Man shoots Hairy Monster.. or did he?

The Enfield Monster: Illinois creature or mob mentality?

Jonathan Harker
3 min readOct 31, 2023

On a seemingly ordinary evening in April 1973, the quiet town of Enfield, Illinois — affectionately or ominously known as the ‘Devil’s Kitchen’ — became the epicenter of a mystery that still tickles the fancies of cryptozoologists and skeptics alike. This is the tale of the Enfield Monster, a story where folklore, fear, and maybe a touch of the extraterrestrial, concoct a cocktail of intrigue.

Picture this: Henry McDaniel, a disabled war veteran and antique dealer, returns home on a Wednesday night after a meeting. It’s peaceful, until it isn’t. His children are the first to notice — there’s a noise, a scratching at the door, like a nocturnal creature fumbling for entry. But what’s lurking outside isn’t your garden-variety raccoon.

The Times, 26, April 1973

Henry, thinking it’s nothing but a pesky possum, opens the door. His intention? To save his mesh screen from another animal assault. But what he encounters is something no mesh screen could prepare for.

The Times, 26, April 1973

“It had three legs on it, a short body, two little short arms, and two pink…

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Jonathan Harker
Jonathan Harker

Written by Jonathan Harker

Hey! My name is Jonathan. I’m a true crime writer and podcast producer.