1 00:00:11,519 --> 00:00:14,759 Speaker 1: This story is something that happened to my late husband 2 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:19,399 when we were a young family. We lived in northeast Louisiana, 3 00:00:19,519 --> 00:00:22,079 in a town where we had lived all our lives. 4 00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:26,239 There are lakes and bayous and streams that make perfect 5 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,280 fishing spots, as well as a large river between our 6 00:00:29,359 --> 00:00:33,840 twin cities. Now. My husband loved fishing and honting, and 7 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,600 when a young couple moved in across the street from us, 8 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:39,200 he invited the husband to go fishing with him on 9 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,479 a Saturday afternoon. The lake where we were headed was 10 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,200 well known and full of cypress trees. If you don't 11 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,320 know the area, it's easy to get lost in there forever. 12 00:00:51,719 --> 00:00:53,880 The two of them sent off in my husband's old 13 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:56,719 truck with tackle boxes and rides packed in the bed, 14 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:00,840 and his aluminum John boat and tot. The motor was 15 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,200 a hand me down from my dad, who was a 16 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:07,719 semi commercial fisherman. It was well used but well maintained. 17 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,359 When they got to the water, they launched the boat 18 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:14,200 and headed into the cypress trees toward a spot my 19 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:18,239 husband guaranteed would fill the boat with fish, and all 20 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:22,000 afternoon they cast and caught, and cast and caught and 21 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,599 fish after fish, not realizing how fast the light was 22 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,200 fading in the sky. It gets dark in those cypress 23 00:01:29,239 --> 00:01:34,079 trees quicker than you realize, as most fishermen do. They 24 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:38,159 both said, one more cast, again and again until nightfall. 25 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,319 My husband had fished that lake for years, but with 26 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:45,159 the darkness surrounding them, he realized he may have waited 27 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:48,959 one cast too many. Now it'd be difficult to see 28 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,799 the boat lanes leading to the area where they launched. 29 00:01:52,599 --> 00:01:54,840 My husband didn't want his partner to know they were 30 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,439 in a bit of a fix, so he started heading 31 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:00,000 toward the open where he thought led to the lawn, 32 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:02,920 and he was slowly trolling through the trees looking for 33 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,079 the boat lane. The lack of night noise was unsettling, 34 00:02:07,239 --> 00:02:10,560 to say the least. There were no frogs, no owls. 35 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:13,319 There was no sound at all, and it was making 36 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,280 my husband's young partner a little worried. You do know 37 00:02:17,319 --> 00:02:20,120 how to get out of here, don't you? He asked? Well, 38 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,240 of course I do. I've been fishing and hunting this 39 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,280 lake for years, my husband said, as he nervously searched 40 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,000 for a way out of the lake, intent on not 41 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,960 going deeper into the cypress trees. No one went into 42 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,879 the deep center of the lake at night, and very 43 00:02:36,879 --> 00:02:40,080 few would admit why there were things back in there 44 00:02:40,159 --> 00:02:42,560 you didn't want to meet in the daytime, much less 45 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,439 at night. As the moon started to shed a little 46 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:49,080 light through the trees, they heard the sound of tree 47 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,479 branches cracking and splashing, like someone was walking in the water. 48 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:57,560 Where is that damn boat lane, my husband thought to himself, 49 00:02:58,039 --> 00:03:01,960 as the sounds got louder and close. Finally, in the 50 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:04,879 weak glow of the moonlight, there was an opening in 51 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,639 the trees. They had found the boat lane. The trolling 52 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,080 motor was raised and the hand me down out board 53 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,199 cranked up, and the boat launched across the dark water, 54 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,000 away from the sounds of the tree breaks and splashing. 55 00:03:17,719 --> 00:03:22,800 But that's when the real noise started. Not far behind 56 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,879 them came a scream like a woman being tortured. Did 57 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,080 you hear that? The young man asked, shouldn't we go 58 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,240 back and help that lady? That ain't old lady? My 59 00:03:33,319 --> 00:03:36,360 husband loudly informed him over the sound of the motor. 60 00:03:36,919 --> 00:03:39,159 We ain't going nowhere but the hell out of here. No, 61 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,000 you better hang on because if you fall out, I 62 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:45,560 ain't coming back. To get you. The kid's face went 63 00:03:45,639 --> 00:03:48,319 white as a sheet, and my husband's hair flew behind 64 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,159 him as he raced toward the boat launch. The way 65 00:03:52,199 --> 00:03:54,520 it flew up onto the bank, you would have thought 66 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:57,840 that that John boat had wings. My husband loaded the 67 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,479 boat on the trailer and bowled out of the launch 68 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,159 so fast he may as well have been racing in 69 00:04:03,199 --> 00:04:08,120 a dragstrip. After my husband slowed down a while later, 70 00:04:08,159 --> 00:04:11,360 the kid finally found his voice again. What was making 71 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,759 that noise and what was that god awful scream? He asked. 72 00:04:15,919 --> 00:04:18,560 My husband stared into the dark road ahead of him, 73 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:22,240 knowing he was about to shatter the kid's naive perspective 74 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,680 of the world. I'm going to say this one time, 75 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,000 and one time only. There are things in this world 76 00:04:29,079 --> 00:04:32,079 that people will tell you do not exist, But you 77 00:04:32,319 --> 00:04:35,639 just heard one that does. It's real, and if you're 78 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,439 close enough to see it, it's close enough to get 79 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,319 to you. And if it gets you, you'll never get 80 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,639 out alive. Now, don't ever talk about it to me again, 81 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,959 and don't ever go back in there. They drove the 82 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,319 rest of the ride home in silence. They passed a 83 00:04:52,319 --> 00:04:54,720 man walking down the road in the dark and decided 84 00:04:54,759 --> 00:04:57,839 to give him the fish they had caught. My husband 85 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:01,600 and the young neighbor never went fishing together again. A 86 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:04,519 friendly wave or a quick hello was all that ever 87 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:07,839 passed between them until they moved back to their hometown. 88 00:05:09,519 --> 00:05:11,920 It was a long time before my husband told me 89 00:05:11,959 --> 00:05:15,600 about the events of that fishing trip. Once, when I 90 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,160 was a little girl, my daddy told me about the 91 00:05:18,199 --> 00:05:20,800 strange things that came out of the center of that 92 00:05:20,879 --> 00:05:24,959 big Cypress lake at night. He believed my daddy then, 93 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:28,439 and I believed my husband too. I never did ask 94 00:05:28,519 --> 00:05:31,360 him what he thought the thing was in the Cypress Lake. 95 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:37,079 I guess I didn't want to know. Hey want to 96 00:05:37,079 --> 00:05:39,480 take a little break between stories, and I want to 97 00:05:39,519 --> 00:05:43,639 give you a big thank you. This weekend, I threw 98 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:48,800 up a picture of myself with a little girl named Chloe. 99 00:05:49,439 --> 00:05:54,000 Some of you know her story. It is basically, she's 100 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,279 a little girl. She lives in Arkansas. She is my 101 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:03,000 daughter in law's niece. She's my daughter in law's sister's daughter. 102 00:06:03,879 --> 00:06:07,279 Chloe and her sister, Riley, lost their father a couple 103 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:12,360 of years ago. During the COVID outbreak. I asked on 104 00:06:12,439 --> 00:06:14,920 the post for you guys to say hi, to Chloe, 105 00:06:14,959 --> 00:06:16,439 and I told her, I said, I'm going to put 106 00:06:16,439 --> 00:06:20,959 your picture on YouTube and Facebook, and she was so excited. 107 00:06:21,079 --> 00:06:24,639 She just was giddy about it. And she has read 108 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:29,519 every one of your comments, every single one of your comments, 109 00:06:29,519 --> 00:06:36,600 and you absolutely, without a doubt, made this little girl's day. 110 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:39,360 And I want to thank you, and I'm trying to 111 00:06:39,439 --> 00:06:43,439 keep from choking up. I want to thank you for 112 00:06:43,519 --> 00:06:51,720 being the the absolute best people in the world to 113 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:56,319 reach out and make that little girl's day. It's not 114 00:06:56,439 --> 00:06:58,759 that big of a deal to us, you know, it's 115 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:01,079 really not that big of a deal. But to her, 116 00:07:02,199 --> 00:07:06,199 you absolutely made her day. She has been pouring over 117 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,240 these comments, reading every one of them, and it's it 118 00:07:10,439 --> 00:07:14,199 just absolutely rocks my world that you guys are so 119 00:07:14,519 --> 00:07:18,639 nice and so generous to do something like that. So 120 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,680 thank you. I don't think I can talk anymore because 121 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,959 it really moved me. Every time I open those up 122 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,480 to read the comments and thank you for the comments 123 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:31,519 and and and all that stuff. It just I can't 124 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,399 believe how nice you all are. In a world where 125 00:07:35,399 --> 00:07:38,639 the internet is a mean place to be, we have 126 00:07:38,759 --> 00:07:42,199 this little group of people that follow along with this channel, 127 00:07:42,319 --> 00:07:47,079 and you're just so good you're just good, good people. 128 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:50,600 All right, I'm gonna stop. I just love you so 129 00:07:50,759 --> 00:07:53,639 much and I appreciate you, and uh, okay, we're back 130 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,560 to monster stories. Let's get back to the podcast as 131 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,519 what you're here for, and if you like, if you 132 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:03,879 like creepy, be weird kind of bigfoot, dog man, were wolf, 133 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:08,839 ghost UFO type stories, you found your people, and if 134 00:08:08,879 --> 00:08:12,040 you like being associated with a nice bunch of people, 135 00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:16,199 you really have found your people. So let's get back 136 00:08:16,199 --> 00:08:24,959 to the stories. All right, here we go. I live 137 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:30,199 in central Mississippi, near a town called Bay Springs. My cousin, 138 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:33,240 who lives down the road from me, has cattle, and 139 00:08:33,279 --> 00:08:35,360 he and I often sit out at night on his 140 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,840 property to hunt coyotes that frequently kill his newborn cows. 141 00:08:41,279 --> 00:08:43,720 We had met in his field one spring night after 142 00:08:43,759 --> 00:08:47,559 a rainstorm to watch him listen for coyotes. We were 143 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,200 trying to start a fire in the catchpin to make 144 00:08:50,279 --> 00:08:53,159 coffee and settle in for a night of hunting. When 145 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,799 we decided to get some sawmill slats to add to 146 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,799 the fire. We walk behind the catchpin to get the wood, 147 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,960 and we heard the scream and it was unlike anything 148 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,639 we'd ever heard before in these woods. My cousin and 149 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:10,600 I are both hunters and outdoorsmen, and we and we 150 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:15,120 excuse me, we are familiar with all the sounds made 151 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:18,120 by creatures who live in the woods. But what we 152 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:21,240 heard made the hair stand up all over our bodies, 153 00:09:21,639 --> 00:09:25,320 and in my misplaced wisdom, I decided to check it out. 154 00:09:26,879 --> 00:09:29,919 I walked down through the pasture toward a small stream 155 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,519 that ran through the hayfield, and thanks to the bright 156 00:09:32,639 --> 00:09:35,080 moon in the sky, I didn't need to use my 157 00:09:35,159 --> 00:09:38,399 flashlight to see my way, and when I got to 158 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:42,000 the stream, I saw something standing next to the woodline. 159 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:45,679 At first, I thought it was just one of the trees, 160 00:09:45,799 --> 00:09:48,720 but as I got closer, I remembered that I had 161 00:09:48,919 --> 00:09:51,279 raked the hay in that area of the previous summer, 162 00:09:51,519 --> 00:09:55,120 and there was no tree in that area. I turned 163 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,360 on my flashlight to get a better look, and as 164 00:09:57,399 --> 00:10:01,440 I did, this shadow we figure moved toward the trees 165 00:10:02,399 --> 00:10:05,039 and I saw its back in its right hand, which 166 00:10:05,159 --> 00:10:07,879 was much too large to be a human, and from 167 00:10:07,879 --> 00:10:10,440 where I stood, I could see that it was at 168 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,799 least eight feet tall and it was covered in dark hair. 169 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:17,519 I retreated to the cattle pen and I told my 170 00:10:17,639 --> 00:10:20,480 cousin what I had seen, and since then we have 171 00:10:20,519 --> 00:10:24,679 had other encounters on his property. To add to our 172 00:10:24,759 --> 00:10:28,559 excitement and apprehension, we learned that our neighbors have had 173 00:10:28,639 --> 00:10:34,120 unsettling experiences with strange creatures in the area as well. 174 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,279 That experience was so eye opening for me that it 175 00:10:37,399 --> 00:10:41,159 started me on a path to discover encryptids, and I've 176 00:10:41,159 --> 00:10:45,240 been a cryptid researcher now for fifteen years, mostly here 177 00:10:45,279 --> 00:10:52,039 in Mississippi. In the nineteen eighties, I spent my teenage 178 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:56,320 years in a small town in southern Indiana. By small, 179 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,600 I mean around one hundred people. We did have a 180 00:10:59,639 --> 00:11:03,519 gas in, two churches, and there was a tiny post office, 181 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:06,679 all of which were surrounded by thousands of acres of 182 00:11:06,799 --> 00:11:11,240 national and state forest land. My friends and I spent 183 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,919 a lot of time riding dirt bikes and camping out 184 00:11:13,919 --> 00:11:16,879 and fishing and hunting and doing things that we probably 185 00:11:16,919 --> 00:11:19,919 shouldn't have done. I spent a lot of time in 186 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,519 the woods alone because I've always been drawn to it 187 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:26,240 more than any of my friends. And in all the 188 00:11:26,279 --> 00:11:29,320 time I spent out there, I never once felt scared 189 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:34,879 of anything until this one incident happened. The biggest animal 190 00:11:35,039 --> 00:11:37,720 in the woods around here is the deer, and the 191 00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,840 biggest predators or coyotes, or so I thought. One day 192 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,039 after school, I decided to walk through the cow pasture 193 00:11:45,159 --> 00:11:48,639 behind the house to a wooded area and go squirrel hunting. 194 00:11:49,399 --> 00:11:52,159 I didn't really want to shoot anything. I was just 195 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:56,159 using it as an excuse to be out. I wasn't 196 00:11:56,159 --> 00:11:58,919 deep in the woods at all, sitting on a stump 197 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:01,639 watching squirrels and birds, when all of a sudden I 198 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,519 heard something come crashing through the trees. It ran through 199 00:12:05,519 --> 00:12:08,039 there like a freight train, and it was knocking down 200 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,559 trees and just tearing the area up. There was no 201 00:12:11,639 --> 00:12:15,279 way this was a deer or a coyote, I thought, well. 202 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:17,440 I sat there for a couple of minutes waiting to 203 00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,519 see what it was. But the closer it got, the 204 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,559 louder it got, and the more scared I became. Now, 205 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,919 I've never felt such fear in my life. It was 206 00:12:28,159 --> 00:12:32,759 an unexplainable, unnatural fear, and the single shot four ten 207 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:36,440 I was caring didn't give me any comfort at all. 208 00:12:36,519 --> 00:12:38,720 I tried to be brave, but I just couldn't make 209 00:12:38,759 --> 00:12:41,960 myself sit there and wait for it. I never saw 210 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,559 what it was, and I still kicked myself for being 211 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,279 a chicken and running back to the cow pasture and 212 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,960 back home. It never crossed my mind to go back 213 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:54,200 there to look for clues. And this may not sound 214 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,879 like a great encounter, but it sounded much bigger than 215 00:12:56,919 --> 00:13:00,200 any person or animal that was supposed to be there, 216 00:13:00,799 --> 00:13:03,559 And for a sixteen year old kid who knew nothing 217 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,080 about bigfoot or cryptids at the time, it was an 218 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:12,519 epic experience. Hell yes, man, oh, I love that last sentence. 219 00:13:12,639 --> 00:13:15,879 It was epic. I think that's the way I would 220 00:13:15,919 --> 00:13:18,720 feel about an experience like that. As long as I 221 00:13:18,759 --> 00:13:22,080 got away unhurt. That's the deal breaker right there. If 222 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,360 I get away, don't get hurt, it's going to be epic. 223 00:13:26,519 --> 00:13:32,000 Thanks for the story, sir. I grew up in Kentucky 224 00:13:32,159 --> 00:13:36,120 hunting and fishing, and I've seen strange things happen since 225 00:13:36,159 --> 00:13:38,840 I was a kid, and I have more stories than 226 00:13:38,879 --> 00:13:43,440 I can count, but I'll start with my two sasquatch encounters. 227 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:47,240 In high school. My friends and I would sneak out 228 00:13:47,279 --> 00:13:50,679 and fish these four pins at night. We knew our 229 00:13:50,759 --> 00:13:53,000 way around in the dark, but we would try to 230 00:13:53,039 --> 00:13:55,440 go when there was a big moon out anyway, so 231 00:13:55,480 --> 00:14:00,480 that we didn't need to use flashlights and risk getting caught. Well. 232 00:14:00,519 --> 00:14:03,120 That night it was me and Kenny and Newton and 233 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:06,600 Newton and I stopped at the first big pond while 234 00:14:06,759 --> 00:14:10,080 Kenny went through the woods to the other ponds. I 235 00:14:10,159 --> 00:14:12,720 knew a big long point that I could wait out 236 00:14:12,759 --> 00:14:16,000 on and get a better cast, and Newton followed standing 237 00:14:16,039 --> 00:14:20,519 on my left. We were about knee deep catching bass 238 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,600 on every cast, and we threw them straight back in 239 00:14:23,679 --> 00:14:26,200 the water, so there was a lot of splashing going on, 240 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,200 and then out of nowhere, the most wicked lightning storm 241 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:34,120 came up. It was a really impressive thing to watch, 242 00:14:34,720 --> 00:14:36,480 and I told Newton that I was going to find 243 00:14:36,519 --> 00:14:38,440 Kenny so we could get out of here before it 244 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,399 started to rain. So I got out of the water 245 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,799 and I ran into the darkness, and I ran down 246 00:14:43,879 --> 00:14:47,200 the logging road, cut through a cedar thicket, and then 247 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:50,000 the lightning flashed and I saw something go around the 248 00:14:50,039 --> 00:14:54,440 corner to the left. It's about thirty yards away. I 249 00:14:54,480 --> 00:14:58,240 stopped at my tracks. I never heard it make any noise, 250 00:14:58,559 --> 00:15:00,480 and it never looked back at me, but it was 251 00:15:00,559 --> 00:15:04,799 clearly trying to get away. This thing was eight feet tall, 252 00:15:04,919 --> 00:15:07,279 and it had a small head sitting right on top 253 00:15:07,320 --> 00:15:10,759 of its four foot wide shoulders, and it moved with 254 00:15:10,879 --> 00:15:15,679 that bigfoot smoothness you hear about. I ran right back 255 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,240 to Newton, and when he saw the look on my face, 256 00:15:18,679 --> 00:15:21,720 he didn't ask a single question and we both ran 257 00:15:21,879 --> 00:15:24,799 flat out on the paved road to our car, which 258 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:28,480 we had parked a quarter a mile away. Well, Kenny 259 00:15:28,519 --> 00:15:31,759 shows up about forty five minutes later. He didn't have 260 00:15:31,799 --> 00:15:34,080 a clue about any of it. And it never did 261 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:37,879 rain that night. Well, that side squatch was watching us 262 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,559 catch those fish. People ought to start splashing instead of 263 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:47,000 tree knocking. It worked for us. Another story, my dad 264 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,600 had some property around Lake Cumberland, and behind his house 265 00:15:50,639 --> 00:15:54,039 were hundreds of acres of pasture land and scattered woods. 266 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,960 It was a postcard beautiful land for turkey and deer honey. 267 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:00,679 And that was a place on the fence line where 268 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,799 the deer always came out. And one night I told 269 00:16:03,799 --> 00:16:05,720 my dad that I was going to take my climbing 270 00:16:05,759 --> 00:16:09,360 stand over there and hunt that deer trail. I went 271 00:16:09,399 --> 00:16:12,000 in twenty yards and I set up right on the trail, 272 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,919 which I didn't like doing. I hadn't cut any shooting lanes, 273 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,559 so there was some undergrowth. I was about twelve feet 274 00:16:19,639 --> 00:16:22,639 up a white oak, hunting with my recurved bow, and 275 00:16:22,679 --> 00:16:26,720 I had four arrows with me. The evening was dead 276 00:16:26,879 --> 00:16:30,639 quiet and with no birds, annoying chipmunks or bugs, and 277 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:33,519 nothing except the sound of a dog gapping on the 278 00:16:33,559 --> 00:16:38,639 next farm. Over the whole evening, I remember wishing that 279 00:16:38,759 --> 00:16:42,039 dog would shut up, and right at dark I decided 280 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,840 to get down while I could still see. I had 281 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,000 ropes untied and such, and I was making some noise, 282 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,360 but nothing too loud, and I realized that the dog 283 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:55,360 had finally stopped barking. That's when I heard something growl, 284 00:16:55,559 --> 00:16:59,480 low and deep. I stopped and looked around. When I 285 00:16:59,519 --> 00:17:02,120 didn't see anything, I kept doing what I was doing. 286 00:17:02,639 --> 00:17:05,079 But then I heard it again, and it was low 287 00:17:05,319 --> 00:17:08,000 and a deep rumbling that sounded like it came right 288 00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:11,480 out of a monster. For the life of me, I 289 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,279 couldn't see anything through the thick darkness, and I craned 290 00:17:15,319 --> 00:17:17,519 my neck and stretched out as far as I could 291 00:17:17,519 --> 00:17:21,640 see something without falling, but I had no luck seeing anything. 292 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,440 And there I was thinking, what in the world am 293 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,000 I gonna do? I have to climb down, run twenty yards, 294 00:17:28,039 --> 00:17:30,480 climb a fence, and after that there's a three hundred 295 00:17:30,559 --> 00:17:34,240 yard run uphill through the house. Oh brother, I'm screwed. 296 00:17:35,279 --> 00:17:37,400 I decided that when my feet hit the ground, I 297 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,000 would leave my stand and throw my bow over the 298 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:44,279 fence and run for my life. The fear only intensified 299 00:17:44,319 --> 00:17:47,319 when I got out in that big pasture. I had 300 00:17:47,319 --> 00:17:50,359 nowhere to go but uphill, and it reminded me of 301 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,839 a werewolf movie where the good guy runs for his life, 302 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:58,119 all the while knowing he's gonna die. The thing never 303 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,519 showed itself, but I heard it behind me, and I 304 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,480 knew it could have caught up to me if it 305 00:18:02,599 --> 00:18:08,000 had the slightest interest. When Kenny's grandmother heard us talking 306 00:18:08,039 --> 00:18:10,440 about what happened to me, she told us that she 307 00:18:10,559 --> 00:18:14,000 had heard stories about the old nuns who used to 308 00:18:14,039 --> 00:18:18,960 see white creatures in that area. The next day, when 309 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,480 I went back to get my stand, I went back 310 00:18:21,519 --> 00:18:24,440 prepared with my Remington eight seventy in a pocket full 311 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:29,079 of slugs. That event has given me nightmares until this day. 312 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,839 I crossed the road from my dad's place is thirty 313 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:37,559 nine thousand acres of lake Cumberland Land in Russell County, Kentucky. 314 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,960 I loved chasing turkeys out in that open land, and 315 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,519 I did it all on foot, the way it should 316 00:18:44,599 --> 00:18:47,359 be done. Well. There was one turkey that gobbled his 317 00:18:47,440 --> 00:18:49,559 head off every morning, and one day I told my 318 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,200 dad I was going to go after It took me 319 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,480 an hour or so to creep my way over and 320 00:18:54,599 --> 00:18:57,440 up there. The only thing I could find to hide 321 00:18:57,519 --> 00:19:02,000 end was a giant wild rose bush with white flowers. Man, 322 00:19:02,039 --> 00:19:04,960 it smelt good and the bees were buzzing all around me. 323 00:19:06,039 --> 00:19:09,119 It was almost magical, and it hid me well except 324 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:11,839 for my shotgun, which was poking out and only the 325 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,559 barrel was showing. And after a while, all the sounds 326 00:19:15,559 --> 00:19:19,640 in the forest, including the gobbling, went completely quiet. Even 327 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,079 the bees flying around me, had flown off. So I 328 00:19:23,119 --> 00:19:25,319 crept up to the edge of where that bird had 329 00:19:25,359 --> 00:19:28,799 been strutting moments before, and he was gone. It was 330 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:31,640 like he just vanished. And I stood up from the 331 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,400 camouflage of the roses, and I walked right over there, 332 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,759 looking around like a big joke had been played on me. 333 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:40,960 And then on the ground at my feet I found 334 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,920 the perfect fan from that bird, as if someone yanked 335 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:48,799 it right out and left it there for me. There 336 00:19:48,799 --> 00:19:51,480 were no other feathers or fluff or any hint of 337 00:19:51,519 --> 00:19:54,440 a struggle at all, like you would normally expect from 338 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,720 a fox or a big cat. The whole bird was 339 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:02,119 just gone. It was just the fan left. It might 340 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,359 have been a big foot that got my turkey, and 341 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,240 it makes just as much sense as a turkey disappearing 342 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,759 into thin air, if you ask me. My father grew 343 00:20:10,799 --> 00:20:14,440 fruit trees, peaches and pears and apples and apricots. He'd 344 00:20:14,480 --> 00:20:18,359 always complained that something was stealing his fruit, but now 345 00:20:18,599 --> 00:20:21,920 looking back, it all kind of makes sense now. My 346 00:20:22,039 --> 00:20:24,920 dad never did say anything about it while he was alive, 347 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,119 but we all knew something was lurking around in that land, 348 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:33,400 and it was something that did not belong. Thanks for listening. 349 00:20:33,599 --> 00:20:35,839 I appreciate you all so much. Hope you were having 350 00:20:35,880 --> 00:20:39,759 a great Labor Day day. Today is Labor Day. I 351 00:20:39,799 --> 00:20:43,319 got to go to my granddaughter's birthday party in Arkansas 352 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,680 this weekend and we had a great time. A bunch 353 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:50,599 of screaming girls at a swimming party, and luckily there 354 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,079 was plenty of beer around, so me and the other 355 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,839 guys just kind of sat around, drank beers and laughed 356 00:20:55,839 --> 00:20:58,160 and watched the kids and had a great time. And 357 00:20:58,279 --> 00:21:01,440 I'm back now recording podcast. I appreciate you so much 358 00:21:01,519 --> 00:21:03,119 for listening to this one, and we'll see you on 359 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:04,200 the next one. Thank you.