STATE FILE · PA
Cryptids of Pennsylvania
What cryptids are in Pennsylvania? The best-known are Bigfoot, Thunderbird, Jersey Devil and Tommyknockers, among 6 on file.
Pennsylvania’s steep, forested ridges and valleys – from the Allegheny National Forest in the northwest to the Laurel Highlands and the vast state forests of the north-central “Pennsylvania Wilds” – make it one of the busiest Bigfoot states in the East. Westmoreland County investigator Stan Gordon documented a remarkable wave of reports in 1973, when residents described large hairy creatures and strange lights in the sky, and the same county is home to Kecksburg, where a fireball and a reported crash in December 1965 inspired a long-running UFO festival.
Cryptids reported in Pennsylvania
HOMINID · 1958
Bigfoot
Pacific Northwest forests, reported across North America
North America’s most famous cryptid: a huge, hairy, upright ape-like being reported from the Pacific Northwest to Florida since the 1958 “Bigfoot” tracks.
WIDELY REPORTED
FLYING · Pre-colonial
Thunderbird
Northern Pennsylvania mountains and central Illinois
A giant bird with a wingspan said to rival a small plane, reported over Pennsylvania’s Black Forest and blamed for lifting an Illinois boy in 1977.
REGIONAL LEGEND
FLYING · 1735
Jersey Devil
Pine Barrens, southern New Jersey
A winged, hoofed devil said to have been born to “Mother Leeds” in the Pine Barrens, and the star of a week of panic across South Jersey in January 1909.
REGIONAL LEGEND HUMANOID · 1820sTommyknockers
Gold and silver mines of Colorado’s Front Range, around Idaho Springs and Central City
Little mine spirits brought from Cornwall to the American West, said to knock in Colorado’s gold and silver mines – warning, teasing or guiding the miners.
FOLKLORE
OTHER · 1910
Squonk
Hemlock forests of Pennsylvania, near Mont Alto
A warty, miserable creature of Pennsylvania’s hemlock woods that weeps constantly and, if caught, dissolves into tears – a lumberjack tall tale.
FOLKLORE
HOMINID · 1890s
Albatwitch
Chickies Rock, Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
A small, apple-loving ‘little Bigfoot’ said to lurk in the treetops around Chickies Rock above the Susquehanna River in Columbia, Pennsylvania.
LOCAL LEGENDThe legends of Pennsylvania
The state is also the center of modern Thunderbird lore. In the Black Forest of Potter and Clinton counties, writers such as Robert Lyman recorded accounts of enormous dark birds with wingspans said to rival small aircraft, and reports have continued sporadically since. Ornithologists suggest misjudged turkey vultures, eagles and herons, whose size is easy to overestimate against an empty sky.
Pennsylvania’s lumber camps contributed one of the gentler “fearsome critters” of American folklore: the squonk, a shy, warty creature of the hemlock forests said to dissolve into tears when caught, first written up by William T. Cox in 1910. Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County has a monster nickname of its own, “Raystown Ray.” The Jersey Devil also strays across the Delaware River: during the January 1909 scare, Philadelphia-area residents reported tracks and sightings too. Skeptics point to black bears – the state has a large population – and to hoaxes and wishful thinking.
Hotspots
Northwestern Pennsylvania’s large national forest with frequent Bigfoot reports.
Remote north-central woodland at the heart of Pennsylvania’s Thunderbird stories.
Ridge country of the 1973 Bigfoot and UFO wave.
Village of the 1965 UFO incident and its annual festival.
The “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania,” amid the remote Pennsylvania Wilds.
Sightings timeline
- 1820sKnockers cross the Atlantic Tommyknockers
Welsh and Cornish immigrant miners brought stories of knockers – their warning taps and their thefts of unattended tools and food – to Pennsylvania’s mines.
- Around the 1890s“Albatwitch hunts” Albatwitch
According to historian Chris Vera, local newspapers of the period describe campers going on Albatwitch hunts – perhaps a practical joke on visitors, like a snipe hunt.
- 1910<em>Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods</em> Squonk
William T. Cox published the first description of the squonk, including the tale of J. P. Wentling’s capture near Mont Alto. The book collected tall tales told by loggers across the country.
- 1922Hiram Cranmer’s first sighting Thunderbird
Retired postmaster Hiram Cranmer said he first saw a giant bird this year and reported several more over the following decades, mostly in northern Clinton and southern Potter counties. He became the region’s best-known thunderbird advocate.
- 1939<em>Fearsome Critters</em> Squonk
Henry H. Tryon’s book retold the squonk legend with new details, helping keep the lumberjack critters alive for a new generation.
- 1976Genesis records “Squonk” Squonk
The British rock band included a song named after the creature on A Trick of the Tail, spreading the obscure Pennsylvania legend worldwide.
- June 2012Campers in Chapman Township Thunderbird
Two girls camping in the Pennsylvania Wilds said a bird with an estimated 14-foot wingspan and a bare head swooped low over their camp. No further sightings followed.
- 2025Albatwitch Day’s eleventh year Albatwitch
The festival, organized around the Columbia Historic Preservation Society’s retelling of the legend, marked its eleventh year with talks, trolley rides to Chickies Rock and apple-themed treats. Organizers estimate 3,000 to 8,000 visitors a year.
Latest from Pennsylvania
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Videos
ARCHIVE.ORG3:07
Patterson–Gimlin film (unedited)
Roger Patterson and Bob GimlinThe original 1967 Bluff Creek footage – the most famous and most debated minute in Bigfoot history. Marked public domain on archive.org.
ARCHIVE.ORG4:59
The Film That Made Bigfoot A Star
Oregon Public BroadcastingOPB’s short documentary on how the Patterson–Gimlin film turned a regional legend into a global icon – and the hoax claims around it.
▶ VIDEO
Sts’ailes Sasquatch Days in Harrison Hot Springs
Tourism Harrison River ValleyShows the festival celebrating the Sts’ailes people’s Sásq’ets, the being behind the word “Sasquatch” (no archive.org equivalent).
ARCHIVE.ORG1:33
John Huffer Thunderbird Footage
John Huffer (Internet Archive upload)The original July 1977 Illinois film of large birds that many cryptozoologists cite – judge for yourself whether they are vultures.