[image: Rachel.Adams/flickr]

The Appalachian Mountain Chain is the oldest mountain chain in the world. They have seen tens of thousands of years pass by, accumulating a mystique and majesty that has awed mankind for generations. There are many shadowy corners to these mountains, and of course the settlements around them are bound to see and experience many fantastical things. Virginia is one such state primarily dominated by this mountain chain, and there are many interesting monsters and odd happenings to talk about.

Starting with perhaps the most bizarre, but least frightening, there is the Virginia Globster, an odd spongy ball that appeared in a manmade lake in City Center at Oyster Point. The blob simply appeared one morning and caused quite a spectacle by drifting idly from one side of the lake to the other. Many reached out with long sticks in order to give it a prod, though nobody had the courage to actually lay a hand on it. The whole thing was about four to six feet in length and disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. People were quick to jump on the alien bandwagon, but scientists stand firm in their belief that the blob was simply an overlarge colony of bryozoans. What caused them to gather in such a large clump for such a brief period of time is unknown. Nothing like this had happened before or since, and the incident has been all but forgotten to the locals.

The next creature is found only in the Virginias, plural. The Sheepsquatch is a large, bear-like creature said to be entirely white. It roams the mountains of West Virginia mostly, but also frequents a few counties in Virginia. It walks on all-fours and has a long, pointed head, something like a long-muzzled dog, but with a massive pair of saber teeth jutting out of the upper jaw. More startling characteristics of the creature are its short, goat-like horns and long, hairless tail. Witnesses have described a sulfurous odor emanating off of it whenever it draws near.

Many incidents involving this creature have it invading campsites or frightening off campers in the dead of night, usually during the full moon. The most recent event was in 2015, when a group of six spotted the beast watching them from across the river. It stood on its hind legs, silhouetted by moonlight atop a small hill. The campers froze and watched the beast for a few long moments, abandoning their camp and taking cover in the nearby woods when it suddenly dropped down to all-fours and charged toward them. Its white coat was clearly visible in the moonlight. The river hindered it only briefly before it waded across, standing on its hind legs again to do so. Once to the other side, it strode into their campsite on all-fours and stood on its hind legs to sniff the air curiously. The campers stated it had the chest of a large dog and the face of a monster. Suddenly, a wild cry from somewhere else in the woods rang out, startling the beast and causing it to run off in the opposite direction. Needless to say, the campers immediately backed it in and left. The campers’ identity was never revealed to preserve their reputations.

The aggressive behavior is rather unlike the usual sasquatch behavior. There was another instance in 1995 where the creature hurtled out of a ditch beside the road to attack an oncoming vehicle. The couple oddly described the beast they encountered as having four eyes, something that no other sheepsquatch victim has reported. Perhaps they were mistaken, or perhaps none of the other witnesses caught sight of this detail.

More aggressive sheepsquatch behavior was recorded in 1999, in Boone County, West Virginia, the very same county that the 1995 attack took place in. A few friends were camping out in the woods behind one of their homes when they heard a large animal moving around in the woods. They described the sounds as being similar to those of an angry bear, but before they could even process what was happening a monster shot out of the woods, chasing them all the way back to their property. It halted at the tree-line, letting out a terrible howl as the campers retreated into the safety of the house.

As scary as an unidentified wild animal can be, the sheepsquatch really has nothing on Virginia’s most deadly and mysterious paranormal entity…

The Bunny Man

Legend has it that in 1904 there was a mass exodus from a mental institution, one infamous for housing the most psychotic and mentally deranged individuals. They were able to round up most of them without incident, but there were two men who gave them quite a bit of trouble: Marcus Lawster and Douglas Griffen. The pair of men led them on a merry chase through the woods, leaving behind a trail of half-eaten rabbit remains. Their flight took them to an abandoned and unused tunnel bridge, a bridge with no known name. When the pursuers tracked the men to the location, they came across a gruesome sight. Marcus was hanging in front of the entrance, a note attached to his foot that read “You’ll never find me, no matter how much you try! Signed, the Bunny Man”.

They never found Douglas.

Ever since then a lot of deaths have been linked to the area. One man was traveling through the same area, a bit lost, and after crossing the bridge and returning home, he slaughtered his aged parents and dragged their bodies back out to the bridge, where he ended his own life. Several decades later, on Halloween of 1943, three teenagers were found dead, hanging by their necks just like Marcus. They also had notes attached to their shoes, notes that read “You’ll never catch the Bunny Man!”

Many believe the Bunny Man to be a crazed psychopath, someone who lurks near the bridge and kills whoever happens to pass. Some believe that the Bunny Man is more of a spirit… a sort of curse that possesses those who pass through and forces them into doing horrible deeds to those close to them.

The Bunny Man has never been seen, but many imagine him to be a loony in a rabbit costume who slaughters his victims with an axe. It is hard to say if this is true, for the only people to have seen the Bunny Man are his victims. Douglas was never found, however, so it is very possible that he could have donned the costume to better fill his role as the Bunny Man…