WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:01.600 Today, I want to tell you about a journey that 2 00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:03.879 I've been on for most of my life. Ever since 3 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:05.799 I was a kid, I've heard tales of bigfoot and 4 00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:08.320 wild men while spending time with my friends and family. 5 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:11.439 As I grew older and read more about the paranormal, 6 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:14.679 my interest in encryptids and other things strange only deepened. 7 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:17.160 That's why I'm so excited to share with you what 8 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:21.640 I've personally become involved with the Untold Radio Network. The 9 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:25.280 Untold Radio Network is a live streaming podcast network that 10 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:29.359 airs a new show every day across all podcast platforms, YouTube, 11 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:32.119 and more. They have eight different shows on all sorts 12 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:36.119 of exciting topics such as bigfoot, cryptids, UFOs, aliens, and 13 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:39.479 much more. I even have my own show called Weird Encounters, 14 00:00:39.479 --> 00:00:42.439 where I talk about all things strange. This is more 15 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:45.280 than just a podcast network. It's a community that allows 16 00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:47.759 me to meet so many amazing people who share their 17 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:51.520 stories and experiences with strange. If you're interested in hearing 18 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:53.880 more of these stories and learning more about the paranormal 19 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:56.679 and encryptids, make sure you check out the Untold Radio 20 00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:00.640 Network for all kinds of exciting shows. It's free to subscribe. 21 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:04.439 So what are you waiting for visit www dot untold 22 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:06.519 radionetwork dot com today. 23 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:08.120 Open up to anot a. 24 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:14.719 Sor there's something in the woods, anato to you what 25 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:15.920 you're about to see. 26 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:17.519 You? 27 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:18.879 Or something in. 28 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:24.159 The woods knocking a parn Changeerry the Ooman said, don't 29 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:24.879 go outside. 30 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:26.920 There's something in the woods tonight. 31 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:31.120 I hear rim knocking, shaking bushits footprints howling on my lung. 32 00:01:31.400 --> 00:01:34.959 Open up to anat a sea, something in the woods. 33 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:38.840 Hey everyone, and welcome to another installment of Wednesday Wisdom, 34 00:01:39.239 --> 00:01:41.959 where we go deep down the rabbit hole and become 35 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:46.680 immersed in the world of sasquatch research, explore fascinating articles, 36 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:49.480 and share a little nugget of wisdom along the way. 37 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:54.040 Whether you're a seasoned researcher, a curious skeptic, or someone 38 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:56.760 who just loves a good mystery, this is the place 39 00:01:56.799 --> 00:02:01.519 for insightful discussions on all things bigfoot. Today we're taking 40 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:04.400 a deep dive into an intriguing study that sheds new 41 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:08.479 light on the social dynamics of bigfoot encounters. Before we 42 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:11.199 get into it, I want to acknowledge the fascinating work 43 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:15.919 of Jamie Lewis and Andrew Bartlett Their article, first published 44 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:19.879 online on August fifth, twenty twenty four, in Cultural Sociology, 45 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:24.759 explores how bigfoot sightings are framed, validated, and shared within 46 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:29.159 different communities. Their research goes beyond just what people claim 47 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:32.879 to see. It examines how those encounters are communicated and 48 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:38.039 how belief is shaped by storytelling, group dynamics, and cultural influences. 49 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:41.280 So what does this mean for the world of Sasquatch research? 50 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:44.599 How do these social patterns influence the way we perceive 51 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:48.240 encounters and evidence. Let's break it down and explore their 52 00:02:48.280 --> 00:02:54.039 findings together. Bigfoot exists, maybe not as a living, breathing creature, 53 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:58.280 but certainly as a powerful cultural force. Whether you believe 54 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:01.759 in the legendary Sasquatch or not, the idea of bigfoot 55 00:03:01.800 --> 00:03:06.039 is something almost everyone recognizes. Some people even dedicate their 56 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:10.479 lives to searching for proof of its existence. These dedicated individuals, 57 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:15.840 known as bigfooters, scour the wilderness for evidence footprints, hair samples, 58 00:03:16.039 --> 00:03:21.360 recordings of strange calls, and, most compellingly, witness testimonies. Many 59 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:24.919 bigfooters started their journey after a personal encounter, a moment 60 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:27.840 that convinced them there was something out there worth investigating 61 00:03:28.599 --> 00:03:32.800 For decades, organized efforts have been collecting and categorizing these encounters. 62 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:38.439 The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization BFRO hosts thousands of reports 63 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:40.800 from individuals who claim to have come face to face 64 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:44.000 with the creature, and while some might dismiss these stories 65 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:47.960 as imagination or hoaxes, for the people involved, these encounters 66 00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:51.080 are very real. This story is part of a broader 67 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:55.439 project examining the bigfooting community, a network of people committed 68 00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:59.319 to proving the existence of Bigfoot. Our research involved one 69 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:02.439 hundred and six twenty six in depth interviews with individuals 70 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.199 who have encountered Bigfoot, studied the phenomenon, or been part 71 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:06.759 of the search. 72 00:04:07.759 --> 00:04:09.080 Through their stories, we. 73 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:12.479 Explore how they build and challenge knowledge, and how they 74 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:17.639 navigate the tricky landscape of belief, skepticism, and science. These 75 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:21.600 encounters create a space an absence where the idea of 76 00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:25.319 Bigfoot takes shape. But when making a claim about something 77 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:30.319 so extraordinary, credibility is everything. In a field filled with 78 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:35.199 skepticism and hoaxes, Bigfooters must present themselves as serious and rational, 79 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:39.839 rather than gullible or delusional. Bigfoot holds a unique place 80 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:44.639 in the American imagination, standing alongside ghosts, aliens, and other 81 00:04:44.759 --> 00:04:50.319 unexplained phenomena. While science generally dismisses its existence, a significant 82 00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:54.160 portion of Americans about one in five, believe in Bigfoot. 83 00:04:54.759 --> 00:04:57.480 Even those who don't believe know what Bigfoot looks like 84 00:04:57.800 --> 00:05:02.240 and how it behaves. Time Bigfoot has transformed from a 85 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:07.279 campfire legend into an enduring cultural icon. The fascination with 86 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:10.839 Bigfoot is fueled by modern media, from pulp fiction and. 87 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:13.560 B movies to TV shows like The X Files. 88 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:17.279 And Finding Bigfoot. The idea of an undiscovered creature lurking 89 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:22.079 in the wilderness continues to capture public interest. Some researchers 90 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:26.199 suggest that during times of political and social uncertainty, interest 91 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:30.240 in the paranormal increases. But even among believers, there's an 92 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:34.560 understanding that not all Bigfoot claims are legitimate. Hoaxes are 93 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:38.000 a known issue, and many bigfooters work hard to separate 94 00:05:38.079 --> 00:05:43.120 fact from fiction. Bigfooting groups like the BFRO, the Olympic Project, 95 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:46.839 and the North American Wood Ape Conservancy in a WAC 96 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:51.360 follow certain standards in their search. However, like any community 97 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:55.480 of researchers, they have their disagreements. One major division is 98 00:05:55.519 --> 00:05:59.279 between the apers who believe bigfoot is an undiscovered primate. 99 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:03.399 Those who think it has paranormal abilities, such as cloaking 100 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:07.519 or interdimensional travel. The apors who dominate groups like the 101 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:12.399 BFRO align themselves with primatologists like Jane goodall striving to 102 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:16.639 maintain a scientific approach. While some bigfooters see their work 103 00:06:16.680 --> 00:06:20.920 as serious research, the wider world often views cryptozoology as 104 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:25.680 part of the entertainment industry. Still, even skeptics recognize the 105 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:30.920 familiar structure of bigfoot encounter stories, sudden sightings, eerie sounds, 106 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:35.920 massive footprints. To believers, the consistency of these reports strengthens 107 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:40.319 their case. To skeptics, it's evidence of people unknowingly repeating 108 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:45.439 familiar myths. One interviewee expressed frustration with this skepticism, saying, 109 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:48.600 you don't get it until you're in this stuff. But 110 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:52.480 for many, their initiation into bigfooting began with a personal 111 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:57.120 experience and unexplained sighting that changed their view of the world. 112 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.000 A bigfoot encounter isn't just a moment. It's a story, 113 00:07:01.399 --> 00:07:04.720 a narrative that takes shape as it's told and retold. 114 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:09.279 Storytelling is a deeply human experience, a way to share 115 00:07:09.319 --> 00:07:13.360 knowledge and beliefs The stories of Bigfoot stretch back far 116 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:17.879 beyond modern pop culture, rooted in indigenous traditions across North America. 117 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:22.120 The name Sasquatch comes from the Coast Salish language and 118 00:07:22.199 --> 00:07:26.519 was popularized in the nineteen twenties. The term bigfoot emerged 119 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:30.160 later after a nineteen fifty eight newspaper article about massive 120 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:34.560 footprints found at a construction site in California. Since then, 121 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.959 the legend has only grown. One of the most famous 122 00:07:37.959 --> 00:07:41.560 Bigfoot encounters occurred in nineteen sixty seven, when Roger Patterson 123 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:44.480 and Bob Gimlin filmed a figure striding through a dry 124 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:48.800 creek bed in northern California. The resulting footage, known as 125 00:07:48.839 --> 00:07:52.439 the Patterson Gimlin Film, remains one of the most analyzed 126 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:56.480 and debated pieces of evidence in Bigfoot history. Whether real 127 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:00.839 or hoax, it cemented Bigfoot's place in popular culture. The 128 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:04.319 rise of the Internet transformed the way Bigfoot stories are shared. 129 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:08.680 In the nineteen nineties, the BFRO launched a website where 130 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:13.240 people could submit their encounters, dramatically increasing the accessibility of 131 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:17.879 these reports. Today, their database includes thousands of sightings from 132 00:08:17.920 --> 00:08:22.959 across North America, particularly from states like Washington, California. 133 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:22.959 And Florida. 134 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:28.319 The BFRO also organizes expeditions where participants search for evidence 135 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:33.039 under the guidance of experienced researchers. Bigfoot research depends on 136 00:08:33.120 --> 00:08:38.600 eyewitness accounts, but it also faces two major challenges misidentifications 137 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:42.600 and hoaxes. Many encounters can be explained as misinterpretations of 138 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:47.039 natural events, an animal moving through the woods, an unusual 139 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:51.559 noise at night. Meanwhile, hoaxes have plagued the field for years, 140 00:08:51.960 --> 00:08:55.879 making it difficult to separate genuine reports from deliberate fabrications. 141 00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:00.399 To counteract this, the BFRO has developed a filtering process 142 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:05.120 for reports. As founder Matt Moneymaker explains, they weed out 143 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:09.519 unreliable claims by looking for patterns, requiring detailed write ups, 144 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:14.559 and prioritizing reports with multiple witnesses. Their goal is to 145 00:09:14.600 --> 00:09:17.399 sift through the noise and find the most credible accounts. 146 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:21.159 Moneymaker himself has played a key role in keeping Bigfoot 147 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:24.279 in the public eye. In twenty eleven, he began hosting 148 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:28.600 Finding Bigfoot, a television show that reignited interest in the legend. 149 00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:32.919 This media exposure led to a surge and reported encounters, 150 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:37.399 both recent and historical. According to researchers. It also reduced 151 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:42.840 the stigma around discussing bigfoot experiences. Our research takes bigfooting seriously, 152 00:09:43.279 --> 00:09:45.559 not just as a search for a creature, but as 153 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:50.200 a fascinating example of how communities build and evaluate knowledge. 154 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:54.240 Bigfooters are deeply committed to their pursuit, despite mainstream science 155 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:58.399 dismissing their work. This project aimed to understand what drives 156 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:02.679 them and how they navigate a field that sits between science, folklore, 157 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:07.159 and entertainment. We conducted one hundred and sixty six interviews 158 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:13.440 with bigfooters, including active field researchers, documentary producers, museum curators, 159 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:20.360 and cryptozoologists. These conversations revealed a central theme absence bigfooter's 160 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:22.559 work to make sense of the lack of clear evidence. 161 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:25.399 How do you prove the existence of something that always 162 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:28.279 seems just out of reach? And how do you maintain 163 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:32.240 credibility in a world where skepticism is the default. There 164 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:34.759 are many ways to have a close encounter with bigfoot. 165 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:39.200 Some of our interviewees actually saw the creature, fleeting glimpses 166 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.759 of a massive, hairy, bipedal figure. 167 00:10:41.480 --> 00:10:42.519 Moving through the woods. 168 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:47.080 These visual encounters follow a pattern. A lone observer catches 169 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:50.519 sight of Bigfoot dashing across a road, peering from behind 170 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:53.679 a tree, or silhouetted against the sky as it strides 171 00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:58.039 down a mountainside. The moment is brief, often unclear, and 172 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:01.440 leaves the witness grappling with what they just saw. But 173 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:05.440 sight is not the only way to experience Bigfoot. Many 174 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:09.120 encounters happen without a direct visual large rocks hurled from 175 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:13.279 unseen sources, chilling howls vibrating through the body, or a 176 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:16.399 sense of being watched in the deep forest. These two 177 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.519 are bigfoot encounters. The rarest kind of interaction is one 178 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:24.840 involving direct contact, whether through physical touch or through the 179 00:11:24.840 --> 00:11:28.440 phenomenon known as gifting, where Bigfoot is said to leave 180 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:32.559 objects for humans in a form of communication. Bigfoot is 181 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:35.519 believed to be nocturnal, making the forest at night the 182 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:40.639 prime setting for encounters. For serious bigfooters, these experiences differ 183 00:11:40.679 --> 00:11:44.080 from the chance sightings of an unsuspecting driver or hiker. 184 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:49.440 They go in prepared, armed with cameras, microphones, parabolic dishes, 185 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:53.559 even drones, determined to capture evidence of the creature's existence. 186 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:58.080 Among them is Cliff Barrickman, a seasoned bigfoot investigator and 187 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:02.440 former member of the Bigfoot Field Reco's organization. While filming 188 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:06.039 for Finding Bigfoot in North Carolina, Berrickman had an encounter 189 00:12:06.120 --> 00:12:09.639 that left a lasting impression. The only time I've seen 190 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:12.320 one wasn't a good sighting, but I'm inclined to think 191 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:15.960 it was a sasquatch. We were filming in North Carolina. 192 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:19.799 On the first night, Moneymaker says, there's something on the hill. 193 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:23.679 We didn't take it seriously. The producers were pushing us 194 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:26.519 to say things we didn't believe, and we were frustrated. 195 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:30.519 But as we hiked two miles into the woods, something happened. 196 00:12:31.080 --> 00:12:33.320 Moneymaker kept asking who's on the hill? 197 00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:35.480 Who is that? No one answered. 198 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:38.480 Then about seventy yards away, he saw a figure standing 199 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:42.919 there watching us. Matt had a thermal imager. He yelled 200 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:46.279 at it and it started walking. Then it did something strange. 201 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:51.360 It froze mid step on one leg. That's a known 202 00:12:51.440 --> 00:12:56.080 sasquatch behavior. It stayed perfectly still for several seconds before continuing. 203 00:12:56.759 --> 00:12:59.159 I turned my thermal imager toward it and saw a 204 00:12:59.159 --> 00:13:03.559 biped It was either a human or a sasquatch. Those 205 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:06.960 were the only possibilities, but it didn't move like a person. 206 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:10.279 It wasn't like Patty from the Patterson Gimlin film either. 207 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:13.480 The arms scooped forward like when you walk through the 208 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:17.919 shallow end of a pool. Bigfoot encounters need a good storyteller, 209 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:23.039 and television demands that evidence be presented with narrative structure. Berrickman, 210 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:26.879 a respected figure in the field, carefully framed his experience. 211 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:30.559 He qualified it as an unclear sighting, but ruled out 212 00:13:30.600 --> 00:13:35.960 other possibilities, leaving only two options human or sasquatch. And 213 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:38.919 if it didn't move like a human, the answer, at 214 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:43.200 least for him, became clear. Matt Pruett, another member of 215 00:13:43.240 --> 00:13:46.679 the BFRO, recounts an experience from his high school years, 216 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:50.600 long before he connected it to Bigfoot. We had heard 217 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:55.279 stories of a haunted place where strange things happened, disembodied howls, 218 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:59.559 thrown rocks, glowing red eyes. At the time, no one 219 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:03.480 associated these with Bigfoot. One summer night, we decided to 220 00:14:03.480 --> 00:14:07.320 camp there, armed with flashlights in an old VHS camquarder, 221 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:10.720 we set out to explore. At first, we heard rustling, 222 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:16.120 probably just animals, but then it escalated, branches breaking, loud, 223 00:14:16.120 --> 00:14:21.519 slamming noises, unmistakable vocalizations. It became so unnerving that we 224 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:25.039 ran down the mountain, abandoning our tents until the next morning. 225 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:28.639 Pruitt later learned that wood knocking and vocal calls are 226 00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:34.559 considered signs of Bigfoot communication. The experience, once supernatural and inexplicable, 227 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:37.080 found a new framework, one grounded in. 228 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:38.679 The lore of bigfoot research. 229 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:43.080 Shane Corson, a senior member of the Olympic Project, also 230 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:46.639 experienced something strange. I had a two night encounter in 231 00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:49.399 the mount Hood wilderness. At first I didn't know what 232 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:53.960 it was, but now now I know. We were deep 233 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:59.000 in the forest, no wind, dead, silent, and stay tuned. 234 00:14:58.759 --> 00:15:00.960 For more sasquatch ot to see. We'll be right back. 235 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:08.039 After these messages, around two am, I heard two rocks 236 00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:12.120 being clapped together. It got closer and closer. Then something 237 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:16.399 started stomping around our camp, circling us. A loud whack 238 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:19.600 hit a tree. The next night it happened again, but 239 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:23.639 this time it was louder, more aggressive. Then came the rock. 240 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:27.799 A soft ball sized stone hurled into our camp and 241 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:31.559 then I saw it. Through the darkness. I made out 242 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.759 a massive figure behind a douglas fur, a hand, an arm, 243 00:15:36.320 --> 00:15:40.320 a shoulder. It moved side to side, peeking out, and 244 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:43.759 then it was gone. At the time, Courson tried to 245 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:48.639 rationalize what he was experiencing, but later, after researching bigfoot reports, 246 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:52.679 the details started to make sense. The rock throwing, the 247 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:57.120 tree knocks, the massive, lurking figure, these were all documented 248 00:15:57.159 --> 00:15:58.360 sasquatch behaviors. 249 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:00.240 The unknown took shape. 250 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:04.320 One particularly eerie encounter comes from an anonymous witness, GK, 251 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:08.039 who runs a sasquatch website. We were camping in a 252 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:11.600 remote part of Canada, miles from anyone. In the middle 253 00:16:11.639 --> 00:16:13.919 of the night, I woke up to something touching my tent. 254 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:18.240 Then a hand massive gripped my head through the fabric. 255 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:21.480 Imagine a hand so big it could hold your entire 256 00:16:21.519 --> 00:16:25.879 skull like a basketball. It had no claws, only thick fingers. 257 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:29.399 It wasn't an animal. It wasn't my friend, who I 258 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:32.879 could hear snoring in his tent. The next morning, my 259 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:35.480 friend said, what were you doing walking around my tent 260 00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:36.120 last night? 261 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:37.720 But I hadn't. 262 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.200 Something on two legs had been pacing around his tent. 263 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:45.120 We checked our valuables, expensive fishing rods, and all of 264 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:49.600 our gear. Everything was untouched. GK never saw what had 265 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:54.799 grabbed him, but the details fingers instead of claws, bipedal movement, 266 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:58.440 no human presence, left an absence that could only be 267 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:03.159 filled by something unknown, or for those who believe something known, 268 00:17:04.200 --> 00:17:07.680 some encounters require other people to fill the absence. Leo 269 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:10.559 Frank had his face to face encounter in King's County. 270 00:17:10.279 --> 00:17:11.000 Nova, Scotia. 271 00:17:11.960 --> 00:17:14.039 I was taking a short cut up through a stream, 272 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:16.200 and as I came around a corner at the bottom 273 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:18.759 of a waterfall, I saw what I thought was the 274 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:22.039 back of a black bear. Black bears are common in 275 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:25.279 the area, so I instinctively started backing up, But then 276 00:17:25.640 --> 00:17:28.160 what I assumed to be a bear stood up, turned 277 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:31.759 around and looked directly at me. One of its arms 278 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:34.359 was wet, as if it had been fishing or injured. 279 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:39.880 It stood there, just staring. I froze. My entire world 280 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.400 stopped because what I was looking at was not a bear. 281 00:17:43.000 --> 00:17:45.559 It was a hair covered man standing in a brook 282 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:49.160 that I had walked through thousands of times before. At 283 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.079 that moment, everything I knew about the world just stopped. 284 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:55.759 You start to question everything all at once, but at 285 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:58.880 the same time you can't really think of anything. When 286 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:01.119 I told my uncle what I saw, all he said, 287 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:05.319 you know what you're describing sounds like Bigfoot, and I 288 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:10.079 thought bigfoot up here. After that, I didn't go into 289 00:18:10.079 --> 00:18:12.920 the woods for quite some time. That was strange for 290 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:16.000 me because the forest had been my second home since childhood. 291 00:18:16.440 --> 00:18:19.279 But after that encounter, I was rattled. It sent me 292 00:18:19.319 --> 00:18:22.680 to bookstores and libraries trying to learn everything I could 293 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:27.079 about Bigfoot. Frank's encounter takes place in the familiar. He's 294 00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:30.920 navigating terrain he knows well, a shortcut he's taken many 295 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:35.680 times before. He presents himself as an experienced outdoorsman, someone 296 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:39.319 who wouldn't easily mistake a bear for something else. Yet 297 00:18:39.319 --> 00:18:42.880 when the figure revealed itself, he was left speechless, his 298 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:46.640 mind unable to process what he was seeing. Even as 299 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:49.440 a reluctant witness, he needed his uncle to fill in 300 00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:52.920 the missing piece. Once again, we see how the framework 301 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:57.000 of bigfoot lore allows an inexplicable experience to take shape 302 00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:00.799 in the mind of the observer. Many Bigfoot encounters come 303 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.319 from people who work in or spend a significant amount 304 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:07.839 of time in the woods. These individuals, hunters, loggers, or 305 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:12.960 military personnel often established their credibility by emphasizing their expertise 306 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:16.759 in the wilderness. One such account comes from Todd Nice, 307 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:20.640 a retired soldier and founder of the American Primate Conservancy. 308 00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:24.039 Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I heard all the 309 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:27.920 stories about Bigfoot, but I never paid any attention to them. 310 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:31.000 That changed in April nineteen ninety three. I was working 311 00:19:31.079 --> 00:19:33.839 as a combat engineer and we had special permission to 312 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.640 use a rock quarry and Clatsup County for training. That day, 313 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:41.119 we were setting off large explosions, several hundred pounds of 314 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:44.519 plastic explosives at a time. It was a clear day, 315 00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:48.039 and I had my window open, naturally looking for wildlife 316 00:19:48.039 --> 00:19:51.279 as I had hunted in that area before. Then, as 317 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:54.319 we descended the road toward the blast site, I saw them, 318 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:58.440 three dark figures standing exactly where we had just detonated 319 00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:02.319 explosives an hour earlier. My first thought was, what the 320 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:05.240 hell are those people doing there? But we had two 321 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:08.759 rings of security ensuring no civilians were in the area, 322 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:13.119 and we had one hundred percent integrity. Everybody was accounted for. 323 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:16.039 That's when I realized what I was looking at were 324 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:20.880 not people. They were bipedal standing three abreast watching us. 325 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:23.839 As we approached the one in The center was about 326 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:26.799 nine feet tall. The two flanking it were a foot 327 00:20:26.880 --> 00:20:30.559 or so shorter. Their proportions were all wrong for humans. 328 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:35.880 Arms too long, legs too long, massive shoulders. Their traps 329 00:20:35.880 --> 00:20:38.640 were so developed that their heads seemed to sit directly 330 00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:42.480 on their shoulders. The middle figure stood completely still, like 331 00:20:42.519 --> 00:20:46.000 a statue, while the other two swayed from side to side. 332 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:49.240 I watched them for about twenty five seconds before we 333 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:51.480 lost sight of them. As the convoy took a turn. 334 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:55.039 I just collapsed back in my seat, trying to process 335 00:20:55.079 --> 00:20:58.400 what I had seen. When we reached the staging area, 336 00:20:58.720 --> 00:21:02.000 I instinctively started logging back up the road, straining to 337 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:05.480 get another look. That's when my sergeant approached me. He 338 00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:07.839 called out, I don't suppose you saw what I saw 339 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:09.119 back at the second blast sight. 340 00:21:09.880 --> 00:21:10.440 I nodded. 341 00:21:10.920 --> 00:21:13.400 Then he took a drag from his cigarette, looked around 342 00:21:13.480 --> 00:21:15.839 to make sure no one else could hear, and said, 343 00:21:16.359 --> 00:21:20.720 I saw three huge, hair covered bigfoot. I guess Nice 344 00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:24.000 describes himself as a skeptic, someone who never believed in 345 00:21:24.039 --> 00:21:27.079 bigfoot and had no reason to, but when faced with 346 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:30.519 a site that defied explanation, he could only eliminate what 347 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:33.920 he knew to be impossible. The account is made even 348 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:37.759 more compelling by the corroboration of his sergeant, reinforcing the 349 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:41.880 credibility of what he saw. Another compelling account comes from 350 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:46.480 Mark de Werth, a bigfoot researcher with the BFRO. His 351 00:21:46.559 --> 00:21:50.440 sighting in Coshocton County, Ohio in nineteen ninety seven was 352 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:53.119 the turning point in his search for the elusive creature. 353 00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:56.720 I wasn't looking for bigfoot that day. I was out 354 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:59.680 looking for badger dens. There were three of us hiking 355 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.799 when we started hearing movement above us. At first we 356 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:06.000 assumed it was deer, but whenever we stopped, it stopped. 357 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:10.880 Whenever we moved, it moved. Eventually, we split up, thinking 358 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:11.359 we might. 359 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:13.880 Flush out whatever it was. I sat for a. 360 00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:17.279 Few minutes and nothing happened. But the moment I started 361 00:22:17.279 --> 00:22:20.480 walking again, I heard something large moving parallel to me. 362 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:24.559 My first thought was great, I'm being stalked by a 363 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:27.880 mountain lion. I decided to get out of there. As 364 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:30.240 I approached the road where my jeep was parked, I 365 00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:33.319 could still hear movement behind me. Then I heard heavy 366 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:37.200 footsteps crunching above me on the slope. I turned to look, 367 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:40.200 and that's when I saw it, about seventy feet away, 368 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:44.599 a dark shape squatting. At first I thought it was 369 00:22:44.680 --> 00:22:46.759 a black bear, but as I went to take off 370 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:50.720 my pack, it made noise. That's when the figure stood up. 371 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:54.359 The first thing I noticed was its ears positioned on 372 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:57.480 the sides of its head. Then I saw the flat face. 373 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:01.400 It turned and looked directly at me. In that instant, 374 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:05.279 I almost fell backward off the trail. My adrenaline was pumping. 375 00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:08.200 I grabbed my camcorder and took off running after it, 376 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:11.359 but it was already gone. I don't even remember the 377 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:15.720 two hour drive home. I was in complete shock. De 378 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:19.279 Wert's encounter solidified his belief in Bigfoot. He had been 379 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:22.960 a researcher, but at times his faith wavered. That day 380 00:23:23.319 --> 00:23:28.000 everything changed. Like the other witnesses, his credibility is reinforced 381 00:23:28.039 --> 00:23:31.799 by his familiarity with the outdoors and his careful elimination 382 00:23:31.880 --> 00:23:35.960 of other possibilities. And like Nice, he acknowledges that once 383 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:40.039 you've seen something like this, you can't unsee it. From 384 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:43.960 the Pacific Northwest to the forests of Nova Scotia, encounters 385 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:46.799 like these raise questions that science has yet to answer. 386 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.160 Skeptics may dismiss them, but for those who have come 387 00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:54.359 face to face with something inexplicable, the experience is undeniable. 388 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:57.720 When everything they know about the world is upended in 389 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:01.240 an instant, they are left with a question. If it 390 00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:04.119 wasn't a bear, and it wasn't a man, then what 391 00:24:04.440 --> 00:24:07.799 was it. Most of the bigfoot encounters we collected in 392 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:12.200 our interviews revolve around an absence, something missing at their core. 393 00:24:13.079 --> 00:24:16.519 These absences exist because bigfooters anticipate the ways in which 394 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:20.359 their audience might try to explain away their encounters. Their 395 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:25.000 stories are grounded in anticipated stigma. Witnesses acknowledge that their 396 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:30.119 experiences might be dismissed as misidentifications. They anticipate that skeptics 397 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:33.319 will say they were fooled by nature by their own senses. 398 00:24:33.880 --> 00:24:37.680 What one interview we referred to as self hoaxing, but 399 00:24:37.759 --> 00:24:40.880 they push back. It was not a cougar. It walked 400 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:43.839 on two legs. It was not a bear. It had 401 00:24:43.880 --> 00:24:47.000