The Octo-Man from Ohio

The Octo-Man, also known as the Indescribable Octo-Man, was spotted on a cold night in Ohio in January, 1959. The strange stories of those who witnessed this even stranger creature continue to baffle. Since the publication in the Cincinnati Post & Times-Star released its story ‘What Is It?” covering the events...many have wondered what really was seen that night.

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An unnamed man called the Ohio Clermont County and new Richmond police claimed that “something came out of the river.” The man was so disturbed by what he saw and said what emerged out of the water that he called it totally indescribable. Needless to say, the police didn’t jump on this report. They likely found the story either to be from a drunk, or someone playing a prank.

However, that changed when they got another report just a short time later. En route to Indianapolis, a truck driver pulled over to phone from a gas station near Little miami River. The trucker claimed he was driving towards Cincinnati when he saw something unlike he had never seen before.

Because of these reports, the police decided to start investigating the waters, although jokes were still being made. However, one of the dispatchers, Frank B. Heisler, who took the report, claimed that those on the phone seemed seriously shaken and disturbed, as strange and non-descript as their reports were.

More reports began to come in. One of the newspaper articles covering this strange saga reported, “It was large, not a dog or a cat. It leaped in front of my car and on two legs and was taller than the auto. When I looked back in my mirror, it was moving along the bridge rail. It was three or four times the size of a man and much bulkier. I have an eye and mind for dimensions and I know it was huge.”

Even as these reports continued to come in, the exact description of the creature seemed to evade total description. Soon, some described it as “like an octopus.” Then, a woman called in with a sighting and described it as “a strange, grayish creature with a lopsided chest, ugly tentacles, and rolls of fat running horizontally over a bald head.”

Several of these descriptors are common in cryptid sightings. However, I found the idea of a “lopsided chest” quite interesting and still struggle to think of an animal that had a lopsided chest or back.

Was this strange lovecraftian creature that seemed to defy basic description something truly from out of this world? Was it a diseased animal? Or, was it a strange mass of detritus that had the appearance of something organic?

One thing is for certain - some weird shit is happening in Ohio!

Thanks to Sandy Crane for this blogstonishing suggestion!

The above image depicts Licking Creek in Ohio, where one of the sightings occurred (not this exact spot). It was taken by ChristopherM and is licensed under CC by 2.5.