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This encounter is part of our Spooky Appalachia Tennessee Cryptids video, featuring eyewitness accounts and regional folklore.
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Deep in the shadowy, densely wooded areas of White Bluff in Dickson County, Tennessee, lies a legend wrapped in fear and unnerving sound: the White Bluff Screamer. This cryptid is not a monster defined by its shape, but by the terrifying, banshee-like shrieks it emits under the cover of night, instilling panic in all who hear it.
The legend is steeped in the history of the rugged landscape and traces back definitively to the 1920s. This decade gave rise to the creature’s notoriety when a pioneering family attempted to build a remote cabin deep within the White Bluff wilderness.
Their stay was chillingly brief. They reportedly fled within a single week, driven out by the relentless, unearthly screams that pierced the silence every night. To solidify their terrifying account, reports circulated that the family had found inexplicable evidence of the creature’s aggression: unexplained claw marks were etched into the exterior walls of the newly built structure, as if something enormous had been trying to get in. The sound, locals believed, was an aggressive warning—a territorial defense by something utterly inhuman.
The Screamer’s activity continued through the mid-20th century, often moving beyond the deepest woods to the very edge of rural communities. During the 1960s and 70s, reports became common among local residents and late-night drivers. People cruising lonely, dark roadsides around Dickson County often claimed to hear fleeting, incredibly high-volume shrieks and unsettling wails. The sound was so intense that it frequently caused local pets and livestock to become severely agitated, barking frantically or stampeding their pens in panic.
The legends refuse to die, even as the area around White Bluff becomes more developed. The modern era has provided new, chilling accounts, notably near Montgomery Bell State Park.
One of the most widely reported modern incidents occurred in 2013, when an experienced hiker was deep in the park. He reported hearing a “long, high-pitched shriek” that immediately caused his skin to crawl and spine to prickle. Although wildlife officials quickly dismissed the sound, attributing it to a bobcat or a cougar, the hiker, a lifelong outdoorsman, vehemently disagreed. In a later interview, he stated the sound was “pure, intelligent malice,” adding that “It sounded like it wanted me to know I was being watched.”
Whether it’s a terrifying, rare mutation of a known animal, a highly aggressive animalistic entity, or a true bipedal humanoid cryptid, the woods of Dickson County continue to keep the Screamer’s true form a secret. Its only confirmation is the blood-curdling sound that reminds everyone that the deepest parts of the Tennessee woods are still untamed
👁️ Think this was disturbing?
The White Bluff Screamer is only one of many creatures documented in our Appalachian Cryptids by State series — featuring eyewitness encounters from across the region.
👉 Watch the Appalachian Cryptids by State playlist on YouTube
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLceiOgPsmGGPOFfJfp5eiVL8hmQ9mtSl6
