I live in North Carolina and I know there is some weird stuff here.
But I really didn't know how weird till I started poking around.
I have been interested in paranormal events since I was a kid, as some of my UFO Hubs will attest to, but you always miss what is in your own backyard...so to speak.
Well in my case, literally.
NC has sea monsters, Bigfoot sightings, werewolf sightings and other paranormal creatures.
Heck, we may have even had El Chupacabra before El Chupacabra was cool!

The Vampire Beast of Bladenboro
Yes for two weeks in December of 1953 and January of 1954, NC had it's own version of "El Chupacabra".
On December 29, 1953, a farmer reported that "something" attacked one of his dogs and dragged it into the bush.
Well we have mountain lions in NC, so that's not too spectacular.
What makes it noteworthy, is that when the body of the dog was found, it was reportedly completely drained of blood.
Mountain Lions don't do that do they?
And this wasn't the only incident. Several other attacks took place.
The descriptions from witnesses sounded panther-like..."Like a bear or a panther"..."three feet long, twenty inches high, with a long tail and a cat's face."..."large, cat-like creature"..."round face, shiny eyes and large teeth."
In 2008, the History Channel television series Monster Quest got involved and their research indicated that the attacker may have been a cougar.
No, not a middle-aged woman, a REAL cougar.
But the attacks happened in the 1950s so everything is fine now right?
Not so fast.
In September 2007, sixty goats were found killed and drained of blood in Lexington NC.
Yes sixty!
Thirty miles from Lexington in Greensboro, four of Guilford County Commissioner Billy Yow's goats were killed and their necks were ripped open, their bodies drained of blood, and they were left uneaten with no other marks.
In October 2007, In Bolivian NC, a three year old Pit Bull was found gutted.
Four days after that, another Pit was found covered in blood, with pieces were missing.
All in all, ten dogs were found torn to pieces in Brunswick County, during a two-week period.
The tracks that were found were four and a half inches in diameter..very similar to the tracks found in Bladenboro in the 50s.
Local animal services have never determined what had attacked the animals.

The Lake Norman Monster
We even have or own "Nessie".
Lake Norman is a man made body of fresh water located entirely within North Carolina.
It was created between 1959 and 1964.
Kinda hard for an ancient sea creature to get in there huh?
But over 55 people have reported seeing something strange in the waters of Lake Norman.
"Normie" as the locals call it, has been described as anything from a giant crocodile to the classic sea serpent.
The most common description is fish like, a slender body, thick whisker like appendages, flippers and a ragged looking dorsal fin.
A giant catfish?
It's been suggested that the creature is actually a Gar, an American Freshwater Eel, a snakehead fish, an alligator or even a freshwater jellyfish.
(In the 1990s a freshwater jellyfish was found in Lake Norman by scientists, that shouldn't have been there)
My personal favorite explanation?
Lake Norman is used by the McGuire Nuclear Power Station to cool the steam that drives their turbines.
Yes...Nuclear Power Station.
Maybe some radioactive materials slipped into Lake Norman, hit a catfish and...BOOM!
Catzilla!

Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp
I know South Carolina is not North Carolina.
But the famed Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp in South Carolina has been (maybe) sighted in NC.
This lovely humanoid cryptid is described as seven feet tall, with green scaly skin and glowing red eyes.
Maybe the creature crosses the border between NC and SC.

Bigfoot
And we have had Bigfoot sightings as well here.
As recently as 2008, there was a Bigfoot sighting in McDowell County.
(I always wondered why they aren't called "Bigfeet" they have two of them don't they?)

The Demon Dog of Valle Crucis
North Carolina may have it's own werewolf (or maybe even skinwalker).
In the little mountain town of Valle Crucis, high in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, there's an old stone church, located along Highway 194.
And near the cemetery of that church, there are reports of a wolf-like creature, as tall as a man, with long yellow razor sharp teeth, black fur and glowing red eyes like coals.
I checked out the website for Valle Crucis (yes, little mountain towns have websites) and saw no mention of a were-beast.
Of course what would they say?
"Valle Crucis...Come for the atmosphere, stay for the slaughter"?
Even the Wikipedia entry says nothing about the "Vale of the Cross" monster.
I'd think a werewolf that can hit sixty miles per hour on a straightaway chasing a car (see:http://www.northcarolinaghosts.com/mountains/demon-dog-valle-crucis.php) would be noteworthy though.