Coming home from Long Beach Island to rt 9,
I took a back way home. Halfway into the state forest area, with the jeep top down, I noticed there
was a foul smell in the air, like a dead deer or some kind of road kill - you
know the smell when you've grown in the pines. I come around this tight turn and
take the vehicle to about 25 mph. With high beams on I catch a glimpse of
what seems to be a man hunched over a dead deer. When I slow down to focus my
eyes I notice it's not a man, nor a black bear (which are known to be in that area) but a humanoid figure. Now I didn't think of the Jersey Devil nor Bigfoot - what I saw didn't have wings nor hooved feet. When my head lights hit it, I slowed down to about 15 mph. It was tall, around 7 feet, and had amber eyes. Its arms seemed too long for its body and it had a camel or giraffe like head. I couldn't make out hair or skin type. Its legs were huge and muscular, but it had no tail. It stood and looked at me for what seemed like 10-15 seconds and then made its way into the woods. It stumbled at first when it finally took off. It was hunched over slightly. Now I didn't stick around because at that point I realized it wasn't human nor animal... I hit the gas and got out!!
Now when I was driving home, get this: I realized it couldn't have been human, only because it registered to me that when my headlights first hit it I saw his eyes glowing in a reflective matter like a deer or dog, you know. That's what made me slow down in the first place, I didnt want to hit it!! Anyway, I knew I wasn't crazy, but just to make sure I went back during the day to see where the deer was, and maybe look to see if there were claw marks, teeth marks, anything to prove to myself! Well you can guess the rest when I got there was gone! The smell was still heavy in the air but no deer, it looked as if it had been dragged into the woods but I couldn't see from my jeep. I didnt leave the car, just parked on the shoulder and gazed. I did see what looked like a wet substance on the ground where the carcass was (maybe some sort of decomposing fluid).
I know I'm not crazy - I did see something. I've told some family members and friends, and some laugh, some don't. I'm a 35 year old man who grew up here, camped, hiked, but never encountered anything like this. You better believe when I take that route again I will definitely keep my eyes open again.
