USPS Union Official Reports "Mothman" Sighting in Downtown Chicago

Lon Strickler of Phantoms & Monsters recently spoke with Joseph Palau, a Brooklynn, New York resident and union official for the United States Postal Service (USPS), who said that he saw the “Chicago Mothman” outside of his hotel window while visiting Chicago for a convention in 2016.

"Eyewitness Joseph Palau, an NPMH union shop steward and World Trade Center 9/11 survivor, who was representing his Local Union (USPS, NYC) was attending the 2016 National Convention, which was scheduled to take place at the Fairmont Millennium Park Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, during the week of August 22nd, 2016. He was staying at the same hotel, located at 200 North Columbus Drive," Strickler said.

The Fairmont Chicago - Millenium Park. *(Joseph Palau)*

Palau posing in front of the Wrigley Building during his trip to Chicago. *(Joseph Palau)*

On the first night of his trip, August 21st, 2016, Palau received a telephone call at around 10 p.m. informing him that his mother had been rushed to the emergency room at a hospital in New York City. Having been told that he would be updated that night, Palau decided to stay awake.

Soon after that call, Palau looked out of his eighth-floor hotel room window—located on the building's east side—and saw a large, black object gliding over North Columbus Drive. The object was level to his window and moving between the Fairmont and the building across the street.

"His first thought was that it was a black garbage bag, though [he] soon realized that the altitude of this object was much higher than a garbage bag would typically be seen. Then he imagined that it was an over-sized kite or drone, but it was nighttime and that was probably not the correct identification," Strickler said. "As he continued to watch the object, it became apparent to Joe that this was clearly a dark-colored, six-foot-long humanoid with wide wings that was slowly gliding to the left of his room. He also observed that the winged humanoid seemed to be watching a window on the building across the street, northeast of his hotel (Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel)."

Palau reportedly continued to watch the winged humanoid for several minutes as it glided back and forth between the buildings. He told Strickler that he never saw the creature's wings flap as it continued to glide at different altitudes, seemingly watching the building across the street. Palau also noted that "the street and building were well-lit, even at that altitude, and that the winged creature was fully visible, though he couldn't distinguish fine details, including the eyes or the makeup of the wing structure."

Then, Palau reported, as the winged creature flew by his window, heading south on North Columbus Drive, it suddenly vanished.

Palau attempted to photograph the creature from his room, but it was obscured by the camera’s flash bouncing off the window. *(Joseph Palau)*

"Joe remained vigilant, hoping to get another look at the winged entity, but he never saw it again," Strickler said.

Palau reportedly kept the experience to himself for almost seven and a half years before hearing Strickler on a podcast interview discussing Mothman sightings in the Chicagoland region. He told Strickler that he had never heard of the phenomenon until listening to the podcast and decided to contact the investigator afterward.

“I conducted an extensive interview with Joe and found him to be quite articulate and forthright. He stated that he has never believed in the paranormal and cryptids, but that he is now convinced that this winged humanoid actually exists. He also stated that he believed that this was an interdimensional being with supernatural abilities by evidence of what he observed that night,” Strickler said.

This was reported to Strickler almost immediately after he had received a similar report, which took place in 2021, only about half a mile away from Palau’s sighting. That witness was less forthcoming than Palau and would communicate only through encrypted text.

“After I contacted Joe, I was told that he would go on the record by allowing me to publish his name and offer other personal information. I truly appreciate Joe's willingness to give his testimony,” Strickler said.

The sudden disappearance described above is consistent with other reports, including a report from 1999 in which a trio of witnesses said that they saw a red-eyed, flying “gargoyle” fly between two pine trees and vanish; another from April of 2017 in which the witness said that he saw a seven-foot-tall, winged bat/reptile hybrid humanoid briefly become a blur before vanishing; one from April of 2018 in which two women said that they were mysteriously paralyzed by a “dark, winged being” prior to it vanishing into thin air; and the aforementioned 2021 report wherein a main claiming to be a security guard said he saw a tall, dark, “human-like” winged being vanish inside the building he was guarding in downtown Chicago.

This also continues a trend of winged humanoids reportedly being seen in or near people’s homes or other buildings.

In addition to the 2021 sighting already mentioned:

In 2020, a woman from a Cicero, Illinois, said that she saw “something huge” with demonic wings and “a brief flash of bright red color” when walking past her son’s room one summer evening.

In early 2002, a woman in Madison, Wisconsin, said she saw a "large bat-like creature” with glowing red eyes while driving near the Seminole Highway exit off of the Beltline. Soon after, the woman believed she saw that same creature in a basement storage unit.

That series of encounters also included a number of other concurrent paranormal phenomena, including phantom baby cries, an anomalous fire, and the sound of dishes being thrown from cupboards only to be found unharmed immediately after.

Also in 2002, a young woman in Babcock, Wisconsin, reportedly witnessed a “gargoyle” with feathered wings perched on the roof of her family’s home.

That sighting out of Babcock is one of several wherein people have claimed to see a winged humanoid on the roof of someone’s home.

Because of its proximity to other sighting locations, the creature described in the above report could be related to the larger Lake Michigan Mothman phenomenon. Those sightings are commonly reported within a few-hundred-mile radius surrounding Lake Michigan, including every state bordering the great lake.

The sightings ostensibly began in the spring of 2017, but more historical accounts are being reported as more people become aware of the phenomenon. They generally take place in the evening or at night, often in or near a park or natural area, and around water. Witnesses consistently describe a large gray, brown, or black, bat or bird-like creature, sometimes with glowing or reflective red, yellow, or orange eyes, and humanoid features such as an upright, bipedal posture are often reported. Some witnesses have reported feeling intense fear and an aura of evil emanating from the creature they encountered. Many of the sightings are also of something seen only briefly or are described only as a flying creature with few details, which leaves open the possibility that a misidentified large bird—such as a heron or crane—or some type of anomalous avian species could explain some, although certainly not all, of the encounters. A number of associated high strangeness incidents have also occurred alongside the creature sightings. These include reports of UFOs, other anomalous flying creatures and mysterious humanoids, parapsychological phenomena, and bizarre events experienced by those investigating the sightings.

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.

A map of the sightings, compiled by Strickler, is available here.