I love anything paranormal, and I loved Paranormal Caught On Camera. This episode was about Shapeshifters. The couple in question saw a wolf standing on two feet. It was hiding in the marshes and didn’t flinch when the witness fired at it. The incident scared the couple, and they canceled their camping trip. 

When searching Illinois cryptids and stories of a ‘Wolfman’ popped up? I knew I found my topic for the week.

Reports flowed into Illinois of Wolfmen and Werewolves. Illinois Department of Natural Resources state that there are no wolves in Illinois. The IDNR believes that all these sightings are dog-hybrids or coyotes. Wolves haven’t lived in Illinois since 1860. The IDNR state that there have been sightings reported of wolves for ten years. They don’t believe these wolves are permanent residents in Illinois. That doesn’t stop them from using Illinois as a throughway to what state they do call home.  

The Chicago Tribune, following the wolf sightings, received a report in March 2013. A reader saw wolves on Indiana’s  Boundary Road between Renwick and County Line Roads. They were larger than the average wolf.

Two years later, a farmer in Central Illinois reported seeing dozens of wolves. He claims that he saw at least 40 of these creatures. Like the earlier report, they were also bigger and darker than average wolves. The witness, Jay Smith, claims his land is Grand Central Station for wolves. Smith had a trail camera and captured clear pictures of the critters. They look like wolves to me.

It is unusual to think that many wolves would be traveling through Illinois. It makes more sense that there are packs of wolves living in Illinois. In February 2015, a dead carcass on Grundy Road north of I-80 was a gray timber wolf. DNA test results confirmed the wolf was female. 

DNA confirms gray timberwolves are living in Illinois despite IDNR reports. It only makes sense that the gray timber wolf is moving back into the state. They are not using the state as a throughway – they are moving back home.

What about reports of Wolfmen in Illinois?

Gray wolves aren’t the only wolves living in Illinois. Dozens of Wolfmen reports reveal another cryptid is in town.

There is a site titled Dogman Encounters, which discusses personal sightings. One man tells of his dog waking him up at 4 AM. This guy lives in rural Illinois and hears strange noises and activities all the time. When his dog acts up, he thinks his pet wants out. This time, he had a ‘weird’ feeling and turned the outside lights on. Peering through the blinds, he saw a wolf/dog standing on two feet. 

The worse thing is that the creature is staring back at him. The description he gave matched that of a german shepherd type animal. It had glowing amber eyes, but it was standing on two feet. The stare down ending, it loped into the cornfield, its head above the stalks. The witness claimed the monster was standing over eight feet tall. 

Even more intriguing is that William Patrick Corgan saw a shapeshifter. Smashing Pumpkins lead singer told Howard Stern of his strange experience. Corgan runs a tea shop in Highland Park, Illinois. He was with a friend one night and saw a transformation he can’t explain. Swearing he was sober, Corgan said he was doing an errand. He turned, and something else was standing there. When Corgan questioned his friend about the transformation, he states his friend didn’t deny it happened. 

What did happen? Corgan still doesn’t understand what happened.

Then there is the Dogman of Hawk Hollow Preserve, Illinois. The witness was driving home from their parent’s house in Streamwood, Illinois. They were driving down Bartlett Road approaching Shick Road. The route takes them past a prairie/forest preserve. The Hawk Hollow preserve is reported haunted, and the driver has heard stories of paranormal activity in the area. He had heard of the tales about a dog spirit with the face of a man. 

Driving down a route they have gone down many times before. The couple wasn’t expecting anything unusual. Imagine their surprise when they saw a shadow run across the road. They both saw a dog-like creature cross in front of the car. 

Seventeen miles from Dubuque, Illinois, a couple was driving near Chestnut Mountain. The woman driver sees a wolf walking on his hind legs. It looks at the couple for a few seconds, then lopes away. 

We have two different cryptids running around in Illinois: the wolf and the Wolfman. 

There is DNA to support gray timberwolves is living in and around Illinois. The question is, do you believe IDNR that wolves do not live in Illinois? Do you think that wolves, like Snowbirds, travel through states? They travel through Illinois to finally get home? They might. There are too many reports emanating from Illinois about wolves. Too many sightings that say gray timberwolves are making their home in Illinois.

As for what Corgan saw and the Wolfman? Corgan is a credible witness. He didn’t say he saw a Werewolf or Shapeshifter. He says he saw a transformation of some sort. If you combine Corgan’s testimony with witness reports?

You have plenty of evidence to suggest there is a wolf-like cryptid in Illinois. This fact is fascinating because the possibilities are endless. Now, I am curious. Is it a Werewolf in Illinois, or is it a Shapeshifter? 

Native American Culture is littered with Shapeshifter stories and is a popular myth. The Navajo or Dine’ believe in the Skinwalker. The Skinwalker is a medicine man who kills a family member to inherit the ability to shift. The Navajo believe Skinwalkers exist today and will not mention them out loud. They are afraid if one talks about a Skinwalker, it will come looking for them or their families.

Does Illinois have a Shapeshifter? That is an intriguing idea.

If you are ever in Central Illinois and driving down a dark moonless road? Keep an eye out for wolves or the Illinois Wolfman.