Mantis Man sighting on the M'cong... this is no joke
I like a good story like anyone else, but my friend told me a story today that was so profound that I felt the need to share it with the rest of the town. This friend of mine who told me this story is a very successful businessman. Deep into our conversation today he started tearing up uncontrollably and told me he had something to get off his chest that had been eating at him for some time. I hope you're ready for this because I wasn't.
Apparently about a year ago my friend and his brother were down at Stephen's State Park fishing right around dusk. During this time, while his brother was roughly 50 yards downstream fishing, he said he felt this strange vibration in his right ear and from that he turned and looked to the right. When he turned and looked to the right he said he saw this 6 to 7 foot praying-mantis-looking-man... just standing there and unable to believe that he could see him. He said the creature was black and gray and to be quite honest, the way my buddy was telling me this story, I was having a tough time. I know he saw this thing... because I could see it in his face.
Anyhow, we Googled "Praying Mantis Man on Muscenetcong" right after that and it turns out my friend is not alone. I can't even emphasize enough how bad my friend was crying today over what he saw.
http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2011/07/praying-mantis-man-sighting.html
future 
Calico696 
joyful 
Ignatz
MikeL 
cheapo 
PREDATOR 
nosila WOW local biz owners are going to do great. once this gets out whole town willbe flooded with media and hollywood types. Im turning my house into a alien giftshop for tourist. Just to improve my sales I will tell story of time I seen it to my costumers.
aguy Is LSD back in style ? Hope you're just having fun and dont really believe this nonsence. You want to see some scary creatures pop into Marley's after 11 PM.
Coincidentally I just happen to run in to the teller of this story as I speak while out to dinner with my wife. I told him that I posted his tale on the local forum. After freaking out he saw how some people actually believe him. Now, when it comes to something like this I would never denigrate either of our credibility, but I just had him tell me the story again and if he's not telling the truth then he certainly believes he is.. needless to say and incidentally he's freaked me out all over again. He actually just admitted that he wet himself during these three brief seconds and he sat down in the water so his brother didn't think he ....his pants. I'm happy some you take this to heart because on the karma which I live by.. whether this guy saw this being or not he is telling the truth ... A truth he believes whole heartedly.
EVV Hi...I wrote the original 'Mantis Man' article. I would really like to talk to the new witness about this latest sighting. I can be reached at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com
Thanks....Lon
Lon Strickler 
What a coincidence, I just saw a Tobanga while I was over there last week...why do they all go to the Musconetcong River...
Mark Mc. That's a big 10 4, Lon! I would like to patch the truth together and would love for you two to speak. It was the passion in which this guy (that I've known for a number of years) spoke today. I am such a fan and proponent of topics like this that I would never slander or 'cry wolf.' I'm sure people see things every day, and that's fine, but my friend today was spooked. Apparently, this happened two years ago and he told me his life has not been the same since.
They seem to be associated more so with Alien Abductions - if you believe such things. Some good drawings in the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KdRfpWk17k
Me4 When writing the article "Lon" apparently got rt 46 and rt 57 mixed up, since he says it parallels the Musconetcong with the west bank bordering it and the east bank bordering fields and farmland.
Must have been too shaken up to get the roads right???
Phil D. Fiction writers will often do that on purpose, Phil D., especially in this type of genre. I believe it's for legal reasons. Good eye though in bringing this up.
I hope no one is taking this thread seriously. It sounds like two or more at this point are in this together. It could make for an interesting Sciencefiction/ Horror story for those who enjoy that type of literature. I wish them luck with their venture.
There you go, Fixer, just add a big cat, a couple of cupcakes, and you've got yourself the makings of an HLF best seller!
I find this fictional story quite boring. You could write more true and interesting stuff about the many kooks in town. This ones a box office flop.
Phil D - Lon says in his article that someone wrote to him in an email with that description. When I read it I thought of the section near the Pump House and wasn't thinking the Mansfield area. I was thinking the writing of the email was just talking about his specific location and not the whole length that runs 57. The shops might be more like the Target area than Shoprite/Walmart. But you just don't know.
I can't say I put much stock in the story, there are any number of plausible explanations even if not just a work of fiction. But it's neither here nor there.
GC 
Rebecka I have to admit I do feel a little strange about sharing this story from yesterday. Honestly, I've been trying to talk myself out of believing anything this friend of mine told me and how worked up he got over it. Please know, I didn't do this to spin a yarn that would take on a life of its own or am trying to make a story out of this or anything of the sort. The only reason I shared it was because after hearing this wild tale, I googled it and found Lon's article, which pretty much floored my friend and pretty much knocked him out of his chair. There were just a few eerie similarities and the fact that it took place on the Muskie just made it all the more bizarre. I keep trying to envision whatever it is that this friend of mine saw. To be truthful, one second I find it to be silly rubbish and then next second when I close my eyes and really envision what he outlined for me I find it remarkably unnerving. As always, people believe what they want to believe and I'm still not quite sure if I really believe this, but just to reiterate this friend of mine was downright spooked, and the fact that he admitted the embarrassing fact that he wet himself upon seeing this and all the tears mixed into yesterday's tale, he must've seen something, whatever it was.
This kind of reminds me of Billy Madison when he gets wasted and sees a giant penguin.
Metsman BTW...the original sighting is in my most recent book - 'Phantoms & Monsters: Cryptid Encounters'. If I thought that the witness was hoaxing me, I would have never added it to the book. I truly believe that something is going on in the area...and I plan to follow up on these sightings in 2013. These types of sightings may sound crazy but there are many related reports of cryptids / humanoids / uknown beings suddenly appearing and vanishing through a 'veil'....possible multidimensional travelers. There is a lot that we see and don't understand...that's why we seek the truth. Lon
Sometimes I like to smoke a fat one and dress like a giant freaking mantis and swim in the river I'm sorry if I scare people : (
"....possible multidimensional travelers"
i don't know which thread scares me more, this one or the Newtown one.
darwin Over the years I have read several books on people who encounter aliens. I have read about mantis type aliens....and other types...I think it is possible.
butterfly 
Seriously though, my son has seen him, plenty of times....then I started watching him. Here's its pix & link:
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22man+ray%22+spongebob&hl=en&gbv=2&safe=on&um=1&tbm=isch&tab=wi&safe=on&gs_l=img.3...3827.3827.0.5577.1.1.0.0.0.0.63.63.1.1.0...0.0...1c.1.4svNteUEiJY&safe=on&safe=on&safe=on&safe=on&oq=%22man+ray%22+spongebob
JJL what are the laws about hunting a praymantis man? as a kid we always said it was agianst the law to kill a praymantis, dont know if that was ever true but us kids thought it was. So can we hunt the praymantis man? and if so any good taxidermy guys in the area that do mantis man work well. I figure a proton ray gun would be best for this type of hunting. If anyone has advise on building a trap to get him post it here.
You never know whats out there...recently discovered is the Phallostehthus cuulong...a fish with its penis on its head...for real.
There is more than one person in town right now who must have evolved from that fish. You can no longer see the penis, but they are definitely...never mind.
CR37 
I was walking along the Musconetcong River the other day. So this fish guy calls me over. [ just glad I had my camera and snapped this picture] He tries to bum $20.00 off of me. Then he asks how to get into Weird New Jersey magazine,how rude.I told him to get lost. I just wanted to take a walk along the river.
eapos 
htownnewbie Must be some kind of wizardry.....maybe black magic....I have had some experience with this, I'll take care of it.
N.E.Cromancer 
smelof-07 Wow the drugs must be strong these days. Makes for a good scary story for the kids if you are camping down there!
Buddy 
ron I was at the location a few weeks ago...taking photos and interviewing people in the area. I will be returning sometime this Summer for followup. Nothing more to report at this time. Feel free to contact me about related or other unusual experiences. Lon
ianimal 
Emaxxman A new Monster has been spotted near the sandpits on Waterloo Valley Road. Be Aware! http://youtu.be/8h2QJ44HnrM
Tom 
I have no pictures of the "Mantis Man". But this guy was just spotted in the Pequest River near Buttzville, N.J.
I was walking on Main Street a couple nights ago ... hold on ...... I need to gather the courage to get this out ..... I'm fight back waterfalls of tears .... I can't stress the waterfall enough. Here goes, I saw the Boogie Man.
This year's Warren Hills yearbook has a picture of a previously thought extinct Nutosaurus.
There's a photo and story of a cloaking mantis man sighted at a high altitude lake in Taiwan. Big swimming hands can be seen. Weird photo. Maybe has chameleon skin or something? http://whofortedblog.com/2013/01/03/invisible-mantis-creature-photographed-police-officer-sparks-debate/
Alan Lowey 
noname The post of the "weird photo" is just a way to drive traffic to that site. Lets face it the entire sum and substance of this thread is bunk. It is simply just for entertainment......
Personally I'm a big fan of the Boogityman or is it Boogeyman? LOL!
Greg future's friend probably did see something but it was probably a bored teenager pulling a prank. It must have been a very authentic looking costume for that guy to really fall for it like he did.
positive 
Hmmm,
"Mantis Man vs. Hopatconda"
New movie out this August - shown in "Mythovision".
Hi...I wrote the original 'Mantis Man' articles. I would really like to talk to any witnesses from other sightings...or other unexplained encounters. I can be reached at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com
Thanks....Lon
If you see Mantis Man tell him the route 46 bridge will be out for a while. Traffic around here will be unbelievable!
TU Hmmm,
"Mantis Man vs. Hopatconda"
New movie out this August - shown in "Mythovision".
Phil D.
Actually will be on tonight as part of a double feature with 'Sharknado2"
Clyde Potts Since posting this two years ago I've kept a critical eye out regarding anything odd in the area. The real bummer in all of this is I, along with everyone else, can't blame ourselves for being human. Ask yourself: what's a picture worth, or a video? Hell, if the mantis man, bigfoot, or a bona fide UFO came and knocked on my door right now and was there in front of me, I still don't know if I would believe what I was seeing. So how can we prove anything? Not even three weeks ago I sat around and filmed an unidentified object hovering forty yards away from my front porch. For hours I sat there and filmed it. And after waking up the next day and contemplated showing it to anyone, I realized I would be doing nothing but spinning my tires. Recently, out in Green Township, a family has been filming some of the most baffling and head-scratching footage of anything I've ever seen - it's beyond words. This footage filmed by this local family was actually included in a new feature film documentary that was far from an amateur production. Simply go on youtube and type in "Andover Airport UFO." What these people have been filming is startling. And the bottom line in all of this is: no one seems to care at all. These people have footage that's worthy of hundreds of thousands of views and at least an official inquiry. But, to this day, this collection of videos they have hasn't been seen by more than a few hundred viewers who I'm sure stumbled upon them by accident. The gentleman who told me of his encounter with the mantis man is a pillar in society. As he was reliving his experience, and weeping from residual fright, I knew he was telling the truth, I have no doubts. But, like you, how can I accept that I actually believe him? We're encouraged to get a picture or take a video anymore, but to ask again, let's say he was able to capture an irrefutable picture of the mantis man... would we really believe him? Photos and videos can be doctored. And we live in a time where "based on real events" means nothing anymore. With all of that said, his story of the mantis man if nothing else is unnerving, fascinating, and although he will always remain my friend, the story is just a little too much
future future- I wouldn't doubt your friend. I have seen him too, since I used to hike frequently at Stephens during the day and at night. It turned out to be an ex-boyfriend stalking me and I'm embarassed to admit this.. but he had an uncanny resemblance of a preying mantis. That is why I had to end our relationship...the attraction just wasn't there.
I believe he is still there lurking and waiting, this is why I will not go to that park ever again and hike elsewhere.
The fact that there were 2 very related sightings in the same general area is relatively unheard of in cryptid & fortean research. I truly believe that there is an unknown phenomenon occurring in the area. I have been investigating and writing about anomalous encounters for over 30 years. There are 'things' on our plane and elsewhere that we simply cannot explain...but the continuation of physical and anecdotal evidence collection will eventually get us closer to the real answers. I applaud the original witnesses' diligence. lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com
Hi...there has been a recent sighting. http://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2014/08/possible-3rd-mantis-man-sighting.html As well, one of production companies is interested in presenting a segment for television. I'm looking for all witness information and recent sighting accounts. Thanks...Lon Strickler
Lon - I read your web site. Do you realize that's the *closed* Newburg Rd bridge? There's something seriously wrong with all the information you've been fed.
Well, some 35 years ago I heard stories from a respected school principal about his experiences living in a house that was haunted.
He said angry spirits forced him out of that house.
The fact that the house he talked about happened to be right across the street from where I was living, was kind of unsettling.
Andy Loigu 
GC-You can still go Newburgh from Rt57 to get to Walgreens. Maybe thats what he means. Right in that area.
botheredbyuu2 
Lon
As GC mentioned - the closed Newburgh Road bridge, as in nonexistent at the time the person claims to have driven over it and sighted "Mantis Man".
The bridge has been closed for replacement since June 24th, 2014. See the picture for what it looked like by June 28, 2014 - just torn up steel beams on the eastern side of the river. It is impossible for them to have crossed that bridge at the time period they claim to have (between July 22 and July 25).
Sorry Lon, I know you mean well and I've had an interest in Fortean phenomena since my teens, but someone is pulling your leg on this one, at least according to the "facts" as presented.
Phil D. I read the story two times on the above link, nowhere did it say that they drove "over" the bridge it said "near" the bridge. Also the photo was from "google". It could have been taken well before the work was started. That being said I too feel that someone's leg is being pulled. I think the whole story is a hoax. JMHO
Why would you drive towards the bridge from the drug store to go home, when the bridge is out? There are no homes between the parking lot and the river.
You probably wouldn't even see the river that well until you're on the bridge, let alone "driving further" to get a better look.
If you were in the parking lot exit near the barriers, "to your left" would be towards Rt 57, not the south bank of the river (which is also vague since the river runs north-south under the bridge).
Simple geometry makes this story sound quite far fetched.
This thread makes me giggle every time I see it come up.
If only for that, thank you, Lon.
"I was driving home from the drug store on Newburgh Rd. As I drove near the bridge over the river, I noticed to my left something (I thought a fisherman) standing in the river just off the southbank. I slowed the car and looked closer. It wasn't a person and it was transparent-like with a weird shape. It moved slowly towards the bank and into the trees. I drove further so I could see it coming out of the trees."
"As I drove near the bridge over the river" makes sense only if they had just crossed the river on the bridge and seen something as they looked towards their left, then slowed on Newburgh while watching it, then drove a bit further to be able to see it come out of the tree line. That is, unless they are talking about some other bridge, such as the King's Highway bridge. If you are leaving the Walgreens to go towards 57 and Allen Rd., then the river is on your right, not your left and the drive through lane that runs in the back also puts the river on the right, not the left.
They make no mention of a large trackhoe or two on either bank, etc. so the story holds no water in my eyes at all. To observe anyone in the river going to the south bank and through the tree line, they would have either had to have been on Newburgh itself, travelling towards Schooley's Mt. Rd. or been going TO the Pharmacy, having just turned onto Newburgh, then about to make a right into the back entrance of the lot and seen the creature on their left then, but they said they were on their way home from the pharmacy, not on their way there.
I would be interested in the time stamp on the receipt then also, since that would indicate whether they had been there while they were actually working at the bridge site. Maybe the guys working there have been playing poker with the Mantis Man, and that's why it's supposedly taking so long to complete - LOL.
"Maybe the guys working there have been playing poker with the Mantis Man, and that's why it's supposedly taking so long to complete." - Phil
Love it!!!
Addendum/edit: I believe in the paranormal. I've never seen a ghost, let alone taken a picture of one to "prove" it. (It's just that I think enough credible people say that they have.) So really... in all fairness, I suppose I can't judge Lon for stating that the Mantis Man exists.
Hi...I was in Hackettstown last year looking at the locations mentioned in the previous sightings. I also talked to several people. I don't know the area where this recent sighting supposedly took place. I'm always wary when I receive a report...but I do give most people the benefit of the doubt and post their information. I've been investigating fortean phenomenon for a long time...I've learned not to discount any report until it's been looked into. Lon
Lon
From the picture from google maps that was forwarded to you of where they first noticed the anomaly, it definitely looks as though they were starting to cross the bridge when they saw it on their left, then slowed down to watch and moved forward further on Newburgh to observe him emerging from the woods. As I stated earlier, and showed picture evidence, as of just before June 28th of this year, the bridge was destroyed for an enlargement and rebuild project. You can refer to my pictures in this thread for a better timeline:
http://www.hackettstownlife.com/forum/544192
I'm posting a picture of how it looked from the Northern side of the river on July 29th from the parking lot of Walgreens. This is how it would look from the passenger side of a car going out of the Walgreen's lot. The view of the southern side would be towards the right, not the left. As "Mark Mc." states, "simple geometry" shows something fishy.
I really think your sighter needs to fill you in with more detail or a better explanation. I would think that a missing bridge would be mentioned in their description somewhere. Notice the trackhoe and barriers in the way also? They'd been there for a bit while they'd been removing the central pier that had been in the middle of the river on the 16th, when I'd last taken pictures.
Maybe he meant while pulling out from Walgreens, onto Newburgh (yes you can), going LEFT TOWARDS 57, he saw something to his RIGHT. Maybe got left and right confused. As for the pic of the bridge, probably just a file copy.
"I was driving home from the drug store on Newburgh Rd."
The ONLY way to currently do that is to turn left onto Newburgh from the parking lot exit unless you want to drive over an excavator.
"As I drove near the bridge over the river, I noticed to my left something (I thought a fisherman) standing in the river just off the southbank."
If you are turning left onto Newburgh Road, the river is to your right, and the "south" bank would be even farther to your right, almost behind you (maybe you can rotate your head 180 degrees?)
"I drove further so I could see it coming out of the trees."
Therefore away from the river...
The only way any of this makes sense if it it happened before the bridge was torn down but the "witness" seems pretty sure of the dates, so as MG would say.... BUSTED.
Maybe it was mantis man driving the car! That's why he could rotate his head 180 degrees and he spotted another mantis man in his territory.
Lynnada you guys are missing a key piece of information that proves the witness's story make no sense....
there is no such thing as a Mantis Man. LOL
Until they put the bridge back in, you can't get to "Newburgh" Road in Washington Township from the drug store without taking the detour. You're stuck on "Newburg" Road in Mansfield Township.
Yeah, Mantis Man is made up but Bigfoot and Mothman are real. They both work at Shoprite, Snookems said so.
After I put this up I never thought this thread would last one day let alone... Some interesting news is that a TV show on one of the major networks just emailed me wanting to look into this story. I still see the witness a few times a year and it's always one of the first things I make sure we talk about... Sure, he could be fabricating the entire thing, but his story has never changed even down to the last detail. I don't know Lon, but if he wants to leave an email I'd be happy to patch him through to this show so all bases are covered. Viva the mantis
LngVly22 
LoBo August 4, 2003 will be a day I will never forget, a day my husband will never forget. It was a culmination of so many strange events that were occurring near and around my mother's home that we were residing in at the time. My mother lives in Kenwood and her back yard backs up to the fish hatchery. We are also a 5 minute walk from the Musconetcong River. My husband and I rarely talk about this day and if we do all one of us has to say is "that crazy day at moms house" and we both know what we are talking about. I have never spoken about it with anyone else really but there is something about that area my mom lives in, the hatchery and/or the river. Strange sightings, unexplained phenomena, weird sounds etc... so who knows? I would not discredit this story altogether
something is amiss....
H-town Mama H-town mama - there is a saying in French. Translated, it is: "Either you said too much, or you said too little." You need to tell us what happened! Please. Dying of curiosity.
Ahhh Rebecka it's such a long and arduous story to try and retell over the internet! Perhaps we could get together or I will tell you when I come to visit the puppies which I intend to do as soon as I can. There is a police report on this date of what was going on... And it was taking place in the hatchery and my back yard... A creature with red eyes that spoke like a human and army soldiers, a man who could not be seen completely pointing laser beams in my window
Sounds like a drug trip doesn't it?! Lol
H-Town Mama- Are you sure nobody slipped some LSD into your soda ;)? Those events sound really terrifying. I would probably need some kind of counseling.
Lol!! If I were the person hearing this I would think the same thing!! Hence the reason why we don't talk about it to anyone really. Hence how stupid we felt we we called 911& got the same reaction but I will say this... I started to speak a little of it with my sisters and. Brothers and my sister told me that she experienced the army part of the story and thought she had been watching too much MASH or something on tv!! I still couldn't bring myself to tell her everything and risk being the laughingstock of the family ( I probably am anyway.. Lol) so I'm fairly confident that hubby or anyone else for that matter did not slip me anything! Lol
Hi - I am a Producer at Monsters and Mysteries in America, as seen on the Destination America channel. We are developing a story about the Mantis Man and are looking for eyewitnesses to speak with us.
Please contact me ASAP at mikeburns.casting@gmail.com
Thanks!
Mike Burns Musconetcong River 'Mantis Man' Coming To Your TV - http://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2014/12/musconetcong-river-mantis-man-coming-to.html - 'Monsters and Mysteries in America' this upcoming 3rd season.
I recall watching a Denver Broncos game @ mile high stadium, probably early 80s perhaps vs Giants. Back then there wasn't all of this widespread coverage. So anyway the cameras showed what looked like a box kite to me spinning over the stadium. The announcers acknowledged it by saying" What is that? " I'm still wondering.
10 pm 3/18 - for all you Mantis Man believers, turn on Monsters & Mysteries now. Our very own "Mantis Man" will be featured shortly. Can't wait to see what this looks like lol. Ch. 873 on Comcast.
I missed it, but don't know if I feel like staying up 'til the 1-2am showing (channel 172 on Optimum). If I'm lucky it'll be on the free on demand channel (500). Just checked and no luck there since it's a "new" episode. It will probably be on the free on demand section next week. Maybe I'll watch it then just out of curiosity.
After viewing the "mantis " episode, I have my doubts. I definitely believe there are weird creatures on our planet as well as on other planets. We are uncovering new , weird creatures all the time, but they're usually in the Amazon. We have giant worm creatures that live near boiling vents ,blind fish that can live in acidic water, bio luminance fish that light up and live thousands of feet below the ocean, and think of all the other weird stuff we haven't even discovered, yet. But around here, I look to the sky for my encounters. My walk by the river today showed me my usual beauty of nature, but might have to wait till warmer weather to see any Mantises, or Mantis species. Bugs (depending on how much human DNA is in the mix), usually come out closer to Summer. No I haven't seen the latter, yet. Just making an educated guess.(can't wait to see the jokes that follow) Pretty cool that Hackettstown was on the show....I don't usually watch it.
sallysimpson i was interviewed by the producers and was all set to tape and recount my experience with "the thing" that i saw when I ended up in HRMC for 2 days with emergency gallbladder surgery. they were pretty convinced that my experience somehow was related to the experiences of the others and tied it all together. i would have taped it along with the reenactment at a location in budd lake. oh well, i didnt get a chance to be famous or have my 15 minutes..will have to check out the show now that I know it was actually done
I did stay up to see it, since I wasn't very sleepy at the moment, but I'd say it was definitely underwhelming to me. I'll leave it at that.
sorry guys, I've been up and down the stretch from the graveyard to the edge of the park fishing for 30 years, the last 18 with my two daughters. Nothing I've seen fits that description, maybe a heron. If you know where the old abandoned car is on the hillside in the park, when you look down from up there my daughter thought she saw something slowly moving around near the water..... it was a heron. Also keep in mind on the southern part of the park across the river is residential.... this is still n.j. something like you are describing would have been seen by now....and then fined by some state gov't ass for something. peace
thomas 
Ahmanut I SEEN HIM!!! He was on the banks of the muskeenetcong having a Pabst with the Big Redy Eyes. Big Red Eyes' hair is glorious! It was right after the 24th NJ marched past. I also here that over at the collage there is a ghost of a collage student who was killed by the man with the hook for a hand. Scary goin's on in Hackettstown. THings ain't the same now with Marshall's moving to the new spot. I think all the construction is upsetting the space time continum, lettin critters come from other deementions. I think these critters may be livin in the old tunnels the dutch miners dug out this way.
Dr. H. L. What is the "24th NJ" doing here when they are from South Jersey? But since I can see from the IP Address Who Dr. H. L. is, not really surprised about the mis-information.
John C Whatever happened to that anaconda that was supposed to be swimming around in Lake Hopatcong?
Good. Long as he ain't around here.
I remember when a girl I was good friends with returned from a spring break in Cancun ... she came back with the worst sunburn I'd ever seen.
In this video, the IronPigs' mascots Ferrous and Fe Fe encounter a lake monster!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR2YkQfx-bk
This song describes the color of my friend's sunburn when she returned from Cancun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkVqCS64joo
I remember a burn like that as a child. Grew up to definitely NOT be a sun goddess. OUCH!
Lived there my entire life and spent most of it on the river and still do. I'll have to keep an eye out. Bahahahaha.
Big Greek 
Jack Burton 
Here is another eyewitless account about sighting the " Hackettstown Mantis Man". Now there are two and they are communicating?
As had been mentioned before, the reports are from HL forum name changers. (I'm sure you can imagine that one, right?) I wouldn't take it too seriously. Too bad Lon did and then changed the stories to fit the TV program he wanted.
Come on GC, even Mantis Man needs some love. I bet he even wants Genevieve to remodel a room for him too. LOL.
Well, if he/she/it has an earring that tore out, I'm sure they'll be resurrecting that thread too;-)
Very creepy and surreal story, but I doubt it's real. Some people are very good storytellers.
1988LJ 1988LJ
I agree. Just read "Weird NJ" magazine as I have almost since its inception. Sadly through the years you could tell that there was a lot of imagination or drug-fueled stories that were sent into the mag. It was sometimes hard to tell which was which.
It seems like a good storytelling, but then you dig a bit and the exact same story about "my boss/my friend/etc who never believes this stuff, was at a well known Warren location, and saw something that made him actually pee his pants." The stories are all take offs on each other except one is Mantis, the other is UFO's, and the last one is Big Foot. And strangely when in defense of the person that saw it (no, it's never "me"), the mention is of any kind of strange happening whether Mantis, UFO, or Big Foot. Just a coincidence? It's the exact same story just told three times.
Indeed GC, it's almost as though they lifted it right from Snopes or Urban Legends.
I grew up hearing scary stories about the Jersey Devil ... "and it all happened right around here."
Now, the New Jersey Devils are an NHL hockey team.
There's a lot of power to a good story.
This is the first time I have heard of The Musconetcong Mantis Man. Interesting story, but needs more investigation.
Also, just wondering, has anything on this subject appeared in "Weird N.J"?
Edward Farnsworth LOL Jack
To answer Edward Farnsworth's question (which I'd missed earlier), there has been an article addressing Mantis Man in "Weird NJ" before. I think it may even have been just an issue or two ago. When I get home I'll check my collection and try to find which issue it was in and post it here. If you wish to buy a copy, the small convenience store next to Tony's Luncheonette and across from the BP station in Mansfield Twp. on Rt. 57 carries the current issue, as well as many back issues of "Weird NJ" magazine.
The "Mantis Man" story is in the latest "Weird NJ" magazine, starting on page 20, issue number 45.
Funny lady Just for the fun of it, I bought a copy of the recent Weird NJ to read about the Musconetcong Mantis Man, since I do a lot of kayaking on the river in the Hackettstown area. The account of ‘H-town Mama’ was included. In all due respect to the woman, there are rational explanations for what she experienced that night. Since sound carries very well over water, it is entirely reasonable that she would hear voices and radio noises coming from the trout ponds, considering there is both an apartment complex and a college campus just on the other side. As to the red light beams, perhaps a bunch of teenagers were running around with lazer pointers, and they all scattered and hid when the cops arrived? It was a summer evening. In any case, when you consider that H-town Mama lives in a neighborhood where the houses are very close together, surrounded by strip malls, apartments, a college, and a major highway… it is unlikely that 6 foot tall praying mantises would be running around, without anyone else seeing them.
Kibitzer 
Hey folks...if you encounter or experience any unexplained activity, please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com
Yankeefan 
Jesse123 
thehazguy I had suggested to my wife when we first heard of the Mantis Man story that Hackettstown should rename its sports teams. Tigers is pretty common, but the Hackettstown Mantis Men and Mantis Women would be pretty fun and original. And think of the merchandising! I'll even grant you the Fighting Mantis Men. Haha
Dancicus Fighticus 
maja2 Not to mention the school mascots would have to be all of Mantis Man, Big Foot, and UFO's combined. The exact same story told above that Lon based the TV episode on was retold by the exact same poster. They just substituted each of those three "phenomenon" but keept the story verbatim while changing screen names. Oh well, if it's good enough for a TV program, I guess it's good enough for the schools. Not to mention Ailymantisquatch would be fun to see the opponents try to pronounce. ;-)
Anything to keep the opponents guessing! :)
I think i just want to see someone dressed as a giant mantis pumping up the crowd. But it's the small things in life...
zentravl 
Ron 
If you have anything bizarre or unexplained to report, feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - thanks...Lon
Mantis Man was on the Travel Channel last night...I think what everyone seen was just a huge mosquito.
The picture is of the "Moth Man " this statue is in Point Pleasant West Virginia. And your "freind" doesn't even have the story right!
Janette "a time when the sons on men taught the mixing of species one with another" - The Book of Jasher; Dead Sea Scrolls.
Always amazes me how so many feel the need to denigrate others for their sighting, when not one of them has ever read an ancient text or knows how the Greeks and Romans actually described battling & killing bizarre hybrid races... from Dogmen to the Blemmyes, from Hairy barbarians to the many races of Giants. I doubt they even know the Bible & Greeks tell us St Christopher was a dogman, from a tribe of dog-headed humans, living in the mountains beyond Libya (Atlas Mts). They wore clothes and spoke in yips and barks, "and had a just society." Or... that Christopher, converted scores to Christianity before his execution...and that many ancient depictions of these creatures can be found searching "cynocephaly" online and likenesses in paintings, literature and architecture, date back to the medieval period often depicted as carvings among medieval European architecture. Do these people, so ready to ridicule these sightings, even know that both Moses & Alexander The Great were both depicted as humans with horns? Do they know that Mesopotamian artifacts include statuettes of anthropomorphic serpent-people holding breast feeding babies? Have they ever seen the monstrous Paracas Elongated skulls? Even more interestingly, among artifacts found among what was once ancient Sumer's capital city of Ninevah, is a wooden likeness of what looks to be... a giant preying mantis face. Do they know that Alien Abduction witnesses have claimed for decades that Mantis-like aliens are among the ETs that perform tests on them? Do they know that recently our govt has admitted UFOs (TicTac video) are not only quite real, but have been being studied by the Govt's ATIP program? These sightings are not quite the joke so many of the uninformed think they are... it seems our world may have been far stranger than we think. Almost 5 billion years of Earth history, and we know maybe a few thousand years of that history? The Mayans, who prided themselves as keepers of history, before the Spanish destroyed that History as the work of the Devil, say several world ages have come and gone before the present world of men.
Brett Allen - Cover UFO Magazine
Brett Allen 
Roywhite 
Mrs.Ward I know this is about Mantis Man but just an FYI, I (and now 3 others) saw a UFO on Allen Rd. a few months ago for the 3rd time. Wondering if anyone else has witnessed this (that's not afraid to admit it, lol). It looks like a long silver sausage and hovers perfectly still and then suddenly darts off and disappears. I finally feel able to say something because this last sighting I had 3 people with me who also saw it. Now that I know I'm not the only one - there must be more. It COULD be something NASA or our Air Force is testing out, so I'm not necessarily saying it's aliens, but it's something weird.
Laurel Laurel - details please- where on Allen? Facing route 57 or towards Donaldsons? Saw something similar years ago.
Treetops Regarding the UFO sightings on Allen Rd, I saw something like that too about 15 years ago. I lived nearby and being a scientific person, figured there had to be a logical explanation. Turned out there was. After it rains or snows, the moisture on the power lines sometimes create a weird looking "object" when car headlights from other directions hit them. I've witnessed this phenomenon several times and confirmed to myself that it was car headlights. I didn't complete an exhaustive study, lol, ..... but I did notice the "object" in the sky sometimes moved very fast and erratically and sometimes didn't move depending on where the headlights were, if the car was stopped or moving, etc.
Now I'm not debunking what anyone saw, but I'm satisfied that it explains what I saw.
Rob Durana The first time, I was driving past Allen Rd on Grand/Rockport Rd and it was hovering over the area of Donaldson's Farm. 2nd time it was very high right over Blau Rd. The last time I saw it we were between Hazen and Blau Roads when one of my passengers noticed it first. I pulled over and we all got out of my car and were looking at it for a few minutes. Someone stopped to ask if we were ok and we pointed up and he got out of his car and saw it too. My friend ran to grab her cell phone to take a picture and it just darted away so fast none of us could figure out where it went. Again...I'm not saying it's aliens, but it's something.
BabyDoll 
BobK Commenting is no longer available.