If one were to search the internet for Tennessee Cryptids in general, not much immediately comes up because the South is lousy with them. It’s harder to gain recognition when this side of Tennesse is just three hours away from the home of Mothman. That being said, if one were to search for it, they would majorily find information on The Tennessee Wildman, who is one of my local favorites.
The Tennessee Wildman is a cryptid local to the east side of Tennessee and could be considered the southern cousin of Bigfoot. He is described as a very tall humanoid figure that is either light brown or dark orange. While reported colorations differ, almost every reported sighting of him has been the same. Someone was in the woods (or during some of the earlier sightings in the 1970s in homes close to the woods) when either their sight, hearing or sense of smell picked up on something odd. Then he was there or they realized he’d always been there. What differentiates him from Bigfoot, is that he seems to be more human and less apelike as well as having shaggier hair. Perhaps more akin to the Northern Sasquatch.
Most information on him says that the last known sighting was in my hometown of Elizabethton in 1995 by Robb Phillips. Around 2015, he was interviewed by Destination America about his experience and by the Elizabethton Star about his experience and reasons for sharing it now. Like many who have experienced the supernatural, he was worried about not being believed. (Elizabethton Star, Ashley Rader, 15 January 2015) In both the article and the show he recounts what happened, he and a friend were by Bee Cliffs when the forest went quiet and there was an overwhelming smell of rot. When Phillips looked up, he saw the Wildman in a nearby tree, and the two ran away. According to him, the figure was about nine feet tall and a dark orange.
While doing research into the Wildman, I knew that finding credible sources was going to be difficult for many reasons, so when I saw that there was aWwiki page for him, I wasn’t expecting much, but I didn’t want to excclude it. What I found was that in the comment sections were several people having claimed to see him more recently in 2019 or 2020, with one user (Omega Groudon) saying, “Does the Tennessee Wildman make a Neanderthal or Caveman like sound. Because on early of June or July of 2019 at Oak Ridge I heard this voice which sounded like an angry Neanderthal or Caveman. Then two or three seconds later I heard something walking on the grass, and it sounded like it was on two legs.” (Tennessee Wildman Wiki)
Check out this column each week for more information on cryptids of this region.
