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