Mike Conley's Tales of the Weird: Brush with Grinning Man no laughing matter

If you are walking along a lonely road late at night, you might encounter the Grinning Man.
The Grinning Man is a name given to one or more mysterious creatures that have been reported over the past 40 or so years. Some say the Grinning Man is an alien from outer space while others believe he might be some kind of unknown creature similar to Bigfoot. What is certain is that those who have seen the Grinning Man have never quite gotten over the experience.
One night in October 1966, two boys, James Yanchitis and Marvin Munoz, were walking home along Fourth Street in their hometown of Elizabeth, N.J. They soon reached a corner that runs parallel to the New Jersey Turnpike. A large wire fence ran along the edge of the other street below where the boys were walking. It was young Yanchitis who first saw what has become known as the Grinning Man. And even though it was dark, he could clearly see the weird figure, according to a Web site.
"He was standing behind that fence," Yanchitis later told investigators. "I don't know how he got there. He was the biggest man I ever saw."
Yanchitis then nudged his friend and pointed out the weird entity. Munoz later stated, "I looked around and there he was behind that fence. Just standing there. He pivoted around and looked right at us. Then he grinned a big old grin."
The two boys had heard about a resident of the neighborhood being chased by a "tall green man" down that same street. The frightened boys got out of there quickly.
Three days later, John A. Keel, a well-known author and paranormal investigator, visited the two boys in Elizabeth, N.J. Keel would also write a popular book about the Mothman legend of West Virginia.
UFO lecturer James Moseley and actor Chuck McCann also came along for the interview. Keel talked to the two boys separately and both gave the exact same story.
They both described the humanoid creature as standing more than 6 feet tall and dressed in a sparkling green coverall costume. The street lights were reflected off the shimmering outfit. A wide black belt was fastened around his waist.
"He had a very dark complexion, and little round eyes, real beady, set far apart," said one of the boys.
But the strangest thing about the Grinning Man was he did not have any hair, ears or a nose, the two boys maintained.
Other people in various parts of the country would report seeing a similar creature. One of them even got to communicate with the Grinning Man.
In November 1966, Woodrow Derenberger of Parkersburg, W.Va. was driving home in his truck after a hard day of work. As he drove up a hill, he heard a loud crash. Then all of a sudden, a vehicle zoomed up behind him, quickly passed his truck and then slowed down. But this was not a car, truck or motorcycle.
He reported it looking like "an old-fashioned kerosene lamp chimney, flaring at both ends, narrowing down to a small neck and then enlarging in a great bulge in the center." This weird vehicle stopped in front of Derenberger and blocked the road. All of a sudden, a door slid open on one side. Then, a tall man stepped out. He stood more than 6 feet and his skin was heavily tanned. The weird man wore an outfit made out of some sort of "glistening green material," similar to the one worn by the other Grinning Man encountered in Elizabeth, N.J. by the two boys. And like that one, he had a big grin on his face.
Derenberger would report that the Grinning Man communicated with him telepathically and asked him a series of strange questions. However, the Web site account does not go into details about their conversation. The weird entity revealed that his name was Cold. He then said he would visit Derenberger again. He got back into his craft and left.
The legend of the Grinning Man has been associated with various UFO sightings. Often, he would be seen around the same time that other folks reported seeing weird objects in the sky.

Contact Mike Conley at 652-3313, ext. 3422 or e-mail nconley@mcdowellnews.com.