THE TALE OF THE GIWOGGLE 

By Lou Bernard 

Did you know that Clinton County has an official cryptid? 

Plenty of people don’t. Most people don’t realize that we have a native monster here, which was declared the county’s official monster in 2011. Point Pleasant has the Mothman, South Carolina has the Lizard man….And Clinton County has the Giwoggle. 

The Giwoggle (Pronounced, as best I can tell, jee-WOG-gull) has stories and sightings that go back as far as the Civil War. It was said to be a sort of artificially conjured creature, summoned up by local witches in Northern Clinton County. 

The Giwoggle is shaped like a wolf, though walking on its back legs. Instead of paws, however, it has hands like bird claws and feet like horse hooves. There was something of a purpose to this—Anyone trying to track it through the forest never knew what actual animal they were following. 

They were often sent after the local farmers who had offended the witch somehow. Farmers would discover their property and crops had been vandalized overnight, with Giwoggle tracks all around, and they’d know they had a problem now. 

Often, they would go to a local man named Isaac Gaines, but known as Loop Hill Ike. Ike would fix the problem,often working with a local ghost called the Swamp Angel. So the Giwoggle story has everything—-A cryptid, ghosts, and a sort of magic paranormal bounty hunter. 

As this all happened near Renovo, it’s featured on a tour on October 25th at seven PM. The tour only costs five dollars. You can meet at the Renovo Heritage headquarters at 530 Erie Avenue, and hear all about it. After all, how many chances do you get to learn about the county’s official monster?

Date and Time:

Sunday, October 25, 2026
The event begins at 7:00 p.m.