Imagine if you will that you are walking along a trail through the woods. It is a warm day with the light playing shadows from the swaying trees. Then you think you see something move near a trunk off to your right. You stop and stare at a tall, thin creature. It’s covered in a fine, ash gray fur and standing completely still. You know its watching you just as you are watching it. You take a single step and it darts, quick on those long legs, disappearing behind the trunks of the trees. This fleeting encounter was a glimpse of a Wood Devil.
In The Forests Of New Hampshire
Wood Devil sightings seem to be localized to New Hampshire, Coos county to be specific. Some state that locals in the area reported seeing the elusive creature as far back as the 1900s. However, while there is an account of a photographer sighting the creature near the Androscoggin River (which runs through Coos county), there hasn’t been a date listed that I could find. The earliest report recorded with a timeframe was in the spring of 2000.
A man named Evan Litchnowski and his wife traveled along a path called Dummer Pond Trail through Coos county. There they spotted a freakishly tall figure as it crossed the road in front of them. It was covered in gray fur with a pointed head and had a long stride.
The second encounter occurred on November 15th, 2004. A man was out hunting with his grandfather and no sooner had the two of them staked out a good spot did they hear an awful squealing. This is a trait associated with the Wood Devil, the cryptid gives off an odd squeal when frightened. They rounded a bush and came upon the monster. It was like nothing they had seen before. It stood on two legs and was at least 7ft tall. After the creature ran from them they took measurements of the tracks it left. The prints were around 15 inches and they judged the stride at an impressive 4 to 6 feet.
Big Feet But No Bigfoot
Much like the Woodwose of Europe, there are many differences between the Wood Devils and Bigfoot. The first of which is size. While the Wood Devil has been described as very tall it is also very thin. A sleek build is not something associated with Bigfoot. Another glaring difference is the head shape. Bigfoot sightings often describe the creature as having an ape-like head, Wood Devils have a pronounced point to their head shape, almost cone-like.
The propensity to hide completely still and its slim build does give a possible connection to another forest monster, the Hide-Behind. Now the Hide-Behind is a known “fearsome critter“, which is a group of made-up folk stories from around the 1930s. However, it isn’t much of a stretch to think that the Wood Devils might have inspired that bit of fantasy.
As to what people have seen between the trees in New Hampshire? That is still for debate, could it be a sub-species of Bigfoot as some think or perhaps something different altogether?
(If you enjoyed reading about The Wood Devils, please feel free to check out other fascinating cryptids under the Creature Feature category.)