Crow that is a good tale.
My tale of the like:
Back in the mid to late 80s I moved back to my home area. Every month, at minimum once a month, I would drive the 300 miles one way to see my young son. Often for only the weekend Friday night to Sunday. This combined with being newly divorced, going to collage full time, and working full time had my time taken up.
When the stars aligned with my education to get away at length I would take a week off of my job and take the week to go to Missouri for the week. Since most often those I knew in Missouri would be working most days and my son also not available the entire week, I would take the long route there zig-zag and hunting relics in the farm fields. Taking two or three days to get there.
Most farmers I knew back there were friendly ol' cusses who had no qualms about letting a stranger sleep in his car in the back cornfield area accessible normally by a dirt rutted farm lane. To me it was nothing out of ordinary, as back then I barely had two cents to rub together and slept in my car when visiting my son. Only splurging for a hotel room when I actually had him overnight. I slept in my car and often stripped down for a morning dip in the creeks flowing out of the hillsides for my bath.
I sometimes would bunk down around the old farm barns, or tie my hammock to a fence post and my car, pull it tight and sleep under the stars.
Anyway I was in mid-Illinois one time and after relic hunting, I was sitting by my car and the farmer had brought coffee which we shared and shot the breeze. That evening as I was sleeping in my car rear area. The rear area was a comfortable manner to sleep once I got it figured out. I could let the back hatchback open a crack to 5 inches for ventilation with a bungie cord to keep it from open too much and letting in any rain or morning dew.
Suddenly in the early morning an intense crazy sounding scream like howl broke the nighttime silence. Followed by a guttural growl like sound. It was close, very close. I had NO idea what it was but there was not freaking way I was getting out to check either. I grew up in the county and was pleasantly at home doing many things some folks wouldn't do. But I have never heard a sound like that before or since. I spoke to the old farmer the next morning on pulling up stakes and he was mystified as well.
He gave me this relic that day. It was fun visit and hunt.
