Sheepsquatch

In 1995 A couple were driving through Boone County , WV and off in the distance they spotted a large white animal sitting in the ditch alongside the roadway. It was a huge creature and , strangely it didn’t look like any other type of animal they had ever seen. For some reason, the couple would stopped their car to get a closer look , but unexpectedly the creature jumped out of the ditch and aggressively ran toward the car. It began attacking the car trying to get the couple, and luckily, the frightened couple turned on the car and sped away. As they got home, they found scratches along their car and little did they know, yhey had been attacked by one of West Virgibia’s nost popular cryptids, the Sheepsquatch.

As strange and as mythological as this creature sounds, surprisingly there have been a good number of modern sightings of the Sheepsquatch.

Often referred to as the “White Thing”, The Sheepsquatch is generally described as being a large bear like cresture with 4 feet but capable of standing on 2 legs. Its abiut the same size as bear, but uniquely different amd that its possess a pair of horns similar to a goat. The animal is said to have a tail that is hairless and multiple witnesses have said the monster stinks like sulfure. Witness accounts due vary with some saying its legs are similar to a man’s.

In 1994, one year before the couple spotted the creature on the road in a ditch, there were multiple sightings of the monster.

One was from a group of women driving home from a family reunion near West Virginia’s TNT area- the same area the amothman is said to have been seen. These women were driving on an icy road , there they were witnessed a large creature comjng out of the forest. The witnesses, who were driving slowly due to the ice, got a good look at it. they described it as being between seven and eight feet tall, covered with long, shaggy white hair, and a head with a pointed snout and ram-like horns. According to the women, the Sheepsquatch froze momentarily in their headlights before fleeing into the darkness.

Another story that same year would be from a former Navy seaman . He stated he witnessed the white beast roaming through the forest. It approvahed a creek and knelt to drink from it. it drank for a few minutes then crossed the creek and continued on. The seamen would keep following the creature until it canished into the woods.

That same year, two children witnessed the creature while playing in their yard in Boone County. Yhey saw a massive creature on all fours. It then stood on its hind legs reaching a height over 6 feet. The beast allegedly didn’t see the children at first, and when it and the children locked eyes , the sheepsquatch took off into the woods.

In 1999 , another sighting would occur. This involved a group of campers in boone county. A bonfire had been lit and as the canpers were talking they heard rustling in the nearby dark bushes. Its reported thatbthe animal sounded angry and threatend but stayed in the darkness. The Sheepsquatch then ran out and the terrified campers took off runnning all the way home as the Sheepsquatch pursued. As the campers left the forest, the sheepsquatch refused to follow and it let out a horrific scream.

Many say the animal was mock charging here. Mock charging is common behavior in animals . For example elephants mock charge quite often. They pretend to charge but actually they are testing out to see if someting is aggressive or a non-threat.

The campers would return to their campsite the next day and find the site desatroyed.

One other popular sightingboccured in 2015 in the forests of appallachia in Fulks run , Virginia.

Six people were camping in the woods and close to midnight, one of the canpers would spot the beast. The canper saw the creature at the top of a nearby hill in a crouching position. The camper let his friends know and as this was happening the Sheepsquatch stood up and started charging the canpers running down the hill. Fortuntaely for the campers, a river separated the Sheepsquatch from them. As the sheepsquatch came to the river, it looked for a way to cross. Unable to find a way, the monster walked into the river and began wading through. As it reached land, off in the distance a loud howl was heard . Whatever this was, frightened the Sheepsquatch as it let out a terrified whimper and ran off away from the noise. Skme speculate this could have been yhe mothman. It is theorized that perhaps mothman wanted sheepsquatch to not draw attention to the area. After the white thing left, The campers packed up and left reporting it to the police.

While these accounts are some of the more modern sightings, there is documentaion that shows this cryptid might have been around for quite some time. There is indeed some disagreement about when this cryptid originated. Some say 1994, while others point to earlier sightings.

One is an account from frank kozul.

in 1929 around morgan’s ridge , WV. Then , Frank kozul was working at one of the mines and one night after a long day of work he started his walk home. It was a long walk being at least six miles, so Kozul decided to take a shortcut through Morgan’s ridge. There, he was attacked by a white monster . He managed to escape and lose the beast . allegedly thiugh, Kozul had no injuries from the attack. As the story spread in the community, many would mock Kozul, especially the teenagers. One noght , they ran throgh the village knocking on doors and howling in an attempt to scare people

Later in 1965 a book contained a story referencing the White thing.

In 1965, Ruth Ann Musick wrofe “the telltale lilac bush” which is a collection of west virginia folklore. One of the stories in the book is titled “White thing”, tells the story of a woman who ran into a white monster while traveling home from church on horseback.

According to the story, the monster charged at the woman, but then retreated back into the trees after she fled on her horse. When she got home, the woman left her horse outside and went inside. the next day she found her horse slaughtered.

Its important to note the book doesn’t indicate the monster had horns or resembled a sheep or goat in any way.

Over the years there’s been different theories put forth in regards to what possibly the Sheepsquatch could be.

One explanation is that these sightings were bears. While polar bears don’t reside in the region, black bears can have white fur. The behavior of the animals in the stories seems to mimic bears as well. They are around the same size, bears do mock charge and they also stand on their hind legs. In the story with the canpers, the sheepsquatch wasn’t afraid of the water. We know bears are excellent swimmers.

Some say The sheepsqutch lacks credibility since many of the witness reports are different and often contradictory. For example, in the jnitial story with the young couple, they reported seeing four eyes on the monster. There doesn’t also appear to be names associtaed with many of the sightings. Skeptics will say many of these stories were exagerrations or stories that got out of hand. Still, there’s many undocumented sightings from farmers and people in that region.

One other theory as well is that these sightings were bigfoot or another cryptid. Many in the cryptozoology community believe Sheepsquatch sightings were simply cases of mistaken identity and that people saw a white bigfoot.

Despite any solid evidence, there are quite a nimber of aightings that have occured, many in modern times. The Appalachian mountains are known for its rughed terrain and its easy to imagine that a creature like this could exist somewhere in there.

The sheepsquatch is a populat cryptid, with much intrigue. TV shows have covered the cryptid although its not nearly well known as west virgina’s most popular cryptid, the mothman.

Many state there could be some sort of connection or link between the two, especially since both were seen around the TNT area. Could they becoming from another dimension or somwhere else?

There is many who believe these stories are all just follklore, however there are still many who believe that some sort of massive white creature lurks somewheren im yhe appalachian mountain range.