An Aberration in Amish Country

Seated in beautiful southeastern Pennsylvania, the rural farming community of Lancaster County is a place with one foot stuck in the past. Though now as modern as most places, the presence of the Amish in the area is a reminder of simpler times. However, in August of 1973, no less then four of these quaint people would come face to face with a creature from the depths of their nightmares.

The creature was first seen by two brothers while on their hay wagon which was sent bolting by the terrified team of horses upon the beasts approach. One can hardly blame the startled animals, as almost assuredly their owners had been filled with the same sort of dread given the description that they, and the rest of the witness would give for this truly horrific being:

“It was the size of a good heifer, gray in color with a white mane. It had tiger like fangs and curved horns like a Billy goat. It ran upright on long legs, and had long grizzly claws.“

A day later a man was out cutting weeds on his farm, only a mere five miles from the location of the first sighting. However, any sense of normality for his day would be absolutely shattered when he heard what was described as “A fierce roar”. The man turned to access the source of this frightening bellow, only to behold “A monster with three horns and a tail charging“, thundering in his direction. In what one can assume was a instinctual reaction, the man raised up his scythe in attempt to defend himself from his otherworldly assailant. Horrifyingly enough, the man would have the farming implement, wrenched from his grasp. This would prove the end of the mans resolve, and encounter, as he fled as fast as he could to his home.

The third and final account to date, happened one day later at farm located somewhere between the previous two sightings. A woman was tending to her various farmyard foul, when it’s said she “heard a commotion“. Turning to see what it was causing all the ruckus, she set her eyes upon the same nightmareish beast that, unknown to her, had been on a spree of terror among nearby farms. To her shock and dismay she saw the beast in the midst of “snatching a goose in each of its hands”. Filled with uncommon courage, perhaps at the thought of loosing one of her farmyard friends, the woman rushed towards the creature flailing her apron in the air. Whether compelled by fear, malicious intent, or perhaps just amusement, the creature threw one of the geese, at the young woman with such force, it knocked her to the ground. The creature would abscond away with the remaining goose, and not be seen again.

What could have been terrorizing the Pennsylvania farmlands in August of 1973? Was it some sort of mutated animal? A one-off aberration or freak of nature? Was it a creature from another planet? There was quite a UFO flap in the keystone state in 1973, that was very well documented in Stan Gordon’s book “Silent Invasion: The Pennsylvania UFO-Bigfoot Casebook“. What if it was something more sinister? The Amish community is steeped in both rich religious and dutch history. Could a servant of Beelzebub have been sent up to torment them? One could draw correlations in some of the descriptions with some of the beasts of revelation from the bible. Mayhaps the German side of history is responsible and the Pennsylvania Dutch were being plagued by a Krampus like horror? Truly a tale for the ages.

Keep it creepy kiddos,

-C