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| Browns Corners, Markle, IN The most fascinating story I've heard from my mother involves 2 large creatures that are seen on the actual "corner", one large brown humanoid (approx. 9' tall) and the other is a smaller "whitish" creature (approx. 5 to 6 feet). According to mom, she's seen the creatures several times, at different times of night and different parts of the year. She and her friends visited the area quite often when she was a teenager. Anyway, one night one of my fathers friends had just gotten out of jail (for what, she wouldn't say. She also wouldn't give me a name, lets call him "B"). They went out so that he could prove they were "seeing things". Along the way, he made a big deal about the .38 pistol he had lifted from someone's home and was now carrying so that he could "make some money if the bogeyman was out there". They stopped at the roadside around 100 yards back from the "corner" and he headed into the woods. About 10 minutes passed, mom heard a scream and "B" came tearing out of the woods, jumped halfway into the windows of the car, and screamed "GO GO GO" while almost crying. He had dropped the gun in the woods without firing a shot, BTW. "B" wouldn't say much about what he saw, but he identified the two creatures that seem to be a regular occurrence in stories about the place, and he moved out of state shortly thereafter. *************************************************** Emailed a few months later from Ron: The following tale is taken from 4 people I've spoken to over the last few months. I have polished it up a bit, but the information contained within has not been changed, and is the essentially the same from all involved. I've limited my research to those directly involved with this incident, but I, personally, wasn't there (I was born in '73 <G>). In late summer of 1972, a group of 5 friends from Huntington, IN decided to drive around in an area nearby known as "Browns Corners", a local State Park/Preserve. As I understand it, Browns Corners covers an area approximately 5 miles by 7 miles (which makes it odd that I can't seem to find it on a map), all of it wooded area with a river running through it. Unbeknownst to those teens, the area was a "hotbed" of paranormal activity, with legends going back to early American Indian tales. I've narrowed down it's (the "Corners'") location to Markle, IN at the corner of Simpson Rd. and County Road 200, near US224 and SR69. None were drinking, and as far as I've been able to
determine, no drugs were involved (4 of the 5 people are "Good Christians", and
the last is someone I would not believe is, or ever had been, a user of anything
At approximately 7 pm, the 5 friends hopped into the car, and took off. After a drive of about 45 minutes they reached what I've been told is the "border" of the area. State Park signs warned that after dark entry was prohibited, but were ignored (those signs have since been removed, from what I've been told). The entry point is where the "corner" is located, and has been the site of many frightening manifestations of 2 creatures, one approx. 9 feet tall, brown in color with very few identifying features while the other creature is a whitish color and approx. 5 to 6 feet tall. Both descriptions are the best I could get, and neither creature was seen on the night in question. A short while later (estimates range from 30 minutes to 1 hour), the vehicle began experiencing mechanical trouble (sputtering engine, dimming headlights, etc). The driver pulled over to examine the engine, attempting to see if something had shaken loose. The next 15 minutes encompass the bulk of this tale. After finding nothing obviously wrong with the car (a 1965 Chevy), the driver leaned back onto the drivers side fender and lit a cigarette, only then noticing someone (or something) "the size of a man" watching them from the edge of the woods on the opposite side of the road. When he stood and attempted to speak to the figure, it disappeared back into the trees and bushes. At this time, 3 of my sources say that they noticed that all the night sounds had ceased (no insects, animals, or anything but the wind could be heard). I note here that none of the group could provide details as to the appearance of the figure because of the dimness of the light, which leads me to believe that the time frame given earlier was a bit conservative. After a quick moment of discussion, the 2 males of the party
grabbed the tire iron and a 2" x 4" from the trunk, while one of the girls
attempted to start the Chevy again. Turning the key produced no effect, and the
What follows is convoluted, at best. As I said, I've tried
to make sense of it, but none of the group I spoke to could provide any better
description of the events, and rather than give myself (and the reader) a #1: The f-ing car died, and me and S almost s--t. There was some dude hiding in the trees, and he ran off before we could get to him. S said "Let's grab some stuff from the trunk in case he's a wacko." So, we grabbed the jack handle and a hunk of 2 by 4 and started into the woods. Soon as we hit the trees, something started screaming (note: exact description "Like someone bein' beat", from all accounts it was a constant wailing, not like an owls call) and I almost dropped my club. S looked at me and said "Man, this is crazy!" But, we went anyways. We made it in about 30 or 40 feet, and sh-t started fallin out of the trees, the screams got louder, and S turned to run, which I thought was a good idea! When we got back to the car, K hit the key again, and it started right up. We didn't even close the trunk, man. Just hopped in and floored it. We got to the bridge, and there was some dirty lookin old dude standin there screamin, waving some kinda cane lookin all p--ed off. We wasn't about to stop. Didn't stop til we hit town. I never been back out there, and I don't wanna go back. #2 J was freaked out man, but we grabbed the iron and a 2 by 4 outta the trunk in case we needed em. I figure there was only one of him (the figure in the trees), so 2 of us could take em. There was a ditch on the side of the road, but we hopped it and started in to the trees. Man, when we got there somethin(g) sounded p-ssed. Started screamin like it was being beat to death. J wanted to go back, but I convinced him to keep on. I didn't get worried until tree branches started hittin us, and I'm pretty sure I heard something big moving around out there. I ain't afraid of nothin(g), but I figured we had the chicks in the car, so we went back. J almost broke his neck getting over the ditch, but the car started up and we took off. Some crazy old fart was standin(g) by the bridge screamin(g) something, but everyone else was scared, so I kept on going. When we got back to town, I asked the girls if they seen anything, but they didn't. Just heard the screaming, then seen us comin out of the woods. End of personal accounts. In addition to stories such as this one, I've heard about Amerind legends concerning the place, but have yet to be able to find out any more info on them. In addition, people have said that several Indiana State Highway Patrol officers went missing in the area during the '50s (apparently in connection with KKK activity in the area, but I've been unable to confirm or deny those tales), with only their uniforms being found later, but no bodies. The older locals make a point to mention the river repeatedly, but I've yet been able to find out why. Unfortunately, I live about 130 miles away, and don't back to Huntington very often, so my own ability to research the tales is somewhat limited. ******************************* One other interesting tale was related to me by a relative, unfortunately he has a tendency to embellish things. I've asked some of my other relatives (and the other party present) about it, and what the parts they agree with is what follows: Date, unknown (Mid-Summer, around 1972 or 73). Location: Browns' Corners. Time: Midday. D had just bought a car from a friend (either an Olds or Chevy, the make couldn't be agreeded upon), and decided to see what it could do. Running it flat out, he and the friend hit the border (unclear whether or not he took a back route to BC) and slowed to go up a hill. Once he reached the top, they stopped and climbed out to admire the view. D is a bowhunter and decided to see if he could find a good spot to set up a blind in the fall, so they started down the side of the hill opposite from the road to see what was available. After 20 minutes or so, the pair came back to find his rear winshield shattered (neither heard anything at all during the time they were gone, and both agree that they went, at most, 50 yards away during this time) and the car running (the keys were in Ds' pocket). No one was in the vehicle when they looked, and no evidence of tampering with the ignition was visible. When the key was put into the ignition, the car died, but started immediately when the key was turned. They left as quickly as they came, but both agree that there was a handprint imprinted on the dashboard, with elongated fingers and what seemed to be nail marks 1/4" above the fingertips. 2 things catch my attention about the preceeding tale: 1: that a nature preserve (at least in Ohio) doesn't normally allow hunters (far be it from me to advance the theory that D is a poacher :>) and 2: that Ds' friend mentioned something about a message being drawn in the dust on the hood. He wouldn't say what it was, but he did say that the handprint seemed to be pressed into the dashboard, not just visible as a disturbance of dust or dirt. Unfortunately, no photos of the car or dash were available, but I was told that they do exist. Ron Chaos comment: Ron you are a PRO. You did excellent work researching this. 99.9% of the time we are looking for ghosts and spirits but I think we'll be coming out this fall to investigate this!! : )
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