If you’ve spent any time online in the last decade, you may have come across a grainy video of two long-legged creatures floating through a suburban front yard. No arms. No faces. Just vibes. That’s the Fresno Nightcrawler, a cryptid so strange (and oddly cute) it’s become a beloved part of local lore. And yes, it all started right here in Fresno County.
We’re not saying it’s real… but we are saying we made stickers.
The Fresno Nightcrawler first crept onto the scene in the early 2000s. The original sighting was reported by a local man, who was startled awake by his barking dogs. When he checked his home’s surveillance feed, he spotted two strange, leggy creatures gliding across his front lawn in the middle of the night.
He immediately woke his brother, who claimed to find small footprints in the yard. But by the time investigators arrived, any trace of the creatures had been washed away by rain. The original CCTV recording was eventually lost. What remains is a grainy, eerie clip of the monitor that has since gone viral across the internet.
What we’re left with is a one-time sighting, one grainy video, and a whole lot of speculation, and yet somehow, that’s all it took for the Fresno Nightcrawler to become a local legend.
We asked local paranormal enthusiast and cryptid community member, Michael Banti with WEIRD Fresno to share how this creature became so tied to Fresno’s identity.
“The Nightcrawlers were only seen once in Fresno County, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still out there.”
Today, the Nightcrawler isn’t just a viral video, it’s a symbol of how Fresno shows up in the weirdest corners of the internet. Locals wear t-shirts with Nightcrawler art. Artists at ArtHop feature them in paintings. There’s a whole underground merchant scene built around cryptid merch.
“I think Fresno has embraced this cryptid completely,” he told us. “It’s cute. It’s mysterious. It’s elusive.”
No new official sightings have ever been recorded…but that hasn’t stopped fans from imagining where one might show up again. Local parks and trails often get cryptid buzz during spooky season:
Woodward Park (especially near dusk)
Lost Lake
Millerton Lake
Old Town Clovis Trail
These aren’t confirmed locations, just popular night-time walking spots where the imagination runs wild.
“If I had to guess when to look? Between 8PM and midnight,” Michael B. said.
Just enough time to get weird before curfew.
We created our very own Fresno Nightcrawler stickers, available exclusively at the Visit Fresno County office while supplies last. We are open Monday – Thursday 8 am – 5 pm Fridays 8 am – 3:30 pm. The stickers are available for purchase for $2, cash only please.
Stop by for visitor info, trail tips, and grab one to tag along on your own cryptid-inspired adventures. No, the stickers don’t glow in the dark… but they do make people stop and say, “Wait, is that the Nightcrawler?”
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