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Well, hey there, campers, and 
welcome back to a brand new 

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episode of Camp Cryptid. 
I'm your host, Erica Fett, and 

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today I am so excited to bring 
some cryptic goodness to you. 

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And this is Camp Cryptid, right?
And I love storytelling. 

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And so anytime I get to do a 
little episode dedicated to a 

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creepy little Cryptid, I am so 
pumped and I'm so excited for 

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the episode today. 
My patrons voted a couple months

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back after my werewolf episode 
about some Cryptid love that 

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they'd love to see in future 
episodes. 

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And my patrons chose a couple 
different topics. 

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But the one that won today's 
episode is going to be the Van 

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Meter Visitor. 
And what I will say is this one,

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if you've never heard of Van 
Meter Visitor, First off, don't 

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feel bad because this one wasn't
even on my radar until about a 

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year ago. 
And it's a lesser known Cryptid.

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You know, it's not as well known
as like Mothman and Bigfoot and 

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stuff, but he's still gnarly. 
And I think it deserves some 

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real love. 
And the Van Meter Visitor is one

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that after I started researching
a bit, I was like, wow, this 

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this one is such a cool story. 
And I'm just really excited. 

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If you've never heard of the Van
Meter Visitor to, you know, 

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expose you to this crazy world 
of this cool Cryptid. 

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So let's get into it. 
So we're going to go back in 

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time to the year of 19 O3 in the
United States. 

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You know, we've got Teddy 
Roosevelt was the president. 

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You've got the first successful 
flight took place in North 

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Carolina, thankfully to the 
Wright Brothers. 

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And, you know, it was stuff like
cocaine was taken out of 

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Coca-Cola as an official 
ingredient. 

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And you know, the first box of 
crayons by Crayola hit the 

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market with a, you know, price 
tag of a whopping $0.05. 

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So it was a, it was a really 
cool time in the United States, 

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right? 
And then you've got exploration 

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and paleontology, which was 
really booming around the entire

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world, actually. 
And you've got species and 

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animals like the Eastern gorilla
that were scientifically proven 

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to exist. 
So you've got a lot of cool new 

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discoveries and you've got this 
like age of people being excited

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about these new discoveries and 
science and, and what could 

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really exist out there, right? 
So nineteen O 3 was truly 

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popping off, right? 
And you've also got this strange

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little event and this tiny 
little town in Iowa called Van 

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Meter that happened that 
literally left this town of 400 

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people completely in shock and 
disbelief as to what creature 

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they could have just 
encountered. 

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So what exactly happened in Van 
Meter, IA in 19 O3 with the Van 

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Meter visitor, right. 
So the town of Van Meter, Iowa 

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was a pretty normal small town 
until one day in the fall when a

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creature appeared over the 
course of many nights to many of

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the people in town. 
So this creature didn't just 

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appear to multiple people. 
When it appeared, it actually 

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gave people a very uneasy 
feeling because it looked almost

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like a prehistoric looking 
creature, something that people 

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had never seen before. 
And witnesses described this 

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creature looking like some sort 
of human bird, bat like creature

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because they said it's it. 
It appeared to be human like, 

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but it had giant wings that were
almost like a bat's wings. 

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Now, people also said this, this
creature stood about 8 feet 

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tall, so it was really, really 
big. 

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And the people in town also said
you always knew it was around 

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because it just smelled 
completely awful. 

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Like anytime it was around, it 
just smelled putrid. 

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And people instantly knew it's 
probably around somewhere 

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because the smell was not good. 
But the strangest thing about 

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this creature, this 8 foot giant
human bat light creature, was 

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that people said that when it 
perched, it actually had a beam 

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of light that shot out from a 
horn that was in the middle of 

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its head. 
So a pterodactyl with laser 

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beams, right? 
And you know, aside from it 

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being like a pterodactyl with 
laser beams on its head, right, 

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People say it hopped like a 
kangaroo. 

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And some stories that even say 
that after it left the area, it 

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left footprints that were 15 
inches with three little claw 

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like toes on each foot. 
And people say that there's a 

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cast of this exact foot and I do
believe that it's in a museum 

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around Van Meter and I've seen 
pictures of it. 

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So I'll have to take those 
pictures and upload them to the 

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subreddit for camp Cryptid 
because it is it is truly, it is

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interesting. 
It's like, it's like what you 

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would imagine a dinosaur 
footprint to look like, right? 

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Which doesn't doesn't surprise 
me when it comes to the looks of

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this thing. 
Now, this creature was shot at 

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by multiple people in the town 
on multiple occasions, but the 

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creature wasn't really like 
fazed at all by the commotion of

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the bullets. 
And it didn't seem to be 

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affected by the bullets either. 
And I will say that even though 

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this creature appeared on 
multiple occasions, there was 

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one day where a lot of 
townspeople decided this is it. 

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We're done seeing this creature.
It's creepy, it's scaring us, 

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it's terrorizing us. 
It's just it's just scary to 

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look at and it smells awful. 
So let's get it out of here. 

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So they followed this creature 
to one of the abandoned coal 

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mines that was outside of town. 
And as they, you know, follow 

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this creature to try to chase it
off, they noticed that there was

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another creature waiting for in 
this coal mine. 

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So there were two creatures 
outside of Van Meter. 

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And as they shot at these 
creatures, nothing really seemed

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to hit the creatures. 
The creatures didn't seem to be 

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affected or or, you know, be 
hurt by the bullets. 

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But the creatures decided to, 
you know, retreat into the 

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darkness of the mine, never to 
be seen again by anybody in Van 

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Meter. 
So the Van Meter visitor is 

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still a mystery today. 
We don't know really what it 

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was. 
You know, we have tons of 

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eyewitness testimonies, we have 
tons of theories as to what it 

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could have been, but nothing 
really saying exactly what this 

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sighting was. 
And you know, you have to admit,

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you know, if you see an 8 foot 
human bat like creature, right 

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and it's emitting some sort of 
light beam out of a horn on its 

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head, you're going to be like 
what? 

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You know, even in today, in 
2025, you know, with everything 

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we know, imagine being in 19 O3 
and then seeing this, you would 

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probably think that it was like 
the end of the day is right. 

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But still to this day, we don't 
know what it is. 

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We only have ideas. 
We only have, you know, some 

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crazy explanation, some rational
explanations. 

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We just really don't know. 
We just really don't know. 

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So has there been similar 
sightings so to things like 

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this? 
Yeah, absolutely. 

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You know, this isn't the first 
time that some unknown winged 

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creature was seen by someone. 
And especially earlier in the 

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country's history, there were 
tons of stories about 

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prehistoric looking creatures 
that were seen around the 

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deserts that were seen all over 
the country. 

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I mean, think about the 
tombstone winged serpent that 

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happened in 1890 where it was 
almost like a giant alligator 

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with wings where ranchers saw 
this thing, they shot it out of 

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the sky and they said it was 
like 90 feet long, right? 

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So you have all of these weird 
stories of all of these 

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creatures that could have 
existed. 

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And, you know, so this isn't the
first time that something like 

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this has happened. 
And, you know, more recently in 

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the country's history, you know,
you have stories like the 

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Mothman, you have the Jersey 
Devil, you had the Houston 

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Batman, the Chicago Mothman. 
You have the Thunderbird. 

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So they all sent around some 
kind of creature that's like a 

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winged human like creature that 
we just don't know what exactly 

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it is, right. 
And you know, all around the 

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world there are stories and 
legends of some creature lurking

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in the sky. 
You know, from Dragons to 

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dinosaurs. 
These legends remain shrouded in

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mystery and speculation still to
this day. 

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So the Van Meter visitor is 
definitely one that is very 

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interesting and I think it 
deserves a lot more love than 

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what it gets. 
You know, we we always, you 

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know, prop up Bigfoot and you 
know, Bigfoot is sick, don't get

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me wrong. 
And I love me some Mothman, but 

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there are so many lesser known 
cryptids where it's just like I 

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love to like spark people's 
curiosity. 

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And you know, the world is such 
a wonderful mysterious place. 

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And you know, it's it's 
wondering whether or not humans 

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encroached on a lot of these 
creatures habitats. 

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And maybe, you know, that's what
we were seeing around these 

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times with more, you know, 
humans moving and expanding 

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where they're living in 
populations rising, you know, 

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humans encroaching on, you know,
these habitats is not something 

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that's far out of, you know, the
grasp of reality. 

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But this one's pretty wild, 
right? 

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If you think about it, you know,
a giant 8 foot bat like 

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creature. 
What could it have been? 

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You know, what's what's up? 
It's pretty wild what's up, you 

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know, and I will say before I 
get into my, you know, what the 

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explanations could be of this 
thing. 

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It's such a human thing to be 
like, I don't know, what is that

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thing? 
Let's shoot at it, let's kill 

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it. 
You know, I, I don't even, I 

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didn't see anything that really 
said that this creature was like

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really trying to eat anyone or 
hurt anyone. 

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People just decide to shoot at 
it to shoot at it. 

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I don't know, I just to me, I, I
am a big fan of saving animals 

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and it's our duty as humans to 
make sure that they're safe and 

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protected. 
So let's not go and try to like 

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hunt Mothman or like shoot 
Bigfoot. 

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Let's just let them, you know, 
let's let them live. 

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Let's protect them. 
Let them live. 

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It's our duty as humans. 
OK, So if you see the band meter

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visitor, don't shoot at, I mean,
if it goes to try to eat you, of

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course, you know, maybe you can 
defend yourself, but it's just 

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chill and fly and let it fly. 
Let it be free now. 

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But when it comes to an 
explanation of what the man 

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meter visitor is, I don't know. 
This was a time when science and

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scientific discoveries were 
making headlines and had the 

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world waiting for the newest 
discovery. 

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And tells of expeditions and 
mysterious animals like the 

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gorilla were on the front pages 
of newspapers. 

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So people around the time knew 
that there were undiscovered 

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animals. 
And, you know, a lot of people 

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around the time we're excited 
about these discoveries. 

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And as far as Iowa goes, you 
know, geographically, it's, you 

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know, when you have all of these
mines, these abandoned coal 

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mines, right? 
And people were, you know, 

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getting resources out of these 
mines. 

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There are a ton of cave systems.
And what I will say is Iowa is 

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full of prehistoric age caves. 
So they also believe that there 

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are a ton of caves that exist in
Iowa that have not been 

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discovered yet. 
So Iowa does sit on top of some 

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very old cave systems. 
So I don't know. 

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So who's really to say what 
could or couldn't exist within 

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those systems? 
Now, you know, rational 

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explanations of what the Van 
Meter visitor sighting could 

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have been, right? 
You've got misidentification of 

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another animal. 
A lot of people said, oh, what 

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they were just seeing was, you 
know, a hornbill bird. 

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And I, I'm no bird expert. 
I do love, you know, bird 

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watching. 
I do. 

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I do absolutely love bird 
watching but they don't seem to 

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get about 8 feet. 
Unless this was an anomaly 

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right? 
You could have had like the 

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giant, the most giant horn bill 
in the world just land in man 

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meter Iowa. 
Sure, why not. 

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There are also other types of 
flying things that could have 

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matched this description, like 
the flying dragon. 

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It's a species of lizard that 
can fly or glide more so, but 

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these only get to be like a foot
long and that's including the 

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tail. 
But like I said, it could have 

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been some kind of crazy freak 
anomaly where it was the largest

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one ever and it just happened to
be in band Meter, Iowa. 

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You never know. 
There's, you know, there's other

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giant birds in the world, right?
There's condors, there's 

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ostriches, you know, in the MOA 
of New Zealand, the giant bones 

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that were found in Madagascar 
are of these giant 14 foot tall 

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birds, right? 
So we do know that there are 

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00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:02,720
giant birds that have existed 
prior to present day, right? 

224
00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:08,920
So that's that's one explanation
is that this Van Meter visitor 

225
00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:13,000
is just a misidentification of 
some freak bird that was just 

226
00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,960
flying around Iowa, right. 
There's also the idea that it 

227
00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:21,880
was mass hysteria that, you 
know, a lot of articles were 

228
00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,480
being published around the time,
Like I said earlier, you know, 

229
00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,200
this was a time in human 
existence where people were 

230
00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:29,960
discovering new species of 
animals. 

231
00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,400
You know, we had dinosaur 
fossils being found. 

232
00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,160
We had tons of new things, like 
I think the vampire squid might 

233
00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,800
have been found in 1903. 
So you have all of these weird 

234
00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,160
things and these crazy creatures
that people didn't think, you 

235
00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,640
know, that were once scripteds, 
but now they've been proven to 

236
00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,440
scientifically exist. 
So you've got this time where 

237
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,760
people's, you know, imaginations
are running with curiosity and 

238
00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:54,560
you know what could exist out 
there. 

239
00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:57,920
So this could have been, you 
know, one of those instances 

240
00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,720
where it was mass hysteria. 
It could have been like a giant,

241
00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:05,720
you know, hornbill, right? 
And people, you know, exaggerate

242
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:07,280
the size. 
It could have been, you know, a 

243
00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:09,720
2 foot tall hornbill that was a 
freak of nature. 

244
00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:12,720
But you know, people turn it 
into an 8 foot tall bat winged, 

245
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,760
you know, type of thing. 
And The thing is, is even if it 

246
00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,440
wasn't a bird that was native to
the area, it would have thrown 

247
00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,280
people off, right? 
Because it wasn't necessarily a 

248
00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:22,720
bird that people had seen 
before. 

249
00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:28,760
So that is, that is OK, I'll, 
I'll give that some credence, 

250
00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,600
right. 
Could it have been another 

251
00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:33,600
Cryptid? 
You know, I talked earlier about

252
00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,240
like other cryptids that were 
flying creatures that could have

253
00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:37,560
been seen. 
You know, there's the stories of

254
00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:41,600
the Thunderbird, there's the 
giant bat Cryptid in Africa, the

255
00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:44,800
Pope Bawa. 
And that is like a giant winged 

256
00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,080
bat creature that people had 
sightings of. 

257
00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,360
So to me, that sounds like the 
most like the Van Meter visitor 

258
00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:57,040
when it comes to cryptids. 
You know, like I said, there's 

259
00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:00,040
just so many winged Cryptid 
creatures out there around the 

260
00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:02,800
world. 
So it's not like this is a 1 and

261
00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,360
done type of thing. 
It's been there's been a lot of 

262
00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:07,440
winged creatures that we just 
don't know what they are. 

263
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,000
Could it have been an unknown 
prehistoric creature living in 

264
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:13,600
the mines? 
You know, I talked earlier about

265
00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:18,080
how they said, oh, Iowa has tons
and tons and tons of prehistoric

266
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,800
caves, right? 
So we know that the area is old,

267
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:27,480
we know that things could exist 
in those minds and we don't 

268
00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,320
really know if we don't know the
creature, we don't really know 

269
00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,640
anything about how and what kind
of conditions it can survive in.

270
00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:37,360
So there's that too. 
And though my favorite 

271
00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:39,640
explanation is, was it the movie
Pitch Black? 

272
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,520
Because literally when I first 
read about the Bambi to visitor,

273
00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,040
I was like, oh, this is has to 
be what Pitch Black is based on 

274
00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,400
because I love that movie. 
One, I'm such a nerd. 

275
00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,400
I just, I watch a movie like a 
million times, but it's what it 

276
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,840
reminds me of, right? 
Is the movie Pitch Black? 

277
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:56,440
And if you haven't seen it, if 
you like the Van Meter visitor 

278
00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:59,080
episode and you're like, wow, 
this is a cool Cryptid and you 

279
00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:00,480
have not seen pitch black, go 
watch it. 

280
00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:03,960
Go do your go, go do yourself a 
favor, treat yourself and watch 

281
00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:09,160
pitch black, you know, and then 
there's the idea that this was 

282
00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:11,960
some kind of extraterrestrial 
being, right? 

283
00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,480
You know, what I love is when 
theories like this come about, 

284
00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:21,920
it's like, OK, you've got you've
got these creatures, right? 

285
00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,720
And they don't, they doesn't 
seem to be intelligent life. 

286
00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:28,480
So how the hell are they like 
getting here and using 

287
00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:32,520
intelligence to fly from one 
system to another? 

288
00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,320
And I don't know, you would 
think that if it was like some 

289
00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,760
kind of intelligent creature who
is like mastered space travel 

290
00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,360
that they would at least be able
to, I don't know, like speak 

291
00:15:42,360 --> 00:15:45,320
telepathically or something to 
us, right. 

292
00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:49,360
But if it doesn't seem like it's
just like a very intelligent 

293
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,240
creature, like I doubt is 
extraterrestrial. 

294
00:15:51,440 --> 00:15:54,280
I mean, maybe it came and 
evolved from like a meteorite, 

295
00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:55,640
right? 
I guess I don't know the 

296
00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:58,400
answers, right. 
But I guess that is a fun little

297
00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,080
Ave. to explore is, you know, 
was it something 

298
00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,520
extraterrestrial, right? 
Because I guess weirder things 

299
00:16:04,520 --> 00:16:10,600
have happened. 
One of the darker avenues of 

300
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,280
people that think the Van Meter 
visitor was something. 

301
00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,400
Is it the idea that it's a 
demon, right? 

302
00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:18,280
You know, there there's that 
Ave. that it could have been a 

303
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:22,760
demon from hell, right. 
And then the other idea is that 

304
00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,680
this is all just a hoax. 
And what I will say, the only 

305
00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,120
thing I have a problem with when
it coming, like when it comes 

306
00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,600
down to it being a hoax, is that
there are multiple people in the

307
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,200
town that saw this thing. 
It was shot at on multiple 

308
00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,080
occasions. 
And for some person to pull off 

309
00:16:39,080 --> 00:16:43,000
a hoax where it involves 
firearms OF19-O3 without getting

310
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,880
hurt, that seems a little risky,
right? 

311
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:50,000
It seems a little wild. 
So I don't really think it was a

312
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,480
hoax. 
I will say like, you know, I 

313
00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:55,920
could be wrong, but I really 
just don't feel like this is 

314
00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,280
something I don't know. 
It seems unlikely. 

315
00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,560
So that's that's the only thing 
I will say to me, it's more 

316
00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:04,720
likely that this was like a 
prehistoric creature than a 

317
00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,440
hoax. 
So I don't know. 

318
00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:10,400
But that's a good thing about 
these episodes, right, Is I just

319
00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,079
give you a basis, like general 
idea of what the scripted is. 

320
00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:16,960
And you know what? 
You can believe whatever you 

321
00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:18,200
want. 
And that's the beauty. 

322
00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:20,040
That's the beauty of cryptids, 
right? 

323
00:17:22,079 --> 00:17:25,599
And I will say that Iowa is full
of amazing lore and other 

324
00:17:25,599 --> 00:17:27,119
cryptids. 
You know, you they've got the 

325
00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,600
Iowa dragon and that's the one 
that immediately pops into my 

326
00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:33,000
mind. 
And Iowa also has lake monsters 

327
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:37,600
like the Oba Joki, there's 
Wildman, there's golems, there's

328
00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,240
dog man sighting. 
So Iowa is full of a lot of 

329
00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:43,120
beautiful lore and mysterious 
lore encrypted. 

330
00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:47,520
So that's really, really cool. 
So, you know, with that being 

331
00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,920
said, Iowa has a ton of fun 
crypted stories, and the man 

332
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,600
meter visitor is one that's 
still going to, I believe, 

333
00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,600
continue to baffle and mystify 
us even into the future. 

334
00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,120
So here's to the Van Meter 
Visitor, you gnarly pterodactyl 

335
00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:03,520
with laser beams. 
I am obsessed. 

336
00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:06,720
And I think it's so cool. 
And like I said, I was. 

337
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,160
This one wasn't even on my radar
at all. 

338
00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:12,600
I had no idea that this Cryptid 
actually even existed. 

339
00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:16,840
And then once I read the story, 
I was like, why was that? 

340
00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:20,040
You know, And I hope that after 
you listen to this episode, 

341
00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,360
you're kind of, you're kind of 
baffled and mystified too. 

342
00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:26,720
But maybe someone listening is 
an expert on pterodactyls with 

343
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,760
laser beams. 
So if you are, let us know what 

344
00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,400
you think. 
Because I, I just, I think this 

345
00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,360
one's just really cool. 
And I always say this in the 

346
00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:38,800
episodes where I talk about 
cryptids and folklore and urban 

347
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:42,920
legends is that I just really 
love when areas embrace their 

348
00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,200
heritage and their legends and 
their folklore and the stories 

349
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,640
that happened in their history. 
And I will say the Van Meter 

350
00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,720
actually does just that. 
They have a little festival to 

351
00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,000
commemorate the sightings that 
happened with the Van Meter 

352
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:57,200
visitor. 
And like I said, there is that 

353
00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:00,040
cast of the footprint that they 
did a mold of. 

354
00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:03,280
And I believe that's in the, 
there's like a little museum 

355
00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:04,760
there. 
So I'll make sure to post those 

356
00:19:04,760 --> 00:19:07,600
pictures in Reddit. 
But I really just think this is 

357
00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:10,920
a cool story and it happened to 
this little tiny small town and 

358
00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,880
I think it's really cool when 
these small towns have like 

359
00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,320
really big lore and I think it's
awesome. 

360
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:20,000
So shout out to band meter Iowa,
like really cool. 

361
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:23,240
I hope one day I get to go there
and check out the abandoned 

362
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,720
mine, which I think that they 
said is covered now, but I think

363
00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,080
I read something where the 
current owner of the area, he 

364
00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,560
said he always gets weird vibes 
when he's there. 

365
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:36,320
So maybe one day I'll be blessed
and be able to go to Van Meter, 

366
00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:40,320
IA and check it out and go see 
the cast for myself and talk to 

367
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:42,040
people and see what people 
think. 

368
00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:43,200
And I think it's just really 
cool. 

369
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:48,240
So shout out. 
Now I will say I, you know, when

370
00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,120
I was coming up with ideas for 
movies, right to watch, because 

371
00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:53,200
usually at the end of every 
Cryptid episode, I try to be 

372
00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:55,240
like, OK, these movies are 
related to the script. 

373
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,680
And so watch it. 
I could only come up with a few 

374
00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:02,600
movies and the one being pitch 
black because immediately when 

375
00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:05,040
you see the pictures of the Van 
Meter visitor that people have, 

376
00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:07,360
you'll be like, that's the 
that's the thing in pitch black,

377
00:20:07,360 --> 00:20:10,440
like 100%. 
So I will say that if you're 

378
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:12,440
listening to this episode and 
you kind of want something to 

379
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:15,200
kind of jump on, on the 
goodness, go watch pitch black. 

380
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:17,360
I, you know, even if you've seen
it a million times, go watch it 

381
00:20:17,360 --> 00:20:18,080
again. 
It's so good. 

382
00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:22,720
And then there's another one 
that I think is kind of related 

383
00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:26,520
and it's called Loop Track. 
And I will say it has to do with

384
00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:29,920
giant Cryptid birds. 
And it's really cool and I don't

385
00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:32,720
want to give it away, but to me,
when you when I think about 

386
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,920
cryptids, I think that that was 
one that I really enjoyed. 

387
00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,640
So yeah, those two are the ones 
that I would recommend for this 

388
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,600
episode. 
And with that being said, if you

389
00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:46,080
have any suggestions on movies 
or any type of media that has to

390
00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:48,840
do with the band meter visitor 
or any pterodactyls with laser 

391
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:50,880
beams, please let me know in the
comments. 

392
00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:54,720
I always am looking for new 
things to watch and you know, 

393
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:56,200
stay up to date on my Cryptid 
goodness. 

394
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,720
So I really enjoyed it. 
But yeah, band meter visitor, 

395
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:05,120
the giant 8 foot pterodactyl bat
like laser beam shooting 

396
00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:06,400
Cryptid. 
Very cool. 

397
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,120
So yeah, I hope you all enjoyed 
the story of Van Meter visitor. 

398
00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:14,440
Like I said, I I don't do like 
long ass episodes where I talk 

399
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,640
about every single thing, but I 
just want to give you a basis 

400
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:18,440
idea of it. 
So if you really, really like 

401
00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:20,280
it, you can go. 
And you know, there's a book 

402
00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,960
that I posted on the Camp 
Cryptid Instagram that I would 

403
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:25,480
recommend if you really like the
story. 

404
00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,080
It's a little book you can get 
on Amazon or pretty much any 

405
00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,840
bookstore you go to, but that 
has like the lore, the witness 

406
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,240
testimony, some of the drawings,
you know, just the overall 

407
00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:40,120
climate of what Van Meter, Iowa 
is like around that time in 1903

408
00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:42,440
and what people were, you know, 
saying that they were seeing. 

409
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:43,920
And I think that that's a really
cool one. 

410
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,440
And like I said, if you're ever 
around Van Meter, IA, go to the 

411
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,960
Van Meter festival. 
I think it's so cool that they 

412
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,680
do a little festival in 
commemoration of this gnarly 

413
00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:56,360
little creature. 
So very cool, very cool. 

414
00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:59,840
So when it comes to what I've 
been watching, I on shutter, I 

415
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,520
have been watching Helm Motel. 
And if you were a fan of this 

416
00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:06,200
slasher TV show, they are doing 
a new show called Helm Motel. 

417
00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,880
And I really, really am invested
in that. 

418
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:12,080
I really love the special 
effects that I think it's so 

419
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,440
fun, but Helm Motel has been a 
lot of fun to watch. 

420
00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:19,720
I really, really enjoy that. 
Movie wise, I've been really 

421
00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:22,240
boring. 
I went and watched 28 Years 

422
00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,280
later a couple weeks back when 
it first came out and I really 

423
00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,600
enjoyed it. 
I will say I've been waiting for

424
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,280
more people to watch it because,
you know, obviously spoilers, 

425
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:39,240
but the ending was so completely
out there and I am excited to 

426
00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:44,920
see what they do with the second
installation of this tree trio 

427
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,120
of movies. 
And I think it's going to be 

428
00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:49,520
really dark the next the next 
one. 

429
00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,280
So very, very cool though. 
I always love zombie movies. 

430
00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:56,280
Oh, Speaking of zombie movies, I
was like, wait. 

431
00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,840
And I did just celebrate the 
40th anniversary of Return of 

432
00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:01,800
the Living dead. 
And if you haven't checked out 

433
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:05,040
my videos on that, I do have 
another video on YouTube or I'm 

434
00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,440
opening some of the merch from 
the Return of the Living Dead 

435
00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:10,200
movie. 
It was so fun to be able to 

436
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,600
celebrate that with them because
you all know I love me some 

437
00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:16,120
zombies. 
I, I absolutely, I'm obsessed 

438
00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:17,960
with zombies. 
I've been obsessed since I was a

439
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,360
kid. 
It's, it's one of my favorite, 

440
00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,800
you know, horror movie like 
creeps is, is a zombie. 

441
00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:27,920
So I just, I and they're 
depicted in so many ways, like, 

442
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:32,000
how can you not love them? 
But yeah, so that's, that's me. 

443
00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,920
I'm pretty boring lately, but 
I'm very excited because I have 

444
00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,040
a lot of cool episodes planned 
for the rest of the month. 

445
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,920
I think I, I was sitting there 
one day and I was like, Oh my 

446
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,080
gosh, you know, what would be a 
really cool episode is doing one

447
00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,120
on cursed objects. 
So I'm going to be doing one on 

448
00:23:46,120 --> 00:23:48,960
cursed objects very soon because
I think that that's a very, very

449
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:51,160
cool topic and I'm very excited 
to talk about that. 

450
00:23:51,200 --> 00:23:54,320
But yeah, I will say that like I
said, the beginning of the 

451
00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:56,920
episode, my patrons did vote on 
topics and themes that they'd 

452
00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,440
like to see. 
And when I'm very excited to do 

453
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,800
is 1 on Latin American cryptids.
I have talked about cryptids of 

454
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:07,200
Mexico because I love Mexico, 
I've been to Mexico tons and I 

455
00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,800
love Mexico, but I'm really 
excited to do one on Latin 

456
00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:12,080
American cryptids. 
And I, I think it's so fun to 

457
00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:14,520
talk about cryptids of different
areas of the world because it 

458
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:16,960
just shows you like we all have 
creepy shit going on. 

459
00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,760
So very excited to talk about 
that one. 

460
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:23,000
But yeah, other than that, I 
want to thank my patrons so much

461
00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,400
for hanging out with me every 
month and helping me decide what

462
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,560
topics you'd like to see and 
just being wonderful, cool 

463
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,560
little ghouls and goblins. 
You guys are the best. 

464
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:34,760
And I also want to thank 
everybody for listening. 

465
00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:37,840
Thank you so, so much for just 
hanging out with me for another 

466
00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:41,320
episode and letting me talk 
about this weird shit with you 

467
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:42,560
all. 
It's like my favorite thing 

468
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:45,040
ever. 
And to be able to take time out 

469
00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:48,400
of my day to watch movies about 
cryptids, to read about cryptids

470
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,680
and to just learn is just like 
my favorite thing. 

471
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:51,920
I just, I'd love it. 
So thank you. 

472
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,800
Thank you for blessing me. 
And if you like what you're 

473
00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:57,720
hearing or you don't like what 
you're hearing, make sure to go 

474
00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,160
leave me a review on Spotify or 
Apple. 

475
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:03,480
I'd like the feedback. 
And you know, at the end of the 

476
00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:05,800
day, I'm still learning, I'm 
evolving and you know, 

477
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:07,440
podcasting. 
I don't want to say I'm like a 

478
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,560
professional at it because no 
means am IA professional, but I 

479
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,560
really enjoy it. 
So any way that I can improve or

480
00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:15,360
stuff that you're loving 
hearing, just let me know. 

481
00:25:15,360 --> 00:25:17,880
It makes it makes me a better 
person, right. 

482
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:22,400
So other than that, I want to 
say I hope you are having a 

483
00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:25,800
beautiful summer so far. 
I hope you are enjoying some 

484
00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,800
good food. 
And if you're going to be, oh, I

485
00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,520
know it's a little ahead of time
actually, but I will be at 

486
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,560
Squonkapalooza in Pennsylvania 
on August 2nd. 

487
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,480
So if you're around the area and
you want to celebrate Squonk, 

488
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,360
which I will be having an 
episode coming soon for that 

489
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:46,160
story, but I will be in the area
on August 2nd and I'll have a 

490
00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,120
little booth. 
So make sure you stop by and say

491
00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:50,880
hi and grab some free stickers 
and all that goodness. 

492
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,920
So I just want to thank you all 
so much for hanging out for 

493
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,920
another episode. 
And until next time, take care.