Across cities and counties, Ohio echoes with tales of creatures, ghosts and other unexplained phenomena. Along the shores of Lake Erie, generations have reported seeing a fearsome sea serpent slithering through the waves and moving dangerously close to shorelines.

A monster that appeared to be half man and half dog and wielding a two-by four terrorized a small Northwest Ohio town during the summer of 1972.

These tales and more will be explored at Shores & Islands Ohio’s West Welcome Center, 770 S.E. Catawba Rd., Port Clinton on Friday, Oct. 13 from 6-8 p.m., thanks to authors Kevin Moore and M. Kristina Smith, both staff members at the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums in Fremont.

The pair will parse urban legends from history as they explore the unnatural side of Ohio’s heritage in their book, “Unnatural Ohio: A History of Buckeye Cryptids, Legends & Other Mysteries.”

For generations, hikers and hunters have reported seeing Bigfoot throughout the forests of Ohio, and some of the most notorious and well-documented UFO encounters on record have taken place in the Buckeye State.

The book, published by The History Press, resulted after Hayes Presidential created a special exhibit on Ohio creature stories and folklore that was on display in 2020 and 2021.

The authors will share some of these stories during this presentation. What better way to spend a Friday the 13th in October than hearing about unexplained and creepy incidents across Ohio?