Bennington Monster
We’ve covered the Bennington Triangle in Vermont, interestingly enough, but for blogstonishing a listener requested we dive deeper into the Bennington Monster. Northeast of Bennington lays Glastenbury Mountain (within the Bennington triangle), the alleged home of the Bennington Monster. The sightings of strange creatures go back to Glastenbury's chartering in 1761 when settlers often reported seeing strange lights atop the mountain and hearing strange noises. It is
The first official sighting of the Bennington Monsters occurred in the early 1800s. At the time, a stagecoach of passengers had to stop due to a road that had been washed out by a storm. When the stage driver hopped out to investigate the area, they noticed impossibly large footprints. Shortly after the sighting, the coach was attacked by an unknown giant creature. It was so powerful it knocked the entire coach on its side. The passengers, frightened and disoriented, didn't see the preparator in full. However, they did describe a large creature covered in hair and over six feet tall.
Glastenbury has a bad reputation for people going missing. Since its founding, as many as 40 people have seemingly vanished into thin area. One of the most infamous of those was a man named Carol Herrick. In 1943, he went missing while on a hunting trip. His body was discovered a few day later surronded by large footprints. According to those who saw his body, he appeared squeezed to death.
During a five year span beginning in 1945, there was the biggest series of disappearances. The first to vanish was Middie Rivers, a 74 year old hunting guide, who was taking four hunters on tour in Hell Hollow. He was ahead of the group when returning back to their base and was never seen again. At first, no one was worried as he had been a guide for years, however he never returned. An extensive search was launched, led by over 300 locals. US Army soldiers were even dispatched to aid in the search. His body was never discovered.
This would be followed by Paula Welden, an 18-year old, who vanished. Then, James Tedford went missing. In 1950, on October 2nd, Paul Jepson went missing. He was playing in a pickup truck when his mother left him briefly alone to take care of animals. When she returned, he was gone. A search launched instantly and bloodhounds were dispatched. They picked up on a trail headed toward Glastenbury Mountain but lost it as a crossroads. He was never discovered.
These are just a handful of folks who were never seen again. You may ask, what does this have to do with the Bennington Monster? Many believe this alleged wildman was behind the disappearances, especially the rash between 1945-1950, was responsible.
But, there have been sightings in the 21st century as well. Ray Dunfresne was driving by the mountain in 2003 when he saw a "large black thing" on the side of the road that he said was hairy from the top of its head to its feet. He later shared the tale with a few friends. Just a few weeks later, Dough Dorst, a writer, was driving near Bennington college when he thought he saw a man in a snowsuit. As he drove closer, he realized that the thing he thought was a person was enormous. Local authorities thought the rash of sightings in 2003 were due to pranksters.
Thanks to @winotali for this blogstonishing suggestion!
The header image features Grout Pond and Glastenbury Mountain taken by flickr user Andy Arthur CC BY 2.0, Attribution 2.0 Generic.