WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:11.199 Okay. The writer's name is Todd, and here's what he writes, 2 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:15.119 hold on to your weaves on. I got a strange 3 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:18.719 story from Ohio to tell you. I hope someone who 4 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.160 was in that campground that night, or who lives in 5 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:24.239 the area and heard it, will remember the event and 6 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:28.440 write in or comment. It happened at a campground with 7 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:32.240 a lake just outside of Wilmington, Ohio, during the summer 8 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:36.880 vacation of nineteen eighty three. I was almost eighteen and 9 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:41.359 my girlfriend was seventeen at the time. Today, Becky and 10 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:45.600 I have been married for thirty five years. That's cool, man. 11 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:48.560 That's an awesome that I could end right there and 12 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:52.159 just be happy for you. Todd, that's awesome. But let's 13 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:55.960 get on with your story. The campground consisted of thirty 14 00:00:56.119 --> 00:01:00.719 to fifty permanent camsites for trailers in RV I think, 15 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:03.079 and there was also an area to the west end 16 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:06.719 for overnight tent campers. On the south side of the 17 00:01:06.799 --> 00:01:09.280 lake was some woods that wrapped around to the east 18 00:01:09.319 --> 00:01:13.159 and the west. There were forty yards of open area 19 00:01:13.239 --> 00:01:15.439 to the north side of the lake that reached down 20 00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:17.560 to a little beach area, with the rest of the 21 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:22.359 north shore set aside for fishing access. We were there 22 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:26.359 with my best friend, John, who was nineteen, and his girlfriend, Judy, 23 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:30.040 who was twenty one, and as such was the designated 24 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:34.359 purchaser of alcohol for our group. They've been married now 25 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.359 for thirty six years. Oh man, that's another great. That's awesome. 26 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:42.719 John and Judy thirty six years. That's great. Judy's dad 27 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:46.760 and older brother had adjacent permanent camp sites at the campground, 28 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:49.280 and since they were going to the races that weekend, 29 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:53.319 the trailers were available. Because Becky and I were the 30 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:55.840 only other couple in our little group of about a 31 00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:59.560 dozen friends, we were invited to join John and Judy 32 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:05.439 for romantic weekend getaway. Judy worked at Stump's grocery store 33 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:08.560 at the Forest Park Plaza, so we picked her up 34 00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:12.800 there on Friday night when she finished her shift. While 35 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:15.120 we were there, we purchased the supplies that we would 36 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:18.479 need for the weekend, and then we headed out. We 37 00:02:18.599 --> 00:02:22.120 arrived a couple of hours before sundown and set up camp. 38 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:26.120 The campground was packed with activity. Kids were riding their 39 00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:28.960 bites on the gravel road that snaked its way through 40 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:32.159 the park, people were walking their dogs, and men were 41 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:36.879 riding around in their golf carts visiting neighbors. Several people 42 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.680 stopped by to check up on Judy and ask about 43 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:42.800 her dad and her brother. Off to the races was 44 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:47.800 the standard reply. Soon we grilled our dinner and the 45 00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:51.240 girls had gotten the trailers ready for the night. After that, 46 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.879 we all sat around the campfire, ring, swapping stories, enjoying 47 00:02:54.919 --> 00:02:58.159 each other's company, and relaxing to the sounds of the 48 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:02.560 southern Ohio summer night. The bugs, the frogs, and the 49 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:07.719 nighttime birds created a wondrous symphony of calming sound. A 50 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:10.240 couple of hours after dark, we all decided it was 51 00:03:10.280 --> 00:03:14.199 time to turn in for the night. Before we went 52 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.800 to bed, we had to tidy up our campsite, and 53 00:03:16.879 --> 00:03:19.319 John and I were churning the fire with a shovel. 54 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:22.080 Went out of nowhere, and I mean like out of 55 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:25.240 left field. We heard from way off in the distance 56 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:29.400 what sounded like a woman's screaming, bloody murder. It was 57 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:32.400 like her arms were being ripped from her body. John 58 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:34.719 looked at me as if to say, man, what are 59 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:38.479 we hearing. The girls came over with us with puzzled 60 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:43.639 expressions on their faces. Twenty seconds into the scream. It 61 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.520 changed to what sounded like a baby crying. That lasted 62 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:51.439 for another twenty seconds, and then there was nothing. We 63 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.159 could hear the normal night sounds all around us, but 64 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:58.439 the screaming stopped. The other campers burst out into chatter, 65 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:01.879 What was that? What the hell that? And a bounty 66 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:05.360 of other anxious comments could be heard from every direction. 67 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:10.319 We were certainly adding our share. The entire campground was 68 00:04:10.360 --> 00:04:13.319 a buzz with excitement and activity for another ten or 69 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:17.120 fifteen minutes before everyone began to calm down and turn 70 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:21.360 in for the night. We decided whatever it was, it 71 00:04:21.399 --> 00:04:24.040 was far enough away that it wasn't going to bother us. 72 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:27.879 John and Judy took her parents' trailer, and Becky and 73 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:31.959 I were in Judy's brother's trailer. Once inside, Becky and 74 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.839 I were winding down, smoking a cigarette and having a 75 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:39.399 pretty lively discussion about what had just happened. What exactly 76 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:43.040 did you hear? She asked, and then before I could answer, 77 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.839 she added, I heard a woman screaming in distressed. Then 78 00:04:46.839 --> 00:04:50.759 it changed into like a baby crying. Yeah, that's exactly 79 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:53.519 what I heard. I said, Well, what do you think 80 00:04:53.560 --> 00:04:56.639 it was? I think it was a bobcat, she said, again, 81 00:04:56.759 --> 00:05:00.959 not letting me answer. You know they're still in Ohio. Well, 82 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.839 I quickly answered, well, I don't know about that. Their 83 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:06.600 mountain lines down in the Smokies, and with the warm weather, 84 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:09.519 maybe one of them made its way up here into Ohio. 85 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:13.519 We both pondered that for a moment before she asked, 86 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:17.600 how did it cross the Ohio River? Then he crossed 87 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:21.560 over the Brent Spence Bridge like everyone else. I quipped, Oh, 88 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.600 you're funny. I suppose he did it during rush hour too, 89 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:27.959 she exclaimed, as she threw her shirt at me. Well 90 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.839 he did sound like one peste off cat, I laughed. 91 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:33.920 We began to ponder again, and she climbed into bed. 92 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:37.920 A stream of ideas came to me, and I said, 93 00:05:37.959 --> 00:05:41.519 you know, maybe some local has an exotic cat as 94 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:45.399 a pet. Or we aren't too far from Cincinnati. Maybe 95 00:05:45.399 --> 00:05:48.399 some rich guy or Reds player, even better, a Bengals 96 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:52.639 player bought themselves a big cat and it escaped. Her 97 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:57.000 reply was wouldn't we have heard about that on the news? Well, 98 00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:59.720 not necessarily, I answered. If they didn't have the right 99 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:03.079 perm to own an exotic pet and it escape, they 100 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:05.439 wouldn't want to get into trouble, so they ain't gonna 101 00:06:05.480 --> 00:06:09.279 call anybody. Remember, Shannon, her family had to move to 102 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:12.160 Michigan because Ohio passed that law where you have to 103 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:15.800 have a permit to own exotic pets. Her family had 104 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:19.600 those two cheetahs, but they didn't get the permits. Oh yeah, 105 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:22.680 you're right, she said. Now get your butt in bed, 106 00:06:23.439 --> 00:06:25.800 now see there. Don't you feel better about it? And 107 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:29.279 all I answered, returning a grin. Yes, come to bed already, 108 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:33.240 she groaned. I had no sooner turned off the light 109 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:35.839 when I heard the faint sound of a baby crying. 110 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:38.600 I turned to Becky in and saw her eyes getting 111 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:42.519 bigger and knew she was hearing it too. Before either 112 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:45.160 of us could speak a word, the sound changed to 113 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:50.160 the woman's screaming bloody murder. Again a cat. Remember it's 114 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:53.519 just a cat, I spoke up quickly. It's a very 115 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:58.439 big cat, she added from inside the trailer. The sound 116 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.040 was faint, but we could still hear as it changed 117 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:04.600 into something like a jungle cat's growl, and then it 118 00:07:04.600 --> 00:07:08.199 became more like a lion's roar, and then it changed 119 00:07:08.279 --> 00:07:10.399 yet again to what we have come to refer to 120 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:14.240 as a mix of an angry King Kong versus Godzilla 121 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:18.639 with eyes as big as saucers, and our jaws dropped 122 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:21.480 to our chests. We stared at each other for what 123 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:24.519 felt like an hour, but it was in reality only 124 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:28.519 a few seconds. What the hell was that? Becky whispered. 125 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:32.079 Before I could answer, the damn thing started up again. 126 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:36.680 This time it started with the King Kong versus Godzilla roar, 127 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:41.360 followed by a bear's roar. I burst out of our 128 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:44.000 trailer to find John poking his head out of his 129 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.199 The growl had already changed to that of a lion 130 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:50.480 and now morphing into that of a jungle cat's growl. 131 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:54.240 When it changed back into the screaming woman, John muttered, 132 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:58.399 what is that? The sound faded back into that of 133 00:07:58.439 --> 00:08:01.480 a baby crying, and John came out to stand beside me. 134 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:06.759 The campground was beginning to come to life again. Someone yelled, 135 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:10.199 can someone shut that thing up? Someone else said, what 136 00:08:10.439 --> 00:08:13.959 is that? Further down still, another camper asked, did you 137 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:19.120 hear that? Standing outside? It sounded louder and closer than 138 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:21.839 when we heard it earlier that night, though it still 139 00:08:21.879 --> 00:08:24.959 seemed to be coming from the same general direction, which 140 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:29.839 was southwest of the campgrounds. We stood there for several seconds, 141 00:08:29.879 --> 00:08:33.600 lost in thought as we anticipated the next sound. How 142 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:36.919 far away do you think it is? John asked, startling 143 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:40.840 me back to reality. And do you have any ideas Sherlock? 144 00:08:40.960 --> 00:08:44.840 He added, before I could answer. Well, sarcastically calling me 145 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:47.879 Sherlock was a running gag between us, brought on by 146 00:08:47.879 --> 00:08:52.279 my frequent use of the phrase elementary, my dear Watson elementary. 147 00:08:52.840 --> 00:08:56.879 But this time he sounded nervous. Back in. I thought 148 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:59.039 it might be a big cat, like a bobcat, or 149 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:03.519 a mountain lion, told him a mountain lion in Ohio. 150 00:09:04.039 --> 00:09:06.600 I was sure he was going to add or you nuts, 151 00:09:07.080 --> 00:09:09.120 but I cut him off by adding, or it could 152 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:13.240 be someone who owns a big cat, Remember Shannon. He 153 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:16.799 looked puzzled for a moment before remembering and saying, oh, yeah, 154 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.279 the girl with the cool looking jungle cats. They were cheetahs, 155 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:24.320 I corrected him. Have you ever heard anything like that before? 156 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.360 Those parts that sound like a bear, I mean the 157 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.720 big gorilla or something, he asked. I noted a bit 158 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:34.759 of quiver in his voice. It was a regular king Kong, 159 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:38.679 I said. Unwilling to give a direct answer, we snapped 160 00:09:38.679 --> 00:09:41.559 our heads back to the southwest as the baby crying 161 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:45.159 sound started up again. The depth and duration of the 162 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:49.159 calls was unbelievable. It wasn't like it was one sound, 163 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:52.559 take a breath, and then another. It was one continuous, 164 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:56.360 deep call, lasting anywhere from fifty seconds to two minutes, 165 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:00.799 transforming from baby to woman to animal and one breath. 166 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:04.759 The long capacity of whatever was out there had to 167 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:10.960 be massive, and the range was incomprehensible. John and I 168 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:14.720 stood there looking at each other mentally repeating the same question. 169 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:19.639 Everyone was asking what was this thing? It still sounded 170 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:22.480 like it was pretty far off in the distance. I 171 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:26.639 was guessing around five to ten miles away. Alarming, yes, 172 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:29.080 but I didn't feel like we were in any danger. 173 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:34.279 That's why John's next statement caught me off guard. Man, 174 00:10:34.360 --> 00:10:37.399 we have shotguns in the trailers and spotlights if we 175 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:40.159 need them. Let me show you where yours are in 176 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:43.600 the trailer. We went inside and he showed me where 177 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:46.279 the shotgun and box of shells were, and then he 178 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:49.120 pulled out a spotlight and we made sure the battery 179 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:52.840 was working. It was one of those old nineteen sixties 180 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:57.039 handheld lights made with the VW Beetle headlight attached to 181 00:10:57.080 --> 00:10:59.600 a metal battery box that had a handle on it. 182 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:03.240 I don't remember the gauge of the shotgun, but I 183 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:05.720 do remember that it held five shells and it was 184 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:10.840 a pump action. John, Becky and I then went outside 185 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:14.200 and stood for twenty minutes. It had been half an 186 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:16.759 hour or more since we last heard its call when 187 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:20.000 John broke the silence with well, I'll see you guys 188 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.000 in the morning. Goodnight. Hey, I'm only a year younger 189 00:11:24.039 --> 00:11:27.039 than you, old man, I replied. John turned and went 190 00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:29.639 back to his trailer with a smile on his face. 191 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:35.000 When we went back inside, Becky peppered me with questions 192 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:38.120 about what John and I thought it was. I'm not 193 00:11:38.159 --> 00:11:40.360 sure how long we stayed up, but I can say 194 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:43.759 one thing for sure, the night no longer had any 195 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:47.840 romantic feeling. I don't know how long it was until 196 00:11:47.840 --> 00:11:50.240 we heard it again, but I would venture to guess 197 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:53.559 it was around an hour later when King Kong started 198 00:11:53.639 --> 00:11:56.840 up again. By the time it had worked its way 199 00:11:57.039 --> 00:11:59.279 to the Jungle Cat, I was out the door with 200 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:01.960 my shoes on, a shotgun in one hand and the 201 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:05.840 spotlight in the other. It was no longer just a 202 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:09.960 faint sound inside the trailer. Outside it was even louder, 203 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:13.360 and now it sounded like it was just across the lake. 204 00:12:14.519 --> 00:12:17.720 John was out his door almost as fast as I was, 205 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:20.159 and he was wearing his shoes and carrying his gun 206 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:24.399 and his light as well. The whole campground seemed to 207 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.000 be awake, and people were coming out of their trailers 208 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:30.879 in r OF's and gathering in small groups. John and 209 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:33.320 I walked down to the road as the call wound 210 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:37.039 down to the baby crying. That sounds just like it's 211 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:41.759 across the lake, John said, confirming my earlier thought. We 212 00:12:41.759 --> 00:12:44.200 were standing at the edge of the road closest to 213 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:48.120 the lake, where there was mostly open field. The woods 214 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:52.120 across the lake were silent as a grave. Gone was 215 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:55.519 the music of the night dwellers. The insects, the frogs, 216 00:12:55.559 --> 00:12:58.200 in any other wildlife all seemed to be holding their 217 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:02.480 collective breath. We could hear the people from the campground 218 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:06.679 behind us talking and opening and closing doors, and after 219 00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:08.919 a few minutes, a couple in their thirties and a 220 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.279 man in his fifties joined us where we stood. We 221 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:15.240 formed a little group and made our introductions, and then 222 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:19.240 quickly turned our conversation to the same questions we'd all 223 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:23.679 been asking for hours. Another man walked past us and 224 00:13:23.759 --> 00:13:26.720 called to us, it's a banshee. Man, I tell you, 225 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:31.279 it's a banshee. We all chuckled nervously but swallowed our laughter. 226 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:35.440 When all hell broke loose across the lake. The baby 227 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:39.639 crying started again, followed by the cracking of wood. It 228 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:44.279 sounded like a bulldozer was tearing through that timber. In 229 00:13:44.360 --> 00:13:47.919 my lifetime I have heard and seeing deer, elk, moose, 230 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:52.759 and bears crashed through the forest. Nothing, and I mean nothing, 231 00:13:52.919 --> 00:13:55.360 even come close to the cracking of wood that we 232 00:13:55.440 --> 00:13:59.360 heard that night. John and I spun around and flipped 233 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:02.080 on our life. As the call changed from the baby 234 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.320 crying to the woman screaming. We could clearly see the 235 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:08.759 trees and bushes shaking, but we couldn't see what it 236 00:14:08.879 --> 00:14:13.159 was making the commotion. It was coming from the southwest 237 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:16.600 and heading east. By the time the call had made 238 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:19.720 its usual gamut of jungle cat to lion to bear 239 00:14:19.799 --> 00:14:23.600 to King Kong versus Godzilla, it had made it halfway 240 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:27.639 to the bottom stretch of the lake. The guy who 241 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:31.120 walked by with the bansheeth theory ran past us at 242 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:37.159 a dead sprint back to its trailer. Oh God, that's funny. Okay, 243 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:40.440 I'm not laughing or ridiculing anyone. Just want to be 244 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.320 clear there. I just thought that sentence was funny. I 245 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:46.879 do have a sense of humor. We could still see 246 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:49.480 the trees and bushes swaying back and forth as the 247 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:51.879 thing made its way to the east side of the lake. 248 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:54.879 The woman in our little group said to no one 249 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:59.000 in particular, my god, what is that thing? And then 250 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.039 as an afterthought, she added, and what are we going 251 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:05.799 to do about it? It wasn't screaming anymore, but we 252 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:09.440 could still see it crashing through the woods. It was 253 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:12.000 halfway to the road that dead ended in the woods 254 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:14.600 on the east side of the lake, but there it 255 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:17.039 could easily run up the east side road about one 256 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:21.120 hundred yards or so, right into the campground. We were 257 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:26.919 all sizing up the situation and formulating possible outcomes. Not 258 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:29.919 more than a year before that night, I had watched 259 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:35.039 the movie Rambo. Furthermore, I was a big fan of 260 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:38.799 Billy Jack movies from the nineteen seventies. As if that 261 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:41.600 wasn't enough, I saw myself as a hoodlum from the 262 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:45.000 main streets of Dayton, Ohio. So it should come as 263 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:47.559 no surprise that I was thinking John and I should 264 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:50.360 head over to the east side road, cut this thing 265 00:15:50.440 --> 00:15:53.000 off at the past, and teach it a lesson by 266 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:56.759 feeling it full of lead. I was just about to 267 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:59.960 make that very suggestion when John said, I don't know 268 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:02.240 about you, guys, but we're getting the hell out of 269 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:06.399 here now. The rest of us were so startled by 270 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:09.320 John's words that we just stood there dumbfounded as he 271 00:16:09.399 --> 00:16:13.440 walked away. A second later, we sprung into action, each 272 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:17.159 of us heading back to our respective trailers. I didn't 273 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:20.039 catch up with John until we were almost to the trailers, 274 00:16:20.120 --> 00:16:22.879 and the girls were dressed and standing outside, and they 275 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:26.759 were waiting for us. Get the stuff, pat girls, he barked, 276 00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:30.120 We're out of here. They were way ahead of us. 277 00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:32.519 All we had to do was put away the guns, 278 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:34.919 lock up the trailers, and jump in the car and go. 279 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:37.879 It must have taken us a good twenty minutes to 280 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:40.840 get out of the campground because of the traffic, it 281 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:43.720 looked more than half of the campers were heading home. 282 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:47.440 We kept a watchful eye on the East Road as 283 00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:50.080 we sat in the long line of cars but nothing 284 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.399 ever came out of the woods. Once we'd answered all 285 00:16:53.440 --> 00:16:58.799 the girls questions, the ride home was pretty quiet. We 286 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:01.679 never heard anything about it on the news, and after 287 00:17:01.759 --> 00:17:05.079 a week or so, the frenzied questions and the retelling 288 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:08.160 of the story to our group of friends died down. 289 00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:12.079 Over the years, beck and I have shared this story 290 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:15.519 with various new friends that we've met. A couple of 291 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:18.880 weeks ago, I shared a Dixie Cryptid video with Becky 292 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:22.920 and she suggested that i'd send the story. So here 293 00:17:22.960 --> 00:17:25.680 it is, and we're sticking to it. There were a 294 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.400 lot of people in that campground that night, and a 295 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:31.359 lot of them left. Not to mention all the people 296 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:35.000 who lived in a twenty square mile radius of the campground. 297 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:38.960 We would love to hear from anyone who experienced those 298 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:43.559 strange calls in the summer of nineteen eighty three. And 299 00:17:43.680 --> 00:17:46.920 one other thing. I often wonder what would happen that 300 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:49.680 night if I had spoken up first with my Billy 301 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:56.440 Jack plan. I guess we'll never know, Thank goodness, Oh man, 302 00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:00.680 what a great story. Nobody was heard. Everybody was just scared, 303 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:04.519 and you heard a really unique sound. I mean, it 304 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:08.240 sounded like it went on all Night Todd, But I 305 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:10.720 don't know what else to say about this story. He's 306 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:14.839 this man obviously has a sense of humor, unlike some 307 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:19.079 of the really curmudgeon bigfoot people in the bigfoot community. 308 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:21.599 But this guy has a sense of humor and he 309 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:24.279 can laugh. He can actually laugh at himself. And I 310 00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:28.799 love these kind of stories. I really appreciating I really 311 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:34.880 appreciate him sending it folks. I have Will Jevining and 312 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.640 his sidekick Tom on the line, and we're going to 313 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:42.799 ask them some questions and just dive right into Instead 314 00:18:42.839 --> 00:18:45.839 of this being one long interview, we're going to take 315 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:49.640 specific topics and give them five to ten minutes to 316 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:52.119 discuss it, and we're gonna chop those up and put 317 00:18:52.119 --> 00:18:56.920 those in podcasts with stories throughout the month. And I'm 318 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:01.279 really excited about this because sometimes these interviews go so 319 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:04.039 long that people tend to drop off after thirty or 320 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:05.839 forty five minutes. So what I want to do is 321 00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:10.039 try to mix up a little bit of authentic stuff 322 00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:12.680 and then put some of my bullcrap at the end. 323 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:16.920 That's what so to kind of give my podcast just 324 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:19.880 a little bit more of a serious tone and so 325 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:22.920 that you can hear from people who actually study these things, 326 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:26.400 which I don't. Will and Tom, thank you for joining us. 327 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:29.559 Well, Hi everybody, and Cam, I sure appreciate it. It's 328 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:32.559 a real honor. Tom is coming back on in a minute. 329 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.359 He had to reboot his computers having some issues. All 330 00:19:35.400 --> 00:19:38.119 you are here, Yeah, yeah, I'm on, So Cam, thanks 331 00:19:38.160 --> 00:19:40.559 again and really appreciate it. 332 00:19:40.599 --> 00:19:42.279 And hello to everybody out there. 333 00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:44.559 This is actually it's kind of a treat for us. 334 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.680 This is something different and it's going to be a 335 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:48.319 lot of fun. 336 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:51.200 Yeah, it should be fun and we'll see how it goes, 337 00:19:51.240 --> 00:19:53.440 and I think it'll people will love hearing from you. 338 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:56.079 So let's dive into what people want to hear. And here, 339 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:59.559 let me just real briefly say this. My videos and 340 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.799 podcas has get twenty or thirty thousand views, and I 341 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:06.279 would say probably thirty percent of those are people who 342 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:10.799 are interested in the Bigfoot topic, and the other sixty 343 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:14.960 or seventy percent are people who just enjoy stories and 344 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:17.640 this is a bit for them. This is for people 345 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:21.720 to learn a little bit about what people have learned 346 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:26.160 and studied really throughout their whole lives and they're actually 347 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:29.440 consumed with the study of this creature. And I want 348 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:32.160 you to hear what some people have found. So let's 349 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:36.039 get started. I put out a community post today I 350 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:38.960 ask people for questions. I was trying to get five, 351 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:44.319 and we have I think we have one hundred and 352 00:20:44.400 --> 00:20:48.480 fifty responses. So thank you to the audience for doing that. 353 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:51.519 That's very nice of you. One question that pops up 354 00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:53.799 over and over, and I was reluctant to ask Will 355 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:59.160 and Tom this question is that this Nephelm theory are 356 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:04.119 the Bigfoot the Nephilum from the Old Testament. And I 357 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:07.160 was a little apprehensive to ask that because I think 358 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:10.839 I know just the hot points of Will's opinions on 359 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:13.720 some of these things based on experience in his study. 360 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:16.240 But he's more than willing to talk about this and 361 00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:20.240 I appreciate it. So Will and Tom, you guys, let 362 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:22.880 us know what you think about the Nephilum theory. 363 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:26.319 Well, you know, I get asked that pretty often myself, 364 00:21:26.400 --> 00:21:28.440 and I tell people know. And the reason they tell 365 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:31.920 him know is because when you go back, I mean, 366 00:21:32.599 --> 00:21:34.400 you have to take a look at the King James Bible. 367 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:38.680 It's actually kind of a watered down version of previous 368 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:41.519 writings that they put into that. Now if you go 369 00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:45.119 to Ivan Sanderson's book. Ivan Sanderson was a zoologist. For 370 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.119 those who don't know who he was. He wrote a 371 00:21:48.119 --> 00:21:51.240 book called The Bottle of Stone, Manlage and Come to Life, 372 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:54.319 published in nineteen sixty one. Even a book that old, 373 00:21:54.359 --> 00:21:57.039 it has some great information in it. And in the 374 00:21:57.200 --> 00:22:01.119 chapter seventeen, actually page three seventy nine, there's a couple 375 00:22:01.160 --> 00:22:05.039 of paragraphs that address this specifically. So you know, pardon 376 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:06.799 me if I butcher this a little bit, and some 377 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:09.160 of the pronunciations, I'm not even gonna try. Maybe I'll 378 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:13.079 spell the name, but it says in here Nephelim is 379 00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:17.160 often translated giants. But the commentators, and this was written 380 00:22:17.160 --> 00:22:18.759 by a Jewish scholar by the way, who was a 381 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:21.680 friend of Sanderson's and let him put it in a book, 382 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:25.440 the commentators tell us that they were so called because 383 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:29.200 men would fall, and the word nephelim, the first part 384 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:32.400 of that is nofel n oph e l, and that 385 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:35.160 means they would fall in their faces with fright at 386 00:22:35.160 --> 00:22:38.559 the sight of them. So it wasn't actually giant, it 387 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:42.400 was it was the appearance and the actual behavior that 388 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:47.160 they would do. So then it goes into some other abbreviations. 389 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:49.519 I'm not sure what they are. But then they talk 390 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:55.519 about the Gibbraum GiB or m were later on referred 391 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:59.039 to as the Gibbori and I'm not even going to 392 00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:02.920 try to pronounce this a y i D and are 393 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:06.720 reputed to have been as tall as a tree in 394 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:10.599 contrast to the shambling Nephlom. So we have two different 395 00:23:10.680 --> 00:23:15.680 types of beings here. The second one, the jiroal t 396 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:18.359 s A y i D means the mighty ones of 397 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.880 the hunt, so they were not the nephylum. Our main 398 00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:25.599 concern here must be, however, the rest of the creatures 399 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:28.960 who terrified the Israelites during the exodus, during Egypt and 400 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:32.039 their period of wandering in the Sinai desert. These were 401 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:35.200