Philadelphia Weirdness

More Beastly Legends!

Philly may not be heavily populated by bizarre creatures, let alone by tales of such beasts, but those counties that surround the area have harbored some truly weird monsters, or at least the folklore surrounding them.

In 1919 at Schuylkill County's Broad Top Mountain, legend persisted that a snake measuring more than forty feet had taken up residence. The creature was mentioned in Janet & Colin Bord's 1989 book Modern Mysteries Of The World, in which they stated: "There have been numerous sightings of giant snakes in America...although it is likely that a good proportion of them are escaped pets..." The creature was said to inhabit the coal-mine shafts during cold weather, and legend has it that the snake was first reported by hikers in the area and had been seen intermittently up until the '80s— but surely it wasn't the same snake?

A big snake was also said to loiter in the Lower Tumbling Run Dam in Schuylkill. This legend dates back to the 1830s, when the dam was built. Many fishermen inhabited the log cabins so as to fish for the local "monster," a creature resembling a snake or serpent and said to measure around fifteen-feet in length. Of course, the elusive creature never made an appearance.

In the September of 1969, a strange creature was seen in Delaware and reported to police. Eye-witnesses saw a black animal standing no more than three-feet high with a two-foot long tail. The tail was tapered and curled. The strange thing about the animal was that it leaped and hopped, like a kangaroo or wallaby, and it left tracks measuring four inches long, but a search for the critter proved fruitless. It is possible that witnesses had in fact seen a coati, which can walk briefly on their hind legs—although across the US reports of what have become known as "phantom kangaroos" are consistent even if the animals are rarely caught, like so many mystery beasts that make up so many of Philly's weirdest legends.

Photo by abbamouse on flickr

Sources: Janet & Colin Bord - Modern Mysteries Of The World (1989)
Pottstown Republican & Evening Herald (2002)