Wild People – Newspaper Stories:

Stories of hair-covered “Wild Men,” “Wild Women,” and more broadly “Wild People” representing nature were big in Germanic and European folklore. These Wild People were said to be mysterious humans who lived in the forest that had separated themselves from society or civilization.

In the 1800s and early 1900s, American newspress printed stories of supposed Wild People sightings, some of which were actually houseless people, hermits, or people with mental health issues. Some of these newspaper articles indeed had follow-ups in which the purported Wild Person was then identified as a regular person. The papers often described them as very tall, animalistic, and covered in hair. The Wild People reportedly made odd sounds in the wilderness, occasionally used tools or spoke, and when not fully nude, wore torn or tattered garments as well as sometimes moss, leaf, or grass coverings. These newspaper stories, the ones printed at least 95 years ago, have now entered into the public domain and are thus re-sharable and free to use and collect.

One of the more interesting things about these Wild People stories is their relevance to Sasquatch lore. The term “Sasquatch” was in fact coined in 1929 by Canadian Folklorist J. W. Burns to describe indigenous stories of encounters with a tribe of tall hairy “Wild Men,” who were regarded by them as hair-covered native people, not mystery ape creatures as they are thought of later on. These odd Wild Men news stories were essentially the forerunner to later “Bigfoot” sightings and directly influenced what people would come to call “Bigfoot” after 1958.

  • [1852] [05/30]: “The Wild Man of Arkansas” [AR]

    The Sunday Dispatch (New York [N.Y.]), May 30th 1852 The Wild Man of Arkansas. Every now and then we see it stated in the Western papers that a Wild Man is roaming through the great Mississippi bottom in the State of Arkansas. Numerous travellers and hunters have asserted that they have seen him, but none… Read More

  • [1857] [03/12]: “A Wild Woman” [AL]

    The Lewistown Gazette (Lewistown, Pa.), March 12th 1857 A Wild Woman. Linden, Marengo county, Ala., is all astir on account of a wild woman that recently appeared in the woods and hills of that neighborhood to a party of huntsmen. She is a medium sized woman, fair, and quite naked, with the exception of moccasins.… Read More

  • [1868] [3/26]: Wild Woman Seen In The Woods [TX]

    Virginia Free Press (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]), March 26th 1868 A wild woman has been seen in the woods near Liberty, Texas. A man on horseback got sight of the strange creature, persued and overtook her ; when she halted, he found her to be a medium-sized, a middle-aged, well-formed woman, with long, dark hair,… Read More

  • [1873] [11/27]: Wild Man Sensation Story [Hoax] [WV]

    This post contains two newspaper articles, one being a supposed Wild Man story and the other being it’s purported unraveling, with the supposed Wild Man reportedly being identified. They are both presented here together for a complete context. The Weekly Register (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]), November 27th 1873 A Sensation! – A wild man… Read More

  • [1883] [12/11]: “Man or Monster” [OH]

    The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (Wheeling, W. Va.), December 11th 1883 Man or Monster. Thrilling Experience of a Couple of Hunters CALCUTTA, O., December 10. – The citizens of this place and for miles throughout the surrounding country are now laboring under the most intense excitement over the appearance of a desperate looking creature, supposed to… Read More

  • [1887] [3/11]: “The Wild Man of Ohio” [OH]

    The Midland Journal (Rising Sun, Md.), March 11th 1887 The Wild Man of Ohio A Curious Creature Seen Among The Hills of Holmes County. A party of hunters, who have just returned from a hunt in the hills of Holmes County, Ohio, say they encountered a curious creature on their trip. According to their description,… Read More

  • [1891] [8/24]: “A Human Monstrosity” [OH]

    The Wheeling daily intelligencer (Wheeling, W. Va.), August 24th 1891 A Human Monstrosity Loose in Ohio Killing Stock and Scaring People – What Is It? A gentlemen who came over from Ohio yesterday to attend the camp meeting at Moundsville gave an Intelligencer reporter an account of a strange wild animal that is roaming around… Read More

  • [1891] [8/26]: “That Ohio ‘Wild Man’” [OH]

    The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer (Wheeling, W. Va.), August 26th 1891 That Ohio “Wild Man.” The Farmers Beating the Bushes in Search of Him. The “wild man” or non-descript beast which has been frightening and annoying the residents on the Ohio side of the river opposite Moundsville, and killing and dismembering stock, as mentioned in the… Read More

  • [1897] [06/11]: “Wild Woman In The Woods” [WV]

    The Cambria Freeman (Ebensburg, Pa.), June 11th 1897 Wild Woman In The Woods. Elkins, W. Va., June 7 – Farmers living near Lick, three miles from here, claim to have seen a wild woman running through their fields. On several occasions she has been pursued and escaped. It is claimed she leaps fences like a… Read More

  • [1897] [06/18]: Wild Woman Seen Near Elkins [WV]

    The Clarksburg Telegram (Clarksburg, W. Va.), June 18th 1897 Wild Woman Seen Near Elkins Some farmers near Elkins have seen a wild woman in the woods. She leaps fences like a deer, and at night can be heard making the most hideous noises. Disclaimer: This 1897 newspaper article was published prior to 1931. Under United… Read More

  • [1898] [11/07]: “Wild Man Resumes Business” [CT]

    The Evening Times (Washington, D.C.), November 7th 1898 Wild Man Resumes Business His Appearance at Winsted This Time for Political Purposes. Winsted, Conn., Nov. 7. – The wild man has broken loose again. He is a said to be hurdling madly over northwestern Connecticut, scaring people out of a year’s growth. The Winsted wild man… Read More

  • [1900] [11/03]: “Wild Woman Roams Woods” [NY]

    The Gazette (Cleveland, Ohio), November 3rd 1900 Wild Woman Roams Woods. North Tonawanda, N. Y., Citizens Attempt Her Capture And Fail. A handsome woman seen roaming about the woods in the vicinity of North Tonawanda, N. Y., is causing interest and excitement. The supposed wild woman was first seen Sunday afternoon by Mrs. William Kane… Read More

  • [1903] [3/14]: “Wild Man Near Weston” [WV]

    The Daily Telegram (Clarksburg, W. Va.), March 14th 1903 Wild Man Near Weston People of Lewis County Very Much Agitated Over Appearance of Strange Man. May Be an Escaped Lunatic, as He Appears to Be Perfectly Harmless and Inoffensive. Weston, W. Va., March 14. – On the water of Sugar Camp run, a branch of… Read More

  • [1903] [9/17]: “Wild Man Seen” [WV]

    Daily New Dominion (Morgantown, W. Va.), September 17th 1903 Wild Man Seen. Residents of Fairmont Report That Uncouth Giant Inhabits Neighboring Woods. Fairmont, W. Va. Sept. 17. – The woods in the close vicinity of Fairmont contain the den of a wild man. This fact has been fully established by the tales told by responsible… Read More

  • [1905] [3/3]: “Wild Man Attacks Train” [WV]

    The Daily Telegram (Clarksburg, W. Va.), March 3rd 1905 Wild Man Attacks Train Giant Creature In Human Form With Bristles On Face Is At Large Near Morgantown The citizens of Monongalia county are thoroughly aroused over the strange and murderous actions of a man in that country, whose identity has not been established so far… Read More

  • [1907] [04/20]: “Wild Woman Found.” [KY]

    The West Virginia News (Ronceverte, W. Va.), April 20th 1907 Wild Woman Found. Living in a supposed haunted cavern in the rock-ribbed cliffs of the Kentucky river, near Beuna Vista, Ky., evidently subsisting on roots which she digs from the earth with her hands, wearing the garb of nature along, is a wild woman, who… Read More

  • [1912] [8/25]: Anti-Wild Man Critic [NY]

    Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), August 25th 1912 The Wild Man From the New York Mail. One of the weaknesses of modern humanity is its fad for “wild men.” Every year the correspondents send in a story about a wild man being caught in some swamp or mountain fastness and dragged back to civilization. America’s first… Read More

  • [1916] [02/09]: “Brooke Co. Wild Man Is Now Normal” [WV]

    Martinsburg W.Va. Evening Journal (Martinsburg, W. Va.), February 9th 1916 Brooke Co. Wild Man Is Now Normal John Munkers the wild man of Brooke county, who had his habitat for years in a cave near Follamsbee, is a sane, normal person, employed in one of the mills of Wheeling. Munkers, who for years lived the… Read More

  • [1919] [09/20]: “Lair of Wild Man Is Found In Cave” [PA]

    The Washington Times (Washington [D.C.]), September 20th 1919 Lair of Wild Man Is Found In Cave Strange, Hairy Creature Gives Quartet of Fishermen Scare of Lives. PHILADELPHIA. Sept. 20. – The Leiperville wild man today bids fair to rank with the far-famed, but mythical Jersey devil. Posses of brave men are drumming the woods for… Read More

  • [1919] [3/8]: “Return of Wild Man Revives Old Terrors” [WV]

    The Lakeland Evening telegram (Lakeland, Fla.), March 8th 1919 Return of Wild Man Revives Old Terrors Flatwoods, W. Va., March 6. – The belief that a wild man is still lurking in this vicinity, stealing and killing chickens and young pigs, is stronger than ever just now. A story related by Luther C. Douglas has… Read More

  • [1929] [4/1]: “Introducing B.C.’s Hairy Giants” [BC]

    MacLean’s Magazine, April 1st 1929 Introducing B.C.’s Hairy Giants A collection of strange tales about British Columbia’s wild men as told by those who say they have seen them By J. W. Burns Are the vast mountain solitudes of British Columbia, of which but very few have been so far explored, populated by a hairy… Read More

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