The Green Clawed Beast is an underwater fiend whose single reported encounter has managed to strike terror in the hearts of anyone who has ever gone for a summer swim in the once peaceful waters of the Ohio River.
On August 21, 1955, Mrs. Darwin Johnson had a terrifying encounter with what she claimed was a hideous creature beneath the surface of the Ohio River near Evansville, Indiana. While enjoying a leisurely swim with a friend — one Mrs. Chris Lamble — Mrs. Johnson claims that she was suddenly clutched around the knee by a large, claw-like hand.
Only 15-feet from shore, Mrs. Johnson struggled to disengage herself and head for safety. Mrs. Lamble could only stare in horror as her distraught friend was yanked beneath the surface of the river. Miraculously, Mrs. Johnson managed to kick her leg free, but almost instantly she was seized again, this time from behind.
Mrs. Lamble’s shrieks echoed down the shoreline as she helplessly watched her friend being pulled below the river’s murky surface once again. After resurfacing a second time, Mrs. Johnson lunged for Mrs. Lamble’s inner tube and the splash of her impact apparently scared her beastly assailant away.
Once back on shore, Mrs. Johnson was treated for multiple contusions on her leg, at which point it was discovered that she bore a green, palm-print shaped stain. The stain could not be removed for several days.
Although neither Mrs. Johnson, nor Mrs. Lamble, were able to get a clear or sustained look at the creature, it seems to bear an ostensible resemblance to the now notorious THETIS LAKE MONSTER, particularly in regards to its hostile nature. Other researchers have even gone so far as to suggest tha this incident may be related to another aquatic, Ohio area mystery known as the LOVELAND FROGMEN, but reported encounters with these creatures have never proved to be violent.
An interesting footnote to this case was reported by Fortean investigator Terry Colvin. Colvin, who had interviewed the Johnson’s, claimed that soon after the incident Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were visited in their Godtown, Indiana home by an individual who claimed to be an Air Force Colonel. Apparently the Colonel took extensive notes regarding Mrs. Johnson’s encounter with the Green Clawed Beast and admonished the couple to talk no further about the incident.
This epilogue has no doubt caused more than a few ufologists to prick up their ears – as it bears suck striking similarities to classic MEN IN BLACK scenarios – but the overwhelming thrust of the evidence seems to link the Ohio River attack to a mere earthbound cryptid.
Hmmmm, could there be a link here to the film “Creature From the Black Lagoon”" which came out in 1954?
That’s a distinct possibility… it’s been suggested that paranormal and cryptozoological encounters are often influenced by cinematic monstrosities… In fact, rumor has it that Nessie didn’t gain her long necked plesiosaur-like appearance until after the 1925 film adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s book “The Lost World.”
Of course, the fact that these eyewitnesses might well have had “creature features” on the brain when they had their brushes with the unknown, does not negate the authenticity of their encounters… When we encounter something beyond the scope of our understanding, a hairy hominid for example, our brains try their best to sort out the mess of jumbled information by tucking the event into a pre-existing synaptic file… whether these files were made seeing gorillas at a local zoo or the creature from Boggy Creek at a drive-in, is entirely up for grabs.