The Dark Walker

I received the following correspondence a few days ago. It was forwarded by 'John' a retired Federal employee who lives in northern Nevada and who wishes to remain anonymous. The story centers around an experience John had while living with his Grandfather. John later stated to me that the property was in a rural area of Aleppo Township in Greene County, Pennsylvania. He did not want to pinpoint the location but did say that he wanted the anecdote dedicated to his Grandfather - Samuel Hill, who he considers the most remarkable man he has ever known.

John seemed quite sincere in my opinion. He decided to come forth with the account after he had a rather strange encounter a few months ago (which he did not want to discuss). John did mention in his most recent email that he was 81 years old and a veteran of the Korean War. He also stated that he truly felt his Grandfather's actions were taken in defense of his family.

The Dark Walker

I asked John if he thought the 'Dark Walker' was a Bigfoot or hominid. He responded by stating that he didn't think it was a hairy man or human-like creature. He thought it seemed more animal-like than human and that it moved lower to the ground...at least during the brief time he observed it. John mentioned that there were Shawnee legends of similar creatures but he never found a reference to a 'Stone Spirit'.

Fascinating story. Especially since I used to live in that area (SW Pa). Too bad gramps ditched the body. Could've been one for the science books.

It could have very well been a sasquatch. The bone-chilling howling is extremely common at night in areas that they inhabit or even just pass through. The best I can come up with is that they use it for different purposes, such as communicating their positions to warning of approaching people, and other stuff in between that I am sure we have no clue about.

The reference to the stone giants, or stone people, are natives' references to sasquatch...From what I have read and heard, it has something to do with the animals rolling in mud, then the mud drying over their hair, as it looks like stone. Sasquatch are nothing more than regular animals, despite the weirdness that has been associated with them. Also, they actually do go down on all fours like a gorilla would, especially when traveling lower to the ground would be easier because of the trees...They also do this sometimes when trying to remain unseen. But this is usually only when moving.

If one is relatively still and it is close to the ground, it is probably just hiding and watching. There are the thermal videos of this behavior, which are hard to verify authenticity-wise. One shows the animal actually crawling on its stomach when trying to sneak closer to a person. There are also anecdotal accounts of this same behavior. This could account for what was seen in the trees in your account.

Also, there are documented sightings from that same county, so they are definitely around there. For the most part, these animals occupy the entire US, with few exceptions. Most people just don't understand that they are animals, but still different from most animals in a way that makes them seem more human. They actually make a great effort to avoid people. This is why they're so elusive. Why they do this I don't know, but they do.

Pennsylvania is fascinating for cryptid-lovers.
Many Thunderbird sightings come from there, too.
As for his story, I couldn't glean enough detail to discern what kind of being he was describing.