The Crypto Cats of Texas
Posted by: Nick Redfern on April 5th, 2013
My latest Mysterious Universe article digs into the controversy surrounding large cats roaming around my own stomping grounds.
Here’s how it starts:
“Last week, I penned an article here on sightings of what sounded like incredibly large wolves and even – far more amazingly – real-life werewolves on the loose in the state of Texas, which has been my home for the past twelve or so years. It’s not my intention to pummel you with endless tales of strange and out-of-place animals on the loose in the Lone Star State. But, I am doing one more article on such matters, and this is it! The subject: the large and exotic cats of Texas; cats that had no business roaming the state, but that apparently, were doing exactly that in decades long gone…
“In early 2009, I spent several days delving deeply into the old archives of a variety of Texas-based newspapers, and uncovered a number of significant reports from years-past of big and exotic cats on the loose in Texas.”
About Nick Redfern
Punk music fan, Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew beer fan, horror film fan, chocolate fan, like to wear black clothes, like to stay up late. Work as a writer.
My mother grew up outside of Scurry, in Kaufman Co., Texas. Her family lived out by themselves, with no other houses nearby. She said at night they would hear panthers screaming and it sounded just like a woman screaming. This was in the late 1920’s. She told me it was the scariest sound she had ever heard.
About a decade ago, I heard a cougar scream, in the middle of the night, while camping in Nelson County, VA. I was asleep, but bolted to a sitting position in a nanosecond or two. I was sitting up, and so were my hair and goose bumps.
At first I dismissed it as a Bobcat, but after I’d had time to think it over, what I heard was MUCH bigger than your common bobcat. Most amazing thing I’ve ever heard, including Bigfoot!