The Pumpkin Man

The Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, USA, is most famous for it's low-lying mountain ridge called the Brown Mountain, because the ridge is known to have mysterious lights appear on and around it at night. This odd phenomena is said to have been reported for hundreds of years, and many stories have arisen to try and explain the lights... usually having to do with claims of alien spacecraft (a.k.a. UFOs) or ghosts. While all of that is interesting, it's not interesting in a way that is relevant to the topic we are here to discuss: Monsters!

What is relevant to the topic is a strange set of reports from the Brown Mountain area of the Pisgah National Forest that first came to national light in 2009. On July 17, 2009, paranormal investigator Joshua P. Warren revealed during a radio interview that the people living near the national forest in the towns of Asheville and Morganton, North Carolina, were aware of a strange creature that stalked the woods near the campsites in the park, a creature that had been dubbed the "Pumpkin Man."

The Pumpkin Man is described as between four and six feet tall, with a skinny body, "branch-like" arms and legs, a big head with a shriveled face, and piercing, glowing red eyes. The monster is said to just appear and disappear in some mysterious way, and is also said to have been seen at times floating in the air in a "little bubble."

Overall in appearance the Pumpkin Man is said to look 'alien,' which means it has a resemblance to the monsters known as 'Grays,' believed to come from outer space... but the Grays are not shriveled or plant-like in their appearances, so it's unknown if the two creatures are actually related or not. Some have asserted there is a secret government base under Brown Mountain, and that as UFO activity has increased over the past few years, so have sightings of the Pumpkin Man.

It's said that a series of grisly murders occurred on Brown Mountain; when authorities apprehended the culprit, he was wearing a pumpkin mask.

When interrogated about the seemingly senseless murders, the man only said that the Pumpkin man had told him to kill the people, apparently to 'protect the forest!' After the murders, the strange lights that Brown Mountain is famous for were seen in the areas the deaths took place...

Have No Fear!

While it's true that the Brown Mountain is famous for mysterious lights, nothing else in the story above appears to be based on facts. First off, so far the only person known to actually talk about the Pumpkin Man is, in fact, 'paranormal investigator' Joshua P. Warren. I've found no outside mention of the strange being that doesn't tie directly back to interviews with Warren.

There is no newspaper or other news references to a series of murders on Brown Mountain, either involving a pumpkin-masked individual or not... and both would certainly be news-worthy, even with no monster involved. As the evidence currently stands, the "Pumpkin Man of Brown Mountain" appears to be purely an invention of Warren's imagination. But I'll still be looking into the lights someday!