What do you think?
Rate this book
Monsters of Illinois
Bigfoot Big Muddy Monster The Piasa Bird The Mad Gasser of Mattoon Other strange creatures, including vampires, alligators in the sewer, out-of-place panthers, thunderbirds, and lake monsters
- GenresNonfictionCryptozoology
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 17, 2024
Nicely precise but thorough documentation of IL's urban legends. The author used newspaper clippings and anecdotes from individuals to build his chapters, and I really enjoyed that. Some of these were more fascinating (the thunderbirds) and others a bit more comical (the masked gasser). Overall there were lots of interesting things to look into!
General rundown (for personal further reference):
Bigfoot
- Mostly seen in rural and southern IL, earliest reports began in 1883 and lasted all the way until 2005.
- Various names given to various sightings: Gooseville Bear, Farmer City Monster, Cole Hollow Road Monster aka Cohomo, DuPont Monster
The Big Muddy Monster
- Somehow not Bigfoot? but a lot like it; screams very loud and very scarily; lives in/near rivers; whitish fur.
- Disturbed Shetland ponies at the July 4 carnival
- First seen in June 1973, disappeared in the fall
The Enfield Horror
- Spotted in Enfield, IL, of course; also in 1973 for a short period of time
-Henry McDaniel of Enfield: "it had three legs on it, a short body, two little short arms coming out of its breast area, and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. It stood four and a half feet tall and was grayish-colored." so interesting
- Drew much public attention; apparently there's a tape recording of its sounds somewhere? though many say the whole thing is a hoax
Animals that are normal elsewhere but are quite strange to see in late 20th century Illinois:
- Panthers/cougars
- Lions
- Kangaroos??
- Alligators (in the sewers)
The Piasa Bird Legend
- This legend is taken from a large Native American painting of one (or two) strange bird creatures on a cliff face in Alton.
- Description: "The are as large as a calf; they have horns on their heads like those of a deer, a horrible look, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face somewhat like a man's, a body covered with scales, and so long a tail that winds all around the body, passing above the head and going between the legs, ending in a fish's tail."
- This is not really believed to be a real creature I think; at least not one that was in existence recently. There is a pretty cool Native American legend about tribe leaders catching and killing this bird, because it was eating people.
- However, in July 1836, John Russell visited a cave that Native American tradition held to be the bird's lair. Inside he found the floor of the cavern completely covered in human bones, including skulls. This is documented in "Records of Ancient Races in the Mississippi Valley" by William McAdams.
Thunderbirds!
- They are just extremely large birds that like to fly down and snatch farm animals and maybe little children
- First sightings began in 1948, latest one in 2003
- Famous Lawndale Thunderbird Attack: occurred in 1977 in Lawndale, Logan County. Two birds flew to a family's yard and one of them snatched a boy, flew with him for a couple dozen feet, then dropped him. The family called the police and the story became huge. Many sightings occurred after that.
- Someone said: "I doubted my sanity because it looked just like a prehistoric pterodactyl" LOL
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
- Someone went around Mattoon spraying mysterious paralyzing gas into people's homes. Interestingly enough, the same thing had happened eleven years ago in rural Virginia. People were also confused whether it was a man or a woman.
- The author of this book alleges that in 2002 he received a letter from a woman whose father grew up in Mattoon at that time. There were rumors that two sisters lived with a brother who was insane-- and also a chemistry student. Many people believed that despite the sisters' best efforts, he was causing the gas attacks until they were able to get him institutionalized. Then, the sisters carried out one or two more attacks just to keep suspicion off their brother.
Vampires.
- In America, most "vampire" attacks are traced to tuberculosis epidemics.
- One sighting in Mineral Point Wisconsin--> the "Mineral Point Vampire". Apparently this dude was six feet tall and "dressed like Dracula"?
- We got one IN Chicago-- someone in 1978 spotted a sinister-looking man DRESSED IN A LONG BLACK CAPE lurking near St. Casimir's Cemetery. this is quite funny to me like how dramatic can you be
- Spring Valley vampire- there is one pretty interesting account recorded in the book, but the author did not use a full name, which makes me think he got this information firsthand? I'm not sure how much there is on the internet. As a whole, the concept of vampires seems extremely implausible to me.
Ok that's it!! My favorites were probably the thunderbirds and the maybe-phantom kangaroos, I'd love to look into them more.
General rundown (for personal further reference):
Bigfoot
- Mostly seen in rural and southern IL, earliest reports began in 1883 and lasted all the way until 2005.
- Various names given to various sightings: Gooseville Bear, Farmer City Monster, Cole Hollow Road Monster aka Cohomo, DuPont Monster
The Big Muddy Monster
- Somehow not Bigfoot? but a lot like it; screams very loud and very scarily; lives in/near rivers; whitish fur.
- Disturbed Shetland ponies at the July 4 carnival
- First seen in June 1973, disappeared in the fall
The Enfield Horror
- Spotted in Enfield, IL, of course; also in 1973 for a short period of time
-Henry McDaniel of Enfield: "it had three legs on it, a short body, two little short arms coming out of its breast area, and two pink eyes as big as flashlights. It stood four and a half feet tall and was grayish-colored." so interesting
- Drew much public attention; apparently there's a tape recording of its sounds somewhere? though many say the whole thing is a hoax
Animals that are normal elsewhere but are quite strange to see in late 20th century Illinois:
- Panthers/cougars
- Lions
- Kangaroos??
- Alligators (in the sewers)
The Piasa Bird Legend
- This legend is taken from a large Native American painting of one (or two) strange bird creatures on a cliff face in Alton.
- Description: "The are as large as a calf; they have horns on their heads like those of a deer, a horrible look, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face somewhat like a man's, a body covered with scales, and so long a tail that winds all around the body, passing above the head and going between the legs, ending in a fish's tail."
- This is not really believed to be a real creature I think; at least not one that was in existence recently. There is a pretty cool Native American legend about tribe leaders catching and killing this bird, because it was eating people.
- However, in July 1836, John Russell visited a cave that Native American tradition held to be the bird's lair. Inside he found the floor of the cavern completely covered in human bones, including skulls. This is documented in "Records of Ancient Races in the Mississippi Valley" by William McAdams.
Thunderbirds!
- They are just extremely large birds that like to fly down and snatch farm animals and maybe little children
- First sightings began in 1948, latest one in 2003
- Famous Lawndale Thunderbird Attack: occurred in 1977 in Lawndale, Logan County. Two birds flew to a family's yard and one of them snatched a boy, flew with him for a couple dozen feet, then dropped him. The family called the police and the story became huge. Many sightings occurred after that.
- Someone said: "I doubted my sanity because it looked just like a prehistoric pterodactyl" LOL
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
- Someone went around Mattoon spraying mysterious paralyzing gas into people's homes. Interestingly enough, the same thing had happened eleven years ago in rural Virginia. People were also confused whether it was a man or a woman.
- The author of this book alleges that in 2002 he received a letter from a woman whose father grew up in Mattoon at that time. There were rumors that two sisters lived with a brother who was insane-- and also a chemistry student. Many people believed that despite the sisters' best efforts, he was causing the gas attacks until they were able to get him institutionalized. Then, the sisters carried out one or two more attacks just to keep suspicion off their brother.
Vampires.
- In America, most "vampire" attacks are traced to tuberculosis epidemics.
- One sighting in Mineral Point Wisconsin--> the "Mineral Point Vampire". Apparently this dude was six feet tall and "dressed like Dracula"?
- We got one IN Chicago-- someone in 1978 spotted a sinister-looking man DRESSED IN A LONG BLACK CAPE lurking near St. Casimir's Cemetery. this is quite funny to me like how dramatic can you be
- Spring Valley vampire- there is one pretty interesting account recorded in the book, but the author did not use a full name, which makes me think he got this information firsthand? I'm not sure how much there is on the internet. As a whole, the concept of vampires seems extremely implausible to me.
Ok that's it!! My favorites were probably the thunderbirds and the maybe-phantom kangaroos, I'd love to look into them more.
June 1, 2023
This was a very interesting read. While I was acquainted with some of the mysteries in my home state, I didn't know them all. I, of course, knew about the Piasa, having written a novel about it. And despite my having thoroughly researched this years ago and spent some time in Alton, Mr. Taylor mentioned things I was unaware of or he had additional facts in many instances. That leads me to believe he thoroughly knows his legends and mysteries. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the subject.
December 26, 2011
A interesting collection of unexplained activities that have occurred in Illinois. All though the author states that he will let the reader make up their own mind it is readily apparent that he is a true believer in most of the activities described in this book.
January 30, 2013
Lots of interesting stories, but too much "what could it have been (alien, ghost, etc.)?" at the end of each chapter.
I loved every story until he started his stupid speculations.
Great stories about Illinois Bigfoot, Big Muddy Mud Monster, Illinois thunderbirds and black panther sightngs.
I loved every story until he started his stupid speculations.
Great stories about Illinois Bigfoot, Big Muddy Mud Monster, Illinois thunderbirds and black panther sightngs.
September 12, 2018
Lake Michigan Sea Monster FTW
January 13, 2018
Having been raised in the fine state of Illinois, I can honestly say I have not heard any of the encounters described in this book. That said, I enjoy some good ol' mysterious phenomena, and was interested to read about reported incidents of such. The Big Cat sightings, Alligator reports, and Mad Gasser of Mattoon stories in particular felt fairly detailed and read as a cohesive collection of sightings and accounts.
This book has two things going for it: there are no made-up accounts as far as I can tell, and the reports given are not dramatized. The author often states that he would like to "leave it up to the reader" as to what a particular incident really was. That said, the author makes several gross and rather unnecessary speculations at the end of almost every chapter, the obvious purpose being to add tension and drive the reader's imagination. It's a bit jarring to begin a chapter reading, "It's up to the reader to determine whether this incident was the result of mass hysteria, overactive imaginations, or if there really was something to it", and then end with "Could this unexplainable sighting be the result of interdimensional travel? Aliens? A mad scientist with too much time on his hands? The authorities may deny it, but there's simply too much evidence to think otherwise!"
Quite frankly, it's interesting enough to read about big cat sightings, alligators in Chicago, and the occasional vampire sighting or gas attack without needing to dwell on just how unbelievable the story is. The chronological reports and links between sightings described in the book was good; tracing the various sightings year by year and town by town added a sort of momentum to the strangeness. However, if true, reliable reports of the out-of-the-ordinary are what the author is after, it is certainly not helpful to try and inspire this kind of rampant speculation. Overall, the book is neat for what it is: a collection of Illinois monster mysteries, from kangaroos to vampires. But the author's repetitive insistence does not add anything to it. Those parts could easily be swapped out with what wildlife experts, zoologists, mythologists, and other authorities have had to say about the matter.
This book has two things going for it: there are no made-up accounts as far as I can tell, and the reports given are not dramatized. The author often states that he would like to "leave it up to the reader" as to what a particular incident really was. That said, the author makes several gross and rather unnecessary speculations at the end of almost every chapter, the obvious purpose being to add tension and drive the reader's imagination. It's a bit jarring to begin a chapter reading, "It's up to the reader to determine whether this incident was the result of mass hysteria, overactive imaginations, or if there really was something to it", and then end with "Could this unexplainable sighting be the result of interdimensional travel? Aliens? A mad scientist with too much time on his hands? The authorities may deny it, but there's simply too much evidence to think otherwise!"
Quite frankly, it's interesting enough to read about big cat sightings, alligators in Chicago, and the occasional vampire sighting or gas attack without needing to dwell on just how unbelievable the story is. The chronological reports and links between sightings described in the book was good; tracing the various sightings year by year and town by town added a sort of momentum to the strangeness. However, if true, reliable reports of the out-of-the-ordinary are what the author is after, it is certainly not helpful to try and inspire this kind of rampant speculation. Overall, the book is neat for what it is: a collection of Illinois monster mysteries, from kangaroos to vampires. But the author's repetitive insistence does not add anything to it. Those parts could easily be swapped out with what wildlife experts, zoologists, mythologists, and other authorities have had to say about the matter.
April 29, 2019
Interesting
Having grown up in Illinois, I picked this book for its title alone. Only two of the stories in this book I have heard. Bigfoot sighted near the town I grew up in? Nope, never heard a word of it. Deer-man stories, yes. Bigfoot, no. Aside from that, it was an interesting read nonetheless.
Having grown up in Illinois, I picked this book for its title alone. Only two of the stories in this book I have heard. Bigfoot sighted near the town I grew up in? Nope, never heard a word of it. Deer-man stories, yes. Bigfoot, no. Aside from that, it was an interesting read nonetheless.
August 12, 2012
A lot of strange things in this state-outside politics.... Bigfoot sightings, The Piasa Bird, big cats, and The Mad Gasser of Mattoon. The Gasser is the one I heard of before....was it mass hysteria or was someone going around gassing people in their houses ( this was in the 40s) ? Some have even speculated that the Mad Gasser was an extraterrestial. I hope that aliens have better things to do than gassing people in a small town in Illinois.
September 6, 2016
Some things are so strange, they might actually be true.
August 16, 2022
Great read! Really interesting for us Illinois natives
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews