That really nasty crazy sound could be a fox. I know, that sounds kind of crazy but I've seen it myself several times and it WILL scare the piss out of you when you hear it. Sounds insane.
Not to jump on this thread but I can add to this...
A fox makes a most baleful and inhuman sound/bark that will take the nerve out of a hardened man in the blackness of night. Simple as that. Chances are, that was your huckleberry. You get used to it back this way but it still sounds awfull. I do know a feline that staired that bark in the face and stayed the course though.
g.