The Hidebehind is a nocturnal cryptid from North American lumberjack folklore, blamed for the mysterious disappearances of loggers who ventured alone into the wilderness during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Unlike many “fearsome critters” of lumber camp tall tales, the Hidebehind carried genuine weight among workers. It served as both a cautionary legend and an explanation for real tragedies in an era when logging was among the most dangerous occupations in America.
Quick Facts
Type: Cryptid / Fearsome Critter
Region: Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, Maine, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon
First Documented: Late 19th century (oral tradition); 1910 (print)
Primary Sources: Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods (1910) by William T. Cox; Fearsome Critters (1939) by Henry H. Tryon
Classification: Nocturnal predator, humanoid
Status: Folklore / Unconfirmed
Physical Description
Accounts of the Hidebehind vary due to its defining characteristic: it cannot be seen directly. However, the few descriptions that exist paint a consistent picture.
Henry H. Tryon’s 1939 Fearsome Critters provides the most detailed physical description: “A biggish beast, standing about six feet and walking erect. The slender body makes it possible to hide completely behind the bole of a ten-inch tree. The pelt is long, thick, and black, and the tail is carried recurved. It looks like a French sheepdog’s.”
The creature walks bipedally like a human. Its forelimbs are described as “short” but “well-muscled” and “equipped with grizzly-like claws.” The face is difficult or impossible to observe, with Tryon noting it is “almost impossible to tell whether the critter is going or coming, and practically hopeless to locate its face, if any.”
Other sources describe the Hidebehind as approximately six feet tall with a slender, elongated torso that enables it to compress behind obstacles too narrow for a being of its size. The dark pelt blends with forest shadows, providing natural camouflage during its nocturnal hunts.
Behavior and Abilities
The Hidebehind’s most notable characteristic is its supernatural ability to remain hidden. It moves with preternatural speed and stealth, always positioning itself behind its prey. When a person turns to look, the creature has already shifted to remain out of sight.
According to folklore, the Hidebehind targets lone individuals, particularly those who wander away from groups. It demonstrates patience, sometimes stalking prey for hours or days. Some accounts claim it “feeds on the victim’s growing fear” before attacking.
When the creature finally strikes, it does so with devastating efficiency. Tryon recorded: “Leaping from its hiding-place with a demoniacal laugh, it swiftly disembowels its victim with one swipe. Sometimes the fiendish howl frightens the prey to death before the blow falls.”
The creature’s primary food source is human intestines. After killing, it drags victims back to its lair to consume them, leaving no trace behind. This explained why missing loggers were never found.
One unusual characteristic: the Hidebehind can allegedly survive up to seven years without eating, lurking in patient silence until suitable prey appears.
Aversion to Alcohol
The most widely cited weakness of the Hidebehind is its intense aversion to alcohol. The smell of liquor reportedly repels the creature entirely.
Tryon noted: “A highly dangerous animal, but, owing to its intense aversion to the odor of alcohol, never known to attack an inebriate. One bottle of Uno beer has been proven to be a complete safeguard even in thickly infested country.”
Lumberjacks used this belief to justify carrying whiskey into the woods. Some poured alcohol around campfires as a protective ward. Whether this represented encoded survival wisdom (strong human scents deter predatory animals) or simply a convenient excuse for drinking remains debated.
Geographic Distribution
Hidebehind legends appeared across multiple logging regions of North America:
Great Lakes Region: The creature was most commonly reported in the dense forests of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. Wisconsin’s white pine harvest in the 1880s produced over 400 seasonal camps where Hidebehind stories circulated.
Maine: Pine barrens and logging drives fostered tales emphasizing the creature’s stealth in thick underbrush.
Pacific Northwest: Washington’s Olympic and Cascade ranges had their own Hidebehind traditions, sometimes merging with Native American “wild man” legends.
Oregon: Old-growth forests and isolated logging operations maintained the legend well into the 20th century.
The consistency of accounts across geographically separated regions suggests either widespread cultural transmission through traveling workers or, as some cryptozoologists argue, encounters with an actual creature.
Origins and Cultural Context
The Hidebehind emerged during a specific moment in American history. The late 19th century saw rapid expansion of the logging industry into previously untouched wilderness. Men worked in isolated camps for months at a time, facing constant danger from falling trees, equipment accidents, wild animals, and harsh weather.
Disappearances were common. Men fell into rivers, got lost in trackless forest, succumbed to injury or exposure, or simply walked away from brutal working conditions. The Hidebehind provided a narrative framework for these tragedies.
Folklorists classify the Hidebehind among “fearsome critters,” a genre of tall-tale creatures specific to lumber camp culture. However, it differs from humorous inventions like the Hodag or Jackalope. The Hidebehind was invoked to explain real deaths and disappearances, lending it a darker character than its whimsical counterparts.
According to Monstropedia, “some of the fearsome critters, such as the Hidebehind, were derived from Algonquian legends.” This suggests the creature may have roots in Native American tradition predating European settlement.
Primary Sources
William T. Cox (1910): Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts contains one of the earliest print references to the Hidebehind. Cox, Minnesota’s first State Forester, compiled accounts from working lumberjacks.
Henry H. Tryon (1939): Fearsome Critters provides the most detailed description of the Hidebehind’s appearance and behavior. Tryon worked to preserve logger folklore before it disappeared with the decline of traditional logging camps.
B.A. Botkin (1944): A Treasury of American Folklore included Hidebehind accounts among its collection of American tall tales and legends.
Carol Rose (2000): Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth describes the Hidebehind as “a predatory cannibal beast that lurked around the loggers’ camps.”
Connection to Bigfoot
Some cryptozoologists have noted similarities between Hidebehind descriptions and modern Sasquatch reports:
- Approximately six feet tall
- Bipedal locomotion
- Covered in dark hair
- Inhabits dense forest
- Possesses supernatural stealth
- Nocturnal hunting behavior
- Preys on or threatens humans
The CryptoVille website posed the question directly: “Do you think the Hidebehind was most likely a Bigfoot/Sasquatch, or something else?”
This theory suggests that 19th-century loggers were encountering the same creature that would later be called Bigfoot, but interpreted their experiences through the lens of lumber camp storytelling culture. The “fearsome critter” framework provided a way to discuss frightening encounters without directly claiming to have seen a monster.
Skeptics counter that the similarities are coincidental, or that modern Bigfoot legends borrowed elements from earlier folklore including the Hidebehind.
Skeptical Perspectives
Mainstream folklorists classify the Hidebehind as fictional, invented by lumberjacks as entertainment and as a coping mechanism for workplace dangers. Proposed mundane explanations include:
Bears: Black bears standing upright could be misidentified as bipedal creatures, particularly in low light.
Psychological factors: Isolation, exhaustion, and the genuine dangers of frontier logging could produce heightened anxiety and false perceptions.
Social function: The legend encouraged safety practices (working in pairs, staying alert) while providing emotional distance from real tragedies.
Tall-tale tradition: Lumber camps had a rich culture of competitive storytelling, and the Hidebehind fit perfectly into this tradition.
The creature’s defining trait, that it cannot be directly observed, conveniently explains the lack of physical evidence while making the legend impossible to definitively disprove.
Modern Appearances
The Hidebehind has experienced renewed interest in contemporary popular culture:
Harry Potter franchise: J.K. Rowling included the Hidebehind in the expanded Wizarding World, describing it as a silver-haired creature born from the crossbreeding of a Demiguise and a ghoul. It appears in the revised edition of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2017).
Gravity Falls: Disney’s animated series featured the Hidebehind in the 2013 short “Dipper’s Guide to the Unexplained: The Hide Behind,” drawing directly from lumberjack folklore.
Cryptozoology forums: Modern hikers and campers occasionally report experiences matching classic Hidebehind encounters: the sense of being followed, movement in peripheral vision, and the feeling of a presence just out of sight.
PBS Monstrum: The 2024 episode “Why Lumberjacks Never Look Behind Them” examined the Hidebehind legend in the context of invisible monster folklore across cultures.
Related Creatures
- Wendigo: Algonquian cannibal spirit that stalks forest travelers
- Sasquatch/Bigfoot: Large, hairy humanoid of Pacific Northwest legend
- Wild Man of the Woods: European folklore tradition of forest-dwelling humanoids
- Stick Indians: Native American spirits that whistle to lure victims
- Agropelter: Another fearsome critter that attacks by throwing branches
See Also
- Fearsome Critters (folklore category)
- Bigfoot
- Pacific Northwest Cryptids
- American Folklore
Selected Bibliography
- Cox, William T. Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods (1910)
- Tryon, Henry H. Fearsome Critters (1939)
- Botkin, B.A. A Treasury of American Folklore (1944)
- Wyman, Walker D. Mythical Creatures of the USA and Canada (1978)
- Rose, Carol. Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth (2000)