Fallout 76 Creatures: Bethesda Tells Tales of the Beast of Grafton
Ahead of the launch of Fallout 76, which is now less than two weeks away, Bethesda has released a new video series. “Tales From the West Virginia Hills,” takes the form of a series of short radio plays, each one focusing on adapting a mysterious tale from West Virginian folklore. The second entry features the Beast of Grafton, one of the strangest new Fallout 76 creatures.
Fallout 76 Creatures: The Tale of the Beast of Grafton
The newest episode of “Tales From the West Virginia Hills,” adapts the original reports of the Beast of Grafton sightings into a short radio play. However, while the story starts along similar lines, it takes a very different turn at the end. The Beast of Grafton made its first appearance in Fallout 76 during one of the game’s E3 trailers, along with the Snallygaster. It didn’t take long for fans to identify it after Todd Howard’s statement that West Virginian folklore was the inspiration for several new Fallout 76 creatures.
The exact folklore on which the Beast of Grafton is based comes from the 1960s. The first sighting of the beast came in 1964. That report was quickly followed by more than twenty other eyewitness testimonies. Witnesses said that the beast had skin like a seal, stood 7-9 feet in height, and was missing its head. One of the earliest reports came from a Grafton Sentinel reporter; Robert Cockrell. In the end, the paper decided that someone pushing; “a handcart loaded high with boxes,” had been the source of the supposed sightings. A similar story about monster sightings had been published in a Michigan paper a few weeks before; likely making some people more imaginative than normal.
“The Beast of Grafton,” tale gives a hint at a fictional origin for the Beasts of Grafton. It’s unknown if this actually reflects anything from Fallout 76 itself. Perhaps the beasts aren’t simply the product of mutation, but in fact the work of scientific experimentation on human subjects. Players will have to explore Appalachia to uncover the truth.