Woman Reports 2006 Sighting of 'Man with Bat-like Features' on Desolate Stretch of Road in Southern Wisconsin

Lon Strickler of Phantoms and Monsters received a report recently from a witness who said she was riding with her husband and his two children on a desolate stretch of Highway 59 near Road X in Southern Wisconsin, when they saw a "man with bat-like features" flying near their vehicle.  The sighting reportedly took place around 9:30 p.m. on the night of either July 15th or 16th in 2006.

First of all, I would like to thank you for your site. Here I don't feel ridiculed telling my story. Even if I am, I don't care what the sceptics [sic] think. I know what I saw, and it is the truth.

In July, 2006, on the 15th or 16th, my husband and I were in the process of moving from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to a small area between Whitewater and Eagle WI. It was about 9:30 PM, and there was a bright full moon in a clear sky.

We were travelling down Highway 59 East, past Eagle, turning onto Road X...a somewhat desolate stretch. A thin band of trees are on each side of the road, with open fields behind them. This area is about 18 miles approximately east of Whitewater, located between Eagle and North Prairie, WI.

My husband was driving, his two young children in the back seat, I believe asleep. Suddenly swooping over the trees on our left, lowering down in front of the car windshield, then upwards again over the treetops to our right, gliding at a slow ascent over the field, was what I would describe as man with bat-like features, flying like a bat.

This creature was as real as you and I are. We had a very close up look at it. It was long, 6-7 feet in length. I say length, because it was flying sideways, looking into the car, much like doing the side-stroke. It was a dark grey, very leathery skin, one wing kind of tucked into its side (the one facing the ground) and the other flapping while it flew. The wing was huge, and exactly like a bats. What got me the most were the eyes. They were very round. Where the whites would be, looked rhuemy, the best way to describe it. The irises were of a very pale blue. I was not afraid. I was astounded, amazed, and even excited. My husband was shook up, and would not stop when I asked him to. The kids were in the car.

I hope this will also bring more people forward who have seen this mystery creature, or other creatures as well. I was reading recently online of a woman in Minot, WI, who in about 1960, also had seen a creature of this description. I notice that some who have witnessed this, compare it to the creature from the movie, "Jeepers Creepers." There are definitely similarities. I had never seen the movie yet, prior to my sighting.

Strickler noted that the sighting took place near a wilderness area known for unusual activity, and that the creature in question had features idiosyncratic to the majority of other flying humanoid sightings.

"This sighting was on the edge of the Kettle-Moraine Low Prairie State Natural Area," Strickler said.  "The pale blue eyes and the sideways flight using one wing, is quite interesting. Out of all the sightings I have received over the years, these characteristics are unique. Another example of how bizarre and mysterious these beings really are."

In addition to its proximity to the Kettle-Moraine natural area, which is roughly two miles west, the sighting location is about 25 miles west of Lake Michigan and 75 miles northwest of Chicago.

Contrary to the witness's testimony, historical weather data shows that while the skies were clear on those days in 2006, the moon—which was waning gibbous—did not rise until 11:21 p.m. on the 15th and 11:43 p.m. on the 16th, roughly two hours after the sighting reportedly took place.  Strickler believes that the witness, whom he knows personally, may have misremembered precisely when the sighting occurred, given how much time has passed.

This report is part of a string of flying creature sightings reported in the Chicago area.  Most of the sightings have taken place near the lakefront within a few miles of Lake Michigan, although there are some reports coming from the suburbs surrounding Chicago and even farther afield.  The sightings generally take place in the evening or at night, often in or near a park and around water, and witnesses consistently describe a large, bat or bird-like creature with humanoid features; although in one case the creature was reportedly "insect-like." 

To report a sighting, reach out to us directly at The Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

You can view a timeline of the sightings so far here, and an interactive map here.