By Scott A. Yeager for GANT News
The Pennsylvania Wilds have their fair share of superstitions, myths and a folklore that are as unique as our region. Between the hours of 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., you can enjoy a peace like no other on this earth.
Whether you’re in the hemlock groves of the Moshannon State Forest, driving along the inky black of the Quehanna Highway or sitting atop a windy ridge in the Allegheny National Forest, those few hours in the darkness will afford you with a unique opportunity to rest, reflect and enjoy a silence that is seldom broken; but rest assured, you are never alone in the dark places of the Pennsylvania Wilds. There are others.
For visitors to our region, the silence can be overwhelming. They are accustomed to the din of highways, congested streets and the abrasive types of noise that comes from too many people in too small a space. They and their ears are liberated here.
That is until they hear that bump in the night, that scream from the blackness that sits them up on their bedsides, brings them out of their sleeping bags or encourages them to get back in their vehicles.
Certain night sounds are inviting. Nothing will energize your mind like the sound of owls socializing with one another on a crisp Autumn night. Yet, owls are often merely the most familiar voices heard in the chorus of the night.
“It was a woman screaming and crying!” – you may hear a from those who are not as familiar with our deep nights and the sounds that emanate from them.
It is true and far from a myth that you will hear what sounds like a woman crying in the night; you may even hear the noise during the day at higher elevations.
Many people point to Irish folklore and proclaim that it is the Banshee from the old world that has come to haunt us in the Pennsylvania Wilds.
Ask any resident, and they may say that you can sleep well – it’s just a bobcat looking for her cubs.
“Its screams brought me out of a sound sleep! It was a demon. I am certain of it!” – few things will disturb your calm like the scream of something unfamiliar in the pitch black.
With tales of Mountain Devils and Lycans swirling through our hills, it is easy to see why hearing a scream in the night would bristle the hairs up on one’s neck and shoot a cold chill down the back.
The culprit is well known to us and has a mythology all of its own. The creature that broke your sleep is what the Japanese refer to as a Kitsune, but we call it a red fox.
With exceptional eyesight and hearing, you would expect foxes to be a cute and quiet animal, but they are not. If you are ever awakened at 3 a.m. from the bark of a red fox, you will think that those footsteps and that howl are from something 20 times the size of the actual beast.
Darkness in the Pennsylvania Wilds has a way of magnifying and morphing the familiar or common.
“I heard it smack the water with its hand! Maybe, it threw a stone or a log into the lake meant for me!” – being close to any body of water in the Pennsylvania Wilds is an enjoyable experience at any time of day; but in the dark of night, your senses can often shatter to life when strange noises are heard.
The First Nations People spoke of the Underwater Panther in our region for centuries before European settlers came to this land. Near Emlenton, Pa., along the western shore of the Allegheny River, there stands a petroglyph of this mythical creature.
It was something respected and feared by the First Nations People – and for good reason, the Underwater Panther was known to kill people, young and adult.
More often than not, if you hear a loud slap on the water in the dark of night, you are hearing one of the Pennsylvania Wilds most industrious creatures – a beaver. Because of these little wonders, we can enjoy clear ponds and good fishing.
Beavers are loud while at work. They’ve even been known to fell trees in the dark. So, the next time you hear a tree fall in the black of night – just know that in a short time, you’ll be enjoying a new water feature in the Wilds.
“There were a group of kids harassing us last night. They were coming from all directions. They were laughing at us!” – there is no doubt that you heard something sinister, wicked and mischievous.
These creatures have been heard in the Pennsylvania Wilds for generations. They make very unusual sounds and can taunt the imagination. Eastern coyotes are one of the most vocal animals in the Pennsylvania Wilds.
In myth, they are often represented as Tricksters, just keep in mind that Tricksters are not evil. Their purpose is akin to one who would expose our flaws to the world. Don’t let them scare you, their laughter is an invitation. They want you to join them in a celebration of living wild.
“It moved the pine trees, sounded like a truck moving through the woods and screamed unlike anything I’ve ever heard!” – you have encountered the biggest, hairiest, creature in the Northwoods.
The First Nations People referred to it with great reverence – you encountered Wapiti. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the Pennsylvania Wilds each year to experience what broke your slumber at 2:30 a.m. on a chilly Autumn night.
Elk are, by far, one of the greatest treasures we have in our region. When they are at the peak of their mating season, you will hear bulls cry out to their herds.
These bugles are as regale as any princely trumpets that one would hear on the steps of Buckingham Palace. Yet, if they are heard in the dark of night, they can conjure visions of Hell’s Gates ajar and cause one to draw their covers a bit tighter.
Witness or hear two bull elk in contest over a cute cow, and you’ll gain a healthy respect for keeping your distance from these creatures. They will move the world around you, be assured of that!
Within our most primeval memories, human beings have had a healthy respect for the night and for those things that go bump, jarring us from our time of tranquil rest.
In the Pennsylvania Wilds, night is a peaceful time, a reward, and a respite from an otherwise abrasive modern world. The creatures of the night choose to live nocturnally because they enjoy the peace, the safety of darkness’ cloak.
When you hear them, when they break your slumber, when they frighten you, know that the fear that you are experiencing is an invitation from your primal self, an invitation to join and enjoy a life that is often alien to modern humans. Join in the chorus.