We all know (and maybe love) the Pope Lick Monster and his legend, but Derby City hosts more haunting characters than just the Goatman.
Kentucky is actually ripe for all sorts of cryptids + creepy tales, from sightings of the 15-ft pig-headed Herrington Lake Monster to the extraterrestrial Hopkinsville Goblins that tried to invade a family home in 1955 after landing on a nearby farm.
But we like to be spooked a little close to home, so allow us to dim the lights as we introduce you to the Demon Leaper + the Bullitt County Beast.
👻 Demon Leaper
Said to frequent the Gothic spires of the Walnut Street Baptist Church at 1143 S. 3rd St., this “living gargoyle” has spooked the city for more than a century. It’s described as a large bat-like creature with leathery skin, wings + talons. Thanks to its wings, the Demon Leaper has been seen on rooftops throughout Old Louisville and even made headlines as “An Aerial Mystery” in the Sept. 12, 1880 edition of “The New York Times.”
Read: “Haunts of Old Louisville” by David Dominé for Demon Leaper lore.
👻 Bullitt County Beast
Not to be confused with a Sasquatch, this dark-furred, 7-ft tall Kentucky cryptid is described as having the head of a German shepherd and the torso of a muscular man — check out this eyewitness sketch for a visualizer. You’ll know the beast is near when you begin finding strange, large footprints, hearing unidentified growling, smelling a foul stench + the skin-crawling feeling of being watched.
Listen: to this account of a Bullitt County woman’s encounter with the “Dogman.”
