WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:09.640 I was appointed as the pastor of the Ardmore Church 2 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:13.519 of God in nineteen eighty five. I had been doing 3 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:17.480 my ministerial internship at the church when I won the appointment, 4 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:21.480 so I was familiar with the church and it's, shall 5 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:27.199 we say, peculiar stories that surrounded it. The pastor's residence 6 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:30.079 was a twenty eight foot by twenty eight foot apartment 7 00:00:30.239 --> 00:00:33.000 attached to the north end of the church building, and 8 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:36.359 that became home to me, my wife, and our three children. 9 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:40.880 The residence was separated from the church sanctuary by a 10 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:44.920 large combination dining hall and kitchen that was used for 11 00:00:45.119 --> 00:00:50.280 church functions. A classroom lay between the kitchen and the sanctuary, 12 00:00:50.679 --> 00:00:56.280 and between the dining area and the sanctuary was my office. 13 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:59.359 The departing pastor and his wife reported that the big 14 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:02.880 room had a creepy feel to it. They avoided the 15 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:07.519 room whenever possible, and especially in the dark. They were 16 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:11.280 very strong Christians, So why did they not investigate the 17 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:14.920 source of their feelings or why were they afraid? It 18 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.359 remains a mystery to me. Perhaps that's not saying much 19 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:22.120 for the Christian faith, but we don't all live up 20 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:27.319 to the perfect ideal, especially when we are scared, but 21 00:01:27.400 --> 00:01:30.680 what can I say? My own wife and children refused 22 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:33.200 to enter the room after dark, and it took a 23 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:35.560 great deal of coaxing to get the kids to go 24 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:39.519 in there at all. There were times they exited the 25 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:42.439 residence and walked around the outside of the church to 26 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:46.560 go into the sanctuary. They said the room was haunted 27 00:01:46.760 --> 00:01:50.079 and it felt like they were being watched by unfriendly eyes. 28 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:54.599 I admit there was something I didn't know exactly what 29 00:01:54.760 --> 00:01:57.959 was going on. The church was well known for its 30 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:02.760 history of dissension and rather troublesome members who embraced odd doctrines. 31 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:06.599 I figured they'd given the troubled history that was just 32 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:10.159 a negative spirit and what people now call a vibe 33 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:13.919 about the place. I had to walk through the room 34 00:02:13.960 --> 00:02:16.520 to get to my office, which I often did about 35 00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:20.360 three in the morning. Quiet time to study and prayer 36 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:24.439 comes at a premium when you have children. There was 37 00:02:24.479 --> 00:02:27.719 a certain increasing creepiness to crossing the room that I 38 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:32.840 couldn't quite shake. The former pastor kept the coffee pot 39 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:36.000 in the office rather than the kitchen. I had never 40 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:38.800 given that much thought until I started arriving at the 41 00:02:38.840 --> 00:02:42.719 office at that early hour. I wasn't afraid to enter 42 00:02:42.719 --> 00:02:45.680 the kitchen area, but I had no desire to do either. 43 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:49.240 I was the new pastor, but this wasn't my first 44 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:54.159 rodeo either. I had some experience with people oppressed and 45 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:58.319 possessed by demons. I wasn't running from the school bully, 46 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:03.080 but I wasn't exactly for a fight. All I can 47 00:03:03.120 --> 00:03:05.960 say in my defense is that to everything, there is 48 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.759 a season and a time to every purpose, and the 49 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:14.159 time was not yet. It seemed to me the best 50 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:16.639 course was to work hard at what I did and 51 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:20.439 bring in a new, more positive group of people. And 52 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:23.599 to that end, I found myself relying on preaching for 53 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:27.280 more notes than was my custom. I thought this was 54 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:30.159 a sign of lack of preparation on my part until 55 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:34.840 some seasoned preachers came in to preach. I watched them 56 00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:38.039 lose their train of thought, almost in mid sentence, and 57 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:42.080 they stumbled over their words they planned to preach. That 58 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:45.560 I wasn't the only one struggling was a bittersweet consolation. 59 00:03:47.319 --> 00:03:53.120 And then something strange happened. People longest strange from the church, 60 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:56.840 career criminals, and people who had never darkened a church 61 00:03:56.919 --> 00:04:00.000 door began to show up on Sunday mornings and were 62 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:04.800 very receptive to the gospel. At first glance, that doesn't 63 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:09.599 seem so strange, or it shouldn't anyway, wasn't that what 64 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:14.319 I was working and praying for? But rather than encouraging 65 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:18.920 the small congregation already attending, it seemed to breed resentment, 66 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:22.120 and people began to complain to me about all the 67 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:26.639 sinners who were coming to church. A couple of older 68 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:30.000 ladies came to church one Sunday with smiles on their faces, 69 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:33.199 and they rushed to see me after church was dismissed. 70 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:36.480 They said that they enjoyed my preaching and had begun 71 00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:39.720 to pray at home, and then they went on to 72 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:43.360 tell how they prayed before going to the casino on Saturday. 73 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.040 They couldn't wait to get to church and make an 74 00:04:46.120 --> 00:04:50.160 offering from their winnings. Well, I found that kind of endearing, 75 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:53.079 but many of my original faithful found it not to 76 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:57.240 their liking. Not long after that, I was in the 77 00:04:57.319 --> 00:05:00.399 church sanctuary in the middle of the day, and I 78 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:03.120 was walking around the front of the church praying rather 79 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:07.600 loudly when I heard someone come in, or perhaps felt 80 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:11.639 someone come in as more precise I knew the church 81 00:05:11.720 --> 00:05:14.279 doors were locked, but I turned around to see who 82 00:05:14.319 --> 00:05:18.439 it might be, and there was no one there. That's 83 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:21.000 when I realized the door I heard turned on its 84 00:05:21.079 --> 00:05:24.120 hinges came from the direction of the classroom that gave 85 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:28.360 unto the kitchen. A black mist the size of a 86 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:32.120 human body floated onto the raised platform near the pulpit 87 00:05:32.600 --> 00:05:36.439 and hovered there for several moments before a face began 88 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:41.800 to form beneath the mist. The decision between fight or 89 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:45.279 flight passed so quickly that I have no memory of it. 90 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:49.000 I commanded the thing to get out and never return. 91 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:53.639 It became a blur that disappeared as it passed on 92 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:57.600 my right, and the church doors rattled on their hinges 93 00:05:57.959 --> 00:06:00.519 like a three hundred pound offense in the line had 94 00:06:00.600 --> 00:06:05.639 hit them. Stunned, I dropped down on the front pew 95 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:09.639 and just sat there until the sheiks and adrenaline surge abated. 96 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:12.720 I was never scared, but I don't think I was 97 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:17.360 ever really in charge. As certainly as there was a 98 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:22.120 demonic force present, there was a second, stronger presence too. 99 00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:27.360 I didn't tell anyone about what happened. The situation was 100 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.879 repeated a few days later, and that evening my wife 101 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:34.000 returned from a trip to the church kitchen to marvel 102 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:39.319 that whatever was there before was completely gone. I resigned 103 00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:42.680 the church a few months later. Within a year, the 104 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:47.839 church closed that location and moved across town. The building 105 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:51.199 the last time I saw it was a medical supply company. 106 00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:55.079 I didn't go inside to ask how business was or 107 00:06:55.120 --> 00:07:02.000 if they noticed anything peculiar with their new building. You 108 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:04.040 don't know me, but your name was related to me 109 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:07.800 as someone who could solve a problem i'm having. My 110 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.600 name is Jack Bright, and for the last seven years, 111 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:13.519 I've been trying to secure a deed in mineral rights 112 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:17.399 to build a secure containment facility to protect the valuables 113 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:22.120 contained therein on a piece of land located in Tocopola, Mississippi. 114 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:26.399 As fate would have it, mister Lilly, I was finally 115 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:31.240 granted both after a lengthy legal process. As a little 116 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:35.680 background information may prove valuable in assessing my dilemma, I'd 117 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:38.560 like to share this with you. The land was cheap. 118 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:41.240 It was almost like the county was trying to give 119 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:44.720 it away. The problem was that no one could find 120 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:48.240 a living owner for the land. The last owner, listed 121 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:53.439 as Jeremiah Trice, died fifteen years ago. After doing a 122 00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:56.920 little research on the man and his family, I discovered 123 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:01.040 that he had two twin daughters, Priscilla and Quilla Trice, 124 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:04.439 but I couldn't find any records showing what happened to them. 125 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:07.639 That's why it took so long to purchase the land, 126 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:11.160 since the court had to legally pronounce it abandon before 127 00:08:11.160 --> 00:08:14.519 it could be sold to me. Before the ink was 128 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:17.680 dry on the bill of sail, the crazy started in 129 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:21.079 full force, and I hired a construction company to come 130 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:23.800 out to clear and level the land before pouring the 131 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:28.680 foundation for the new underground storage. Almost immediately I started 132 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:32.799 getting reports of vandals and thieves coming one site when 133 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:36.080 work was finished for the day. But the vandalism wasn't 134 00:08:36.120 --> 00:08:40.320 sure garden variety type. I would classify the damage being 135 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:44.440 done as impossible. Not just one, but two steam rollers 136 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:48.679 were cracked beyond the possibility of repair, and multiple animal 137 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:52.759 carcasses were discovered in various stages of decomposition along the 138 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:57.279 four corners of where the foundation would be poured. The 139 00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:00.879 immediate line of fought offered by the sheriff deputies was 140 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:04.399 some kind of devil worshiping cult sneaking onto the property 141 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:07.919 at night to perform some silly ritual that they believe 142 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:11.960 would grant them money or power or that kind of nonsense. 143 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:15.279 But no one was able to explain how the steamrollers 144 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:19.399 were cracked without any indication of an industrial tool being used. 145 00:09:20.440 --> 00:09:24.000 The most unsettling part of this circus was the giant, 146 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:28.879 barefoot footprints located all over the site. The deputy said 147 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:31.720 the cult people were probably wearing some of those big 148 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:37.879 gag bigfoot shoes that you get off Amazon in an 149 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:40.919 attempt to scare people off. I'm sorry, guys, I can 150 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:44.399 just see these cult people walking around with these big 151 00:09:45.159 --> 00:09:48.399 feet strapped on their feet. I don't know, It's just 152 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:51.440 a funny image to me. Back to the letter, I 153 00:09:51.480 --> 00:09:53.840 don't know if all this damage is being caused by 154 00:09:53.960 --> 00:09:57.080 people or a bunch of sasquatch, but I was told 155 00:09:57.120 --> 00:09:59.919 that two night watchmen have gone missing that were keep 156 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:02.840 an eye on my property at night in an attempt 157 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:05.639 to catch the vandals, which means we just went from 158 00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:11.000 vandalism to kidnapping and maybe even murder. Needless to say, 159 00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:15.919 everyone is on edge. I've had several workers resigned this 160 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.440 past week from their positions due to the fear of 161 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:22.240 being caught after hours by whatever is stalking this location 162 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:25.799 every night, and I couldn't blame them one bit. But 163 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:28.960 the final mind blower was this letter from my employees 164 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:32.720 found on the ground yesterday morning. It was found by 165 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:35.159 the work form and at the beginning of the morning shift, 166 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:39.639 taped to a portajohn located on the south boundary. The 167 00:10:39.720 --> 00:10:42.600 envelope only had my name on it. There was nothing 168 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:45.639 out of the ordinary about the envelope. It's appearing to 169 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.240 be standard in every way, but the note located inside 170 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:52.360 of it has been the cause for many restless nights following. 171 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:56.919 The letter claimed to be from the Trice twins that 172 00:10:57.000 --> 00:10:59.840 had disappeared from the face of the earth shortly after 173 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:03.720 the death of their father, Jeremiah Trice fifteen years ago. 174 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:09.159 The letter reads as follows. This land is and always 175 00:11:09.360 --> 00:11:13.639 will be ours by blood and by sacrifice. The bargain 176 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.320 will always be respected. You are not of our blood, 177 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:21.080 mister Bright. You have no claim and your money is 178 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:25.080 meaningless to us. Your machines offended us, and they were 179 00:11:25.159 --> 00:11:27.960 broken as a warning to you. But now your continued 180 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:32.639 efforts have caused us to see you dead. Leave our home, 181 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:38.159 mister Bright, and live or stay and die. Your warning 182 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:42.120 is waiting for you on the floor of our kingdom. 183 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:46.480 The crew and I found the remains of three employees 184 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:49.720 scattered around the work site the next morning, mister Lily. 185 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:53.559 The entire crew resigned after that, and the land has 186 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:57.759 been completely abandoned. I need your help, sir. I'm willing 187 00:11:57.799 --> 00:11:59.799 to pay you well for this if you're willing to 188 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:02.639 take the job. But I'd also like to know if 189 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:06.120 the letter was really from the twins, where have they 190 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:09.159 been all this time? What did they mean about not 191 00:12:09.240 --> 00:12:12.679 being related to them through blood? And where the hell 192 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:19.679 did those huge footprints come from. Back in nineteen sixty five, 193 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:23.559 my grandfather retired from the legal profession and purchased a 194 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:28.039 little over twenty acres up in Willow Creek, California. There 195 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:31.759 he had what we called today a kit farm. He 196 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:34.720 had some beef and dairy cattle and sheep and chickens, 197 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:38.279 and plus he grew some fruit trees and nice vegetables. 198 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:41.600 He'd lived there a few years when he began to notice, 199 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:45.960 after returning from fishing trips or visiting friends in San Francisco, 200 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:50.480 that there would be eggs, fruit, and vegetables missing. And 201 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:53.799 then one day in mid November of nineteen seventy, he 202 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:57.240 was out milking cows and he heard footsteps approaching the 203 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:00.759 front side of the barn. Thinking it was my uncle 204 00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.559 stopping by for a visit, he called out his name, 205 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:07.440 but no one answered. He called out to him several times, 206 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:11.879 but he still got no response. My grandfather stopped what 207 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:14.240 he was doing and went out to see who was there, 208 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:16.639 and as he rounded the corner of the barn, to 209 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:20.799 his utter shock and disbelief, he found himself staring at 210 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:24.080 a seven and a half foot tall harry being with 211 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:27.840 an arrow sticking out of his right thigh. He pulled 212 00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:31.960 up short and shout it out in surprise. My grandmother 213 00:13:32.039 --> 00:13:34.080 and uncle heard him from the house and they came 214 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:37.759 out to help. My uncle brought his thirty six rifle 215 00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:40.720 in a forty five caliber pistol, and by the time 216 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:43.759 they got there, the bigfoot had slumped to the ground 217 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:48.399 and half leaning against the barn. It was clear the 218 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.960 bigfoot was in agony, so my grandfather and my uncle 219 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:56.240 decided to help him. They helped the bigfoot to the barn, 220 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.679 where my uncle, who was a corman in the navy, 221 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:03.559 administered first day. Afterwards, he asked my grandfather to give 222 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.440 the creature some antibiotics that he kept on the farm 223 00:14:06.480 --> 00:14:09.879 for animals. Then they gave him a few blankets and 224 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:12.320 pillows for a bed and left him in the barn. 225 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:16.360 It was a month before the bigfoot healed well enough 226 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.000 to get back into the woods. Over the years, the bigfoot, 227 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:24.360 whom my grandparents named Clarence after the angel in It's 228 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:28.960 a Wonderful Life, would come back for visits. During the 229 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:33.000 summer of nineteen seventy seven, when I was fifteen years old, 230 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:36.600 I visited my grandparents on their farm for a few weeks. 231 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:40.279 One day, my granddad took me fishing to a stream 232 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:44.039 not far from the house. We took our lunch plus 233 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:46.960 an extra one in a peach pie, and after a 234 00:14:46.960 --> 00:14:50.879 few hours of fishing, granddad brought up the movie Star Wars. 235 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:54.080 I told him I had seen it a few weeks earlier, 236 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:56.240 and he asked me if I wanted to see a 237 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:00.639 real life wookie. I gave him a whatever look and said, 238 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:04.039 wookies or mate. Believe Grandpa, they're only in the movies. 239 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:07.799 Watch and learn, he answered, and he put down his pole. 240 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:11.519 He picked up the extra lunch in the peach pie, 241 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:13.919 and he carried them across the fallen tree that lay 242 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:17.519 across the stream and set them down on an old stump. 243 00:15:18.559 --> 00:15:20.840 He crossed back over to my side of the stream 244 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:24.399 and he picked up his pole again. Clarence, he called, 245 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:28.320 it's lunchtime. We sat there in silence for a few 246 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.080 minutes while I tried to figure out what granddad was 247 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:34.759 up to. And then I heard heavy footsteps coming from 248 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:38.279 somewhere on the other side of the creek, and suddenly 249 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:43.120 the underbrush parted an outstep the biggest, harriest person I 250 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:46.919 had ever seen. I thought my granddad and one of 251 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:49.120 his friends were playing a joke on me. When my 252 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:53.440 uncle showed up and greeted Clarence, I was sure of it. 253 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:57.080 Is this a joke, I asked, No, they answered, and 254 00:15:57.120 --> 00:16:01.200 then my grandfather added, they really do exist. I turned 255 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:03.720 and ran back to the house as fast as I could. 256 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:06.600 My grandmother was asking me what was wrong. When my 257 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:10.600 grandfather and uncle came through the door, she turned her 258 00:16:10.679 --> 00:16:14.480 questions on them. They explained that I had just met 259 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:18.120 Clarence for the first time. In the years since my 260 00:16:18.240 --> 00:16:22.200 grandparents passed away, I've made several visits to Willow Creek, 261 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:25.399 I check up on things, and I leave Clarence and 262 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:29.799 his family apples and other goodies. All I ask is 263 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:33.279 that anyone who visits Willow Creek are anywhere there have 264 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:37.519 been bigfoot sightings to please leave them in peace and goodwill. 265 00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:40.360 It would be nice if you left them some goodies 266 00:16:40.360 --> 00:16:43.000 as well. You might even get a whoop or a 267 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:50.200 peak from one. My bigfoot encounter happened on Saturday night, 268 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:54.559 July twenty fourth, twenty sixteen, on the edge of Yosemite 269 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:59.600 National Park Wilderness camping Area. Be careful when camping in 270 00:16:59.639 --> 00:17:04.599 californ bigfoots are there, even though California rangers say no, 271 00:17:04.759 --> 00:17:07.440 it must have been a bear. Trust me, it was 272 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:11.079 no bear, and that's fact. My name is Steve and 273 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:13.799 I'm fifty nine years old now. I've lived in the 274 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:17.680 Golden State of California my whole life. I have always 275 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:19.920 hunted since I was young, and I lived in the 276 00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:23.640 city at the same time. My family had connections to 277 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:27.200 the Central Valley of California, and Dad like hunting ducks 278 00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:30.599 and pheasants mostly, so that's how a city boy in 279 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:33.599 California it turned out to be an outdoor guy who 280 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:37.519 ends up owning an outfitting business in Afton, Wyoming while 281 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:40.759 living in Silicon Valley in the early days, and I'm 282 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:46.240 still here. Unfortunately, six years ago, while working on my home, 283 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:49.119 I had a bad head trauma accident and I ended 284 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:53.039 up in the ICU for six weeks. Before the accident, 285 00:17:53.240 --> 00:17:55.839 I had an active life with little time to do 286 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.680 much but what was at hand. So now I find myself, 287 00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:02.960 how ridden for two years with nothing to do but 288 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:07.240 lay on my bed for hours having nightmares about scary thoughts. 289 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:12.440 Due to the accident, I have bad PTSD. I get 290 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:15.720 up every night between one thirty and three thirty, needing 291 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:18.720 something to keep my mind busy from negative thoughts or 292 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:23.279 other things that I can't remember or pronounce. Each night, 293 00:18:23.319 --> 00:18:26.039 I get on my iPad searching for Bigfoot, and my 294 00:18:26.200 --> 00:18:30.680 mind would be safe for hours. During the long hours 295 00:18:30.680 --> 00:18:33.440 of reading and watching every video I could find, I 296 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:36.359 started to learn and realize these folks had no idea 297 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:39.960 what they were doing chasing these creatures. So I took 298 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:42.720 my knowledge of hunting in years of outfitting, and I 299 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:47.160 started studying how to get one. The recovery from my 300 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:50.200 operations was taking longer than I thought, so I was 301 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:53.240 getting frustrated and I decided to get out of the 302 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.559 house and go hunting for bigfoot. I knew that these 303 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:00.960 creatures were living supposedly in my state. It's just there's 304 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.319 a lot of woods in California, so I needed some 305 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:08.119 locations to start. During my early morning studies, I read 306 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:12.200 about a nationally known bigfoot organization and that is where 307 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:15.799 I started. I contacted them and got set up to 308 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:19.680 go on a trip in northern California. The lead on 309 00:19:19.759 --> 00:19:22.400 the trip contacted us and wanted to talk about what 310 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:26.200 would take place. There was no guarantee of seeing anything 311 00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:30.759 due to the creatures being very secretive and elusive. I 312 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:33.039 told him I did not leave my home much due 313 00:19:33.039 --> 00:19:35.079 to the above issues, so I wasn't going to be 314 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.640 able to go alone, and I was looking to go 315 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:42.039 with another person. My wife is my caregiver and was 316 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:45.720 not interested in chasing these so called bigfoot animals around 317 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:49.319 at night with strangers. Well, I had time on my side, 318 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:52.960 so I started asking all my family members. None were 319 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:57.200 interested in my crazy adventure idea. They thought my mind 320 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:01.039 might be slipping further, but it wasn't. No one believed 321 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:02.960 in these animals and they were not going to waste 322 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:06.680 valuable time searching it out with me, and then I 323 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:09.519 went outside the family and finally convinced a young man 324 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:12.680 named Conrad, who my wife and I had mentored for 325 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:17.640 years and we love and trust him. Conrad hadn't camped 326 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:20.920 ever before in his life and was looking forward to camping, 327 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:24.680 but did not really think much of Bigfoot. So I 328 00:20:24.759 --> 00:20:27.319 was excited that I had a trip for these elusive 329 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:29.880 animals and now I would get them figured out in 330 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:33.240 no time. Yeah, right, I would get them figured out. 331 00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:37.759 Conrad and I received the email where all of us 332 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:40.519 folks were to meet up for our Bigfoot research trip. 333 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:43.599 We all got to the state park camping area that 334 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:46.440 we were going to call home for the next four days. 335 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:49.519 While setting up our gear, we started talking with others 336 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:53.079 from the group. Conrad and I couldn't believe how many 337 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:56.319 of these strangers were just normal folks, seeming to be 338 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.720 helpful to everyone. I figured that we might be in 339 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:03.200 for some real crackpots chasing these creatures, and I was 340 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:07.160 prepared for anything. So everything was good to this point, 341 00:21:07.240 --> 00:21:10.640 and we were starting to relax and mingle, and during 342 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:13.799 the first night sitting around the campfire, we discovered that 343 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:18.240 we liked the same TV shows, same books, magazines, and 344 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:22.799 so the days went by fast. On the last night, 345 00:21:23.079 --> 00:21:25.799 we had driven up to a dry, dusty fire road 346 00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:28.079 to park trucks and then climbed to the top of 347 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:31.799 a mountain. This saw took place in the pitch dark. 348 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:35.480 When we were at the top, we were just sit 349 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:39.200 and listen. We made calls and we made tree knocks 350 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:42.279 to try to drum up something to respond, but everything 351 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:45.599 was quiet. We spent most of the time looking at 352 00:21:45.640 --> 00:21:48.720 the stars and sitting on warmed rocks from the day's 353 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:52.759 sun and relaxing. We spent all that time listening for 354 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:56.960 any responses to our calls or knocks. Well. After a 355 00:21:57.000 --> 00:21:59.559 few hours, the lead person informed the group that we 356 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:01.920 should have back to the trucks because we were going 357 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:04.759 to meet up with another group, and we talked with 358 00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:08.240 them about what we should do next. It was two 359 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:11.359 thirty am, and most were tired from the past four 360 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:15.680 nights of hiking and with limited sleep. We all came 361 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:17.920 up with a plan and we started to go our 362 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:21.640 different ways back to camp. I decided to go back 363 00:22:21.640 --> 00:22:24.160 the same way that I came up. I knew I 364 00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:26.440 had some good looks at some meadows when the light 365 00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:28.839 of the truck would brighten them up, and I could 366 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:32.960 see everything in those fields. The lead person asked us 367 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:35.440 to drive slowly to keep dust down for a better 368 00:22:35.559 --> 00:22:39.160 viewing from the truck. I ask if any of the 369 00:22:39.160 --> 00:22:41.400 folks wanted to come with us, since I had room 370 00:22:41.480 --> 00:22:45.640 for three and we're going straight back to camp. Conrad 371 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.880 and I were leaving when three ladies decided to join 372 00:22:48.960 --> 00:22:53.200 us for the trip back. We started down the steep, 373 00:22:53.319 --> 00:22:57.519 rocky slope. There was thick brush and grass on either side, 374 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:00.000 and it scratched the sides of the truck as I rolled. 375 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:04.240 We were all talking about how much we had enjoyed 376 00:23:04.279 --> 00:23:06.599 the trip and were exchanging phone numbers so that we 377 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:10.240 could keep in touch. And halfway down the bumpy road, 378 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:16.480 Conrad started screaming, there's a big foot. He was pointing 379 00:23:16.759 --> 00:23:20.559 at a big, red eyed creature standing forty feet in 380 00:23:20.599 --> 00:23:23.680 front of our truck, behind some shrubs off to the 381 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:26.920 right side. Well, I looked at this creature and it 382 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:30.720 was standing there just staring at us. I wasn't running 383 00:23:30.880 --> 00:23:34.240 or even walking. It just stared at us with big 384 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:38.119 red eyes the size of limes set inside sockets of 385 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:42.160 a huge head. It moved to the right. I could 386 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:44.960 see shoulders in the side of its head, and I 387 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:47.319 stopped the truck and at that moment, all three of 388 00:23:47.319 --> 00:23:49.960 the ladies who were sitting in the back started screaming 389 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:53.279 because they saw this thing and they were ready to leave. 390 00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:57.880 I was seeing something I really was not sure existed, 391 00:23:57.960 --> 00:24:01.039 and I wasn't ready to leave yet, so I slammed 392 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:04.079 my hand down on the dash and I said, we're 393 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:06.160 here to see this thing. And there it is, and 394 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:11.079 I'm not leaving. It wasn't doing anything but standing there, 395 00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:13.519 and then it moved a little to the right and 396 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:16.759 my eyes were locked on it. I wanted to open 397 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:18.599 the door and get a better look, but I was 398 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:21.880 trapped in the tiny road with bushes on either side 399 00:24:21.920 --> 00:24:25.160 and no space to get out. I wanted to get 400 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:27.279 a better view. When it started to move out of 401 00:24:27.319 --> 00:24:31.400