Jon Solo Sebastian 01/12/2025:

Last week’s Creature Feature, The Lake Erie Monster, mainly resides in Ohio, so I decided to make January feature Ohio based cryptids. Hop along with me to meet the Loveland Frogman!

Welcome to Ohio, the home of many interesting cryptids like the Grassman, Bessie, and the Frogman. We have a lot of fun things going for us in Ohio, unfortunately a winning football team isn’t one of them. The Cleveland Browns just wrapped up another sad season of football, and we fans are fairly tired of “waiting until next year,” which is the slogan of our local sports teams. While we’re waiting, let’s take a leap into the fun and the unknown as we learn about The Loveland Frogman of Ohio folklore.

What do we know about the Frogman?

First of all, what would you do if you were wandering the marshes and rivers of Loveland, Ohio, and you see a three to four foot tall frog walking on his back legs like a human? Would you wave and say hello, or would you run? How dangerous could a frogman be, anyway?

The frogman isn’t a very large creature. Aside from being three to four feet tall, he can’t weigh more than seventy pounds. Witnesses say he has a large frog-like head, bulging eyes, moist leathery-like skin, and webbed feet and hands. He walks rather than hops, and no one is sure whether he uses his tongue to catch food or not—or what he even eats for that matter. Some reports from witnesses say he has glowing red eyes. Skeptics say the frogman is likely a large iguana that lost its tail and escaped from its home. Others say it is a member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Frogmen… No, really, nobody is saying that other than me. But imagine if it were true, and they helped the turtles fight against Shredder, Rocksteady, Beebop, Krang, and the foot clan? I smell a masterpiece of a film cooking. Who’s directing it? Not Michael Bay, right?

Sightings

So far we know he’s a humanoid frog who may or may night fight against crime. When was the first recorded sighting of this fantastical beast? If you guessed 1955, you’d be correct. What else happened in 1955? Doc Brown invented the flux capacitor, which made time travel possible. Okay, I know that’s from the film Back to the Future, and has nothing to do with the frogman, but I believe time travel is possible, and so is the existence of the frogman.

The first sighting of the Frogman happened one late night near the Little Miami River. A man was traveling down the road in Loveland, Ohio when he saw something that raised the hair on the back of his neck. He purportedly observed three humanoid figures near the bridge, each standing about three to four feet tall. When he got closer, he realized that they weren’t human at all. They had leathery skin, frog-like faces, and webbed feet, and they emitted a bizarre smell like almonds and alfalfa. He claims the creatures were having a conversation with each other, until one of them caught wind of him watching them. While still looking at the man, it pulled a wand out from thin air and it began to spark at the tip. The man wasted no more time, and hit the gas pedal hard to get out of there.

In 1972, a police officer encountered the same type of creature. It crossed the road in the same location as the man in 1955 had seen the group of frogmen. The police officer was startled and drove off speedily. Two weeks later, another police officer came upon what he thought was a dead animal. He got out to investigate it, and upon crouching down to check on it, it moved. The frogman either attempted to attack him or was just as scared as the officer. The officer shot and killed it. The report came in as an iguana without a tail. This sort of has that whole weather balloon instead of an alien aircraft feeling to it, if you ask me.

Another fun sighting happened back in 2016. How wild this one must have been for a couple playing Pokemon Go near Lake Isabella in Loveland, when they realized they weren’t spotting anything in the Pokemon game. They were staring at a four foot tall bipedal frog. Astonished by the sighting, they immediately snapped pictures of the beast and recorded a video of it—unsurprisingly, I couldn’t find the photos or video, but that doesn’t mean the evidence doesn’t exist.

Real or Not?

If you’ve been following me for a while, or from the beginning of this cryptid adventure I’m on, you’ll know that I want to believe. That said, it’s more likely to be explained as misidentifying an animal. Our eyes play tricks on us, especially at night; though I have to wonder how an iguana or larger frog could be mistaken as a bipedal four foot tall humanoid with frog characteristics. I’d lean more toward believing it to be an interdimensional creature or extraterrestrial being before I’d submit to the ole eye trick. It could simply be someone out there in a costume, but I have to ask this question: In 1955, why would three people be wandering near a bridge dressed like frogs holding magical wands?

Frogman Festival

One of my favorite things about the cryptids around the world is the festivals. One day, when I finally become a rich and famous author, I’m going to spend my time traveling to all the places that host festivals for their beloved cryptids! The upside to the Loveland Frog Festival is that I don’t have to be rich to travel there. It’s only a three hour drive from where I live. The festival is an all ages party with live music, food, activities, and costumes. Be sure to check out the frogman statue in downtown Loveland if you attend the festival.

What do you think, is it possible the frogman exists either here, or interdimensionally? My answer is, yes.