Odd sounds in North Eastern Pennsylvania

Howdy folks,

Long time lurker, first time poster. What I wanted was some possible theories/ideas as to what I encountered Saturday evening September 22nd 2007.

Saturday evening, I was getting ready to fill up my 3 gallon water jug up at the spring in Courtdale Pa. It had just passed twilight so I grabbed my flashlight since I figured by the time I got there it would be way to dark for the naked eye to see. This was about 8:00pm

I hop in my truck and head to Courtdale. I pull off the side of the road, grab my flashlight and jug. As I am getting ready to walk up the path into the woods, I hear something. Now the only sound I have ever heard that resembled anything like this was the one spitting dinosaur from the 1st Jurassic Park movie. Ya know, that lil warble sound. That didnt freak me out too much, but standing there I was trying to identify what it could be. Now I am an experienced PA woodsman, and have hunted in PA my whole life, and have never heard anything like this before. The thing that really freaked me out was that this "thing" sounded like it was all around me, and it was getting closer. At this point I am freaking out so I opened the truck door threw my stuff back inside, jumped in rolled up the windows and started the truck.

Upon turning my headlights on to high beams, I swung the truck around to see if I could see anything. Turns out I could not. So I drive down the road to my buddies house to see if he was home. Turns out he was at the pool hall, but my friends mom was there watching the kids, so I asked her about it, and she thought I was crazy. Dunno, maybe I am, but I have never heard anything like it before. Maybe it was some kind of bird. Or someone in the woods screwin with me.

Driving down the road, all I could really think by adding 1 and 1 together was that we live about 1 hour 30 min from jersey. So naturally I was thinking possible Jersey Devil stuff, but I wouldnt be that lucky to experience something like that.

So what do you guru's think it could have been? I am open to anything at this point. I am at a total loss. Hope this is posted in the correct area. My apologies if it is not.

Freaky!

You did just what I would have done!

Except for the part about swinging the truck around to look.

The only looking I would have been doing is in the rear view mirror as I put the pedal to the floor!

On google maps it doesn't look like that area is that remote, maybe kids messing with you?

There ARE two catholic cemeteries close by though, just to the east a bit.

Maybe it was a restless spirit?

At any rate, I think I'd be getting my water a little earlier in the day from now on.

Or bring someone with you with a video camera...and a shotgun!!

Originally posted by goosdawg
Freaky!

You did just what I would have done!

Except for the part about swinging the truck around to look.

The only looking I would have been doing is in the rear view mirror as I put the pedal to the floor!

On google maps it doesn't look like that area is that remote, maybe kids messing with you?

There ARE two catholic cemeteries close by though, just to the east a bit.

Maybe it was a restless spirit?

At any rate, I think I'd be getting my water a little earlier in the day from now on.

Or bring someone with you with a video camera...and a shotgun!!

Your right its not quite that remote, and they are building a housing complex up on the moutain from it. Thats what I was kind of leaning towards as far as the kid thing goes. I had no idea about the cemetaries there. Only been a firefighter for about a year up there. But it is kind of on a mountain, and since you mention the cemetaries and the construction going on guess ya never know

Id have someone else come with you next time you go and get water. And make sure you both got a shotgun and cameras.

Originally posted by bunit42000
Id have someone else come with you next time you go and get water. And make sure you both got a shotgun and cameras.

Yeah I flew down to snag my friend but he wasnt home. Now everyone just thinks I am nuts. The camera idea is good, however kinda hard to point a camera somewhere where this is no light (I know the flash) when the sound is comming all around you. I have an old HP315 digital But a new Pelican 7600 (I think) LED flashlight I usually carry a Glock model 30. No I did not have it on me last night. My carry permit expired. Have to get it renewed.

Gonna be watching this forum like a hawk for replies tonight..

[edit on 24-9-2007 by Firefighter119]

The only thing I can really suggest you do at this point is to listen to animal recordings of animals in the area or neighboring regions. After doing that if you can't figure it out go back with a recorder and try to catch it on audio. After that maybe someone can help track this thing down

You could also ask some people around the area if they have had any experiences like you did.

Originally posted by ParanormalShiver
The only thing I can really suggest you do at this point is to listen to animal recordings of animals in the area or neighboring regions. After doing that if you can't figure it out go back with a recorder and try to catch it on audio. After that maybe someone can help track this thing down

I've been in PA's woods all my life as a hunter and trapper, and never ever heard anything like that. IMO if it is something "different" it isnt native. The evening up here are starting to get cold here, so if it isn't native it will more than likely die off. Then again maybe not. Imma go buy one of those little tape recorders and go back one of these nights and see if I can hear it again.

I talked to someone at work this morning, and she stated that she wouldnt even go up there at night not due to wierd things but due to a lot of people go up that way on the mountain to drink etc. I told her I didnt belive that due to it got closer without any other movement anywhere that I could hear. Bunit has the right idea, gonna go see if I can catch some of the people who live close by or more people that get water there and see if they have ever encountered anything close to what I experienced.

reply to post by Firefighter119


Can't wait to hear more of this. I never once doubt your ablities as a hunter btw. It's always good to double check though. Keep us up to date!

It all sounds very similar to a story I heard when I moved here to Alaska...

Skip went camping with a buddy near Eagle, Alaska on the Yukon River. In the interest of saving time as I am falling asleep, I'll spare the camp preparation and travel details. They both claim that as the lantern went out, the strangest noise they ever heard started up. They describe it as an extremely loud version of wrinkling a bag of potato chips and a shriek. The noise was continuous and said to begin behind the tent and slowly move towards the front of it. They both had guns ready as Skip barked repeated threats. The noise stopped. They both claim that at that point a time lapse happened and they were then pointing their guns at the flap in broad daylight.

They turn white when I mention it.

I grew up hunting in NWPA and have heard many "strange" sounds in the dead of night in the deep woods. One of my friends who after being thrown out of the house at the age of 14 literally grew up living in the wilderness would often identify those noises.

More often than not it was a fox. As he said and I eventually learned, foxes can make some of the strangest sounds you could ever imagine. Sounds that make the hairs on your neck stand up from human screams to injured animal calls. They are masters of mimicry. I'll never forget my first encounter as we walked up an old lease road in pitch darkness stalking a wild dog pack that had chased my friend the evening before. Suddenly to my right I hear what sounds exactly like an infant crying. I almost peed my pants until my friend said, "just a fox"!

reply to post by jbondo


Good info jbondo!

I found a page with a bunch of wav files of fox cries.

Sounds of the Fox

What do you think, Firefighter119?

Is your sound in there?

The fox territorial call is pretty weird, maybe they were warning you away from their watering hole?

Bush hunters in africa take dogs with them to help with the hunts. Where the dogs don't go, they won't go. They say there are evil forces. My Mom and older brother went to visit an Aunt near Brownsville PA. While approaching her house they heard like a wounded half human howl emmanating from a holler near there. My Mom said my brother went ghost white.

reply to post by goosdawg


Awesome sound page! The closest thing on there that resembles that noise was the fox pur sound. I have heard those before, but its very well possible it could have been an older fox perhaps with a higher or lower pitch voice as it were. Imma have to go get brave and go back out. I dont think it was a fox, however I have only trapped 2 foxes in my lifetime. Awesome detective work folks!! I feel we have a debunk on our hands

reply to post by Firefighter119


Happy to oblige!

I had no idea the fox could make such sounds, what a great world we live in, eh?

On your next trip out there, just remember your backup, lights, camera and shot guns!

Oh!
And don't forget your water jug!

I ain't never heard no fox calls, yips, purrs, or barks until I checked the linked site. Around my area if you ain't used to it, these three will jump you awake in a hurry late at night:

1)Rabbit distress scream. Awfulist sound I ever heard.

2)Bobcat screams, they'll raise the hairs on your neck, cause you rarely hear them here. Sometimes you see them though.

3)My neighbors peacocks. Some times when the wind is just right, it'll move their hollerings a long way.

The scariest thing that ever happened to me around here was on the night of July 3, 2002 me, a friend of mine, and his wife where walking through my grandpa's feild, to shoot off a few fireworks early. I stopped when I saw something moveing to the right. A small pack of coyotes (possibly cross-bred ones where when the breed with stray dogs, they get a little less scared of people, and a little more aggressive) where circling us. So we decided to calmly walk back to the house.

The worst part of the experience? I HAD A BACKPACK FULL OF FIREWORKS! How could I have been so stupid? We could have used them to scare off the coyotes. I know this account may sound stupid, but when you are used to coyotes being timid around humans circling around you in the pitch black dark, it is a little freaky!

reply to post by seeker83


I've had a pack of about 5 coyotes hunt us so to speak while checking beaver traps at 2:30ish in the morning. couple shots with a 22 in the air quickly dispersed them. However any pack hunter gets alot braver when they are in numbers. In my experience a rabbits crying scream is got to be the single most horrifying scream in the world, but get a screamer box of that and watch all the coyotes you attract with it Bobcat screams are horrible, and WILL make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. Me and my friend smitty were walking down in a ravine along a creek and heard this horrible 'scream' looking up from the ravine was a bobcat chillin up on the edge of the ravine looking down at us. Definetly one of those where the bark is worse than the bite. Definetly a pretty animal. Oh and for you PA folks out there, 1st day of small game is Oct 13th!!!

[edit on 25-9-2007 by Firefighter119]

Thanks for the heads up on small game season but I've been stuck over here in Chicagoland for the past 3 yrs. I miss it so much that I had spent the last month just trying to get some fresh brown trout sent to me. It took the entire month until I finally found a fish farm in WI willing to ship some fresh to me tomorrow in fact, overnite. Cost me $50 for 5lbs (shipping included) but it is worth it to taste fresh brownies again. Still a deal as rainbows run $12 a pound in the market. Funny how you can get rainbows all day long but try and get browns, forget it!

Someday though I will be back in the woods catching my own fish and hunting my own game again. If I hear a strange call I will think of this thread...well, maybe not...

reply to post by jbondo


LOL, I would hope not.

Your description reminded me of an elephant sound, I'm not saying it was an elephant, I'm asking if the sound was similar.

try this

and this

and this

and this


[edit on 3/10/2007 by Wig]