On the night of October 26, 2010 I had an encounter I've waited for for a long, long time...
It was not a ghost nor a bigfoot that drew my attention but something much more (to some) mundane but maybe, ultimately, more frightening. That night, driving home, I encountered a large cat.
The animal was initially seen at the edge of my headlights as it ran across the road in front of my car. It was just before midnight and I was driving home after one of our Haunted Decatur Tours. Just about a mile north of Cantrall, Illinois on Route 29 something large darted across the road. My first thought was that it looked very feline, low to the ground and sleek. Bobcat? Normally at this stage of the drive I'm very tired and I thought maybe my eyes were deceiving me so I did a u-turn on the deserted road and went back to see.
I drove slowly back toward the spot where I'd seen the animal and then there it was, crouched alongside the road, illuminated squarely in my brights. It was maybe four to five feet long, dark gray in color and clearly a mountain lion or some such creature. It slowly loped into a field and I noticed it's tail, about the length of it's body. I realized I'd just encountered an animal that's not supposed to exist in Illinois...but apparently does.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources will tell you that these cats don't exist in central Illinois...but I've had cops tell me otherwise. I've had IDNR personnel report (albiet reluctantly) that there is a growing population but officially the word is still a resounding, "no".
Similiar reports are numerous and go back decades but they seem to be increasing in recent years. Christian and Macon Counties have been hot spots in the past but the animals seem to be on the move. I know of two recent reports from Decatur (one in March 2010 and another in June) and just got word of a sighting by a deputy in rural Menard County late one night.
I don't subscribe to theories that suggest there is something paranormal going on with these cats, I believe they are just being pushed out of their natural environment. But the animals are there.
I took a picture of the animal I saw. Unfortunatly I got nothing as it was moving away when I snapped the picture and I wasn't about to run after it alone! Too bad but rest assured I'll be watching and hopefully the next time I'll be better prepared!
