1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,400 Speaker 1: Hello, it's Richard mccleinsmith here with a quick update before 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:06,800 Speaker 1: we dive into today's episode. Unexplained is very excited to 3 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: be a part of Crime Wave at Sea this November, 4 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,600 Speaker 1: joining forces with some of the eeriest voices in the 5 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: world of true crime and the paranormal four Nights in 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,960 Speaker 1: the Caribbean, with amazing podcasts like Last Podcast on the Left, 7 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: Scared to Death and many more live shows, Meet and greets, 8 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: creepy Stories under the Stars and you can be there too, 9 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: but don't wait. Rooms are nearly sold out. Head to 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: Crimewave Atsea dot com forward slash Unexplained to grab your 11 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: fan coat and lock in your cabin. We'd love to 12 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: see you on board. The town of Van Meter sits 13 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: in Dallas County, Iowa, one of many small, once hopeful 14 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: community out in the wide flat middle of America. Today 15 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: it is easily missed by those barreling east or west 16 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: on the I eighty, though, were anyone to pull off 17 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:14,880 Speaker 1: the interstate, they may find a history far deeper and 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: more interesting than they might expect. Indigenous Americans had long 19 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,920 Speaker 1: made the area their home. Members of the Sac and 20 00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: Fox Nation hunted, fished, and settled along the banks of 21 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: the Raccoon River for centuries until an eighteen forty treaty 22 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,600 Speaker 1: come land grab with the U. S Government forced their relocation. 23 00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:43,199 Speaker 1: Van Meter's first colonial settlement began in eighteen forty seven 24 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: when brothers Lewis and Daniel Stump built a cabin there, 25 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: attracted by the area's natural and geological rewards. Soon another 26 00:01:53,520 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: pair of brothers, Levi and James Wright, would become their neighbours, 27 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: constructing their own cabin on the banks of the Raccoon. 28 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:08,919 Speaker 1: Before long, other adventurous pioneers joined them. Isolated cabins clustered 29 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: into accidental neighbourhoods. A church was built, and in eighteen 30 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: sixty eight, the newly extended railroad brought the first train 31 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: to what was then named Tracy, Iowa. The following year, 32 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: the budding town of four hundred and fifty people was 33 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: renamed van Meter, commemorating the early Dutch pioneer Jacob Rhodes 34 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,640 Speaker 1: van Meter, whose family had been instrumental in the early 35 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:39,000 Speaker 1: days of the community. Like many such towns in the 36 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: middle of the country, van Meter was born from localized industry. First, 37 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: it was mining. The van Meter shaft was sunk in 38 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy eight. Nearly three hundred feet deep, it tapped 39 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: a huge seam of coal and was regarded as a 40 00:02:55,560 --> 00:03:00,920 Speaker 1: model for successful mining nationwide. The traveling out of town 41 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: were loaded heavily with anthrokite, and in return came prosperity 42 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: and growth. Van Meter was suddenly on the map. In 43 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety three, the mine owners sought to further capitalize 44 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:18,680 Speaker 1: on their success, establishing the Plat Pressed Fire and Brick Company. 45 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: A factory located near to the mine transmuted the red 46 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:26,520 Speaker 1: clay from a mining byproduct to the raw material for 47 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: quality bricks and tiles. Even when the mine was closed 48 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:34,679 Speaker 1: in nineteen o two due to labour shortages and repeated strikes, 49 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: the factory continued to pump money into the town for decades. Nonetheless, 50 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:45,120 Speaker 1: Van Meter never really grew For much of the twentieth century, 51 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: its population numbered less than one thousand, and the twenty 52 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,560 Speaker 1: twenty census recorded only five hundred and thirteen households and 53 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:58,640 Speaker 1: four hundred families. It's a limited but relatively dense population 54 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: for a town covered only one point three square miles. 55 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: It's a small, quiet place, the kind of town that 56 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: some might derisively describe as one that epitomizes the flyover States, 57 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 1: a place of little importance or standing. They imagine nothing 58 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: of interest ever happens. But not only would that do 59 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: an immense disservice to its people, they would be wrong. 60 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: In nineteen oh three, something paid a visit to Van Meter, 61 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: and its brief presence would mark the town forever. You're 62 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:49,480 Speaker 1: listening to Unexplained and I'm Richard McLean Smith. Ulysses Griffith 63 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:54,159 Speaker 1: was the first person to see the visitor. A local 64 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 1: farm equipment trader, the thirty five year old Griffith served 65 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,880 Speaker 1: on the Van Meter Council and was a member of 66 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: both the Masonic Lodge and the Modern Woodman Society. He 67 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 1: was a highly respected member of the tiny community, considered 68 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 1: trustworthy and solid. In the early morning of Tuesday, September 69 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: twenty ninth, nineteen o three, Griffith was returning from a 70 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: long circuit of salesmanship around Dallas County. It had just 71 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: gone one a m. When he drove his new Model 72 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: a Ford down Main Street and drew to a brief 73 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: stop in the town center. Something had drawn his attention 74 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: to the roofline three stories up. An unexpected light beaming 75 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,360 Speaker 1: out from the top of a local business named Matha 76 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: and Greg, bright enough to cast shadows across the silent 77 00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: nighttime street. Concerned that he was witnessing a burglary in action, 78 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: Griffith eased the car forward to get a better look. 79 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: When the unexplained illumination appeared, leaped suddenly from the roof, 80 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:05,520 Speaker 1: clearing the entire street before landing on top of the 81 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: building opposite. What the hell, he said to himself as 82 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: he tried to focus in on what on earth he 83 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,599 Speaker 1: was looking at. The only thing Griffith knew was that 84 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,839 Speaker 1: whatever he was seeing, it wasn't burglar's because it couldn't 85 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: possibly have even been human. He tried again to inch 86 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: closer to the source of the light, but almost as 87 00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,159 Speaker 1: quickly as the brightness had appeared, it was gone. With 88 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:37,279 Speaker 1: nothing else to be done, Griffith retired to bed, no doubt, 89 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: exhausted from the day, but left restless in his curiosity 90 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: about its closing moments. The following day, he told several 91 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,239 Speaker 1: people about his strange sighting. Griffith was well regarded enough 92 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,960 Speaker 1: not to be dismissed, but in the bright morning sunshine, 93 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: his uncanny tail generated far more of amusement than anything 94 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: resembles fear. The following night, in a small bedroom behind 95 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 1: his office, Doctor Fred Orcot slept as storm winds buffeted 96 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: the town and rain spattered against the pine walls outside. 97 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: Neither woke him, Yet, just after one a m. He 98 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: was wrenched from sleep by a beam of intense light 99 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: shining through his window. Immediately alert, all Cock leapt from 100 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: his bed and reached for his gun. The light was 101 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: brighter than any torch he'd ever seen, and the doctor 102 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: had been awoken by enough nighttime emergencies to know that 103 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: this was no fellow citizen seeking his help. All Cock 104 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: rushed outside in his NightWare to confront whatever was making 105 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: such a blaze, and came face to face with a 106 00:07:50,840 --> 00:08:05,720 Speaker 1: sight that stopped him dead in his muddy tracks. Outside, 107 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: doctor Orcott squinted into the light beyond which he saw, 108 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 1: to his horror, a bizarre creature that he later described 109 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: as being half human and half animal. According to Allcot, 110 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: it stood eight or nine feet tall, with a huge 111 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: pair of bat like wings and a sharply protruding face, 112 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,560 Speaker 1: almost like a beak, and from the center of the 113 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:35,320 Speaker 1: creature's forehead jutted a single thick horn. It was this 114 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: appendage that seemed to be the source of the light. 115 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:43,480 Speaker 1: The man and whatever this other thing was stood only 116 00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: a few yards apart as the rain continued to lash down. 117 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: Scared for his life, Allcot raised his pistol and fired 118 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: five times at close range, but the winged creature showed 119 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: no sign of impact or injury. It merely stirred in 120 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:07,320 Speaker 1: passively watching, still emanating its strange light. Doctor Orcott beat 121 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: a fast retreat, diving back into the relative safety of 122 00:09:11,040 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: his office. Understandably terrified, Alcott hurriedly barred the door, then 123 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: rushed around, securely locking every window of his office and home. 124 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,440 Speaker 1: By the time he returned to the one facing the street, 125 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: there was no sign of the strange entity. Alcott shivered 126 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: in his damp night clothes as he secured the last 127 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: of the windows. He spent the rest of the night 128 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: trembling in bed, his pistol right beside him. The next day, 129 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: doctor Orcott told several people about his nighttime encounter, and, 130 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:51,040 Speaker 1: in the way of all small intimate communities, word quickly spread. 131 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: Some people scoffed, worried what it meant for the health 132 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,080 Speaker 1: of the town that the local doctor seemed to have 133 00:09:58,160 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: gone crazy. However, had caught wind of Ulysses Griffith's sighting 134 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,400 Speaker 1: just twenty four hours earlier, and they began to wander 135 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: two pillars of the community, each with an outlandish story 136 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:18,600 Speaker 1: what on earth was happening in Van Meter. One person 137 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: who treated the doctor's tale with special incredulity was twenty 138 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:27,079 Speaker 1: six year old Clarence Done, known as Peter to his friends. 139 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: Done was a man on an upward trajectory in van Meter. 140 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: Later in life, he would go on to manage the 141 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:39,480 Speaker 1: town's bank before becoming town treasurer, mayor and head of 142 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 1: the school district. On the evening of Thursday, October one, 143 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:47,720 Speaker 1: nineteen o three, however, Done was still a cashier in 144 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: the bank he would one day run, but as a 145 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,360 Speaker 1: committed member of the community and a loyal employee, he 146 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: felt a responsibility to protect both his town and place 147 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:03,439 Speaker 1: of employment. Was convinced that Griffith and Orcott had misconstrued 148 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:08,439 Speaker 1: criminal activity in van Meter. Because the strange sightings had 149 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,320 Speaker 1: been made around the same time each night downtown. It 150 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,440 Speaker 1: made sense to Done that they were simply part of 151 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: an orchestrated plot by thieves to rob local businesses, and 152 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: so one night, instead of clocking off for work, Done 153 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:28,960 Speaker 1: armed himself with a shotgun full of buckshot and settled 154 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: down in the middle of the bank's small foyer and 155 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 1: waited for the robbers to appear outside the bank. It 156 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:46,160 Speaker 1: was an overcast night, and the shadows were in constant 157 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:50,360 Speaker 1: flux as the clouds shifted across a bright half moon. 158 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 1: Clarence Done was on edge. After all, it's no small 159 00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 1: feat preparing to face thieves in the night with no 160 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: knock of just how dangerous they might be. For the 161 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: first few hours, at least, he took solace in the 162 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:10,560 Speaker 1: presence of all the townsfolk, still going about their day 163 00:12:10,679 --> 00:12:15,840 Speaker 1: in the street outside, heading home from work or evening drinks. 164 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 1: But as midnight ticked past, both the dark and the 165 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 1: silence of the night settled deeper. Done gripped the gun 166 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: tighter in his hands. It had just gone one when 167 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: Done was suddenly distracted by a strange rustling at the 168 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,920 Speaker 1: front window. He raised his gun, only for the noise 169 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:41,360 Speaker 1: to then change to something far more disturbing. He later 170 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:45,040 Speaker 1: described it as a gurgling, choking sound, as if some 171 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: person or other animal was gasping for air. Just then, 172 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: from only meters away, a bright light struck through the window. 173 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,360 Speaker 1: It landed first on Done, dazzling him for a moment 174 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 1: before swinging left and right like a spotlight from a 175 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: watch tower. As his eyes readjusted, Done saw, to his 176 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:12,360 Speaker 1: immense alarm the shadowy bulk of an inexplicable creature beyond 177 00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:16,880 Speaker 1: the glass. Then the light swung back round and fixed 178 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:21,400 Speaker 1: once more Undone. In a panic, he raised the shotgun 179 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:25,839 Speaker 1: to his shoulder and fired. Though they were separated by 180 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:30,880 Speaker 1: the window pane, the shot was practically point blank, with 181 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: a deafening blast, The shot shattered the glass and ripped 182 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:38,920 Speaker 1: the wooden sash free, But just like doctor Orcott's bullets, 183 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,000 Speaker 1: the buckshot seemed to have no effect on the creature 184 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:46,360 Speaker 1: at all. Stunned by what he had seen, Done none 185 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: the less righted himself and rushed to the door, But 186 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: in the seconds it took him to spill outside, the 187 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 1: winged figure had already disappeared. He scanned the street, but 188 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:02,360 Speaker 1: saw nothing. Whether he thought to look up in the 189 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 1: air or not, we shall never know. Understandably, Shaken and 190 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,680 Speaker 1: well passed the limit of what company loyalty could demand, 191 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 1: Done went home to his family. Six hours later, at 192 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:18,920 Speaker 1: the first light of dawn, Dun returned to the bank, 193 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: determined to find evidence of the strange thing he'd encountered. 194 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:26,840 Speaker 1: He arrived to find the remains of the damage he'd caused, 195 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: half spilling out into the street, but there was no 196 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: blood to be seen anywhere. Then, finally, imprinted in the 197 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:38,240 Speaker 1: mud at the base of the boardwalk, he apparently found 198 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: what he was looking for, a three toed track bird 199 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: like in configuration, only much much bigger than any bird 200 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: he'd ever seen before. Dun made a plaster cast of 201 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 1: the claw marks and displayed it to anyone who would listen. 202 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: On that cloudy fall day, the most residents of Van Meter, 203 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:05,040 Speaker 1: like millions of other Americans, were well distracted because October one, 204 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: nineteen o three, just happened to be the day in 205 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 1: which the first game of the modern Baseball World Series 206 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: took place. All ears were turned to radios, temporarily deaf 207 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 1: to the growing anxiety of those few in Van Meter 208 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 1: who knew something very strange should come to their town soon, 209 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:36,880 Speaker 1: though everyone would have reason to listen later that evening, 210 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,360 Speaker 1: a few hours after the Pittsburgh Pirates had beaten the 211 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:43,640 Speaker 1: Boston Americans in the first game of the World Series. 212 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:47,680 Speaker 1: The citizens of Van Meter slumbered under a light fall 213 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: drizzle in a room above Fisher and White, the town 214 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: hardware store. The proprietor, mister White, was woken from sleep 215 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:02,480 Speaker 1: by a loud, scraping noise outside. His startled, he reached 216 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: immediately for his gun, instinctively worried that a robbery might 217 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: be taking place, But then a whole other, terrifying thought 218 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: entered his mind. Had the creature now come to pay 219 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: him a visit. Gathering his thoughts, he decided against rushing 220 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: outside or firing indiscriminately as others had done, and instead 221 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: quietly made his way to the casement window, gently slid 222 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: it open, and peered out into the dark. At first 223 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: he saw nothing, but as its gaze landed on a 224 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 1: telegraph pole at the corner of Main Street, he saw, 225 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,120 Speaker 1: with a sickening lurch in the pit of his stomach, 226 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: standing on top of it, statue like was the exact 227 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: same creature that he'd heard so much about over the 228 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: previous days, And, just as Peter had done had reported 229 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: the night before, a light seemed to be emanating from 230 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:04,160 Speaker 1: its head, ringing pendulously up and down the street. Mister 231 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:08,520 Speaker 1: White steadily took aim when suddenly the light landed right 232 00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: on his face. Without thinking, the shopkeeper pulled the trigger, 233 00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 1: but once more, the gun had no effect on the visitor, 234 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,840 Speaker 1: as it would later be named. Instead, it seemed as 235 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 1: if the shot had merely served to wake it up. 236 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: To mister White's horror, it then began to slowly descend 237 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 1: the pole down to the street. At this point. In 238 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 1: some tellings of the tale, mister White was said to 239 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: be rendered almost insensible by a putrid smell emanating from 240 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: the creature, after which White claimed to have no further 241 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:48,440 Speaker 1: memory of the evening's events. If that all sounds a 242 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: little bit far fetched, it's worth knowing that, incredibly, there 243 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: was another witness to this event across the street from 244 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: mister White and its hardware store, Sydney Gregg, just happened 245 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: to be gazing out of his window when he saw 246 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 1: White appear with its gun. After hearing shots, Greg frantically 247 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: scanned the street to try and see what an earth 248 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,320 Speaker 1: mister White had fired at that's when he too saw 249 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 1: the same shadowy form sliding down the telegraph pole. Greg 250 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 1: described its movements as parrot like and that it used 251 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: its elongated, beaked appendage for extra traction. He estimated the 252 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:32,439 Speaker 1: thing to be at least eight feet tall, and, like 253 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:36,640 Speaker 1: other witnesses, was amazed by the sprawl of featherless wings 254 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:50,320 Speaker 1: that stretched out from its back. When the creature got 255 00:18:50,359 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: to the ground, it beat its wings once with a 256 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,480 Speaker 1: whip crack of air. Then it swept its bizarre light 257 00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:02,200 Speaker 1: around once more. It was as bright, Greg said, as 258 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:05,880 Speaker 1: the headlights on the brand new automobiles he sometimes saw 259 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:10,439 Speaker 1: around town. The young man watched dumbfound it as the 260 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,679 Speaker 1: creature loped down Main Street, hopping like an injured kangaroo. 261 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:19,360 Speaker 1: Greg continued to watch with terror as it stopped right 262 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,320 Speaker 1: outside its property, less than a dozen feet away and 263 00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:27,080 Speaker 1: only a single story below him. Then it turned to 264 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:30,879 Speaker 1: face him. Greg had just enough time to feel the 265 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,640 Speaker 1: rush of fear before the early morning mail train came 266 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:38,360 Speaker 1: ripping along the tracks parallel to Main Street and spooted 267 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:42,679 Speaker 1: the animal. The creature dropped quickly to all fours and 268 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:47,240 Speaker 1: started to run, then popped out its wings and took 269 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 1: flight Sydney. Greg kept his eyes firmly fixed on the 270 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:55,680 Speaker 1: creature's dimming light as it flew off toward the old 271 00:19:55,800 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 1: coal mine on the edge of town. By the time 272 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: in Friday October two dawned, heavy and humid, van Meter 273 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:08,200 Speaker 1: was a wash with anxious rumors, not least of all 274 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,520 Speaker 1: because there'd been rumblings about strange goings on at the 275 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 1: mine for some time. The van Meter Brick and Tile 276 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,800 Speaker 1: Factory was situated close to the now defunct mine shaft 277 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,440 Speaker 1: for the past few days. When the factory day crew 278 00:20:23,560 --> 00:20:27,480 Speaker 1: returned from their shift, they brought tales of ominous sounds 279 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: emanating from the mouth of the pit. One worker described 280 00:20:32,280 --> 00:20:35,680 Speaker 1: it as though Satan and a regiment of his imps 281 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 1: were preparing for battle. So when Sydney Gregg revealed that 282 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: he'd seen the creature flying off in that direction, it 283 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:47,760 Speaker 1: was easy to draw a connection. The people of van 284 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: Meter began to wonder if the mine that had once 285 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:54,240 Speaker 1: served so well as the beating heart of their town 286 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:58,160 Speaker 1: had now become the nesting place for something hell bent 287 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: on attacking it. The following night, the brick and tile 288 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,640 Speaker 1: factory's chief operator, J. L. Platt, was working a late 289 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,920 Speaker 1: shift when at some time around one a m. He 290 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:13,480 Speaker 1: heard the strange noises again emanating from the edge of 291 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:17,359 Speaker 1: the mine shaft. Like many of his men. He'd heard 292 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: the noises several times during the previous days, but this 293 00:21:21,320 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: was different. No longer faint as they had been before, 294 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 1: the noises now sounded much closer, as if whatever was 295 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:34,240 Speaker 1: making the rattling, gasping, growling sounds was no longer in 296 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:37,640 Speaker 1: the bowels of the mine, but just below the surface. 297 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:43,240 Speaker 1: Platt peered into the open mouth of the shaft, only 298 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,600 Speaker 1: able to see a few feet before darkness and the 299 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:51,679 Speaker 1: twists of the seam obscured things. Suddenly, without any warning, 300 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:56,240 Speaker 1: something large burst from the mine. It all happened too 301 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: fast and hectically for Platt to notice any details other 302 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: than its gigantic size and its odd half human shape. 303 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: As Platt recoiled, stumbling away and blinded by a bright light, 304 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,040 Speaker 1: he then saw another smaller figure emerge from the shaft 305 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: before shooting up into the sky. As it happened. J. L. 306 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 1: Platt wasn't the only witness to the sudden appearance of 307 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:34,119 Speaker 1: two creatures escaping the mine, with the brick and Tile 308 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 1: factory only a few hundred yards away. Having heard the commotion, 309 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 1: more than a dozen colleagues came rushing over to investigate, 310 00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: just in time. To see the creatures disappear into the night. 311 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:52,640 Speaker 1: Many of them later reported the now familiar features illuminated horns, 312 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 1: beak like faces, and those broad bat like wings. Astonished 313 00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,919 Speaker 1: by what they'd say, the men promptly stopped work and 314 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 1: went straight home to report their sighting, and, as is 315 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: so often the case when a community feels under threat, 316 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:16,240 Speaker 1: a posse soon materialized. As a heavy rain began to fall, 317 00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: the men of van Meter gathered on main Street, many 318 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:24,000 Speaker 1: of them armed with rifles and shotguns, and promptly set 319 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:28,200 Speaker 1: out together for the mine. In their wake, the remaining 320 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: people of van Meter turned on all the lights around town, 321 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:37,400 Speaker 1: both in solidarity and out of fear. Walking out into 322 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:41,000 Speaker 1: the surrounding scrub in the dark, their backs turned to 323 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:44,080 Speaker 1: the lights of home, the men must have felt like 324 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: ships sailing out into the night. It wasn't long before 325 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:51,720 Speaker 1: the posse reached the old mine, where they formed a 326 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:55,680 Speaker 1: loose curve around its entrance. The plan was to either 327 00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,399 Speaker 1: trap the creatures inside or keep them out if they 328 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:03,520 Speaker 1: were still yet to return. As the hours passed by, 329 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:07,600 Speaker 1: the men grew more nervous and disheartened as the cold 330 00:24:07,720 --> 00:24:12,919 Speaker 1: rain crept through their oilskins and soaked their clothes steadily. 331 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:16,600 Speaker 1: One by one, many in the group grew bored and 332 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,320 Speaker 1: headed back to bed. By the time dawn broke just 333 00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 1: after five forty five, only a handful of the makeshift 334 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:29,560 Speaker 1: company remained at their post. Just then, someone shouted out 335 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: in alarm, pointing to the sky, and there, against the 336 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: weak dawnlight, a peculiar figure could be seen coming towards them. 337 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:43,719 Speaker 1: Behind that a smaller iteration of the same thing, just 338 00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:48,680 Speaker 1: as Platte had reported stealing themselves. Each of the men 339 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:53,840 Speaker 1: grabbed their weapons, and, taking aim, fired at the approaching duo. 340 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,080 Speaker 1: The blast was loud enough to be heard all the 341 00:24:57,119 --> 00:25:01,360 Speaker 1: way back in Van Meter, but the teachers didn't flinch 342 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:06,000 Speaker 1: and responded with their own unearthly noises As they drew 343 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:10,280 Speaker 1: ever closer to the mine. The men took aim and 344 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:14,920 Speaker 1: fired again, but could only watch, bewildered and impotent, as 345 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:19,199 Speaker 1: both creatures casually proceeded through the hail of bullets and 346 00:25:19,359 --> 00:25:30,040 Speaker 1: disappeared once more into the mine. With nothing else to 347 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 1: do and understandably unwilling to give chase into the darkness 348 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: of the mine, what was left of the Van Meter 349 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:43,360 Speaker 1: posse dispersed. Most returned to town while an unlucky few had 350 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:46,439 Speaker 1: no other choice but to go to their Saturday shift 351 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: at the factory, and no doubt kept a wary eye 352 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:54,160 Speaker 1: on the mine shaft throughout the day. Back in Van Meter, 353 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,120 Speaker 1: it was decided that the only reasonable response was to 354 00:25:58,119 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: wall up the mine as quickly as possible, in the 355 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 1: hope of trapping the visitors in their burrow forever. It's 356 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: not known if the townspeople manage this feat before another 357 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: night set in. H. H. Phillips, the local postmaster, who 358 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:17,960 Speaker 1: published an account of this strange event in the Des 359 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 1: Moines Register, does not go into detail on the attempted barricade, 360 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:25,720 Speaker 1: so we are left to wonder whether the visitor was 361 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: trapped or whether it had the chance to fly free 362 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: along with its companion. And what of that companion? Was 363 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,800 Speaker 1: it a mate or an offspring? Could it be there 364 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:41,920 Speaker 1: was even a breeding population somewhere out in the flatlands 365 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:47,159 Speaker 1: of Iowa. The van meet a visitor is treated, like 366 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:51,679 Speaker 1: most small town monsters, as a gimmick, a tourist trap, 367 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:55,199 Speaker 1: and a chance to celebrate and sell the quirks of 368 00:26:55,280 --> 00:27:00,440 Speaker 1: those small towns they come from. Since twenty thirteen, has 369 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: hosted the annual than Meet Visitor festival with walking tours, 370 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,760 Speaker 1: games and lectures on crypto zoology. It's a way to 371 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:13,440 Speaker 1: remember the law while presenting it as a safe, half 372 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:18,080 Speaker 1: humorous nod to a more credulous era in American life. 373 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:22,560 Speaker 1: But no amount of marketing can fully defang the legend 374 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,359 Speaker 1: of the Visitor, because that week in late September and 375 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,840 Speaker 1: early October of nineteen o three is far from the 376 00:27:29,880 --> 00:27:33,640 Speaker 1: only time that something odd has flown through the local 377 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 1: Midwestern skies. For centuries, the Indigenous people of the Upper 378 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:50,920 Speaker 1: Midwest shared tales of the thunderbird, a giant avian creature 379 00:27:51,240 --> 00:27:55,120 Speaker 1: that could create thunderstorms and fire lightning from its eyes. 380 00:27:56,200 --> 00:28:01,160 Speaker 1: Though tribal traditions differ, those features remain consistent, and perhaps 381 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:05,560 Speaker 1: it is worth remembering the unexpectedly vicious storms that came 382 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:09,000 Speaker 1: to van Meter on almost every night of that fateful 383 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:14,640 Speaker 1: week in eighteen ninety, thirteen years before the Van Meet visitation, 384 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:20,199 Speaker 1: townspeople in Independence, another small Iowan town, claimed to have 385 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: seen something large with wings, horns, and an alligator shaped 386 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:30,440 Speaker 1: snout on the outskirts of town. When confronted, it made 387 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:35,240 Speaker 1: a terrible rattling, roaring noise, and its eyes gave off 388 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:41,360 Speaker 1: electrical light. In the states neighboring Iowa, sightings of oversized 389 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:46,160 Speaker 1: flying creatures were even more common. In eighteen sixty eight, 390 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,640 Speaker 1: an eight year old named Jemmy Kenney was said to 391 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,480 Speaker 1: have been killed by a huge bird. The boy was 392 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: snatched from his school yard in Tipper County, Missouri and 393 00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,800 Speaker 1: dragged into the air before being dropped to his death. 394 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,120 Speaker 1: His teacher described the bird's talons as having torn into 395 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:11,560 Speaker 1: the child's flesh. Over a century later, in nineteen seventy seven, 396 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 1: a similar terror would strike ten year old Marlon Lowe 397 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:20,720 Speaker 1: in Lawndale, Illinois. This time, the boy was attacked by 398 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:24,200 Speaker 1: what were described as a pair of nine foot bird 399 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:30,000 Speaker 1: like things. As his horrified mother watched screaming. Marlon was 400 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 1: dragged thirty feet before being dropped. This time, however, thankfully, 401 00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: the boy survived. Tales of similar encounters are so numerous 402 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,959 Speaker 1: over the decades they've given rise to a whole specific 403 00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: category of cryptid becoming known as Ioware dragons. Back in 404 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,479 Speaker 1: van Meter, there are some who still don't consider that 405 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,680 Speaker 1: strange week of nineteen o three to be the end 406 00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: of things there either. In nineteen eighty, a man walking 407 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,440 Speaker 1: his dog by the old mine claimed to have seen 408 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:09,480 Speaker 1: what he described as a large winged man flying out 409 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 1: of the shaft, and as recently as two thousand and six, 410 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: the local pastor, driving back from Colfax, about thirty miles 411 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 1: from Van Meter, claimed he was followed by a flying 412 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 1: dragon like creature which hovered above his car for a 413 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:29,160 Speaker 1: short time before flying away at the edge of town. 414 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 1: To this day, many questions remain, and with so many 415 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: recorded encounters that stretch back centuries, there is one, perhaps 416 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: that are nerves above all others, the possibility that the 417 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: people of Van Meter got it wrong when naming their 418 00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: local monster. It isn't it that is the visitor. It 419 00:30:53,160 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 1: is us. This episode was written by Neil mac robert 420 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:07,640 Speaker 1: and produced by me Richard mc lean smith. Neil is 421 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: the creator and host of his own brilliant podcast called 422 00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:14,920 Speaker 1: Talking Scared, in which he discusses the craft of horror, 423 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:18,680 Speaker 1: writing with every one from to Nanaeve Do to the 424 00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:22,840 Speaker 1: god of horror himself, Stephen King, I can't recommend it 425 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:27,360 Speaker 1: highly enough. Thank you as ever for listening. Unexplained as 426 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 1: an Avy Club Productions podcast created by Richard mc lean smith. 427 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,120 Speaker 1: All other elements of the podcast, including the music, are 428 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:39,240 Speaker 1: also produced by me Richard mc lean smith. Unexplained. The 429 00:31:39,240 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 1: book and audiobook is now available to buy worldwide. You 430 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:48,080 Speaker 1: can purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. 431 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: Please subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get 432 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,120 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and feel free to get in touch with 433 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,240 Speaker 1: any thoughts or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on 434 00:31:57,280 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: the show. 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