The Fresno Nightcrawler – often described as walking, ghostly pants – is known far beyond California’s central San Joaquin Valley.
It’s become a darling of the cryptids – creatures typically described as mythological in nature, whose existence are widely considered unproven.
“It’s up there with Chupacabra, the Mothman and Bigfoot,” said Michael Banti, founder of Weird Fresno, about the Fresno Nightcrawler’s popularity. “It’s very niche. It seems to be bigger outside of Fresno than inside.”
The first video of the Fresno Nightcrawler was taken in 2007 by a Fresno man who died several years ago in a car accident, said paranormal investigator Victor Camacho, who analyzed the original surveillance footage shortly after it was filmed.
There’s been other reported sightings – one of the most recent, last year in Montana – but none that have attracted as much attention. One video about the 2007 nightcrawler sighting in Fresno has over 1.6 million views on YouTube.
Banti said Fresno Nightcrawler merchandise has gotten bigger than sighting stories.
“It’s cute. ... I think that’s why it’s kind of flourished,” he said.
A lot of that merchandise can be found on Etsy, where artists sell Fresno Nightcrawler shirts, pins, paintings, pillows, stickers, patches and Christmas ornaments, to name a few. Most of the makers live outside Fresno. Nightcrawler merchandise has also been popping up at ArtHop in downtown Fresno.
The pop culture phenomenon has been building this spooky season with the approach of Halloween.
Much of the speculation about it remains centered around the original 2007 video. Despite the scarcity of new nightcrawler news, the mysterious being (or puppet hoax?) continues to be celebrated and investigated.
“It’s a telephone game. It’s gone around so many different times, people are adding and subtracting” to the story, said Banti, who investigates ghost stories like the Fresno Nightcrawler. “It’s hard to tell what’s what.”
Weird Fresno describes itself as “sharing tales of the weird and strange that lurk in the shadows of Fresno and the greater San Joaquin Valley area.”
Banti said the Fresno Nightcrawler is a unique cryptid in that where it was first spotted is in its name. It’s helped bring Fresno a special kind of freaky fame.
“I love ghost stories,” Banti said, “and to find a good story in your area ... it adds some interest.”
