While Bigfoot or Sasquatch is the most famous cryptid spotted in Adams County, PA, he isn’t the only one. Another more local cryptid known as the Conewago Phantom or Old Red Eyes has been seen at the opposite end of the county.

The Conewago Phantom is a Mothman-like creature with glowing red eyes and bat-like wings. The reports of the creature began in the 1980s. It has been spotted north of New Oxford near Conewago Creek, and like the Mothman in West Virginia, sighting are sometimes linked to impending disasters.

A paranormal investigator named Lon Strickler is credited with the first report of the Conewago Phantom. He conducted a paranormal investigation at Camp Conewago, a Boy Scout Camp, after the scouts reported hearing what sounded like a child screaming in the woods near the junction of Conewago Creek and South Branch Conewago Creek. He and several others saw a man-like figure, estimated to be six-feet tall, that had glowing eyes. When it realized it was seen, it shot straight up into the air with a loud “whoosh” sound.

While investigating the creature, he discovered that residents near Dicks Dam had heard unexplained screams for years, and one resident had reportedly seen the creature near the dam.

A large dark winged creature crossing Hunterstown Road near Conewago Creek in Hampton in 2011. The following year, a witness saw a black, bat-winged creature rising from the Conewago Creek bank and flying toward Pinchot State Park in York County.

Despite these reports, nothing seems to have made the local newspapers. All the reports are word of mouth or found on paranormal websites.