WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Jim and I live in Devon in

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<v Speaker 1>the UK. The story is one hundred percent true. I

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<v Speaker 1>feel like I have to say that because if I

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't there and been the one to experience this encounter,

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<v Speaker 1>I would not have believed it myself. When I first

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<v Speaker 1>moved to Devon about five years ago, I had a

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<v Speaker 1>seriously strange encounter. For the record, I'm a no bull

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<v Speaker 1>craf spit on the floor kind of guy. I'm from London,

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<v Speaker 1>where we say it as we see it. I've never

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<v Speaker 1>told anyone about this. You think you guys over the

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<v Speaker 1>water get ripped for seeing stuff. Try being over here

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<v Speaker 1>where most will just call you a looney tune. We

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<v Speaker 1>are a nation that prides itself on our rationality, the

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<v Speaker 1>old stuff, upper lip and all that malarky. It may

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<v Speaker 1>sound stereotypical, but that's just us across the pond. This

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<v Speaker 1>this is the odd thing. I know. We have our

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<v Speaker 1>fair share of weirdness in the United Kingdom, but this

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<v Speaker 1>really took the biscuit, so to speak. I was camping

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<v Speaker 1>out on Dartmoor National Park. We have a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>cryptids around here, like alien big cats, hell hounds, sea

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<v Speaker 1>monsters and some really spooky, ghostly stuff, as well as

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<v Speaker 1>a guy who's loved this stuff from a year dot.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to say I'm not one of those gung

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<v Speaker 1>ho types, but I thought I'm going to see if

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<v Speaker 1>what they say is true. It was a quite pleasant

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<v Speaker 1>end of a September day when I went out over there.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm a curious little fella who is also an ex

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<v Speaker 1>Special Forces so I kind of know what I'm doing,

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<v Speaker 1>so if I can, why not. Dartmore is a funny

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<v Speaker 1>place to go hiking in. You need two sets of

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<v Speaker 1>clothes even in the summer. The terrain changes rapidly and

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<v Speaker 1>so does the temperature. That is to say, if you

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<v Speaker 1>go to the top of the tours in summer, you'll

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<v Speaker 1>be wearing winter clothing. But I digress. I wound up

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<v Speaker 1>in Whitman's Forest. This is one weird place. The trees

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<v Speaker 1>grow at angles and rocks have moss on them. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a real Lord of the Rings kind of place. Some

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<v Speaker 1>of the locals claims it was a Druid holy site.

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<v Speaker 1>I thought, if I wanted to see an ABC, that

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<v Speaker 1>would be the place to tuck myself out of sight.

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<v Speaker 1>So I found a lovely spot where all this stuff's about.

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<v Speaker 1>I felt my camp, and then I went and put

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<v Speaker 1>some trail cams about. After that came the long wait.

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<v Speaker 1>I sat there by a roaring fire and watched a

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<v Speaker 1>really beautiful sunset. If only it had stayed that mellow

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of the night. By midnight, I was ready

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<v Speaker 1>to go hunting. As it were, I was hoping at

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<v Speaker 1>least to get a cast of a footprint, But as

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<v Speaker 1>you know in our game, it can be a long

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<v Speaker 1>wait even for that much. I ventured for to dart More.

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<v Speaker 1>It's quite a big force for England, but it opens

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<v Speaker 1>up to more lands. I was over there for about

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<v Speaker 1>an hour. Suddenly I couldn't shake this feeling that I

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<v Speaker 1>was being watched. The hackles on my back of my

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<v Speaker 1>neck started to prick up. Now every instinct I had

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<v Speaker 1>learned or have naturally well sufficed it to say that

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<v Speaker 1>my spider senses were tingling. Straight Away, I went to

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<v Speaker 1>the relative safety of my camp, knowing there were other

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<v Speaker 1>indigenous animals in that place already set up my alerts.

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<v Speaker 1>I sat down and was having a couple of beers,

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<v Speaker 1>trying to chill out. But I couldn't shake that feeling

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<v Speaker 1>of being watched, tracked or stalk. It had to be

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<v Speaker 1>one of those, because I was at least two miles

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<v Speaker 1>from my camp when the feeling started and I still

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<v Speaker 1>had it back at I was at least two miles

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<v Speaker 1>from my camp when that feeling started, and when I

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<v Speaker 1>got back to camp the feeling was still there. I

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<v Speaker 1>was getting pretty freaked down by now. My mind was

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<v Speaker 1>going twenty directions at once. Was it kids on wind up? Now?

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<v Speaker 1>Why would they be here? A ranger? Again? No, they

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<v Speaker 1>don't go there full stop. Then I thought, it's a

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<v Speaker 1>serial killer. They could dump your body over there and

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<v Speaker 1>you'd never be found. Or it could be Satanists maybe

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<v Speaker 1>or Pagans. At some point in its history, Dartmoor Forest

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<v Speaker 1>was a sacred grove. That's when I heard the first

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<v Speaker 1>twig snap. I immediately picked up my bill hook. A

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<v Speaker 1>bill hook is a machete with a curve at the top.

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<v Speaker 1>Also had my pocket knife in my other hand. And

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<v Speaker 1>then I saw a set of glittering eyes in the

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<v Speaker 1>light of the night. I announced my presence and I said,

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<v Speaker 1>I can see you there, Come out where I can

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<v Speaker 1>see you. All I got in reply was a low

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<v Speaker 1>kind of whistle. I gathered that whatever was looking at

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<v Speaker 1>me was definitely not a human. The eyes alone told

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<v Speaker 1>me that I've lived with a few different indigenous peoples

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<v Speaker 1>around the world. I felt this relative to my experience.

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<v Speaker 1>In a stern voice, I said, I'm not here to

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<v Speaker 1>do anyone or anything any harm. I'm merely passing through.

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<v Speaker 1>You're welcome to come share my fire if you come

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<v Speaker 1>in peace. And this is something I learned in the

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<v Speaker 1>Congo in Africa. In other words, if you want what

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<v Speaker 1>I've got, come to me and get it. I still

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<v Speaker 1>had my blades drawn. I sat down by my fire,

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<v Speaker 1>my blades on my lap, and that's when it stood

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<v Speaker 1>to its full height. I uttered a pretty nasty expletive

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<v Speaker 1>as I thought, you're a big one, ain't you. My

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<v Speaker 1>training kicked in and I was working out his size

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<v Speaker 1>and how long he could go. And then this thing

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<v Speaker 1>strode across my campsite. I saw it with my own eyes.

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<v Speaker 1>He or she was seven feet tall and built like

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<v Speaker 1>a brick, blank blank, well, you get the idea, mate.

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<v Speaker 1>It was covered in long, shaggy hair like an orangutan,

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<v Speaker 1>except it didn't walk on its knuckles like most apes do.

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<v Speaker 1>And that was an intense smell to it as well.

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<v Speaker 1>I sat there with my blades on my lap, making

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<v Speaker 1>no movement at all. In fact, I pretended not to

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<v Speaker 1>be paying attention to it. I really couldn't tell what

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<v Speaker 1>sex it was, and in less than a minute he

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<v Speaker 1>or she walked through my camp. With that, I felt

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<v Speaker 1>the animosity from earlier disappear. The rest of the night

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<v Speaker 1>was perfect. I actually think it had come to work

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<v Speaker 1>out what my intentions were in the forest. I never

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<v Speaker 1>believed in the wood was that's what we called them

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<v Speaker 1>in medieval times. But when I hear stuff like your

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<v Speaker 1>wickedly awesome channel, I have to wonder. Besides, I know

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<v Speaker 1>what I saw. It seemed in action indeed, not so

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<v Speaker 1>aggressive or isolated as bigfoot are over in the States,

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<v Speaker 1>or as elusive as the Australia, although I think they

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<v Speaker 1>sent tagging area like most primates do other than us.

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<v Speaker 1>I only say this because the smell lingered. It was

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<v Speaker 1>still reeking when I left. Well that's my tale. Please,

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<v Speaker 1>if you could be so bold as to give your

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<v Speaker 1>opinion on this, I'm a bit stumped, mate, cheers Jim. Well, Jim,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't have an opinion, dude, that was your story.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm sorry I called you dude. Mate, I have to

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<v Speaker 1>learn to call people in other countries what they're accustomed

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<v Speaker 1>to being called to mate. Anyway, I don't have an opinion,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's an unbelievable story. I think you're asking my

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<v Speaker 1>opinion because maybe you have the idea that I know

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<v Speaker 1>a lot about these things and I don't. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>you know. Somebody asked me the other day, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>what all do you know about Bigfoot? And I said,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know much about them. Never seen one, never

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<v Speaker 1>seen the track. I don't know anything at all about them.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm not going to pretend like I do like

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<v Speaker 1>some people do, and to be honest, I'm a little curious,

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<v Speaker 1>but I'm not really eat up with knowing a lot

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<v Speaker 1>about Bigfoot. To answer your question, I don't think I

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<v Speaker 1>have an opinion, although I will say, based on the

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<v Speaker 1>stories that I have narrated up until now and read

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<v Speaker 1>so far, I think it's quite unusual for one of

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<v Speaker 1>these things to walk right through your camp. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>think I've narrated a story like that, but I have

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<v Speaker 1>heard two stories like that from people who are, let's

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<v Speaker 1>just say, big storytellers in the bigfoot world. Actually, they

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<v Speaker 1>told me the stories face to face. I was with them.

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<v Speaker 1>They were telling me and a whole bunch of people

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<v Speaker 1>around the campfire, and they're great stories, and I don't

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<v Speaker 1>really doubt them. I don't doubt them because other people

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<v Speaker 1>saw it too, so it does happen. I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>quite rare for one of these creatures to just walk

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<v Speaker 1>right through your camp. But what an experience. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>my takeaway from that would be I got to see

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<v Speaker 1>something that very, very very few people see in this world.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I think. When I'm standing in waste high

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<v Speaker 1>water in the middle of the winter in a swamp,

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<v Speaker 1>hunting over a spread of decoys, and I get to

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<v Speaker 1>see ducks. A lot of times when the ducks come in,

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<v Speaker 1>I won't even shoot because I'm seeing something that so

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<v Speaker 1>few people in the world ever get to see. And

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<v Speaker 1>it is an honor and a privilege to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to be healthy enough to get there, to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to own the equipment to get there, and to be

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<v Speaker 1>able to stay there on really cold, icy mornings and

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<v Speaker 1>watch that kind of thing happen. There are so many

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<v Speaker 1>things that go on in the woods that if you

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<v Speaker 1>just go and you be quiet and you just observe,

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<v Speaker 1>just kind of meld into the woods. You get to

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<v Speaker 1>see things that ninety nine percent I don't know. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>guessing ninety nine percent of the entire population never get

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<v Speaker 1>to see. They may get to see it on video.

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<v Speaker 1>You might get to see animals doing their mating ritual.

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<v Speaker 1>You might get to see animals fighting. You might get

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<v Speaker 1>to see, like I said a minute ago, ducks coming

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<v Speaker 1>in and opening in the middle of a swamp, in

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of a cypress swamp, watching them light on

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<v Speaker 1>the ground right in the middle of your decoys. Watching

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<v Speaker 1>wood ducks shoot past you in the morning when they're

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<v Speaker 1>leaving their roost. There's so many things you get to

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<v Speaker 1>see if you just go there and be quiet, with

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<v Speaker 1>no ill intention, sit back and watch, and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>ninety nine times out of one hundred, you may not

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<v Speaker 1>see anything. They know you're there, Everything knows you're there.

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<v Speaker 1>But to just sit there and observe, I mean, heck,

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<v Speaker 1>just watch the bugs, you know. I like to go

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<v Speaker 1>back and sit in a lawn chair by this pond

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<v Speaker 1>behind my house and just watch the bugs flitter on

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<v Speaker 1>top and watch the fish take them off the top

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<v Speaker 1>of the water. I mean, not many people really think

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<v Speaker 1>about that. Not many people get to see that. Like

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<v Speaker 1>this little bird. I hope this bird survives and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to get to see a bird go from just

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<v Speaker 1>a day old. This little bird is no more than

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<v Speaker 1>a day or two old. If it survives, I'll get

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<v Speaker 1>to watch it grow from just being hatched, hopefully to

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<v Speaker 1>a bird that'll fly off and go into the wild

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<v Speaker 1>and be wild. And it would just be awesome to

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<v Speaker 1>do that. Now. I don't hold out much hope of that,

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<v Speaker 1>but if I'm patient and I'm persistent with this bird,

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<v Speaker 1>it might happen. I'm a sixty year old man. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>pushing sixty, and this stuff still thrills me. This nature

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<v Speaker 1>thing thrills me. Okay, I know that I've talked longer

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<v Speaker 1>than the story was, but I'm really adamant about it.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of people get to see videos. Go see

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<v Speaker 1>it for yourself. Go see the things in nature for yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, That's all I'm going to say. About A

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<v Speaker 1>year ago, in February, I decided to go on a

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<v Speaker 1>two night camping trip with three of my friends, John, Joe,

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<v Speaker 1>and Jim to a called Nutria Number four, a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of miles from Rama and Zuni, New Mexico, The lake

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<v Speaker 1>is well hiding behind the hog backs and mountains and

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<v Speaker 1>is a great for fishing. We set up camp at

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<v Speaker 1>a campground located about a half a mile on top

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<v Speaker 1>of a hill overlooking a small valley. It was a

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<v Speaker 1>cozy spot behind some pine and cedar trees that acted

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<v Speaker 1>as a wind break. At four point thirty, after we'd

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<v Speaker 1>set up the tent and gathered some firewood and done

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<v Speaker 1>everything else we needed to do, Joe suggested we go

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<v Speaker 1>down to the lake and throw some lines. So we

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<v Speaker 1>packed some light tackle, knowing we wouldn't get back until

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<v Speaker 1>after dark, grabbed our headlamps and headed out. It was

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<v Speaker 1>a slow, cold night, but we managed to catch six

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<v Speaker 1>trout before heading back to camp. Around eight thirty, we

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<v Speaker 1>were walking along in the dark in temperatures of around

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<v Speaker 1>thirty degrees fahrenheit with me in the back, when we

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<v Speaker 1>noticed everything had gone dead silent. We all stopped switched

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<v Speaker 1>our headlamps to the highest settings before continuing on, checking

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<v Speaker 1>every tree, scrutinizing every shadow, and repeatedly scanning the horizon

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<v Speaker 1>for any predator or anything else that may have caused

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<v Speaker 1>the quiet. I swung my headlamp around to my right

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<v Speaker 1>and caught eyes shine thirty yards away. They were close

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<v Speaker 1>to the ground, so my first thought was that it

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<v Speaker 1>must be just another stray dog that are so common

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<v Speaker 1>on the reservation. But as I began to turn away,

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<v Speaker 1>I saw out of the corner of my eye that

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<v Speaker 1>those eyes began to float upwards. I had a moment

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<v Speaker 1>of uneasiness, but I didn't want to scare my friends,

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<v Speaker 1>so I said, hey, let's go a little bit faster.

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<v Speaker 1>It's cold out. They picked up the pace and soon

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<v Speaker 1>we were back at camp. By now we were freezing

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<v Speaker 1>and hungry. Our main objective was to build a fire

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<v Speaker 1>and cook dinner. I thought about what I'd seen, and

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<v Speaker 1>I decided not to mention it. I wasn't sure what

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<v Speaker 1>it was, and I didn't want to get my friends

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<v Speaker 1>worked up over what could be nothing. There was no

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<v Speaker 1>use in all of us being on the edge. An

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<v Speaker 1>hour later, we had a decent fire burning in front

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<v Speaker 1>of us, and our bellies were full of trout and

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<v Speaker 1>we were listening to some good music. As we sat

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<v Speaker 1>there talking and having a good time. My concerns over

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<v Speaker 1>the rising eye shine passed once I was comfortable with

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<v Speaker 1>the thought that it hadn't followed us back to camp.

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<v Speaker 1>The sudden, unexpected sound of something that was too big

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<v Speaker 1>to be just a twig breaking in the trees to

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<v Speaker 1>our east sent that same fear running back through my body.

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<v Speaker 1>Someone jumped up and turned off the music, and we

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<v Speaker 1>all grabbed our headlamps. We scanned the area, but the

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<v Speaker 1>pine trees were too thick to see anything that might

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<v Speaker 1>be standing in their midst We listened for another sound,

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<v Speaker 1>not even daring to breathe, but we heard nothing. Jim

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<v Speaker 1>picked up a rock through it in that direction. It

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<v Speaker 1>was just our luck that he hit something. It released

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<v Speaker 1>the most terrifying scream I've ever heard. With our eyes

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<v Speaker 1>wide and our minds racing, we ran inside the tent

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<v Speaker 1>and grabbed whatever we could find to defend ourselves. We

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<v Speaker 1>really didn't have anything that we felt was sufficient enough

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<v Speaker 1>to ward off something that could roar like whatever that

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<v Speaker 1>thing in the trees was, but even our pocketknives were

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<v Speaker 1>better than nothing. Once we were armed, we stood still

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<v Speaker 1>and we listened. We could hear footsteps coming towards us,

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<v Speaker 1>like huge, thundering sledge hammers made by some monstrous beast.

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<v Speaker 1>The trees started rustling, and John began to panic. He

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<v Speaker 1>was praying and pleading with God to rescue us, while

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of us tried to calm him down. Outside.

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<v Speaker 1>The footsteps grew louder and heavier as they got closer Inside.

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<v Speaker 1>We exchanged silent glances, each of us us seeing the

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<v Speaker 1>fear in the other's eyes and hoping they couldn't see

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<v Speaker 1>the terror in ours. We caught our collective breath as

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<v Speaker 1>a shadow stepped between the blazing fire and the wall

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<v Speaker 1>of our tent and it stopped. It was enormous and muscular,

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<v Speaker 1>and it was walking on two legs. We watched in

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<v Speaker 1>horrified fascination as this thing bent down and seemed to

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<v Speaker 1>inspect our fish bones and leftovers. Seconds crawled by like

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<v Speaker 1>hours before it stood erect, and it grunted before walking away,

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<v Speaker 1>apparently taking our food scraps with it. Another forty five

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<v Speaker 1>minutes would pass in the tent before we were able

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<v Speaker 1>to talk, much less move around. We considered packing up

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<v Speaker 1>and leaving, but we were afraid to make any noises

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<v Speaker 1>that might bring the creature back. Nor were we willing

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<v Speaker 1>to leave the fire unattended, and we weren't about to

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<v Speaker 1>put it out. Our only option was to wait out

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<v Speaker 1>the night. It was ten but our adrenaline was still flowing.

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<v Speaker 1>I knew we'd need more firewood to make it through

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<v Speaker 1>the night, so I asked Jim to come with me

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<v Speaker 1>so we could gather some. Joe and John stayed back

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<v Speaker 1>to watch over the camp. We had it out, keeping

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<v Speaker 1>a constant look for any signs of the creature's return,

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<v Speaker 1>as we picked up every piece of dead wood we

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<v Speaker 1>could find. We reached the top of the hill and

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<v Speaker 1>looked out over the moonlit valley below. To our utter

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<v Speaker 1>shock and disbelief, running faster than anything I've ever seen,

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<v Speaker 1>was a bigfoot heading towards the other mountain, and what

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<v Speaker 1>seemed like only a few seconds had disappeared into the

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<v Speaker 1>pine trees, and it was gone. Jim and I looked

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<v Speaker 1>at each other, unable to process what we'd just seen.

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<v Speaker 1>We turned and ran quickly back to the camp to

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<v Speaker 1>tell John and Joe what we had seen, confirming that

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<v Speaker 1>it was a bigfoot that had come into our camp

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<v Speaker 1>that night. A few minutes later, a long, low howl

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<v Speaker 1>came from that other mountain to our west. I didn't

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<v Speaker 1>sleep that night. I doubt the others did either. It

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<v Speaker 1>was like we'd walked into a nightmare, and somehow managed

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<v Speaker 1>to survive, but my mind could not accept it. When

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<v Speaker 1>the dawn broke and the sky began to turn a

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<v Speaker 1>bluish pink, I got up and stirred up the last

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<v Speaker 1>burning coals of the fire. Then I packed up everything

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<v Speaker 1>outside the tent and was just finishing when everyone else

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<v Speaker 1>slowly crawled out of their bedrolls. We cleaned up and

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<v Speaker 1>finished loading up our gear without anyone saying a single word. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>as we were pulling out, everyone spoke at once, asking

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<v Speaker 1>each other what had happened last night, and no one

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<v Speaker 1>had a real answer. That was the scariest night of

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<v Speaker 1>my life.