1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:04,839 Speaker 1: If you enjoy strange stories from the unknown, stick around. 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:10,199 You have found your people. Welcome to the Dixie Cryptid Podcast. 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:26,160 All right, here we go. I do a lot of fishing, 4 00:00:26,199 --> 00:00:29,359 and occasionally I get out there overnight for some full 5 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,920 moon action. One night, I was the only boat on 6 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:36,479 the lake when at four am, a long and loud 7 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,880 bigfoot call came from the woods quite a distance away. 8 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:43,479 What idiot would be out here at four am making 9 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:48,399 bigfoot calls? I thought, And then I smiled. What idiot 10 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:50,960 would be here fishing at four am to hear it, 11 00:00:51,079 --> 00:00:56,159 I thought, chuckling out myself. Another afternoon, on the same lake, 12 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,399 I heard a scream from the woods, coming from a 13 00:00:58,479 --> 00:01:01,880 young deer in pain, and not long after I heard 14 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,079 the deer running full blast toward me, and I watched 15 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,280 it launch itself off the bluff at full speed from 16 00:01:08,359 --> 00:01:10,959 eight feet above the water level and hit the water 17 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,280 with a big splash. It swam to a thick growth 18 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,400 of reeds along the bank, squeezed into them, and it 19 00:01:18,519 --> 00:01:21,640 laid down to hide. I never did see what was 20 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:24,200 after the deer, but it spooked me just the same. 21 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,519 My son loves archery deer hunting. He got a stand 22 00:01:29,519 --> 00:01:32,840 set up in a brand new area, and arrived preed 23 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,920 on for his very first hunt. A few mornings later. 24 00:01:36,879 --> 00:01:39,599 He was there all alone and excited to hopefully get 25 00:01:39,599 --> 00:01:41,640 close to one of the monster bucks that had been 26 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:46,239 gracing his trail cans. After a good track from his pickup, 27 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:49,959 he reached the stand. The forest was totally silent, but 28 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,519 when he raised his foot to take the first step up, 29 00:01:52,959 --> 00:01:56,480 that silence was broken by a sudden, shocking scream from 30 00:01:56,519 --> 00:02:00,599 something close by. It caught him so off guard that 31 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,159 he nearly wet himself and briefly considered running back to 32 00:02:04,239 --> 00:02:07,519 his truck, but he realized it was too far, and 33 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,199 he quickly climbed the fifteen feet up to the seat 34 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,360 of his stand. Instead, he sat there with his heart 35 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,879 pounding so hard that he thought it would rip out 36 00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:20,000 of his chest, all the while worried about the next 37 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,960 ninety minutes, where he would have to sit in complete 38 00:02:23,039 --> 00:02:26,159 darkness until the sun came up. In the mercy of 39 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:31,560 whatever beast was lurking nearby, he described the scream as 40 00:02:31,599 --> 00:02:35,919 that of a desperate woman being murdered. It only lasted 41 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:38,960 a few seconds, but it was so intense that the 42 00:02:39,039 --> 00:02:42,039 sound of it reverberated through his whole body and shook 43 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:45,800 him to his core. Well nothing happened after that, but 44 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,960 that sort of experience makes a guy think twice about 45 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,439 wanting to go hunting out there again. One evening, I 46 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:55,919 was with a group of bass fishermen sitting around the 47 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,840 fire pit at a fishing lodge. At gatherings like that, 48 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,599 topics of conversation could range from UFOs to sports to 49 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:10,120 solving the world's problems, but that evening the topic was bigfoot. 50 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:12,879 About a dozen guys were there, and each of them 51 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:16,000 was open minded enough that, even though none of them 52 00:03:16,039 --> 00:03:20,000 had encountered one, they each believed in the possibility of 53 00:03:20,039 --> 00:03:24,960 these creatures existing. After a while of listening but not 54 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,800 saying a word on the subject, I finally decided to 55 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,840 tell my story. So I cleared my throat and I 56 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:35,280 leaned forward. In response. The group of men went quiet, 57 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,159 the way you do when the silent reserve type speak up, 58 00:03:39,319 --> 00:03:42,080 knowing that if they're going to open their mouths, it's 59 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,680 for a good reason. I should have taken that as 60 00:03:45,719 --> 00:03:49,400 a compliment by their demeanor, but I didn't. I felt 61 00:03:49,479 --> 00:03:52,439 sick remembering what happened, but I wanted these men to 62 00:03:52,479 --> 00:03:55,599 know what I saw. I wanted them to be prepared. 63 00:03:57,080 --> 00:04:00,319 I have been a lifelong outdoorsman, hunting and fishing all 64 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,639 over the country. I had never seen or heard anything 65 00:04:03,759 --> 00:04:06,759 remotely like a bigfoot, and I was one hundred percent 66 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:11,599 sure there was no such thing. One morning I arrived 67 00:04:11,599 --> 00:04:14,800 at my stand in the Midwest for an archery deer hunt. 68 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:17,519 My stand was set up within range of a game 69 00:04:17,639 --> 00:04:21,560 trail that emptied out into the open meadow. I sat 70 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,959 there in total silence, and, as hunting sometimes goes, this 71 00:04:25,079 --> 00:04:29,199 morning had no activity at all. The sun rose on 72 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,160 that crisp, clear fall day, and though it took all 73 00:04:32,199 --> 00:04:36,639 my patients, I stayed there till nine thirty am. I 74 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,480 was five seconds from packing up and heading back to 75 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:42,199 the truck when my ears picked up a twig snap 76 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:46,000 from up the trail. Okay, I thought, maybe my patience 77 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,519 is about to pay off. I settled back into my 78 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,959 stand ready to watch what must have been a monster 79 00:04:52,079 --> 00:04:55,399 buck coming my way, judging by the heavy thudding of 80 00:04:55,439 --> 00:04:59,279 its feet, And a few minutes later my quarry finally 81 00:04:59,319 --> 00:05:03,800 came into view. What in the world I thought it 82 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,680 wasn't a deer. It was the biggest, hairiest musclebound son 83 00:05:07,759 --> 00:05:11,319 of a bitch I had ever seen, walking on two legs, 84 00:05:11,319 --> 00:05:15,360 and he was coming my way. The creature that I 85 00:05:15,480 --> 00:05:18,639 was one hundred percent sure did not exist was coming 86 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,319 right at me, and there was no denying its existence. 87 00:05:22,399 --> 00:05:26,560 At that point. I imagine the thousands of painful things 88 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:28,759 it was capable of doing to me, and I thought 89 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,959 about what a blessing, a quick, miserable death would be 90 00:05:32,399 --> 00:05:36,120 if this thing caught me. I sat as silent and 91 00:05:36,199 --> 00:05:40,040 as unmoving as I could, grasping my shaking hands together 92 00:05:40,199 --> 00:05:43,680 and praying it would not look my way. And when 93 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,279 it turned away from me, I realized I had been 94 00:05:46,319 --> 00:05:50,560 holding my breath, and I gasped for air. Then I 95 00:05:50,639 --> 00:05:53,759 watched in horror as this thing stopped in its tracks 96 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,600 and turned its head slightly in my direction. I put 97 00:05:57,639 --> 00:06:00,480 my hands over my mouth, and I felt my stomach sink, 98 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,399 and by an act of God, it lost interest, and 99 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,480 it walked into the open meadow ahead of me. It 100 00:06:07,639 --> 00:06:10,879 sat down on the ground and began digging up roots 101 00:06:10,920 --> 00:06:14,120 and eating them. And it did that for about an hour, 102 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,319 with me helplessly watching on, afraid to move, afraid to breathe, 103 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:22,680 and afraid to make the slightest sound. Finally it got 104 00:06:22,759 --> 00:06:25,920 up and continued walking away from me, never giving any 105 00:06:25,959 --> 00:06:29,120 indication that it knew I was there. And when it 106 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:32,560 finally disappeared from sight, I climbed out of that stand 107 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,920 and set an Olympic record in the quarter mile back 108 00:06:35,959 --> 00:06:39,240 to my truck. I never went back, not even to 109 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:43,959 get my dear stand. When I finished my story, the 110 00:06:44,079 --> 00:06:47,879 men around the campfire stared at me in silence for 111 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:52,000 a long minute, trying to process what I had told them. 112 00:06:52,519 --> 00:06:54,319 It must have been the look of fear on my 113 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:57,120 face as I told the story, because the demeanor of 114 00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:00,199 the group had changed, and I could tell they believed me. 115 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,079 It took a few more minutes before someone was brave 116 00:07:04,199 --> 00:07:06,519 enough to break that silence and carry on with a 117 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:10,839 lighter topic. But their like banter turned to white noise. 118 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,600 I knew they were talking, but I couldn't hear the words. 119 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,480 The sounds of twigs snapping in the heat of the 120 00:07:17,519 --> 00:07:20,399 flames took me back to my deer stand, and there 121 00:07:20,439 --> 00:07:23,920 I was again, looking at that impossible creature with my 122 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,480 own two eyes, knowing the experience had changed me for 123 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:31,720 the worse, Knowing that my life of hunting would never 124 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:38,759 be the same. I live up in British Columbia, Canada. 125 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:43,519 When my youngest granddaughter was seven, she wanted a pet, 126 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,360 of all things. Her parents let her get a pot 127 00:07:46,399 --> 00:07:50,519 bellied pig, but the pig became quickly a handful for 128 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:54,000 my daughter, and when she and her husband started talking 129 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,800 about surrendering the pig to a petting farm, I decided 130 00:07:57,839 --> 00:07:59,879 it was time for a little Piggy to move in 131 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:04,279 with me. On a clear and cold Canadian night, when 132 00:08:04,319 --> 00:08:08,879 the temperature outside was a blistering minus thirty five degrees celsius, 133 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:13,560 which means minus thirty one degrees fahrenheit, Piggy and I 134 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,959 were inside enjoying the warmth of the house when a 135 00:08:17,079 --> 00:08:21,360 terrible racket sounded in my backyard. The pig was so 136 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:24,720 startled that he started screaming and grunting like he was 137 00:08:24,759 --> 00:08:29,279 afraid for his life. Nothing I did could calm him down, 138 00:08:29,759 --> 00:08:31,920 and the thought of something being in the woods and 139 00:08:31,959 --> 00:08:37,159 the deadly cold temperatures was unsettling. My backyard backs up 140 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,960 to a thick stand of trees, mostly pines and cottonwood, 141 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:45,120 but also birch, which has a very hard trunk, and 142 00:08:45,159 --> 00:08:47,399 in the middle of that pig's commotion came a loud 143 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,240 slap like a giant hit his hand against the birch's trunk. 144 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:54,720 It was far too loud to be a human, and 145 00:08:54,759 --> 00:08:57,840 because of the pig's reaction, I was certain it was 146 00:08:57,879 --> 00:09:01,480 something I wanted nothing to do with. When I told 147 00:09:01,519 --> 00:09:03,600 my daughter about it, she laughed it off and said 148 00:09:03,639 --> 00:09:06,240 it was a bigfoot coming to get the pig for dinner. 149 00:09:07,279 --> 00:09:10,440 Based on that pig's reaction that night, she may have 150 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:15,080 been right. Years before I had a sighting, people tried 151 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:17,519 to convince me that it was a bear crossing the road. 152 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:21,960 But I know what I saw and it was no bear. Now, 153 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,879 after listening to your podcast and hearing about others' experiences, 154 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,080 I am sure that is what I saw. Thank you 155 00:09:29,159 --> 00:09:33,159 for the stories. I loved listening to your channel. Cheers, 156 00:09:33,639 --> 00:09:41,000 Granny Linda. I grew up in the suburbs of Columbia, 157 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:45,039 South Carolina. Since both of my parents worked full time, 158 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,879 my days were spent with my grandparents, mainly my grandfather. 159 00:09:49,879 --> 00:09:52,440 He was not a blood relative, but a stepfather to 160 00:09:52,519 --> 00:09:55,840 my dad, and he was the only grandfather I ever knew, 161 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,399 and he was my world. He was a World War 162 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:04,399 two Korean War Vietnam War veteran and a full blooded 163 00:10:04,559 --> 00:10:09,120 Native Cadoan. He grew up in the Cato Indian Reservation 164 00:10:09,279 --> 00:10:12,399 in Oklahoma and passed along many of his stories to me. 165 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:15,600 Now I'm not sure if my connection with him brought 166 00:10:15,639 --> 00:10:18,919 this on, but I had been sensitive to spirits and 167 00:10:19,039 --> 00:10:24,159 being since my first encounter at five years old. When 168 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,240 I was five, my granddad got ill and was bedridden 169 00:10:27,279 --> 00:10:30,000 for a month. I was walking through the house and 170 00:10:30,039 --> 00:10:33,960 headed into his room when I almost ran into someone. 171 00:10:34,159 --> 00:10:37,080 I looked up and there stood a being taller than 172 00:10:37,159 --> 00:10:40,600 anyone I had ever seen before. He had the body 173 00:10:40,639 --> 00:10:43,480 of a man, but the head of a wolf. He 174 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,200 was covered in fur from the waist down and had 175 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:50,320 a broad chest with dark copper colored skin. He was 176 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:54,120 a wolf man. He wasn't trying to hurt me, but 177 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,600 as a small child, I instantly panicked, and when I 178 00:10:57,639 --> 00:11:00,720 started backing up, he stepped toward me and duck to 179 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:04,960 pass through the doorway into the next room. I returned 180 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:08,279 and ran crying to my grandmother. I don't think I 181 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,159 ever explained to her what I saw. It's not that 182 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:16,279 I could have at five years old anyway. My grandfather recovered, 183 00:11:16,279 --> 00:11:19,399 but fell ill again two years later. His health was 184 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:21,399 up and down for a few years, and he was 185 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:25,519 ultimately moved to assisted living about a year before his death. 186 00:11:26,519 --> 00:11:29,559 While at the assisted living facility, I would sometimes be 187 00:11:29,679 --> 00:11:32,120 dropped off for a few hours to visit with him. 188 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,840 I was an exceptionally well behaved kid, and the management 189 00:11:35,919 --> 00:11:40,840 allowed me to be there unsupervised. One time, days before 190 00:11:40,879 --> 00:11:43,200 my eleventh birthday, I was dropped off to visit my 191 00:11:43,279 --> 00:11:46,799 grandfather and I stepped off the elevator onto his floor 192 00:11:46,799 --> 00:11:49,200 and I made my way down the hall to his room, 193 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:51,960 and at the end of the hallway I saw that 194 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:56,360 wolf man again. He was peering around the corner watching me, 195 00:11:56,759 --> 00:11:59,720 and the nurses and staff were passing right by him. 196 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,600 That's when I realized that I was the only one 197 00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:06,840 who could see him. I tried to stay calm, ignored 198 00:12:06,879 --> 00:12:10,480 his presence, and went on to see my grandfather. When 199 00:12:10,519 --> 00:12:12,840 it was time for me to go home, I looked 200 00:12:12,879 --> 00:12:14,519 out for the wolf man at the end of the 201 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:17,240 hall where I had seen him before, but he wasn't there. 202 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:21,799 But as the elevator doors opened up, there he stood, 203 00:12:21,919 --> 00:12:26,240 so tall that his head was touching the ceiling. I 204 00:12:26,279 --> 00:12:28,879 gathered up all the courage I had, and I walked 205 00:12:28,919 --> 00:12:33,200 into the elevator, and I swear to you time slowed down. 206 00:12:33,279 --> 00:12:37,320 When the doors closed, he knelt down and placed a 207 00:12:37,399 --> 00:12:40,759 scary looking, clawed hand on my shoulder, and he began 208 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:42,919 to speak to me in a native tongue that I 209 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:46,759 didn't understand. I'm not sure what he said or how 210 00:12:46,799 --> 00:12:48,919 long I was there with him, but the next thing 211 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,279 I knew, the doors opened on the ground floor and 212 00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:56,440 he was gone. The encounter gave me a safe and 213 00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:00,840 peaceful feeling, but sadly, my grandfather passed the following week. 214 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,360 Twelve years later, I was twenty two and married, and 215 00:13:05,399 --> 00:13:09,200 I had one child, still a toddler. I was out 216 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:11,399 one night on my back porch when I saw the 217 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,399 wolfman at the back fence line, standing in the woods, 218 00:13:15,159 --> 00:13:18,639 and when I got up to greet him, he was gone. 219 00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:22,080 Within a week, my son became ill and was hospitalized. 220 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:26,240 The doctors couldn't explain his condition, and they were preparing 221 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,600 us for the worst. I did a lot of praying 222 00:13:29,639 --> 00:13:33,240 and begging to God, and my son made a recovery overnight. 223 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:39,879 His condition was never explained medically. Three years passed and 224 00:13:39,919 --> 00:13:43,000 I worked as a mechanic on the second shift. Four 225 00:13:43,039 --> 00:13:46,480 pm to one am were crappy hours for a family 226 00:13:46,559 --> 00:13:50,120 man with two kids, but it was a government job 227 00:13:50,159 --> 00:13:54,200 with good benefits and a guaranteed paycheck. I was on 228 00:13:54,279 --> 00:13:56,960 my motorcycle going home from work to see my wife 229 00:13:57,039 --> 00:13:59,600 and kids for supper, and as I rode the two 230 00:13:59,679 --> 00:14:03,000 miles of rural road that led to my neighborhood, I 231 00:14:03,039 --> 00:14:06,960 saw the Wolfman again. The Wolfman was just off the 232 00:14:07,039 --> 00:14:09,840 road into the woodline, and he was pacing me at 233 00:14:09,919 --> 00:14:14,679 fifty miles per hour. He was running upright like a man, 234 00:14:14,879 --> 00:14:18,720 but with the stride that I couldn't explain. I paid 235 00:14:18,759 --> 00:14:22,840 him no attention, though, and I continued home. The next evening, 236 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,000 I was on my way home again to eat with 237 00:14:25,039 --> 00:14:27,559 my family when I was hit by a truck that 238 00:14:27,679 --> 00:14:30,960 ran a red light. I was in bad shape, and 239 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,320 I came close to dying with blood loss from the lacerations. 240 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:38,679 I had two surgeries for all the broken bones, and 241 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,480 I spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and had 242 00:14:41,519 --> 00:14:47,000 a six month recovery. I finally realized what this wolfman 243 00:14:47,159 --> 00:14:49,879 was there for, or what I think he was there for. 244 00:14:50,679 --> 00:14:53,519 I think this being is somehow connected to me and 245 00:14:53,759 --> 00:14:57,120 there to warn me of death or danger or illness. 246 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,600 Twelve year years passed before I saw him again. My 247 00:15:02,679 --> 00:15:06,200 grandmother was turning ninety seven, but had recently endured some 248 00:15:06,279 --> 00:15:11,039 major medical setbacks. The weekend before her ninety seventh birthday, 249 00:15:11,159 --> 00:15:13,480 I was at the local lake out on a pontoon 250 00:15:13,559 --> 00:15:16,960 boat with the family. Late at night, I saw the 251 00:15:17,039 --> 00:15:20,679 Wolfman standing at the water's edge across the cove where 252 00:15:20,679 --> 00:15:23,919 we were camping. I knew what that meant, who he 253 00:15:24,039 --> 00:15:26,799 was there for. Well, I tried to shrug it off. 254 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,000 I knew what was coming. My grandmother passed the next week, 255 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:35,240 only a day after her ninety seventh birthday. And while 256 00:15:35,279 --> 00:15:38,919 the Wolfman isn't the only supernatural encounter that I've had, 257 00:15:39,279 --> 00:15:42,600 it's the most prominent and most reoccurring one in my life. 258 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:45,799 Feel free to use my story if you like, just 259 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,320 not my name. Even in the world where the supernatural 260 00:15:49,399 --> 00:15:52,919 and aliens are now accepted, the people who speak up 261 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:59,679 about them are not accepted. Many years ago, my friend 262 00:15:59,759 --> 00:16:04,320 Jim was a flight engineer for Pacific Southwest Airlines. This 263 00:16:04,519 --> 00:16:07,320 was the way back when a flight engineer was required 264 00:16:07,399 --> 00:16:11,840 on the earlier passenger jets. Jim flew on a regular 265 00:16:11,919 --> 00:16:15,759 schedule flight from San Diego to San Francisco, California, and 266 00:16:15,919 --> 00:16:20,240 back again each day. He'd been flying this schedule for 267 00:16:20,279 --> 00:16:24,919 many years with no difficulties. They always flew over land, 268 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,799 although the safety advisor always included the statement that your 269 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,120 seat cushion is a flotation device. Once, during one of 270 00:16:33,159 --> 00:16:36,519 his daytime flights north to San Francisco, he and the 271 00:16:36,559 --> 00:16:42,000 pilot had an interesting experience. Halfway through the northbound flight, 272 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,759 the co pilot noticed a plane on the same course 273 00:16:44,799 --> 00:16:48,120 as them to the east. The problem was that it 274 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,399 was much closer than the allowed five miles, which was 275 00:16:51,519 --> 00:16:56,879 dangerous and against regulations. The copolot informed the pilot and 276 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:02,240 contacted air traffic control. Traffic control acknowledged the other plane's 277 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:07,039 unsafe distance and tried to contact them. They received no response, 278 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:13,039 which was unusual. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact the 279 00:17:13,079 --> 00:17:17,079 other aircraft, Jim's plane was directed to turn slightly to 280 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:20,640 the west, moving to a safer distance, But once his 281 00:17:20,799 --> 00:17:24,039 plane did this, the other aircraft moved toward them again, 282 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:28,799 flying much too close. There were more attempts to contact 283 00:17:28,839 --> 00:17:32,519 the other aircraft, but they got no response. Air traffic 284 00:17:32,519 --> 00:17:35,680 control told Jim's plane that it was most likely a 285 00:17:35,720 --> 00:17:39,680 private plane with radio trouble, and then instructed them to 286 00:17:39,720 --> 00:17:44,000 move west again to gain that safe distance. They did this, 287 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,880 but once again the other aircraft moved with them, only 288 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:52,799 this time it came even closer than before. This continued 289 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:56,039 until Jim's plane was forced to fly over the ocean, 290 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,240 and in the meantime, the other aircraft had gotten close 291 00:17:59,319 --> 00:18:02,279 enough to Jim's plane that they had a clear visual 292 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,319 of it. That's when they saw that it was not 293 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:09,200 an airplane at all. It was a cigar shaped object 294 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:14,119 that slowly but surely was getting closer to them. Jim's 295 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,240 plane received instructions to move ten miles out over the 296 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,720 ocean way off course. It was finally able to continue 297 00:18:22,759 --> 00:18:25,359 on its way, arriving just a few minutes later than 298 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:32,160 scheduled and without further incident. Simultaneously, the US Navy scrambled 299 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,359 a fighter jets to try to identify and move the 300 00:18:35,519 --> 00:18:38,319 UFO out of the way and hopefully force it to land. 301 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,799 The three Navy fighters surrounded the UFO, one on either 302 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:45,960 side and one behind it, and as they attempted to 303 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,160 move it in the direction they wanted it to go, 304 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:53,960 the UFO instantly sped up, reaching speeds unachievable by the fighters, 305 00:18:54,839 --> 00:18:57,960 and then just as quickly it flew vertically into the 306 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,759 air and was out of sight and ran our detection 307 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:06,400 in seconds. That story never made the news. There's no 308 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,920 surprise there, and Jim never mentioned if they spoke about 309 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,200 it again after that. What's interesting to me is the 310 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,119 way Jim relaid the tone of the air traffic control. 311 00:19:17,039 --> 00:19:19,440 It was all very standards. If they had dealt with 312 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:24,440 this situation countless times before. It's a good story to remember. 313 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,720 The next time you fly, keep your eyes open, you 314 00:19:27,799 --> 00:19:32,480 may have company. My name is Rick and I was 315 00:19:32,519 --> 00:19:36,640 born and raised in Virginia Beach. Growing up, I remember 316 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:40,799 listening to the Little Caesar's commercial advertising the bigfoot sized 317 00:19:40,799 --> 00:19:44,599 pizza with a bigfoot puppet. The reason I bring that 318 00:19:44,759 --> 00:19:48,960 up I will get to. In nineteen ninety seven, I 319 00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:52,160 was thirteen years old. Now I was visiting my cousins 320 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:57,400 at my uncle's place in Pungo, Virginia Beach. His trailer 321 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,240 was adjacent to some corn fields where they frequent Lee 322 00:20:00,319 --> 00:20:04,279 saw deer. Directly east of his trailer was a north 323 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:08,599 Landing River Natural Area Preserve which connects to the Great 324 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:12,480 Dismal Swamp. My uncle was a marine, and being in 325 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:17,240 the country, he taught us about muzzle awareness, firearms safety, 326 00:20:17,279 --> 00:20:21,359 and of course how to shoot at a young age. 327 00:20:21,599 --> 00:20:24,720 One day, my cousins and I wanted to explore the 328 00:20:24,759 --> 00:20:27,799 woods and swamp around his trailer and try to make 329 00:20:27,839 --> 00:20:30,759 it to the river. That's all us kids ever wanted 330 00:20:30,799 --> 00:20:34,799 to do. Back then, explore the swamp and woods. We 331 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,559 carried on through about halfway to the river, and then 332 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,880 stopped to look at some snakes and a couple of turkeys, 333 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:45,039 and out of nowhere I smelled something rotten. It's just 334 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:50,960 fart rocks. My cousin Charles said, well, I shook my head. No, man, 335 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,720 that's coming from down wind. It's way worse than a 336 00:20:53,759 --> 00:20:59,440 fart rock, I said, almost dizzy from the sharp, stinging smell. 337 00:20:59,519 --> 00:21:02,039 The next day I knew my other cousin, Marshall, and 338 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:05,839 our friend Mark started yelling. A bear crouched down. Look, 339 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,519 they shouted. We followed them closer to the bear to 340 00:21:09,559 --> 00:21:12,720 see for ourselves, and sure enough, there it was, just 341 00:21:12,759 --> 00:21:16,720 sitting there, hunched over behind a rock. We fell back 342 00:21:16,759 --> 00:21:19,480 about thirty yards to give it some space, all the 343 00:21:19,519 --> 00:21:22,960 while keeping our eyes on it. My cousin decided it 344 00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:25,359 would be a good idea to shoot at it, so 345 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,799 he aimed his pellet rifle and he tried to take 346 00:21:27,839 --> 00:21:30,920 a shot. The rest of us told him there was 347 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:32,799 no way he was going to take down that big 348 00:21:32,799 --> 00:21:36,359 old bear with that little rifle. The worst thing he'd 349 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:38,720 do is provoke it, and then the rest of us 350 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,599 would be in a world of trouble. So we talked 351 00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:43,759 him out of it and decided to go and get 352 00:21:43,759 --> 00:21:48,079 some real guns instead. Nothing was stopping us from getting 353 00:21:48,079 --> 00:21:52,039 to that river. We jogged back to my uncle's trailer 354 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:54,799 and got a twenty two handgun and a four to 355 00:21:54,799 --> 00:21:59,599 ten shotgun. We never mentioned why we wanted them, probably 356 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,799 because we knew he'd rail into us for going after 357 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,880 a bear, and our thirteen year old selves weren't exactly 358 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:11,839 eager to piss off an old salty marine. A while later, 359 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:13,839 we made it back to the spot where we saw 360 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,000 the bear, but when we didn't see anything, we decided 361 00:22:17,039 --> 00:22:20,599 to trek onward to the river. We made it there 362 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:25,519 without any excitement, which was disappointing. We'd been looking around 363 00:22:25,519 --> 00:22:27,880 the whole time for that bear or any kind of 364 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:32,599 a critter determined to shoot something, but the opportunity never came. 365 00:22:34,279 --> 00:22:37,799 After wandering around and playing with sticks, we headed home 366 00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:42,000 and halfway back that rancid smell hit us again. It 367 00:22:42,079 --> 00:22:46,240 was terrible. We started looking for a skunk, because at 368 00:22:46,279 --> 00:22:49,799 the time that's as wild as our imaginations went, as 369 00:22:49,839 --> 00:22:53,000 far as horrible stenches, though the smell of a skunk 370 00:22:53,079 --> 00:22:55,400 or even a dead riding animal would have been a 371 00:22:55,440 --> 00:23:00,839 sweet relief compared to this. We kept looking and there 372 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,880 was the bear again. Immediately we pointed our guns at it, 373 00:23:05,039 --> 00:23:08,000 ready to take it down, but we never stood a chance. 374 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:12,359 It stood upright over six feet tall, and it started 375 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:16,279 charging at us on two legs, it's two long arms 376 00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:20,440 swinging at its side. That thing was not a bear. 377 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:23,519 It had no ears like a bear, and its eyes 378 00:23:23,559 --> 00:23:26,880 were in front of its face. Its face was beige 379 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:31,440 and its hair was shaggy and black. Basically a big, black, 380 00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:35,519 furry swamp thing was coming right at us. When we 381 00:23:35,599 --> 00:23:38,240 realized how big it was, we ran for our lives 382 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,000 and high tailed it out of there. The only other 383 00:23:41,079 --> 00:23:43,440 time in my whole life that I ran that fast 384 00:23:43,559 --> 00:23:45,960 was when I ran from the police once in my 385 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:50,759 later years. Well, we got back to the trailer. We 386 00:23:50,799 --> 00:23:54,119 found my dad and uncle out front drinking, and when 387 00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:56,519 I started yelling, they came off the porch to see 388 00:23:56,519 --> 00:23:59,000 what was going on and what we were running from. 389 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:03,079 It's a foot, I shouted, well, how do you know that, 390 00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:06,079 one of them asked, because it looked like a bigfoot 391 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:10,640 from the pizza commercial. That's how I yelled. They started 392 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:13,079 to brush our story off and told us it was 393 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:16,960 just a bear. But right then, in the distance behind us, 394 00:24:17,279 --> 00:24:20,599 we heard a loud and deep growl. You see you 395 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,759 ever hear a bear sound like that? I asked them, 396 00:24:23,799 --> 00:24:26,799 knowing they sure as hell hadn't, but would call us 397 00:24:26,839 --> 00:24:31,519 crazy anyway, which is just what they did. They called 398 00:24:31,599 --> 00:24:34,440 us crazy, and they asked if we had smoked a joint, 399 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,000 and they told us to stay around the house and 400 00:24:37,079 --> 00:24:39,759 that they would go looking for it later. I'm not 401 00:24:39,759 --> 00:24:44,079 sure if they ever did that, though. Fifteen years later, 402 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:46,799 my cousins and I were out drinking when this story 403 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,200 came up. Still today, we were all certain that it 404 00:24:50,319 --> 00:24:54,400 was a bigfoot or a swamp ape. I was researching 405 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,559 bigfoot sightings the other night, and sure enough, there was 406 00:24:57,599 --> 00:25:01,440 a sighting reported just north of U at this location 407 00:25:01,759 --> 00:25:06,319 some years later right by my uncle's trailer. I sure 408 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,720 hope my uncle, here's the story. Not too crazy after all, 409 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,000 is it Uncle that's going to wind it up for 410 00:25:14,039 --> 00:25:16,960 this podcast. Thanks for listening all the way to this end. 411 00:25:17,039 --> 00:25:20,400 I'm sorry I didn't put any commentary with these stories. 412 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,079 They were all so good. But again, I am busy 413 00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:26,519 at work and I'm in here early in the morning 414 00:25:26,599 --> 00:25:30,359 trying to crank these out because these stories are just 415 00:25:30,519 --> 00:25:33,440 too good not to put out there for you to hear. 416 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,559 I hope you enjoyed it, and we'll see you guys 417 00:25:36,759 --> 00:25:44,680 on the next one. Thank you.