Logging camps were lonely places. When the wind howled through the hemlocks and the shadows grew long, the men of the Allegheny Plateau didn't just worry about wolves or bears. They worried about the "Fearsome Critters"—bizarre, logically impossible creatures that explained the strange noises and heavy moods of the deep woods.

Two of these stand out as the true "mascots" of the ANF's weirdest corners.

1. The Hidebehind (Nasobatilus invisibilis)

Have you ever been walking a trail and felt a sudden prickle on the back of your neck? You spin around, but there’s nothing there—just a branch still vibrating or a leaf settling on the ground.

The Skill: The Hidebehind is the ultimate stalker. It is so slender and fast that it can hide behind any tree trunk, no matter how thin.

The Legend: It never attacks from the front. It follows hikers for miles, staying perfectly positioned behind their backs. Old-timers say the only way to repel a Hidebehind is the smell of alcohol, which is why "medicinal" flasks were so popular in the lumber camps.

2. The Squonk (Lacrimacorpus dissolvens)

Deep in the hemlock swamps near Wilcox and Marienville lives the most tragic creature in North America. The Squonk is so hideously ugly—covered in saggy, warty, ill-fitting skin—that it spent its entire existence in a state of absolute misery.

The Defense Mechanism: If you are skilled enough to track a Squonk by its trail of tears, don't expect a fight. When cornered or startled, the Squonk literally dissolves into a pool of tears and bubbles.

The Moral: For the lonely logger, the Squonk was a mascot for "cabin fever" and the crushing melancholy that can come from months of isolation in the damp, grey Pennsylvania winters.