Lou’s View

By Lou Bernard

Clinton County has had an official monster since July of 2011. If you didn’t know that, pay closer attention, because I’ve been writing about this thing for at least thirteen years. Our county’s monster is called a Giwoggle, and I’m bringing this up again because it was just in the Best of Clinton County parade.

The Giwoggle has been mentioned in a lot of my columns. Before that, it was written about in an article for Keystone Folklore Quarterly by George Rhone in the 1950s. Before that, it was in bedtime stories that George’s grandmother told him back in the late 1800s. And before that, it was a legend up in Keating Township during the Civil War era.

The Giwoggle was a mystical sort of cryptid that could be conjured by a witch to take on tasks. Apparently having created these things, the witches just left them in the forest to be later spotted as cryptids. (I have had a lot of people say to me “Wow, most people have never heard of this thing,” which I find personally insulting as I’ve been writing about it for over a decade now.)

They were often hunted by Isaac Gaines, who was known as Loop Hill Ike. He was a sort of 1800s-era paranormal investigator, living up in Keating. Ike was the guy you went to if you had problems with ghosts or Giwoggles.
So how do you know if you spot one? Trust me, you’ll know. The Giwoggle was wolf-like, but walked upright most of the time. It had horse hooves instead of feet or paws, and bird claws instead of hands. In addition to the sheer functionality of this, it was useful for confusing people who tried to track it. I’ve researched monster legends all over the country, and there’s nowhere with a creature like this thing.

I bring this up again today because I’m kind of thrilled that the Giwoggle was featured in the Best of Clinton County. The great people of Unkel Joe’s Woodshed decided to put a Giwoggle in the parade, with encouragement from my friend Kira Rosamilia of Downtown Lock Haven. They came up with a costume—At least, I’m assuming it’s a costume, though I’m not ruling out the possibility that they captured a live one—And featured our county’s official monster in a parade. It’s about time.

So when the Giwoggle isn’t busy making public appearances, where can you see one? Well, there was one spotted on a Grove Street building in February of 1909, but that’s rare. If you want to spot a Giwoggle, any forest in Clinton, Leidy, Noyes, or either Keating Township would be a good place to start. We have some good state parks to check—I’d recommend both Kettle Creek and Hyner Run for Giwoggle-questing. (Actually Kettle Creek is great for just about any aspect of paranormal investigation, with legends of monsters, ghosts, psychic activity, and UFOs.) There’s plenty of remote land up there—Camping areas, hiking trails, and all sorts of scenic spots. Any of those would be good for a Giwoggle hunt.

And they’ve been seen near the border of Clearfield and Clinton Counties, where Loop Hill Ike is buried in the Furst-McGonigal Cemetery. People driving through the area have reported seeing wolf-shaped creatures running around, and it’s possible that they’re stopping to check in at the grave of their old adversary.

I’ve always advocated that the Giwoggle is a good way to promote local tourism, and with this parade we’ve actually begun doing that. What’s next? Giwoggle-sighting tours! Giwoggle T-shirts! Giwoggle toys! The possibilities are endless!