The Green-Clawed Beast: Indiana’s Forgotten River Encounter
Jul 19, 2025
On a quiet Sunday afternoon in mid-August 1955, Naomi Johnson joined her friend Mrs. Louise Lamble and her children for a relaxing swim in the Ohio River near Evansville, Indiana. The heat hung heavy in the air, and the water was calm. It was supposed to be a simple outing, nothing out of the ordinary. Until something reached up and dragged her under.
According to Naomi, she had been swimming just off the shoreline when a large, hairy hand gripped her leg just above the knee and yanked her beneath the surface. She thrashed, kicked, fought for air, and came up gasping. For a moment, it let go. But then it grabbed her again, stronger this time, pulling her deeper, as though trying to take her under for good.
Her screams were heard, but no one could stop what was happening. Her friend, drifting nearby in an inner tube, watched in shock as Naomi went under a second time, flailing as if caught in the jaws of something unseen. The children, too, stood frozen at the shore—old enough to sense something was wrong, but too far to help.
Naomi somehow managed to break free. She swam back toward the tube and lunged for it, hitting it with a loud, rubbery thump. The impact, oddly enough, seemed to scare the creature off. Whatever had grabbed her let go and vanished beneath the murky water.
She was pulled ashore, shaken and bleeding. Her leg bore deep scratches, red and raw, but that wasn’t the strangest part. A green handprint, large, perfectly shaped, and almost glowing, remained on her leg for several days. No matter how hard she scrubbed, the stain wouldn’t come off. It faded gradually, like a bruise, but never washed away.
Naomi was treated at a local hospital. Doctors noted the wounds but offered no explanation. Local newspapers ran a brief story the following day, but it didn’t gain national attention. Not officially. Then, things got stranger.
Within days, a man claiming to be a colonel in the U.S. Air Force arrived at Naomi’s home. He asked for a detailed account of the incident, took notes, and then advised her and her family not to speak of it again. No reason was given, and he left as quickly as he came. Whether he was who he claimed to be was never verified. But the warning was clear.
This wasn’t the first time something strange had been seen in the Ohio River, but this was different. This wasn’t a shadow in the distance or a ripple on the surface. This was contact, personal, physical, and terrifying.
Adding to the mystery, several residents in the area reported seeing unusual lights in the sky that same weekend. Silvery, disc-shaped objects hovered silently over the water, according to some accounts. If there was a connection, no one ever proved it. But it wasn’t the last time the skies over Indiana drew attention.
Some have speculated the creature was extraterrestrial, part of a larger pattern of strange visitors linked to the river that winds its way through the American Midwest. Others wonder if it was something ancient, something native to the river itself, an undiscovered species hiding in plain sight. And then there are those who suggest it was all a case of mistaken identity. A large fish, maybe. A tangled branch. Panic and imagination.
But those who heard Naomi tell it remember her conviction. She never sought publicity. She didn’t dramatise the event. She simply said what happened, and let people draw their own conclusions. It’s hard not to wonder what really happened beneath the surface that day. If the creature was never seen again, where did it go? Was it passing through? Was it watching? Or was it one of many?
There were no photos. No follow-ups. Just a single encounter and a warning to stay quiet. Whatever rose from the Ohio River that day, it left no answers behind, only questions that still ripple beneath the surface.