Above illustration of creature by Missy Leigh Sterling.

In the first half, author Missy Leigh Sterling joined Richard Syrett (Twitter) to relate the encounter that challenged her understanding of the world and changed her life forever. While driving home in a rural area one night several years ago, she said, a strange and horrifying being appeared in the road in front of her. Sterling described this creature as a translucent-skinned, hairless, and "insanely thin" humanoid without distinctive facial features except for a gaping mouth and massive black eyes. After making eye contact with her, the creature ran away with an eerie scream. More recently, she claimed, she actually spotted the creature again from her car, this time with her mother next to her.

Initially, Sterling was somewhat relieved to learn of similar stories by others describing very closely the being she saw: what some called a rake or a pale crawler. But it was also apparent that a number of people online were dismissive —even hostile— in their skepticism. One piece of evidence Sterling found to be credible, for example, was video footage of the creature taken with a trail camera. Because of the disinformation online surrounding the video's origin, she was accused of fabricating her own encounter, however. Undeterred, Sterling has determined that the trail cam footage is genuine, and at any rate, stands by her story.

****************

In response to Richard's invitation to share their own cryptid encounters, Chance in Florida claimed he's had "myriad" such experiences. In one, he spotted a huge panther-wolf creature on his property; in another, he tracked what he believed to be a female Bigfoot and was even able to snap a photo. Dave in Oklahoma told of a giant doglike creature, resembling those depicted in ancient Egyptian art and "about the size of a deer," he saw on a fishing trip. Although his interest was piqued, he went on, he was glad when the animal disappeared without a trace.

Stephen in Washington offered his own accounts of sighting unusual and otherworldly beings. They included a thunderbird, a giant jaguar, a Kraken, and numerous UFOs. He also told the story of a hiking trip to Mount Rainier when he was confronted by a dogman. Calling from Wisconsin, Richard recounted an outing where a yellowish light floated about his campsite, frightening him and his girlfriend.