Welcome back to the Bigfoot Project.
Find a quiet place to relax and prepare yourself for another
collection of frightening encounters.
Hello, I would like to tell you a story that occurred in
Tennessee in the 1990s. Please forgive me for the length
but everything is important to understand the events.
Also forgive me for any errors, I'm not a writer.
Here's a little background on myself.
I was an avid outdoorsman and hunter, very comfortable around
firearms. I worked many part time jobs.
I would land survey in the summers and work local farms in
the winter. Months later I happened to get
my first full time job at a local factory I was fresh out
of. Community College and when not.
Working. I would help out my friend, I
will call him Bruce, on his grandfather's farm.
His grandfather was a retired Baptist preacher.
This will be important later. Bruce was a stocky, very strong
young man. He was the best hunter I have
ever met. There was nothing in the
Tennessee woods he couldn't kill.
He limited out every year on whitetail and Turkey.
We would hunt and fish every minute of spare time we could
find. The area we haunted was mostly
owned by his grandfather. His grandfather owned 2 separate
farms, one on the east side of a large lake, we call it the
Bailey Place and the other on the West side of the lake.
His property was mainly hills and valleys right up to the
government controlled lands or public lands along the
lakefront. We would hunt right up to the
public lands. We built many hunting blinds and
tree stands on these properties. Many times we would sense
something watching us, always blowing it off.
Sometimes we would joke Bigfoot is watching us again.
We got so used to this feeling we would just look at each other
and say you feel that then shrug it off and keep on doing
whatever we were doing. One day while cutting cedar
fence post with his dad on the West side property, me and Bruce
had that same old feeling of being watched.
We continued loading the cut poles when his dad cut his
chainsaw off and said you feel that something is watching us.
We both said yes. For a while now this somewhat
validated what we have been experiencing.
One Sunday night while I was at home I got a frantic phone call
from Bruce. I could tell he was running and
he told me to get to the farm as soon as I can, no questions
asked. I told him I was on my way.
It's a good. 20 to 30 minute drive.
I arrived at his grandfather's house and he was waiting on me
by the old 4x4 farm truck. I got out of my truck and said
what the heck man, what's going on?
He just asked. You got your rifle.
I said yes and he said. Get in the truck.
We got to go to the back 40 still not knowing what was going
on and thinking to myself how weird he was acting and how I'd
never seen him this nervous. As we drive through the dark
cattle fields toward the back 40, which is mainly woods and
across a small Creek. He told me he was Bush hogging
deer lanes on the tractor when he ran out of diesel fuel and he
was afraid with the cold weather he would not be able to get the
tractor started again. He needed me to drive the 4x4
back to the house. I said come on man, is that all
that's going on? He finally told me after some
hesitation. He said after the tractor ran
out of fuel, he started walking toward the house.
He said something or someone was stalking him.
At first he thought it could be a bobcat, which will do that
sometimes, but it seemed to him this thing was bigger and on 2
feet. He began to pick up his pace and
it kept up right behind him. Having no flashlight, he started
getting concerned. That's when he called me.
He said when he stopped, it stopped.
When he crossed the Creek he said it was right on him, but as
soon as he reached the open field it stopped.
I had never seen this guy so nervous and said he just needed
backup. After reaching the top of the
hill we got the tractor fueled up and started all the time
watching our six. You could feel something just
out of sight watching us. We soon pushed this event out of
our minds and carried on with our daily activities on the
farm. Bruce knew these woods and the
other woods on the other side of the lake.
We would get up early before dawn and go out hunting.
Bruce would know as soon as we got there if we would have any
luck or not. He would say it's not good up
here today, let's go down in the holler.
We might get a buck down there. Or you go over in that stand and
one will come up at daylight. He was rarely wrong and I
started understanding his logic. You could tell by the wildlife,
birds singing and small animals moving around that meant a good
hunt. Dead silence meant the hunting
would be bad. Sometimes while sitting in the
stand, the woods would suddenly go quiet.
I would get very nervous and think Dang, might as well go
back to the truck. Still, we didn't put two and two
together till we found the footprint.
One rather warm winter day, Bruce, his girlfriend and I
decided to hike down to the lake's edge on the public lands
and take a look around. We would search for arrowheads
and deer sign, stuff like that. As we were looking around I
found a fresh track and couldn't believe what I was looking at.
We just stood there looking down on this nearly perfect
footprint. Bruce broke the silence with one
word, Bigfoot. It was unbelievable.
A 13 or 14 inch footprint with five toes.
The big toe showed as plain as they.
I said either this is a Bigfootprint or there's a huge
barefoot fisherman around here in the dead of winter.
As we walked back we started discussing maybe this explains
everything that's been happening around here, at least on this
side of the lake. Could there be a Bigfoot on this
lake? It became a running joke for a
good while, but still didn't quite hit home yet.
A little while after that I wanted to take my girlfriend
camping. I decided to take her over to
the east side farm, the Bailey Place, which was very isolated.
There was no homes and no one living on the property.
I was looking forward to some quiet time with my girl.
I set up camp on a high point in a clearing right outside the
tree line. The woods fell sharply downhill
into a deep holler. I knew this spot well.
I had a tree stand not far over the Ridge.
Bruce had promised he wouldn't mess with us and had plans with
his own lady. The beginning of the night was
fantastic, just like a cheesy country song.
Me and her camp fire and my old pickup.
We had a few drinks and some good conversation.
At about midnight the woods went quiet.
Oh crap, I thought to myself. I started hearing faint movement
inside the tree line. Not loud, but loud enough for me
to notice. It seemed to only move when we
were talking. I thought about retrieving my
shotgun from the truck, but not wanting to upset my girlfriend,
I pretended nothing was wrong. At first I wondered if it might
be Bruce messing with me. I finally jumped in the tent to
get some sleep. I tried to stay awake and listen
but it seemed to quiet down. I dozed off and was later awoke
by my girlfriend. She said there was something out
there. I said don't worry, it's
probably just a small animal messing around.
As I laid there I could hear something walking back and forth
breaking sticks a short distance from behind our tent.
My girlfriend was almost in tears when she said I want to go
home. Being the tough guy, I jumped up
and out of the tent, walked over to my truck and pulled out my
shotgun. I gave it a good pump and
shouted out the universal. Good old boy warning.
Whoever you are, you better start stepping because you're
fixing to get shot. This works well against
trespassers and pranksters. Again I shouted.
You've been warned. Say something now or next step
I'm shooting. The Walking stopped for a few
minutes. Deep down I knew it wasn't a
person out there. It was something else.
Crack. Another stick broke.
I told my girlfriend to cover her ears.
I'm all about gun safety, and up to this point I have never fired
a weapon at something I couldn't see.
I felt I didn't have a choice. This thing was getting bold.
The next sound I fired a shot. It echoed over the countryside.
Another step. Two more buckshot loads cut
through the underbrush. I must have got its attention.
It stopped. Soon the insects started singing
again. I didn't sleep much after that.
Daylight came soon and I took her home.
Later that day I met up with Bruce and his cousin.
I didn't say anything about what happened, hoping that if it was
him messing with me last night he would give himself away, but
he said nothing. We decided that we would go back
and camp at the same spot since the tent was still there.
Around midnight it was back. I still hadn't told him about
the night before. This time it was just outside
flashlight range and bolder than the previous night.
I kept quiet just to see how the other guys reacted.
Bruce was not easily spooked, but I could see it was getting
to him several times, looking across the fire light and saying
what is that? What could that be?
It sounds big, two legs, what do you think?
I finally said, I don't know man, but I shot at it last
night. I never saw anything, he said.
What? You shot at it, you could have
killed someone. What if it was me?
Ashamed, I said, man, I didn't think I had a choice.
Later that night we were lying in the tent listening to this
thing walking around, breaking what sounded like full grown
trees, stomping around like a dangorilla.
Bruce said. Forget this.
He jumped up and out of the tent, grabbing his Remington
1100 automatic shotgun and commenced unloading it into the
darkness. Phil jumped up after him,
pumping more rounds into the darkness.
After the smoke cleared, it seemed to get the hint.
Not much noise after that. We knew this wasn't normal, but
what could we do? We would go hunt and it would be
there, or it wouldn't. You could always know.
You could feel it in the air and what the wildlife was doing.
It became the norm. As strange as it sounds, we
started ignoring the thing. The east side of the lake farm
we called the Bailey's Place was named after the family that
owned it in the early 1900s. These were distant relatives to
Bruce's family. Bruce's grandfather grew up a
short distance from the Bailey place.
From time to time we would go see the Baileys and hang out
with the great grandson, which was about our age. 1 fall night
we went to visit him and cook up some tenderloin from a buck we
had just bagged a day before. As we sat there in the kitchen
eating we started joking around about the Bigfoot out at the
Bailey's place. We were laughing and enjoying
the conversation when his dad shouted from the living room.
His dad was a very quiet man, I don't think I've ever heard him
speak, but he was pissed. As he threw his beer bottle or
tea glass or whatever it was against the fireplace.
He shouted. The beast has been out there
years and you don't want to mess with it.
Get the fuck out of my house. Without hesitation we jumped up
and left. I looked at Bruce as we headed
back to his grandfather's house. What the heck was he talking
about? The beast?
Bruce said. Ah, he's messing with us.
Grandpa would have told me about a so-called beast.
Bruce said we will ask him tomorrow after church.
Now remember Bruce's grandfather was a retired preacher and was
at least 80 years old, so there was no reason for him to lie.
So after church and Sunday dinner, we sat down on the couch
across from Bruce's grandfather. With a wink, Bruce said, hey
Grandpa, tell us about the beast out there at the Bailey's place.
His grandfather sat there for a few minutes, not even flinching
or looking our way, just chewing his tobacco and watching TV.
After a few minutes, Bruce leaned over to me and said, I
told you so. Then it happened.
The nail in the coffin. Grandpa in a calm collected
voice said. I don't ever recall it being
called the Beast. We never really called it
anything, but I heard it when I was 12 years old.
I was hunting with my cousins and I was the youngest and this
thing yelled out at us and we sent the dogs after it.
We only had one Lantern so we couldn't see very far.
The dogs went out of sight into the darkness after this thing.
Barks became whimpers and they came straight back, passing us
and heading toward the house. My cousins took off running,
leaving me alone in the dark with this thing only feet away.
I ran and jumped the fence and got out of there.
Grandpa said the locals would gather together and try to hunt
this thing down and kill it, but could never get close enough to
do the job. It would come back every year,
mainly in the fall, and kill a dog or two.
Maybe a few livestock would go missing.
He finally ended the conversation with I don't know
what it was. He wouldn't say anything else.
We looked at each other in amazement.
Bruce said we're going to go kill this thing.
Man was he wrong. I had started a full time job in
a factory on 2nd shift. Enter my new buddy Shane.
He was one-of-a-kind dude. He was a straight up Native
American, jet black ponytail and all.
We became good friends and had the same interests.
It took me a while to tell him that me and my friend Bruce had
plans to go kill Bigfoot like that.
Don't sound crazy or anything. When I finally told Shane he
didn't flinch, he said I'm in. We made plans to go out to the
Bailey place and hunt the beast. Me and Bruce scouted out the
Bailey place for just the right spot to set up our Hunter's
camp. We decided on a small dry pond
on the edge of the woods. The banks would give us some
defensive advantage. The banks of the pond, except
for a flat spot right at the entrance to the field and pond,
was surrounded by trees and a semi steep slope fell off the
backside. The pond was maybe 50 feet in
diameter. We placed the fire pit dead
center in the flat spot at the entrance to the pond and field.
We would back our two trucks in, making the pond a kill box for
anything brave enough to come over the edge and into our camp.
We found out later the dry pond was a good defensive spot, but
with no offensive advantage at all.
We were ready to go and decided we would also bring a second
line of defence, Hercules, Bruce's pit bull dog.
Hercules would protect Bruce to the death.
He would retrieve ducks, kill coyotes and was well behaved.
He would take Bruce's orders to the tee.
We set up camp early that day, had the campfire ready and tent
up a good stockpile of wood and most of the gear and ammo we
needed. Bruce met me and Shane right
after work and we headed out. We arrived at camp at about 1:00
AM. As soon as we stepped out of the
truck, I knew the beast was there.
It was dead quiet, not even a cricket was chirping.
Hercules, the pit bull was frozen.
He wouldn't get out of Bruce's truck.
Hercules, out. Bruce commanded with no response
from the dog. He grabbed the dog by his collar
and pulled him out of the truck. Hercules dashed straight for the
tent and curled up in the corner.
We all looked in dismay at each other and Bruce said well that's
not a good sign. Bruce said I've never seen him
scared of anything. We got the fire burning,
unpacked our remaining gear and weapons.
The air was quiet and calm. Then it started just like
before, Sticks breaking, the occasional tree breaking.
The sounds were pretty far out from camp, maybe 50 yards.
Bruce said it's time to get this SOB, let's go.
Bruce rushed out of camp around the truck a short distance
through the field and to the edge of the tree line, me and
Shane right behind him. Bruce was trying to flank the
beast and come in on its right side.
The woods went even quieter as we slowly creep into the woods,
my heart pounding out of my chest, fear and excitement all
at the same time. The night sky was clear and
Bruce said no flashlights let her eyes get used to the
darkness. The stars gave us enough light
to maneuver through the underbrush toward the last known
position of the thing. We hunkered down and listened
for a moment. We heard it walking farther
downhill. We could hear this thing
walking, but no shadows. We couldn't see anything.
We followed The Walking down the hill, thinking this thing was in
retreat. We came up to an old fence line.
We were at least 100 yards from camp at this point and I got to
say I was scared to death. But at the same time it still
felt like a game and not real. We sat still for maybe 10
minutes just listening, hearing some movement across the fence
line right in front of us. Bruce whispered it's right out
there, maybe 30 yards. He told me to go up and go to
the right and cover him at the tree line.
He told Shane go straight up through the woods to the middle
to camp. You guys skip a step every now
and then, maybe it'll think it's all three of us going up to camp
and follow you. I will stay here and see if I
can get a look at this thing. Shane didn't like the plan and
said it's right on top of us, turn on the flashlights.
He begged. Bruce said stick to the plan.
So we did. I ran back up the hill and
positioned myself looking back down the hill toward Bruce and
Shane. Ran up the hill, through the
woods to the backside of camp. A few minutes passed which felt
like hours. My heart was beating a mile a
minute. Then all of a sudden, a loud.
Whoo. Came echoing up the hill.
Then again, I thought to myself, what the heck is that?
After the third time, I figured it out.
It was Bruce's hoot owl call, used to make wild turkeys shock
gobble. Then I heard footsteps running
up the hill, fast coming toward me.
It was Bruce, he slid right up beside me and out of breath.
He said I think there's three of them.
What? I whispered. 3 He said.
We jumped up and ran into camp. Shane was sitting right by the
fire with Hercules curled up under his legs.
He said what the hell was that noise?
Bruce said it was an owl call. It was the only thing I could
think of when I realized I was in an ambush.
What? We both yelled at the same time.
Bruce said yes. Right after you guys went up.
The hill in front of me slowly moved in my direction.
I was ready to unload when I heard a second set of heavy
footprints follow Shane. Oh shit.
He said. Then the third one came from my
right just yards away. I couldn't see anything man
nothing. I need to make them stop and
give me a chance to get out of there.
So I blew my owl call. They both stopped and I humped
it out of there. Me and Shane just listened in
disbelief. No way there's three of these
invisible things stalking us. As we drank some water and
gathered our thoughts, Hercules whimpered and retreated back to
the tent. About the same time Bruce said.
Dang coward. An unearthly scream blasted
toward us, just yards from us. I fell to my knees and Shane
fell off the chair, spinning around, gun in the air, catching
himself on a log. Bruce almost fell backwards as
if the sound was going to knock him over.
I trembled in fear. I've never heard anything like
that in my life and never want to hear it again.
I keep telling myself this is real.
Oh shit, this is really happening.
The scream. It was unearthly but biological
at the same time. It started off like a woman but
much louder and ending in a roar like a lion or grizzly.
There's nothing in these woods that make sounds like that.
Like a semi truck running 70 and locking up 1 tire.
The high pitched screech with a roar at the end.
I couldn't keep myself from shaking, but I had to see this
thing. I had the most firepower, so I
said cover me. I walked to the edge of the
pond, climbed the bank and with every fibre I could muster I
clicked on the mag light mounted on the bottom of my AK.
Bruce and Shane stood on either side of me, covering my six.
I shone the light through the Cedars and hardwoods, looking
for whatever just made that scream.
It was just moments ago. It had to be right there.
It was so close. It didn't move after.
It still had to be right there, but I couldn't see anything.
I creeped forward a few feet, shining all around.
I had an overwhelming feeling of danger and dread.
I focused on one tree about 20 yards away, thinking I kept
seeing something. I would move my light away and
when I focus back on the tree, there was nothing.
I did it again, only this time focusing the light just to the
left. My rifle started shaking
uncontrollably in my right hand as I was holding onto a tree
with my left, trying to keep balanced.
It was there, right behind that tree, something, a shine of an
eye just out of sight. It was there, but not there.
I can't explain it, I couldn't comprehend it.
The air was full of dread. This was a trap, I could feel it
in my bones. I said to the guys, I'm backing
out, cover me, it's right there. I was doing my best to back out,
walking backwards this was impossible.
I just knew if I turned my back it would attack.
If I could keep my light on that tree I had a chance.
I told myself. I must have looked like an idiot
climbing over that bank. I rolled into the pond and
crawled to the fire. It's out there, I think it's
right out there, I mumbled. I think this really hit home for
Bruce. He had haunted these woods and
nothing was going to scare him out of them.
He started yelling and cussing at this thing, daring it to come
up here. I had never seen my friend so
full of rage. He said I got something for you.
And with his 12 gauge he focused on a cedar just right at the
edge of the pond and started hammering this tree with round
after round from his palm shotgun.
He blew this tree to shreds till it fell over the Bank of the
pond. That's what's coming to you, you
son of a bitch. Then he walked over to the tent,
reloaded his shotgun and said I'm going to bed.
Me and Shane sat there in silence for an hour or so it
seemed, not saying a word, just grasping our rifles.
I finally said it's time for some sleep, I have to sleep.
I told him. The adrenaline had worn off,
leaving us exhausted. We both climbed in the tent
after not having heard anything since Bruce's outburst with the
tree. I was in the middle with Shane
to my right and Bruce to my left.
Hercules seemed calm. He was napping on top of Bruce's
chest. I told myself if he's chill then
we're all good. I don't really know how much
time had passed, but it must have been a few hours because
the fire had almost died. There was only a slight glow
through the zip tent door when I woke to Shane saying oh shit, I
didn't know what was going on. My rifle had slipped between my
legs and almost under me. I looked to my right as Shane
raised his rifle toward the tent door.
At the same time I glanced to the left to see Hercules, ears
back, staring at the tent door with a low growl, Bruce's hand
slowly sliding under his collar, preparing for what was coming.
Hercules lunged for the closed tent door, jerking Bruce almost
upright. Growls became furious barking
and Shane waving his rifle side to side saying oh shit, oh shit.
Then it was gone in just seconds to large heavy footsteps and
bumping the truck bed with a thud.
Hercules whimpered a few seconds and returned to his perch on
Bruce's lap. This is just too much man, just
too much. This is bullshit.
Bruce said. At this point we knew Hercules
was a good alarm if it came back, so we fell back to sleep.
Well, at least I did. Sun up was coming soon and the
birds started singing and insects.
We had made it through the night.
Bruce got up, said he was hungry and was going to go get him a
squirrel. We said you're crazy, man.
No way, he said. Nothing is going to keep me out
of these woods. I guess he had to prove it to
himself and face his fears. So he went hunting.
He came back a few. Hours later with a squirrel and
commenced cooking it over the fire.
We sat around for a while and decided to take a look around
for tracks and whatnot. We found some places that looked
like something had laid there, but it could have been a
whitetail. We walked all around this
property finding the Bailey's old home place at the bottom of
the hauler. Not much was to be found.
We did find some game trails with some trees twisted off up
high, which was a bit odd. We really didn't know what we
were looking for. At about midday as we were
walking around the foot of a big hill, a bunch of doves came
running straight at us, running from something off the hill
above. They almost run right into us
till they realized we were there and quickly changed directions.
Shane said it was testing us to see if we were there to shoot
the deer. Not sure if that was the case
but it was very strange behaviour.
We were not being quiet as we hiked around.
About an hour later as we hiked back up to the top where the
camp was, we all smelled something strange.
Not like wet dog or rotten meat but more like dumpster rotten
garbage. We all went home after that and
said we will be back. Bruce never came back with me
and Shane. I don't think he wanted to know
any more about this thing. I don't blame him, but for me
and Shane, it was not done yet. Now here he goes.
Nothing. Like I said before, this is
entirely true. Everything is true.
The story turns from crazy to batshit crazy.
I know most of you guys won't believe the rest of this story,
but I have to tell it as it happened.
As crazy as it sounds, it's still the facts.
We believed up to this point that we were out there hunting
Bigfoot where Bigfoot was hunting us.
I mean we found the print right? We found the trails with the
twisted off treetops, and even think we've found some hair 6
feet high in those trees. The garbage smell.
Classic Bigfoot. We even started asking around
and Yep, people claim to have seen Bigfoot.
Not just a few, but several accounts of Bigfoot.
Well, if it is Bigfoot, the TV shows have it all wrong, way
wrong. Me and Shane continued to come
out to the dry pond about once a week or so, mostly on Friday
nights. We did this for months.
It was always the same thing. As soon as we got out of the
truck we would know if he was going to show up or not.
If he was there, the same old thing, breaking sticks,
crunching trees, no woodland sounds.
Most of the time he was a no show.
We got used to being out there. We would just sit and listen to
it, walk around and if it wasn't there we would just shoot the
shit. Always thinking about what it
could be like. Grandpa said it comes in the
fall of the year and was almost winter.
The nights were getting colder and this night was going to be
the last night we were going to camp for this season.
We got a good fire going. It was about one or two in the
morning and we were bundled up in our winter gear laying by the
fire just talking and stargazing.
Then we started to hear him messing around out there.
It wasn't anything new so we stood up and scanned the woods
with the flashlight. Things quieted down again and we
went back to talking and looking at the stars.
Then off to my right in the underbrush I hear dragging or
crawling or something. Almost like a GI would crawl and
drag his legs behind him. This was new to us and coming
from a place a few yards out that he has never been before.
Still lying on my back, I grab my spotlight and rifle and shine
it in the direction the noise is coming from.
I couldn't see anything which made me nervous because it
sounded so close to me. I pointed my rifle in the
direction and out loud I said if I see as much as a twig move I'm
unloading on your ass. This seemed to do the trick.
Once again no more movement. We laid there for another hour
or so letting the fire die down when I said I've had enough
let's go home. So we both stand up, Shane is in
front of me closer to the truck and my back is to the woods.
I have my rifle in one hand and I'm reaching down to pick up my
big spotlight flashlight when all of a sudden from behind me,
something big charges straight toward me.
This thing is coming and coming fast.
Without hesitation, knowing in my soul this thing is coming to
kill me. I swing around and click off my
safety. It has to be just yards away.
I can't see it, but it's moving trees to get to us.
Like a bull running through the woods.
I again break my gun rule. I start firing directly at this
sound. It's right on me, but I can't
see it. This is all in just seconds.
Shane steps around me and joins the shooting spree.
I'm noticing something, but I can't stop firing.
It's just too close. It's in the dry pond with us,
but we can't see it. Holy crap, it's right in here
with us. Shane fires 5 rounds.
I'm probably on round 10 of my 30 when this thing breaks,
right? If you're a hunter, you know
when you fire on your game, you don't hear the shot, but instead
you can hear your target and can hear where it goes and falls.
You can shoot it on the run. Well, that's exactly what I did
to this thing. I was shooting it just feet from
me and I was hitting it. Yes, I was hitting it.
You know why Shane only took five shots and I was still
pounding this thing with lead because Shane saw the same thing
I did. We were hitting something.
I fired 25 rounds in a matter of seconds.
This thing crashed back into the woods over the dry pond bank and
slid to a stop several yards out in the woods, just like it
collapsed, just like a deer will do when you lung it.
It will run, then just collapse. I was in disbelief.
Did this just happen? This can't be real.
Did I really just see what happened?
Shane seemed to snap out of his trance and he ran over to the
edge of the pond where this thing fell and he said we killed
it, let's get it. I also came to my senses and
said hold up, don't go over the bank, just keep your gun pointed
where it fell. I have to reload.
Digging through my backpack, realizing I forgot my extra
magazines at the house, I did manage to find 5 loose
cartridges in my pack, bringing my ammo count back up to 10
rounds. If this thing gets back up it's
not going to be enough I told myself.
I yelled over to Shane. How much ammo you got?
15 rounds, I know not to go in there after this thing, so I say
to Shane if it's down then it's down.
We will wait for daylight. After what I just saw there's no
way we would stand a chance. Shane agrees.
We wait for daylight. We build the fire back up and
sit facing where this thing fell in the darkness.
We sit in silence for what seemed an eternity, the whole
time running. What happened over and over in
my head? What was it?
What did I just kill? Did I just kill someone?
But it just is impossible what I saw.
Finally I got the nerve to ask Shane, dude, why did you only
shoot five shots then look at your muzzle.
He said man, my gun was throwing sparks.
I said bullshit. He then said yours was too.
I said they were not throwing sparks and you know it.
I said like what? That they were hitting something
invisible and our bullets were just absorbed.
He said yes, it's fucking impossible.
That's exactly what happened. Yes, I swear to you, this thing
was inside our perimeter, invisible and bulletproof.
This is no Bigfoot I've ever heard of.
We didn't talk much after that, just sat there peering toward
the dark woods. Daylight couldn't come fast
enough, and when it got almost light enough to see our hand in
front of our face, this freaking thing stood up just outside of
the firelight range and walked slowly down the hill away from
camp. And at that point I was more
scared than ever. Shane was a wreck.
I almost went out there after it.
It was a fucking trap. It was waiting on me.
This thing played possum. Did it want us to come after it?
Was there more waiting on us? It was too much to handle man.
We were hunting a Bigfoot, not predator.
That being said, we looked over the entire site for blood, hair,
anything. There was nothing.
I looked out in the woods for a fence or anything metallic that
may have caused my bullets to look like they were hitting
something crazy. Thing is, it's like I was
shooting blanks. I couldn't even find where I hit
trees. It's like I hit nothing.
I know this is too crazy to believe, but it happened.
Shane never came back with me and he moved away.
I haven't heard from him or know where he is.
I did go back a year or so later with some friends and Bruce did
go with us. We camped this time way away
from the dry pond in the middle of a field.
Nothing happened that night but I was armed to the teeth.
The next day after everyone left camp, I packed up everything and
headed out to the main road. At the entrance to the field a
car pulled in and blocked my exit.
I got out and walked up and asked the woman if she needed
something. I'm guessing she was in her 70s
and a man was with her. He looked to be older than her.
She stepped out of the car and said I'm Miss Bailey and I grew
up here man, I thought to myself this is like a Dang movie.
This is my chance to ask her face to face about the beast.
She asked me who I was and I told her I was a friend of
Bruce's and we've been camping down here.
She said she was just stopping in to take a look around at her
old home place. She asked if the house was still
there and I told her only the foundation where butter cups
still come up down there. She asked about the Persimmon
tree at the corner of the field. I told her it still has fruit
and we have a bow stand in it. We chatted for a minute, then I
knew this was my opportunity to ask her.
So without sounding crazy I asked her when you grew up down
there did you ever see or hear anything crazy?
I said maybe like a bear or a cat.
She laughed and said oh heavens no.
Pausing for a minute, she said no joke, it wasn't a bear or
cat. I'm not saying it was a monster
or anything, but it wasn't a cat or a bear.
My jaw just dropped. The old lady is verifying that
there is something down here, she continued.
My dad, rest his soul, tried to kill that thing all his life.
It would scream outside the house and kill our dogs.
About that time the old man in the car started shouting and
shaking his head saying I don't want to hear that.
Over and over. She said don't mind him, he has
Alzheimer's. I think us talking about it set
him off. I didn't need more proof that
this thing is real and here to stay.
I realized I didn't have the technology nor the firepower to
bring this thing down. I hope someone else out there
may have had a similar experience to mine and will come
forward. I can't be the only one.
And 20 years later, I still think about it every day.
It has changed my life. I do not go anywhere unarmed,
especially in the woods. Hey everyone, I just want to
remind you that my written books and audio books are available
and the links are all in the description below.
If you enjoyed these stories and want to help support the show,
picking up a copy really helps and is greatly appreciated.
Thank you. The following two incidents
happened north of Rosburn, Manitoba.
Both sightings occurred when the witness was a little girl in the
first incident. She was at the family farm
picking Saskatoon berries with her mother.
Her mother was standing 5 or 6 steps in front of her deeper in
the Saskatoon bushes and she herself was standing on the
periphery of the bushes. They've been picking berries
only for a few minutes. When she felt as if she was
being watched, she looked to the right and less than 15 feet away
was a large hair covered creature that was also standing
in front of the Berry bushes. She had not seen nor heard it
approach their position and she believes that it may have
already been standing in the bushes when they came out to
harvest the berries. The witness described it as
being reddish brown in colour and twice as tall as she was.
This would place it at close or just over 7 feet tall.
Because of the very close proximity to her, she could tell
that it had hair and not fur. Its entire body was covered in
hair except for its face and the palm of its hands, which she
described as black and leathery. It was very broad and thick
through the body, and it appeared to have no neck.
The witness stated that it was quite calmly picking the berries
off the branches and eating them.
To accomplish this, it had pulled down a higher branch with
its left hand and was gently plucking individual berries with
its right hand before placing them in its mouth.
The witness stated that as she observed this creature, she was
trying to attract her mother's attention.
When her mother turned and looked in the direction
indicated by the witness, she screamed and grabbed her
daughter away. The witness did not see the
Sasquatch leave the area, but it may have left going back through
the Saskatoon bushes. Several days later, the witness
was riding her bicycle on a road near the family farm.
On her right was a fence bordering A pasture and beyond
that was a small Slough or pond with brush on the other side.
As she rode along she heard an animal crashing through the
Bush. The sound made her think that a
cow or a horse may be in distress, so she stopped her
bike to investigate. It was at this point that a
large ape like creature emerged from the Bush and began quickly
coming through the Slough in her direction.
She stated that she was terrified and afraid that she
might not get away from it on her bike.
The witness remembers that the second Sasquatch was larger than
the first, being a dark brown in colour, and appeared to be angry
by the way it was acting. For the next several years, the
witness could not fathom what these two creatures actually
were. She firmly believed that they
were gorillas that may have escaped from a travelling circus
or animal act. It was not until a number of
years later when she had seen a display about gorillas at the
Winnipeg Zoo that she realized what she had seen at her farm
had not been an escaped circus animal, but something quite real
and natural. Franklin County, Arkansas.
The witness lived near the top of Younger Nob on property
adjacent to the very large, deep and steep sided mountain hollow
formed by the South Fork of White Oak Creek.
On the day of the sighting, she and her two young daughters
climbed down the side of the hollow to check on her son and
his cousin who were camped along the Creek.
The trek to the base of the slope took hours of careful
travel with frequent rest stops along the way.
When they reached the narrow Canyon floor along the Creek,
they could hear the boys calling to them from their campsite
further up the Creek. The 2 girls were allowed to
start walking toward the camp, but the witness sat down on a
large rock beside the Creek to rest for a while.
While sitting there, she noticed something shining in the water
and was preoccupied with trying to determine what kind of object
she was seen. By the time the 2 girls had
reached the campsite, she could no longer hear the four children
talking while looking intently at the shining object in the
Creek. For several minutes, the witness
had a strong and sudden feeling that she was being watched.
She slowly turned to look down the Creek and up the Creek and
then carefully scanned the bluff and terraces across from her
possession. She saw nothing in those
directions but still had a growing feeling of being
watched. She then turned around on the
rock to look up the steep slope she had just travelled.
She froze when she saw a large human like being staring down on
her from a sharp Ridge about 100 yards away.
The witness stared at the animal for several seconds and mentally
recorded details of its appearance while her eyes were
fixed on the creature. She heard all four children
laughing and shouting as they ran toward her.
She immediately stood up and started walking to intercept the
children. She quickly looked back toward
the Ridge and the animal was gone.
She hurriedly gathered the kids and started walking cautiously
back up the wall of the hollow. As they approached the area
where the creature had been standing, they could smell a
strong, rancid odor like that produced by a large male bear.
Hours later, they climbed out of the Canyon and returned home
safely. The bipedal creature was about 9
feet tall with dark brown hair that was about 3 to 5 inches
long. The hair covered all the body,
including the backs of the hands.
There was no hair on the face just below the eyes.
The neck was very short and the head sat close to the shoulders.
The animal was lean but very muscular, especially in the
upper torso. The witnesses son-in-law had
also seen one such creature, Faulkner County, Arkansas.
Let me first say this incident is not made-up.
There is absolutely no doubt what my father and I saw.
Neither myself would have any reservations about a polygraph
test. It was my 11th birthday.
My father let me miss school to go to Lake Conway, which is
known for its crappy fishing. We were in a boat with a small
outboard motor in a Cove tied to a stump, which was in the water.
For 10 to 15 minutes. There were noises in the woods,
like limbs breaking continually. I kept telling my father there's
something in the woods. It's very thick brush and
Cypress trees. But he continually said, son,
it's the birds. I was fixated on the noises,
which were 20 feet away, so I was just looking in that
direction constantly. My father was turned around,
looking away from the shore. All of a sudden it came out of
the woods, a Bigfoot, and it stood there.
I could honestly say that I could not talk.
This has never happened before or since.
I finally got my father's attention and said, get the hell
out of here. My father whipped around and
said, Oh my gosh. Then he pulled his 38 and drew
on the animal. It never did anything except
stand there. It was absolutely not aggressive
except for the earlier breaking of limbs.
My father then united the boat, started it, and we kept circling
around it for at least 10 minutes.
I like to think of myself of somewhat of an intellectual and
my father has a doctorate. My point is, if that was a joke,
then that person risked death because my dad had the gun
pointed at it from 20 feet away. I looked at it in what seemed
forever. The face was covered with hair.
It wasn't huge like 7 feet or anything.
It was upright with black brown hair all over the body.
I found articles in the Log Cabin Democrat of a Lake Conway
monster back in the 50s and a couple of reports in the 70s.
Both witnesses agreed that the subject was about 7 feet tall
and seemed to be built like a human.
It was not bulky, according to the men, and was covered in dark
hair from head to toe. The father recalled that the
face looked like an ape. It had a deadpan, slightly
curious expression on its face. The father continued to circle
the boat at a perceived safe distance from the creature for a
better look. The son was terrified and wanted
to leave after a few minutes. After seeing enough to convince
himself what he and his son were seeing was not a human, the
father steered the boat away, leaving the subject behind.
The men could remember no vocalizations from the subject
during the event. All the area around the site had
heavy underbrush and there were no roads for several miles.
The witnesses estimated that the total time spent looking at the
subject must have been about 5 minutes.
Both witnesses believe what they saw was an unknown animal of
some sort, like a Bigfoot, not a human.
I own 7 acres of land that sits right on the border of Anderson
and Franklin County, Kentucky. The land is mostly untouched,
just thick woods, rolling hills, and a narrow access Rd. that
runs through the middle. It's quiet and peaceful, tucked
away near a high Ridge called Hickory Ridge.
I spent a lot of time out there clearing trees and brush, trying
to make it more usable. On a Saturday night, I was at my
property, burning a pile of old wood and branches I had cleared
earlier that week. The fire crackled and popped as
I sat in my chair watching the flames.
It was a cool evening, and the only sounds were the occasional
chirp of crickets and the distant hood of an owl.
Around 8 PMI heard a noise from up the road, something moving.
At first I thought it might be a deer stepping through the brush,
but when I looked up, I caught sight of something that made me
freeze. A massive, shadowy figure was
coming up the access Rd. At first I assumed it was a
hunter. People sometimes wander onto my
land by mistake. But as I stared at it, I
realized this wasn't an ordinary person.
It was too big. The figure was broad, towering
over any man I'd ever seen, and it moved with a slow, heavy
stride. The firelight didn't reach far
enough to show details, but I could make out its silhouette
against the darkness. I looked away for a split
second, trying to process what I was seeing.
When I glanced back, it had veered left, stepping toward my
property line. There's an old barbed wire fence
that runs along that edge, meant to keep cattle from wandering,
but this thing didn't stop at the fence.
It cleared it in one smooth motion, barely breaking stride.
That was the moment I knew I wasn't looking at a hunter.
I listened closely as it disappeared into the woods.
A few seconds later, I heard the sharp snap of branches breaking,
like something large was pushing through the trees.
Then silence. No footsteps, no rustling,
nothing. It was like whatever it was had
just melted into the forest. I sat there for a long time,
staring at the place where I last saw it.
My mind raced with questions. Kentucky isn't the Pacific
Northwest. I had never thought much about
Bigfoot sightings in this part of the country, but when I got
home to Frankfurt later that night, curiosity got the best of
me. I searched online and was
shocked to find that there had been fifteen reported Bigfoot
sightings in Anderson County over the last few years.
Thinking back to that night, I know what I saw wasn't a bear, a
deer, or a person. It was something else, something
big, powerful, and unlike anything I'd ever seen before.
August 15th, 2003. I have often thought I saw
someone run across the road while I deliver the papers.
I often stop to use the restroom in the same spot.
I heard funny noises but thought it was a bear or some other
animal grunting and whatnot. One night around 4:30 in the
morning, I was stopped along the road.
Looking over my root sheet went out of the corner of my eye I
saw someone walking. I slowly reached up and turned
off the light. I put the car in gear and looked
over. What I saw made the hair stand
on the back of my neck and I got tears in my eyes.
It wasn't 7 feet tall, more like 6 feet or so.
I'm guessing because it didn't seem to be bending over too far
to look at me. It was maybe 5 or 6 feet away
from the car. I was so frightened that I drove
off as fast as I could. I called 911 and they thought I
was a nut and said it was most likely a vagrant or a homeless
guy. I don't think so.
The following information can be added to this report.
The witness was working at the time of the sighting and was
taking a break from his duty when something approached the
vehicle from the passenger's side.
The windshield was covered with a thin film of dust from the
road, causing a reflection of his car stereo faceplate, which
is blue in colour with a dolphin screensaver.
This is what the witness thought the Sasquatch was interested in
as the screensaver was moving on his radio.
At the beginning of the sighting, the Dome light was on.
The witness shut it off to see what the movement was outside
the vehicle. The witness stated that when the
Sasquatch approached, it was in a crouched position walking
toward the vehicle, never taking its focus off the inside of the
vehicle. The witness also said that there
was a small yellow strobe light on top of the vehicle that was
blinking off and on. Because of his job, the sighting
lasted less than a minute and the witness gave a very good
description of the Sasquatch that approached within 10 feet
of his vehicle. One thing that was noticed about
the Sasquatch was the reflection of the eyes that were large in
size. The estimated height of the
creature was around 6 1/2 feet. The height was estimated from
the height of the Jeep the witness was driving.
The witness watched as the Sasquatch became aware of
somebody inside the vehicle and crossed the road.
The witness stated. I never believed in Bigfoot
before that morning. I was the biggest skeptic out
there. I have a degree in science and I
still can't believe it, to be honest with you.
I don't want to go back out there, but it's my job and will
just not let it bother me. I don't think I'll stop by that
same area every morning. I was about 13 years old, living
in a small town called Amboy in southern Washington.
Our house sat on five acres of land surrounded by thick woods
and pretty far from many neighbors.
The area was quiet except for the sounds of nature, wind in
the trees, birds calling, and sometimes the distant howls of
coyotes at night. That day, my stepbrother and I
were building a Fort deep in the woods just past the edge of our
property. We had found the perfect spot
nestled at the base of a small hill.
At the top of the hill there was a house, but from where we were
you couldn't see it. We were so focused on stacking
branches and finding strong pieces of wood that we didn't
notice how quiet the forest had become.
Then, out of nowhere, the silence was broken by the sound
of branches breaking. It was loud, like something
heavy was moving fast through the trees.
At first I thought it was just a deer crashing through the
underbrush, but then the barking started.
Dogs, more than one, were going crazy, their deep, angry barks
echoing through the trees. I looked up and I saw the dogs
first, racing down the hillside, kicking up dirt and leaves as
they ran. They weren't just running
randomly, they were chasing something.
And then I saw it. At first, my brain struggled to
make sense of what I was looking at.
It wasn't a bear. It wasn't a person.
It moved too fast, too smooth. The best way I could describe it
was that it looked like a gorilla, but taller, thinner,
and running upright. Its long arm swung with each
massive stride, and even from about 200 to 300 yards away I
could see how powerful it was. It had dark fur, almost black.
It covered its entire body except for patches around its
face where lighter skin was visible.
The way it ran was unlike anything I had ever seen.
It wasn't clumsy like a bear on 2 legs, or stiff like a person
sprinting. It moved with long, effortless
strides, covering ground incredibly fast.
Each step took it several feet forward and its arms moved in
rhythm, almost like a sprinter but with a wild animal like
motion. The dogs were at least 50 yards
behind it, but it was clear they weren't catching up to it.
The creature didn't even look back at them.
It just kept going, focusing on getting away like it wanted
nothing to do with those dogs. I was frozen, my heart pounding.
I wanted my brother to see it, but from where he stood, he
couldn't get a Clearview. I kept pointing, whispering
frantically. Look, look.
But by the time he moved to a better spot, the creature had
disappeared over the hill. I stood there for a while,
trying to process what I had just seen.
My mind raced with questions. What was that?
Had I really just seen a Bigfoot?
I had always heard stories, especially from the loggers in
town. Around here, almost everyone
knew someone who had seen something strange in the woods,
but I never thought I would see it.
As soon as we got back home, I couldn't wait to tell my mum.
I told her everything, the noise, the dogs, the way it ran,
but she just smiled and said it was probably just a bear.
My uncle, on the other hand, listened carefully.
He had seen something similar near Mount Saint Helens years
ago while hunting and he believed me right away.
He and his friend had watched a creature like the one I
described walk through a clear cut area for nearly 20 minutes,
never realizing they were watching from a distance.
Even though my little brother never actually saw it.
He heard the barking, the crashing branches, and he knew
something was there. But since I was the only one who
actually laid eyes on it, my story was dismissed as just a
kids overactive imagination. But I know what I saw that day,
and now, years later, I still remember it clearly.
The dark figure, the long strides, the way it moved,
unlike any human or animal I've ever seen.
People can believe what they want, but I know Bigfoot is out
there. I know I'll probably regret
telling this story. Everyone I know will likely
laugh at me, and I can't blame them.
I used to do the same when someone mentioned these
creatures. But after what happened, I can't
deny what I saw. I live in central Louisiana.
I lived in the area most of my life and used to be an avid Coon
hunter. I was serious about it too.
I had hunting licenses in multiple States and even trained
several champion dogs over the years.
But as time passed, life got busier and I couldn't keep up
with the sport. Eventually I sold my Walker
hounds and moved on. Several years ago, on a cold
night in January of 2002, I went out for one of my last hunts in
the area. That night we were deep in the
swamps near Black Lake where the old timers called it Copper
Bend. It was a thick flooded bottom
land with standing water nearly a foot deep in most places.
Our dogs split up while tracking ascent, so my hunting buddies
and I split up too. I followed my dogs who had tree
on the far side of the swamp while the others went after
theirs. When I got to my dogs, I spotted
the Coon, caught my hounds and got ready to head back.
Everything seemed normal until I heard something walking in the
water. Now this wasn't some small
animal splashing around. It was heavy.
Each step sounded deliberate, like someone wading through the
swamp. Thinking it was one of my
buddies, I called out. No answer.
Instead I was met with the foulest, most putrid smell I've
ever encountered. It was worse than a dead hog
left in the sun. Thick, rotten, and nearly gag
inducing at the same time. A low, deep growl rumbled
through the trees, followed by a strange whining whistle sound.
My dogs, usually fearless, tucked their tails and cowered
behind me, whimpering. Now these weren't just any dogs.
They were strong, well trained walkers, nearly 100 lbs each.
Dogs that had ripped apart coyotes and stood their ground
against aggressive boars. But now they were trembling,
pressing against my legs, afraid of something I couldn't see.
I tried to shake off the uneasy feeling and started back toward
my friends, but after a few minutes, I heard the splashing
footsteps again, closer this time.
I turned around, and that's when I saw it.
Standing right behind me, half hidden in the darkness, was a
massive figure. It was easily over 7 feet, maybe
even closer to 8 feet, with broad shoulders and long,
muscular arms. Its body was covered in thick,
shaggy hair that hung damp from the swamp water.
The moonlight barely hit its face, but I could see enough
deep set eyes, a heavy brow, and a wide, flat nose.
Its mouth was slightly open, and I could hear it breathing deep,
slow, almost a low growl. Then it did something strange.
It hissed and reached down into the water with one of its
enormous hands, scooping up handfuls and throwing it toward
me. The noise it made was guttural,
almost like a warning. That was enough for me.
My dogs, sensing my fear, snapped out of their fright and
started barking like mad, straining against the leash.
But I didn't stick around to see what would happen next.
I grabbed their collars and ran so fast and panicked that for a
few minutes I went the wrong way.
I finally stopped behind a large Cypress knee, trying to catch my
breath. My chest was heaving, my legs
were shaking, and my mind was racing.
I listened, and it was still following me, but at a distance
now, maybe 100 yards back. Then, after a while, the sounds
faded. I could hear it moving away
across the swamp, letting out low moaning calls as it
disappeared into the night. When I finally made it back to
the truck, I didn't say a word to my friends.
I know they'd never believe me. For years, I kept that story to
myself. Except for one old hunter I
trusted, a man who had spent a lifetime in those woods.
When I told him, he just nodded and said if you're smart, you'll
keep that to yourself. Folks will only laugh at you.
He was right. I've haunted the Louisiana
swamps more nights than I can count, but I never saw anything
like that before or since. I don't know what I encountered
that night, but I know this. I never went back to Copper Band
and I never will. On Wednesday, April 10th, 2013,
my two sons and their two friends went out for some target
practice outside the small town of Cedar Creek, Montana.
It was a cool spring evening with the sun starting to dip low
behind the mountains. At around 5:40 PM we made our
way through a wide open hay field, trying to decide where to
set up next. As we stood there talking, I
scanned the tree line that followed the edge of a nearby
river. Something at the far southwest
end of the field caught my eye. At first I wasn't sure what I
was looking at. A dark figure was rising up out
of the thick patch of wild BlackBerry bushes.
It moved slowly at first, pushing itself up, and I could
immediately tell it was massive. Even from that distance I could
see its broad shoulders, long arms, and thick body, all
covered in dark brown hair. The hair on its head seemed
longer, reaching down to its shoulders.
I watched in stunned silence as it fully stood up and stepped
out of the bushes. It walked with slow, deliberate
movements toward a narrow dirt trail that ran in front of the
patch. As soon as it reached the
BlackBerry patch, I found my voice.
Look over there. I called out, pointing at the
figure. The others turned to see what I
was talking about. Just as they spotted it, the
creature stopped next to a tall fir tree and looked back at us.
It wasn't a quick glance. It paused, turning its whole
upper body as if studying us. For a few.
Long seconds. None of us spoke.
Then, without warning, it turned away and walked toward the next
hay field, heading for the southwest corner.
That was all it took for us to spring into action.
We took off running toward where we had seen it, hoping to get a
better look or find some kind of evidence.
By the time we reached the BlackBerry bushes, the creature
was gone, but the area where it had been was unmistakable.
The thick, thorny branches were crushed flat, like something
heavy had been lying there for a long time.
The entire patch looked like it had been used as a bed.
One of my sons, who stands 6 feet tall, stood next to the fir
tree where the creature had paused.
Based on that, we estimated it had to be at least 8 1/2 feet
tall, maybe even taller. We took some pictures before
deciding to follow the path of bent grass leading into the next
field. As we tracked the trail, we
could clearly see where the grass had been pressed down by
something large walking through it.
The trail continued into a second field, then stopped at
the edge of 1/3. Just as we reached that point, a
flock of birds suddenly burst out of the trees ahead of us,
making a loud commotion as they flew off.
It was as if something had startled them.
We stood there frozen, listening carefully.
A few minutes later, in the distance, we heard dogs barking.
They sounded close, but not too close.
Then, out of nowhere, a loud knocking sound echoed through
the trees. It came in a series of five or
six distinct beats, like something striking wood against
wood. Everything fell eerily silent
after that. No birds, no wind, just
stillness. Then, breaking the quiet, we
heard a strange popping noise, followed by several low, hollow
hoots. It was unlike anything I'd ever
heard before. We stood there for several more
minutes, waiting to see if anything else would happen, but
the forest remained still, as if whatever had been there was now
watching us instead. After a while, we decided to
head back, replaying the events over and over in our heads.
We'd all seen it. This massive hair covered figure
moving through the fields, standing well over 8 feet tall.
The crushed bushes, the bent trail grass, the strange
knocking and calls in the woods, it all pointed to one thing we
had encountered something that night, something we couldn't
explain. To this day, none of us can
forget it, and I don't think we ever will.
I was about 14 years old when this happened.
I lived in a small town in northern Georgia, surrounded by
thick forests and winding creeks.
I spent most of my free time outdoors, hunting, fishing, and
exploring the woods near my home.
One afternoon I decided to check on a simple box trap I had set
up near a bushy Creek. I had placed it in a quiet area
where I'd seen small animals before.
The spot was perfect, thick trees for cover, a slow moving
Creek, and plenty of undergrowth.
As I crouched down by the trap, resetting it, I noticed a sudden
change in the atmosphere. The air felt heavier somehow,
like the woods had gone eerily quiet, except for one thing.
There were dogs barking in the distance.
Their barking wasn't normal. It was frantic and wild, echoing
through the trees. Something had worked them up.
I didn't think much of it at 1st and kept working on the trap,
but then I heard something moving through the brush behind
me. At first it was just the sound
of rustling leaves and snapping twigs, but as it got closer I
could hear the heavy thud of footsteps.
Whatever it was, it wasn't small.
I glanced up, expecting to see a person walking along the Creek
bed, but what I saw stopped me in my tracks.
A massive figure was moving steadily toward me.
At first, my mind tried to make sense of it.
I thought it was just a big man, maybe a hunter, but something
about the way it moved was way off.
Still not thinking much, I called out.
Hey, you. The figure stopped immediately.
It turned its head to look at me, locking eyes with mine.
That's when I realized it was not a man.
It was covered in reddish brown hair, except for its face, which
was a pinkish wrinkled colour, almost like the weathered skin
of an older person. Its eyes were dark and deep set,
and its expression wasn't threatening, just curious.
It tilted its head slightly, almost as if it was just as
surprised to see me as I was to see it.
For what felt like an eternity, we just stared at each other.
It was only about 15 yards away. Standing on the opposite Bank of
the Creek, I could see every detail, the way the wet hair on
its arms clumped together, the sheer size of its broad
shoulders, and the way its chest moved as it breathed.
Despite its enormous size, it had to be at least 7 feet.
I didn't feel afraid. It.
Didn't snarl or growl, it didn't rush at me.
It just seemed curious, like it was trying to figure out what I
was doing there. Then, after about two minutes of
this silent staring contest, it suddenly glanced over its
shoulder as if it had heard something in the distance.
Without hesitation, it turned and walked toward a dense patch
of briars that were tangled up in the trees.
The briars were thick, at least 12 feet high, and so tangled
that no person could walk through them.
But that didn't stop it. It pushed through the thorns and
branches like they weren't even there, disappearing into the
woods with barely a sound. Even though I didn't feel
scared, and I know I should have been, I knew this thing could
have easily stepped right over the Creek and grabbed me if it
wanted to. It didn't act aggressive at all,
it just was curious. I sat there for a few moments,
my heart pounding, trying to process what had just happened.
Eventually, I picked up my things and headed home.
When I told my parents what I had seen, they didn't believe
me. They laughed it off.
That day has stayed with me ever since.
Over the years I've spent countless hours in the woods
hunting and exploring, but I've never seen anything like it
again. Still, I know without a doubt
what I saw that day was real. During May of 1990, I was in the
US Army assigned to Fort Lewis, WA.
I was a member of an Airborne infantry unit designated as a
Long Range Surveillance Detachment.
In brief, the unit's mission was to deploy 4 to 6 man teams into
a battlefield and conduct surveillance operations of enemy
supply lines and troop movement corridors.
During that month the unit deployed my platoon into a drop
zone known as Merrill Drop Zone. The platoon's teams were to
conduct surveillance operations of pre designated Rd.
intersections for a 48 hour period then link up together at
the area known as Cat Lake in the South Rainier training area.
From there we were to walk back to the barracks.
All went as planned until the link up date.
Being a native Pacific Northwesterner and having a
heart stopping run in as an 8 year old with what I believe to
be a Bigfoot, I will not discount stories of Bigfoot type
info until they had been researched.
There were, at the time of this incident, several stories about
the Cat Lake monster, which had been circulated by the old
timers since the early 80s. There were about. 13 of us in
the platoon at the time and we were planning to just bag out
for the night and not play the typical army game of having a
watch up all night. The night was very clear which
was unusual for this time of year, but the wood surrounding
Cat Lake and the adjacent Theander Lake can be almost
pitch black. The only light was from a near
clearing in the woods at the base of a small hill.
The light came from the full moon.
As the rest of the platoon quieted down I believed I was
the only one awake. I initially heard what I
believed was an elk or deer huffing.
It was a heavy sound of air being blown through nostrils.
As I listened, I pinpointed the sound to be coming from the hill
overlooking our position on the far side of the opening, about
100 yards away. The sound came both nearer and
louder over the next few minutes but was still a ways up the
hill. As I listened, the sound changed
to a barking type, becoming more intense and was followed by the
cracking of limbs and trees. I tried to see into the tree
line, but it was too dark. I then looked up at the tops of
the trees on the hill that were backlit by the full moon.
At that point I could see a tree shaking back and forth.
The vocalizations became angry sounding and it occurred to me
there may be a bear up there. Although the sounds were very
strange, the tree shaking continued, but whatever was
shaking them came closer and closer, choosing different
trees. I could by this time hear
something sliding down the hill through the vegetation.
Several of the smaller trees had fallen over.
The area where we were in is a natural rainforest and very
swampy. There are several rotting trees
in the area that can be pushed over with a few good shoves.
By this time I was completely on my feet.
I still had not seen the creature and was relying on the
backlit and shaking trees to keep my bearings on the
creature. I realized the shaking stopped
at the edge of the clearing in front of me, and I could feel
myself being stared at. The feeling was intense and
distinctly threatening. One of my fellow team mates, the
one senior in rank to me at the time, was by this time standing
behind me, though I didn't know it until he spoke to me.
He asked what was happening, and I pointed to the area on the far
side of the clearing where the tree shaking had stopped.
As we both watched, a large upright form stepped into the
edge of the moonlit clearing. It stood there for about 30 to
45 seconds and again made the huffing noise, much louder this
time. The creatures form was very
heavy looking with broad shoulders but very man like.
Shortly after the creature turned slightly to our left and
began running through the edge of the clearing.
The creature ran in an upright position and swung its arms in
large arcs. The steps were loping and heavy,
we could feel the feet hitting the soft soil.
It cleared the 300 yards of clearing in seconds and was
gone. I turned and grabbed my gear,
stuffing it into my pack, thinking to wake everyone up and
get everyone moving in the opposite direction the creature
went. As I looked across the circle
the platoon had spread themselves into, I realized
everyone was already awake and jamming gear as fast as they
could go. The entire platoon was awake,
packed, and moving the other way in bare minutes.
The following day, me and the other member of my team that had
awakened returned to the area in daylight.
We found several trees that have been knocked over and fresh dirt
turned up on the hillside as though something heavy had
walked or slid down the hillside.
No actual prints though were located.
Thurston County, Washington, Fort Lewis Escape and Evasion
Training Area. We observed 3 large individuals,
2 very large and the other about 2/3 their size.
When we first saw the individuals they were on the far
side of the open Meadow. I remember that there was a
bright moon out because we could see features such as trees and
objects well enough to run without tripping.
In fact, we could see through some of the Pines and that's
where we saw the individuals. At first we thought they were
the capture team looking for us. They were back in the tree line
when we first saw them. There was a road not far behind
them and we could see what we thought were soldiers moving
very slowly. When they breached the tree
line, Mickles decided that we had enough space between us and
them to escape if they were part of the capture team.
Mickles got up and started walking towards them and I
followed. They were just silhouettes, but
as we got closer, Mickles waved at them and then they started
moving towards us faster. Not really running, just faster.
Mickles called to them and they came faster without answering.
I never heard of bears walking upright and for sure not that
fast, but I didn't know that much about bears.
I did know that something wasn't right and I was really scared.
I really didn't think they were people or bears.
I don't know why, I just know I have never been that terrified.
And so was Mickles. We ran as fast as we could
without looking back but felt they were gaining on us.
I told Nichols to follow me and dove under and crawled up under
a large, low pine tree. We just lay there.
We could feel their presence but didn't dare move.
That's when we smelled this weird odor.
I'm sorry I can't describe it to you.
It was strong is all I can say. We stayed there for probably 15
minutes and then I said let's head for the road.
And we did. By that time the manoeuvre was
over and we. Saw a bus pull up by the
compound. We ran as fast as we could and
caught the bus. We never looked back except in
memory. I've haunted all over the US
from Colorado to Illinois to Texas.
What we saw the silhouettes of and smelled was not humans or
any bear. I've thought about the incident
many times in the past. At the time, neither Mikkels nor
myself had ever heard of Bigfoot.
We were in trouble for leaving the area early, so we had other
things on our minds. Thanks for listening everyone.
Don't forget my books are all for sale, audio and written.
The links are in the descripcion below.
Thanks again. Take care.