Overview of the Encounter

Local farmers and residents of El Reno

Date: unknown

Year: 1970

Location: El Reno, Oklahoma

Land Managed By: State

Nearest Town: El Reno

County: Canadian County

State: Oklahoma

Nearest Landmark: Unknown

Witness Accounts

In December 1970, the community of El Reno, Oklahoma, was besieged by a series of mysterious raids on chicken coops. The incidents occurred late at night, where the unidentified entity, later referred to as the "Chicken Man," would break into hen houses, causing chaos and destruction in its wake. The raids left behind a significant amount of evidence including scattered feathers and pools of blood, indicating a violent assault on the chickens. Local farmers initially dismissed these attacks as the work of small predators such as weasels or foxes. However, as the raids continued into early 1971, the situation escalated, leading to the discovery of enormous footprints and handprints at multiple attack sites. This new evidence prompted the farmers and investigators to consider a more bizarre explanation: the possibility that the Chicken Man was an aberrant form of Bigfoot or another hairy humanoid. Lawrence Curtis, the director of the Oklahoma City Zoo, took particular interest in the case. Upon examining a handprint left on the door of one of the chicken coops, he expressed his confusion. The handprint measured approximately 7 by 5 inches and exhibited signs of deformity, with some fingers appearing unusually crooked and extending at odd angles. Curtis concluded that the print belonged to a large primate, though he could not determine its exact species. The Chicken Man's behavior indicated that it was not only capable of considerable strength but also possessed the cunning typically associated with cryptids. The raids occurred primarily during the cold winter months, hinting at a possible increase in hunger-driven predatory behavior. In an attempt to uncover the truth about these encounters, cryptozoologists began investigating, leading to the collection of various handprints and eyewitness accounts. A significant figure in the lore of the Chicken Man was Howard Dreon, who claimed to have befriended a large apelike creature near Custer, Oklahoma, just ten miles away from El Reno, in 1967. Dreon fed this creature a consistent diet of bananas and oranges for three years. His description of the beast closely matched characteristics associated with Bigfoot sightings, suggesting that Dreon's creature might have been the same entity later dubbed the Chicken Man. However, when Dreon attempted to capture the creature, it vanished, which some speculated caused its eventual reliance on raiding chicken coops for sustenance. Interestingly, the Chicken Man was noted for its unique physical traits; it was described as standing about 7 feet tall and weighing approximately 600 pounds, with a deformed hand that became emblematic of its identity. As the investigation progressed, the community began to label the unseen raider as the “abominable chicken man,” a name that soon spread among locals, uniting them under the shared experience of the raids. Despite the fear and anxiety these events caused in the community, there were no reports of direct attacks on humans. The Chicken Man was perceived as more of a nuisance than a lethal threat, primarily due to its preference for chickens over larger game or human targets. As locals continued to conduct their own investigations, some began to theorize that if the Chicken Man was indeed a wayward Bigfoot, it might have been acting out of desperation due to its loss of a reliable food source once Dreon stopped feeding it. The timeline of the Chicken Man's infamous raids aligns with a broader period of high strangeness noted throughout the American Midwest during the 1960s and 70s, as many reports of Bigfoot and similar creatures emerged from the shadows of the rural backwoods. Farmers and townspeople began to report strange sounds, unusual sightings, and unexplainable occurrences in the wake of the Chicken Man's chicken raids, further adding to the lore surrounding these encounters. To this day, the Chicken Man remains a curious footnote in the annals of cryptozoological history, emblematic of the strange happenings that can manifest in the quiet corners of rural America. For those interested in encountering the Chicken Man, one cryptozoological expert suggested that the best approach would be to stake out chicken coops during the winter months, leaving out offerings of apples, oranges, grapes, corn, and, of course, chickens, to entice the creature into the open for closer study. Overall, the Chicken Man’s saga serves as a reminder of the mysteries that still exist within the natural world and the creatures that might inhabit it, challenging our understanding of wildlife and the unknown. The local farmers and residents of El Reno, Oklahoma, continue to weave the tales of the Chicken Man into their community folklore, ensuring that the intriguing legend of this enigmatic creature lives on.

Source

YouTube

Note: Information above was collected and summarized by A.I. Dates, name and location could be inaccurate or wrong.