An open record of things people cannot explain

Sussex County, Delaware · from the BFRO archive

Something walking upright in Sussex County, Delaware

BACKGROUND My 18-year old son and I departed Cape Henlopen State Park on the Atlantic Coast near Lewes, Deleware at about 1:30AM, June 7, 2003, after a day of fishing from the park's 1/4 mile long pier. We had intended to catch a couple of hours sleep in my extended cab pickup before starting the two-hour return trip to our home outside of Annapolis, Maryland. However, we both managed to catnap in our fishing chairs throughout the day, did not feel the least bit tired, so decided to depart immediately for home. Route 404 is the most direct route from Lewes to the Chespeake Bay Bridge and Annapolis, meandering though the Deleware and Maryland countryside, with only two small-to-middle sized towns (Denton and Georgetown) along the route. The remainder of Rt. 404 is bordered by farmland (chicken and dairy production) and woodlands. DETAILS I was driving and my son was in the passenger seat. We departed the park via Rt. 9, headed north a short distance on Rt. 1, and picked up Rt. 404 West . There was very little traffic on this secondary road at this time of morning, so I drove with my highbeams on and set the cruise control. Within a few minutes I saw a movement along the right side of the road about 100 yards ahead and began braking. A doe stepped onto the berm of the road and crossed from right to left. I continued braking, almost to a complete stop, in case more deer followed the doe, but she apparently was alone. Another few minutes passed before we saw a car approaching from the opposite direction. We could see its headlight glow before we could see the car itself because we were approaching a gentle curve in the road to the right. I flicked my headlights to lowbeam and in a matter of a few seconds saw the silhouette of a large biped cross the road, from the center part of the road, across our lane of travel, and enter the woods to our right some 100-150 feet ahead. My son immediately exclaimed, "What the heck was that?!?! I asked him if he saw it too and he said, "Yes, there were two of them!" "Two??, I asked and he said, "Yes, a tall one in front and a shorter one 4-5 feet behind." My truck has almost slowed to a complete stop by this time because my foot was on the brake as soon as I first spotted the creature. My son and I slowly drove by the spot where they appeared to enter the woods, but we could see nothing. The car that was approaching passed us at this point, without slowing down or stopping. I asked my son to describe what he saw. He said a large thing walking on two legs with another, shorter thing following behind. He added that the shorter one was about chest high on the larger one. My son is near 6' tall and he said the larger one was taller than him. I saw the taller one, side profile, as a silhouette -- almost a shadow. It moved across the road quickly, in a purposeful manner. I could see no arms or arm swing. It did not turn its hear to look toward us. I could discern no color or body features beyond a head, torso, and legs. There was no accompanying odor. When we passed what we believed to be the creatures' entry point in the woods, my son's passenger side window was completely down and mine was partially down. A normal moist, woodsy night time odor was all we noticed. Additional observation by my son, in his own words: My father saw one thing cross the road, while I saw two. I use the word "thing" because I truly have no idea what I saw cross the road that night. They were NOT quadrupeds. The larger one walked upright and at a smooth pace...no bouncing around. It didn't seem to speed up as our truck approached. When the oncoming car drew closer to the curve in the road, I then saw the second, shorter one in the glow of the other car's headlights. This second, shorter thing followed closely behind the larger thing. I could see that it wasn't standing straight up, like the larger one, but was slightly leaning forward. The siloette of both things appeared fuzzy, like a picture out of focus. My Dad said he didn't see arms or arms moving, but I could see long arms moving back and forth on both things. The arms didn't move very much, but I could see them. I don't mean to make a joke out of what we saw, but the big thing could have looked Yao Ming, the Texas basketball player from China, eye-to-eye. COMMENTS When I first put this encounter down on paper, I described what I saw as a shadow, not as a silhouette. While silhouette might be a more appropriate word, I cannot put the illusion of a shadow out of my mind. After talking this over with my son, we believe that the creatures that we saw did, in fact, have hair on the body and that a combination of (back)lighting from the car approaching in the opposite direction and my own lowbeam headlights caused the outline of the creature that I saw appear shadowy or diffused --perhaps a result of light shining on or though its hair. This, perhaps, can be supported by my son's description of the silhouette of both creatures appearing fuzzy or out-of-focus.

What stood out: something walking uprighta dark figure

 

Others who described something like this

2022-08-12

I have lived in the area east of hwy 259 and hwy 63 also known as Big Cedar for 36 years. I was outside my home and I heard 7-10 howlings to the north. It was a sound I've never heard in the…

both described something walking upright · a dark figure

1983-07-23

The following phone interview was conducted by Stan Courtney on the 13th of June, 2005. The witness does not have a computer or internet access so the information was entered with his permis…

both described something walking upright · a dark figure

2005-08-20

I used to live in Camino, CA and would go up into Desolation Wilderness as often as I could. The trout fishing was really incredible and it left a wonderful lasting memory with me. Since mov…

both described something walking upright · a dark figure

2005-02-05

I work up to 2 a.m. in the morning. I drive home on Hwy K that goes threw some good wooded area near Hatfield WI. Anyway there are some sharp turns and you can't drive too fast on this Highw…

both described something walking upright · a dark figure

2005-02-24

I was on my way home from work at about 10:30 PM. I was heading east on Wilson Mills Rd. just approaching Chardon. I was especially alert due to the large number of deer in the area. To the …

both described something walking upright · a dark figure

undated

While backpacking near the horse trails and access point in the county below Brown County I experienced a confrontation with a bipedal primate. It was early March of 1998 and I was alone. Ar…

both described something walking upright · a dark figure

1990-10-01

I WAS WITH MY FRIEND RICK. HE WAS DRIVING US DOWN COUNTY RD SW IN WELLS TOWNSHIP, HEADING WEST TOWARDS COUNTY RD 557. WE HAD BEEN MOVING ALONG SLOWLY TOWARD 557. I COULD SEE THE PAVEMENT AND…

the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details

2020-01-20

My husband and I were driving home down Winchester Southern Rd toward St Rt 22 around 9:00pm on 12/20/2019. It was completely dark outside by this time. We were going around 60mph. My husban…

the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details

1988-10-08

I was born, raised, and currently live near Nashville, TN. When I was about 13 years old, I had a 4-wheeler. My dad used to take me to a piece of property owned by one of his customers which…

the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details

Keep reading

There are thousands more like this in the record. Open one at random, or read the ones the most people recognise.

Read anotherMost recognised

Or if something like this happened to you, write it down and we will look for the others who saw it too.

Know someone this happened to?

If this reminds you of something a friend or a relative told you once and never mentioned again, send them this page. Reading that a stranger described the same thing is usually the part that helps.

By emailBy text

Nothing is tracked back to you and nothing is sent on your behalf. The link is just the page you are reading.

This account was written by a member of the public and published in the BFRO archive. We reproduce it with thanks and remove anything on request. Location shown is approximate.