Written Confession: The Beast of Oakley Manor
The following written confession was submitted via email. It has been edited for clarity:
I live in Gulfport, MS and grew up in a neighborhood called Oakley Manor; there is South Oakley Manor which is the part of the neighborhood I lived in at the time, and across the street by the main entrance of South Oakley is North Oakley Manor which is where this experience took place.
I was a nature lover and was always hanging in the woods with friends building forts and watching animals. I was very knowledgeable about all our local wildlife and plants. Long story short I went to a buddy's one night who lived in Oakley North. At the time the road that leads to Oakley North had woods on both sides of the street, and it was woods, a ditch, and then the road I was walking on. On my way to his house it had just started to get dark, crickets and frogs where so loud on my way to my friend’s it was deafening - typical Mississippi night. I got to his house and hung out a little while; when I left his house something was off - no crickets or frogs , silence, and a really bad feeling as if I was being watched.
Shortly after passing Oakley North houses and getting to where the woods were on both sides, I began hearing something large in the woods, walking as I would walk, and if I'd stop it would stop. Freaking out a bit but curious of what it could be - was thinking maybe a coyote or some other animal - I was approaching a street light where there was a power line trail that split the woods. I got there and stopped knowing I'd get a chance to see what it was. I wish I hadn't saw what I saw. As I stopped and waited it did not stop when I did like it previously had done - it kept coming. I began smelling a horrible smell. Twigs began breaking right at the wood line.
I was about to see it, I had my eyes trained level, expecting it to be coyote-size, then I heard a growl like nothing I heard before. I started hearing branches on pine trees about 7 or 8 ft up, moving and breaking, and to my horror I saw the head of what to me looked like a wolf's head come out [of] the branches with yellow glowing eyes. It did not look real, it was hideous. It had dark fur that looked grey as the street light hit it. I just turned and ran as fast as I could. This should not have been real, it looked a lot like the werewolf of Silver Bullet. Once I got across the street that separated North Oakley from South and was in someone's front yard, I turned around and saw this beast standing in the road. It was on two legs, long arms, staring in my direction, and I know how crazy this part is gonna sound, but I swear it just completely disappeared...
Only recently have I started telling people about this story because I watched a podcast recently and discovered others that literally were telling my story - they had a name for these things called Dogmen. It has become my obsession trying to learn more about these things. It has led me to the missing 411 cases, and now it has led me to your podcast.
…One thing that truly sticks in my mind is that I feel like this beast enjoyed my fear... I am convinced that if I hadn't ran as fast as I did I would not be here today.
