WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:11.759 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