1 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:08,320 Speaker 1: I'm sixty five years old and I live in the 2 00:00:08,359 --> 00:00:13,320 stycks of northeast Texas, down in the Soffer River Bottoms area. Yeah, 3 00:00:13,359 --> 00:00:16,719 I'm a Redneck, she says. I'm very proud of my heritage. 4 00:00:16,719 --> 00:00:20,800 But I'm also a college educated business analyst, so by 5 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,280 both training and nature, I deal in facts. As you 6 00:00:25,359 --> 00:00:28,120 probably know, there have been too many sightings here to 7 00:00:28,239 --> 00:00:32,600 count over the years since nineteen seventy five, when I 8 00:00:32,679 --> 00:00:35,479 was eighteen, I have joked that I had my own 9 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,359 bigfoot encounter. While I was with my fiance one late 10 00:00:39,399 --> 00:00:43,000 summer night. We had turned off the farm to market 11 00:00:43,079 --> 00:00:46,079 road onto a blacktop that led to a dirt road. 12 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:49,719 Then we went through the gate into a cow pasture 13 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:54,359 to discuss our upcoming wedding. It was a warm summer night, 14 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:56,960 so we had the windows down to catch the breeze 15 00:00:57,039 --> 00:00:59,880 while we sat in the back seat and talked among others. 16 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:02,840 That's what I was about to say, Dottie, I don't 17 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:04,519 think you just get in the back seat and a 18 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:09,480 cow pasture to just have a talk. Come on, in 19 00:01:09,519 --> 00:01:13,560 the middle of our discussion, I heard something circling the car. Well. 20 00:01:13,599 --> 00:01:16,079 It took a moment to get my fiance to focus 21 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:19,840 on the sound, and his response wasn't what I'd hoped for. 22 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,159 That's just a cow walking around, he assured me. And 23 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:28,719 then he sat up and announced, that's not a cow. Now. 24 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,239 We've had the rare black bear come down out of 25 00:01:31,239 --> 00:01:34,719 the ozarks, and cougars and large black cats have been 26 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,959 seen on occasion, but what I was hearing was not 27 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:41,640 walking on four feet. We both jumped up and put 28 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:45,359 ourselves together and climbed into the front seat. My fiance 29 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,120 put the car into drive and spun his tires in 30 00:01:48,159 --> 00:01:50,959 the wet grass for a minute, and then headed for 31 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:54,799 the gate. I tried to tell him just drive through it, 32 00:01:54,879 --> 00:01:57,840 but he insisted on opening it. While I drove through, 33 00:01:59,079 --> 00:02:01,200 he got out of the car and I slid into 34 00:02:01,239 --> 00:02:04,640 the driver's seat. I was watching my fiance through the 35 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,760 rearview mirror when I saw something large coming at us 36 00:02:07,959 --> 00:02:12,159 really fast. I started screaming for my fiancee to get 37 00:02:12,159 --> 00:02:14,800 in the car. He looked up and saw what I saw, 38 00:02:15,199 --> 00:02:17,879 threw down the gate, jumped in the car as fast 39 00:02:17,879 --> 00:02:21,400 as he could. I didn't waste any time getting us 40 00:02:21,439 --> 00:02:24,039 out of there. It came through the gate after us, 41 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,439 but that's as far as it went and we never 42 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:30,919 saw it again. In the moonlight, I could see it 43 00:02:31,039 --> 00:02:34,520 sillo wet, but not much in detail. What I did 44 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,759 see was a big and covered in black hair, not fur. 45 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:42,360 It was long, stringy hair. It stood head and shoulders 46 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:47,280 above my five foot eleven fiance. He took me home 47 00:02:47,439 --> 00:02:50,080 and we did what everyone does. We never talked about 48 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:52,919 it again. It wasn't for the lack of trying on 49 00:02:53,039 --> 00:02:56,800 my part. Every time I mentioned it during our twenty 50 00:02:56,840 --> 00:02:59,199 two year marriage, he would play it off as me 51 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,280 being two and hebriated, and that he couldn't be held 52 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:05,800 responsible for what I saw, and then everyone would have 53 00:03:05,879 --> 00:03:09,919 a good laugh. Well, eventually I started laughing at it too, 54 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,240 and I began telling the story as a joke. It 55 00:03:13,319 --> 00:03:15,759 was easy to do when all the shows on TV 56 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:20,039 reinforced the idea that Bigfoot really is a joke. And 57 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,400 then I started listening to your show. When I heard 58 00:03:22,439 --> 00:03:26,879 other people's encounters, I realized then that it probably wasn't 59 00:03:26,879 --> 00:03:32,080 a joke. The stories I was hearing began triggering childhood memories, 60 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:34,919 and I realized that I'd been having encounters since I 61 00:03:35,039 --> 00:03:38,599 was a kid. I realized this is turning into a 62 00:03:38,639 --> 00:03:41,240 long story. But I hope others will hear it and 63 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,759 it will trigger their memories and make them rethink a 64 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:49,159 few ideas as well. We often visited my paternal grandparents, 65 00:03:49,199 --> 00:03:51,919 who lived deeper in the river bottoms than we did. 66 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,879 Whenever we'd stay the night, Granny would always tell us 67 00:03:55,919 --> 00:03:58,719 not to go outside alone at night, or the boogerman 68 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,800 would get us. They owned dogs that wouldn't let anybody 69 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:05,879 in the yard unless Granny called them off. But there 70 00:04:05,879 --> 00:04:07,800 were a lot of nights when I'd wake up to 71 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:12,280 the sound of heavy footsteps outside. I always assumed it 72 00:04:12,319 --> 00:04:14,919 was Granny because I could hear Granddaddy snoring in the 73 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,800 room and the dogs weren't barking. Granny was not quite 74 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:21,879 five feet tall, and she weighed less than one hundred pounds. 75 00:04:22,639 --> 00:04:25,639 Looking back, those couldn't have been her footsteps I heard. 76 00:04:26,199 --> 00:04:28,399 And when I'd ask about it the next morning and 77 00:04:28,480 --> 00:04:31,639 wondered where the dogs were, she'd always say the boogers 78 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,240 must have got them. After daylight, the dogs would come 79 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:39,120 back and everything would be forgotten. There was a pond 80 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:41,720 off an old dirt road that ran to the river 81 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,519 bottom where we used to like to fish and camp out. 82 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:49,560 On occasion, it was called Booger Pond. There were five 83 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,040 of us kids, my older sister who was seventeen, my 84 00:04:53,120 --> 00:04:56,720 two brothers fifteen and twelve. I was nine, and my 85 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,839 younger sister was seven. Our parents would drop us off 86 00:05:00,879 --> 00:05:03,240 and tell us to be careful and remind us that 87 00:05:03,319 --> 00:05:05,879 granny lived just a couple of miles across the woods. 88 00:05:05,879 --> 00:05:10,360 If anything happened. My three older siblings all had guns, 89 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,000 a twenty two single shot, a single shot four ten, 90 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:19,279 and a twelve gage. Sometimes we'd hear heavy splashes in 91 00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:22,439 the pond that were explained away as fist jumping or 92 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,000 pigs rooting around. A Few times we woke up the 93 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:28,680 next morning to find piles of rocks in the door 94 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:31,560 of the tent. Look what the pigs dug up, someone 95 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:36,040 would say with a shrug. About this same time, I 96 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:39,800 remember camping in our back pasture. We grew up on 97 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:43,040 a fifty acre farm, the back pasture of which had 98 00:05:43,079 --> 00:05:46,399 a woodline that stretched between the fence and a creek bed. 99 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,240 It was one of our favorite getaways after a long 100 00:05:50,319 --> 00:05:54,279 day in the hayfields or running cattle. One night, we 101 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,279 were out there sleeping under the stars around the fire 102 00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,959 when we started hearing the coyotes getting a lot close 103 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,480 than they normally do, except they didn't quite sound like coyotes, 104 00:06:04,519 --> 00:06:07,639 and there was an occasional scream that sounded somewhat like 105 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,439 a panther. My older siblings said it was time to 106 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,600 get home. They had their guns, and they told my 107 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:17,120 baby sister and me to each grab a good stick 108 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,439 of wood ei of the fire to use as a torch. 109 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,079 Don't look back, they told us, keep the torches pointing 110 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,639 toward the house. Growing up, we would often hear stories 111 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:31,120 of boogers going on to one neighbor or another's back 112 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,879 porch and making a mess. And occasionally there were the 113 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,040 cows that were found in the pasture, ripped to shreds 114 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:42,079 and half eaten. Both of my brothers have passed on, 115 00:06:42,279 --> 00:06:45,560 so I can't ask them about it. Whenever I asked 116 00:06:45,560 --> 00:06:48,120 my older sister, she says I was too young to 117 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:50,800 have any of those memories, and she's too old to 118 00:06:50,839 --> 00:06:55,600 think about that nonsense. Now. She and my older sister 119 00:06:55,759 --> 00:06:58,920 lived two miles from our grandparents' old farm, and it's 120 00:06:58,959 --> 00:07:02,199 interesting that they'll go outside at night to see what 121 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,959 the dog is barking at, but if they hear something 122 00:07:04,959 --> 00:07:09,120 in the dog is solid. They stay inside. There's one 123 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:13,040 more thing. It's not a memory, more like glimpses of 124 00:07:13,079 --> 00:07:16,399 a memory. When I was about five, I remember being 125 00:07:16,439 --> 00:07:20,439 afraid of red eyes in the window. To this day, 126 00:07:20,519 --> 00:07:22,839 I have a panic attack if I see an animal 127 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,879 with red eyes in real life or in a movie. 128 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,800 For most of my life, I've had a recurring dream 129 00:07:29,879 --> 00:07:33,720 about animals circling my house at night. I see red 130 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,240 eyes in the window watching me when I find myself 131 00:07:37,319 --> 00:07:40,600 outside and this dog face animal is standing up right 132 00:07:40,639 --> 00:07:43,759 in front of me. The dream is so vivid, and 133 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:48,920 I always wake up panicked and crying. What frightens me 134 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,759 the most is that I started having the dream about 135 00:07:51,759 --> 00:07:54,439 the same time. My dad came home one night from 136 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:58,360 his second shift job and found me standing in the yard. 137 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:01,560 As far as I I know, I had never before, 138 00:08:01,639 --> 00:08:04,800 nor have I ever since, walked in my sleep. Yet 139 00:08:04,879 --> 00:08:08,160 on that night, my father found me outside with the dogs. 140 00:08:08,879 --> 00:08:11,680 One of them was a half wolf, half German shepherd, 141 00:08:11,759 --> 00:08:15,759 and the other was an English shepher clearly in protection mode. 142 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:18,519 As soon as my dad got out of the car, 143 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:22,120 the dogs ran off chasing something. The next day he 144 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:24,800 told me he'd found the dogs. They'd been in a 145 00:08:24,839 --> 00:08:26,959 fight with something, and he thought it might have been 146 00:08:26,959 --> 00:08:29,720 a wolf, and it tore them up so bad he 147 00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,639 had to put them both down. A couple of years ago, 148 00:08:33,759 --> 00:08:36,679 I mentioned my dream to my younger sister and she 149 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,120 turned to white as a ghost and said she had 150 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:43,159 the same dream. We went to our older sister, who 151 00:08:43,159 --> 00:08:46,320 confirmed that she has the dream too, and then we 152 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,679 did what we always do. We didn't never talk about 153 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:56,279 it again. I served twenty two years in the Army 154 00:08:56,399 --> 00:08:59,600 as a military policeman and spent loads of time in 155 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,720 the woods, which I loved as I grew up in 156 00:09:01,759 --> 00:09:05,480 the city. I've never told anyone about what I'm about 157 00:09:05,519 --> 00:09:10,240 to tell you. My unit was conducting pre deployment training 158 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:14,240 at Fort Polpe, Louisiana in the far reaches of the base, 159 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:18,080 in an area called Peace and Ridge. I love this 160 00:09:18,279 --> 00:09:22,200 area of remoteness. I was stationed there in the late eighties. 161 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,000 We had finished training for the day in eighth chow, 162 00:09:26,519 --> 00:09:29,600 completed all the meetings and were settling down for the evening. 163 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:33,240 Always chose to sleep outside to get away from all 164 00:09:33,279 --> 00:09:36,559 the snoring and farting of the twelve man's sleep tent. 165 00:09:37,639 --> 00:09:39,879 I slept on the ground a few yards away, But 166 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,240 this time I strung up a portable hammock, the kind 167 00:09:43,279 --> 00:09:45,159 that you can roll up and fit in a pocket 168 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:48,039 of your field pack, so I could get off the ground. 169 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:51,840 A snake had crawled into my sleeping bag with me 170 00:09:51,919 --> 00:09:54,559 the last time I slept on the ground. There would 171 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:58,120 be no more of that for me. I was settling 172 00:09:58,159 --> 00:10:00,600 in and I remembered I had some orange I took 173 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:04,519 from chow, so I decided to have a snack. That's 174 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:08,799 when I smelled a nasty skunk. It was horrible, and 175 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:12,480 I thank god that I was off the ground. It 176 00:10:12,519 --> 00:10:14,799 was a bright night, even though the moon was not 177 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,639 quite full, and the sky was clear. It was a 178 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:22,720 perfect night to sleep under the stars. Out of the 179 00:10:22,759 --> 00:10:26,480 corner of my eye, I saw someone walking, and I 180 00:10:26,519 --> 00:10:30,159 assumed it was another sergeant checking the perimeter, or someone 181 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:34,240 hitting the woodline to relieve himself. Well, I didn't look 182 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,600 up from the orange I was peeling, and I said, 183 00:10:36,759 --> 00:10:40,240 watch out, there's a nasty skunk out that way. And 184 00:10:40,279 --> 00:10:43,120 at the sound of my voice, the figure stopped and 185 00:10:43,159 --> 00:10:46,360 headed towards me, stopping about four feet from me, and 186 00:10:46,399 --> 00:10:50,039 then squatted down next to me in my hammock. I 187 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,000 turned my head to ask what he wanted, and to 188 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,600 my shock, in horror, I was looking at a guy 189 00:10:56,759 --> 00:11:01,759 in a camouflaged Gilly's suit. It was really weird. And 190 00:11:01,799 --> 00:11:04,559 then I realized that was not what I was looking at, 191 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,639 and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I focused 192 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:12,039 in a little better in the dark. It was a bigfoot, 193 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,960 not a giant bigfoot, but a little bigfoot. And in 194 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,000 my shock, I must have jumped about, causing my hammock 195 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:23,200 to swing, and that caused him to jump back. He 196 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:27,080 stood there, focused on the hammock, swinging slightly. As scared 197 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,960 as I was. I got the sense that he wasn't threatening, 198 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,759 but more curious, judging by the expression on his face. 199 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:38,080 And yes, it was a hymn. I've heard they can 200 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:40,960 sense your intentions, so I don't know why, but I 201 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,879 handed him the orange that I had just peeled. I said, 202 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:49,039 if you'll go away, you can have my orange. The 203 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,919 creature cocked his head and took the orange from my hand, 204 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,679 and then stood up and reached out and pushed my hammock. 205 00:11:55,440 --> 00:11:58,720 It caused me to start swinging again, and then it 206 00:11:58,799 --> 00:12:03,279 began making cooing noises like a chimpanzee does when it's amused. 207 00:12:04,279 --> 00:12:07,399 The tree line was a few yards away, and from 208 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:12,799 there came the scariest scream I've ever heard. The little 209 00:12:12,799 --> 00:12:16,240 bigfoot looked in the direction of that scream, and then 210 00:12:16,279 --> 00:12:19,960 it looked back at me. I said, your mama's calling. 211 00:12:21,039 --> 00:12:23,679 He held up the orange as if thanking me, and 212 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,960 then it was gone in an instant without making any noise. 213 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,000 After a few minutes, I decided screw this, and I 214 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:34,840 almost kill myself trying to get out of my hammock, 215 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,360 and I slept on the ground in the middle of 216 00:12:37,399 --> 00:12:41,000 the tent. The next morning, I went to collect my 217 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:44,440 hammock and field pack, only to find three shiny rocks 218 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:48,320 piled on top of my pack. Never in a million 219 00:12:48,399 --> 00:12:51,600 years did I ever think I'd experience anything like this. 220 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:56,559 I never once felt threatened. I was scared, yes, but 221 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,759 not threatened. I never again slept out sideline that alone, 222 00:13:00,879 --> 00:13:03,600 and I still have my three rocks. I traded for 223 00:13:03,639 --> 00:13:10,240 an orange with a little bigfoot. So I was eighteen 224 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,879 years old when this happened. I lived in Connecticut. Now 225 00:13:13,879 --> 00:13:17,120 I'm fifty years old. Now this is the first time 226 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:21,679 I've spoken of this. In fact, I had to explain 227 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:24,240 it all to my wife, because she wasn't interested in 228 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:28,759 hearing that I'm writing a long email about nothing. At 229 00:13:28,759 --> 00:13:31,120 the age of sixteen, I moved out of my house 230 00:13:31,159 --> 00:13:34,519 to live with my cousin and his wife. They lived 231 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,600 on a farm that my cousin's wife's family had owned 232 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:41,279 for years. They had over one hundred acres of property 233 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:44,799 that was backed up by water company property, So to 234 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,240 say that this was the most woods I'd ever seen 235 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:51,360 was an understatement. They had all the animals you would 236 00:13:51,399 --> 00:13:54,360 expect to see on a farm, but the family's main 237 00:13:54,399 --> 00:13:58,480 source of income were their cows. They raised both milk 238 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,159 and meat cows, and they they all roamed free in 239 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:06,840 separate fields. These people were adamant about not letting strangers 240 00:14:06,879 --> 00:14:09,720 on their land, and they had no problem expressing their 241 00:14:09,759 --> 00:14:14,759 no hospitality rules. Me Bringing friends onto the property was 242 00:14:14,799 --> 00:14:20,120 also frowned upon. Their driveway was six tenths of a 243 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:24,600 mile long just over half a mile. It was an unpaved, 244 00:14:24,679 --> 00:14:28,039 rocky stretch of driveway. If you didn't own a truck 245 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,559 or an suv and didn't know how to maneuver it, 246 00:14:30,919 --> 00:14:35,200 you would definitely do damage to your vehicle. You'll understand 247 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,919 why I'm including the trivial description of the driveway later 248 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,279 in the story. I spent a lot of time in 249 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:47,080 those woods hunting and fishing. After a while, I noticed 250 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,600 that there were quite a few man made trails that 251 00:14:49,679 --> 00:14:53,679 went all over the property. Some went straight to some 252 00:14:53,799 --> 00:14:58,039 little pop up trailers that were always there. No one 253 00:14:58,039 --> 00:15:00,639 ever stated them, but I saw them that they seemed 254 00:15:00,679 --> 00:15:05,159 to be cashes for storing hunting rifles. There were four 255 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:08,120 of these little campers all over their property, and if 256 00:15:08,159 --> 00:15:11,519 there were more, I never saw them. When I ask 257 00:15:11,639 --> 00:15:13,919 about these campers, I was told that they used to 258 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:16,360 get a lot of poachers on the property, and it 259 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,759 was a way to scare people off if you fired 260 00:15:18,799 --> 00:15:22,399 a weapon into the air well. That answer was a 261 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,080 good answer, but it still seemed weird that these people 262 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:28,679 held on to so many guns. There were even a 263 00:15:28,679 --> 00:15:31,240 few nights that I was called upon to help scare 264 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:36,080 off trespassers, but I never actually saw any. There was 265 00:15:36,159 --> 00:15:39,159 definitely a problem with animals going missing on this form, 266 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,519 so it all seemed normal to be woken in the 267 00:15:41,519 --> 00:15:43,960 middle of the night to run out in the woods 268 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,360 with a shotgun and fire a few shells in the 269 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:50,720 air over the course of the two years I had 270 00:15:50,759 --> 00:15:54,000 been there, I got to know the property well. I 271 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,519 also got used to walking in the middle of the night. 272 00:15:56,919 --> 00:15:59,200 But I don't care who you are. If you spend 273 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:02,879 any time alone in the woods, especially at night, it 274 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:07,519 can be scary. I think back now, and I realized 275 00:16:07,559 --> 00:16:09,799 there were things that happened and we never gave it 276 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,879 a second thought. Late one night, my cousin, his wife, 277 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,000 and myself were called because her parents said the pigs 278 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,200 had gotten loose. When we got to the pig pen, 279 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:24,559 we saw that the door had been ripped off. We 280 00:16:24,600 --> 00:16:27,600 assumed that it was probably a coyote or a wolf. 281 00:16:28,519 --> 00:16:30,159 I don't know if you've ever had to try to 282 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,799 catch baby pigs, but it isn't easy. It took us 283 00:16:33,919 --> 00:16:36,879 hours to round up the baby pigs except for one, 284 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:40,039 and we assumed it got away and we forgot about it. 285 00:16:41,919 --> 00:16:44,320 There were times I remember having to get out of 286 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,200 bed in the middle of the night for weird reasons. 287 00:16:47,799 --> 00:16:50,480 On another night, we were told that there were raccoons 288 00:16:50,519 --> 00:16:53,279 in the barn making a mess, and when we got 289 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:56,000 to the barn, we called her parents on the walkie 290 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,720 talkies to let them know that we were there, and 291 00:16:58,799 --> 00:17:01,399 they said to stay out outside and fire a few 292 00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,599 rounds into the air, and do not go in the barn. 293 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:08,799 They said, well, we shot a few times into the sky. 294 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,240 We heard noises inside the barn, and at this point 295 00:17:12,279 --> 00:17:15,359 her parents were just arriving on a couple of ATVs. 296 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,319 They said for us to stay put because the raccoons 297 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:23,599 would leave on their own. One morning, her parents told 298 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:26,240 us to go squirrel hunting because they were eating at 299 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:29,559 the electrical wires in the barn. We all had it 300 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:33,319 out there with our shotguns. After an hour, we split 301 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:37,119 up to cover more ground. I found myself in one 302 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,160 of the huge fields and started walking across, not thinking 303 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,960 about where I was exactly. The wind was blowing hard 304 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,240 and it was all I could hear. But even in 305 00:17:47,279 --> 00:17:50,599 the wind, I heard my cousin screaming. And now I 306 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,960 turned to see where the sound was coming from, and 307 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:55,480 I saw my cousin standing on the other side of 308 00:17:55,519 --> 00:18:00,240 the field, several hundred yards away. At that distance I 309 00:18:00,279 --> 00:18:03,079 could not see him well, but it had to be him. 310 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:07,319 We were the only people out there. Well, he screamed 311 00:18:07,319 --> 00:18:09,480 a second time, and when I looked over at him, 312 00:18:09,519 --> 00:18:12,400 it occurred to me where I was. I had not 313 00:18:12,559 --> 00:18:15,359 been paying attention. I was in the field where they 314 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,880 kept their stud bull. Now I could see the brute 315 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:21,759 coming at me, and as luck would have it, I 316 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,759 was close to the fence and was able to get 317 00:18:23,759 --> 00:18:26,160 on the other side before the bull made it to me. 318 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:30,200 I started working my way around the field, and after 319 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:33,680 an hour I ran into my cousin and his wife. 320 00:18:33,839 --> 00:18:36,359 I said, that was crazy. Thank you for the heads 321 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:38,759 up on that bull. I didn't realize I was in 322 00:18:38,799 --> 00:18:42,000 the bull's field. Well, my cousin looked at me like 323 00:18:42,079 --> 00:18:44,559 I was off my rocker. What the hell are you 324 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:47,039 talking about? And why were you in that field? We 325 00:18:47,079 --> 00:18:50,400 didn't warn you about the bull? Well who screamed at me? 326 00:18:50,559 --> 00:18:55,880 Then now we suspected a trespasser had warned me. But 327 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,559 why would he do that if he was trespassing. We 328 00:18:59,599 --> 00:19:02,519 split up again and searched for this person for a while, 329 00:19:02,559 --> 00:19:07,039 but we never found anyone. Not long after this event, 330 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,319 I came home from a date around three am. My 331 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,680 new girlfriend drove us that night. She let me off 332 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:16,880 at the end of the rough driveway because her car 333 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:20,440 wouldn't make it to the house. The last thing I 334 00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:24,079 heard were her tires crunching gravel. And then fading to nothing. 335 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,119 It was freezing cold and it was silent that night, 336 00:19:28,319 --> 00:19:32,440 no wind. I had walked this driveway hundreds of times, 337 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:36,440 and it was always creepy at night. Some nights when 338 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:38,559 the moon wasn't out, I had to be careful where 339 00:19:38,599 --> 00:19:42,119 I stepped. However, on this night, the moon gave me 340 00:19:42,279 --> 00:19:46,000 plenty of light to see. I was in a good 341 00:19:46,079 --> 00:19:48,759 mood after spending the evening with this girl, and my 342 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,000 mind was there and not in the present. I heard 343 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,880 a sound and that stopped me. It almost sounded like 344 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,920 a deer huffing or blowing, but it was too loud 345 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:04,680 for that, tuning everything out of my mind, I listened closely. 346 00:20:05,279 --> 00:20:07,839 Something was walking toward me in the woods next to 347 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:12,119 the drive Whatever it was, it was walking at a 348 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,160 normal pace, and it wasn't rushing me, and it was 349 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:19,759 clearly on two legs. I stepped backward twenty paces or 350 00:20:19,839 --> 00:20:24,200 so my mind told me it was a poacher coming 351 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:28,559 down the game trail. Well, that seemed reasonable. In a 352 00:20:28,599 --> 00:20:31,079 minute I would be face to face with this person 353 00:20:31,160 --> 00:20:34,880 if they kept coming. So I crouched slow, almost flat 354 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,559 to the ground, with my legs still under me. It 355 00:20:38,599 --> 00:20:40,720 would be better if This guy never saw me and 356 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,960 just kept on going, and once he was by me, 357 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,039 I would sprint to the house and get help. So 358 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:52,880 making myself small as possible, I waited. Finally this guy 359 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,359 stepped into the clear and onto the road. But it 360 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:59,880 wasn't a poacher. One more step and he was in 361 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,759 the middle of the drive, even closer to me. Maybe 362 00:21:03,799 --> 00:21:05,880 I had made a noise, or maybe it was a 363 00:21:06,039 --> 00:21:09,359 sense he had about things, But as he was about 364 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:13,319 to take another huge step, he stopped. He looked right 365 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,599 at me. No human could have seen me off in 366 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:18,839 that area that I was in, but he saw me. 367 00:21:20,279 --> 00:21:23,440 Now terrified, I locked onto this thing and I never 368 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:27,680 took my eyes away. It was huge and covered in hair, 369 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:31,680 and steam rose from its wet shoulders, back and head. 370 00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:36,920 Illuminated in the moonlight. It was the scariest image I 371 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:41,200 have ever seen. The only option left for me was 372 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,119 to run, and I was about to when a sense 373 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:48,799 of peace and calm came over me. It was instant, 374 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,400 like a switch had been turned on in my mind 375 00:21:51,519 --> 00:21:54,960 and in my body. The way it looked at me 376 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:58,279 was strange, almost as if it had pity on me, 377 00:21:59,279 --> 00:22:01,920 like it knew I was terrified and it didn't want 378 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:06,680 to scare me anymore. The giant creature took one step 379 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,359 back into the woods, only one step, and then it 380 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:14,359 was gone. I heard it walk up the hill, crunching 381 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,839 leaves and twigs as it walked, and then the night 382 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:23,920 faded into silence again. In the welcome silence, I stood 383 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,359 and gazed into the lit woods in front of me, 384 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:30,559 and I began to shake. I realized what I had encountered, 385 00:22:31,279 --> 00:22:35,440 and I vomited and finally regained composure, and then I 386 00:22:35,519 --> 00:22:40,640 casually walked the half mile to the house. Later that night, 387 00:22:40,839 --> 00:22:43,799 after going to bed, I lay there thinking for hours. 388 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:48,039 The family I lived with knew about these things, or 389 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,400 this thing that was the reason that they were adamant 390 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:57,319 about keeping trespassers off their property. It wasn't people they 391 00:22:57,319 --> 00:23:01,720 were worried about. It was this thing, but the trespassers 392 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:05,599 weren't people. And then explained the guns and the warning shots, 393 00:23:06,559 --> 00:23:08,519 And now I knew why they kept us out of 394 00:23:08,599 --> 00:23:10,839 the barn that night when we heard the noises of 395 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,960 the raccoons, and it was now clear to me who 396 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,880 had yelled at me on the edge of the bulfield 397 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:20,119 and saved my life that night