In honor of the Loveland Frogman festival this weekend, I decided to look into little people sightings and lore in Ohio and I was not disappointed. I've heard of sightings in that area and have 2 reported to me so I knew they were out there. They seem to be most prevalent in the south west part of the state and along the Ohio river valley. You know....where all the other weird stuff in that area happens. Further north in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, they also have stories of little people.
They are the traditional little men of the wilderness type of stories. They seem to hang out in state parks, but especially near rocky outcrops and ledges. People often hear a kind of high pitch chattering in the woods before seeing them. They are more often spotted in small groups here than they are here in New England.
As is expected, they hang out in veins of high strangeness. Bigfoot, thunderbirds, UFOs, the beloved frog men, Grassman (look him up if you arent familiar), etc. Across the Ohio River in Point Pleasant, WV, there was a strange light and "people of small stature" spotted along the river bank at night. This occurred in 1967, during the height of the Mothman sightings. Mothman stole the spotlight that time.
The historical lore in the area, is that these little people are mostly harmless tricksters or guardians of the woods. I've heard them directly referred to as pukwudgies but also called the European terms of brownies or goblins. I read old stories from that area that said if you saw one and then told someone afterwards, it was bad luck. The talented folk artist, Morgan Evans, said that growing up in the Ohio river valley in nearby KY, the story she heard was if you saw one and told someone else, that they would soon see one also. I also read accounts of mean humans holding them captive to protect their property. I hope this is no longer in practice. FREE THE PUKS!
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