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The history of Wolf Creek is riddled with mystery and death. The American Indians settled in the area thousands of years ago and then, for reasons unknown, abandoned the land. When the first frontiersman arrived west of the Appalachian Mountains the Indians still did not permanently occupy the area. They claimed strange spirits roamed the forests and streams of the hills and river valleys. Some claim these same spirits were responsible for many of the unexplained murders and disappearances that occurred in the area beginning in the 1770’s and ending around 1820. Though there are not many records from this time in the areas history here are a few of the examples we were able to locate:
- There are reports that a man and a boy were found murdered and mutilated near Brashear's Station in the Winter of 1779 and two other boys disappeared as well.
- Colonel John Floyd was killed by wild beasts or Indians near Clear's Station on 8 April 1783.
- Walker Daniel, Kentucky's first Attorney General, and George Keightly, a merchant from Ireland, were both killed mysteriously in 1784 where the Wilderness Road crosses Brooks Run, near the cabin of Joseph Brooks.
- Shortly after he arrived in the area, Colonel William Christian, the proprietor of Bullitt's Lick, was killed by “Indians” in 1786.
- In May 1788, a party of saltmakers, led by Henry Crist, were making their way up Salt River when they were ambushed by Indians dressed as wolves, and eight of them were killed with only Henry Crist living to tell the tale. He was severely wounded suffering major wounds to his back and head.
The city of Shepherdsville, the second oldest incorporated city in the state, was established shortly thereafter to support the growing trade of salt taken from Bullitt’s Lick. It didn’t take long for the settlers to realize that there was more than Indians roaming the woods. Dark beasts prowled the river valley and the surrounding hills. Many people and animals disappeared or were found horrible mutilated. The Army, who had a post in nearby West Point attributed the troubles to Indians, just as before but the settlers knew better. The locals began calling the area Wolf Creek Forest. But by 1820 the city had grown and the trouble died down. All seemed peaceful for the next 50 years or so.
In 1821, it was discovered that Paroquet Springs, the springs that fed Wolf Creek, produced water with healing properties and was the area was developed into a resort around 1826 and quickly grew to be a very popular destination for the wealthy land owners in the South and the Northeast. In July of 1871 Paroquet Springs Resort and Spa opened as a large two-story hotel about a half mile east of Shepherdsville with airy rooms that could accommodate 1000 and with a large ballroom. Verandahs surrounded the building at both levels. It had more than 200 acres of ground shaded by large trees with streets and formed a large rustic plateau that no other resort had at the time. People came from all over the country to partake of the healing waters. It became a playground for the rich. But it wasn’t long before trouble began to plague the resort. The main hotel was burned to the ground in 1876. No one knows for sure what took place, but local rumors abound about the wolves that prowled the forests and hills of the area. These “wolves” could not be killed by normal means such as bow, knife, trap or rifle and were only afraid of fire which could be used to kill them. According to the tales a pack of these “wolves” entered the hotel itself and had attacked the hotel guests in their rooms. A fire resulted that killed hundreds of people in their sleep and destroyed the once grand resort. Though large wolf tracks were found around the hotel, no wolf remains were found inside the rubble of the building. The resort was closed and despite several efforts to sell the land to another developer, it was eventually sold to the county by the owners who were now eager to be rid of the whole mess. The county held on to the land for twenty years or so and began to parcel it out to new families who were settling in the area but the 77 acre tract which contained the Wolf Creek forest was never occupied for long and was abandoned several times. Despite the fertile soil of the river valley crops never grew well around Wolf Creek and farms did not last long. The families who live there just disappeared, leaving in the night for no apparent reason. For the next 30 years several reports of mutilated cattle, missing persons, and brutal murders in the surrounding area abound and then just as quickly as they started they ended in 1920.
The property changed hands several times over the years but was never used until a developer from Louisville decided to buy property and built the Wolf Creek Golf Course in 1989. The forest was bull dozed and the creek damned up to form a lake. Things went well for the next few years then something changed. The grass on the greens and fairways began to die despite the best efforts of the greens crew. Then in 1991 a foursome playing a round late in the evening on clear August night experienced the curse of Wolf Creek first hand.
Charles “Chuck” Wright, David Milby, Sam McCubbins, and Raymond Hodge were playing a late round on a Friday evening (August 23rd,at approximately 7:28pm EST). On the 16th tee, Chuck hooked his ball into the woods along the fairway. With the sun setting behind the hills, Chuck ran off to find his ball. Raymond’s ball landed nearby the edge of the woods and Sam’s and David’s balls both landed in the middle of the fairway about forty yards further down. They all stood waiting by their balls for Chuck to come back out of the woods.
In the words of Mr. Hodge who stood not 20 yards from where Chuck entered the woods, “I head a rustling sound, a low growl, and then this horrible screaming began and faded away as something crashed through the woods away from the fairway deeper into the darkness.” Raymond, without thought ran into the woods to find out what was happening followed by Sam and David but by then the screaming stopped and all was once again quiet.
They began calling out to Chuck but he did not reply. David ran back to the clubhouse to get help while Sam and Raymond looked around for some clue as to what was going on calling out for Chuck the entire time. They were no more than 25 feet into the trees and brush when the Sam found the blood. Sam later told reporters, “It was everywhere. The ground, the trees, the brush, everywhere… bits of clothing and blood and drag marks where something heavy had been pulled into the forest.”
Carrying their golf clubs as weapons, they slowly crept deeper into the woods, following the drag marks through the heavy brush, still calling out for Chuck. But the marks disappeared after about fifty yards. It was then that Raymond saw something crossing through the trees and brush up ahead. According to Raymond, “It was really dark and I couldn’t see very well and it was probably one hundred or more feet away… it was really dark… but it was big…I know it sounds crazy… but it looked like a really hairy man, but not really a man. The legs were odd, and the head was… well it was like some guy with a long face and long hair… I mean I couldn’t really see … like in a wolf mask and… I mean its eyes glowed… like a deer’s eyes in headlights… they were shining yellow…. I only caught a glimpse of it mind you, but… well then it dropped down on its hands and knees I guess… or all fours or whatever and in a flash it was gone… Then I heard the yipping and howling coming from an area down near the river. It sounded like more than one of whatever... My hair stood up on end and my flesh crawled… I turned and ran as hard as I could until I got out in the open and out of those <explitive deleted> woods.” Mr. McCubbins did not see anything unusual, but did corroborate the yelping and howling sounds that Mr. Hodge reported. He says he ran when he saw Raymond run and didn’t look back.
The police were called and the woods were combed repeatedly. Nothing was ever found of Chuck except for the splattered blood and shredded clothing. The murder remains unsolved.
The golf course closed after a wrongful death suit was filed by the family of Charles Wright. In court experts proved that the owners of Wolf Creek new that a pack of wild dogs prowled the course at night and was covering it up. It was shown that the operators had hired hunters and trappers in an attempt to rid the area of the animals but it was unsuccessful and in fact others had disappeared as well. Two of the grounds crew, who were in the country illegally, had disappeared and were never reported. And nearly all of the crew had reported seeing signs of the animals in the area. Damaged greens, trees, animal carcasses, and remains of other things that some whisper, were actually hitchhikers and wanderers from the nearby interstate. Two of the former employees testified that the remains had been dumped in the river, but after a thorough search by police divers, nothing was found but animal remains.
During our research into this area we discovered over 350 cases where people had been injured, killed or disappeared in the past. It appears to happen in 50 year cycles or so. Fifty years of killing, fifty years of nothing, then another fifty years. It starts off slow and then peaks and falls off again. There is a pattern and we feel that we are once again in a peak cycle. We believe that this area is plagued by a pack of demons known as the Lycan. These are the original werewolves of the ancient past. The demons who take the shape of both man and wolf at will. We think that some natural phenomenon draws them to this area in a cyclical pattern because of something in the ground here. The native American Indians knew of these demons and avoided this “dark and bloody ground” as they called it. Then of course the killings stopped and over time people forget. When they started again people no longer believed in werewolves and demons and things that went bump in the night. They attributed the events to natural occurrences such as Indian attack and wild animals. Recently the activity has been on the increase and we believe it is tied to a solar cycle as well as a lunar cycle and should peak around December 2012.
Not all people want listen to our findings. Few want to believe what really happened. No one wants to know that werewolves still prowl these forests and have for centuries because the truth is too much for them to deal with. There have only been a handful of people to actually see these creatures with their own eyes and live to tell the tale.
The locals avoid the are after dark now. The fairways have become overgrown with scrub brush and briars and the woods are more desolate than ever. According to many locals (some of who fish the lake in the evening but stay towards the parking lot side of the lake) howls are still heard from across the lake in the woods down by the river on many nights. There are several reports of missing pets in the immediate area. Also, according to a few of the panhandlers that we spoke with there is a warning to leave the area nearby the interchange of I-65 and HWY 44 before sundown and by no means should anyone venture into the nearby bushes for any reason. One man who identified himself as Phil said he would rather mess himself than go into those woods to use the bathroom.
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