At the Legends and Lore of Illinois, we are familiar with the haunted and legendary places of Illinois, but did you know this state was also home to a wide variety of mysterious creatures? From the Lake Michigan Monster, to thunderbirds, to hairy bipeds, and the Enfield Horror, which one will prove to be the most unusual and terrifying of them all?

10. The Gooseville Bear

Bethalto, Illinois

The Gooseville Bear was a creature known only by what it left behind. For nearly three decades, from about 1940 to the late 1960s, residents of the Gooseville area near Bethalto, Illinois discovered large animal tracks along Indian Creek. The tracks resembled those of a bear, although no bears are known to live in the area. No witnesses ever came forward claiming to have seen the beast, and after many years, the Gooseville Bear vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared.

9. Black Panthers

Various

Panther is the popular name given to the North American Cougar, which was once prevalent all over the continent, but was hunted virtually to extinction in the eastern half of the United States. Recently, it has made a comeback into its old habitat. In 2008, a cougar was shot and killed near the Chicago River in the Chicago neighborhood of Roscoe Village. Most mysterious of all, however, are sightings of black panthers. It is a genetic anomaly for a wild cat to be jet black in color, and no black cougars have ever been captured or photographed (most “black panthers” are actually jaguars or leopards). Never-the-less, several have been spotted in Illinois. In 2001, a black panther was seen on three separate occasions in Monroe County and as recently as 2007, a black panther was seen around Bloomington. Are these mysterious animals myth or real? Until one is captured or photographed in the wild, we will never know for sure.

8. Giant Snake

Champaign County

On June 6, 1896, a farmer named Carl Smithson discovered a giant snake (about 18 feet in length) in his barn. It was in the process of swallowing the leg of his Jersey calf. Evidently the snake, which had been spotted by several other farmers, fled before Smithson could return with help. A posse was formed to search for the creature, but it is unknown whether they succeeded.

7. Stump Pond Serpent

Pyramid State Park, Perry County

Between 1879 and 1968, nearly a 90-year period, fishermen in Perry County spun yarns about a serpent that dwelled in the murky waters of Stump Pond. The creature was described as having a thick, green body with black fins. It was large enough to rock boats. Some fishermen encountered it more than once, and speculated that there must be a breeding population. When the lake was partially drained in 1968, locals discovered catfish that weighed over 30 pounds, so it is possible that the “Stump Pond Serpent” was a giant catfish. In 2005 Tim Pruitt of Alton caught a 124 pound blue catfish in the Mississippi River. Today, Stump Pond is a part of Pyramid State Recreation Area, which consists of land formerly owned by a coal strip-mining company.

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