A-017: Melon Heads

Status and Warnings

 * Currently considered Active
 * Validity unknown
 * If real: Entities could attack humans and possibly kill them.
 * Content warnings for Violence and Murder
 * Original Article by Jacob Craig (TheRealRoboMan)

Description
A-017 Instances resemble small children. The unique appearance of these children, which gives them the name "Melon Heads" is due to their large skulls. It has been theorized that the cause of their abnormally large skulls was a medical condition called Hydrocephalus. This condition causes cerebrospinal fluid to accumulate within the brain. While this condition can affect people of any age, it has been reported to cause a rapid increase in head size within babies.

Instances of A-017 are incredibly hostile. Along with being feral, it has been rumored that these instances will sometimes attempt to eat their victims. These entities could possibly have glowing eyes, according to some sightings by local townsfolk, but it is not proven.

Unfortunately, there is no further information currently. Hopefully, that changes in the future.

History
A-017 Instances have been reportedly spotted in the following areas:


 * Nearby areas of the Felt Mansion and southern forests in Ottawa County, Michigan.
 * Systems of caverns located near an abandoned zoo in Ottawa County, Michigan.
 * Forested areas in the Cleveland Suburb of Kirtland, Ohio.
 * Along the Wisner Road in Kirtland, Ohio and Chardon Township, Ohio.
 * Throughout Southwest Connecticut in the towns Shelton, Trumbull and Monroe.
 * Roads in Southwest Connecticut including the following: Edmond Road in Oxford, Velvet Street in Trumbull and Monroe, Zion Hill Road in Milford, roads around Lake Mohegan in Fairfield, Marginal Road in New Haven, Jeremy Swamp Road in Southbury, and paths/roads in and around Roosevelt Forest in Stratford.

There have been a few urban legends of these entities. These legends span from Ottawa County, Michigan, Kirtland, Ohio, and most of Southwest Connecticut. However, most of the United States has heard of a "Melonhead" from these three states.

Starting with the Michigan legend, A-017 Instances were originally children suffering from hydrocephalus. These children lived at the Junction Insane Asylum near Felt Mansion. The legend explains that, after enduring physical and emotional abuse, they became feral and were released into the forests surrounding the asylum. However, the Allegan County Historical Society, there has never been an asylum near the Felt Mansion. However, there was at one point a prison. Some versions of the legend say that the children formed an escape plan and kill the doctor which abused them. However, since the children had nowhere to hide the body, they cut it up and hid it around the Felt Mansion. Rumors state that local teenagers which broke into the mansion saw ghosts of children and claimed to see shadows of the doctor's murder. In 2011, a film titled The Melonheads released, which is based on the West Michigan legend.

The Ohio legend is a bit different. The Melonheads were originally orphans under the watch of a figure known as Dr. Crow (alternatively, Dr. Crowe, Dr. Kroh or Krohe, or simply Dr. Melonhead). Crow is stated to have experimented upon the children, which caused them to develop large, hairless heads and malformed bodies. Some accounts of the legend has stated that the children were already suffering from hydrocephalus, and that Dr. Crow injected more fluid into their brains. The legend continues, explaining the children killed Crow, burned the orphanage, and escaped to the surrounding forests, supposedly feed on babies. A movie titled "Legend of the Melonheads", which was released in 2010, is based on the Kirtland, Ohio legend.

Connecticut is unique, because it does not simply have a legend with one variation, but rather, it has several variations throughout Southwest Connecticut. One primary variation states that Fairfield County was the location of an asylum for the criminally insane, which burned down in the fall of 1960. This resulted in the death of all the staff and most of the patients, with 10-20 inmates unaccounted for. They have been assumed to have survived and escaped to the woods. The legend describes the Melonhead's appearance as a result of cannibalism to survive the winters, and inbreeding, which caused them to develop hydrocephalus. Some variations of this legend retell the asylum/prison with places of business or camp grounds, and replace inmates/patients with employees, staff, or camp-goers. Individual retellings modify where they were from and what town they end up in.

Another Connecticut legend regarding A-017 Instances explain how they were Colonial-Era descendants. The Melonhead descendants are told to have been accused of witchcraft, which resulted in them retreating to the woods. Similarly to the first legend, a variation of this legend believes that the Melonhead's appearance is a result of inbreeding. They are depicted to prey upon humans who enter their territory.

Possible Explanations

 * Talk about the ways that it can be explained away here. Generally, you should talk about the more scientifically sound explanations first, then get into supernatural stuff. Start with psychological and scientific explanations first, don't lead off with "the tooth fairy is a master at ventriloquism"!
 * Possibly just a campfire story
 * Thought it is unlikely, locals could have spotted a creature they mistook for a child suffering from hydrocephalus.
 * While the Connecticut legend saying that A-017 Instances are the result of Colonial inbreeding, which is historically accurate, it does not explain how they would have gotten to Michigan and Ohio.