1 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,759 Speaker 1: I'm fifty nine years old. I live in Springfield, Tennessee, 2 00:00:11,839 --> 00:00:15,679 and I've studied Bible prophecy for over thirty seven years. 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,640 I believe in angels, and I believe in demons, and 4 00:00:19,719 --> 00:00:22,960 I pray a lot. I could write for days the 5 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,160 things that I have learned that would blow most people's minds. 6 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,519 I tell you these things to explain how I arrived 7 00:00:30,559 --> 00:00:34,079 at the conclusions you were about to read. I can't 8 00:00:34,119 --> 00:00:36,240 prove what I'm going to tell you, but I swear 9 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:39,039 it happened, and I believe I know what I saw. 10 00:00:40,359 --> 00:00:43,759 One afternoon, I visited the fraternity that I belonged to 11 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:49,280 at Western Kentucky University. I've always loved playing foosball since 12 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,320 my college days in the late seventies. I spent all 13 00:00:53,359 --> 00:00:57,240 afternoon at the fraternity house playing foosball with the young guys. 14 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,280 That day, I dipped a lot of snuff and some 15 00:01:00,359 --> 00:01:03,439 beers with the guys. I played until I felt like 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,519 I needed to get home. It was after nine pm 17 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,760 when I got on to I sixty five south, headed 18 00:01:10,799 --> 00:01:14,920 towards Tennessee. I picked up speed as I entered the 19 00:01:14,959 --> 00:01:19,040 traffic and was cruising along at seventy four miles per hour. 20 00:01:20,359 --> 00:01:23,200 I drove for ten minutes. I guess I was in 21 00:01:23,239 --> 00:01:26,400 the fast lane. I had just passed an eighteen wheeler, 22 00:01:26,719 --> 00:01:29,280 and I was now passing a car that was behind 23 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,840 two other cars, and the lane in front of me 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,439 was clear for at least two hundred more yards. I 25 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:40,079 was enjoying the XM radio blues music and thinking about 26 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,560 the guys I had just wept all afternoon at foos Ball. 27 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,000 Out of nowhere, right in front of me, a jet 28 00:01:48,079 --> 00:01:51,920 black dog was coming towards me in my lane. He 29 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:55,640 was as big as a German shepherd. When he saw 30 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,319 that I was coming fast at him, he tried to 31 00:01:58,319 --> 00:02:01,359 go to his left, and he partially in front of 32 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:03,519 the car that was in front of the car that 33 00:02:03,599 --> 00:02:07,480 I was passing. He almost got hit, but he jumped 34 00:02:07,519 --> 00:02:11,520 back in my lane, barely escaping that other car. He 35 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,520 was dead centered on my grill, and all I had 36 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,599 time to do was squeeze the steering wheel and brace 37 00:02:17,719 --> 00:02:22,280 for the impact. I saw him look straight at me. 38 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:26,599 He had red eyes surrounded by white He had white 39 00:02:26,719 --> 00:02:31,039 teeth and a red tongue. I later realized that the 40 00:02:31,159 --> 00:02:34,479 gate he had wasn't that of a normal dog. It 41 00:02:34,599 --> 00:02:36,840 was a creepy gate like you would see in a 42 00:02:36,879 --> 00:02:41,039 horror movie or something. His front legs were taller than 43 00:02:41,039 --> 00:02:45,319 his back legs. Anyone who knows tractors would understand if 44 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,000 I said he had a road crop front end. I 45 00:02:49,039 --> 00:02:51,879 squeezed the wheel and I tensed up, and I smacked 46 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,479 the hell out of that thing. There was no time 47 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,000 to do anything else. I couldn't swerve left and run 48 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:00,560 off the road, and I couldn't swerve and hit the 49 00:03:00,599 --> 00:03:03,800 car that I was passing. There was no time to 50 00:03:03,879 --> 00:03:07,080 hit the brakes, so I plastered the thing at seventy 51 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:11,680 four miles per hour. I felt the impact big time. 52 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:15,360 It sounded like a three hundred Winchester mag went off 53 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,719 in the front end of my truck. It went underneath 54 00:03:18,719 --> 00:03:21,759 the truck and it rolled under there. It sounded like 55 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,039 it probably just tore up major stuff from the front 56 00:03:25,199 --> 00:03:28,919 all the way to the back. Immediately, I looked in 57 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,479 my rear view mirror to see him come out, but 58 00:03:31,599 --> 00:03:34,919 he never did. The car behind me never made any 59 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:37,879 kind of move, and the eighteen wheeler I had passed 60 00:03:37,919 --> 00:03:41,120 never made any kind of move either. Nobody but me 61 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:45,479 even saw the thing. I slowed down and I got 62 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:47,960 over to the right lane, and I prepared to get 63 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,439 in the emergency lane to stop, but with the traffic 64 00:03:51,599 --> 00:03:55,120 like it was that night on the Interstate, I decided 65 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:57,840 to see if I could make it to the Franklin exit. 66 00:03:59,039 --> 00:04:02,560 I didn't hear any squealing, everything sounded good, and my 67 00:04:02,639 --> 00:04:07,759 temperature gaze never got hot, so I just kept going. Oh, 68 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:10,719 I was miserable. I just knew that my bumper and 69 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,319 grill were all busted up. I was surprised that my 70 00:04:14,479 --> 00:04:18,360 radiator was even working. I was surprised that the airbags 71 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,839 had never deployed. There was no telling how much damage 72 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,639 was underneath my car. I pulled off the Interstate at 73 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,120 Exit one eight, which is my exit. I kept heading 74 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:34,319 towards the house I live about five miles out in 75 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,959 the country, and when I pulled into my driveway, I 76 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,720 had to peace so bad. I just grabbed my keys 77 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,120 and I went into the house to use the bathroom. 78 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,959 My neighbors were standing in their front yard, Otherwise I 79 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,800 would have let it fly in the driveway. When I 80 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:52,639 came out of the bathroom, I sat down in my recliner. 81 00:04:53,399 --> 00:04:56,000 I told my wife I had just torn up my truck, 82 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,759 and I explained what happened. She asked how bad it was, 83 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:01,839 and I told her I hadn't looked at it, but 84 00:05:01,959 --> 00:05:04,600 I knew it was bad. She told me that we 85 00:05:04,639 --> 00:05:06,720 would just get it fixed, and then she went on 86 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:11,560 to bed. I sat there for hours, remembering how this 87 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:16,399 thing happened. I realized that dogs don't have white around 88 00:05:16,519 --> 00:05:20,519 red pupils. I could explain the red part by the 89 00:05:20,639 --> 00:05:25,920 lights in his eyes. Maybe dogs have brown surrounding their pupils. 90 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,560 The big shiny white teeth, nah, maybe the red tongue. 91 00:05:31,639 --> 00:05:34,920 It was the brightest red lipstick color I have ever seen, 92 00:05:35,759 --> 00:05:39,000 and his face planted in the front end of my truck. 93 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:44,040 After studying the situation for hours, I was, and I 94 00:05:44,079 --> 00:05:47,279 still am, convinced it was a demon sent to try 95 00:05:47,319 --> 00:05:49,839 to kill me. He tried to run me off the 96 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,720 road or into the worst wreck of my life. The 97 00:05:53,759 --> 00:05:56,279 next morning, my wife went to look at my truck 98 00:05:56,519 --> 00:05:58,879 and she came inside and she told me she couldn't 99 00:05:58,879 --> 00:06:02,240 find anything wrong with it. I went and looked, and 100 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,360 I said, Praise the Lord. There wasn't a dent, a scratch, 101 00:06:05,399 --> 00:06:10,079 There wasn't anything broken, no blood or hair anywhere. It 102 00:06:10,199 --> 00:06:14,160 was as if nothing happened, but it did happen, and 103 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,160 it should have been bad. All I know is the 104 00:06:18,199 --> 00:06:21,120 God that I served saved me from an evil being 105 00:06:21,199 --> 00:06:24,040 that tried very hard to hurt me that night. He 106 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:27,319 paid dearly for it, though I busted his tail with 107 00:06:27,399 --> 00:06:31,399 the Honda Ridgeline doing seventy four miles an hour. I 108 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,399 rejoice over it today and it gives me confidence to 109 00:06:34,519 --> 00:06:38,360 fight the good fight. The next day, I showed my 110 00:06:38,519 --> 00:06:41,680 sister and I explained everything, just like I have here. 111 00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,240 It really creeped her out. She didn't know what to say, 112 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,800 and after she thought about it some, she finally said 113 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:52,079 that she knew I was telling the truth and she 114 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:59,079 was very glad that I was okay. Every year on 115 00:06:59,319 --> 00:07:03,079 Memorial my extended family would have a get together at 116 00:07:03,079 --> 00:07:08,360 a park near Parkersburg, West Virginia. That's my hometown. These 117 00:07:08,399 --> 00:07:12,319 were organized by my mother and usually drew about fifty people. 118 00:07:13,279 --> 00:07:17,079 The park itself is huge, amounting to about three thousand acres. 119 00:07:17,759 --> 00:07:20,120 We would secure the biggest spot on the grounds and 120 00:07:20,199 --> 00:07:23,000 my mother would prepare the grill while guests brought in 121 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:27,720 tupperware items like salads and gas roles. We got there 122 00:07:27,759 --> 00:07:30,399 early in the morning for all the preparation ahead of 123 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:35,360 the people arriving at lunchtime. It was nineteen ninety seven. 124 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:38,839 I was eleven. My friends and I like to explore 125 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:43,160 the nearby woods. The area was so vast that sometimes 126 00:07:43,199 --> 00:07:45,720 we would get lost, but always managed to find our 127 00:07:45,759 --> 00:07:48,959 way back. I don't think it would have occurred to 128 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,519 any of the adults to call for a search party 129 00:07:51,600 --> 00:07:55,319 unless we were still gone by the time it grew dark. Man, 130 00:07:55,439 --> 00:07:59,920 have times changed. I remember we were deep in the 131 00:08:00,079 --> 00:08:03,399 woods by a pond with a circumference of fifty yards. 132 00:08:04,199 --> 00:08:07,879 My friend and I were fast walking. He rushed past 133 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:11,120 me and put a little distance between us. We were 134 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,120 on an incline, so I aimed my eyes downward and 135 00:08:14,199 --> 00:08:17,639 started walking faster. And I stumbled into him a few 136 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,439 yards up the trail, not expecting him to be standing 137 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,920 stock still in the path. He directed my attention to 138 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,920 something on the other side of the pond. It looked 139 00:08:27,959 --> 00:08:30,120 like a person, but it had a lot of hair, 140 00:08:30,319 --> 00:08:33,799 and it wasn't wearing any clothes. I didn't even know 141 00:08:33,879 --> 00:08:37,080 what to think. I'd never heard of a thing called 142 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:41,039 bigfoot or sasquatch. Up until this point, I'd seen the 143 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:44,279 movie Planet of the apes on cable, and that's what 144 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,320 I was thinking as both of us stood staring at 145 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:51,080 this thing that was staring back at us. It wasn't 146 00:08:51,159 --> 00:08:54,720 much taller than my friend, who, if I was to guess, 147 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,679 was five foot without shoes on. This thing had light 148 00:08:59,759 --> 00:09:02,960 brown hair all over, with none on its face, which 149 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,120 looked like something more like an eight but less like 150 00:09:06,159 --> 00:09:09,720 a human. Its eyes were brown, and it just looked 151 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,399 at me with no expression. Then it let out a 152 00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:18,080 yell and bounded away from the pond. We started running 153 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,440 for the safety of my mother and our get together, 154 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:24,720 scared out of our eleven year old minds. After some 155 00:09:24,759 --> 00:09:27,799 hardcore sprinting, it occurred to us that we hadn't a 156 00:09:27,879 --> 00:09:32,159 clue which direction we were heading. We were lost. Out 157 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,960 of fear, we started arguing, it's this way, now, it's 158 00:09:36,039 --> 00:09:39,960 this way. At that point, I let out an expletive 159 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:46,120 and just started running. My friend reluctantly followed behind. We 160 00:09:46,159 --> 00:09:49,120 emerged from the woods in a totally unfamiliar part of 161 00:09:49,159 --> 00:09:53,879 the park. Unfortunately, there were some people picnicking there. Me 162 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,240 being the more extroverted of the two of us, I 163 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,399 walked over to them and told them that we were 164 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,759 lost and asked if they could help us. It took 165 00:10:01,759 --> 00:10:04,360 thirty minutes of driving around the park, but we pulled 166 00:10:04,399 --> 00:10:08,080 up to our picnic site. We'd been gone for hours, 167 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:12,919 but we hadn't been missed. My friend liked to tell 168 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,320 the story of our encounter more than I did. No 169 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,639 matter how serious or straight faced we were, people laughed 170 00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:23,600 it off, while I responded to the ridicule by dropping 171 00:10:23,639 --> 00:10:26,639 the matter altogether. My friend turned the whole thing into 172 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:31,039 a comedy routine. If you believed his version, the thing 173 00:10:31,159 --> 00:10:35,639 we saw became the little brother we never had. I 174 00:10:35,639 --> 00:10:39,279 guess it's not an easy to believe story. I never 175 00:10:39,399 --> 00:10:42,879 really heard of bigfoot sightings in West Virginia up until then. 176 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:48,240 Maybe in the two thousands that all changed. I guess 177 00:10:48,279 --> 00:10:51,039 some just keep what they know quiet because no one 178 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:55,799 takes it serious. In the late nineteen nineties, the Internet 179 00:10:55,919 --> 00:11:00,159 wasn't a huge thing, especially for someone my age and 180 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,960 had cell phones. Pictures and videos just weren't happening. It 181 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,559 makes me wonder how many people saw things, but the 182 00:11:07,639 --> 00:11:10,879 technology didn't allow for them to record the evidence and 183 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,759 proved that they weren't out of their minds or were 184 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,679 just a couple of eleven year olds too stupid to 185 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:23,600 find their way out of the woods. So I was 186 00:11:23,759 --> 00:11:28,559 raised in central Louisiana. As a kid in the nineteen seventies, 187 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,600 I had the typical childhood of a boy with access 188 00:11:31,639 --> 00:11:35,440 to miles of undeveloped land that surrounded my home, which 189 00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:38,240 meant I spent most of my time fishing, hunting, and 190 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:42,519 exploring that land. When I was a teenager, my parents 191 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,759 built a new house and we moved. By then, my 192 00:11:45,879 --> 00:11:49,200 interests were changing to the kinds of things teenage boys 193 00:11:49,279 --> 00:11:53,559 generally think about cars and music and bonfires and girls. 194 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,120 I was in my twenties when my dad sought a 195 00:11:57,159 --> 00:12:01,240 deeper connection with his growing sons. He had a friend 196 00:12:01,279 --> 00:12:04,399 with a hunting camp in north central Louisiana who invited 197 00:12:04,480 --> 00:12:08,159 him to join, and we did as a family. It 198 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,919 was a great place that included a thousand acres of 199 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,799 piny hills and hardwood bottoms, and a creek along the 200 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,159 north end of the property that would flood in the winter. 201 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,919 It allowed me to reconnect with my first love being 202 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:26,120 in the woods. The camp house featured a big porch 203 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,200 for relaxing and cooking. We spent a lot of time 204 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,879 out there, combing every inch of the property, building stands 205 00:12:32,879 --> 00:12:36,720 and brushing blinds, and planting food plots and scouting for 206 00:12:36,759 --> 00:12:40,840 the best hunting spots. I got familiar enough with the 207 00:12:40,879 --> 00:12:43,960 place that I felt comfortable on evening hunch to walk 208 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,440 out without a flashlight, especially if there was even a 209 00:12:47,519 --> 00:12:50,879 hint of a moon. I bagged my share of game 210 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:55,399 that way. It was late in twenty ten, during the 211 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,600 rifle season when I decided to take my climber to 212 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:01,279 the backside of the north food food plot, where a 213 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:05,600 strip of hardwoods bordered a pine thicket. I sat twenty 214 00:13:05,639 --> 00:13:07,960 feet up in an oak tree and I watched as 215 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,879 the sun began to set. It was quiet, and it 216 00:13:11,919 --> 00:13:15,679 made me uncomfortable. I scanned the area, but I didn't 217 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,240 hear anything. I had a half hour left, but I 218 00:13:19,279 --> 00:13:23,559 couldn't shake this weird feeling. The next five minutes seemed 219 00:13:23,559 --> 00:13:27,519 like an eternity. A few leaves rippled, and then there 220 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:32,600 was silence. That weird feeling was growing inside me. I 221 00:13:32,639 --> 00:13:34,960 started moving and looking around to the point that I 222 00:13:35,039 --> 00:13:37,279 knew any deer that might have been in the area 223 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:41,600 were spooked. But I couldn't stay still. I just wanted 224 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:43,279 to get on the ground and get out. Of there. 225 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,200 On the other hand, I was so unnerved that I 226 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:49,840 didn't want to lower my rifle to the ground, and 227 00:13:49,879 --> 00:13:52,960 I debated for a few minutes before finally deciding to 228 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:57,600 climb down. I told myself that I was being ridiculous 229 00:13:57,600 --> 00:13:59,960 about that feeling, and that I had ruined the hunt 230 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,279 with all the noise I was making. There was no 231 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,840 point in staying anyway. Now. I lowered my rifle and 232 00:14:06,919 --> 00:14:09,720 climbed down as quickly as I could, and I packed 233 00:14:09,799 --> 00:14:12,919 up my stand. I made a lot of noise, and 234 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,120 I didn't care. The sun was setting fast, and now 235 00:14:16,279 --> 00:14:19,120 I felt like I was being watched. It was getting 236 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:23,919 dark in that strip of woods. I crossed the food plot, 237 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,440 stopping three times to check behind me, and I told 238 00:14:27,519 --> 00:14:30,480 myself it could only be a hog or a bobcat. 239 00:14:30,879 --> 00:14:33,320 But I knew something was out there and it was 240 00:14:33,399 --> 00:14:37,440 watching me. At the other end, I used my scope 241 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,519 to scan the tree line. I couldn't see anything. I 242 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,080 rode the three wheeler back to camp a little faster 243 00:14:44,279 --> 00:14:47,279 than normal, and I breathed a deep sigh of relief 244 00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,559 when I reached the camp house. I didn't say anything 245 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,240 to the other men. I just ate supper and my 246 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:55,480 dad fixed and I loaded up my gear and I 247 00:14:55,519 --> 00:14:59,399 went home. I thought about those last thirty minutes in 248 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,519 that tree stand for a long time. I had my 249 00:15:02,639 --> 00:15:05,480 rifle with me. I was no rookie in the woods. 250 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,080 We'd been members of that hunting club for several years 251 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,960 by then, and I'd hunted that same spot repeatedly, and 252 00:15:13,039 --> 00:15:16,879 I've hunted it since. But that day I felt insecure. 253 00:15:17,519 --> 00:15:21,960 I've never had that feeling since. In the summer of 254 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:25,200 twenty fifteen, my dad and my daughter and I went 255 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:28,279 to look at our family land in north central Mississippi. 256 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:32,039 My uncle, who lives nearby, met us and rode around 257 00:15:32,039 --> 00:15:35,440 the property with us. We rode our four wheelers over 258 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:40,080 the entire eighty acres for many hours. When we got 259 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:42,480 back to the trucks, I suggested we ride down to 260 00:15:42,559 --> 00:15:45,279 the old store and show my daughter, who was eleven 261 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,159 at the time. It was one of those old time 262 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,840 mercantiles where my great grandparents used to buy their goods. 263 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:56,120 We poked around for a while, examining the artifacts, before 264 00:15:56,159 --> 00:15:58,759 heading across the road to the old house where the 265 00:15:58,799 --> 00:16:03,600 stor's former owned once lived. Back then, they were considered 266 00:16:03,679 --> 00:16:07,720 well off. The house stood back from the road, with 267 00:16:07,879 --> 00:16:10,960 trees and bushes growing up in front of it. It 268 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,320 was a big, well constructed wood frame, single story that 269 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:18,120 had managed to weather the years. We weren't sure of 270 00:16:18,159 --> 00:16:21,840 the integrity of the inside floor, so my daughter stayed 271 00:16:21,919 --> 00:16:24,240 at the four wheeler with my dad while my uncle 272 00:16:24,279 --> 00:16:28,559 and I went inside to explore. It was typical of 273 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,240 an abandoned house. Debris littered the floor and some of 274 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:35,519 the windows were broken out. We were standing in the 275 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:37,600 kitchen that ran the back of the house and my 276 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:41,440 uncle was explaining the cistern to me when I noticed 277 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:44,360 a sound coming from a small opening on the opposite 278 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:48,360 wall that went up to the attic. Neither I nor 279 00:16:48,399 --> 00:16:52,480 my uncle knew what the opening was for. My uncle 280 00:16:52,519 --> 00:16:56,039 suggested it might be a vent. I asked him what 281 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,120 the noise was, and he didn't know. Maybe it's just 282 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,840 the wind, he all. As we stood there and talked 283 00:17:02,879 --> 00:17:06,240 for a few more seconds, I noticed the noise getting louder. 284 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,319 It was too regular to be the wind. It sounded 285 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,000 like breathing. It sounds like something's up there. Uncle Jake said, 286 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:18,839 maybe it's some kind of animal. We continued to talk 287 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:22,440 until the breathing got so loud it interrupted our conversation. 288 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:26,400 It was deep and harsh and getting louder by the minute. 289 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,400 It felt aggressive, and again I asked what it was. 290 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:33,680 I don't know what that is, he answered, maybe it's 291 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:37,279 a panther. My uncle, Jake was a big man who'd 292 00:17:37,319 --> 00:17:39,799 worked hard all his life and spent a great deal 293 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:43,960 of it outside. As I looked at him now, I 294 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,039 could tell that that noise had him shook up. Let's 295 00:17:47,079 --> 00:17:50,920 get out of here, I said. My dad noticed immediately 296 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:53,759 how disturb my uncle was, so we asked if anything 297 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,279 was wrong. I told him something was in there and 298 00:17:57,319 --> 00:17:59,599 we didn't know what it was, so we were getting out. 299 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,039 We explained everything to my dad and daughter. Once we 300 00:18:04,079 --> 00:18:07,599 got back to the trucks, my uncle reiterated that he 301 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:12,400 didn't know what it was. He was clearly still visibly shaken. 302 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,680 I'm not really afraid of anything, not even death, well, 303 00:18:16,839 --> 00:18:19,920 taxes maybe, but that was one of the most frightening 304 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:23,880 experiences I've had in my life. I would never have 305 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,960 made the connection to an animal with that lung capacity 306 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,880 if not for listening to your channel and hearing other 307 00:18:29,960 --> 00:18:35,720 stories about heavy breathing and powerful vocalizations. We never saw it, 308 00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,319 and I'm glad we didn't. All I know is from 309 00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:41,599 the volume of the air that was coming from behind 310 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:45,680 that wall. It had to be something big or supernatural 311 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,720 or both. Whatever it was, it did not want us 312 00:18:49,759 --> 00:18:53,960 in there. When I married my current wife, I was 313 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,519 blessed to have a new family who loved the outdoors 314 00:18:56,559 --> 00:18:59,519 as much as I did. My father in law is 315 00:18:59,519 --> 00:19:03,079 a life long outdoorsman and a biologist who owned several 316 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:07,000 tracks of hunting land in northern Louisiana, most of it 317 00:19:07,039 --> 00:19:12,519 as parcels from their old family homestead. The Friday after Thanksgiving, 318 00:19:12,559 --> 00:19:15,119 my daughter, now twenty three, and I were on an 319 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,759 afternoon hunt. It was a warm day, but misty and 320 00:19:18,799 --> 00:19:22,240 a little foggy. My father in law put us on 321 00:19:22,279 --> 00:19:25,599 a box stand on a power line. The lane was 322 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:28,839 fifteen yards wide and two hundred yards long, and it 323 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:33,240 stretched from a small rise down to a creek. Facing 324 00:19:33,279 --> 00:19:35,559 the crete and to our left was a twenty acre 325 00:19:35,599 --> 00:19:38,839 cutover with young pines, and to our right was a 326 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:42,160 strip of cutover that went into hardwoods and then into 327 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:46,000 the creek bottom. We were right in the middle of 328 00:19:46,039 --> 00:19:49,400 the lane, the perfect spot to catch a deer crossing 329 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:53,599 over from feeding to bedding. It was peak rut season, 330 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,720 so we were expecting to see something and hopefully take 331 00:19:56,759 --> 00:20:01,680 one home. With forty five minutes of light left, Brooke 332 00:20:01,759 --> 00:20:04,599 and I were intently watching the edges of the lanes 333 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:08,119 for movement. Out of the bottom of the hardwoods, we 334 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,480 heard a loud, distinct knock. It sounded like someone took 335 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:15,319 an axe handle and hit an old, hollow tree with 336 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,400 all their might. It was solid and resonant and dry 337 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:23,359 and woody. The echo reverberated through the timber behind us. 338 00:20:23,839 --> 00:20:27,200 It was a tree knock. My daughter looked at me 339 00:20:27,279 --> 00:20:31,079 with a mix of surprising concern with a slight smile. 340 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:34,880 She asked, did you hear that? Yep? I said, Well 341 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:38,720 what was it? She whispered, is that a bigfoot? Well? 342 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:42,359 How do you answer that? We had watched a lot 343 00:20:42,359 --> 00:20:45,920 of television shows over the years, from MythBusters and ghost 344 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,160 Hunters to the show with the team stomping through the woods, 345 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:53,079 yelling and beating on trees. It all seemed silly and 346 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:57,480 it was made for TV. They all talked about wood knocks, 347 00:20:58,039 --> 00:21:00,920 and my daughter was fully aware of what she had heard. 348 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:07,119 She put her theory together instantly. This was really happening, well, 349 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:09,279 I told her I think there's a house through there. 350 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,920 Maybe they're cutting firewood or someone missed the lit. She 351 00:21:13,039 --> 00:21:15,920 gave me a doubtful look that said, okay, Dad, if 352 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,720 you say so. There was a trailer house nearby, but 353 00:21:19,799 --> 00:21:22,720 it wasn't in the direction we heard the knock. We 354 00:21:22,759 --> 00:21:26,920 returned our attention to the hunt. Two minutes later, a 355 00:21:27,039 --> 00:21:31,240 second loud knock came from the same place. Maybe if 356 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,960 it is a bigfoot, it'll push them deer in our direction. 357 00:21:34,160 --> 00:21:36,759 I tried to joke, but my daughter was having none 358 00:21:36,799 --> 00:21:40,799 of it. This time. She raised her eyebrows and turned 359 00:21:40,799 --> 00:21:44,559 to look back down the lane. We weren't really scared, 360 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:48,319 but it was just kind of unnerving. We stayed and 361 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:52,400 hunted until it was too dark to see. On our 362 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,599 way home, she asked me if I thought there was 363 00:21:54,599 --> 00:21:57,079 something down in those woods, and I told her I 364 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:01,000 didn't know, but her inquisitive mind in shore senses told 365 00:22:01,039 --> 00:22:06,920 her that sound was telltale evidence of something. The next morning, 366 00:22:07,119 --> 00:22:09,680 my father in law directed us to a stand that 367 00:22:09,799 --> 00:22:12,119 was right in the middle of those hardwoods on the creek, 368 00:22:12,519 --> 00:22:14,960 a little east of but very close to where we 369 00:22:15,039 --> 00:22:18,720 heard the wood knocks. We were facing the creek with 370 00:22:18,799 --> 00:22:22,039 a small hill to our left and open hardwood bottom 371 00:22:22,079 --> 00:22:26,000 to our right. Falling oaks from the recent hurricane provided 372 00:22:26,079 --> 00:22:29,839 our cover. A front had moved through, so it was 373 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:34,119 cool and clear, which promised deer activity. We were in 374 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:38,799 the stand before daylight. At seven, the woods came alive 375 00:22:38,839 --> 00:22:42,759 with birds and squirrels. The light breeze was stirring the leaves, 376 00:22:42,759 --> 00:22:45,920 and we saw two dough run through, chased by a buck, 377 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,920 moving too fast to shoot. My father in law was 378 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:52,200 in the box stand we'd use the day before and 379 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:54,960 managed to get off a couple of shots, and I 380 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,799 made a mental note of how far his shot was. 381 00:22:58,240 --> 00:23:02,359 It was one hundred and fifty yards. Things settled down 382 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:05,519 again by nine o'clock and at ten we were waiting 383 00:23:05,519 --> 00:23:08,559 for the next session of deer activity, when to our 384 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:12,160 right we heard a whistle. Yes, that's right, we heard 385 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,880 a whistle. It sounded like it was mimicking a bird, 386 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,599 but with more air and a different tone than a 387 00:23:18,599 --> 00:23:22,480 bird chirp. It was too short blast, with the second 388 00:23:22,519 --> 00:23:26,319 one rising in pits like a quail. We were both 389 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,200 certain that it was not a bird. We were quite 390 00:23:29,279 --> 00:23:33,480 familiar with the native bird sounds. Dad, that was a whistle, 391 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:36,880 Brooke said, what do you think that was? I asked, 392 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,599 and she raised her eyebrows and opened her eyes a 393 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:43,759 little wider, and then we heard it again, this time 394 00:23:43,799 --> 00:23:46,720 a little closer, as if to make sure it was heard. 395 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:50,440 We looked at each other but didn't say a word, 396 00:23:51,039 --> 00:23:53,599 and I raised my binoculars and Brooke looked through her 397 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,319 scope and the whistle came from fifty yards out, but 398 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:01,440 the coverage was too thick to penetrate. We sat there 399 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,599 for another hour, looking and listening and looking some more, 400 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,720 and we heard nothing but the breeze and rustling of 401 00:24:07,839 --> 00:24:12,519 dried leaves. The clouds came in and it got colder. 402 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:19,039 Still nothing. There were no deer, no squirrels, just silence. Eventually, 403 00:24:19,079 --> 00:24:21,400 we went back to the vehicle and we headed home, 404 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,279 and I checked behind us several times as we walked out. 405 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:29,960 These stories and experiences may not seem that impressive, but 406 00:24:30,039 --> 00:24:33,279 when it's actually happening to you, you have some background 407 00:24:33,319 --> 00:24:38,880 information and it's unnerving. Fifteen years ago, I probably wouldn't 408 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,200 have noticed a knock, a chirp, a whistle, or a 409 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:44,720 broken tree in the woods. I probably wouldn't have noticed 410 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:49,440 the unusual quietness. But today it's different. Have a different 411 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:53,599 outlook now. On the opening day of deer season twenty 412 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,640 twenty one, my wife and I were hunting another track 413 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:59,279 of family land, not far from where Brooke and Eye 414 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:03,319 had the acttivity the year before. It was early morning 415 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,839 and we were headed to another box stand. We opened 416 00:25:06,839 --> 00:25:09,240 the gate and crossed the clear cut to the sixty 417 00:25:09,279 --> 00:25:12,839 acre Northwest Corner plot, where it was still heavily wooded. 418 00:25:13,799 --> 00:25:16,319 The road beyond the gate followed the tree line to 419 00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:20,440 the west, and then it turned north. We were easing 420 00:25:20,519 --> 00:25:22,720 down this road when we came up on a tree 421 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,240 that had fallen and was blocking our path. We were 422 00:25:26,279 --> 00:25:29,240 only forty yards from where we normally parked, so we 423 00:25:29,319 --> 00:25:32,400 got out, gathered our stuff, and walked the rest of 424 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:36,720 the way Beyond the tree. We followed the foot path 425 00:25:36,759 --> 00:25:38,920 that ammeled one hundred and fifty yards down to the 426 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,799 box stand. It was a beautiful morning. My wife and 427 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:47,359 I sat and sipped coffee and enjoyed the view. Unfortunately, 428 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:50,799 deer hunting doesn't mean deer shooting, and by mid morning 429 00:25:51,039 --> 00:25:53,960 we decided nothing was going to happen until evening, so 430 00:25:54,039 --> 00:25:58,240 we headed back to get some lunch. We eased back 431 00:25:58,279 --> 00:26:01,160 down the lane to the woodline, and I stood there 432 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,960 taking in the scene, and it occurred to me that 433 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,720 no other trees were broken or blown over, only that 434 00:26:07,799 --> 00:26:11,599 one tree that stopped our progress, and it seemed strange. 435 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,119 I looked back into the woods to see if there 436 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,079 were any trees there that looked like they'd sustained a 437 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:22,920 recent storm damage, and I didn't see any. When we 438 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,440 got to the truck, I surveyed the fallen tree. It 439 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:30,720 was lying exactly perpendicular to the road. It was broken 440 00:26:30,759 --> 00:26:34,799 off eight feet off the ground. The break was jagged, 441 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,880 but the tree wasn't lying next to the trunk. It 442 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:40,839 was several feet away, as if it had been dragged 443 00:26:41,039 --> 00:26:45,519 or thrown across the road. There was underbrush growing between 444 00:26:45,519 --> 00:26:47,559 the base of the tree and the bottom of the trunk. 445 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,119 It had to have happened in late spring or early summer. 446 00:26:52,119 --> 00:26:54,599 The tree had leaves on it, so it happened when 447 00:26:54,599 --> 00:27:00,000 it was in full foliage. It didn't make sense at all. 448 00:27:00,039 --> 00:27:02,839 We've had a lot of hurricane and straight line wind damage, 449 00:27:02,839 --> 00:27:07,039 but oak trees don't have deep root systems. When they're 450 00:27:07,039 --> 00:27:10,440 blown over, they tend to uproot, they don't snap off. 451 00:27:11,519 --> 00:27:15,079 It might have been a tornado but the leaves weren't stripped, 452 00:27:15,400 --> 00:27:19,559 and there were no other trees down. I've heard theories 453 00:27:19,599 --> 00:27:23,400 of tree breaks being markers and warnings. I've seen pictures 454 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:26,960 of saplings and trees broken off, and I've heard stories 455 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:31,359 of rocks and even tree trunks being thrown. This tree 456 00:27:31,599 --> 00:27:34,799 was a foot in diameter. I went back and took 457 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:37,480 pictures of it before we cut it up. It was 458 00:27:37,599 --> 00:27:41,079 neither dead when it broke, nor very old in tree years, 459 00:27:41,759 --> 00:27:44,799 and it was curious how it was placed directly across 460 00:27:44,839 --> 00:27:49,759 the road. I'm not saying, but I am kind of saying, 461 00:27:50,759 --> 00:27:52,319 keep your eyes and ears open.