Penelope: The Sierra Nevada’s Forgotten Specter

Deep within the Sierra Nevada Mountains, tales persist of a haunting figure known as Penelope. Described as a towering, emaciated woman with distorted features and long, unkempt hair, Penelope is said to roam the wilderness, instilling fear in those who encounter her.

Description

Penelope is often depicted as a 7-foot-tall, pale, and skeletal humanoid with elongated limbs and claw-like hands. Witnesses describe her face as twisted and deformed, with long, dirty, light-colored hair. She is typically seen wearing tattered clothing and emitting high-pitched, inhuman screams in the dead of night.

Sightings and Locations

Reports of Penelope span various locations in the Sierra Nevada Mountains:

• Tioga Lake: In 2023, a camper identified as L.R. reported a late-night encounter near Tioga Lake, where they heard blood-curdling screams and saw a tall, pale creature with a deformed face and long hair. 

• Mono Lake: The same witness later relocated to Mono Lake and recounted a similar experience, suggesting Penelope's presence in that area as well.

• Bridgeport (Twin Lakes Resort): In 2014, a couple vacationing at Twin Lakes Resort in Bridgeport reported seeing a crawling, pale humanoid figure early in the morning. The creature's description matched that of Penelope, with the witness emphasizing their familiarity with local wildlife and asserting that this entity was unlike anything they had seen before. 

Origins and Theories

The legend of Penelope includes various origin stories:

• Toxic Transformation: One tale suggests that Penelope was a woman who, after a car accident in the 1960s, sought shelter in a metal drum containing toxic waste. Exposure to the waste transformed her into the monstrous entity described in sightings. 

• Survival and Madness: Another account posits that Penelope became lost during a snowstorm, surviving on berries and insects. Eventually, she found shelter in a toxic waste container, leading to her transformation. 

Have you seen Penelope or experienced anything unusual in the Sierras? I want to hear your story. Email me or reach out through the site. Let’s keep Fresno weird.

Further Reading

• Cryptids of California: Penelope

• Believing the Bizarre: Penelope – The Sierra Nevada Monster

• Phantoms & Monsters: Has 'Penelope' Been Seen Again?

• Weird California: Penelope, Monster of the Sierra Nevada's

The Lone Pine Mountain Devil

Anyone who knows me knows I love local cryptid stories (the Fresno Nightcrawlers being the best example) and love how each state seems to have it's own folklore surrounding a cryptid of some sorts. Some can argue that Bigfoot is California's "official" cryptid and I'm not here to disagree with that completely, but want to introduce a lesser known cryptid native to California, and one not too far from Central California.

I'd like to present to you the Lone Pine Mountain Devil.

The Lone Pine Mountain Devil is said to be a winged creature that is a distant cousin of the Jersey Devil. Early accounts from priests who were traveling in the area describe small "winged demons sent from the depths of hell"

Lone Pine itself is a small town about 100 miles due east of Fresno with the population of roughly 2000 or so people. But here's the kicker, it's a four hour drive. Why you ask? Because the quickest way to drive there is to head south to Bakersfield then head east to Tehachapi and then back up to Lone Pine itself. Scenic route indeed.

 For whatever reason the creature seems to inhabit this area and witnesses have described it as a large furry creature with several wings. It has razor like talons and numerous venomous fangs. The cryptid is said to attack it's prey by first hitting the chest and then the head of it's target. Most predators eat the meat of its prey whereas the Mountain Devils are said to prefer only the soft cartilage of the face and sometimes torso and completely ignore the rest of the carcass and leave it to scavengers.

Could this be an actual creature or nothing more than another folk tale? It's description lacks classification as my first thought was perhaps some sort of reptile but the fur and multiple wings rule that out. Could it be the descendant of some sort of undiscovered dinosaur? Or is there a small pack of some unknown creature roaming the southern Sierra Nevadas preying on those that wander to close it where it lives?

All I know is I think a road trip is in order. I'm curious what the town's folk have to say about this local legend.