Most paranormal videos collapse under the slightest scrutiny. This one doesn’t.
The 911 call is real. Snopes confirmed it. The Pender County Sheriff’s Office investigated it. The caller stayed on scene and cooperated with deputies. There’s an 11-minute recording, police reports, and official confirmation that this incident happened on July 31, 2021.
That’s already more credible than 99% of cryptid sightings online.
@whwn1190 Was it a ghost? A demon? A cryptid? A terrifying 911 call leaves more paranormal questions than answers. What do you think this North Carolina man encountered? Tell us in the comments. #civilwar #scary #creepy #911call ♬ original sound – Nostalgic Paranormality
What Actually Happened (That We Know For Sure)
Here’s what’s verified: A man was driving on a desolate North Carolina road late at night. He called 911 after seeing what he thought was a bloody man on the roadside. While on the phone with dispatch, something made a noise in his truck bed.
The caller’s reaction was visceral. “It’s not human! It’s not human!” he screamed into the phone.
He hit the brakes hard. Whatever was back there flew out onto the road and disappeared into the woods. When deputies arrived, they found nothing. The distances and timeline the caller described match up perfectly.
The caller wasn’t arrested for filing a false report. The sheriff took it seriously enough to open an official investigation.
The Description That Changes Everything
This is where things get strange. The caller described the creature as having shallow sunken eyes, no nose, and skin stretched thin over a skull like something out of a nightmare.
Not a bear. Not a person. Something else entirely.
If you’re thinking “well, stress and darkness can make people see things,” you’re not wrong. Fear distorts perception. A mangy animal in the dark can look terrifying and unfamiliar.
But here’s the thing: nobody questions everyday 911 calls. If someone called about hitting a deer, we’d accept the recording and police report as proof it happened. We only demand extraordinary evidence when the claim sounds impossible.
The Giant Squid Problem
Carl Sagan famously said extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. A mystery creature in modern North Carolina would definitely qualify as extraordinary.
But history keeps teaching us humility. Gorillas were considered myths by Western science until the mid-1800s. Giant squids were sailor’s tales until the 1840s brought physical proof. We didn’t photograph one alive until 2004.
Could something hide in North Carolina in 2021? It’s far less likely than gorillas hiding in 1840s Cameroon. But “far less likely” isn’t the same as impossible.
What We’re Left With
The evidence is verified, but verification doesn’t equal validation. Yes, a real person made a real 911 call and cooperated with a real investigation. That’s unusual for paranormal claims.
But one terrified person’s account, no matter how official the paperwork, isn’t enough to rewrite biology textbooks. We’d need photos, video, physical evidence, multiple witnesses, and probably a captured specimen before science would take this seriously.
The most likely explanation? Misidentification, stress, or an elaborate prank that fooled everyone involved.
The most interesting part? Unlike typical hoaxes, this person had nothing to gain and everything to lose by making this call. That doesn’t make it true, but it makes it worth a second look.
Sometimes the best mysteries are the ones we can verify happened, even if we can’t verify what actually happened.
