A Terrifying Legend is Real?
Image source - Istockphoto
The high rolling hills and deep valleys of the forested places of Kentucky are serenely beautiful, but these hills have long been rumored to be the dwelling of spirits and strange terrifying beasts.
The state gets it's name from the Cherokee, Shawnee, Pawnee, and the other Native American dialect word of the tribes that lived in what would become the surrounding areas of what would become the states of Tennessee, Ohio, Missouri, and Virgina and West Virgina. Can-tuck or Kain-tuk-ke, means "Dark and Bloody Ground". It was considered to be sacred ground. This was the land of restless spirits and strange creatures. One such creature was feared more than most by the native tribes, and the legends and tales of encounters with this terrifying beast still continue to this day.
The first close encounter with this creature was during a camping trip about 10 years ago. We were waken by our two friends who had pitched their tent several yards away from our van. They had been awakened by a terrifying, unearthly sounding howling that neither could really describe. They also heard the sounds of a great deal of snapping of what sounded like branches and other sounds of destruction. (My mate and I had not heard anything but we are very sound sleepers.) We all remained awake the rest of the night sitting in our van talking about this incident, waiting for morning to break. As soon as it got light enough to see by we went looking to see what we could find. We found an area of ground torn up and very large tree branches snapped from fairly high up on several trees. We also found what looked like really large foot prints of a bi-pedal creature that had some rather large claws extending from the toes. We all decided to make a quick breakfast and pack up. No one really wanted to stay another night in the area.
A few weeks later my mate and I were at another camping area and there was a large creek between us and a large expanse of forest when we had a more personal encounter with that horrible screaming howl. Fortunately we were in our van and that gave us some sense of protection, (but this thing sounded as though none of that would have really mattered if it really wanted to get at us.) The sound this creature made is very hard to describe. Over the years both of us have heard panther, bobcat, bear, deer, and a host of other indigenous creatures, but NEVER anything like this! This was like a howl, moan, screech and scream all rolled together. Nothing in nature should be able to sound like that.
The next day we crossed the foot bridge over the creek and saw an amazing amount of destruction. Trees up to 5 inches in diameter had been snapped off about 2-3 feet up the trunk and the picnic table in the area had been smashed in to bits. There were some very deeply scored claw marks on the trunks of some of the trees. Something sure seemed to have been angry.
Over the years other people we have met and known have come forward with tales and descriptions of encounters with a creature that left them utterly terrified. The old legends of the native tribes have of this creature say that it is a demon of sort. The descriptions in the old legends, and more recent encounters, says that this beast walks on two legs like a man and stands around 7 feet tall. It is covered in shaggy grey-white fur and has large, dead black eyes, sometimes also described has having a red glow. It has long vicious looking claws on the ends of very long fingered hands and a mouth full of teeth that look quite capable of rending flesh. One of the names given by the Cherokee people for this thing was the Ewah, or "Soul Stealer".
Whatever this thing is, one thing is for certain, something dark and truly terrifying roams the Appalachian hills of Eastern Kentucky.