Ocean Township
Ocean Township, NJ – 1970s
Ocean Township is in the thick of New Jersey suburbia. Even in the 1970s, most areas east of the Garden State Parkway in Monmouth County were well developed, so a sighting of a Big Foot type creature seems highly unlikely.
Nevertheless, the text of this encounter was posted to a popular on-line salt-water fishing forum.
Originally Posted by Mr. Mom
Immediately before the driver began to turn – they heard a high-pitched scream, which – according to the witness – was directed at them.
Quote:
I’d love to know what that sounded like.
I grew up through 8th grade in Ocean Twp, my yard backed up on a over a thousand + acres of woods including what is now the Ocean Twp Pool club on the old Hamernicks field property. Spent uncounted hours out there and knew those woods like most people know their own living room.
One night when I was 17 years old a friend and I took the car way back on the trails to go camping. We parked and got out to check for a good spot to set up the tents. There was this terrifying noise, between a screech and a yell, like nothing I’ve ever heard before or since, no human could have made that sound. The closest sound I can compare it too is the sound of a Great Blue heron (and it’s really not that close, no way was it a Heron and no way could a Heron be that loud). I’m remembering this almost 30 years later and all the hair on the back of my neck is sticking straight out.
We ran back into the car and sat there for a few minutes completely freaked out “HOLY CHIT! DUDE! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!” It took a while before we calmed down and began rationalizing, figuring it was some weird bird or something. After all, this was Ocean Twp in Monmouth county what could it possibly have been? It wasn’t like we were in the mountains or in the Pine Barrens. This was suburbia in the 1970’s, literally right out of “The Wonder Years” TV show. At the time there was very, very little wildlife around, it was even a big deal to find a set of deer tracks back there.
We calmed down enough that we were just about get out of the car and start getting the tents out when we heard it again. This time it was closer, too close, maybe 20 yards, scared the living crap out of us! I honked the horn and turned on the headlights. We heard it again right away and it had moved off a little. It yelled/screamed a few more times as it circled around behind us, never going into the light from the headlights. That was it, there was a rooster tail of dirt behind the car as we tore out of there.
This does bring up another strange memory from a bunch of years before that and from the same area. Some friends came flying out of the woods completely freaked out. They had been tree climbing (there were massive trees that tower up and were awesome for climbing) they were way up in the branches and saw something over in the tree next to them. They claimed it was some kind of really big monkey thing.
We always thought they were nuts until I heard that sound out there years later. Now I wonder what they really saw.
