The original forum post has long since been deleted. I am reposting this here for archival purposes, in case anyone else goes looking for information.
This was a conversation held over the course of a week. It ended when three admins informed us that the thread broke some rule that they refused to explain and then locked and deleted it. One then proceeded to send us PMs telling us not to post about it again or we’d be in trouble. When we tried to view their userpages, we got 404 messages.
Strange sightings in rural areas of southern New York?
Optimus11985 November 5, 2013 5:03PM:
Anyone on here familiar with the rural areas of southern New York, or the surrounding area? If you are, have you heard about any weird sightings of any kind?
My sister, Elsa, who lives just outside of Orange County, called me on Skype last night, absolutely freaking out. What she told me sounded crazy, for lack of a better word, but I’ve never seen her so scared in her life, so I’m inclined to believe that she saw something.
She told me that something had kept setting off the flood lights, from the time the sun set right up until about 9pm, so for four hours straight. She kept looking out the front door, but didn’t see anything, so she figured it was just the wild rabbits that live in the brush out back. The last time she went to the door, though, she saw something moving around in the shadows and figured one of the neighbor’s horses had jumped the fence again and was rooting around through the straw she just laid down on the flower beds. She flipped on the outside light to see what was up, and saw… something.
She literally described it as a horse, or what looked like a horse, with three bent horns, and some kind of markings – I think she said it had faint zebra stripes with overlapping black marks and grey spots, and something about blue lines, like war paint. And it had bright red eyes.
She told me it just stared at her, and she felt like it was looking straight into her soul. Then – and this is literally what she said – it moved its mouth as though it was talking to her, and then walked off.
I know, this sounds insane. I thought she had some really stupid nightmare when she first told me, but she insisted that it really happened. I still don’t know what to make of it. All I know for sure is that she was definitely shaken by whatever she saw. She was white as a sheet and shaking, as though she had seen a ghost.
I managed to talk her into getting some sleep, and said I’d give her a call today. I tried to get a hold of her all morning, but I haven’t had any luck. She didn’t answer her phone, and she doesn’t seem to be online.
blackcatattack November 5, 2013 5:05PM:
are you sure she wasn’t playing a prank on you
TangoMan November 5, 2013 5:09PM: He said she was pale and shivering. I think it would be hard for her to fake that.
I’m not saying I believe her, but I think she thought she saw something, at least.
I live a few counties over from there; I haven’t seen anything odd personally, but the woods are good at keeping secrets. Just ask Sasquatch.
Big-hank November 5, 2013 5:13PM:
While that DOES sound like a stretch, there are a lot of unexplained sightings in the rural U.S. There are even TV shows dedicated to discussing all of the cryptids that people report seeing. A few of the ones I’ve heard of sound even more far-fetched than your sister’s story.
Optimus11985 November 5, 2013 5:17PM:
My sister isn’t the type to make up stories. She’s very logic-driven. I can’t imagine what would have caused her to lose it like this.
TangoMan November 5, 2013 5:20PM:
Not to offend you or anything, Optimus, but does your sister have a history of mental illness?
blackcatattack November 5, 2013 5:21PM:
or drug use
Lago515 November 5, 2013 5:21PM:
Sounds like one psycho bitch to me.
Optimus11985 November 5, 2013 5:24PM:
No. She’s never had any problems like that, except a bout of depression last year… She was having some issues at work – something to do with being accused of stealing (she never really talked to me about it) - something to do with some sort of fabric, or textiles? But she was fine after that. People don’t just suddenly become mentally ill.
And no, she’s never used drugs. She isn’t that kind of girl.
blackcatattack November 5, 2013 5:29PM:
maybe she ate something on accident, like magic shrooms or poison berries
Optimus11985 November 5, 2013 5:31PM:
Not likely. She buys all of her food at the local market. She’s really picky about what she’ll eat – everything has to be certified organic.
Big-hank November 5, 2013 5:32PM:
There actually are cases where people can seem normal and then suddenly begin to exhibit signs of mental illness when something triggers them. If a therapist cleared her, though, I don’t think that could be the case.
Thinking about what blackcatattack said, maybe she was exposed to something unintentionally? Like a chemical?
Was she doing any cleaning or did she go anywhere that might have been contaminated with something?
TangoMan November 5, 2013 5:34PM:
Has she had her place checked for outdoor pollutants lately?
JoeSchmo01 November 5, 2013 5:37PM:
maybe sum1 gave her drugs.
like lsd.
or roofied her.
Optimus11985 November 5, 2013 5:39PM:
As far as I know, she spent the day in sculpting class and then came home. She called me after she first got home to ask if I was still coming over this weekend, and it didn’t sound like anything was wrong then.
blackcatattack November 5, 2013 5:43PM:
if she called you the first time why did she skype you later
Optimus11985 November 5, 2013 5:44PM:
I turned my phone off because I kept getting telemarketer calls.
Big-hank November 5, 2013 5:46PM:
I’m going back to the cryptid theory. Maybe she did see something unidentified. Who knows.
I’ll poke around and see if I can find anything like that.
TangoMan November 5, 2013 5:50PM:
I’m going to suspend my disbelief and agree with Big-hank. Given how many people report seeing weird things and then have their sightings corroborated by total strangers, I’m willing to consider the possibility that there could in fact be some crazy shit out there that we don’t know about.
Big-hank, the best place to look would be sites dealing with weird stuff in American Indian mythology; a lot of cryptid sightings actually go all the way back to before Europeans ever came to America.
Big-hank November 5, 2013 5:52PM:
Good point. I’ll look into that.
TangoMan November 5, 2013 5:54PM:
I’ll see what I can find as well. I’ve got nothing better to do at the moment xD
Optimus11985 November 6, 2013 8:29PM:
I tried calling her several times. No response. So I went to her house, and she wasn’t home. Her car was in the driveway, though. The front door wasn’t locked, which makes no sense. I left a note in case she went for a walk, but I haven’t heard back yet. I’m worried about her.
TangoMan November 6, 2013 8:44PM:
Maybe you should call the cops, just in case?
Optimus11985 November 6, 2013 8:51PM:
I think I might. I’m at least going to call my parents and see if they’ve heard anything.
blackcatattack November 6, 2013 9:01PM:
hope you get in touch with her soon
Big-hank November 6, 2013 9:10PM:
Calling the cops can’t hurt. Better to be safe than sorry.
Big-hank November 7, 2013 12:38PM:
Hey, I’ve been looking for info on rural NY cryptids, and I found a blurb in a book about something that might fit what your sister described. I’ll see if I can find out more.
TangoMan November 9, 2013 5:13PM:
Has anybody heard from Optimus? I tried PMing him a day ago, but I didn’t hear back yet. I wonder if something happened to his sister after all.
blackcatattack November 9, 2013 5:25PM:
or he could have been trolling
TangoMan November 9, 2013 5:29PM:
That would be pretty lousy of someone to troll people with a story about a sister’s disappearance, but entirely possible.
Big-hank November 9, 2013 6:00PM:
I don’t know, guys. There might really be something to this. Look what I found on an old Indian mythology site:
"Nihillapeuhoalid
- Local Indian tribes have long been a source of interesting and spooky folktales, some of which involve supernatural beings who may prey on the hapless explorer or less-than-righteous.
One such story is deeply connected to the strife between local tribes and colonists, which came to a head when the then-growing population of European immigrants began to push the natives out of their home territories. It tells of a Manitou (a spirit of great power) known as Nihillapeuhoalid who may be called upon to destroy one’s enemies."
And this is from an Indian history site:
"After the oppressive treatment of Indians had become prevalent, a myth rose to popularity about a ghostly entity referred to as Nihillapeuhoalid ('My Redeemer'). It is told that tribesmen and slaves would perform rituals calling upon the creature in hopes that it would rid them of their white tormentors, as the Redeemer’s goal is to seek out those who wrong others and take revenge on behalf of the summoner, before going on his way to find more evildoers. The legend goes on to say that the Redeemer raises his victims from the dead, claiming them as his eternal slaves.
The folktale was quite well-known in the area, right through the Civil War.
During the late half of the 1800's, a rash of murders broke out in the tri-state area, gradually spreading out from southern New York to other areas across the country.
Local Indians claimed the creature was responsible for the deaths, but citizens did not buy into the myth, becoming suspicious of the immigrants that were flooding into the country, looking for the opportunities that America was said to hold for them.
Eventually, the murders were tied to a local by the name of Peter Hennessey, whom was already awaiting execution following his conviction for the murder of a wealthy woman. Hennessey never commented on his involvement in the crimes."
I also read a bit about the victims of the murder spree that was mentioned, and there was apparently a common thread among them: before they died, they had all gotten into a bit of trouble.
Roderick Bratton – accused of engaging in cannibalism (which later turned out to be true)
Samuel Kitt – unprovoked physical violence and brawling
Michael Hathaway – murdered a farmhand
Charles Crowley – poisoned some of his more difficult patients
Bratton was actually cut into pieces and partly eaten himself, Kitt was flogged until he bled to death, Hathaway was hung and Crowley was poisoned with Strychnine.
The only thing weirder than that is after the bodies had been taken to the morgue, they vanished. No one knows where they went.
TangoMan November 9, 2013 6:17PM:
That is pretty creepy stuff.
blackcatattack November 9, 2013 6:22PM:
freaky
TangoMan November 12, 2013 8:10PM:
I found out why Optimus never came back.
I saw the story in the local paper today. They found his sister.
LINK
Big-hank November 12, 2013 8:14PM:
…skinned alive?
'blackcatattack November 12, 2013 10:02PM:
'
the article isn’t up anymore what did it say
TangoMan November 12, 2013 10:16PM:
That’s odd. I don’t know why they would have taken the article down so soon.
She was found in a nearby park, skinned alive. Her skin had been replaced with a fabric bodysuit, something akin to a quilt…
blackcatattack November 12, 2013 10:24PM:
omg
Big-hank November 12, 2013 10:29PM:
Why would someone do such a thing?
TangoMan November 12, 2013 10:40PM:
I don’t know. From what Optimus said, she sounded like such a nice girl.
blackcatattack November 12, 2013 10:43PM:
optimus did say she got accused of stealing at work
maybe someone from work did it
TangoMan November 12, 2013 10:42PM:
No point in speculating. It won’t accomplish anything.
Big-hank November 12, 2013 10:43PM:
I can’t imagine how Optimus is taking it.
TangoMan November 12, 2013 10:44PM:
I know.
Vorare November 12, 2013 10:48PM:
This thread has violated site rules and will be deleted.
TangoMan November 12, 2013 10:50PM:
What do you mean? I’m very familiar with the rules of this site, and I don’t see how this thread has broken any of them.
Solvo November 12, 2013 10:51PM:
Then you don’t understand the rules.
Vorare November 12, 2013 10:53PM:
We have a policy against threads of an illicit nature.
Big-hank November 12, 2013 10:56PM:
How is the thread “illicit”? We were just discussing a news story. We didn’t do anything wrong.
Coagula November 12, 2013 10:59PM:
Perhaps not. But the thread has been flagged for deletion, and so it shall be.
Vorare November 12, 2013 11:00PM:
No more discussion of this matter. It’s done.
After that, the thread was deleted immediately, and we each received a PM from the admin Vorare, stating:
Vorare November 12, 11:04PM:
Do not create any further posts or threads regarding this topic. The matter is not open for discussion. Just do not do it. Elsa is fine.
I contacted site admin after this, and was informed that no users called Vorare, Solvo or Coagula were ever registered on the site.