Welcome To Illinois:The Enfield What-The-Hell-Is It?

Well let’s see so far the devil came down to Chi-town, ancient Egyptians may have been the first to call Illinois home and lastly vengeful ghosts wreak havoc on all who enter the attic of a nineteenth century mansion. Looking back I really hope we can both agree that Illinois is truly one weird place and it only gets weirder from this point on. Illinois, the Prairie state and the state that I love apparently has a monster seal approval as well. Does that surprise you?

Everyone knows that Sasquatch calls the vast acres of forest in the pacific Northwest home, but what most people don’t know is that there have been strange creature sightings in the Land Of Lincoln as well, In fact apart from Oregon and Washington state, Illinois has the most monster sightings than any other state of the union. We have tales of gigantic birds swooping out of the skies and attempting to carry eleven year old boys away for a mid-day snack in 1977. A bigfoot like creature has been spotted haunting (and stinking up) the woods around the Big Muddy River. And in the city Of Alton, the most haunted small town in Illinois, a giant mural of a grotesque creature called the Piasa graces the side of a cliff as a memorial to the brave native tribes who fought the dragon like creature in open combat and won. Among the many monsters that call our state home one creature has caused many residents of the southern Illinois town of Enfield, to scratch their head and ask, “What the hell is it?”

It was a cool Spring night in 1973, when a local man in the town of Enfield, Hank McDaniel, answered a knock at his door that would open up a whole new chapter in the weirdness of Illinois. Hank had just returned home from a rough day at work after working a double shift to help a coworker out and was tired as hell. As he plopped down on his couch and turned on the television for a little late night viewing and more than a little relaxation. The cold beer that he popped open tasted like heaven as it poured down his throat and filled his stomach with it’s cold frosty goodness. Hank McDaniel knew one thing and one thing only, tonight he did not want to be bothered he wanted to enjoy these last moments before he laid his head down for some much needed rest before a new day began and work started all over again. That is until the knock came to his door.

Hank was truly irritated, who the hell could this be? It was late and he was not expecting anyone to show up at his doorstep. “Who is it?” Hank yelled as he lifted his lanky tired form off the couch. No answer, probably some kids playing a joke. As Hank turned to sit back down on the couch a second and louder knock came to the door. By now Hank, was getting pissed, whoever this jerk was that was knocking on his door at 12AM was going to get a piece of his mind and maybe a bullett in their ass.

“What do you wa…” Hank yelled as he opened the door and was terrified by what greeted him on the front porch of his modest two bedroom home. What dared to knock on his door that late night in 1973 was neither man or beast at least not anything Hank had ever seen. Hank’s blood ran cold as he stood transfixed by the grotesque sight that greeted him. Finally the terrified was able to slam the door and grabbed the double barreled shotgun that stood ever ready by his front door. When Hank, finally built up the courage to open the door the creature stood there still staring down the frightened man. Hank raised his shotgun and squeezed off a shot at the creature. The creature was not wounded by the powerful shot but ran off into the night letting out a strange scream that sounded a cross between a high pitched scream and a car horn. Hank Mc Daniel, hardworking native of Illinois would never bee the same.

Twenty minutes later the local sheriff arrived at Hank’s front door after being alerted by neighbors that some nut was firing a shotgun in the middle of the night. When the sheriff approached Hank McDaniel he could see the terror and the abject fear written all over the man’s face. When the sheriff asked just what Hank was shooting at at 12:30 in the morning Hank was able to stammer out, “A creature on my doorstep.” The Sheriff roled his eyes and I’m sure he thought old Hank was drinking although he could not smell any alcohol.
“What kind of creature, Hank?” The incredulous Sheriff inquired of the man. After the question Hank launched into a description of a creature so fantastical it sounded as if it stepped out of science fiction film. Hank, said that the creature stood about four and half feet tall, with a strange cone shaped body, and was covered in hair. Hank said the strangest thing about the creature was that two gigantic black eyes stared into his soul and had three legs. After hearing the unbelievable story the Sheriff took a report and headed back to the station. He did not know what Hank McDaniel had seen but he knew that whatever it was Hank’s sighting would not be the last.

The next evening the Sheriff received another phone call from a panic striken woman who said that her eleven year old son had been attacked by some kind of horrific creature. The sheriff knew the call was serious when he heard the crying of the boy in the background. The sheriff quickly left his office and made his way out. When he arrived he found his witnesses standing on the front porch awaiting his arrival both seemed to have calmed down quite a bit. When the sherrif asked what happened, the young boy, Greg Garret, told his story. His mother had sent him outside to take the garbage out. When he got to the cans he could hear what sounded like something large rustling in the trees that lined the driveway on the side of his house. Greg, went on to give a description of a the same creature that Hank McDaniel, had seen the previous night. Except the still shaking boy said that the creature had two short arms that reached out at him and ripped his shirt. The sheriff, still incredulous over the creature that was now seen twice, took a statement from the young boy and went searching for the odd and apparently dangerous creature.

After a few days the stories of the assault on Greg Garret and Hank McDaniel quickly spread like wildfire among the frightened citizens of the small town of Enfield. People were terrified to let their dogs out after dark and some parents kept their children from playing outside. A few more citizens reported seeing the strange beast, however the their stories were not taken seriously. The sherrif, desiring to quell an episode of mass hysteria, threatened Hank McDaniel, with jail time if he did not keep his big mouth shut, the charge creating a public nuisance and the sheriff put out a press release in the local newspaper stating that the creature was just a dog and people did not have to be fearful. However despite all the sheriff’s efforts this did not stop some brave monster hunters from grabbing their rifles and venturing into the forest to hunt for the strange creature. One man was arrested after he shot his buddy in the leg while he was taking a leak behind some bushes. Dumb ass.

About two weeks after the initial sightings of the creature or what ever it was, dissappeared from the small town of Enfield, and good riddance. What was it that Hank McDaniel fired upon? And what manner of strange creature was it that attacked little Greg Garret and ripped his favorite t-shirt? Some believe that the creature in question was an alien visitor. this belief came about due to the fact over the last few months many folks reported seeing strange lights in the skies over Enfield and there was a report from a neighboring town of a man being abducted by aliens. One other explanation was that the creature was some animal previously unknown to science and this theory raised the curiosity of many a cryptozoologist. I have a theory, let me give you hint, G’day Mate.

From 1974 throughout 1981, reports flooded into cop shops of people who swear that they had seen a Kangaroo either jumping around their backyard or sitting on the side of the road not just in Illinois but other midwestern states as well. One well documented story tells of two Chicago cops who cornered one of the marsupials in an alley on the north side of Chicago thouroughly got their asses handed to them when they tried to take the animal into custody. Roos may seem all cute and cuddly but they can be downright mean and nasty when backed into a corner by something they perceive as a threat or scared.

Many researchers, myself included, now believer that this was what a few of the citzens saw in Enfield over those two weeks of terror. Now, obviously there are no herds of Kangaroos roaming the plains of the midwest so if that is the case what was the creature that terrified the small Illinois town in the Spring of 1973? It may not have been Roos, I think they are happy in the land down under.

Rick E. Hale
t_seeker@hotmail.com