Media Article # 255
Article submitted by Jim Burgtorf

Monday, October 29, 2001

Stories of Mysterious Ohio Creatures

Akron Ohio Beacon Journal

Stories of mysterious Ohio creatures that have shown up in newspaper accounts or books:

The Minerva Monster

In August 1978, hunters with high-powered rifles, hunting dogs and lots of beer stalked a creature in a wooded area off U.S. 30 behind the home of a Paris Township family.

The beast was reported to be more than 6 feet tall and 300 pounds, covered in dark, matted hair. It was said to have shown up often at the home of Herbert and Evelyn Cayton -- so often that their daughter considered it a pet.

One night, it stood at their kitchen window, directly under a security light. Stark County deputies who investigated the sightings said they were not a hoax. Years later, they said they could still not identify the hair samples. The animal was never found.

The Kenmore Grassman

In 1995, Bigfoot researchers from Cincinnati came to Akron to check out claims of some local residents who said an unusual creature inhabited a swampy area off Manchester Road. They called it ``The Grassman.''

One local resident said the creature has been around for at least 30 years, and he'd seen footprints left by the animal many times as he camped and fished the canal in his childhood. Investigators said they indeed made a cast of a three-toed footprint.

Another resident told the investigators that in 1988, he actually spotted the creature and it easily weighed 300 pounds.

Kenmore's celebrity has since been featured in Bigfoot in Ohio: Encounters with the Grassman, by Christopher L. Murphy. The 1997 paperback lists other sightings in 41 of Ohio's 88 counties, including Summit, Portage, Stark and Cuyahoga.

The book includes a picture of an igloo-shaped shelter constructed of branches and brush that some believe to be the Grassman's home.

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