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Speaker 1: I'm from southeast Texas and my encounter happened on land

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bordering the Big Thicket National Preserve along the Netches River.

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You described the swamplands of this area in Steve Lilly

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Number thirteen. My encounter happened forty miles away in a

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small town called Spurger. I've been in the woods hunting

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and fishing all my life and never had a strange

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occurrence until twenty twenty four. During the deer season. It

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was both seasons in December, and I was spending as

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much time in the woods as I could. It was

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a rare year when it snowed here in our area,

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and I wanted to bag a deer. I slept out

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into the woods at two PM and started walking to

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a big flat that I knew of where I thought

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some deer and hogs might be. And when I got there,

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the woods were dead silent. I didn't think much of it,

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so I just sat down and I waited. Fifteen minutes later,

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maybe one hundred yards away, on the other side of

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the flat, I caught movement and I READI my Mossberg

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Model five hundred. I assumed I was looking at a

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hog because it was low to the ground and dark

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reddish brown. All of a sudden, this thing stood up

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on two legs. It was at least eight feet tall,

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and I was petrified. I had always believed in bigfoot

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and had listened to your podcast, but I couldn't believe

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one was standing right in front of me, only one

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hundred yards away. Just when I thought the creature was

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about to leave, I heard a loud whoop to my right.

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Then I watched the creature in front of me lean

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his head back, cup his mouth and whooped back. This

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scared the crap out of me, and I started running.

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I'm a state qualifier in the one mile run on

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the track and in the three point two mile run

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across country, but I haven't ever run as fast as

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I did in those woods that day. I made it

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to my four wheeler and I left, and I have

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never been back since. Thanks for listening to my story.

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I'm a huge fan. Thank you man. Thank you for

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being a fan and sending the letter in. This is

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a teenage boy who sent this in. I thought this

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was a good story. Thank you very much, sir. All right,

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all right, welcome to the podcast. I appreciate you clicking

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on the video. I really do appreciate it. Got a

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couple of things to say here. First, my brother works

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with a man. I was in my brother's office not

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too long ago, and this guy said are you Are

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you Cam Buckner And I said yeah. He said, you

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tell those stories on YouTube and a podcast, don't you.

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I said yeah. He said, my grandfather listens to your

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podcast as much as he can, really likes it. And

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I said, well, what's his name? He told so I

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wanted to say hi to Lynn Cornelius. Lynn is a

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champion archer. He's about my age, and he's had to

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put down shooting a bow because he's got back problems.

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And I hear he's gonna have to have his knee

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replaced pretty soon. I don't do this hardly ever. I

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don't say hi to people like you know, there's I

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don't know, I just don't think of it or whatever.

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But this man lives right here in my town. I

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want to say hi to Lynn. I haven't met Lynn,

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but I hope to meet him someday. Anyway, Lynn, thanks

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for listening to the podcast. I really appreciate you. Okay.

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The other thing I wanted to tell y'all is or

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ask you have y'all tried the new hamburger at McDonald's

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called the Big Arch. I'm not a big McDonald's fan.

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I kind of like their fish sandwiches. I like their

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French fries. My wife likes the frape's, the caramel frape.

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She's a freak for those things. She loves them. But

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she's like me, she doesn't really care for the food.

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But I had to try that Big Arch not too

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long ago, and it just didn't do anything for me.

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I mean, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great.

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I'm a Burger King guy. I love a double whopper

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with cheese. Also like a Wendy's triple Man. That is

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a delicious burger. I like five guys. I like hardyseburgers.

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I like the Sonic double cheeseburger. But my favorite is

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the Burger King Whopper. About once every two years, i'm

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real hungry and I get a triple whopper. Oh man,

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the more meat the better. Anyway, I was just thinking

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the other day while I was eating that Big Arch

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and not being very impressed. I wonder what you guys

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in the audience like to eat in fast foods. Let

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me know in the comments section. What's your favorite fast

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food is. I don't eat it much. I usually pick

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up something maybe once every two weeks or so. Sometimes

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once a week. I'll get something small, the double fishful.

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I like to get the fish file at at McDonald's

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and get them to put two pieces of fish it.

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It's pretty good. Anyway, I'm just rambling. I was just

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wondering what y'all thought if y'all tried the big Arch,

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if y'all tried the new Whopper, you know, the new Whopper.

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The Whopper is new and improved. It's got real mayonnaise

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on it now. And they changed their bun, and I

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was worried the bun would be dusty, you know, dry

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and dusty and fall apart. But it's not. It holds

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together pretty good. Probably full of preservatives and things unhealthy

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for us, but it was really good. It's better than

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it was two months ago. Anyway, let me know what

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y'all like in the fast food realm. All right, let's

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get on with this podcast. Thanks for indulging my tangent.

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I appreciate you. I think I've got three or four

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stories in this podcast. All right, here we go. My

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first encounter with sasquatch happened in the nineteen seventies when

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my family lived in southern Oregon, south of Grant's Pass,

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in a heavily wooded area. Our house set on a

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little dirt road in the woods at the base of

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a large mountain, with some cleared land for hay and

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sheep grazing. One evening, my brother and his friend volunteered

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to prepare dinner while my mom and I were in

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the living room watching TV. Down the short hallway, I

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could hear my older brother and his friend talking and

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laughing and having a good time. Suddenly they went silent.

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My mother called out to them, but got no response.

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We exchanged worried looks and quickly went down the hall

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to the kitchen to find my brother and his friend

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frozen like statues, paralyzed by fear, and staring at the

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kitchen window. I turned my head to see what they

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were looking at, and in an instant, my life changed.

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Looking into the kitchen was a ssquatch. It was tall

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enough to look into the window that was eight feet

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off the ground, and wide enough that its shoulder extended

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past either side of the frame. Its face was twice

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the size of a human's and so close to the

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window that it fogged the glass with each breath. Its

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skin was pale and its hair was gray and white.

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Its eyes shifted upward to my mom, who was standing

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directly behind me. Its curious stare turned hostile, and it

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began to snarl like a dog, its lips thinning and

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head lowering and a threatening posture. Its anger was clearly visible,

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and what I didn't know at the time was that

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my mom had been involved in witchcraft, the bad kind

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of witchcraft, the kind that summons dark things into your house. Somehow,

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the sysquatch sensed it about her, and it reacted. My

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mother was too scared to move. I turned to look

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at her, and when I looked back, it had disappeared.

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I stepped over to my brother and his friend to

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shake their arms, but their muscles were so tense they

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barely moved. I looked at my mother again and she

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was still frozen. I called out to her, but she

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wouldn't respond, so at that point I got a little scared.

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The three of them stayed that way for a couple

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more minutes before finally snapping out of it. For months

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after that event, I had to walk down that little

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dirt road alone to catch the school bus every morning.

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I was terrified of what I couldn't see, of what

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was watching me from the woods. But sometimes I could

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hear something else out there keeping pace with me, and

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I knew it was that sisquatch. Occasionally I could even

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see him out there, his grayish white outline clearly visible

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against the darkness of the forest. I saw him many

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times afterward, and eventually I grew comfortable with his quiet,

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distant presence. I got the impression that he was considerably older,

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a loner of sorts, and had taken a liking to

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me for some reason. After years of other sightings, I

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had the chance to interact with them. I bought a

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Native American finger flute at the old trading post in

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a nearby town, and one evening just over a month ago,

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I visited a spot where they've been coming regularly for

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the last few years, right before dark. I was given

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a small tour of the area and shown many signs

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of their visits. I left the flute lying on the

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picnic table on the hilltop and the woods and I

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sat in the vista area down below to wait for

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the Sasquatches to come and they did. At least four

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or five of them showed up that evening. We could

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hear their heavy footfalls crunching through the woods, each step muffled,

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sometimes breaking branches, along with the unusual knocks, whoops, and

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whistles and chirps and grunts and growls as they communicated

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with each other. Forty five minutes after after sunset, I

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heard the sound of a flute from atop the hill

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two hundred yards away. It was faint at first, and

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then suddenly loud as one of them started wailing on it.

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It was an incredible special thing to witness. I've been

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studying and researching them for forty three years now. I've

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been blessed to see sixty different sidequatches, and I've been

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blessed to hear them dozens of times more than that. Okay,

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here's a short little dog story that I got a

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few weeks ago. I thought it was really good. When

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the van door opened, my four great nephews and nieces

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rushed out like a tumbling waterfall. Excitedly, they ran into

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the house and yelled in unison, Mom, there's a dog

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in the front yard. Can we keep it? Please? Please?

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Can we keep it? Before their mom could answer, they

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were already petting the most pitiful looking dog you could imagine.

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This poor thing was dirty as a mud pie, and

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its hair was matted and knotted for months of neglect,

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and it smelled like last week's garbage. On closer inspection

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by their mom, it was determined that it was a female.

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She had crushed all over her eyes and ambled as

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if it were her last steps on earth, and with

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pleading eyes, all four kids begged their mother to keep

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her to them. It wasn't a dirty, stinking dog, it

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was a living creature who needed love. They named her Mercy.

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She got a good bath and a flee shampoo, and

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her hair was blow dried as if she were a queen.

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They made a bed for her with blankets, and she

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fell asleep. Mercy had had a rough life. Mom took

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her to the vet the next day and the news

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was not good. She was thirteen years old, probably blind,

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and had arthritis in her hips and legs. She also

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had an embedded chip she had belonged to someone. The

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chip information revealed the family's name and address. They were called,

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and after a brief conversation, they asked that the dog

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not be returned. They did not want her back. Their

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son had been in a terrible car accident and needed

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long term care, and caring for Mercy was too much

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for them. The poor dog had traveled fifteen miles from

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where her owners lived. She had suffered through cold nights

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and hunger and thirst, and somehow had stopped at the

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right house. Mercy lived two more years. Sophia, the youngest

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of the family, would wrap her up and carry her

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like a baby. She would sing to her too. The

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song went like this, I'm not gonna sing it, Mercy, Mercy.

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She likes to go to work, work, work, tork twork.

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I wish I could put a tune to that, but

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I can't sing. Mercy would be let out in the

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backyard to do her business, and as soon as the

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door was open, she would run out like a puppy

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with new legs. When she was ready, she would walk

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back in slower now, as the aches in her legs

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reminded her of her advanced years. For those fleeting moments, however,

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she remembered her puppy life. Eventually, she could not walk

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well and would stumble and lose her balance, and then

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she stopped eating, and it was decided to put her

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to sleep. There wasn't a dry eye in the house

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as she was taken to the vet for the last time.

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She was cremated, and her ashes are still with the family.

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That old dog couldn't have stumbled upon a more loving

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family that day. It's hard to say who was luckier, though,

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Mercy or the family who had the joy of loving

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her for the final years of her life. Oh what

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a good story. I just love these dog stories. Please,

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if you have a dog story, send me more. I

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know I've got probably a half a dozen left to do.

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And you know this isn't really a dog story channel,

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but I like throwing them in, so this is good

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for me. I don't know. I have a lot of

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thoughts on dogs, and I could go on and on

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about it, but they really are special animals. They're domesticated animals,

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and they absolutely need humans to survive. They need pack leaders.

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They're not like coodies or wolves or they are pack animals,

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but they need a human to lead them anyway. That's

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all I'm gonna say. I love this dog story, and

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I'm so glad this family took that dog in. And

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it doesn't matter if a dog's old or young. You

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can give that dog a good home and a good

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life anytime you want so. Great story, great dog story,

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Thank you very much. My current position is a federal

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swat officer on a specialized response team. It requires intentional

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omissions for personal safety and to maintain professional confidentiality. After

250
00:15:08,679 --> 00:15:12,279
fifteen years as a patrol officer and a SWAT operator,

251
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I thought I'd seen it all. I've tracked murderers deep

252
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into the woods. I've searched dope houses where the walls

253
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sweated rot, where mattresses crawled with bed bugs, and the

254
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air tasted like burnt chemicals and mold. I've locked eyes

255
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with men whose souls had already fled, pupils stretched wide,

256
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glassed over, staring straight through me. The physical scars, they're real,

257
00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:43,799
they're etched into my skin, But it's the memories that

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00:15:43,879 --> 00:15:49,320
stay loud. It was October twenty eight, just after twenty

259
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three hundred hours. The world outside my cruiser was a

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mailstrom of wind and rain, the kind that feels like

261
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ice needles on your exposed skin, ord like it always

262
00:16:01,279 --> 00:16:06,639
does with that voice from dispatch, calm, professional reading from

263
00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,440
a glowing terminal, like she wasn't about to walk me

264
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into something I'll never forget. Sera nine oh four, respond

265
00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,759
to nine to one one, call possible livestock mauling, frantic

266
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:24,840
elderly male, came the voice from dispatch. Normally I would

267
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chalk it up to a mountain lion, maybe a rogue

268
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black bear. That standard fair in the sticks within My

269
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cell rang and dispatch patched the original nine to one

270
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one audio recording to my phone. And I'll never forget

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that voice crackling through the rain. In the static, the

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00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:47,159
old man was sobbing. He wasn't just afraid, he was broken.

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His breath hitched with every word. A sound that drilled

274
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into my bones, that was, he stammered, his voice thin

275
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and ready, like a wire about to snap.

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Speaker 2: I've ever seen as black as pitch, eyes like fire,

277
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And the way it moved fast, it was too fast,

278
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like a shadow ripping through the air.

279
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,519
Speaker 1: He trailed off. His voice was brittle, as if speaking

280
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about it was enough to invite it back, as if

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the very air around him still vibrated with its presence.

282
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And then a choked, sob raw and desperate.

283
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Speaker 2: God help me, I sound it made.

284
00:17:28,519 --> 00:17:31,920
Speaker 1: I flipped on my emergency lights, the red and blue

285
00:17:31,960 --> 00:17:36,319
glow stuttered across the trees, stretching shadows out like limbs.

286
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:41,119
I punched the address into my unit's GPS. The ranch

287
00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:44,240
set far outside of town, nestled against the base of

288
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a thick pine ridge, a pocket of isolation that cell

289
00:17:47,839 --> 00:17:53,480
towers barely reached. I drove and the rain intensified, a

290
00:17:53,559 --> 00:17:57,599
solid sheet of cold water, slicing down, clinging to the windshield.

291
00:17:58,519 --> 00:18:02,000
The wind screamed across the highway, a high pitched moan

292
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through the skeletal branches of the trees, like a living

293
00:18:05,079 --> 00:18:09,519
thing in agony. It took fifteen minutes to reach the turnoff.

294
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The old ranch road was little more than a muddy

295
00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:17,599
scar through the woods, winding deeper into the blackness. My

296
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:21,200
tires slipped more than once, growing in protest, and I

297
00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,440
nearly got stuck for good at the final treacherous ben.

298
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When I finally pulled into the property, I turned off

299
00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,680
the lights, I killed the engine, and I stepped out.

300
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:37,039
That's when I felt it static, that deep down, narrow

301
00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:41,720
level alertness. It's one they don't teach you at the academy.

302
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,559
Not the edge of your seat adrenaline of a foot pursuit,

303
00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,839
not the sharp fear before a breach. No, this was different.

304
00:18:50,759 --> 00:18:54,039
It crawled under the skin like ice water. It was

305
00:18:54,079 --> 00:18:57,559
a sensation without a source, like the world had gone

306
00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:02,039
just one degree too quiet, effecating vacuum, Like the shadows

307
00:19:02,079 --> 00:19:05,599
were pressing closer than they should, not just dimming the light,

308
00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:11,319
but consuming it whole, like I wasn't alone, And if

309
00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:14,880
you felt it, you know exactly what I mean. Some

310
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,880
officers get stuck with drunks. Others are magnets for DV calls.

311
00:19:20,480 --> 00:19:20,559
Speaker 2: Me.

312
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,400
Speaker 1: I get the ones where something doesn't line up, where

313
00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,359
the air feels heavier than it should, and the silence

314
00:19:27,440 --> 00:19:32,880
starts watching you. They call them suspicious circumstances. It's what

315
00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,599
they say when something's wrong, but no one wants to

316
00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:39,200
admit how wrong it is. It's a phrase dressed in

317
00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:44,160
sterile intent, meant to keep it clean and measured. But

318
00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:47,279
what it really means is this, You're not gonna like

319
00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:51,039
what you find. No other officer in this valley has

320
00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,319
responded to more of these than I have. It's not

321
00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:58,640
a badge of honor, it's a weight. The old ranch

322
00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,960
house was dark, a weather beaten shell of timber and

323
00:20:02,079 --> 00:20:05,920
rusted metal that looked like it had been abandoned decades ago.

324
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,240
There was no porch lie, there was no movement. The

325
00:20:10,279 --> 00:20:13,039
only sign of life was the faintest flicker from a

326
00:20:13,079 --> 00:20:17,960
single window. Then the front door creaked open, groaning on

327
00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:22,799
rusted hinges. There stood the old man. He was a wraith,

328
00:20:23,799 --> 00:20:26,799
wrapped in a threadbare wool blanket that clung to him

329
00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:32,279
like wet paper, barely concealing his trembling. His eyes were white.

330
00:20:32,519 --> 00:20:36,519
They were dilated, darting frantically from side to side, like

331
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,440
prey that knew the predator wasn't far off, that it

332
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,359
was still lurking just beyond the periphery of his vision.

333
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,279
They held a haunted, vacant look, as if he'd seen

334
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,319
things no human was meant to see. Come this way,

335
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:55,160
he said, his voice barely audible over the howl of

336
00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,359
the storm. He didn't speak again as he led me,

337
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,279
stumbling rather than past the main barn and through a

338
00:21:02,319 --> 00:21:05,680
thicket of broken fencing and trample brush. It looked like

339
00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,519
a herd of stampeding elk hauld pass through the chicken

340
00:21:09,559 --> 00:21:11,720
coop looked like it had been hit by a bomb.

341
00:21:12,279 --> 00:21:16,680
Wooden slats were splintered outward, and jagged edges pointing accusingly

342
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at the stormy sky, as if something enormous had ripped

343
00:21:20,599 --> 00:21:27,079
its way in with a grotesque, unimaginable strength. Feathers bloodied

344
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and matted. It covered the ground in a wide, macabre art,

345
00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,279
and inside was carnage. There were dead chickens everywhere, their

346
00:21:35,319 --> 00:21:40,839
small bodies mangled beyond recognition, half eaten. Not the clean

347
00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,200
punctures of a bobcat or a blunt trauma of a bear.

348
00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:49,920
These birds had been shredded, torn apart, with deliberate, sadistic cruelty.

349
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,920
I turned to question the old man, but he was

350
00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:57,079
already stumbling, his gaunt frame swaying toward the lamb pin.

351
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,720
That's when the smell hit me. It was a suffocating

352
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:06,559
wave of rot. It was musty, wet fur, and something else,

353
00:22:06,559 --> 00:22:11,519
something utterly alien and foul. It was sour, like spoiled meat.

354
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My stomach turned, and a burning acid rose in my throat,

355
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and I fought down the urge to vomit. The lamb

356
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:24,880
pin was worse, far, far worse. The bodies of six

357
00:22:25,039 --> 00:22:29,279
young lambs lay strewn like broken dolls, their tiny limbs

358
00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:33,920
twisted at impossible angles. The air here was even heavier

359
00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:39,640
thicker with that awful, putrid stench. I dropped to one knee,

360
00:22:39,799 --> 00:22:43,319
the cold mud soaking through my uniform pants, to inspect

361
00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:46,359
the ground. There were no signs of a bear or

362
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:50,000
a cat. The rain had softened the mud, making tracks

363
00:22:50,039 --> 00:22:53,119
easier to read. But what I saw chilled me to

364
00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:57,440
my core, a deep, bone aching dread that bypassed all

365
00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:03,440
my training. There were massive footprints, bipedal undeniably, but with

366
00:23:03,559 --> 00:23:08,640
long clawed toes like a monstrous canine. Some had an

367
00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:13,480
extra unsettling indentation at the heel, like a distorted human print,

368
00:23:13,559 --> 00:23:18,759
overlapping a wolf's, or perhaps a second digit. One track

369
00:23:19,039 --> 00:23:23,599
I estimated was nearly seventeen inches long. It sunk deep,

370
00:23:23,759 --> 00:23:27,960
suggesting an impossible weight over it, a crushing pressure no

371
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:32,039
animal I knew could exert. Whatever it was, it walked

372
00:23:32,039 --> 00:23:37,839
on two legs, and it was immensely powerful. My heart

373
00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:42,359
hammered against my ribs. The old man, still trembling, pointed

374
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,119
a skeletal finger toward the dense black tree line. It

375
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,799
went that way, he whispered, It went into those pines.

376
00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,240
I told him to return to the house and lock

377
00:23:53,319 --> 00:23:58,319
the doors to barricade himself in. He hesitated, his eyes

378
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,839
wide and vacant, staring pain asked me into the impenetrable

379
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:07,160
darkness it watches, he said, his voice was cracking. It

380
00:24:07,279 --> 00:24:11,799
was a dry rasp. I see it in the tree sometimes,

381
00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:16,319
just the eyes, like fire, like hate. It knows when

382
00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:20,839
you're looking, it knows when you're not. He turned, then,

383
00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:25,000
slow and shuffling, a man utterly defeated, leaving me alone

384
00:24:25,079 --> 00:24:29,799
with storm and the black, silent pines that stretched into infinite,

385
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:36,240
suffocating voids. I drew my glock nineteen, the familiar weight

386
00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,759
of small comfort, and turned on the flashlight. The powerful

387
00:24:40,799 --> 00:24:43,880
beam cut through the oppressive darkness and jagged arcs as

388
00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:48,519
I moved toward the woods, each step deliberate. My boots

389
00:24:48,559 --> 00:24:52,359
sucked into the thick, half frozen mud and moss. Rain

390
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:55,880
flew sideways, hitting me in the ear and drumming a frantic,

391
00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:01,279
disorienting rhythm on the brim of my hat. The temperature

392
00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:05,039
dropped ten degrees in the span of twenty feet, an

393
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:10,519
unnatural coal that seeped into my bones. Branches creaked above me,

394
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,880
groaning under the weight of the wind, and pine needles

395
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:19,160
fell relentlessly like icy rain. The underbrush clawed at my legs,

396
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:23,000
like unseen hands tangling in my boots. And then I

397
00:25:23,079 --> 00:25:26,319
heard it. It was a growl. It was a low,

398
00:25:26,519 --> 00:25:29,839
resonant growl, not like a dog or a wolf, but deeper.

399
00:25:30,279 --> 00:25:33,119
And it rumbled in my chest, vibrating my ribs like

400
00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:36,319
a sub wolfer, a sound that seemed to come from

401
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:41,799
the very earth itself, close yet diffused everywhere and nowhere

402
00:25:41,839 --> 00:25:46,000
at once. I pivoted toward the sore, sweeping the flashlight

403
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,799
beam through the trees. There was nothing. Then a flash

404
00:25:50,799 --> 00:25:54,920
of motion to my right, so fast it was almost imperceptible.

405
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,640
A shape. It was tall and broad, slipping between the

406
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:03,400
ancient pines with horroring speed. I barely caught more than

407
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:07,480
a blur. I saw long limbs and possibly black fur

408
00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,599
hunt shoulders that dwarfed the surrounding trees. It moved with

409
00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:17,160
a fluid, predatory grace that defies its massive size, a

410
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,920
silent apparition in the raging storm. And I swung the

411
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,640
light back and there was nothing. The spot where it

412
00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:28,359
had been was empty. The darkness had swallowed it whole.

413
00:26:29,279 --> 00:26:35,119
Sheriff's office, I called out. My voice sounded small and absurd,

414
00:26:35,839 --> 00:26:40,599
A feeble challenge thrown against something ancient and terrifying. And

415
00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:44,799
then the eyes. They were red and glowing, reflective like

416
00:26:44,839 --> 00:26:50,039
an animal's, but they were wrong, intensely intelligent and focused,

417
00:26:50,599 --> 00:26:54,640
a burning, malevolent gaze that pierced through the rain and

418
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:59,480
the thick canopy, boring directly into my soul. They hovered

419
00:26:59,559 --> 00:27:04,519
seven maybe eight feet off the ground, twin embers of pure,

420
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:11,920
unadulterated hate, no blinking, no shifting, just watching, a silent,

421
00:27:12,079 --> 00:27:15,519
unwavering stare that held me rooted to the spot, my

422
00:27:15,599 --> 00:27:18,720
breath catching in my throat. I could feel the heat

423
00:27:18,839 --> 00:27:22,640
radiating from them, an unnatural feeling that made the hair

424
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:26,240
stand up on my arms and neck. I raised my clock.

425
00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,079
My hand was surprisingly steady, despite the tremor in my chest.

426
00:27:31,799 --> 00:27:35,559
The tritium sights glowed faintly green against the impossible red.

427
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,200
And then a shriek, not a howl, not a roar,

428
00:27:39,359 --> 00:27:43,599
something been between something inhuman. It was sharp and filled

429
00:27:43,599 --> 00:27:47,839
with ancient, primal rage. It tore through the woods, vibrating

430
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,759
through the trees, setting off distant coat He is in

431
00:27:50,839 --> 00:27:56,599
a chain reaction of terrified yelps and then silence. This

432
00:27:56,799 --> 00:28:02,200
sound was designed to instill terror, and it worked. Then

433
00:28:02,279 --> 00:28:06,200
it was gone. No sign of retreat, no crashing through

434
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,759
the underbreath, just to absence, a sudden, complete void where

435
00:28:10,759 --> 00:28:14,240
the eyes had been. I stood there for what felt

436
00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:18,319
like an eternity, rain soaking through my vest and my uniform,

437
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,440
and my weapon aimed at a ghost. My muscles ached

438
00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:26,640
from the tension, my eyes strained against the blackness. Every

439
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:31,279
rational thought I had fled, replaced by a desperate, animalistic

440
00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:36,359
instinct to survive. I backed out, never turning my back,

441
00:28:36,759 --> 00:28:40,400
step by step, my flashlight high its beam, my frail

442
00:28:40,559 --> 00:28:45,200
shield against the dark. Back at my cruiser, I radioed

443
00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:49,000
it in. My voice was tight, trying to sound professional,

444
00:28:49,039 --> 00:28:53,680
but the words felt hollow. Back Up arrived in two

445
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:58,160
younger deputies, their faces grim with sheared unease, and we

446
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:01,559
searched the property for hours, but the rain had washed

447
00:29:01,559 --> 00:29:07,480
away what remained. The livestock bodies were still there, horrifyingly real,

448
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,160
but no fresh signs of whatever had done it. It

449
00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:14,000
had simply melted back into the shadows from which it

450
00:29:14,079 --> 00:29:18,960
came back. At the Sheriff's office, we wrote it all down.

451
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:23,400
We logged in the evidence, sterile, clinical document that could

452
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:28,279
never convey the true horror. Of that night. I included everything,

453
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,920
knowing it wouldn't matter, knowing it wouldn't change the label

454
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:39,079
suspicious circumstance, possible livestock mauling. That's all it will ever

455
00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:39,960
be allowed to be.

456
00:29:41,599 --> 00:29:41,680
Speaker 2: Now.

457
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 1: I know what I saw, I know what I felt.

458
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:49,079
But nothing, nothing has ever made me feel so helpless,

459
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:55,000
so small, and as utterly, terrifyingly insignificant as whatever watched

460
00:29:55,039 --> 00:29:59,039
me from those trees that stormy night. The old man

461
00:29:59,079 --> 00:30:02,480
eventually left for good, the house and the property left

462
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:06,559
to right and the unyielding embrace of the woods. Locals

463
00:30:06,599 --> 00:30:10,720
say it's cursed. Hunters avoid that stretch of forest now.

464
00:30:11,359 --> 00:30:14,559
Their dogs refuse to enter the tree line, whimpering and

465
00:30:14,599 --> 00:30:19,240
digging at the ground. And sometimes when I'm alone, when

466
00:30:19,279 --> 00:30:22,960
the wind house just right and the darkness presses in,

467
00:30:23,799 --> 00:30:27,079
I think about those eyes, and I wonder if they're

468
00:30:27,119 --> 00:30:32,119
still out there. Okay, thank you guys for listening to

469
00:30:32,119 --> 00:30:35,599
this podcast. I actually had it ready to go yesterday

470
00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:38,799
and it was much shorter, but I got up this

471
00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:41,200
morning and added a couple of stories to it to

472
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,599
make it a little longer. I didn't upload it because

473
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:47,720
our internet was out. Some truck hit a pole we're

474
00:30:47,759 --> 00:30:51,559
on fiber optic internet. The whole city was out and

475
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:53,960
they got it fixed pretty quick. This morning, I woke up,

476
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,960
it was good, so I came out and recorded these

477
00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,680
two stories or this, yeah, the two stories I added.

478
00:31:01,519 --> 00:31:05,960
Thank you for listening. The next few podcasts will be

479
00:31:06,359 --> 00:31:09,319
just as frequent, but they might be a little shorter

480
00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:12,799
because I'm working on Steve Lilly number twenty, trying to

481
00:31:12,839 --> 00:31:14,720
kind of pour myself into that and get you a

482
00:31:14,759 --> 00:31:18,119
good podcast, a good Steve Lily story out. It's going

483
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,079
pretty good and I think you're gonna enjoy it. I'm

484
00:31:21,079 --> 00:31:22,839
trying to get it out by the end of March,

485
00:31:23,519 --> 00:31:26,960
so hang with me shorter podcast for a week or so,

486
00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,839
but after that we'll get right back into the longer podcast.

487
00:31:31,079 --> 00:31:34,000
I guess I never know what I'm gonna do. I

488
00:31:34,599 --> 00:31:36,880
just let the loose ends drag, know what I mean.

489
00:31:37,039 --> 00:31:39,599
How y'all get all right? You guys have a good week,

490
00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:43,599
and we'll see on the next week. Thanks