Enfield Horror
The Enfield Horror: Illinois’ Mysterious Monster
A Night of Terror in Enfield, Illinois
On the night of April 25, 1973, a bizarre and terrifying creature known as The Enfield Horror or Monster reportedly appeared in the small town of Enfield, Illinois. The events that followed would become one of the most debated and chilling cryptid encounters in American history.
The exact details of the initial sighting vary. Some reports claim that Henry McDaniel and his wife arrived home late from a work conference around 9:30 PM, only to be met by their frightened children, who insisted that something had been scratching at the door while they were home alone. Other versions state that McDaniel was home alone or possibly drinking when he first encountered the strange visitor. Regardless of the circumstances, at around 9:30 PM, McDaniel heard an eerie scratching at his front door.
Expecting to find a stray animal, he peered outside but was met with something far more unsettling. According to McDaniel’s official statement:
“It had three legs on it, a short body, two little, short arms, and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. It stood four and a half feet tall and was grayish colored… almost like a human body.”
In a panic, McDaniel grabbed his .22 pistol and a flashlight. He fired four times at the creature and was sure he hit it at least once. Instead of falling, the creature let out a hiss—described as similar to a wildcat’s snarl—and then bounded away, covering 50 to 75 feet in just three powerful leaps before disappearing into the trees by the nearby railroad tracks.
Strange Evidence and Police Investigation
Shaken, McDaniel immediately contacted the police. Upon investigating, officers discovered deep scratches along the siding of his house and bizarre footprints in the dirt. Unlike typical animal tracks, these prints had six toes and were described as somewhat dog-like. Two of the tracks measured approximately four inches across, while a third was slightly smaller.
Despite the unusual findings, law enforcement remained skeptical. However, they noted that McDaniel appeared “rational and sober” when giving his report. Undeterred by their doubts, McDaniel stood by his account. He later speculated:
“If they do find it, they will find more than one, and they won’t be from this planet, I can tell you that.”
Other Eyewitnesses and Growing Hysteria
As McDaniel’s story spread, others in the area began to come forward with their own encounters. One such report came from 10-year-old Greg Garrett, a neighbor who claimed he had seen the creature just 30 minutes before McDaniel’s sighting. Garrett alleged that the being stepped on his feet, shredding his tennis shoes in the process. However, years later, Garrett admitted to fabricating the story as a joke to prank McDaniel and a visiting news reporter.
Despite this false report, another sighting came from McDaniel himself just two weeks later on May 6. Around 3 AM, he was awakened by the sounds of barking dogs. Looking out toward the railroad tracks behind his house, he saw the creature again.
“I saw something moving out on the railroad track and there it stood. I didn’t shoot at it or anything. It started on down the railroad track. It wasn’t in a hurry or anything.”
The Media Frenzy and Hunting Parties
The bizarre sightings quickly captured public attention, with news outlets such as the Chicago Daily News, the Champaign-Urbana Courier, and even Pennsylvania’s Reading Eagle covering the story. McDaniel was also interviewed on WGN radio in Chicago on May 7, further fueling the hysteria.
The town of Enfield soon found itself overrun with thrill-seekers, amateur monster hunters, and cryptid investigators. Among them was Rick Rainbow, the director of WWKI radio in Kokomo, Indiana. Leading a small search party, Rainbow claimed they saw a creature resembling McDaniel’s description in an abandoned building near his home. They even recorded eerie, banshee-like cries coming from the beast before it fled at unnatural speed. However, this recording has never been publicly released.
As interest in the case escalated, Sheriff Roy Poshard Jr. grew concerned. He warned McDaniel to stop spreading the story, even threatening to arrest him if the town continued to attract dangerous attention. His fears proved justified when, on May 8, police had to intervene after five armed men were caught shooting at a “gray thing” in the woods. The hunters, including Mike Mogle and Roger Tappy of Elwood, Indiana, were arrested for hunting violations. Upon questioning, they admitted to being intoxicated and using the monster story as an excuse for reckless behavior.
Theories and Skepticism
Cryptozoologists, including renowned researcher Loren Coleman, arrived to investigate. Coleman personally examined the scratches on McDaniel’s house and listened to Rainbow’s recording, later describing the experience as bewildering. However, he did not reach a firm conclusion on the creature’s identity.
Several theories have since emerged attempting to explain the Enfield Horror:
- Escaped Kangaroo: One possibility suggests that the creature was a lost or stolen pet kangaroo. An Ohio man even claimed his pet kangaroo had gone missing the previous year. However, McDaniel dismissed this, asserting that he had owned a kangaroo while stationed in Australia and knew the differences in their anatomy.
- Wild Ape Theory: An anthropology student proposed that the creature was an unidentified primate, suggesting similar sightings had been reported along the Mississippi River since 1941.
- Mass Hysteria: A 1978 study by Western Illinois University researchers, led by David L. Miller, argued that the Enfield Monster was a case of social contagion, where rumor and media hype exaggerated a simple misidentification.
Regardless of these explanations, no further sightings were reported—until nearly 50 years later.
A Modern Encounter: The Enfield Monster Returns?
On May 17, 2022, a new sighting reignited interest in the Enfield Horror. Zack Starrick, a member of The Southern Illinois Monster Hunters, claimed to have encountered the beast while driving home from bow fishing on the Wabash River. Near the intersection of Route 45 and Route 14, just south of Enfield, he spotted something bizarre emerging from a roadside ditch.
“Up out of the ditch came a creature that’s back would have measured level with the hood of my ‘03 Ford Ranger. It was grey in color, like elephant skin, was completely hairless, had its arms tucked up like a raptor would in Jurassic Park movies, sort of a reptilian head with a long snout, and it was running up on two feet and had that third leg drawn up like a tail. It cleared a two-lane blacktop in about 5-6 strides and was back off the opposite side of the road and it was gone.”
Starrick firmly believes that the Enfield Monster is still alive in Southern Illinois. Could this suggest that McDaniel was right all along? Was the monster never alone? Or is it all just another case of mistaken identity?
Decades after the initial sightings, the Enfield Horror remains an unsolved mystery. Whether an unknown cryptid, a misidentified animal, or a product of fear and exaggeration, the story endures as one of Illinois’ most chilling legends. Even today, some locals lock their doors at night—just in case.