The Monster Missive: Sn. 20 Ep 47 & Sn. 20 Ep. 48 (Patreon)

Our weekly newsletter, brought to you by MAU team members, Delainey Bowers and Conor Ryan, every Friday.

-Show Notes Spotlight-

A more in-depth look at some of the research covered in this week's Tuesday and Thursday episodes.

A few weeks ago, the entire MAU team was lucky enough to be abducted while we were sleeping, then somehow taken to visit every single one of Minnesota’s 14,380 lakes. While we looked on unblinkingly out of the one-way mirror that made up the craft’s exterior walls, it was a beautiful sight to behold. And although the next morning our throats were sore from silently screaming all night, the tranquility of those waters inspired us to gather our favorite calls from the North Star State and share them with you!

It’s hard to top Wayne’s story from our Tuesday episode about a seemingly cursed orphanage in Duluth that was turned into apartment buildings. However, there are plenty of other haunted tales in the region. Here are just a few highlights, courtesy of Thieves River, starting with another story from the Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas:

Nopeming Sanatorium (Duluth)

“Originally built in the early 20th century to house tuberculosis patients, Nopeming Sanatorium – located on the outskirts of Duluth – also served as an orphanage and rest home before closing in 2002. The abandoned structural remains are said to be haunted by a former nurse working dutifully at her station and an older man who sits in a wheelchair waiting for family members who will never arrive. Visitors also report hearing the sounds of anguished wails coming from the surgery rooms.”

The Dead Man’s Trail (Thief River Falls)

“The Dead Man’s Trail winds through dense, untamed woods in Northern Minnesota, shrouded in local legends that have endured for generations.” The secluded trail is said to be a hotspot for “time slips,” and hikers have reported apparitions drifting through the trees, disembodied whispers, a sudden feeling of dread, and the sensation of being watched from afar. 

The Palmer House Hotel (Sauk Centre)

“Built in 1901 atop the charred remains of a hotel destroyed by fire, The Palmer House Hotel quickly established itself as one of Minnesota's most mysterious landmarks.” Hotel staff and visitors have described hearing “echoes of ghostly laughter,” feeling “sudden cold spots,” and witnessing shadow figures “appear then vanish.

Among the spirits believed to haunt The Palmer House is Lucy, a mischievous young entity known for playing pranks, and a shadowy man in a top hat who silently observes from dim corners.”

And if that’s not enough to prove there are visitors from beyond the grave wandering around the Gopher State, make sure to tune into Tuesday’s episode to hear Bryce, Shawn, and Gonzalo’s first-hand accounts. Unfortunately though, there was a dearth of monster calls despite the state’s rich history. For anyone trying to fill out their cryptid journal, here are a few more entries you can add:

Dogman of Duluth/Duluth Dogman/Minnesota Dogman

Akin to reports of The Beast of Bray Road, eyewitnesses have claimed to see a massive, bipedal, canid-like creature with matted fur, a long tail, giant paws, broad shoulders, and tapered waist. Encounters have occurred in Otter Tail County (2009), St. Louis County (1999), and Todd County (date unknown). 

Pepie

Pepie is a legendary aquatic cryptid said to roam the waters of Lake Pepin along the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. According to eyewitnesses, the serpentlike cryptid may measure up to 30’ long with a humped back. Since 2008, a $50,000 reward has been offered to anyone who can show definitive proof of Pepie’s existence. 

Giant Bird of Webb Lake

Again, similar to Thunderbird accounts, this giant bird is said to screech above the shorelines of Webb Lake in Cass County. Eyewitnesses report a nearly 8’ tall, prehistoric bird-like creature with an 18’ wingspan, dark feathers, a bent neck, and a hooked beak.

And to think, before our midnight flight we only knew Minnesota as the birthplace of great inventions like the Post-it-note, Spam, rollerblading, and waterskiing! We’re all excited to eventually make a return field trip back to the state sometime soon, but hopefully this time with a little more control over where we’re going!

Speaking of those celestial beings that visit us in the night, on Thursday’s episode, Bryan shared his own story of seeing a bright red rectangular shape in the sky. Lucky for us, he also went through the proper UFO bureaucratic channels and filed his report with NUFORC for whoever wants to read it. Below is his illustration of some mental images that flashed into his head soon after the sighting.

And although it’s common knowledge that weird things are always happening on the ground in Florida (we see you, Florida Man) - it seems the skies there are just as strange.

One encounter with eerie similarities to Bryan’s call is related in NUFORC Sighting 178732. This event took place on October 5, 2023 in Homosassa, FL, which is ~175 miles south of Tallahassee. Per the report, 

“...in the early morning hours of Oct 5, around 1:45 a.m., facing east, slightly southeast, I saw what at first appeared to be an EXTREMELY large fireball/comet. It was less than 2,000ft AGL, and AT LEAST from end to end, school bus sized. 

As we sprinted…to get a better look from behind my neighbors tree, I realized it was completely motionless. Not only that, but it was 100% not a comet. It was a bright crimson red rectangle facing west, 'hovering' vertically, and tapered to a point or rounded point back towards the east side of it.

Instantaneously, the entire motionless object disappeared. Not by leaving slowly, or fading away; but blinking out of existence.

We thought the experience was over, then no more than 2 seconds after disappearing, in the same exact patch of sky, it reappeared, but as a lonely twinkle of light that looked like just a star. Initially in this form, it was very bright, then its brightness lowered a bit. 

…it ambled in a southeast direction over farmland, until it got too small for us to follow with our eyes.”

And it seems like these red crafts are not as rare as we at first assumed. All the way back in 2003 (and on the other side of the country) former Navy pilot Ryan Graves spotted a red, square UAP that flew over Vandenberg Air Force Base. You can watch some of his testimony to Congress here. 

Speaking of odd goings-on in Florida, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention Pam’s call from Thursday’s episode where she told the story of her cousins encountering Bigfoot in The Sunshine State way back in the seventies. According to the Palm Beach Post, this experience actually lines up with a rash of skunk ape sightings from that decade,

1972 Several large dogs flee from an “8’ tall hairy monster”

1974 Two deputies in Lantana shoot a large bipedal that runs off into the night

1974 Seven teenagers in West Palm Beach report seeing a creature

1974 Lake Worth man says he witnessed a skunk ape grab one of his pigs and shred it

 to pieces with its bare hands

1974 Guard at a construction site shoots and wounds a hairy creature

1976 Skunk ape reported in a watermelon patch near Ft. Myers

1977 7’ tall, apelike creature reported drinking water near a golf course in Delray Beach

While giant creatures with big feet are all well and good, sometimes it’s nice to shift our focus to fantastical creatures that can often get overlooked (literally). Andrea relayed the story of her mother, who heard fae-like voices outside her window while she was growing up in Lawson, MO. 

Lawson’s official website helps us fill in a little bit of needed context, “Lawson is situated on the Ray-Clay county lines, first seeing settlement in 1822 with the arrival of the first migrating families from Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and New York.” 

So, predominantly Appalachian folks heading westward. In that case, you could easily have a mix of Irish, German, Scots-Irish, and English folklore traditions converging on one point, and all of those cultures have some connection to fae folk. Also, according to the wonderful resource Native Land Digital, at various points, Lawson was (and is!) home to Kickapoo and Osage peoples. 

Thanks to Native Languages, we’ve learned that the Osage traditionally share the story of the Mialuka (Wild People), 

“The Wild People are fairy-like little people of central and southern Siouan folklore. They are usually described as being 1-2 feet tall, sometimes winged, and in some tribes, such as the Omaha, they are said to have only one eye. The Wild People have magical powers and can be dangerous, sometimes kidnapping children or using witchcraft to harm people.”

Additionally, thanks to the Archeology department at UARK, we’ve found out that these beings are also found in one of the bedrock stories shared by the Osage. Per their creation myth, 

“...the Osages came from the sky, from among and of the stars. In the upper worlds, the Osages existed first as spirit beings and in their humility called themselves the Little Ones. The Little Ones decided that they should go down to earth to become a people. 

The Little Ones followed closely behind [the four gods]  in three separate groups. As they approached the earth, the Little Ones floated down with outstretched legs and arms up like the wings of an eagle and landed in the seven treetops.”

Now, if we add all of that info to those aforementioned traditional stories that settlers brought with them to the area, it would almost be more surprising to learn that there were no stories of fairies out of the Lawson, MO area.

One of the odder phenomena we’ve been getting reports of are apparitions of “blue warthog people” that seem to be of the alien variety. The latest instance of this was told to us on Thursday’s episode by Angie from Washington, except her vision also included the detail that the entity was wearing a breastplate and holding a spear.

While there aren’t a ton of documented reports like this, there is an unnerving story from 2025 related to blue pigs as documented by Science Alert [NSFW warning on the images in this article],

“Game hunters found startlingly 'neon blue' flesh inside wild pigs in California in 2025, prompting advisory statements about potential contamination.

An investigation by local authorities found that the dramatic color change was caused by rodenticide poisoning, prompting them to issue a warning throughout Monterey County.”

Obviously it’s not the same thing, but the image of that blue flesh is bananas and will probably haunt our dreams for the foreseeable future!

For a more accurate connection to Angie’s story, we might look to Celtic culture. She mentioned that the warthog who appeared to her seemed to be acting as a protector and according to Cultural Boar, 

“In Celtic mythology, the wild boar represents fertility, fearlessness, wealth, stubbornness, courage, and warrior strength. The latter stems from the fact that boars are very strong, dangerous, and very hard to kill.

Symbols of the wild boar were often placed on the swords, shields, and helmet crests of Celtic warriors in order to give them protection in battle.”

Also, according to this article from the National Museum of Ireland,

“The symbolic and social importance of the boar is a recurring feature common to several different cultures and chronological periods. Famed for its courage and aggression, the boar was viewed as a symbol of a worthy battle opponent and a military emblem, and the hunting and killing of a boar was seen as an act of valour, skill and strength.”

So, next time you wake up to see a massive blue warthog wearing a gleaming breastplate, rest easy knowing they are solely there to keep you from any harm!

-Here There Be Headlines-

A round-up of bizarre, curious, head-scratching news stories that leave you saying, "huh."

Well, it’s time for us to teleport back to our lunar base on the dark side of the moon now that it’s out of the prying eyes of those pesky astronauts, but we’ll leave you with a few odd headlines we collected for you this past week!

Unidentified canine-like creature mauls Oklahoma woman

Just in case you wanted to feel very, very small today

Unsung heroes of the modern age? Zookeepers.

This one’s for you, Magawa!

Haunted Historical Headline (April 10, 1965)

-Delainey Bowers: Monsters Among Us Junior and Folklore in Real Time-

Recently, our MAU Meemaw was featured on an episode of Steve Berg’s podcast – Hi, Strangeness – where she chatted about her career as an independent folklorist, her thoughts on creating a kid-friendly MAU spin-off, and her abiding love for all things weird. If you have an hour to spare, give it a listen! (And then tell her she’s really smart and funny.)

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts

-A Quick Note from MAU Headquarters-

As some of you may know, MAU is based in the San Bernardino Mountains, home of Jackie and Shadow, the famous Big Bear Lake bald eagles that are livestreamed 24/7 for the entire world to see. If you haven't heard of this awesome livestream before, you can check it out here. Right now a critical wildlife habitat at Big Bear Lake is threatened by a proposed development. The habitat includes Jackie and Shadow's foraging area and is less than a mile from their nest. In other words, Jackie and Shadow need our help; you can learn more and donate here: https://savemooncamp.org/