WEBVTT 1 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:12.240 I was born and raised in what used to be 2 00:00:12.359 --> 00:00:16.760 rural Madison County and North Alabama. It was a kind 3 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:20.320 of place where everyone knew everyone. That meant kids always 4 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:23.839 had to be good, because misbehavior would always make it 5 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:27.839 back to their parents. In nineteen seventy four, when I 6 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:30.559 was eight, we had some of the worst tornadoes this 7 00:00:30.679 --> 00:00:34.960 area has ever seen. My grandfather, who lived in Mississippi, 8 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:39.240 died during those from a heart attack. Afterwards, there were 9 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:41.880 so many trees down it was hard to imagine it 10 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:46.079 was the same place. There was a family that lived 11 00:00:46.119 --> 00:00:48.359 about a half a mile away from ours who had 12 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:51.840 girls close to my age. We would meet in the 13 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:55.439 woods and play. We made up names for different stands 14 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:59.119 of trees so we always knew where to meet. The 15 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:01.520 big stand that was the farthest from any of our 16 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:05.920 houses was called Big Pines. Little Pines was closer to 17 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:11.000 their house. Tiny Pines was right behind my house. Our 18 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:17.079 imagination in naming them knew no bounds. It's pretty original. Oh, 19 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:19.239 it just reminded me of a story about my son. 20 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:22.319 But I'll tell you all that another time. She writes. 21 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:25.319 The summer after the tornadoes changed the look of the 22 00:01:25.319 --> 00:01:29.680 woods a lot, especially the Big Pines area. There was 23 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:32.760 one place where three trees had fallen together that we 24 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:36.760 decided to make our clubhouse. The trees had fallen in 25 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:39.519 sort of a triangle, with one on top and two 26 00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:43.159 on the bottom. Once we got inside and started cutting 27 00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:46.280 out the inner branches to give us room, it was perfect. 28 00:01:47.359 --> 00:01:50.280 We started bringing in some stuff so that it was 29 00:01:50.359 --> 00:01:54.359 more homey and to make it our clubhouse. It was 30 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:57.000 still a time when kids were giving free rein of 31 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.760 their days, and I could tell my parents that I 32 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:03.480 was going to meet Donna in Big Pines and they'd answer, okay, 33 00:02:04.040 --> 00:02:07.519 that was enough for them. There was no checking in, 34 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:11.439 no specific time to be home, and no stranger danger. 35 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:15.159 Back then, I wish my daughter could have experienced that 36 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:20.919 easy freedom that's gone forever now. On this particular day, 37 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.560 Donna and I were going to meet at the clubhouse 38 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:27.039 in Big Pines. I don't remember what time it was, 39 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.479 but I got there before she did. I was playing 40 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:34.439 around inside the clubhouse when I heard something. I figured 41 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:37.159 it was Donna coming, so I didn't think much about it. 42 00:02:38.199 --> 00:02:41.960 After a few minutes, Donna didn't show up. Well, I 43 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.479 got curious, so I peeked out through the branches in 44 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:48.479 the clubhouse, and I looked around. At first, I didn't 45 00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:53.039 see anything. Donna's older brother was fond of harassing us, 46 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:55.680 and if it was him, I didn't want him to 47 00:02:55.759 --> 00:02:58.159 know that I was there. That guy gave me the 48 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:02.560 creeps back to playing inside the clubhouse, but I kept 49 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:06.240 hearing small sounds, so I would periodically look out in 50 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:10.039 their direction. And I still didn't see anything, but I 51 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:13.280 noticed that all the normal sounds coming to the woods 52 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:18.360 were gone. It was eerily quiet. Finally, I caught a 53 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:22.199 glimpse of something that was large, black and tan and 54 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:26.439 about the same size as my German shepherd's Sindbad. Even 55 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:29.759 though he never followed me to Big Pines, I assume 56 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:33.639 it was him. I didn't call out to him. Instead, 57 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:36.479 I watched to see what he would do, or if 58 00:03:36.479 --> 00:03:40.800 he would find me hidden in our little clubhouse. A 59 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:44.240 few minutes passed, I'm not sure how many. I was 60 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:48.000 only eight at the time. It didn't move much, so 61 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:50.080 I didn't get a good look at it. I was 62 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.800 considering just calling him to me so he could play 63 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.639 in the clubhouse with me, when I suddenly felt very 64 00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:00.000 glad that I didn't. I was looking directly at it 65 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.800 when with no warning, it jumped onto the trunk of 66 00:04:03.840 --> 00:04:08.000 a pine tree and climbed straight up. My dog could 67 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:10.280 do a lot of things, but he could not climb 68 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:14.120 a tree. Now froze and for a minute I just 69 00:04:14.199 --> 00:04:17.959 sat there, and whatever it was, I never saw or 70 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:23.199 heard it climb back down. I didn't move for two hours. 71 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:28.920 Donna never came. I don't remember why. At that point, 72 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:32.519 I'm not sure I would have wanted her to. I 73 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:34.680 had heard of a mountain lion being caught in the 74 00:04:34.759 --> 00:04:38.040 area over thirty years earlier, but there had been no 75 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:42.120 sign of one since. I've often wondered what it was 76 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:44.839 that I saw that day, but I'm convinced it was 77 00:04:44.920 --> 00:04:48.319 not a mountain lion. I never went back to Big 78 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:52.720 Pines alone again. I still live within a mile of 79 00:04:52.759 --> 00:04:55.519 that area. I lived way back off the road at 80 00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:57.879 the edge of the woods and mountains, but I've never 81 00:04:57.920 --> 00:05:01.959 seen anything that terrified me a lot that we do 82 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:04.920 have black bears and bobcats here, but it was neither 83 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:09.360 of those. I can still shut my eyes and see 84 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:12.800 it in my mind, and even as an adult, I 85 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:19.360 have no answers. Oh Beca, Becca Beca. What a great story, 86 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:22.279 And I'm sure it still haunts you today. And I 87 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:26.560 absolutely understand what you said there at the end. It's 88 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:31.600 like these images are cast in your mind forever. It's 89 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:36.399 like you never you never forget exactly. It's never hazy, 90 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:39.879 it's never far off in your memory. Whenever that memory 91 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:43.360 comes back, it is exactly the same and as exactly 92 00:05:43.439 --> 00:05:45.800 as you saw it the day you saw it. I 93 00:05:45.839 --> 00:05:48.360 have a few of those. They don't have to do 94 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:50.720 with monsters. They may have to do with my father, 95 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:54.079 or my mother, or you know, some event in my life. 96 00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:58.199 I know exactly what you mean. And to see something 97 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:00.360 like that as an eight year little, eight year old 98 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:03.720 little girl, I'm sure that's something that scared you to death. 99 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:08.079 But I'll make one suggestion. And I don't know that 100 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:11.399 you know. I'm not always I never try to debunk 101 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:13.680 these stories. I just read them and we go on. 102 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:17.279 I remember when I was a kid, there weren't there 103 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:21.120 were hardly any any any turkeys at all in the woods, 104 00:06:21.639 --> 00:06:23.879 and I saw this thing run up a tree, or 105 00:06:23.920 --> 00:06:25.800 it looked like it ran up a tree. It was 106 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:28.639 a big big to me, it was big, a big, 107 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:32.480 dark object, and it made these weird noises when it 108 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:34.319 flew up in the tree, and it was right in 109 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:39.240 the evening. Like you, I remember that vision vividly, and 110 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:42.000 I can run it through my mind. And the more 111 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:47.439 I think about what I saw after years of hunting turkeys, 112 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:50.920 I'm pretty sure that's what I saw. But I didn't 113 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:53.160 even know turkeys were in the woods when I was 114 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:56.759 a kid. I thought turkeys were something that people raised 115 00:06:56.839 --> 00:06:59.439 on a farm. I'm not even sure I knew what 116 00:06:59.480 --> 00:07:02.519 a turkey. A turkey to me was a big, frozen, 117 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:05.519 giant heavy ball that you pulled out of the freezer 118 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:08.399 at the grocery store. Then I figured out what they 119 00:07:08.439 --> 00:07:10.600 were and we started hunting them. By the way, a 120 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:13.399 wild turkey doesn't look like that when it's when it's 121 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:17.040 cleaned out. They're they're quite a bit smaller, but they're 122 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:20.720 but the meat is delicious. It is so good that 123 00:07:20.759 --> 00:07:23.399 when you breast them out, they're just oh man, it's 124 00:07:23.399 --> 00:07:26.439 some of the it's like the nectar of meat. To me. 125 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:29.399 That and venison just the best meat in the world. 126 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:32.959 It's clean and it's it. They don't they're not fed. 127 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:35.680 All right, I'm going off on a tangent again. I 128 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:38.600 don't mean to do that, but so maybe it was 129 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:41.959 a turkey, I'm not saying it was, but think about that. 130 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:45.079 You have the image in your mind, Maybe get on 131 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.959 YouTube and look at things climbing trees and kind of 132 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:50.160 zero in on a turkey and see if that's not 133 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:52.959 what you saw. But if that's not what you saw 134 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:56.959 and it was bigger and more menacing, then it could 135 00:07:56.959 --> 00:07:58.920 have been a bigfoot, could have been a dog man 136 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:02.160 or some other creature that wanders those woods. I don't know, 137 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.879 but I love the story, Becca, and I really appreciate 138 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:08.759 you sending it. Nioma liked it too. She was telling 139 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:11.079 me that it's one of those stories it just kind 140 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:14.959 of makes her skin crawl because I don't know, especially 141 00:08:14.959 --> 00:08:18.199 as it happens with little kids and stuff. It's you know, 142 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:20.839 it's kind of speaky. But Becca, thank you. I'll lave 143 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:21.759 quit yack and hear. 144 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.600 My first encounter with what I believe was a bigfoot 145 00:08:28.639 --> 00:08:31.360 happened in nineteen eighty five or eighty six, when I 146 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:34.799 was about three or four years old. My parents and 147 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:37.000 I were living with my dad's mom on a little 148 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.240 dirt road in western Georgia at the time, less than 149 00:08:40.279 --> 00:08:42.559 a quarter of a mile from my grandmother's house. Was 150 00:08:42.600 --> 00:08:46.720 a small graveyard. It seemed like people were always there 151 00:08:46.759 --> 00:08:50.559 fixing headstones. I would watch as they reset stones that 152 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:53.399 had been pushed over and repair those that had been 153 00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:56.600 broken in the process. Even in my late teens, I 154 00:08:56.639 --> 00:09:00.080 remember writing past and seeing the people working on the headstones, 155 00:09:00.559 --> 00:09:03.960 some for the third or fourth time. One evening, my 156 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:06.919 dad decided to walk to his mom's brother's house about 157 00:09:06.919 --> 00:09:09.320 a mile down the road. I was a daddy's boy, 158 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:12.120 so I went with him. There was a full, bright 159 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:14.240 moon that night that hung in the sky like a 160 00:09:14.320 --> 00:09:16.960 giant lantern. It was so big I felt like I 161 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:20.279 could reach out and touch it. Dad was walking in 162 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:22.519 front of me, maybe ten or twelve feet. As I 163 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:26.080 passed the lock gate to the cemetery. I jumped when 164 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:28.519 I heard what sounded like a wet rug being dropped 165 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:31.919 onto a concrete floor, followed by a heavy chuffing sound 166 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.919 like a bull when it coughs. I looked at my dad, 167 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:37.399 unsure if he'd heard it, but then he turned a 168 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.639 little to the right without quite turning, offered me his 169 00:09:40.759 --> 00:09:44.440 hand without quite lifting it from his side, and said, 170 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:48.480 come on, son, and a soft voice that was not 171 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:52.519 quite ominous from the house to the graveyard. The little 172 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:55.639 dirt road as straight. There are no curves or hills 173 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:58.039 to obscure the view from the house where we stood. 174 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:01.120 Just before I moved to take my dad's hand, I 175 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:04.559 glanced over my shoulder, but I couldn't see our house 176 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:07.919 or the street light in our yard. I couldn't see 177 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.759 any of the neighbor's street lights either. I looked back 178 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:14.159 several times, but I didn't see anything until maybe the 179 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:17.960 fourth time I saw someone behind us. They were about 180 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:22.000 thirty or forty feet back. Who's that following us, I 181 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:28.080 asked my dad. Nobody, he answered in that same quiet voice. Then, 182 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:31.399 in an even softer voice laden with urgency, he added, 183 00:10:31.639 --> 00:10:34.720 come on. I started walking faster to keep up with 184 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:36.879 my dad, but now I was suddenly aware of the 185 00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:41.799 sounds of footsteps. They were getting harder, louder, closer, faster 186 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:45.720 with each step I took. I turned again to look 187 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:49.799 back over my shoulder. The distant lights outlined someone big 188 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:53.000 in what I took to be a wooly sweater. Before 189 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:55.120 I could fully turn back to my dad, I felt 190 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:57.519 him lifting me off the ground and swinging me onto 191 00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:01.240 his shoulders. He began to run with me. I tried 192 00:11:01.240 --> 00:11:03.240 to look back at the wooly sweater, but it was 193 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:05.240 all I could do to hang onto my dad's head 194 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:08.639 as he ran as fast as he could. Like I said, 195 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:11.679 I was only about three or four then. I wasn't 196 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:15.799 in school yet. I don't remember much beyond that. Clearly 197 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:19.039 we escaped our stalker, but my memory fails me beyond 198 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:23.440 my dad running with me on his shoulders. Years later, 199 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:25.720 when I was in my early teens, I found what 200 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:28.360 I thought and still believed to be a den in 201 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:31.320 the side of a creek bank. The whole head of 202 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:34.240 a cow was sticking out of the hole, half submerged 203 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:37.480 in water. As I stood there looking at it, something 204 00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:39.720 snatched it from the other side of that hole and 205 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:42.879 pulled it out of sight. I didn't wait around to 206 00:11:42.879 --> 00:11:46.360 see what had the ability to do that. I'm thirty 207 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:50.919 eight now, and I still have trouble sleeping. Sleeping meanstreaming about, 208 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:55.000 wooly sweaters chasing me, and cowheads disappearing into holes and 209 00:11:55.080 --> 00:11:59.120 creek banks, and means remembering other things as well. I 210 00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:02.080 once spoke on the phone with my dead aunt. I've 211 00:12:02.120 --> 00:12:05.600 had two other bigfoot encounters too. I'd rather deal with 212 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:08.519 bigfoot than talk to dead people, but both terrify me. 213 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:11.919 The things I've told you here are the God's honest truth. 214 00:12:12.440 --> 00:12:15.120 I'll be writing to you about the other two encounters 215 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:18.679 I have to tell someone. Maybe once I tell them 216 00:12:18.679 --> 00:12:21.039 and get them out of my system, I'll be able 217 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:21.879 to sleep. 218 00:12:23.480 --> 00:12:23.679 Well. 219 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:27.720 I thought that was a fantastic story. Can you imagine 220 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:31.000 being only three or four years old and your father's 221 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.399 so frightened he sweeps you up on his shoulders and 222 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:36.000 starts to run, and you don't even know what you're 223 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:39.200 running from except for something in a big wooly sweater. 224 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:43.600 It must have been terrifying. And then later when he 225 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:46.519 saw the cow's head and the whole being just pulled in, 226 00:12:47.360 --> 00:12:51.720 Oh my gosh, no wonder you don't sleep, Wara. I 227 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:54.960 wouldn't sleep either. Thank you for sending in the story, 228 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:57.240 and thank you Cam for letting me read it. 229 00:13:01.120 --> 00:13:03.720 When I was a young man growing up in central 230 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:06.679 New York, my uncle used to tell the family a 231 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:10.879 story of what he called the swamp monsters. This was 232 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:14.360 long before you could hear any talk about Bigfoot. He 233 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:17.720 would tell a story whenever the cousins would gather. He 234 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:19.919 and my aunt were working on a farm back in 235 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:24.440 the nineteen thirties. The family farm had big, open fields 236 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:28.200 surrounded by rolling forested hills, and he would tell the 237 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:31.879 story of two huge creatures covered with dark black hair 238 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.480 that came from the forest and walked in front of 239 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:38.879 he and my aunt across the farm fields. He estimated 240 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:43.840 the distance at seventy five yards. When they reached every fence, 241 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:46.840 they simply stepped over them, as if they were not there. 242 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:50.480 I never made the connection with Bigfoot at the time. 243 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.480 When I was eight, my dad was reading the newspaper 244 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:57.480 and he showed me an article of giant Bigfoot prints 245 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:01.399 found in California. The tracks were the first that I 246 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:04.879 had heard of Bigfoot. I can remember cutting out the 247 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:07.519 article and running down the street to find my friends 248 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:12.000 and show them the story. I remember us discussing that 249 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:14.559 it was way out in California and that it would 250 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:18.480 never come to New York. Well, time went on, and 251 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:20.759 when I was fifteen, my friend and I wanted to 252 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:23.559 go to a party that was twenty miles from our house. 253 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:26.559 The only way that we could get there would be 254 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:30.440 to sneak our whole. Doca Road towed one hundred motorcycle 255 00:14:30.440 --> 00:14:33.440 out of the barn. We would take the back roads 256 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:36.679 and ride double since we didn't have driver's licenses and 257 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:40.960 the motorcycle was also not licensed. We were cutting through 258 00:14:40.960 --> 00:14:43.840 a state forest about four miles from the nearest town, 259 00:14:44.320 --> 00:14:47.320 and as we started up a large hill, the motorcycle 260 00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:50.879 stalled out and was out of gas. We flipped the 261 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:54.039 reserve tank lever and attempted to start the bike, and 262 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:57.360 we could not get it to fire up. We began 263 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:00.519 pushing the bike up the hill. It was really and 264 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:03.879 very quiet, and as we pushed the motorcycle, we began 265 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.720 to hear something walking in the woods paralleling us. It 266 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:12.080 was loud and it sounded by a peetle. Whenever we stopped, 267 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:14.960 it would stop, and we could hear sticks breaking and 268 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:18.399 clearly something walking like a man. We both said, what 269 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:22.879 the hell is that? It started to move directly at us, 270 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:27.320 this time not stopping when we did. I started yelling 271 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:30.639 at my buddy to get that motorcycle started, and just 272 00:15:30.679 --> 00:15:33.320 as we thought the creature was about to reach us, 273 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:37.559 the bike started and off we went. Every hair on 274 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:40.759 our body stood on end. We had no clue why 275 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:43.440 we were so afraid, and we did not talk of 276 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:47.120 this again. Time went on and I began to take 277 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:50.799 remote fishing trips to Quebec, and on these trips I 278 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:54.679 would always find topographical maps and try to reach an 279 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:57.559 even more remote lake for fishing, always trying to get 280 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:01.600 to where no one else had fished before. While fishing 281 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:04.440 a lake about one hundred miles from Oh God, here's 282 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:08.159 a here's a word, I'm gonna blow senataire s e 283 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:13.279 n n e t e r r e Quebec sentiary 284 00:16:13.480 --> 00:16:17.720 sentataire senatire. That's all I can do help meet Canadians. 285 00:16:18.679 --> 00:16:20.840 I found a lake that would take work to get to. 286 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:25.240 We headed down a small river that connected the two lakes, 287 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:29.159 and the path was blocked by many beaver dams. We 288 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:31.440 would break a small hole in each dam and then 289 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:33.759 turn and make a run at it and jump the dam. 290 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:37.200 It was a great adventure and fill with excitement of 291 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:40.840 virgin waters full of fish. I would have a chance 292 00:16:40.919 --> 00:16:46.519 to pursue a trophy northern and incredible walleye fishing. When 293 00:16:46.519 --> 00:16:50.559 we finally reached the lake, the fishing was awesome walleye northerns. 294 00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:54.519 Cast after cast, there was a silence that I couldn't explain, 295 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:59.720 though everything was deathly quiet. Also, there was a feeling 296 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.960 of fear that I couldn't explain. I had reached one 297 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:05.480 of the fishing spots that I had dreamed about, and 298 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:08.839 all I wanted to do was leave. I didn't say 299 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:12.039 anything about this to my fishing partner, and I convinced 300 00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:16.400 him to head back. A year later, I returned to 301 00:17:16.440 --> 00:17:18.680 the same lake, and one evening we were jigging for 302 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:22.599 walleye close to the mouth of the river. Something came 303 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:25.640 over me and filled me with a sense of fear. 304 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:28.640 All of a sudden, we heard a great roar or 305 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:32.960 a scream louder than I can explain. I would estimated 306 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:35.799 it came from three hundred yards away, and it shook 307 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:38.920 my insides and every hair on my body stood on end. 308 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:43.240 My fishing partner said the same thing, it was, what 309 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:47.039 the hell moment? We pulled up the anchor and we 310 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.880 headed back to camp, and one of our guides liked 311 00:17:49.880 --> 00:17:52.960 to sleep in a tent, and after we informed him 312 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:55.880 of what had happened, he moved inside and got out 313 00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.559 of that tent. I returned another year later to the 314 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.200 same lil and was determined to face my fear and 315 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:05.519 head up the river and fish that distant lake. And 316 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:08.440 when I looked at the topographical maps. I noticed a lake. 317 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:11.480 Beyond the lake that had previously filled me with fear, 318 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:15.240 there was a river that connected the two, and I 319 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:17.799 decided that I would push it a step further and 320 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:22.880 travel to that lake. We started before sunrising headed down 321 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:26.160 that river. Just as the sun came up again. We 322 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:29.279 broke beaver dams and turned and made runs and jumped 323 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.400 the boat over each one. We crossed five or six 324 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:36.480 dams in this manner. We reached the lake and followed 325 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.119 them up to the small river or stream and started 326 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:43.440 pushing forward. We finally hit a shallow spot where the 327 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:46.000 boat was dragging on the bottom and I would need 328 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.480 to get out and pull it. My partner would stay 329 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:51.799 in the boat with the motor tipped up. I knew 330 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:55.359 why I was there to face my fear. As I 331 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:57.880 pulled the boat forward, I noticed a set of tracks 332 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:02.519 ahead in the water, mud lifted from the tracks. These 333 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:07.039 tracks were fresh, maybe a few minutes old. I reluctantly 334 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:09.640 pulled the boat forward to inspect the tracks, holding my 335 00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:14.160 breath filled with fear. I reached the tracks and breathed 336 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:15.960 a sigh of relief, and I yelled back to my 337 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:19.319 fishing partner that it was only a bear. Imagine that 338 00:19:19.559 --> 00:19:23.200 it was just a bear. I should still have been afraid, 339 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:27.240 but I was relieved. We finally got to the second 340 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:30.400 lake to find very good fishing. We turned back and 341 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:32.960 spent the remainder of the day fishing that lake that 342 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:37.519 originally filled me with fear. The fishing was great. I 343 00:19:37.559 --> 00:19:41.880 had no feelings of fear, just caught a bunch of fish. 344 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.359 I made four more trips to these lakes and never 345 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:48.759 had another feeling of fear or dead silence. I was 346 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.079 talking to my cousin's husband, and he proceeded to tell 347 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:54.519 me a story that spun out of control and caused 348 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:57.160 him to hurt his father in law. My uncle that 349 00:19:57.240 --> 00:20:01.599 had seen the swamp monsters today, he recognized them for 350 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:06.799 what they were. They were bigfoots or sasquatches. My cousin's 351 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.799 husband made a set of bigfoot prints and strapped them 352 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:11.680 on to his feet and ran through the woods in 353 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:15.519 the snow to my uncle's property. My uncle found the 354 00:20:15.559 --> 00:20:18.200 prince and ran inside and began to call all the neighbors. 355 00:20:18.720 --> 00:20:21.119 He told them to keep their children and pets inside 356 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:23.599 because he had found bigfoot prints and there was one 357 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:27.200 in the area. After he called all the neighbors, he 358 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:29.640 called my cousin and told her what he had found. 359 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:32.599 He explained that he had called all the neighbors and 360 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:36.480 warned them. My cousin's husband heard the news and didn't 361 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.319 know what to do. He said. My uncle never came 362 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:43.519 over to their house for an unannounced visit. My cousin's 363 00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:46.119 husband was in the garage and still had the bigfoot 364 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:50.160 tracks hanging on the wall. My uncle walked in and 365 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:53.039 looked at the wooden feet with boots attached hanging on 366 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:55.240 the wall, and looked at his son in law and 367 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.519 didn't say a word. He simply turned around and walked 368 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:02.960 away with a sad, broken lad on his face. Since 369 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:05.599 my experiences, I have known there is something that I 370 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:09.200 don't understand that is out there. In my younger days, 371 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:11.640 I would travel deep into the woods to deer hunt, 372 00:21:11.839 --> 00:21:15.680 and I would stay well after dark. Sometimes I would 373 00:21:15.759 --> 00:21:18.279 make a kill at sunset and track and retrieve my 374 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.200 kills after dark, with no fear, no feeling of uneasiness. 375 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:27.440 But now I don't feel that way. I'm always uneasy 376 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:31.480 after dark. I'm always looking over my shoulder if I 377 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:33.839 make a kill at the end of the day. It 378 00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:37.039 is not pleasant to track and retrieve the kill after dark. 379 00:21:37.720 --> 00:21:40.119 I'm always looking over my shoulder, and, come to think 380 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:43.480 of it, I rarely hunt alone. One day, I was 381 00:21:43.559 --> 00:21:45.880 hunting on my brother in law's property and I found 382 00:21:45.880 --> 00:21:48.519 some stones up in the woods stacked in a formation. 383 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:52.839 I had heard stories of bigfoot and rock formations. I 384 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:56.079 decided I would change the formation and spread them out. 385 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:58.319 And I didn't think much of it, and I moved 386 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:02.160 on hunted the property again and I walked by that 387 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:05.200 spot and the rocks were stacked again. I thought, Wow, 388 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:08.160 that's strange. Who would return the rocks to that formation? 389 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:11.799 And I began to think if this could be a Sosquatch. 390 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:15.319 I changed the formation, and I continued to hunt the 391 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:18.240 property and change the formation every time I passed it, 392 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:22.319 each time wondering what it could be. One night, after 393 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:24.960 hunting with my daughter, we decided to stop and have 394 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:27.319 a beer with my brother in law, and after a 395 00:22:27.400 --> 00:22:29.880 couple of beers, I told my brother in law, I'm 396 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:32.119 starting to get a little freaked out about a rock 397 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:36.079 formation that I'm finding on this property. I changed the 398 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:39.279 formation every time I passed, and it always returns to 399 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:43.000 the same formation. When I come back, he broke out 400 00:22:43.079 --> 00:22:45.759 laughing and he said, damn, that was you doing that. 401 00:22:46.519 --> 00:22:49.359