There are a lot of urban legends from area residents with claims about monsters terrorizing small towns and communities throughout Upstate NY.

With endless acres of dark woods, lakes, and streams, the Capital Region has had its fair share of paranormal, alien, Lochness Monster, and bigfoot sightings throughout the years, but an urban legend emanating from the Catskill area of New York State is one legend that haunts locals to this day...

Ever heard of the "Kinderhook Creature"?

I hadn't either - but I went down the rabbit hole.

Legend has it that back in the 1980s, a large bigfoot-like creature stalked and terrorized families in Upstate NY and beyond, and to this day, residents in the Catskills stand by claims made decades ago of the terror caused by the "Kinderhook Creature".

A new book called The Kinderhook Creature and Beyond, released last month details more about the strange occurrences decades ago.  In it, author Bruce Hallenbeck chronicled the events that unfolded near the foothills of the Catskill Mountains.

Kinderhook residents should be familiar with spooky tales of headless horsemen, ghosts, and fairies. But in the 1980s, the town became home to a new type of fright – the Kinderhook Creature, a bigfoot-type hominid that terrorized families and was reported all over the county and beyond.

What do residents say today about the Kinderhook Creature?

An independent film crew called Small Town Monsters has been exploring these urban legends since 2015, and the video below that takes a deeper into the Kinderhook Creature - including a visit to some folks still in the area who claim to have audio proof of their harrowing experience some 40 years ago.

The video even shows a time when, back in the day,  Mark Mulholland from Newschannel 13 paid a visit to Kinderhook to find out more.  Most of the eyewitness accounts date back to the mid to late 1980s and to this day, residents stand by claims that they were stalked by an aggressive beast.

Book author Bruce Hallenbeck went back to his hometown and spoke with family members about the day they heard noises from the alleged creature who they say tormented them for years.

Sometimes the noises sounded like a squealing pig, other times they say it sounded more like a pterodactyl - even playing an old audio tape of the from 40 years ago.  Oh, and one more thing about the Kinderhook Creature, a witness, Hallenbeck's cousin says it had red eyes.

Watch the entire video on the Kinderhook Creature, below

See The 10 New York Cities Most Likely To Have Ghost Or UFO Sightings

Over the last few years, the discussion of UFOs certainly become a less taboo and more mainstream topic. Even government officials seem to be acknowledging sightings more frequently. Throw in ghost sightings, and there is just a lot of crazy stuff we just cannot explain. It turns out, the state of New York is a hotbed for these "supernatural" sightings. Since these sightings have been recorded, these are the 10 New York cities with the most supernatural occurrences according to Great Lakes Stakes. Including 2 in the Capital Region!

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