that map focusing on Butler county (which is where the region I was talking about when I started this thread is located). You can see Zelienople along the south western corner of the county. Evans City is pretty close to there (although it's not marked - probably too small lol). It looks like a mostly yellow region although not too far north I see a lot of red (near Portersville, etc).