WEBVTT 1 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:14.599 This encounter took place in a small town on the 2 00:00:14.599 --> 00:00:18.640 coast of northern California. A friend and I decided that 3 00:00:18.719 --> 00:00:22.480 we wanted to grow a garden on his property. The 4 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:24.800 trail to get there was half a mile through some 5 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:29.559 thick pine forest and huckleberry bushes. The garden itself was 6 00:00:29.640 --> 00:00:33.200 trellised on the hillside with a small man made pine 7 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:36.479 that we used to water the plants. My friend and 8 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:39.079 I would ride our dirt bikes to check on it daily. 9 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:43.679 One day in midsummer, we decided to camp there with 10 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:48.240 another friend. My two friends pitched a tent, but being outdoorsy, 11 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:52.439 I made a shelter underneath a fallen tree. I used 12 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:55.000 the branches to close off the back of the sides, 13 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:58.200 and I had a large branch for a door. Also 14 00:00:58.280 --> 00:01:00.920 had a blanket. Knowing it would get chili that night. 15 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:04.760 Before going to bed, I had the thought to leave 16 00:01:04.799 --> 00:01:07.599 my writing boots on to protect against any would be 17 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:12.120 critters trying to get frisky. Mountain lions and the occasional 18 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:16.560 bear are a thing, although they are rare, Better safe 19 00:01:16.599 --> 00:01:19.719 than sorry, I thought, keeping my feet. Toward the opening 20 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:23.519 of the shelter, we talked about our day and what 21 00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:26.280 we had planned for the garden. The three of us 22 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:29.959 fell asleep. I woke up some time later to something 23 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.400 heavy walking right next to my shelter. It shook the 24 00:01:33.400 --> 00:01:36.040 ground when it walked, as if it wanted to make 25 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:38.920 a point and say that it was the biggest thing around. 26 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:42.959 My immediate thought was that a big bear was rooting 27 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.280 around the camp. That is until I noticed it was 28 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:50.640 walking on two legs. As if that wasn't alarming enough, 29 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:54.519 it started looking into my shelter. I froze stiff, and 30 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:57.239 I could hear it breathing and sniffing as it made 31 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:00.680 its way inside through the door that I had made. 32 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:03.719 I had a big branch pulled in to block the door, 33 00:02:03.799 --> 00:02:06.680 but this thing didn't seem to care. I had a 34 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.879 three three rifle laying next to me, but the thought 35 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:13.759 of protecting myself with it never crossed my mind. I 36 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:17.400 was too stunned to move or think straight. The sniffing 37 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:20.919 and probing went on for what felt like hours, and 38 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:23.319 just when I thought it would finally back out and 39 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:26.960 leave me be, I felt its giant hand grab my 40 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:29.680 leg and tug on it, as if trying to see 41 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:32.280 if I was a piece of wood or something else, 42 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:35.680 and when it grabbed me, I screamed like a pack 43 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:38.800 of stuck pigs. I must have scared it as bad 44 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:41.919 as it scared me, because it let out a high pitched, 45 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:45.520 horror stricken scream, and it took off toward the woods, 46 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:50.319 ripping the top off my buddy's tint along the way. Well, 47 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:54.120 we were terrified. All three of us had heard and 48 00:02:54.360 --> 00:02:57.560 seen it. We stayed as quiet and as still as 49 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.479 we could until the first light showed over the mountains, 50 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:04.719 and then we got to our bikes. No sooner had 51 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:06.960 I gotten to my bike and got it moving when 52 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.599 a baseball sized rock hit me in the side of 53 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:12.919 the head and it knocked me off my bike. My 54 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:15.960 buddy behind me stop and helped me back up, and 55 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:19.159 we hotailed it out of there and we never went 56 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:24.319 back to that area again. Hey, welcome to the podcast. 57 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.879 My name is Cameron Buckner. This is the Dixie Cryptid 58 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:33.520 YouTube podcast, also known as the what If It's True Podcast. 59 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.639 On any podcast app that you're using, just do a 60 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:41.360 search for Dixie Cryptid or what If It's True podcast 61 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:46.039 on your Apple podcast app Spotify. Any podcast app you're 62 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:48.520 using should be right at the top and you can 63 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:52.159 follow along. I'm gonna tell you something about the audio 64 00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:56.800 only podcast. People complain about the ads that run in 65 00:03:56.879 --> 00:03:59.919 my videos on YouTube. I have nothing to do with it. 66 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:03.000 That I do have a little control. There is a 67 00:04:03.039 --> 00:04:05.759 little button when I upload a video that I can 68 00:04:06.159 --> 00:04:10.199 place ads, but they YouTube never uses it. I spent 69 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:14.199 four or five years doing that, just placing my own ads. 70 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:17.720 But the ads if I place three in a one 71 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:20.920 hour long video, they're still going to put six. But 72 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:23.360 here's what I want to tell you. If you go 73 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:26.560 to the podcast app, if you look me up on 74 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:30.920 the podcast app, you may have one ad interrupt your 75 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:34.959 listening experience. On a podcast app, there are not near 76 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:40.319 as many ads on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker. You can 77 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:44.319 listen on on the Spreaker app. S p R e 78 00:04:44.639 --> 00:04:48.240 A K e R. You can download all these apps 79 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:52.680 for free. Starting account doesn't cost you anything. Look up 80 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:55.959 all the podcasts you want to listen to look mine 81 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:59.439 up first, and you won't get interrupted with ads. I 82 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:02.040 don't know why people don't use it. I use it 83 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:04.600 all the time now. I watch a lot of YouTube, 84 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:08.560 but I only watch that for visual stuff. This podcast 85 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:12.399 is an audio podcast. The stuff you see running on 86 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:14.439 the screen is just stuff I have to put in 87 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:19.800 there simply because YouTube is a visual platform. Anyway, I 88 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.000 just want to drop that. What do they call them hacks? 89 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:27.000 That's an ad hack. Go to Apple podcast or Spotify, 90 00:05:27.399 --> 00:05:31.800 or I use Podbean the pod Bean app. It seems 91 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:34.920 to work really well, but it really doesn't matter. These 92 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:38.199 podcasts are streamed anywhere. So anyway, enough of that, onto 93 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:40.399 the story. I think I've got six or seven in 94 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:43.800 this podcast. I certainly hope you guys enjoy it. So 95 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:52.519 all right, here we go. When my son was four, 96 00:05:52.759 --> 00:05:56.439 we went Noword to visit my aunt and uncle. At 97 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.560 the time, they lived on a beautiful property spanning eighty 98 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:05.079 are not too far from Huntsville, Ontario. My uncle was 99 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:08.079 born and raised in rural Quebec, and he grew up 100 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:11.800 in the woods among the wildlife. Later, as a young man, 101 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:15.759 he lived and worked in logging camps in Ontario and Quebec. 102 00:06:17.040 --> 00:06:21.959 Their property was a nature lover's dream. Deer routinely wandered 103 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:25.879 into their backyard, along with bears and other wildlife, and 104 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:29.639 a host of other birds and smaller wildlife. It was 105 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:33.920 one of my favorite places to be on this visit. 106 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:36.519 It was winter, and we were sitting around in their 107 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.879 living room as the woodstove chugged out heat, and the 108 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.959 conversation worked its way around to strange things my uncle 109 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.879 had seen and heard in the forest in his lifetime. 110 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:51.199 He began telling a story about a deer hunting trip 111 00:06:51.240 --> 00:06:55.759 that he took part in many years prior. Near North Bay, Ontario. 112 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.240 He and his hunting partner had come up dry since 113 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.279 it was getting dark, they were heading back to the 114 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:06.759 warmth of their lodging and a hot meal. As it was, though, 115 00:07:06.839 --> 00:07:09.519 they got somewhat off the beaten path and ended up 116 00:07:09.519 --> 00:07:13.079 taking the scenic route. It was dark by that point 117 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:15.879 and they were cold and miserable, when all of a 118 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.160 sudden they heard the sound emanating from the woods. They 119 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:23.360 could only be described as an angry monkey scream. My 120 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:26.959 uncle and his buddy froze solid when it went off again, 121 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:31.160 only louder. By this point, they were starting to mentally 122 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:34.199 take inventory of what animals could have made that sound, 123 00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:38.120 but they came up empty. They stood there for a minute, 124 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:42.199 facing out into the dark woods. The ensuing silence was 125 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:45.199 every bit as scary as the noise they had just heard. 126 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:49.439 They decided not to wait around for an encore and 127 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.240 instead to double time it back to their cabin, where 128 00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:56.399 not one more word was said about this incident. Now, 129 00:07:56.439 --> 00:08:00.000 my uncle never once mentioned the word sosquatch or even 130 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.240 and heinted at it. But given his location at the 131 00:08:03.319 --> 00:08:06.439 time and the sheer ferocity of the sound, and the 132 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:10.360 fact that it froze him, a seasoned hunter in his tracks, 133 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:16.560 I would not discount sosquatch. In August of twenty eighteen, 134 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:19.000 I took my son to visit my aunt and uncle 135 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:22.240 again on their property. While we were there, we had 136 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:24.959 a great time exploring the woods and walking down to 137 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:29.120 the beautiful beach about a mile away. But in typical fashion, 138 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:32.919 my internal clock went into overdrive and the first day 139 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:37.360 there I found myself awake at four am. Well, I figured, 140 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.879 rather than lying beds doing about being awake, I'd go 141 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:45.279 downstairs and do some painting until everyone woke up. This 142 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.519 house did not have air conditioning, so they routinely left 143 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:52.559 windows open to create a cross breeze. Between that and 144 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:55.879 the shade from the huge trees all around, the house 145 00:08:55.960 --> 00:08:58.559 was always at an nice temperature, even when it was 146 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:01.879 sticky out. And there I was in the dining room 147 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.200 table with my watercolors in front of me, beside a 148 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:08.200 huge open window, listening to the birds in the forest 149 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:12.440 as they began to wake and go about their daily routine. 150 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:16.600 Outside it was washed with a silvery blue pre dawn light, 151 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:20.559 and except for the birds, everything was quiet. I was 152 00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:23.679 painting away happily, when all of a sudden I noticed 153 00:09:23.679 --> 00:09:27.320 that even the birds had stilled. I felt little of it, 154 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:30.279 and I kept on painting until in the distance I 155 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:33.480 heard the distinct sound of wood hitting hard against another 156 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:37.360 piece of wood. My head shot upright and I listened. 157 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:40.120 There were three knocks, and then a pause, and then 158 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:44.320 a couple more, and then a short, distant, lyrical whood 159 00:09:44.480 --> 00:09:47.720 sound that started low and went higher towards the end. 160 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:52.919 No freaking way, I thought to myself. I immediately realized 161 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:55.279 my son would be furious with me if I didn't 162 00:09:55.360 --> 00:09:58.600 capture the sounds, so I reached for my cell phone 163 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:02.000 and turned on the video. Even though there was another 164 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:05.600 faint moan in the distance. When I played back the recording, 165 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:09.120 the only audible sound was that of my rather excited breathing. 166 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:12.679 I told my son at breakfast what I'd heard, but 167 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:15.799 he thought I was kidding with him to this day, 168 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:18.519 I'll never be convinced that what I heard that morning 169 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:23.200 in the twilight was not a sisquatch. The wood knocking 170 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:26.799 was intentional, and the whooping sound was like nothing I'd 171 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:30.639 ever heard before or since. Keep doing your good work. 172 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:37.440 Your non judgmental approach and fantastic accent make you one 173 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:39.399 of the best on YouTube. And my son and I 174 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:43.960 love your channel. Sign Nancy, that was a really nice compliment. 175 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:48.279 Not many people compliment my accent, but I can't change it, 176 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:50.399 and I just roll with it. And there's plenty of 177 00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:53.320 people that talk like me. So we go through life 178 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:57.440 not understanding each other. Hay yack, Get all right. Thank 179 00:10:57.480 --> 00:11:00.000 you Nancy for the story. This was great. Thank you. 180 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.600 My encounter occurred in the summer of nineteen seventy five. 181 00:11:09.320 --> 00:11:13.440 I was thirteen years old at the time. My cousin Jim, 182 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:17.000 and I decided to go camping near my home, located 183 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:21.440 in the southeastern corner of Mecklenburg County in North Carolina, 184 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:24.799 in an area of woods that is known as Colonel 185 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:29.480 Francis Bady Park. This section of the country was remote 186 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:34.759 in the nineteen seventies, with sparse development. The woods comprising 187 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:39.399 several hundred acres included a beautiful section where several large 188 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.720 creeks converged with a mature section of hardwoods and pines. 189 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:47.559 There's a high tension power line extending through the eastern 190 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:50.639 corner of this track, which I now realized may have 191 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:55.399 been the pathway for our visitor. The land was bordered 192 00:11:55.399 --> 00:11:58.240 by planet fields on two sides and a road on 193 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:02.480 the other two sides in some development. Essentially, it was 194 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:07.639 an oasis of hardwoods surrounded by fields. By the age 195 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:11.639 of thirteen, I was already an accomplished camper, having camped 196 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:14.879 in the wilderness areas for week long stretches with my 197 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:19.120 father since I was six. I was accustomed to being 198 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:22.480 in the woods at night, having taken several frog gigging 199 00:12:22.519 --> 00:12:26.240 trips with my father to remote ponds throughout Union County, 200 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:30.440 where we would spend hours tromping around the darkness up 201 00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:34.240 to my chest and water. It was not unusual for 202 00:12:34.360 --> 00:12:39.480 us to encounter snakes, deer, raccoons, and other wildlife. Jim 203 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.240 and I hiked about two miles and made camp in 204 00:12:42.279 --> 00:12:45.840 a clear area of hardwoods just above a waterfall in 205 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:50.360 the creek in the center of the track. Accompanying us 206 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:54.320 was my dog, Alicia. She was a German shepherd who 207 00:12:54.399 --> 00:12:59.000 was fiercely loyal and followed me everywhere. Back then, there 208 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:02.639 were no leash laws, and she patrolled my family's seven 209 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:07.039 acre home site religiously, chasing off all manner of animals. 210 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:11.240 She was accustomed to the wildlife in our area, and 211 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:13.759 it was common for her to wake us up after 212 00:13:13.840 --> 00:13:17.480 cornering a possum or a raccoon on our patio late 213 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:22.679 at night. After exploring the area all day, we settled 214 00:13:22.679 --> 00:13:26.279 in for the night with a knight's fire. Sometime late 215 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:28.799 in the evening, we were both awakened by my dog. 216 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:33.600 Lesha was making a weird combination of noises, sort of 217 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:37.960 a mix of whining and growling. She came in the tent, 218 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:42.000 pacing and cowering between us. She had never done anything 219 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:46.679 like that before, and it baffled me. She couldnot be consoled. 220 00:13:47.399 --> 00:13:52.039 Lesha would bark incessantly at strangers, dogs or wildlife, or 221 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:55.440 she would chase them off without hesitation. But I had 222 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:58.039 never seen her behave the way that she did that night, 223 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:00.919 nor did I see her act that way again after. 224 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:05.879 As we sat awake pondering what was causing her reaction. 225 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:10.679 There were noises out in the woods. The first one 226 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:14.240 that got our attention was a tree falling. We heard 227 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:17.559 distinctive cracks and then the sound of a massive tree 228 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:20.960 hitting the ground. It was a familiar sound to me 229 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:24.360 because we would push over rotten pine trees and kill 230 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:28.360 pine beetles for the fun. This usually required at least 231 00:14:28.360 --> 00:14:31.480 several boys to slowly push a tree at its base 232 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:34.519 until it began to sway, and then push into each 233 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:37.600 sway until the momentum caused it to break near the 234 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:40.919 base and fall. It wasn't an easy feet but we 235 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:44.759 would get it done. Dead or rotten tree fall and 236 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:49.600 living tree fall has distinctively different sounds. When the dead 237 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:53.360 tree falls, the cracking is dry and quick, there is 238 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:57.159 no resistance. But when a healthy tree falls, you hear 239 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:00.399 the moisture in the wood protesting. You hear the tearing 240 00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:03.799 of the bark and the trunk resisting as the fiber split. 241 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.320 Several of us would never have been able to push 242 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:10.120 over a living tree, no matter how hard we tried. 243 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:15.399 The tree we heard was green, it was alive. The 244 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:18.000 sound of hitting the ground was heavy and dense with 245 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:21.919 moisture and shook the earth under our tent. When I 246 00:15:21.960 --> 00:15:23.879 heard it break in the middle of the night, in 247 00:15:23.919 --> 00:15:27.639 the middle of nowhere, I got a shiver. I knew 248 00:15:27.679 --> 00:15:31.000 that whatever had made this happen was something big, and 249 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:34.519 my dog was afraid of it. I shared my concern 250 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:38.120 with Jim, and we began to hear distinctive footfalls in 251 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:41.440 the dry leaves. The foot falls were heavy and they 252 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:46.240 sounded like a person slowly walking. The footsteps grew fainter. 253 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:50.879 We heard another living tree fall, and then silence. It 254 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:53.279 took some time for my dog to settle down, but 255 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:57.840 she never barked or chased after whatever it was. We 256 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:00.279 did not go to sleep at all after that, and 257 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.399 we couldn't wait for daylight to get out of the woods. 258 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:07.080 I still live in this area and frequently travel through 259 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:10.440 that section of woods. Because it has now been converted 260 00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:14.200 into a public park, I have continued to camp and 261 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:16.720 hunt in and around this area for as long as 262 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:20.799 I can remember. That particular area was, for many years 263 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:24.840 prior to the park's establishment, my favorite deer hunting area 264 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:29.080 due to the abundance of the animals. The northern section 265 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:32.960 is surrounded by farmland and the entire track is intersected 266 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:37.960 by several creeks which now form a big lake. In 267 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.559 all my time in the woods, I have never encountered 268 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:44.879 anything that would explain what we heard that night. I 269 00:16:44.960 --> 00:16:48.720 recently became interested in the Bigfoot phenomenon, and I've been 270 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:55.480 researching accounts in folklore. This unusual childhood experience remains vivid, 271 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:58.720 and it is now quite evident to me that sosquatch 272 00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:03.879 explains everything we heard. It is, in my opinion, the 273 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:06.680 only creature that would have had that kind of effect 274 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:10.559 on my German shepherd, and the only creature that would 275 00:17:10.599 --> 00:17:13.799 have had the ability to push over a massive, green 276 00:17:14.079 --> 00:17:22.759 living tree. I grew up in a small town outskirts 277 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:26.359 of Cincinnati, Ohio. My father and I lived in an 278 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:29.079 old log cabin situated in the middle of the woods. 279 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:32.319 He used to always cut trees for heat in the winter, 280 00:17:32.799 --> 00:17:35.119 and on the weekends I would help him load the 281 00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:39.440 truck and whatnot. Our white German shepherd named Duke was 282 00:17:39.480 --> 00:17:43.319 my favorite companion. He was beautiful and in the winter 283 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:45.680 he would come busting out of the woods on either 284 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:48.359 side of the trail and look like a majestic wolf. 285 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:53.480 He was my best friend. One day, my father, Duke 286 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:56.279 and I were walking the creek after a day of swimming, 287 00:17:56.440 --> 00:17:59.279 when we came up on a set of tracks that's 288 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.759 about ten years years old at that time now. I 289 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:04.960 asked my father if they were dukes. He said, no, 290 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:08.839 they weren't. They were from a feeline, probably a big 291 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:12.720 bobcat or something of that nature. Well, put it out 292 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:16.559 of my mind and we continued on. I'm not sure 293 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:19.839 how much longer this was, since when you're a kid, 294 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:23.039 time really does fly. But Duke and I were outside 295 00:18:23.079 --> 00:18:26.039 of the log cabin, playing in the yard as kids do, 296 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:29.240 when all of a sudden, Duke got so close to 297 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:33.039 me that I couldn't walk without tripping over him. That's 298 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:35.640 when I looked up at our long gravel driveway and 299 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:39.759 I saw what made those tracks. It was a massive 300 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:43.920 eight foot long black cat slinking its way from us 301 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:48.359 up the long gravel driveway. I know things seemed larger 302 00:18:48.440 --> 00:18:51.000 when you're a kid, but this thing really was big. 303 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:55.160 I never saw its face, just its long, slender body 304 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:58.839 and its tail whipping left to right. I know a 305 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:01.480 cat when I see one, just like everyone else in 306 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:04.799 the world does. It had the grace and agility and 307 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.519 stealth of an assassin. My German shepherd was a good size, 308 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:13.519 maybe eighty pounds, but this cat dwarfed him. That's what 309 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:17.359 I realized. Duke had saved my life. If I had 310 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:20.640 been out there alone, that cat would have easily killed me. 311 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:25.160 If you search the internet for black panthers living in 312 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:28.319 North America, the answers you will get or that they 313 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:31.880 flied out don't exist here. But I know what I saw. 314 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:34.720 Maybe it was a pet that got too big to 315 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:39.160 keep and was set loose. In the nineteen eighties and nineties, 316 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:42.319 people had a thing for exotic pets intended to let 317 00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:45.400 them loose when they got too big. All I know 318 00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:48.640 is that I saw a monster panther that day, and 319 00:19:48.720 --> 00:19:52.839 my German Shepherd saved my life. I'll never forget that day. 320 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:56.960 I'll never forget that cat or my dog, Duke. Thank 321 00:19:57.000 --> 00:20:05.599 you for reading this. Signing off. In two thousand and ten, 322 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:08.200 I lived in an old house with a couple of 323 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:12.480 acres and a swamp nearby. It was in southeast Georgia 324 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:17.359 and Bullock County, about an hour northwest of Savannah. There's 325 00:20:17.400 --> 00:20:20.559 a ditch between my property and my grandmother's property that's 326 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:24.920 four feet deep. Red swamp maple grows on both sides 327 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:27.559 of it, and you wouldn't know it was there unless 328 00:20:27.559 --> 00:20:30.119 you're paying attention when you're passing it from the road. 329 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:33.319 It runs in a tee from the front of the 330 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:36.160 property back to the swamp behind the house, and then 331 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:39.880 into a vernal pond that dries up every summer. It 332 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:43.640 hadn't rained, so the ditch was dry as a bone. 333 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:47.119 Our family reunion was held at my grandmother's property every 334 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:50.440 April and has been held every year there for sixty 335 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:54.079 five years. My brother and I and our families were 336 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:57.480 always last to call it a night. It was getting 337 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:00.839 late when we heard a strange sound outside. One of 338 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:02.839 my brothers said it could have been a screech owl. 339 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:05.960 We left it at that and said our goodbyes, and 340 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:10.680 I headed for bed. I had become disabled the year before, 341 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:13.880 and I used a wheelchair. I could stand, but I 342 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.279 couldn't walk for because the cartilage in both of my 343 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:19.880 hips had worn out. I had learned that sleeping on 344 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.759 the couch was easier to get out of than getting 345 00:21:22.759 --> 00:21:25.400 out of my bed, so I'd taken to sleeping in 346 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:28.920 the living room. I never left any lights on because 347 00:21:28.920 --> 00:21:32.240 the windows faced east and west, and the yard light 348 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.680 lit up the interior of the house enough for me 349 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:36.640 to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. 350 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:41.240 There were three windows in the living room, each three 351 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:44.839 feet wide and five feet long. These were old windows 352 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:47.920 that my dad had removed and rebuilt, and were made 353 00:21:47.960 --> 00:21:51.000 of that thin old glass that looks like it's melting. 354 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:54.920 The window that faced west was five feet off the ground. 355 00:21:56.640 --> 00:21:59.000 That night, it was just me and my pug, Blinky, 356 00:21:59.119 --> 00:22:02.039 who was then eight years old. He was a good 357 00:22:02.119 --> 00:22:04.720 little watch dog, and he sounded like he was ten 358 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:07.359 feet tall when he went on alert, even though he 359 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:11.599 only weighed twelve pounds. I just laid on the couch 360 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:14.240 and blink. He laid down on the floor beside me. 361 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:17.839 I was almost asleep when all of a sudden, an 362 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:22.079 ungodly scream came from the ditch. It sounded like the 363 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:24.839 one my brothers and I had heard earlier, but it 364 00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:30.200 was closer and louder and wilder this time. I started 365 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:33.039 to sit up when Blinky sailed up to my chest, 366 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:36.039 knocking my breath out of me and banging like he 367 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:39.960 was a huge dog. He barked for a good five minutes. 368 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:43.839 His fur was bristling like I'd never seen before. He 369 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:46.359 wouldn't let me sit up, and he kept jumping onto 370 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:49.440 my chest every time I moved him down to my legs. 371 00:22:50.279 --> 00:22:53.240 I found my big flashlight, which I kept between the 372 00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:56.079 couch and the cushions, and I shined it out into 373 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.119 the swamp maples, shining it back and forth and then 374 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:02.880 up and down the tree. Blinky finally got off me 375 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:05.640 and I was able to sit up. I turned off 376 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:09.480 the flashlight, using my furniture as a support. I went 377 00:23:09.559 --> 00:23:13.039 into the bathroom with Blinky following me, looking through the 378 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:16.839 window in the bathroom outside, but I couldn't see anything. 379 00:23:18.079 --> 00:23:21.759 I was still afraid. That night, Blinkie and I slept 380 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:25.359 in my master closet with the interior door shut tight 381 00:23:25.480 --> 00:23:30.680 and lock. I've heard a black panther before. There's one 382 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:34.200 in the Pennsylvania Zoo that screamed right at me, so 383 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:37.920 I knew what I heard wasn't a panther. We had 384 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:41.039 bobcats and foxes on the farm, and it wasn't either 385 00:23:41.119 --> 00:23:45.759 of them. We don't have porcupines and raccoons and possums 386 00:23:45.799 --> 00:23:49.119 don't scream like what I heard that night. I don't 387 00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:51.880 know what Blinky and I heard, but I've never been 388 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:55.839 so scared in all my life. Blinky passed away in 389 00:23:55.960 --> 00:24:00.480 my arms in twenty sixteen at thirteen years old, and 390 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:04.200 I moved to the Arizona Desert last year. There are 391 00:24:04.200 --> 00:24:07.079 no trees here, and that means that there's nowhere for 392 00:24:07.119 --> 00:24:10.240 any large animals or mystery creatures to hide, or so 393 00:24:10.440 --> 00:24:15.079 I'm told. Now, I just have to be aware of rattlesnakes, tarantulas, 394 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:20.559 and bark scorpions. Oh that was a great story, but 395 00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:23.119 I'm so sad about your pug, Blinkie. We have a 396 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:26.480 little pug. Her name is Lily. Oh my gosh, I 397 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:29.680 love that dog. She's a stinky little thing and she's 398 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:33.440 a snorty snorter. You know how pugs are. They're just 399 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:37.839 little footballs and their faces are all alienike. Have you 400 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:40.720 ever looked in a pug's mouth. They have the weirdest 401 00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:45.119