November 1, 2006
From the Delphos (OH) Herald today:
DELPHOS — One of the lesser-known tales of the area has it that the area which is now Resurrection Cemetery was once the stomping ground for werewolves during the Great Black Swamp days.
According to legend, the area which is now Resurrection Cemetery was once the stomping ground for werewolves during the Great Black Swamp days.
“When I was a kid, we used to have church campouts along the Auglaize River next to the cemetery and the priest would tell some pretty wild stories about werewolves in the area,” Delphos resident Kurt Gordon recalled.
There is usually a kernel of truth to any given legend but what could possibly explain the presence of werewolves in northwest Ohio (or anywhere else, for that matter)? The most mundane explanation is that there were, in fact, wolves in the area during that point in our history. Man had not yet hunted them out of the area and it’s very likely that this is the explanation for early “werewolf” reports.
However, one of the more interesting paranormal solutions could lie with Native American traditions. Many tribes had traditions of shapeshifting and perhaps the local Shawnee shamans were able to transform themselves into wolf form as part of their religious rites. Many Native Americans believe it’s possible, so who’s to say it isn’t?
Another extraordinary explanation could be that the early pioneers had made contact with Sasquatch. Recently, Ohio has been having more Big Foot sightings than ever and has several of the oldest accounts on record. Perhaps the early settlers wrongly labeled this creature as a werewolf because it’s the only way they knew to describe it.
Or there could have been actual werewolves roaming the countryside then. I’m kind of skeptical of this myself and feel free to take all of this with a grain of salt. But, who knows; was the kindly priest just spinning yarns to entertain the kids or were there werewolves back then? Are they still here now? Who knows; maybe that hairy-backed neighbor who’s always outside without a shirt is more than he seems…
This is something that I have often pondered. Did eyewitnesses mistakingly label Bigfoot sightings as werewolves? As this article states, it may have been the only way they knew to describe it.
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
Filed under Bigfoot, Bigfoot Report, Cryptozoology, Eyewitness Accounts, Folklore, Sasquatch