Case file · Cryptid
Grafton Monster
In June 1964 Robert Cockrell, a young reporter for the Grafton Sentinel, reported a huge, pale, apparently headless figure beside Route 119 along the Tygart Valley River.
1964 CE · 39.34, -80.03 · status: account
The account
His report brought crowds and hunting parties to the riverbank for several nights. Cockrell later worked on the case with Gray Barker of Clarksburg. The town held its first Grafton Monster Festival in 2024.
The sceptical view
The newspaper's own follow-up put the episode down to 'spring fever' and imagination. Details such as the height and the missing head vary between retellings.