WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:09.439 I'm fifty nine years old and have been an avid 2 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:13.000 hunter for most of my life. I moved to Florida 3 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:16.519 in nineteen seventy nine and began my life as a 4 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:20.800 musician and a faux artist. As a young man, I 5 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:23.320 was introduced to Florida hunting by a good friend of 6 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:27.640 mine who has since passed away. This story takes place 7 00:00:27.719 --> 00:00:32.560 in the Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area in Oceola County, Florida. 8 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:37.759 The year was nineteen ninety five. It was Thanksgiving Day. 9 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:42.000 We were camping in a public camping ground with good friends. 10 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:45.520 My friend Jim and I decided to hunt the swamp island, 11 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:49.799 as we did many times before. It was just another day. 12 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:52.920 We had to be back at camp before one o'clock 13 00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.880 for dinner, so we left the island about twelve o'clock 14 00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:59.920 in the afternoon. Now bear in mind it was gun season. 15 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:03.600 You're required to wear five hundred inches of orange in 16 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:07.719 a wildlife management area in Florida. Any person that would 17 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:11.319 attempt to hunt during rifle season without orange would be 18 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:16.079 absolutely crazy and a little bit stupid. Jim and I 19 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:21.079 hunted this island, which is in itself extremely spooky. In fact, 20 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:23.519 his wife would not even go out there because she 21 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:26.920 thought there were Indian spirits of some sort, which I 22 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.920 didn't argue with. The walk to the island was in 23 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:33.400 about two and a half foot of water for about 24 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:36.760 one hundred and fifty yards in a thick cypress swamp. 25 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:40.879 I kept this trail cut minimally for accessibility, and I 26 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:44.799 knew it very well. I had hunted this island dozens 27 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:48.799 of times alone. It's funny because I'm a grown man, 28 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:51.959 and still the Boogeyman gives me the willies, if you 29 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:55.400 know what I'm saying. We all know there are things 30 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:58.599 out in there that we cannot explain. When I'm in 31 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:01.959 the woods, I'm always on a alert for anything. We 32 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:05.159 did not see any deer or pigs during the morning 33 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.439 that I can remember. We left this island to go 34 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:12.719 back to the vehicle. Upon arrival, I opened my back 35 00:02:12.759 --> 00:02:16.280 window to my Bronco and it made the usual screeching 36 00:02:16.360 --> 00:02:18.439 sound which I could not seem to get rid of. 37 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:21.840 We loaded our firearms into the back of the truck. 38 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:24.879 I did this first, and then Jim followed up doing 39 00:02:24.919 --> 00:02:28.759 the same. As Jim loaded his guns in the truck, 40 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.719 I walked out to the road. I looked down the 41 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.240 road for game, only to see this huge, tall, lanky 42 00:02:35.319 --> 00:02:38.759 figure walking diagonally to the other side of the road 43 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:43.000 into the thick palmadows. I said to my friend Jim, 44 00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:46.360 look at this crazy dude in the gilly suit without 45 00:02:46.360 --> 00:02:50.520 his orange vest on. By description, the hare looked the 46 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:54.599 same color as buck hair, brown but not too long. 47 00:02:54.759 --> 00:02:59.159 Body was a lanky looking in very tall, very long 48 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:02.719 arms and wide. It seemed to be a male, and 49 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:05.240 did not notice us in the road looking at him 50 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.800 because he was walking away at an angle. Jim made 51 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:11.000 a remark and came to the road and looked at 52 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:16.159 this thing. I remember saying, what a fool. Just then 53 00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:19.360 another smaller one came out holding what seemed to be 54 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:23.479 either a baby or a pregnant belly. Now when I 55 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:26.759 saw this, obviously to me it was a female. She 56 00:03:26.919 --> 00:03:30.280 had jet black hair from head to toe. She had 57 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:35.120 large breasts and a big belly. My friend Jim said, dang, 58 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:38.960 that's a gal in his twangy country boy voice. My 59 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:43.199 next words were those or swamp apes? Man. I want 60 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:44.759 to tell you, the hair on the back of our 61 00:03:44.840 --> 00:03:47.759 necks was up as high as it could go. Both 62 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:50.879 of us got freaked out as this female saw us 63 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.199 looking at her and hobbled off into the thick falalmatos 64 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:57.919 very quickly. She ran very funny because of what she 65 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:02.080 was carrying, and I distinctly remember it. Jim and I 66 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:05.319 immediately got into my Bronco and drove down to the spot, 67 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:08.400 which was about one hundred and fifty yards away. We 68 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:11.199 got out and started to walk into the pal meadows, 69 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:13.520 and Jim said to me that he felt like he 70 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:16.680 was being watched, and he said he was not going in. 71 00:04:17.879 --> 00:04:21.079 I agreed with this completely because I had no interest 72 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:23.759 in shooting one of these things or getting my butt whip. 73 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:28.480 I just wanted to see one close up. Just then, 74 00:04:28.600 --> 00:04:31.399 another hunter drove up and got out of his vehicle 75 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:34.720 and asked us what was walking across the road. He 76 00:04:34.839 --> 00:04:37.519 had been using his scope looking down the road and 77 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:41.600 back of us when the creatures were walking across. I 78 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:44.120 didn't know this at the time because it was way 79 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:47.319 down the road. He said he couldn't tell what they were, 80 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:50.120 but they didn't look normal as far as their coloration 81 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:53.439 and the way they were walking. Anyhow, we told the 82 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:56.000 guy what we saw and what we thought they were. 83 00:04:56.519 --> 00:04:59.399 He kind of snickered and said I'm really not surprised, 84 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:03.079 and then he left. Meanwhile, Jim and I had to 85 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:05.480 go back to the camp and tell our families about 86 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:10.560 this experience. Everybody thought we were crazy, but after a 87 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:14.079 few hours my wife knew that I was obviously upset 88 00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:17.319 and freaked out. She believed me and she got kind 89 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:20.160 of freaked out as well. So then I went to 90 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.319 the Czech station and I reported it to the game warden. 91 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.199 Of course, they laughed and asked me if I was 92 00:05:26.279 --> 00:05:31.040 consuming alcohol or had been smoking something. I reported my 93 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:35.519 sighting to the Florida Bigfoot Research Organization and filed my 94 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:39.800 sighting online. The following weekend, they did go out with 95 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:43.399 me to the spot, but we couldn't find any evidence 96 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:47.439 because of the drought we were experiencing. A few snap 97 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:51.519 branches in odd trails were all we could find. Ever 98 00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:54.439 since that time, things changed for me as a hunter. 99 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:57.680 I now carry a firearm pretty much all the time 100 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:01.480 while hunting. Even with archery, my days in the swamp 101 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:03.959 are limited because I do not want to run into 102 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:07.360 a family of bigfoots in the swamp. It was enough 103 00:06:07.399 --> 00:06:09.800 for me that I had seen them once, so I 104 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:14.040 kind of gave them that place. So My encounter is 105 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:17.399 not violent, and it really wasn't terrifying, but it did 106 00:06:17.439 --> 00:06:21.360 freak me out. My friend Jim has since passed, and 107 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:24.800 his wife finally believed what he saw after a few months. 108 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:28.360 I found your stories on YouTube to be very entertaining 109 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:31.519 and interesting, though mine does not compare to most that 110 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:35.240 I've heard. I guess that's a matter of perspective. I reckon. 111 00:06:35.879 --> 00:06:40.560 I still enjoy hunting, but mostly traditional archery in rural areas. 112 00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:44.040 I hope you find this story somewhat entertaining, and I 113 00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:47.519 have enjoyed telling it. This was my special time and 114 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.560 my place in life. Maybe one day I will go 115 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:54.000 out there again, just to see the old swamp island. 116 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:01.279 Most of my fondest memories as a growing up in 117 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:05.800 central Mississippi or centered around hunting and fishing. When I 118 00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:08.759 was big enough to go hunting and fishing, mostly keeping 119 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:13.600 up with the adults, I got to experience deer camp life. Man. 120 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:18.199 That was an experience all on its own. When I 121 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:21.199 was nine, my dad came home with a frosted ear 122 00:07:21.399 --> 00:07:26.040 Walker coonhound puppy. He said he'd paid the owner thirteen 123 00:07:26.120 --> 00:07:29.639 dollars for her, which was the price for registering dog 124 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:33.319 papers in nineteen eighty one. The guy said he sold 125 00:07:33.319 --> 00:07:37.240 her cheap because frosted eer dogs won't hunt. Boy, was 126 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:41.560 he wrong. We named her Lady. Dad and I started 127 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:43.920 training her, and it seemed like no time before we 128 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.160 had a year and a half old dog that would 129 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:49.759 hammer out coons in just a few minutes. Around the 130 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:52.920 time I was about eleven or twelve, my sister got married. 131 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:56.000 I started spending time with her and her new husband, 132 00:07:56.079 --> 00:07:59.000 who it turns out, loved to hunt as much as 133 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:01.959 me and Dad. So when Dad was at work, I 134 00:08:01.959 --> 00:08:04.360 would go hunting with my brother in law and his friend. 135 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:07.600 We would hit the corn fields in the river bottoms 136 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:12.000 and hunt, sometimes until the early morning hours. Back then, 137 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:14.800 if the landowner saw us hunting, he'd stop and make 138 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:18.199 conversation just so he could hear that frosted ear walker 139 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:22.000 echoing through the night air. Those are the memories that 140 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:27.079 decorate my childhood. One night in the autumn of nineteen 141 00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:29.600 eighty four, Lady and I were heading off on a 142 00:08:29.720 --> 00:08:32.200 hunt with my brother in law and his friend to 143 00:08:32.320 --> 00:08:36.879 some farm land off the Kenneybrew Road in Pocahontas, Mississippi. 144 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:40.639 We were riding in an early seventies model two wheel 145 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:43.639 drive Toyota that my brother in law had gotten from 146 00:08:43.639 --> 00:08:47.000 a step dad. It was just an old hunting truck 147 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:49.039 and it had a lot of issues to prove it. 148 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:52.639 When we turned lady out on the north side of 149 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:56.399 Kennerbrew Road, it wasn't long before she struck and took 150 00:08:56.440 --> 00:08:59.879 a small ditch headed south to what we called Kennerbrew. 151 00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:03.840 We jumped in the truck and headed back to the pavement. 152 00:09:04.759 --> 00:09:07.399 A few minutes later, we were standing on the bridge 153 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:10.320 the lady had just run under and listening to her 154 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:14.639 run deeper and deeper into the swamp. Suddenly she started 155 00:09:14.679 --> 00:09:18.480 tree barking. My brother in law said, she's a long 156 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:22.039 way back there. Man. That was trouble, and we knew it. 157 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:25.720 The area was posted as private, but we were going 158 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:29.399 to get dad's dog. We walked along the ditch and 159 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:32.759 had high briars for about fifteen minutes until we came 160 00:09:32.840 --> 00:09:35.799 to the edge of the swamp. We stopped to catch 161 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:39.399 our breath. Even though it was fall, it was still hot. 162 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:42.639 We stood listening to lady on the tree for a 163 00:09:42.679 --> 00:09:46.600 minute before we started walking towards her. All of a sudden, 164 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:50.600 she stopped. We stopped walking and my brother in law said, listen. 165 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:54.639 It was so quiet we could hear an occasional vehicle 166 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:58.879 on Highway forty nine. We waited about ten minutes or so, 167 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:03.159 and then we started call for lady. Several minutes went by, 168 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:05.919 and we decided we'd better get back to Kinnerbrew Road 169 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.440 in case lady went back to where we turned her out. 170 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:12.000 But instead of going back the way we came, we 171 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:15.639 slipped out onto someone's driveway and we went out that way. 172 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:19.960 As we walked along in the moonlight from deep in 173 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:23.120 the swamp where we'd last heard lady on the tree, 174 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:27.600 something screamed. It was like a cross between a pig 175 00:10:27.679 --> 00:10:31.559 squealing and a bull growling all in one. What was that? 176 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.919 I asked, trying not to sound as startled as I was. 177 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:40.440 American Werewolf in London had come out in nineteen eighty one. 178 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:43.759 I didn't like scary movies, and my brother in law 179 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:47.600 knew it. But he's a character, so he quipped, Oh, oh, 180 00:10:47.639 --> 00:10:50.840 that's just the American werewolf from London coming to get you. 181 00:10:51.399 --> 00:10:55.759 We all laughed and kept walking. Finally we got back 182 00:10:55.799 --> 00:10:58.799 to the truck, but there was no dog. We drove 183 00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:01.159 into a sage fill that went all the way to 184 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:04.279 the edge of the swamp. As soon as we stopped 185 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:06.799 and turned off the truck, we heard the sound again, 186 00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:10.960 coming from the same area. Nowbody said a word. It 187 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:14.720 was disturbingly quiet. About thirty seconds went by and it 188 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:19.120 screamed again, except now it had cut the distance between 189 00:11:19.200 --> 00:11:22.559 us in half. This time it was my brother in 190 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:26.879 law who asked, what was that. His friend said, I 191 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:29.519 don't know any animal that makes that kind of noise 192 00:11:29.559 --> 00:11:34.600 and moves that fast. Another thirty or forty seconds passed 193 00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:37.399 and it screamed again. It had to be within five 194 00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:41.720 hundred yards of us. Now we waited another twenty seconds. 195 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:45.000 This time it was so loud I felt the rumble 196 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:48.440 in my chest. It couldn't have been more than seventy 197 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:52.440 five feet from the field. I think I almost passed out. 198 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:55.519 At that point, my brother in law's friend crouched down 199 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.480 on the floorboard and screamed, get us out of here. 200 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:03.000 My brother in law, who had been standing beside the truck, 201 00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:06.279 jumped in and fired it up. He had gone limp, 202 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:10.159 and he said, I melted around the gear shift. The 203 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:15.440 truck started and then immediately died. Apparently, when I went limp, 204 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.080 I turned off the toggle switch mounted to the gear 205 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:22.240 shift for the add on twelve fuel pump. He had 206 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:24.120 to pull me back up in the seat so he 207 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:27.039 could turn the switch and start the truck again, and 208 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:29.679 we didn't stop until we were back on the pavement. 209 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:33.960 We drove around for a while, but we couldn't find lady. 210 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:37.559 We went home and we told Dad what happened. He 211 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:39.799 and my brother in law went back at daylight and 212 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:43.759 called for lady from the bridge. After just a few minutes, 213 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:47.000 she came out. Dad sure was glad to see her. 214 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:50.919 We told different people about what had happened that night. 215 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:53.559 We got told it was a big cat with its 216 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:57.279 head in a hole. That's why it sounded far away 217 00:12:57.320 --> 00:13:00.440 at first. Then it pulled its head out some and 218 00:13:00.519 --> 00:13:03.000 it would sound like it was moving. Some of the 219 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:05.559 older people said that they do this to get game 220 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:10.799 to move. I didn't buy that old tale. It's funny 221 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:14.519 how sounds can trigger memories. Over the past year and 222 00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:18.840 a half, I've had three shoulder surgeries. While sitting in 223 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:21.279 my lazy boy with tons of time on my hands, 224 00:13:21.320 --> 00:13:25.000 I started watching a lot of YouTube channels. My daughter 225 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:29.200 suggested cryptids, and that's how I found your channel I 226 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.519 had binge watched all of your stories when a suggested 227 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:35.799 channel came up with the most terrifying sounds in the 228 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:40.399 Canadian woods. When I heard that scream, the hair stood 229 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:43.639 up on the back of my neck. Every detail of 230 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:46.679 that fall night when I was twelve came flooding back. 231 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:51.279 Until then I had simply blocked it out subconsciously. It 232 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:53.919 must have been what was drawing me to your channel. 233 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:56.559 Thank you for not using my real name. There are 234 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:58.600 a lot of people around here who would label me 235 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:03.960 a crackpot. You are a crackpot. Chan. I'm just kidding, man, 236 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:06.200 this is a great story. This kind of reminds me 237 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:08.480 of a story I did. I think it was like 238 00:14:08.519 --> 00:14:12.360 the second or third video I did about a guy 239 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:16.639 here who told me a story about Bigfoot killing his 240 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:20.720 best dog, and her name was Belle. Oh Man. This 241 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:24.120 bigfoot actually got a hold of this dog and impaled 242 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:28.000 it on a sapling that looked like he had broken 243 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:31.200 it off just to shove her down on. Apparently, they 244 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:34.120 don't like dogs, and they especially don't like coon dogs 245 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:36.720 and coon dogs when you know, when they're in the kennel, 246 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:38.960 they're just as friendly as they can be. But you 247 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.120 put them on a scent, and you turn them loose 248 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:44.000 and they start getting after the coons. Man, those things 249 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:47.480 get vicious and they they will go after since like 250 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:51.399 that bigfoot leaves behind and heard I've heard story after 251 00:14:51.559 --> 00:14:54.840 story about raccoon dogs doing that. So this was a 252 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:58.200 great story. I appreciate you spending the time. You wrote 253 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.320 it well and we all enjoy at chan. Thank you, sir. 254 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:09.960 From a small town in Saline County, Illinois. The event 255 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.320 takes place a few moons ago when I was sixteen. 256 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:16.440 As a kid and a teenage boy, my friends and 257 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:19.440 I spent our free time playing in the woods. Somewhere 258 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:22.480 any place there was a creek to swim in, a 259 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:26.720 tree or rocks to climb on, we were there. Our 260 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:30.679 area was full of different legends and lore as well. 261 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.960 Some stories were passed down through generations of the native 262 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.440 people who walked the land before us, and some are 263 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:42.600 told by our recent ancestors. I assume that some of 264 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:46.159 the stories I've heard are campfire stories and just for fun, 265 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:50.399 But for a teenager back then, it didn't matter. We 266 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:55.639 were fearless and the stories never deterred us. On the contrary, 267 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:59.279 it made us more eager for adventure. We dreamed of 268 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:03.879 solving an ancient mystery. My friends and I were a 269 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:07.840 unique bunch, not that there was anything special about us, 270 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:11.679 just by how diverse our group was. And still we 271 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:15.639 always managed to get along and overcome challenges amid all 272 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:19.960 of our differences. For example, some believed in God while 273 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:25.200 others were atheists. Some believed in ghosts and spirits while 274 00:16:25.240 --> 00:16:29.639 others didn't. We even went on missions looking for UFOs 275 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:34.039 and aliens while others refused their existence, but they still 276 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:38.399 tagged along for the ride. The area around where I 277 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:42.240 live is heavily mined. One of my friends, Ricky, lived 278 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:45.480 on some old Mind property. We were all over the 279 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:49.360 place out there, hiking and riding dirt bikes. A few 280 00:16:49.360 --> 00:16:53.240 miles from his house was an old abandoned Mind drag. 281 00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:57.759 A drag is an enormous piece of equipment. Imagine a 282 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:01.440 four story building on track with a boom that reaches 283 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:05.759 three hundred feet. It was once an operating giant, and 284 00:17:05.799 --> 00:17:09.240 now it sat there, resting away. But all we saw 285 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:13.079 was a jungle gym for big kids. The only challenge 286 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:16.160 was how to get inside the giant beast. It had 287 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:19.599 obviously been sealed off to keep would be intruders such 288 00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:24.000 as ourselves out. But after some time, some teamwork and 289 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:29.519 like of fear of heights and confined spaces, we got inside. 290 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:31.880 The main objective was to get to the top of 291 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:35.200 the boom that pulled the massive bucket. There were five 292 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:37.200 of us and we all wanted to make it to 293 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:40.400 the end of the main boom. We spent the greater 294 00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:43.400 part of the day climbing and exploring the machine, and 295 00:17:43.440 --> 00:17:45.839 we eventually made it to the end of the boom, 296 00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:48.440 and at the end of the day we discovered more 297 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:52.599 areas to explore. From the roof, we found a way 298 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:55.880 down to the engine room. It was through a steel 299 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.359 door and into a vestibule that led to another steel 300 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.400 door and then the engine room. We all climbed in 301 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:06.279 at once and we shut the outside door behind us, 302 00:18:06.319 --> 00:18:09.799 but we left the inner door open. These are solid 303 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:13.599 steel doors rested by years of exposure to the weather, 304 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:17.319 and they're not easy to move. We were about to 305 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:19.759 head back to the exit hole and we heard a 306 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:23.079 bang across from us on the adjacent catwalk, and then 307 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:27.440 clanking of feet on steal as someone ran down some stairs, 308 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:30.960 across another catwalk and up the other stairs right in 309 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:36.039 front of us, we heard another solid steel door slam shut. 310 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:39.519 We were some tough guy teenagers at that point, but 311 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:42.480 we turned pale and we took off running for our lives. 312 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:45.839 We couldn't run fast enough to get out, and to 313 00:18:45.880 --> 00:18:48.039 get away, we had to head in the direction in 314 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:51.240 which we heard this thing running. We had to squeeze 315 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:54.200 through a small hatch one by one onto a two 316 00:18:54.240 --> 00:18:57.960 man platform, then down a ladder, and from there we 317 00:18:58.039 --> 00:19:01.240 had to descend the machine using the buddy system to 318 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:05.079 get to the ground. It was not pretty or professional. 319 00:19:05.680 --> 00:19:09.279 Five terrified boys were involved here, but we got it 320 00:19:09.319 --> 00:19:14.319 done and we escaped the Mind Drag safely. Some time later, 321 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:16.880 Ricky and I were talking about that day and one 322 00:19:16.920 --> 00:19:21.160 of our skeptic friends, Ted, was with us. Ted said 323 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:23.279 that he thought that we made the whole story up 324 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:26.880 about what happened at the old Mind Drag. This led 325 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:29.799 to some debate, and so to prove to Ted that 326 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.400 the story was true, we agreed to take him out there. 327 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:37.079 To make things scarier, we agreed to go at night 328 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.440 with no flashlights. There was half a moon, and we 329 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.759 knew the land like the back of our hands, so 330 00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:45.599 it really was not a big deal. At least that 331 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:49.559 is what we thought. We knew a short cut off 332 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:52.559 an old black top road to save us some walking time, 333 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:55.440 and we pulled down an old access road, leaving about 334 00:19:55.480 --> 00:19:59.480 a quarter mile walk back to the mind Drag. It 335 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:02.720 was a qua walk in. None of us talked. The 336 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:06.119 only sounds were our feet to the ground, and then 337 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:08.559 we heard something in the bushes a few feet off 338 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:12.160 the trail, and we stopped to listen. It was out 339 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:15.440 of place, but the sound stopped and we kept going. 340 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:19.440 The bushes began to shake again after a few paces, 341 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:22.960 but this time it was harder and faster. Something was 342 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.799 there less than fifty feet from where we stood, and 343 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:28.480 we had to see what it was, so we walked 344 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:31.200 straight to the spot we knew the sound was coming from. 345 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.000 We stopped a few feet from the hedge and we 346 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:38.359 looked around. Everything became quiet once again, and we were 347 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:40.720 about to head back to the trail and we heard 348 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:45.680 a stick snap. We turned and looked back, and a 349 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:49.200 giant creature stood straight up on the other side and 350 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:53.240 looked down at us. The only detail that really sticks 351 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.359 out in my mind, besides its height or its glowing 352 00:20:56.599 --> 00:21:02.039 red eyes, and its hairy humanoid silhouette the moonlight. As 353 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:05.720 this creature rose out of the bushes, I remember it growling. 354 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:09.880 It was warning us, much like a dog growls low 355 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:14.039 and deep, letting us know that it meant business. I 356 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:18.000 don't remember being this afraid ever in my life. I 357 00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:22.359 actually felt sick. All of us stood there looking up 358 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:26.279 at this thing, and shock paralyzed might be a better word. 359 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.400 But all at once we came to our senses and 360 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:32.839 we turned and we ran back to our car. Ricky 361 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:35.279 started the engine and we were about to blaze out 362 00:21:35.279 --> 00:21:39.640 of that place, and Ted yelled stop. Ted wanted to 363 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:42.799 go back and make sure of what we had just seen. 364 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:47.000 He explained in an excited tone that maybe it was 365 00:21:47.079 --> 00:21:52.119 our imaginations. We had been talking about ghosts and monsters 366 00:21:52.160 --> 00:21:55.359 for weeks, and his theory was that we saw what 367 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.119 we wanted to see. He even said it could have 368 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:02.640 been a deer. I knew that I hadn't seen a deer. 369 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:05.519 It was too big, and I also knew that it 370 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.880 could tear us apart if it wanted to. But Ted 371 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:12.400 was persuasive, and believe it or not, we agreed to 372 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:16.240 go back and take another look. The plan was drawn 373 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:19.480 up on the spot. We would bring whatever we could 374 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:22.640 find in the trunk for weapons and walk close together 375 00:22:22.759 --> 00:22:25.240 down the trail, and we wouldn't run back to the car. 376 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.119 No matter what. We wouldn't run because somehow, in our 377 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:32.480 minds we had convinced ourselves what we had seen was 378 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:36.640 not real. Armed with a false sense of courage, a 379 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:40.440 baseball bat and a tire iron, we began our journey 380 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:44.680 back to face our fear ted carried an umbrella. It 381 00:22:44.759 --> 00:22:47.119 was the only thing left in the trunk. After Ricky 382 00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:50.920 and I grabbed the other weapons, we paced back down 383 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:54.119 the trail, confident that we would not see this thing again. 384 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:59.000 But it was waiting on us. On the trail, lit 385 00:22:59.079 --> 00:23:03.000 by the moonlight, still way taller and bigger than any 386 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:07.920 of us, stood the same monster. Once again. We paused 387 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:12.680 in amazement. No one dared run. We knew we would 388 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:16.640 forever be called a chicken. There was pride involved here. 389 00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:19.640 So three teenage boys stood in front of an eight 390 00:23:19.680 --> 00:23:22.799 to nine foot tall beast in the dark like we 391 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:26.200 knew what we were doing. It was a staredown. For 392 00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:30.160 a minute, it didn't appear to be aggressive, which elevated 393 00:23:30.200 --> 00:23:33.799 our confidence. I took a step forward and my buddies 394 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:37.279 followed me with a step of their own. The second 395 00:23:37.359 --> 00:23:40.640 step I made towards the creature only ten yards away, 396 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:43.799 was a lunge. I wanted to startle it and see 397 00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:46.799 if it would run. Our weapons were held in front 398 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:50.599 of us, ready to use. We had made the first move. 399 00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:54.880 Instantly the creature lunched right back at us with a 400 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:59.440 loud roar that shook my internal organs. At that point, 401 00:23:59.480 --> 00:24:02.960