Terror of Brown County
~ by Mark A. Randall
From 1946 to 1948, there was a constant stream of articles from The Indianapolis Times regarding mysterious monsters in Indiana and the grizzled 66-year-old hunter who chased after them. The paper chronicled Harry McClain’ s various exploits, which included tracking an 80-pound black panther in Lebanon, Indiana, to roaming the hills and hollers of Brown County in search of a possible mountain lion. With over 20 years of hunting experience, Mr. McClain was certain he could track down any critter he set his sights on.
On August 6, 1947, The Times reported that citizens of New Bellsville, Indiana( situated near Brown County State Park), were organizing a lion hunt after several sightings in the area. This caught the attention of McClain, who immediately told the paper,“ I’ ll be back later this week to track the critter down and stuff it for posterity.”
For the next year and four months, McClain tracked the beast from one end of the county to the other. He equipped himself with every manner of hunting paraphernalia, including his 30-30 rifle, a telescope, double spring steel trap, wrist flashlight, bottle of trail scent, mountain lion caller,
56 Our Brown County • Sept./ Oct. 2025
and even a specialized hound that only tracked big cats. This last addition was based on sightings and footprints; he believed he was dealing with a family of mountain lions.
On December 25, 1948, the truth about the“ Terror of Brown County” was finally revealed when Mrs. Alice Weaver of Nashville, came forward with an incredible claim: she disclosed the sightings and tracks were made by her pack of seven Great Danes. Mrs. Weaver stated to The Times,“ I always exercise my dogs at twilight. Every time the monsters have been seen, it is in such half-light. She continued,“ I watched newspaper accounts from Mr. McClain’ s hunts very carefully. Every place he reported hunting, I had been the night before with the dogs. I exercise the dogs all over the county.”
The Times said that was the end of the story. So, what about Harry McClain? What was his reaction to the incredible claim? Unfortunately, after much research, no further newspaper articles could be found after December 1948. It seems that Mr. McClain’ s monster-hunting career quite literally had gone to the dogs. •
Mark is a freelancer specializing in paranormal-related work. He has published 14 books and this story will be included in the next volume of his Indiana Criptids series, due to be released some time in 2026. You can purchase his books on Amazon.