The Van Meter Visitor: Iowa’s Creepy Cryptid

The Van Meter Visitor is a mysterious Iowan cryptid whose story began in the first decade of the twentieth century. Its legend endures today, and sightings or hoaxes still occur in the area. What is the Van Meter Visitor? Iowa’s creepy cryptid is explored in detail below.

What Is the Van Meter Visitor?

The Van Meter Visitor is a cryptid in Iowa that came into contact with humanity for the first time in September 1903 CE. The Visitor bothered important men in the heart of their small town: a doctor, a banker, and a respected businessman. They and others ended up banding together, armed and ready to hunt after a few days of disturbances.

The town was aflutter in fear and almost hysterical after a few days of sightings. The local newspaper was publishing stories about the sightings in town, and businesses refused to open because residents were afraid of being out in the open.

An armed gang of townsfolk went after the cryptid at the beginning of October which was a few days after the sightings started. They saw the Van Meter Visitor leave an abandoned mine and hung out, waiting for it to return. It and another Visitor arrived back at the mine about a quarter before 6 in the morning.

The monsters had dipped down into the coal mine to get away from excessive gunfire on behalf of the townsfolk. They were never seen again. The men who hunted them made sure to seal up the mine so they couldn’t get out if they tried.

What Does the Van Meter Visitor Look Like?

The Van Meter Visitor was described by those who saw it as exceptionally fast and tall at a height of about 9 feet. It was also seen as a humanoid with animal features like bat wings. Some say it’s reminiscent of a pterodactyl, which was a flying reptile that went extinct about 136 million years ago.

It also reportedly has a horn on its head with a spotlight on the end of it. This spotlight was extremely bright and could temporarily blind anyone looking straight at it.  

These cryptids smelled like rotting flesh and left a trail of their stink wherever they went. The anecdotal sightings sometimes claim that the animal’s smell is so strong that it can render a person unconscious.

Other Monsters That May Be the Van Meter Visitor

The Van Meter Visitor’s appearance is not truly unique or unfamiliar. Some of its features are reminiscent of other popular monsters, including gargoyles and thunderbirds. Its tall winged yet humanoid appearance is also vaguely similar to other American cryptids like the Mothman, the Jersey Devil, and the Batsquatch.

Some believe that the monster seen back in 1903 CE might be a gargoyle. Gargoyles originally appeared in medieval Europe as a way to direct rainwater while protecting religious spaces from bad spirits. These original gargoyles could appear as any kind of monstrous amalgamation and included both natural and supernatural inspirations.

The Ioway Tribe that originally lived on the land that is now Van Meter believed in thunderbirds that shot lightning out of their eyes. While various thunderbirds exist in different indigenous cultures, the Ioway had a specific version. Thunderbirds are huge birds that not only fire lightning out of their eyes but also flap their wings to make thunder.

What Other Animals Could Be the Van Meter Visitor?

The Van Meter Visitor may be a cryptid sprung from a case of mistaken identity. Other animals that live in the area may be responsible for the reported sightings.

Great horned owls (Bubo virginianus) may be at the root of the Van Meter Visitor sightings. Their wingspans can be up to 5 feet in length. If one of these owls had been sitting on something tall and straight, it could have easily been interpreted as something otherworldly.

Iowa’s cryptid could also have been a big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus). While it only has a wingspan of about a foot, they’re elusive and could easily surprise someone. They only fly around at night, so if any were living in town, residents may not have known about it.

The Van Meter Visitors may also have been great blue herons (Ardea herodias). Great blue herons are extremely tall with long necks and elongated beaks that come to a point. In the dark, their long beak could have been misinterpreted as a horn.

Adult great blue herons stand over 4 feet tall, and they have a wingspan of more than 6 feet. They’re considered a culprit in other North American cryptid sightings, and they may also be responsible for Mothman and Jersey Devil encounters.

Were the Van Meter Visitors Humans?

It’s most likely that the first Van Meter Visitor sightings were nefarious humans committing crimes in the dark of the night. Since Van Meter had a mining history, the possibility of a thief having a rare flashlight or headlamp is possible. It would also make sense why the Visitor was prowling along roofs with one light beacon emanating from the top of its head.

Electricity had only been invented in the few decades preceding the Visitor’s appearance, and only half of the United States had electricity in their homes by the mid-1920s. Since the Van Meter Visitor appeared in 1903, any electrical device producing artificial light would have been extremely startling for anyone who didn’t know what it was.

What was witnessed and supposedly occurred at the coal mine when the mine shaft was sealed was probably a result of mass hysteria. Everyone in the small town had whipped themselves up so it’s not hard to imagine that they again misinterpreted what they saw in the dark as they panicked.

Where Is Van Meter, Iowa?

Van Meter is a small city in the southern part of Iowa’s Dallas County. It’s about a half-hour west of downtown Des Moines and about 5 minutes south of Interstate 80. In the 1900 census, Van Meter had 407 residents, and today, it’s still relatively small, with only 1500 people living there.

For the last few years, Van Meter has held a festival in honor of its cryptid, though it hasn’t released any information about festivities taking place in 2024. Past events have been in the Fall, right around the anniversary of the first appearance of the Van Meter Visitor.

The coal mines where the Van Meter Visitors disappeared are now overgrown. The mine shuttered in 1902 CE, a year before the Van Meter Visitor’s appearance. This occurred in response to an employee strike at the company. Today, the mine is privately owned, so accessing the area requires special permission.

In its heyday, the coal mine was bustling enough that it had underground stables and was over 250 feet deep. Today, just a depression exists in the ground where the opening used to be. There are also remnants of an old factory that made tiles and bricks in the immediate area.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Natalia Kuzmina/Shutterstock.com