LEGEND: The Van Meter Visitor

In the early 1900s in the small town of Van Meter, Iowa, many residents saw a creature they couldn’t explain. It had giant wings, a beak, and a light on its head that not only mystified locals but also sometimes erased their memories, too. Legend has it the creature comes from the mines of the town, but to this day, no one is certain what the Van Meter visitor really is—or if it’s still out there.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:32Yvette Gentile?

  We've all heard the phrase, "seeing is believing." And that's especially true when it comes to the supernatural. Because it's easy to write off some of the things we cover as a hoax, especially when you haven't seen it for yourself. But when you're there, standing face-to-face with the unknown, your heart beating out of your chest, you know what's real and what isn't. Which is why the 1903 story of the Van Meter Incident feels so incredibly profound to the both of us.

• 1:11Rasha Pecoraro?

  Yes, it does. And when dozens of people in a small Iowa town say they came face-to-face with a cryptid, one with a blinding, bright light on its head, a terrible stench that made people faint, and was seemingly bulletproof, I trust that they weren't just seeing a really large bird, like a lot of the skeptics claimed. And after hearing their accounts, we think you'll agree that the Van Meter visitor was something completely unexplainable. I'm Rasha Pequegrero.

• 1:46Yvette Gentile?

  And I'm Yvette Gentile. This is So Supernatural.

• 2:24Rasha Pecoraro?

  If I told you to think about Iowa, I know what I would think. I'd immediately think of one of our favorite movies, Yvette, right?

• 2:35Yvette Gentile?

  Yes.

• 2:36Rasha Pecoraro?

  Field of Dreams.

• 2:37Yvette Gentile?

  James Earl Jones, y'all.

• 2:39Rasha Pecoraro?

  If you build it, they will come. They will come. Field of Dreams aside, if I would tell you just to think about Iowa, you'd probably picture Field of Dreams, or maybe Red Barns, cornfields, and small towns with tight-knit communities. But there's so much more than that. And you might be surprised to learn that Iowa also has a very, very spooky side. Take the Felicia Axe murder house. An entire family was slaughtered there in the early 1900s. And today, it's a huge destination for ghost hunters because it's said to be super haunted.

• 3:23Yvette Gentile?

  And if you're a horror fan, you may know that the films The Exorcist and The Ritual both draw inspiration from the same true story. A real-life exorcism that took place in early Iowa in 1928.

• 3:41Rasha Pecoraro?

  And on a lighter note, devoted Trekkies may also know that in the Star Trek universe, Captain James T. Kirk is from Riverside, Iowa, born in the year 2223. And that is an actual town. And every year, here in the real world, Riverside hosts a Star Trek festival with a parade, live music, and fireworks.

• 4:06Yvette Gentile?

  That sounds like fun. We should check that out.

• 4:07Rasha Pecoraro?

  Totally should check it out. And we should bring our friend Chris Pine, not to name drop, but I think he'd love it.

• 4:13Yvette Gentile?

  Of course we should.

• 4:16Yvette Gentile?

  But one of the strangest bits of local lore might come from a town called Van Meter. It's a tiny community that's about 20 miles southwest of Des Moines, the state's capital and also the largest city in Iowa. In the 2020 census, Van Meter had a population of about 1,500, and that's the biggest it's ever been. In 1960, there were less than 400 people living there. In spite of its small size, Van Meter is famous because of the events that occurred in the fall of 1903.

• 4:55Rasha Pecoraro?

  The story begins at 1 a.m. on Tuesday, September 29. A 35-year-old tool salesman named Yuli Griffith is on his way home to Van Meter. He spent the day meeting potential customers and is super exhausted. So now he wants nothing more than to just climb into bed and get some shut-eye. He's passing through the downtown area, which has a bunch of shops and offices surrounding a main street. But at this time of night, the road, of course, is completely deserted. It seems like Yuli is the only person still awake. So he thinks it's pretty weird when he sees a random flash of light out of nowhere.

• 5:38Rasha Pecoraro?

  Yuli looks up, and he sees something. But he's not quite sure what it is. It almost looks like someone has installed a light on top of one of the businesses. Maybe something like a searchlight, given how bright it is. But this makes no sense. In 1903, electric lights are still a fairly new invention. They're expensive, kind of glitchy, and not very widespread outside of major cities. There's no reason for a business in Van Meter to install one. And if they did, it wouldn't be on the roof. All to say, Yuli is very confused. His main fear is that someone might be breaking into the building to steal from it,

• 6:23Rasha Pecoraro?

  and the light is from a lamp that they're using. So he gets a little closer to get a better look. Except right before he can pull over, the light just disappears. A few seconds later, it flashes on again. But it's not in the same place anymore. Now it's on the roof of a different building on the complete other side of the street. It happened in the blink of an eye. There's no way a burglar could have jumped that far or run from one building to the next that quickly. Then the light flickers out again. And this time, it doesn't come back on. Yuli sits there, waiting to see if the light will return. But eventually, he decides it's too late

• 7:08Rasha Pecoraro?

  and he's too tired to investigate any further.

• 7:12Yvette Gentile?

  Though I doubt Yuli slept very much that night because he can't stop thinking about that bizarre light. So later that morning, he heads downtown to ask around. By now, there's no sign of whatever was glowing. But Yuli walks into every restaurant, store, and church and tells everybody about what he saw the night before, hoping someone will be able to explain something. Now, Yuli has a pretty good reputation in Van Meter. He's known for being honest and grounded. So when he says he saw an unidentified light on top of a building, people pay attention. Nobody knows what the glow could be, and no one else saw it.

• 7:57Yvette Gentile?

  There's not even any theories about what it could have been. But everyone figures they'll learn more if the light reappears that night. And sure enough, it does. A half hour past midnight.

• 8:14Rasha Pecoraro?

  That's when the town's physician, Dr. Alcott, wakes up from a deep sleep. He opens his eyes to find his room bathed in a bright, almost blinding light.

• 8:26Rasha Pecoraro?

  All Alcott can think is that someone must be shining an oil lamp through his window. Maybe they're spying on him or casing his house for a break-in. After all, he lives in the back room of his office, so his place is full of prescription medicine and other valuables. So Dr. Alcott grabs the gun that he keeps by his bed for protection, and he runs outside. And that's when he sees the source of that light. It's something that defies any kind of explanation. There's a strange animal right outside his house. The accounts don't say if it's standing, sitting, or flying when Alcott spots it.

• 9:08Rasha Pecoraro?

  But it's about nine feet tall, so it's huge. And according to Alcott, it looks like some kind of human-animal hybrid. It has two legs and two arms, like a human being. It also has a long, pointy snout or beak, though it doesn't have any hair or feathers. It's smooth, almost like a hairless cat. He also says it has, quote, "great bat-like wings."

• 9:40Rasha Pecoraro?

  What's even weirder, there's a horn growing out of the center of its forehead. And the bright light is coming from the tip of that horn, almost like it's got a flashlight mounted on its face. Dr. Alcott has never seen anything like the creature, and he is frickin' terrified. So he aims his gun right at it and pulls the trigger. The bullet hits, but the animal doesn't react at all. It's like the blast doesn't even faze it. So Dr. Alcott fires a second time, then a third. Each shot hits the target, as do the fourth and the fifth.

• 10:23Rasha Pecoraro?

  And still, the creature seems like it hasn't even noticed.

• 10:29Yvette Gentile?

  By this time, Alcott is down to his final bullet, and he doesn't want to waste it, so he runs back inside and locks the door. He also checks that all the windows are closed and the blinds are shut. He spends the rest of the night clutching his gun, ready to defend himself just in case the animal tries to break in. But luckily for Alcott, the creature doesn't bother him again. The next day, it's like history is repeating itself. Alcott goes through town telling everyone what happened, and people take him seriously, because just like Yuli,

• 11:12Yvette Gentile?

  Alcott is very well-respected. So word starts spreading as everyone's dying to know what the two men have been seeing. Some think that Alcott and Yuli were just imagining things. Others wonder if a new species of animal has migrated into town. But no one can come up with a satisfying explanation. Regardless, the creature ends up getting its very own nickname: the Van Meter Visitor.

• 11:47Rasha Pecoraro?

  Soon, the gossip reaches a cashier who works at the Van Meter Bank, a man named Peter Dunn. Peter takes the story somewhat seriously. He believes Yuli and Alcott saw something, but he has his doubts about whether a flying-human-bat hybrid thing is actually terrorizing the town. In Peter's mind, the most likely explanation is that someone has been prowling around late at night, planning to break into people's homes and businesses. Maybe the thief is wearing a mask that makes them look like a monster. Either way, Peter decides he doesn't want to leave the bank unattended overnight.

• 12:30Rasha Pecoraro?

  So after his shift ends, he walks home to grab his gun. Then he marches right back to the bank, goes inside, and proceeds to stand guard for hours. He's still there, clutching his shotgun, at 1:00 a.m. when he hears the clock chime. And then afterward, he notices another sound.

• 12:54Rasha Pecoraro?

  It's almost like labored breathing, like someone or something is choking or being strangled. That's when a bright light illuminates the window. It's so brilliant and bright, it almost blinds Peter. Luckily, after a few seconds, the light moves so it's not shining directly in Peter's eyes, and that's when he sees what it's coming from.

• 13:21Yvette Gentile?

  Or at least, he sort of does. It's too dark for Peter to make out much, but he can tell there's some kind of figure standing by the bank's window. It's way too tall to be a person, and the glow is coming from its head. Peter doesn't wait to see anymore. He's so nervous that he just fires on instinct, right through the glass. But before he gets the shot, the thing just vanishes. Peter can't see well enough to tell if it ran or flew away, and he's too shaken up to go outside and check for himself.

• 14:00Yvette Gentile?

  So Peter spends the rest of the night inside the bank, shaking in his boots. And it's not until the next morning, when he walks around outside the bank, and he sees something startling. Physical proof that the creature is real. And guess what? It's absolutely not human.

• 14:34Rasha Pecoraro?

  Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers.

• 14:35Speaker 03

  And I'm Britt. And if you're on the edge of your seat listening to this show, Crime Junkie needs to be your next listen.

• 14:41Rasha Pecoraro?

  Every Monday, I dive into a new true crime case that our reporting team has been on the ground looking into. From lesser-known disappearances to the most chilling cases hitting the headlines, and I'm gonna walk you through it the way I tell my best friend, because, well, that's what I'm doing.

• 14:57Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's me. And I'm right there with you as we listen together, react to every wild detail, and of course, I ask all All the questions.

• 15:05Speaker 04

  And I'm gonna have the answers because we have case files. We're talking to detectives and family members and we're gonna stay focused on the facts.

• 15:12Speaker 03

  So if you're not already listening to Crime Junkie, what are you waiting for? There are over 300 episodes available right now.

• 15:18Speaker 04

  And you can listen to new episodes of Crime Junkie every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.

• 15:30Yvette Gentile?

  Beginning on September 29th, 1903, a strange visitor appeared in Van Meter, Iowa. It seemed to be a nine-foot-tall human-animal hybrid with bat wings and a bright light shining from its head. When bank cashier Peter Dunn saw the creature outside his business on Thursday, October 1st, he fired gunshots at the window, scaring it off.

• 15:57Rasha Pecoraro?

  Peter isn't brave enough to leave the bank until after the sun comes up the next morning. As soon as he walks out the front door, he expects to at least find blood. He figures even if he didn't hit the creature, the shower of glass must have at least cut it. But there isn't any sign that it got injured. However, Peter does find something else. The creature left behind footprints, showing huge feet, each with only three toes. Again, nothing even close to a human.

• 16:37Yvette Gentile?

  And according to the local paper, Peter makes a plaster cast of the print to study later. Unfortunately, the paper doesn't explain how he does this, if he manages it, you know, all by himself, or if he calls someone for help. The point is, the evidence is starting to prove the Van Meter visitor is very real.

• 17:03Yvette Gentile?

  That could be why a local man named Ovi White keeps his gun close to his bed when he falls asleep that night, on October 1st. And it's a good thing he does, because sometime between midnight and 1 a.m., he wakes up to find a light shining through his window. White picks up his gun and he fires, but it seems to have no effect on the creature. The blast, however, is loud enough to wake his neighbor, a storekeeper named Sidney Gregg. And as soon as Sidney hears the gunshot, he runs outside in his pajamas, and Sidney makes it out the door in time to spot the visitor perched on a telephone pole.

• 17:49Yvette Gentile?

  He's too stunned to do anything but stare. He watches as the thing climbs back down the pole, using its feet, hands, and beak. If you guys have ever watched a parrot edging off a perch, it seems like this was very similar. Once it gets to the ground, the creature stands perfectly still for a moment, long enough for Sidney to get a good look at it. He estimates it's about eight feet tall, so a little smaller than the other witness statements. But otherwise, his description is consistent with all the rest. The creature has bat-like wings, a pointy snout,

• 18:34Yvette Gentile?

  no fur, no feathers, no scales, and its skin is smooth.

• 18:40Rasha Pecoraro?

  Here's where Sidney's account gets really weird. He says the figure starts flapping its wings, but it doesn't take off or fly away. Instead, it just hops a few times, almost like a kangaroo. It's hard to say what the visitor was trying to do, but right at that moment, a train roars down some nearby tracks. This sound is enough to startle the creature, and now it takes off and flies away. Sidney is the first witness that we know of to see the creature in flight. But if it has working wings, that explains how Yuli saw the light moving from one rooftop to the other during that first sighting.

• 19:23Yvette Gentile?

  And like all of the other witnesses, Sidney tells everyone about what happened the next morning. O.V. White also shares his story, but with a twist. White remembers the light from the creature's head waking him up. He also remembers grabbing his gun and shooting it. But he has no idea what happened after that. It's like his memory of the rest of the night has just been erased. And he has a theory about how that happened. White says the visitor smelled so bad, it actually affected his mind and made him either pass out or block memories from forming.

• 20:07Rasha Pecoraro?

  Of course, the people of Van Meter, Iowa are freaking out by this point. They now have multiple eyewitnesses saying there's a huge monster terrorizing the town at night. It seems to be immune to bullets, and it might be capable of manipulating people's memories. And it seems like it's not leaving anytime soon. Over the next two days, Friday and Saturday, October 2nd and 3rd, countless witnesses come forward in and around town with more reports of seeing the creature. Except, these accounts are pretty vague. People say they've heard strange noises, but they're not sure where they came from.

• 20:49Rasha Pecoraro?

  Or they report seeing flashes of movement out of the corner of their eyes, but when they turn to look, there's nothing there. All to say, it's unclear if these are authentic sightings or if everyone's paranoid and their imaginations are running away with them. But there is one exception, an account from this period that's verified by multiple people. And it sounds highly credible. It involves some old mines just outside of Van Meter.

• 21:22Yvette Gentile?

  You see, for almost three decades, the local economy depended on the coal trade. But a few years ago, the miners dug out the last pieces of ore, and the shafts have been abandoned ever since. But there's a factory not too far from the mines, and on the morning of Saturday, October 3rd, the owner, J.L. Platt Jr., was squeezing in some weakened work, or at least he was trying to. But he couldn't concentrate, because he heard a ruckus coming from the mines. Eventually, he got fed up with the distraction, and at around 1:00 in the afternoon, Platt grabbed some of the other factory workers and marched outside.

• 22:06Yvette Gentile?

  It's not exactly clear how many men were with him, but they walked to the mine's entrance. And Platt said, when he looked down the shaft, he saw flashing lights, like someone was in there with a lamp. And before he and the others had a chance to react, something came flying out of the mine and landed right smack in front of them. But it wasn't one monster. It was two of them.

• 22:39Rasha Pecoraro?

  One was full size, and the other was smaller, almost like they were a parent and child. Platt and the others were too stunned to respond, and the two creatures were apparently just as surprised to see them. Because right away, both of them turned and flew off into the sky. Platt and the others figured this had to be the rumored visitor and its offspring. If they were inside the mine shafts, maybe this was where they lived. Maybe they'd stumbled upon the creature's den. So Platt and most of his employees decided to wait there all day and night if they had to, and see if the creatures returned. Meanwhile, a couple of men ran into town

• 23:23Rasha Pecoraro?

  to notify the rest of the locals about what was going on. And they asked if anyone wanted to join in the stakeout. All through Van Meter, brave men loaded their guns, kissed their loved ones goodbye, and agreed not to rest until they achieved one goal: Find and Destroy the Visitors.

• 23:45Yvette Gentile?

  This is so interesting to me because if you think about one of the witnesses, you know, at the top of the episode, they were saying that these creatures had this foul smell.

• 23:54Rasha Pecoraro?

  Right.

• 23:54Yvette Gentile?

  Right? So if they're living in a mine shaft, like with all of the natural gases, I would think that's where that smell would come from.

• 24:03Rasha Pecoraro?

  Maybe.

• 24:04Yvette Gentile?

  I mean, who's to say? Anywho, I don't know how many people end up in this posse, but they assume the visitor and its baby will return to the nest soon enough. And they're right. A full night passes and right at the stroke of dawn, the two bat-like creatures come back. As soon as the animals are visible overhead, the posse opens fire. They shoot every shell, bullet, and pellet that they have. But the creatures are just as bulletproof as before. They ignore the onslaught entirely. They casually soar over the men, land at the entrance of the mine,

• 24:48Yvette Gentile?

  and then waddle back down into the shaft. Like the barrage of gunfire is not a big deal to them.

• 24:55Rasha Pecoraro?

  Now that both of the animals are inside the mine, the locals realize they have an opportunity on their hands. They may not be able to kill the creatures, but they can still trap them. Right away, a few men run out to grab bricks and mortar. Once they return, the group starts building a literal wall across the entrance of the shaft. They don't stop the work until the tunnel is completely sealed off. And that's when they finally feel confident. The visitor will never come back. This is a huge victory for the people of Van Meter. They still don't know what the visitor is, but at least they know it and its offspring won't be bothering them anymore.

• 25:43Yvette Gentile?

  But now, the people of Van Meter have a new problem on their hands. How do they talk about what just happened? See, the locals know this story about human-animal hybrids appearing around town. Sounds totally out there. Even though there are plenty of trustworthy witnesses, the people who live outside of Van Meter don't really believe their story. In fact, when a newspaper does a piece on the visitor, it sparks a wave of letters to the editor. And they're all from people who assume the whole thing is an obvious hoax and not worth covering.

• 26:27Yvette Gentile?

  Or they figure, everyone just saw a big bird and overreacted. Nobody wants to be mocked or dismissed. So for the most part, the people of Van Meter just stop talking about the visitor altogether. They don't draw any attention to the story. And they don't try to investigate or figure out what the creature actually was.

• 26:53Rasha Pecoraro?

  Which is a problem, because to all appearances, the beast isn't actually locked up as tightly as everyone assumes. I'm not sure if there are other entrances and exits from the mine that something could escape through, but the creature is spotted, free and on the loose several times after the year 1903. And since no one's talking about the creature or keeping records on it, some eyewitnesses have no idea or any reference about what they're seeing. For example, eight decades later, in the year 1986, a man is hunting in a rural part of Clinton County, Iowa.

• 27:36Rasha Pecoraro?

  This is about a three-hour drive east of Van Meter. We only know him as Tim. While Tim is trudging through the woods, he glances up and sees something that looks like a massive bird perched in a tree. It has to be at least six feet tall, and it's brownish-brown in color. Tim doesn't want to disturb the bird, so he continues on his way. But a short while later, he's at some local event when he bumps into a professional biologist. Right away, Tim tells the biologist exactly what he saw, this weird bird perched on the tree, right? Except the biologist says something to him like, "No way. You didn't see a bird that big.

• 28:21Rasha Pecoraro?

  The only birds that size in all of North or South America is the condor, and they don't live in Iowa." Now, I don't know for sure if Tim saw the visitor or another member of its species, or if his eyes were just playing tricks on him. But around the same time, an eerily similar report comes to light.

• 28:45Yvette Gentile?

  Yes, a man whose name isn't public knowledge moves to Van Meter. He's not from the area originally, and he's never heard the stories of the visitor. But he's just, you know, enjoying his life in his new hometown, and he's eager to familiarize himself with the neighborhood. So one day, he's out walking his dog, and he ends up following a pathway that leads right by the old mines, which are still bricked up even to this day. As this guy is, you know, just walking his dog, enjoying the view, he spots something flying right over his head. It looks like a bat, except for the fact that it's about five feet long.

• 29:29Yvette Gentile?

  Afterwards, he asks his friends and neighbors what kind of giant flying creatures they have in town. And that's how he hears the legend about the Van Meter visitor. The man figures that monster must have been what he saw.

• 29:46Rasha Pecoraro?

  Another sighting comes from the year 2000. A family is driving their car just outside of Van Meter when they see something huge lying in a heap on the side of the road. It almost looks like a dead bird, but it's much bigger than any bird they've ever seen. Unfortunately, the family is driving too quickly to get a good look at it, but the father decides to turn around and drive back. And the dead thing isn't there anymore. It almost has them wondering, maybe it wasn't dead after all, but just resting.

• 30:26Yvette Gentile?

  There have been reports as recently as 2020, most of which are pretty vague and similar to what we've covered already. But there's one story that stands out. This one is from 2006, and it involves a minister whose name isn't available to the public, and for simplicity, we'll just call him Adam. Adam is planning to meet up with a friend in or near Van Meter. He's driving down a road just outside of town when something flies over his car. Except unlike other witnesses, Adam doesn't say it looks like a giant bird. He thinks it's a dragon,

• 31:08Yvette Gentile?

  or at least something that looks an awful lot like one. Later that day, Adam goes home, turns on his computer, and Googles the phrase "Iowa dragon." And y'all, that is a real thing, trust me. Go and Google it.

• 31:23Rasha Pecoraro?

  I did.

• 31:24Yvette Gentile?

  As he's skimming the articles and websites, he spots a picture that looks exactly like the creature he saw. It's a sketch of the Van Meter visitor. And this is enough to tell Adam this thing is still alive and kicking. Or perhaps, one of its descendants has gotten loose. All to say, it sounds like something very strange lives in Van Meter and in the surrounding area.

• 31:54Rasha Pecoraro?

  The real question is, what is it? To this day, nobody knows the answer. But in the year 2013, a paranormal researcher named Chad Lewis heard about the creature, and he decided to write a book on it. As he dug into research and explored the possibilities, he thought he uncovered evidence about the visitor's identity. And he believed it may not have been from our world.

• 32:29Speaker 04

  Hi, I'm Ashley Flowers.

• 32:31Speaker 03

  And I'm Britt. And if you're on the edge of your seat, listening to this show, Crime Junkie needs to be your next listen.

• 32:37Speaker 04

  Every Monday, I dive into a new true crime case that our reporting team has been on the ground looking into. From lesser-known disappearances to the most chilling cases hitting the headlines. And I'm gonna walk you through it the way I tell my best friend, because, well, that's what I'm doing.

• 32:52Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's me. And I'm right there with you as we listen together, react to every wild detail, and of course, I ask all the questions.

• 33:00Speaker 04

  And I'm gonna have the answers, because we have case files, we're talking to detectives and family members, and we're gonna stay focused on the facts.

• 33:07Speaker 03

  So if you're not already listening to Crime Junkie, what are you waiting for? There are over 300 episodes available right now.

• 33:14Speaker 04

  And you can listen to new episodes of Crime Junkie every Monday, wherever you get your podcasts.

• 33:25Rasha Pecoraro?

  In the fall of 1903, a flying bat-like creature terrorized a small town in Iowa. Ever since then, people have wondered what the animal, dubbed the Van Meter Visitor, actually was.

• 33:40Yvette Gentile?

  The earliest theories from 1903 said it was an ancient creature thought to be extinct, but somehow survived. Something like a dinosaur. Which can make sense to me. I mean, the visitor sounds a lot like a pterodactyl, the winged reptiles that lived in the dinosaur age. So I had to research to see if something like this still might be alive in Van Meter, Iowa. And based on what I found, it seems like the visitor could belong to a category of animals called the pterosaurs. The word "terosaur" refers to all of the flying reptiles from the dinosaur age,

• 34:22Yvette Gentile?

  including pterodactyls, tyrannodons, and so on. Contrary to popular belief, pterosaurs are not dinosaurs. Scientists consider them reptiles that fly. That said, pterosaurs are cool because they were the oldest vertebrates to be able to fly. They were around even before birds or bats, and they could get super big. Scientists have found fossils that are eight feet tall, with wingspans as long as 36 feet. So picture an animal that is about as tall as a house, and when it spreads its wings,

• 35:07Yvette Gentile?

  it's roughly as wide as a small airplane. And by comparison, the eight-to-nine-foot-tall Van Meter cryptid seems pretty modest. Officially, pterosaurs went extinct 65 million years ago, along with all the dinosaurs. But unofficially, you've got to wonder if one or more of them took shelter in the coal line caves beneath Van Meter, which already existed even back then. And maybe their descendants survived there up until today. Who's to say?

• 35:49Rasha Pecoraro?

  After all, lots of other animals survived when dinosaurs died. There were tiny rodents that eventually evolved into every mammal that's alive today. The dinosaurs' descendants, which became birds, and alligators, which have barely changed in the past 65 million years. If all of those species could make it, it seems like a pterosaur could too.

• 36:15Yvette Gentile?

  Well, there's a big difference between pterosaurs and all of the other animals. The ones that survived were all small, meaning they didn't have to eat much. Food was really scarce after the dinosaur extinction. So it would have been hard for a house-sized pterosaur to find enough to eat. But less difficult for something like a mouse or a small bird. And there's another problem with this theory. I mean, a little thing called the Ice Age. About 20,000 years ago, a massive glacier spread across most of Iowa, including Van Meter.

• 36:54Yvette Gentile?

  Meaning, those old mines were completely encased in snow and ice. There is no way a flock of pterosaurs could have survived for long if they were trapped there. They wouldn't have had access to food, liquid water, or warm weather. And again, an eight-to-nine-foot flying animal would have needed to eat a whole lot.

• 37:23Rasha Pecoraro?

  As much as I would absolutely love to see a living dinosaur in real life... Hello, I love Jurassic Park. I have to agree with you, Yvette. It doesn't seem very likely that a pterosaur survived to the 1900s. But, we have other theories to cover. Because in 2013, paranormal researcher Chad Lewis found some new clues about the visitor's identity. When Chad first heard about the animal, he just had to know more about it. Eventually, he wrote a book. "The Van Meter Visitor: A True and Mysterious Encounter with the Unknown."

• 38:03Rasha Pecoraro?

  This book helped bring the visitor back into the mainstream after most people had simply forgotten about it. Chad is also the one who dubbed the creature "The Visitor", specifically because he didn't know if the animal was aggressive, friendly, or something else entirely. He wanted to give it a neutral name that didn't make it sound scary or monstrous. And during his research, he noticed an interesting recurring trend, one that inspired a theory that contradicts the dinosaur explanation. See, lots of witnesses experienced odd bouts of forgetfulness or lost time after seeing the strange creature. Take Ovi White, for example,

• 38:48Rasha Pecoraro?

  the man who woke up in the middle of the night, who saw the visitor outside his window and then shot at it. Remember, his memories of what happened after that were completely white. Chad finds other witnesses with similar issues remembering. Their accounts are all very brief and very vague, which makes sense because they can't recall much of them. But their stories have one common theme. Like White, as soon as these people saw the visitor, they also smelled it. The thing gave off some kind of powerful, horrible odor. And the moment the scent hit their noses,

• 39:30Rasha Pecoraro?

  they blacked out and couldn't remember what came next.

• 39:34Yvette Gentile?

  And that's what I was talking about earlier. Those natural gases, maybe, that are on these creatures is what's causing these people to blackout or forget whatever happened.

• 39:44Rasha Pecoraro?

  Right, the sense that we're already in the mine.

• 39:47Yvette Gentile?

  Yeah.

• 39:48Rasha Pecoraro?

  Yeah. Well, when Chad read these accounts, he couldn't help but think of how familiar they felt to him, especially when he thought about people who experienced lost time during UFO encounters. For those who aren't familiar, the term "lost time" refers to a common phenomenon in UFO cases. It happens when eyewitnesses have what feel like brief encounters, and then later, they look at a watch or a clock to realize hours passed in what felt like minutes or seconds. So Chad figures, maybe aliens can erase big chunks of people's memories.

• 40:33Rasha Pecoraro?

  And if the Van Meter visitor can do the same thing, it might also be from another planet.

• 40:41Rasha Pecoraro?

  Chad also finds records that the Van Meter Visitor appeared in the middle of a rash of UFO sightings. And his thinking is, if there are a lot of alien vessels in the sky, something's got to be on board, right? Maybe even other members of the visitor species. Just six years before all of the visitor sightings, in the year 1897, people all across the state saw strange lights drifting through the sky. They appeared multiple times throughout April and always during the night. They flew on an erratic path, drifting back and forth and often flew against the wind,

• 41:24Rasha Pecoraro?

  which would have been impossible for a balloon. However, most witnesses described these craft as looking like a blimp or an airship, but nobody could ever identify where they came from or who was driving them. The sightings died down in the early summer of 1897. But then, in 1907, which was four years after the Van Meter Incident, there was another rash of reports. Once more, all of the witnesses said there were unidentified, slow-moving lights in the sky, just like the decade before. And once again, nobody was ever able to explain where the lights came from.

• 42:06Rasha Pecoraro?

  It makes me wonder if these ships may have been from another planet. Perhaps they were carrying an extraterrestrial species of flying bat-like creatures that we now call the Van Meter Visitor.

• 42:20Yvette Gentile?

  Okay, well, if that sounds like a stretch, then consider this. There are a lot of similarities between the visitor and another famous being, the Mothman.

• 42:32Yvette Gentile?

  Y'all, Ashley did a deep dive on this cryptid. You should go check it out. But the story goes that in November of 1966, a strange creature was repeatedly spotted in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. It stood five to six feet tall, its eyes actually glowed in the dark, and it had leathery, bat-like wings. It also came along with a huge wave of UFO reports in the area. Now, after this entity called Mothman appeared, a bridge outside of town collapsed and 46 people died.

• 43:14Yvette Gentile?

  Many thought the Mothman had actually come to warn them of this impending disaster.

• 43:22Yvette Gentile?

  I mean, as for the Van Meter visitor, well, there weren't any major disasters after its appearance. And it doesn't sound like it was there to warn anyone about anything. But I still do wonder if there's some kind of connection between it and the Mothman. And I do want to say that neither of these creatures were trying to harm any of the people.

• 43:48Rasha Pecoraro?

  Yeah, but everybody trying to hurt them, it feels like. It definitely sounds similar to me. But a lot of the original witnesses in Van Meter believed it was a different kind of otherworldly being, one that didn't come from the skies, but instead from hell. So the mines we mentioned earlier are unusually deep, deeper than any other that were active in the county at the time. The theory goes that the miners dug a little too far down and broke through the barrier between our reality and the underworld. And they just may have unleashed a demon.

• 44:31Rasha Pecoraro?

  Even to this day, lots of people get really bad feelings when they walk by the mines. Almost like, on some subconscious level, they know that they're in the presence of pure evil. Reports also say the nearby factory is haunted, like satanic forces are attracting ghosts and spirits to the area. Apparently, when people visit the factory, they can still hear machines running, even though the place has been closed for over a hundred years now, and the building is completely falling apart. There are stories online that say people have walked through the crumbling structures and the grounds around them, only to hear screaming and shouting,

• 45:17Rasha Pecoraro?

  but there's nobody around to make those noises. Some visitors also report finding strange bruises and scratches on their bodies, even though they have no idea where they got them from and don't remember anyone touching or hurting them.

• 45:34Yvette Gentile?

  You know, and we have to talk about land again, right? When you talk about what was here on this land and in those coal mines, you know, accidents happen. So I'm sure there are many tragedies that happened there. So they could be picking up-

• 45:48Rasha Pecoraro?

  Many spirits that are-

• 45:49Yvette Gentile?

  Right, picking up on that as well.

• 45:51Rasha Pecoraro?

  On the land, or staying with the land.

• 45:54Yvette Gentile?

  Right. I mean, you don't have to believe in demons, ghosts, or aliens to accept that something strange might be dwelling in the mines outside of Van Meter. The visitor could be an ordinary animal that hasn't, you know, been discovered yet. In his book, The Van Meter Visitor, Chad Lewis notes that a flying animal could have evolved in the complete darkness of the mines. It might have even developed a natural light source on its horn, similar to how a deep-sea fish can produce light in their skin. In other words, the visitor might not be, I don't know, supernatural after all.

• 46:38Rasha Pecoraro?

  Yeah, except ordinary animals aren't usually bulletproof. That sounds like supernatural to me. Which is why some historians have turned to other explanations, not supernatural ones. But they believe that the people of Van Meter collectively may have hallucinated the visitor, or that it was a hoax, a way for a small town to drum up interest from tourists. But I personally do not buy that.

• 47:08Yvette Gentile?

  Something else that I found interesting. Remember earlier how we mentioned that Peter Dunn, the bank cashier, made a plaster cast of the creature's footprint? Well, apparently, right after he did that, the cast mysteriously went missing. To this day, it's unclear if Peter lost it, if it got stolen, or even if it ever existed.

• 47:32Rasha Pecoraro?

  I have a question about that, though. I saw it when we were doing our research. I saw it online. So is that just a replica?

• 47:38Yvette Gentile?

  I think that is just a replica, if I'm not mistaken, because I did see it too. But I saw it, like, it was in a stone cast, like a major stone cast with these footprints in it.

• 47:49Rasha Pecoraro?

  I saw that, too.

• 47:50Yvette Gentile?

  Yeah. It's pretty convenient that our one and only piece of physical evidence just disappeared. Unless, like I said before, it never existed in the first place. And some people, you know, may believe that it is part of a scam.

• 48:08Rasha Pecoraro?

  Except after the townspeople bricked up the mine, they completely stopped talking about the Van Meter visitor. They didn't advertise that a cryptid had come to their town, and they certainly didn't convince any tourists to come investigate the visitor. That's why I have a hard time accepting that the Van Meter visitor was faked for tourism or the result of a mass delusion. I never believe in the mass delusions, to be honest. I also think there are just too many witnesses and their stories are just too consistent. Though I will say, things have changed a bit in Van Meter since the early 1900s.

• 48:49Rasha Pecoraro?

  Ever since Chad Lewis brought this story into the spotlight with his book, Van Meter has been a huge tourist destination for people who love cryptids and paranormal stories. Every year, Van Meter now throws a festival that draws anywhere between 300 to 500 tourists. For a town with a population of just 1,500, that's a massive crowd. And all of those people eat at local restaurants, stay in the area's hotels, and shop downtown. Meaning, the Van Meter visitor is boosting the economy. But, it's also sparking a lot of people's curiosity.

• 49:32Rasha Pecoraro?

  The legend has opened many minds to the idea that the world can be mysterious, exciting, and full of undiscovered wonders waiting to be explored. It reminds people that there are still secrets hidden in the corners of the earth, inspiring curiosity and a sense of adventure. It offers a glimpse at a whole different way of viewing reality. And it reassures us that there's a big universe out there, an entire world may even be beneath our feet, just waiting to be discovered.

• 50:24Yvette Gentile?

  This is So Supernatural, an AudioChuck original, produced by Crime House. You can connect with us on Instagram at @SoSupernaturalPod and visit our website at sosupernaturalpodcast.com. Join Rash and me next Friday for an all-new episode.

• 50:45Yvette Gentile?

  I think Chuck would approve.

• 50:50Speaker 05

  When the nights grow longer, the shadows start to stir. And that can only mean one thing. Full Body Chills is back. This season, step inside original tales where every doorway leads somewhere darker, every stranger carries a secret, and nothing is ever quite what it seems. Each story takes you somewhere new, but be careful. You never know what might follow you home. So gather round, listen close, and stream Full Body Chills wherever you get your podcasts.