In Focus

It’s almost Halloween, my favorite time of year! I love all the spooky decorations, haunted houses, costumes, and the vibrant fall season.

Although my home decor shopping typically happens during Halloween season, I keep the decorations up year-round. I love the crisp autumn air, with colorful leaves making my fake graveyard look even cooler. A misty morning, with fog snaking through the woods, enhances the atmosphere. I enjoy a good scary story, especially tales of the supernatural, and I find it fascinating to hear people debate whether ghosts or Bigfoot are real.

In Minnesota, there are several cryptids that supposedly make the state their home. Old-timers in Ely still talk about the Wendigo, a spirit twisted by hunger that roams the frozen wilderness with hollow eyes and a voice that mimics the lost. Hunters swear they’ve spotted strange tracks in the snow—too long, too narrow, and ending where no person could walk.

Down by the lakes, fishermen tell tales of Pepie, the serpent of Lake Pepin. They say she is as long as a pontoon boat, with scales that glimmer like fishhooks in the sun. Some even claim she surfaces when the water is calm, rolling like thunder before vanishing without a trace.

Then there’s the Hairy Man of the Northwoods, Minnesota’s own version of Bigfoot. Campers near Itasca have heard heavy footfalls at night, caught a whiff of musk and pine, and even found trees snapped clean in half.

Along the backroads and thick woods of central Minnesota, there are reports of the Dogman. Half-man, half-dog, with glowing eyes and a growl that sends chills down your spine, he has been spotted by drivers late at night and by hunters deep in the forest. Some say he’s a guardian of the woods, while others warn he’s a predator waiting for the careless.

In the icy reaches near International Falls, locals whisper about the Iceman, a creature said to roam the frozen tundra. Covered in frost and hair, he’s rarely seen, but when deep, massive footprints appear in the snow, everyone knows he has passed that way. Stories say he moves silently, leaving the air around him unnaturally cold, as if the forest itself is holding its breath.

Who doesn’t love a good spooky tale of strange creatures around the campfire?

Even though retailers encourage me to “put up my Christmas tree and eat turkey while wearing my Halloween costume,” I plan to enjoy Halloween for as long as possible.

Happy Halloween!