Last week’s article was Virginia’s Vampires, which I enjoyed writing. However, I skipped Vermont in the process. So, this week’s article on Vermont’s The Awful is out of sequence in my travel series. 

What a name to label a cryptid with; The Awful. Witnesses describe the cryptid as looking similar to a griffin. This legendary creature has the head and wings of an eagle. Then you add the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion. 

History traces the griffin’s origins to ancient Persia and Egypt during the 4th millennium BC. It has been around for a very long time.

Two sawmill workers from Richford, Vermont, claimed to see one themselves. They were on the way to work when they saw the beast glaring at them. It was on the rooftop of the Boright building, eyeing them as they crossed the main street bridge. 

The frightened men described it as having gray skin, a long, serpent-like tail. It also had a twenty-foot wingspan and huge claws that could easily wrap around a milk can.

Whatever this creature was, it didn’t fit the description of a griffin. It scared one man so severely he suffered a heart attack. He eventually recovered but suffered nightmares for weeks after. That had to be a fearsome-looking creature. Nor did it go away anytime soon. The two sawmill workers first saw it in the early 1900s. Sightings continued over the years, with farmers reporting sightings over their fields. The local townspeople hid in their homes when it landed on their rooftops. 

What is unusual is that The Awful didn’t bother anyone. Witnesses say it just watched them. Except for one night, when the witness claimed it was grasping something in its claws. Whatever it held was crying or screaming. The witness thought it was either a baby or an animal. 

Thankfully there had been no reports of missing infants from the area.

One night, Oella Hopkins was hanging up her wash when her dog started barking. What caught her attention was that it was a frantic bark. Like he was trying to warn her about something. Startled, Oella glanced around, looking for what caused the barking. Then she saw it—the awful sitting on the roof of her home glaring at her. It scared her so badly she ran into the house and hid under her bed.

I’m not sure; I would run into a place that had a creature staring at me from the roof. I mean, what’s to stop it from flying down at her.

The Awful gained such notoriety that it grabbed the attention of a famous horror author. In 1925, H. P. Lovecraft left his home state of Rhode Island and traveled to Vermont. He visited the towns of Richford and Berkshire to learn more about this infamous monster.

Lovecraft became so enamored with the monster he wrote, “the Awful became ample sustenance for my imagination.”

Soon after, The Awful sightings stopped. No one saw or heard from the Awful again. Well, until 2006, when an article appears in the Enosburg Falls County Courier. H. P. Albarelli, Jr., wrote that a respected citizen of Richford saw an enormous winged creature. It swooped out of the sky and plucked a black crow from the top of a pine tree. The stunned witness said it circled his home three times before flying off with its meal. 

That was it—no description of what the witness saw, only that it was a winged creature. 

Them not giving their name and no description makes it sound like they were terrified. I’m surprised they said anything at all.

 Yet, the article opened the flood gates, and more witnesses came forward with their own experiences.  

One lady came forward about her experience when she was ten years old. She stated that she and her friends saw it sitting in a tree near Trout River. The strange winged beast watched them for a few minutes. 

It sounds similar to the reports from the 1900s, but this creature had a beak. The lady said it reminded her of a Pterodactyl, which differs from a griffin. 

An older gentleman states the beastie has haunted the Gibou area for the last twenty-five years. He also noted that it didn’t bother them as long as they left it alone. A long-time resident of East Richford claims the most recent sighting has been around the Slide Road area. 

He went on to say that you heard The Awful before you saw it. It makes a low screaming sound before one listened to the flapping of wings. 

So, what is the Awful? It doesn’t fit the description of a griffin. It doesn’t even sound similar to the mythological creature of ancient lore. One witness says it reminded her of a pterodactyl. 

There have been sightings of the Thunderbird in Native American stories. Other witnesses from all across the states report seeing pterodactyl-type creatures.

The first sightings of this type of creature began in 16th-century Penacook, New Hampshire. Another report of this creature came from Route 55. The road near New Milford, Connecticut, and nearly drove the witness off the highway. He described it as looking like a pterodactyl.

Instead of a Griffin, it is beginning to sound like the monster is similar to a dinosaur. 

One would think this is impossible, but there have been numerous sightings of this impossible-existing beast. People around the country have claimed to see it. Many more took videos – some of them depicting a pterodactyl-like creature.

Witnesses claim to see a creature similar to a griffin; however, the description fits more a pterodactyl. So, could Vermont’s Awful be a pterodactyl? Whatever it is, it is as curious about us as we are about it. All reports state that it watches them. It doesn’t harm or attack people. Whatever the mysterious creature is, it likes to perch in trees and on roofs. From its lofty view, it watches us.

If you decide to take a trip to Vermont and run into The Awful? Try not to be too afraid, as it just likes to watch you. 

Featured Image by Dariusz Sankowski from Pixabay