WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:12.759 In nineteen sixty four, my grandfather and my uncle went 2 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:16.280 on a camping trip in the Appalachian Mountains, which they 3 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:20.600 had done countless times before. They hiked for about half 4 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:23.039 a day until they reached the place we called the 5 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:27.399 Devil's bowlt In the Devil's Bowl, regardless of the time 6 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:30.359 or day or night, it is darker than any part 7 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:34.240 of the forest, no matter what season you passed through. 8 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.000 There is no wildlife and no sound. It's a dead 9 00:00:38.079 --> 00:00:41.719 section of the woods, and when possible, they tried to 10 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:46.439 avoid it, but they were losing daylight quickly. To make 11 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:50.200 it to their destination before nightfall, they took a shortcut 12 00:00:50.200 --> 00:00:55.679 through the Devil's Bowl, a decision they would regret. They 13 00:00:55.759 --> 00:00:59.920 began to hear noises almost immediately, a branch breaking here, 14 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:04.280 or rustling in the leaves there, and a clacking of rocks. 15 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:08.079 By the time they reached the Devil's Bowl, surrounded by 16 00:01:08.120 --> 00:01:11.560 the dark forest that enveloped them like a blanket, they 17 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:16.400 heard something pacing them step first step. My grandfather thought 18 00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:19.719 it was an old holler boy pretending to be a woodburgger, 19 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:24.400 trying to divert them away from their moonshine or marijuana grow, 20 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:28.680 and he didn't pay it much mine. But the further 21 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:33.400 they got, the louder and closer the noises became. First, 22 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:37.079 little pebbles started bouncing off their rocksacks, and then the 23 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:40.400 pebbles turned into larger rocks, big enough to hurt if 24 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:44.319 they got you in the right spot. At that point, 25 00:01:44.439 --> 00:01:48.239 they could see the outlines of something moving all around them. 26 00:01:49.040 --> 00:01:53.079 My grandfather pulled his pistol and chambered around, counting at 27 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.319 least five of what he thought were people. As he 28 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:00.280 watched them circling, he saw a big rock flying through 29 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:03.519 the air, heading for my uncle's head. He pushed him 30 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:06.239 out of the way and raised his pistol and he shouted, 31 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:11.360 we're just passing through. We don't mean any harm. Before 32 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:15.000 he even finished his sentence, a growl echoed through the 33 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:18.840 ball so loud it forced the air out of their lungs. 34 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:24.400 These were no moonshiners, he realized. He looked at my uncle, 35 00:02:24.439 --> 00:02:27.439 who was pale as a sheet, and his eyes fixed 36 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:31.560 over my grandfather's shoulder. He spun around, ready to take 37 00:02:31.639 --> 00:02:34.599 on whatever troublemaker was out there, but he was not 38 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:38.960 prepared for what he saw ten yards away was a 39 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:42.960 creature eight feet tall, built like a linebacker in a 40 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:48.039 gilly suit, only three times bigger. He had knotted black 41 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:52.120 hair dangling off his body in dark, piercing eyes that 42 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:56.120 shone in the dim light and ripped through my grandfather's soul. 43 00:02:57.240 --> 00:02:59.759 His hands were all the way down about its knees, 44 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:02.960 and he was swaying side to side, and his teeth 45 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:07.960 were out like an angry dog. My grandfather yelled out again, 46 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:11.879 we don't mean you any harm. Were just passing through. 47 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:15.759 He and my uncle locked arms and they tried to leave. 48 00:03:16.400 --> 00:03:19.719 My grandfather trained his pistol on the beast in front 49 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:24.719 of them. He began walking. The beast roared again, a 50 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:28.199 deafening cross between a wampus cat and a grizzly bear. 51 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:32.719 In Mama's howls when she was pissed off. My grandfather 52 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:36.840 thought on his feet and he roared back. Now this 53 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:41.240 was a big mistake. It only infuriated the creature, which 54 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:46.120 began moving toward them. As my grandfather and uncle crested 55 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:48.879 the rim of the bowl and reached the top, they 56 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:53.280 realized they had walked into this creature's front yard. There 57 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:56.400 was an igloo like structure made of tree limbs and 58 00:03:56.439 --> 00:04:00.000 logs and sticks and leaves, and several sets of eyes 59 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:04.639 were peering out. The creature started charging them, but my 60 00:04:04.759 --> 00:04:08.199 grandfather didn't want to shoot because it looked too much 61 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:12.280 like a man. Instead, he shot above its head, but 62 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:17.319 it only raided the beast even more. It ran straight 63 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:21.040 into them, sending them both flying, and when they landed, 64 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:24.040 my grandfather jumped to his feet and ran over to 65 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:27.680 cover my uncle, who was reaching for his pistol. He 66 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:30.199 yelled at him not to shoot, but his words fell 67 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:34.720 on deaf ears. My uncle rattled off six shots, the 68 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:38.240 rounds tearing through the center of the beast, all six 69 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:42.879 shots finding their mark. The click of the pistols hammer 70 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:46.519 slapping the backs of the spent rounds as my uncle 71 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:51.240 frantically squeezed the trigger over and over. The creature collapsed 72 00:04:51.720 --> 00:04:56.240 and all hell broke loose. There were creatures coming from 73 00:04:56.319 --> 00:04:59.879 every direction, running full force at them. The earth sh 74 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:04.000 the roars and screams and bellows cracked through the forest, 75 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:07.600 setting off alarm bells to any other creature in the valley. 76 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:11.680 My grandfather fired a shot in the air over another 77 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:15.560 beast's head that was down on all fours, running straight 78 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:18.920 forward them. The animal veered off to the right down 79 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:23.360 over the hill. My grandfather spun around and saw another 80 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:26.519 one charging It knocked him off his feet before he 81 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:29.959 could react, and broke his ribs as it collided with him. 82 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:33.439 He hit the ground and then staggered over to my uncle, 83 00:05:33.480 --> 00:05:36.319 who was covered in blood and slash marks on his 84 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.560 face and chest. They made it to their feet again 85 00:05:40.639 --> 00:05:44.160 as the beasts started to surround them. One of them 86 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:48.839 charged my grandfather, sending him crashing to the ground. Another 87 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:52.600 slammed into my uncle, sending him flying in the opposite direction. 88 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:56.839 That's when he realized only then that there was no 89 00:05:56.920 --> 00:06:00.199 possible way to make it out without fighting back, and 90 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:03.480 he got up and found my uncle, thinking he was dead, 91 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:07.319 dodging rocks and branches flying through the air as he 92 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:12.439 reached him. My uncle wasn't moving, he was bloody and battered, 93 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:16.399 and then ignited something in my grandfather, who spun around 94 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.439 and fired around right into the head of the creature 95 00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:25.920 closest to him. The howling and screaming intensified. My grandfather 96 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:28.560 started dragging my uncle to the base of an old 97 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:32.600 hickory tree, smacking him, trying to bring him around while 98 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:36.399 digging through his pockets for his handkerchief. He tied it 99 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:39.240 around the deep cut in my uncle's forearm, and then 100 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:42.560 checked how much ammunition he had, knowing he would have 101 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:46.879 to shoot his way out. Another one of the beasts 102 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.879 charged him. My grandfather fired at it, making it fall 103 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:53.600 and crumble into a ball at the base of a tree. 104 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:58.639 Two more creatures charged from opposite directions, dropping down to 105 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:02.360 all fours and springing from side to side. They were 106 00:07:02.360 --> 00:07:07.639 closing fast. My grandfather was all adrenaline at the moment. 107 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:11.720 He squeezed the trigger, whipped around, and shot again, neutralizing 108 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:17.319 both threats. The forest went quiet. If there were more beasts, 109 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.000 they weren't making themselves known. He began to drag my 110 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.759 uncle to his feet, his ribs searing with pain, and 111 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:28.040 thinking to himself that he had killed the entire group 112 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:30.800 and that he could be responsible for wiping out an 113 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:35.600 entire species. They managed to make it back to the house, 114 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:39.519 where my grandmother tended to their wounds. I could still 115 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.360 remember the pain and sorrow in my grandfather's eyes as 116 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:47.720 he recalled his encounter to me. He said he wanted 117 00:07:47.759 --> 00:07:51.680 to return to that area to apologize and see if 118 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:54.959 the species had lived on, but he knew that was 119 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:58.199 not an option. If any of them were still alive, 120 00:07:58.279 --> 00:08:00.600 they would have certainly killed him for what he did. 121 00:08:02.120 --> 00:08:05.639 My uncle never talked about it, had scars on his chest, 122 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:09.680 and he rarely wore a short sleeved shirt. My father 123 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:11.879 told me not to ask him about it and said 124 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:15.319 it happened in the war. He passed away when I 125 00:08:15.399 --> 00:08:19.199 was twelve years old, after battling a lifelong alcohol and 126 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:22.800 a drug addiction. I don't know whether he was trying 127 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:25.800 to escape the events of the Devil's Bowl or for 128 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:30.920 another reason. My grandfather died when I was eighteen. He 129 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:33.759 was an honest man. He fought in the Korean War, 130 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:36.840 and he worked in the coal mines for forty seven years. 131 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:40.519 He never missed a day's work and was always busy 132 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:45.000 fixing things up or finishing projects that couldn't wait for tomorrow. 133 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:48.440 He was a true mountain of a man and one 134 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:52.840 of the best men that I've ever known in my life. 135 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:58.559 In October of twenty nineteen, I had just finished my 136 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:01.879 shift at a local with over one hundred and fifty 137 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:05.720 milking cows. When I was done, I locked up the 138 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:09.840 place and I headed for my car. I was annoyed, 139 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:12.000 knowing I would have to lock the chickens away in 140 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.399 their coops in the darkness. We kept them on the 141 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:18.639 field across the road from our house, which was fine 142 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:21.799 in spacious during the day, but at night it could 143 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:26.120 be difficult because there were no lights. I climbed in 144 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:28.200 my car and I rang my mother to let her 145 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:31.039 know that I was on the way home. I set off, 146 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:34.960 driving through the rural villages, all of their lights glowing 147 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.480 from behind closed curtains. I turned onto a long, straight, 148 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:43.559 but bumpy road and slammed on my brakes. A large 149 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:46.639 black animal darted in front of my car, and it 150 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:50.360 leapt across a small ditch, and it vanished into the night. 151 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:54.399 It had a round head that had green eyes and 152 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:57.919 a long, slender tail. I got out and used the 153 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:00.639 flashlight on my phone to see over of the ditch, 154 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.240 hoping to get a look at it, but the woods 155 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:07.919 were dark and silent. The creature was long gone. My 156 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:10.759 mind started racing, and I rushed back to my car 157 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:12.480 and I locked the door and I sat there for 158 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:15.720 a few minutes, trying to figure out what I had seen. 159 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:19.799 I ruled out the badgers and the foxes and deer 160 00:10:19.799 --> 00:10:22.320 and wild boars and any other animal I could come 161 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:25.159 up with, and I knew it was far too long 162 00:10:25.240 --> 00:10:28.679 and tall to be a dog. I started thinking of 163 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:32.279 some British cryptids I had heard about, and I realized 164 00:10:32.360 --> 00:10:36.120 I had seen the beast of x Moore. I had 165 00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:39.320 heard stories of these large felines said to roam the 166 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:44.679 country killing livestock. I remembered seeing some rather blurry photos, 167 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:48.360 but I had never given them any serious thought until 168 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:51.919 that moment. I rang my mother immediately and I told 169 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.960 her what I saw. She was shocked, and she asked 170 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:59.120 if I was okay. My dad wasn't quite convinced, nor 171 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:02.679 was my little sister. When I got home, I locked 172 00:11:02.679 --> 00:11:05.159 the chickens up as fast as I could, worried the 173 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:09.120 beast was out there watching me. The next morning, at work, 174 00:11:09.159 --> 00:11:11.159 I mentioned it to my boss and some of my 175 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:14.519 fellow workers, who looked at me like I was losing it. 176 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:20.240 I knew then how most bigfoot witnesses must feel. I 177 00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:22.799 kept the story to myself for a while after that, 178 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:26.879 but I'm sharing it now because who cares what anybody thinks. 179 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:30.039 You don't know me anyway. I know what I saw, 180 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:33.000 and no one can tell me different. If I ever 181 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:35.399 make it over to the United States and I see 182 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:40.159 a bigfoot, I'll let only you know. Thank you for 183 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:43.559 joining me on this podcast. Once again, I really appreciate 184 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:47.399 everyone who's listening this far. I'll be putting out another 185 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:50.919 podcast early next week, so until then, hope you guys 186 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:53.559 have a good week, hope you've had a good Thanksgiving weekend, 187 00:11:53.919 --> 00:12:00.000 and we'll see on the next week. Thank you.