NC Cryptid File #005

Knobby

Not every Bigfoot story comes from the Pacific Northwest.

North Carolina has one of its own.

They call him Knobby.

The legend began in the summer of 1979 near Kings Mountain in Cleveland County. It started with a few strange reports. People claimed they had seen a large, hairy creature walking upright through the woods. Then more sightings followed.

Soon, it seemed everyone knew somebody who knew somebody that had seen Knobby.

Witnesses described a creature between seven and eight feet tall, covered in dark hair, with broad shoulders and long arms that swung as it walked. Some said it moved surprisingly fast. Others claimed it let out an eerie scream that echoed through the trees after sunset.

Before long, curiosity turned into a spectacle.

News crews arrived.

Roads filled with people hoping to catch a glimpse.

Hunters searched the woods.

Some came carrying cameras.

Others carried something with a little more stopping power.

Nobody found Knobby.

But that didn’t stop the stories.

As the excitement faded, wildlife experts suggested more familiar explanations. A black bear standing upright. Someone in a costume. Mistaken identity fueled by a town caught up in the moment.

Those ideas explain some of the sightings.

Maybe even most of them.

But legends don’t usually last because of the evidence.

They last because someone knows a person who swears they saw it with their own eyes.

And around Kings Mountain, there are still folks who’ll tell you to keep an eye on the tree line.

Just in case.

Field Notes

Classification: Bigfoot-Type Cryptid

Location: Cleveland County, North Carolina

Habitat: Forests, hills & rural farmland

First Recorded: 1979

Historic Sightings: Summer 1979

Estimated Height: 7–8 feet

Folklore Fame: Statewide Legend

Current Status: Unexplained