Monster

The "Sister Lakes Monster"

As if having a wealth of old stories weren't enough, Michigan also had two of the most widely-publicized modern incidents. The "Sister Lakes Monster" first made the headlines in June, 1964, but there were reports that it had been seen off and on for two years before that.
    Something with tracks nearly as big (18 inches by 5 inches), described as a 9-foot tall monster, covered with black hair and with eyes that glowed with reflected light, was reported in May 1964 to be causing terrified fruit pickers to leave their jobs in the fields of Sister Lakes, Michigan.
    Since 1962, there had been various odd reports of something huge that lurked in the adjoining swamps, but it was not until the spring of 1964 that the reports escalated and then dominated the local newspaper headlines.
    On June 9, Gordon Brown, a fruit picker from Georgia, was driving with his brother when they saw the creature in their headlights. When it moved away into the woods, they followed the tracks, and when they caught up with it they saw a monster which seemed to be a cross between a gorilla and a bear, standing as straight as a tree and 9 feet tall. The two men sensibly decided to retreat to their car and get away quickly. Brown had also seen the Bigfoot the year before, but had then kept quiet to avoid ridicule.
    The land on which the two men had tracked the monster was part of a farm owned by Evelyn Utrup and her husband John. The Utrup’s also had a number of encounters with the creature when it frequently prowled about their property. Utrup had seen it standing in his yard with its “big, bright shining eyes” reflecting his headlights, and Mrs. Utrup told how the 500-pound creature had chased her back into the house on ‘great thundering feet’ which caused the ground to tremble. She also reported that one of their Alsatian dogs had chased the creature one night and had returned with one eye changed to pale blue. After some weeks the eye reverted to its usual color.
    The day following Gordon Brown’s experience, more locals saw it and heard its typical ‘baby-crying’ noise, and on June 11, three 13-year-old girls out walking in daylight were confronted by the creature on a lonely road in Silver Creek Township. Joyce Smith fainted, and Patsy and Gail Clayton were rooted to the spot with fear. Apparently satisfied with the impression it had made, the monster lumbered off into the bushes.
    Cass County deputies were dispatched to find the monster after Mrs. John Utrup, of Dewey Lake, reported that a thing nine feet tall and weighing 500 pounds had chased her into her house at night. Other descriptions had it covered with black hair up to its neck and with eyes that glowed like an animal's when a light hits them. The deputies were kept too busy directing traffic to have time to hunt the monster. So many curious people turned up that men had to be called in from the next county to help keep them moving.
    According to one report police did find barefoot, humanlike prints six inches wide across the ball in the mud in the Utrup farmyard. There were apparently other serious reports, but within a couple of days the whole thing had turned into a carnival.
    Overnight Sister Lakes changed from a rural community of 500 inhabitants into a teeming tourist center. Hundreds of ‘hunters’ and sensation-seekers flocked into the area, every shop ran a Monster Sale, cafes sold Monster Burgers, the local radio station played Monster Music interrupted by the latest monster reports, and a double-bill horror show played at the movie house [in nearby Dowagiac]
   One shopkeeper advertised a special monster-hunting kit. For $7.95, the keen hunter could buy a light, a net, a baseball bat, and to clinch matters, a mallet and a stake.
    Teenagers were prone to dress in old fur coats and goof around in public places, but surprisingly no one was hurt, though Sheriff Robert Dool said: “I had to order hunters away because it’s getting mighty dangerous; three thousand strangers prowling about at night with guns…” Such circumstances are not likely to produce high-quality reports, since people are keyed up and expect to see Bigfoot. In this state of mind they are very likely to see something which they interpret as Bigfoot but which someone unaffected by the atmosphere realizes is nothing of the sort.

-The Bigfoot Casebook, pages 69-70.

A local man reported that his coworker had called him from Switzerland, where he happened to be on business at the time of the sightings. The coworker had heard the report about the Sister Lakes Monster on the news there. The coworker lived at Dewey Lake, very near the Swisher Street/Garrett Road area where the monster had been sighted. He was shocked and amazed that his hometown was making international news on the other side of the globe.

MOre Sister Lakes Monster History !!

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