Skunkape Sightings

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1942 - Branford - Sometime in 1942 a man was traveling down a dirt road in the Branford area. All of the sudden a skunkape jumped onto the running board of his car and rode along for about half a mile. The driver's name was Isaac. He described the creature as tall, hairy and man-like. The creature was peering through the window during the trip. It finally jumped off and dissapeared.

1947 - Lakeland - A child 4 years old from the Lakeland area reported seeing a "monster" near his home. He described the creature as being hairy and man-like. The creature was seen standing under a tree.

1957 - Big Cypress Swamp - Two hunters were sleeping in hammocks in the swamp.They awoke sometime at night and had a terrible feeling of being watched.They looked around and then noticed that in fact they were being watched, by a tall, hairy, ape-like creature standing on two feet. The creature had glowing eyes and stared at them intently from the shadows for about two minutes before finally walking off into the swamp.

1960's - Bull Key - One of the strangest skunkape reports came from the 1960's, exact date unknown. A fisherman in the area, who wanted to stay anonymous, claims to have seen families of skunkape-like creatures. He says that he has seen them wading from island to island in the Cayo Pelau area.

1960's - near Brooksville - A very disturbing incident took place in the Brooksville area. Pat Lewis' daughter was chased by a skunkape creature. She had to run into her house. She said the creature was large, it was covered with hair, and somewhat man-like. She also says the creature ran on two legs the entire time.

1960's - near Brooksville - A young man got a flat tire on U.S. highway 41 near the Brooksville area. He got out of his car to fix the flat. He then noticed a hairy ape-like creature observing him. The creature stood on two legs.

1963 - Holopaw - Several people in the Holopaw area observed a bigfoot type creature running through a field. Witnesses all agreed on the creature's appearance.

1966 Spring - near Brooksville - Mrs. Eula Lewis lived in a trailer near the Brooksville area. One night she began to hear strange noises just outside of her trailer. She went outside to investigate. What she saw next was a terribly frightening sight that she will never forget. She saw a creature that stood at least 6 feet tall and weighed about 300 lbs. It was covered with dark hair, had huge shoulders, and no neck. She turned around and dashed back into her trailer. She saw as the creature swung it's arms as dogs yapped at it. The next day she found huge five toed human-like footprints all around her trailer.

1966 Summer - near the Anclote River - You can say that Ralph "Bud" Chambers is a lucky man to have seen the skunkape more than once. He saw the creature a few times. His first sighting accured in the summer of 1966. Mr. Chambers was walking in the woods when he began to hear what sounded like harsh coughing. He also began to detect a terrible smell in the air. Then in a clump of trees, not too far from him, he saw a tall (about 7 foot) hairy creature standing on two legs. He claims the creature was about four feet wide at the shoulders! He hurried back to get a friend of his. His friend had some dogs that they tried to get to track the creature. The dogs were not to excited to follow whatever was in the area. The dogs seemed tentative and unsure of themselves. They tried to follow some tracks but were only succesful up to a point where the tracks dissapeared into a swampy area. That was it, they did not proceed.

1966  November - Holopaw - The creature showed up again in Holopaw in November 1966. This time the witness was a man by the name of Eugene Crosley. Mr. Crosley spotted a very hairy bipedal creature and decided to get a closer look. He estimated the creature was about five feet tall. But as he tried to get closer to the thing the agitated animal threw a tire at him. It did not want to be approached.

1966 November 30 - Brooksville - It seems that skunkapes are sometimes as curious about us as we are about them. This next story is a typical one that you will hear time and time again. Miss M.B. had a flat tire and was changing her tire around 10 P.M. She noticed a very unpleasant odor in the air. She looked around and found the culprit.  It was a large hairy creature about 7 feet tall. It had a peaked skull and a face like that of an ape's. Miss M.B. also said the creature had green eyes. The creature obsereved her working on the tire aparently very curious about her actions. The creature then walked off. But just a few seconds later another creature came and watched her in the same manner.

1966 December - Anclote River - The Anclote River seems to be a hot spot of sorts for skunkapes. In December of 1966 two hunters were in the area and spotted a large hairy man like creature. They claim the animal walked on two and had extremely long arms. They never saw it again as it dissapeared into the woods.

1966 December - Anclote River - In December 1966 the creature Once again appeared. A very aggressive creature this time. Four teenegers reported seeing the smelly monster. The thing jumped up on the hood of their car and was flaling its arms and screaming something fierce. They also claim the creature had green eyes. It was at this point in history where I believe locals began to call the creature "The Grunch."

1967 early - Elfers - Ralph Chambers sees the creature a couple of more times. He saw the creature in early 1967 emerge from a swamp near the Elfers area. He said the creature was hairy, had a very broad chest, and was at least 7 feet tall! Then it just went back into the swamp. Later that year he saw it again (see next report) .

1967 Summer - Elfers - It was a dark, quite night in the Elfers area. "Bud" Chambers was resting in his home when he noticed that his dogs began to howl. He looked outside and saw a large, hairy, man-like creature standing in his yard. The creature was massive and demanded respect. Chambers observed from the safety of his home. He then noticed that one of his dogs nipped at the creatures leg but didn't even phase him. The creature then just decided to slowly make it's way back into the swamp.

1967 July 9 - Brooksville - Police in the Brooksville area got quite a story from one James P. on July 9th. Mr. James P. was sleeping in the cab of his truck one night when he heard that something was approaching. All of the sudden the door flew open and a skunkape was there at his feet! The creature was described as hairy, 8 feet tall, and gorilla like in appearance. The skunkape grabbed his feet and began to pull him out of the truck. James P. began to honk his horn and this aparently scared the beast off. He rushed off to local police to report the incident.

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