Okay MMers, we've got a real tall tale for you, this time from the Newry-Andover-Hanover region of Oxford County. We've got several reports of a giant creature somewhere between the Ellis River Road and the Bear River Road. This area is part of the Mahoosuc Mountain Range, some of the toughest parts of the Appalachian Trail.
They call the creature Stridda Long Body, and no one is really sure where the name came from. Some stories claim that 'stridda' is a colloquial twist on the word 'stride,' referring to the creature's long legs. Others claim that Stridda is an old Indigenous People word for a tall spirit creature said to stalk the mountain regions. Either way, the name is apt.
The creature is described as being incredibly tall, with long thin limbs. It typically walks on all fours, but can stand and move on just two. Reports have placed it somewhere between twelve and twenty feet tall. Its skin is incredibly pale, nearly snow white. It has glowing bright eyes and a mouth full of jagged teeth.
 |
| Stridda Long Body |
It's been seen stalking among the trees, crossing the road, even looming over several of the homes around the area. We spoke with Adam Hussey, an avid hiker who claims to have seen Stridda Long Body last fall when he was hiking Bald Mountain.
"I've done a lot of hiking. I try to do at least ten mountains a summer. So I'm coming down Bald Mountain. I got caught in a rain storm that just popped up so I hunkered down for a bit. Two summers I would have pushed through, but I sprained my ankle trying to climb down Mount Chocorua over in Conway, New Hampshire in the rain. Anyways, I'd taken my time, so as I'm coming down the mountain it's starting to get dark. Just dusk, you know? But I decided I really needed to pick up the pace. So I'm coming down the trail, I go around this little bend where there's these big rocks you go between, and bam! That's when I saw it."
What Hussey saw was Stridda Long Body.
"It was sort of creeping through the trees. That's the only way I can describe it. It moved so fluidly for something so tall. I think it was probably sixteen, maybe eighteen feet tall, and those long legs and arms, right? But it almost looked like it was swimming through the air."
The creature sensed Hussey and turned. The hiker was frozen with fear, sure his life was going to end. The creature hissed, "something like a cat crossed with a snake." Then it reared up high, Hussey says, like a gorilla on all fours.
"It roared. I mean. It didn't sound like a lion or whatever. You know what it sounded like? Like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park. You remember that movie? It was like that - I mean, not exactly, but that's as close as I can get to describing it. I just froze. I didn't move a muscle. I don't even think I breathed. It just kept roaring, like the sound of the world ripping in half."
Finally, the creature stopped and the woods were silent. Nothing moved, not even a bird chirped. Hussey stayed perfectly still. The creature seemed to look at him for a second, to assess whether he was a threat or not, then it moved off, sliding between the trees. Hussey didn't move for another five minutes, until the birds and the squirrels had resumed their normal chatter.
"Then I booked it off that mountain just as fast as I could."
 |
| Anne Robbins' best seller! |
"They've been telling stories of ole Stridda Long Body since I was a girl at least," she said in between customers. "I'll tell ya though, I spent my entire life up and around these mountains, and I ain't seen him once. Still, the shirts sell pretty good. Every summer I get five or six people stop in specifically looking for him. They have all this hi-tech, fancy gear. They ain't seen nothing. If Stridda's out there, he's too smart for them, you know? Plus another ten or twelve campers and vacationers who just think the shirt's funny. It's a good seller."
What's stalking the forests of Newry? We may never know for sure. Several photographs have been circulating the internet over the past few years, purporting to be of the giant creature. We weren't able to authenticate any of them, but one fan, who sent in a picture taken from their car driving home one night swears by the photo.
 |
| One fan's purported proof of Stridda Long Body |
"It's completely 100% true," this fan wrote. "I didn't even believe in stuff like this until it jumped out across the road. I used to laugh at those people who told stories about Stridda Long Body. Not anymore. I've seen it and I've got proof."
Be careful on the trails and stay safe out there, Maine.
No comments:
Post a Comment