The Melrose Creep is a short and comes exclusively from Al Eufrasio and Jeff Davis’s Weird Oregon. The Weird US book series is a must-have for Forteans because they have some of the most unique encounters ever reported and some which have never been reported anywhere else. The entity known as the Melrose Creep is one such case, and it's particularly bizarre as it reminds one of the stories of the 1955 Loveland Frogman case or a legged Belial from Basket Case/ living Ghoulie or a living Boglin or Mad ball.
Appearance[]
The short that described as not having noticeable ears or at least human-like ears, something which does not match a goblin's description. There is also the chance that this entity might match the description of a faerie I am not currently aware of as just about every culture has various kinds of faeries, and this includes the Native American cultures. Perhaps there is an entity in the lore of the Oregon natives that might match the description of this being.
This case which was sent to Eufrasio and Davis, was by a witness known only as Captain Morgan and describes how he has had an encounter with the creature on one particular evening. On the evening in question, he had decided to go into the woods at night. Morgan explains that the reason for this is that he tended to be a night owl, and while out for a stroll in a clear cut behind his house, he heard a soft pattering sound behind him like that of footsteps. As he turned around, he could see that something was indeed walking behind him, and as he looked at the entity, he could tell that it was something he had never seen before. Morgan was used to bears, cats, coyotes, and any traditional animal as he always had lived in the woodlands around Melrose Township, and what he saw before him was something that was exclusively different than normal fauna. The being he saw was about three to four feet tall and was noticeably hunched over. The creature was completely hairless and covered with slick skin. The creature had long arms that ended in six-fingered hands and had feet that were stubby but ended in claws. The creature did have a head that was eerily human in form and had bulging glowing red eyes. The creature seemed unafraid of the Captain and proceeded to walk closer to Morgan. Morgan was completely terrified of this strange abomination and was not willing to let this creature come too close. He returned home and did not leave his home for weeks for fear that the creature might come after him or come get him.
Several months later, Morgan was walking down the Doerner Cutoff, and as he reached about a half of mile from the end of the road, he could hear the same soft padded footfalls that he heard those several months earlier. He was going to meet a friend, and he decided that he should just get to the spot they were meeting at as soon as possible and proceeded to run down the road towards the area. He arrived at the area and constantly watched the time, and as he waited, the time for his friend to arrive came, and he still was not there. Morgan kept looking around, knowing that the Creep was still in the area. After about 5 minutes, his friend showed up, and Morgan finally was at ease, never to see the creature ever again.
Now, this is the only reported encounter with the creature; however, Morgan notes that the Melrose Creep is a known creature in the area. I currently have found no other report nor any other written account of a creature matching the description in the area. With that said, however, there are several outlets to look at when breaking down this encounter, and the first and perhaps most appropriately, seeing as how this encounter is a single case from an anonymous witness, is that perhaps it's a hoax. There's no physical evidence for the existence of this creature; there are no other written accounts of modern sightings which if this entity was seen more often, there should be more sightings or at least more retellings of this encounter as seen with other local cryptid encounters like the Northfield Pigman, also the fact that the witness's real name is most likely not used as while it's not impossible for there to be a Captain Morgan one cannot ignore the obvious alcohol-related reference with the name which if someone was attempting to make a fake story that discredits such sightings that's the perfect name since most sightings are often believed to be the result of those on drugs or alcohol. Melrose is also not a coastal town, and while there's a river near there, it is less likely that a captain would choose to take up residence in a location so far away from water or boats. Now, of course, while there is a very good chance that this account is a hoax, the same goes for it being real, as there's nothing to truly discredit the account aside from what we can speculate.