Ken Hulsey of http://www.cryptomundo.com/ posted his encounter with Bigfoot in Arizona’s high country. He and an ex-girlfriend decided to detour to the Grand Canyon on a trip home to New Mexico from California. When they took a shortcut on an obscure highway through the mountains that lead to Flagstaff, they encountered a creature that can only be described as a Bigfoot. Here is just a small excerpt from his article:
“I remember my ex exclaiming, “Is that a bear?”
As we came closer to the animal, it became apparent quickly that what we were looking at was not a bear. There was a very large, hairy, mass walking away from us on two legs. I can still remember the arms swaying as it strolled naturally down the side of the road away from us.
As we got closer, about 50 yards or more as I remember it, the cars headlights shown past the creature. It was at that time that our companion on the highway became aware of our presence. It stopped, and I stopped…..
That is the question a local TV station in Phoenix is asking. A local enthusiast says that recent tracks proves Bigfoot does exist and is living in the White Mountains.
I want to thank my good friend Sharon (Autumnforest) for bringing this video to my attention. We need to take a trip up there and check it out for ourselves.
In Season 2, Josh took the DT team to the Himalayas in search of the Bhutan Yeti. During the investigation, he and his team came across footprints near a river. They saw one perfect and two partial footprints near each other. They took castings and measured the distance between impressions. They figured that the creature who made the impressions was over six feet tall and weighed between 300 and 400 pounds. They also ruled out a hoax and a bear given the shape and size of the prints, and distance between them. It was concluded that the impressions were made by a creature of unknown origin, possibly a Sasquatch, which thrilled Josh.
The Yeti, by DT:
“First reported in 1832 in Nepal, the large, bipedal, shaggy yet manlike creature has been sighted ever since. Much as Sasquatch was seen around North America, his Asian "cousin" has been suspected to be wandering all across the land. The frequency of his sightings increased as more and more people scaled the Himalayan Mountains, notably Mount Everest.
While never quite captured on camera, people have spotted his shape and even what they believe to be footprints. Researchers have studied the reports for years and years, and several have recently begun to suspect that the Yeti might actually be a more familiar animal. Their principal argument on that point is that "yeti" seems to be a mistranslation of the word "meti" from a local dialect that means "bear".
In this season 3 finale, (already?), he takes the new DT team back to the Himalayas in search of the Bhutan Yeti once more. This 10 day expedition will follow sightings of the Yeti. These sightings have occurred in the remote areas surrounding Bhutan, with most occurring in the warmer months.
They flew first to Bangkok, Thailand, and then to Paro, Bhutan. With Mt. Everest in the background, their plane landed in the most remote airport in the world nestled between the mountains. Their translator, Karma, gave each team member a traditional scarf and then they were on their way. They headed to the capital city where televisions did not exist there until 1999. Setting out through this country is by invitation only and Josh felt honored to be able to explore there. They walked around and ended up at the Nature Conservation Division where Dr. Sangay Wangchuk tells them that the area is full of wilderness and the entire country is dedicated to the national parks. The majority of its citizens believes in the yeti and are afraid of it. Before leaving he shows Josh his collection of Yeti footprints he proudly displays on the wall. They next met up with a local author, Kunzang Choden, who collected various stories about the Yeti. She tells Josh that the Yeti lives at the very high altitude. From Thimpau, Bhutan they travel 17 hours across curvy mountain roads to Trashigang. From there they would have a two day hike to they Yeti preserve to Sakteng where they would set up camp and investigate. Along the way they stop at a monastery to speak with a monk, Zacco Tashy, who claims to have heard the creatures call. Before arriving at their finally destination, they are met by a roving ceremony to ward of evil spirits and creatures. They join in on the roadside ritual, and then in the morning the owner of the lodging showed them vertebra bones she claimed was from a Yeti. As they take off further down the road, it was washed out so they pumped up the rafts and headed down stream. Poor Bicha almost fell over board.
After hiking a few more miles they finally arrived at an open field and set up base camp. The cameras were all set up and Josh, Mike and Evan did a sweep of the perimeter, while Jael, Bicha and Gabe explored the area adjacent to camp. Josh picked up something on the flir on the other side of the river and needed to cross an old wood bridge to get there. While crossing Josh slipped and busted a hole in the bridge under his foot. Meanwhile, Jael and Bicha hear growling and branches breaking. Bicha saw something run past and they found hair on a tree. They also found scratch marks on a tree near where the hairs were found. They collected the evidence.
Josh, Mike and Evan find a cave with many spiders. They head up the mountain further and can't get a hold of base camp. Above them on the trail they hear a noise and saw something move. The thickets were too heavy to continue up. They head back down to try and find the wood bridge and found another one in even worst conditions than the first one. They head back to base camp to regroup. Jael, Josh, Mike and Evan head back to the area where they found the hair and claw marks. Josh gets a hit on the flir, an animal behind the trees walking away. They keep moving when Josh spots an animal and they hear a strange noise. They follow the where the noise came from but found nothing.
Back to base camp to rest before another day of investigation. The next day they continued to hike east at higher altitudes to the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary, the heart of Yeti territory. More eyewitness sightings have been reported there. They meet up with a farmer, Leki, who tells them that a Yeti ransacked his village and took some of the kids away. He told them to continue to travel east near a river where the Yeti is usually seen. They came to an area where they needed their climbing gear to get down to where they needed to be. Safely on the ground they continued until they found the area that the farmer told them to go. After setting up base camp, Josh, Jael, Mike and Evan headed downstream where they discover a big cave. Josh uses the thermal camera and they noticed branches set up like a nest and they even found hair samples. After bagging the samples, Josh heads inside the cave with Evan while Jael and Mike hang outside and investigate. Jael squeezes inside a small chamber and finds nothing while Josh explores the cave. Finding nothing they head out and continue searching.
Meanwhile Gabe and Bicha are doing another investigation and see eyes off in the distance and something moving up the cliff. They come across a cave where Gabe checks it out and sees scratches on the rocks while in there. They head down river but get stopped by a cliff.
Back with Josh and team he sees an animal on the flir, big and it was moving. He sees it again and they give chase to whatever it was. They find a leg of a deer that looked like it was just bitten off. They decide to head back to the river and hear rocks moving. There is a steep drop to get to the river. They capture the heat signature again. They find a bridge with a bucket to get across and Josh talks Jael into getting in with him. She did not want to go and tells him that he is crazy. They stopped in the middle where Josh pulls them to the other side. After jumping out, they run to the area where the thermal hit was caught. No way to get around and finding a dead end, they headed back to base camp. They let the cameras roll all night while sleeping. They headed out the next day for the four day journey back to western Bhutan.
Back in Los Angeles, Josh took the vertebra photo evidence to Dr. Jim Dines to find out the origin of the bones. He told Josh that they were probably a lower vertebra from a mammal and it matched the vertebra of a black bear. Next Josh heads to Houston Texas to see the results from the hair samples. He arrives at the diagnostic lab in Timpson. He sat down with Dr. Melba Ketchum, an experienced forensic analysis. She told Josh that she usually wasn't too excited about getting the samples because she has seen many like it. However, after running the samples through the database she determined that the hairs tested high on the human panels, is from a primate and is from an unknown species because it didn't match any known primate samples. Josh scores again!
FIRST INVESTIGATION: MACHU PICCHU, PERUThe ancient City of Machu Picchu is Peru's most recognizable tourist attraction and one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire.
“The Incas started building it around AD 1430 but was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a hundred years later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was largely unknown to the outside world before being brought to international attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction.”
Hearing stories about Alex Chionett’s investigations of a lost city of Peru, which is not found on any map, and is haunted, Josh and the DT team set out to investigate the reports. This “haunted lost city”, sits more that two miles high in the Peruvian's Andes mountains. The story is told that the residence of this lost city buried their gold in tunnels under the city to hide their riches from the invading Spanish army before disappearing. Now, about hundred years later, local farmers have reported seeing moving figures and chimes of a phantom bell tower as if the city was still there. The South American explorer, Alex Chionetti, had to turn back before reaching the summit of this ancient city while investigating alone. Josh plans to pick up the investigation where he left off.
They flew over 4,000 miles from Los Angeles to the City of Lima, Peru. After gathering their gear, they headed out to get in touch with Alex Chionetti at the monastery where he was comparing his field notes to the record of history buried in the library. He told Josh that the farmers living below the city were terrified because they see figures of light and hear lots of eerie sounds. There are stories about the many tunnels that hold treasure and hundreds of skeletons. He continues to tell Josh that the roads in that area have been abandoned for hundreds of years and he and his team will be the first film crew to go up there and investigate the area. Starting in Lima, Peru, they will drive several hundred miles into the Andes and hope to make it to the tiny village below, the last inhabited village before the ruins. The dirt roads leading up were very dangerous, steep, and muddy with foggy weather. They finally reach the tiny town, sliding their jeep to a halt. They talk to some of the residence that feel they are living in the shadow of a haunted city. Always at night they report hearing voices, and tell Josh that they see ghosts. It will be at least a full day’s hike to reach the ruins so they decided to start fresh in the morning.
Getting an early start the next morning, they set out on a long hike of more than 3,000 feet into the clouds. They hike was grueling so they decided to try using donkeys. Before taking off the donkeys became spooked. Finally they were able to continue on up the steep, slippery, dangerous terrain. Gabe's donkey got spooked and dumped him off. After that, the locals would go no further so they headed off on foot by themselves. Winded and very tired, they got to the top and set up base camp. They set up cameras around base camp while Josh and Jael set out to explore the area. Using the Flir camera, Josh gets a hit hidden in some trees. Josh plans to hike down to where he saw the heat signature, when they all hear a strange noise. It sounded like a howling and they thought that it could be some sort of animal. They hear it again and this time it sounded like crying or howling. Josh and Jael get to the location where the heat signature was and see nothing. They did hear movement in the bushes and Josh's foot falls into a hole where a tunnel is located. They find more tunnels and have Rex bring a camera to put down into the space to see what is down there. Next they do an EVP session to see if anything or anyone unseen was with them. Back at base camp, Sharra notices some flash in front of one of the infrared camera set out in the perimeter. After checking in at base camp, Josh, Jael and Mike head out again. They come across the ruins of the old bell tower. They break out the parabolic dish to hopefully pick up the phantom bell ringing or another sound. They do capture a strange sound and also got a feeling like someone was up there with them.
Back at Los Angeles, they analyze the noises but the evidence was inconclusive. They did pick up a strange noise in the tunnels from the EVP session, an apparent voice saying, "touch him". For the rest of the evidence, they turn to Steve and Tango to get their opinion. Steve wasn't sure what the thermal hit could have been, there was all kinds of possibilities. The flash on the infrared camera could be some sort of energy passing by the camera.
SECOND INVESTIGATION: THUNDERBIRD, MANOKOTAK, ALASKAThis creature, the Thunderbird, is massive, dark brown in color, enormous beak, sharp claws, and a wing span of nearly 30 feet. The journey begins north to the frigid weather of Anchorage, Alaska. While waiting for their connecting flight, some locals were telling their stories of the Thunderbird. They tell them that the temperature has been 20 degrees to below 35 at night. They then boarded their flight from Anchorage to Dillingham, an isolated town that can not be reached by road. It was whiteout conditions when they arrived there. Josh talk to a local pilot, who told them that what he saw was no ordinary bird, it was much different. In order for them to get a sweep of the area, they took an airplane up to check it out. They chartered a 1961 classic plane, and scouted out the area where they spotted the tiny town of Manokotak. This was the town where most of the sightings have been reported. Back on the ground in Dillingham, they geared up for the long trek to Manokotak. Josh wants to look for eyewitness to help them target the best investigation sight. Using a fleet of snowmobiles and local guides, they head off in the below freezing weather to Manokotak, a.k.a. Thunderbird country. On the way, Bicha flips his snowmobile but is ok. The yuk’ip natives fed the crew some local cuisine, and moose fat. Then they hooked up with Timmy Evon, an Alaskan pilot who spotted the Thunderbird very close to where they were. He directed them to the exact location where he saw the creature. They found the area and set up base camp.
Rex tells them to watch out for the wolves and to back away from them if spotted. The temperature was dropping while Josh and Jael head out to put one of the trap cameras with bait underneath. Afterwards they head out in the negative weather. Gabe and Bicha heard a boom sound while sitting at base camp. While investigating the sound, they experience twigs breaking above them and suddenly hear a sound like something buzzed over them. Josh and Jael head back to base camp to see what was happening. After reloading the cameras with new batteries, they head out again. Using the Flir and parabolic dish, they begin to hear noises above them. They hear something moving around and Josh gets a thermal hit on the ground. Fearing that it could be a wolf, they back away and head to base camp. On a computer at base camp, one of the cameras caught something strange flying in the area. Josh and Bicha do another sweep of the area and see something flying between two trees. It was a black object but hard to make out. They also noticed that the bait was gone around the trap camera leaving no prints almost like a bird swooped down and grabbed it. They did see claw marks in the snow and took pictures of the area. The trap camera took several pictures as well.
Back at Los Angeles, they take a look at all the photos that the trap camera snapped off. They did catch on the infrared camera something large buzzing through the trees. Wanting an expert opinion, Josh took the evidence to Mike Dees for his analysis of their findings. The footing of the object flying between the trees proved inconclusive and the photos taken by the trap camera showed the image too close to see what it really was. He said that is can be feathers in the photos and that a massive sea eagle could have migrated there. This could be what the locals are seeing and not the elusive Thunderbird.
For centuries a terrifying beast has been haunting the Pacific Northwest, more specifically Sasquatch sightings on Vancouver Island. This island has over 12 thousand miles of fast moving rivers, rugged beaches and sits about 15 miles southwest of Vancouver, Canada. Many hikers and hunters are attracted to this beautiful island but there appears to be something else lurking there as well. This rain soaked island has many stories told by the Native Americans that a large hairy beast is known to inhabit the area. Many witnesses have seen an ape-like creature and said that it walks on two feet, stands about 9 feet tall and has an estimated weight of 800 pounds. This hairy man-like creature has a long stride and likes to stay along the coastline and rivers edge. The native legends stretch back many centuries giving the beast several different names and say it is a beast to be respected and feared. The stories also are told that if you harm one of this creatures that within 7 years you will die. More than a century ago, as westerners explored the island, and came face to face with the big hairy beast. The earliest sightings were around 1900 where a trader was exploring the area known as "the forbidden plateau" which is located in the central part of the island. The two guides with him refused to go further in the area because it was the place where the so called "monkey man" has been seen. The trader was not afraid and headed out on his own. The next day by a waterfall, he saw the beast for himself. It was washing food in the water. He moved closer, raised his rifle and before he could pull the trigger, the beast stood up and yelled out a bone chilling scream, and then ran off into the forest.
There have been so many stories told of eyewitnesses having encounters with the “Ape Monster”. One man tells the story of a cold night while sleeping in his motor home, it started shaking violently. He jumped to his feet and ran outside where he was met with a very foul odor. In the darkness he could hear the heavy footsteps walking nearby, and then walk away. He thought afterwards how crazy he was to go outside with no means of defense.
The great northwest has been known for a long time for its Sasquatch sightings. With its vast wilderness it makes for an excellent place for a creature to hide. Vancouver Island's population is less than 800,000, which is small in comparison to the size of the island. Because of the many rivers and salmon swimming around in them, this makes for an excellent food source for the mighty beast.
Of course scientists say there is no way these creatures could find its way to Vancouver Island. They feel that there is no proof of its existence nor is there any fossils left by the creature. If it is an ape, there is no proof of how it got to the island because the only way to reach the island is by water. The salt water canals separating the island from the mainland are about a half mile wide. There are videos of bears and primal apes swimming across rivers, so why couldn’t a Sasquatch?
Some stories are told that of people who visited the island as well as some locals, gone out in the woods and just disappeared. Another man tells of his encounter with the beast. He was driving on the highway near the river and noticed a large hairy creature lying on a log with its hand in the water fishing for salmon. He sat there watching this creature crouching on a log for a short time, surprised by what he was watching. Another witness tells his story of seeing the creature while on his fishing boat with his crew, traveling on the east isolated part of the island. They notice that there was no wildlife in the area where they was the days before and thought it to be a bit strange. All of a sudden, they smelt an awful smell and then a creature appeared on the shoreline coming out of the brush. It looked nine or ten feet tall, probably weighed about 400 pounds with red piercing eyes and was crouching down hiding from the spotlight. They watched this massive creature for almost an hour from the safety of the boat feasting on claims until after three long strides; it disappeared in the heavy woods.
About 12 thousand black bears live on Vancouver Island. Some wildlife scientists are convinced that the sightings are probably misidentification between the bear and the beast. The problem with that is Sasquatch does not have pointed ears on top, and a defined snout. It has a long stride and walks like a human. This is not typical for the black bear. Many are convinced that what people are seeing is a great ape so the experts continue to constantly investigate all the reports. They keep track of the areas where the sightings have been reported, which is in the more isolated areas of the island. Forensic pediatrics looks at the castings that were made by witnesses of the hairy beast. They come to the conclusion that they are human-like but not made by a human. They also conclude that the tracks were made by an unknown mammal or species.
The Monster Quest team has gone to the island to investigate the stories of the Bigfoot sightings. Monster Quest focuses their investigation on Meares Island, a place that has more reported sightings than any other place. The team follows the man back to the area where he saw a large hairy creature lying on a log with its hand in the water fishing for salmon. They check out the log and surrounding area to see if there was any evidence that a Sasquatch was there. It was now nightfall, and as they were walking upstream, they caught a heat signature on the camera, lurking in the distance. As they got to the place where the figure was seen, they noticed that on a tree near that area was a heat signature, almost like something big touched it. They also noticed the shell fish all over the area and feel that this is one of the creature’s favorite foods and could be why it stays around the island. The next day the team puts cameras in various places along with some fish to entice the beast. The also set up two base camps with equipment and wait until nightfall to do some investigating. While on the boat they use call blasting to try to lure the beast out or perhaps get an answer. They use night vision cameras and other equipment but the dense fog makes the investigation difficult. They did get a response to the call blasting and will have to analyze it later. Next they move off the boat and back to base camp to check the cameras and bait and found them untouched. They check out the river bank where a creature was seen lying on a log fishing, the next day to see if they can find any tracks from the creature. They find a very sandy spot but find no physical evidence of the creature. Next they check out the trap cameras and find a dark shape in one of the photos. They didn’t find any tangible evidence but they know that with all the eyewitness’ sightings, many more will continue to be in search of the beast on Vancouver Island.
SECOND INVESTIGATION: "SWAMP APE" In south Florida, throughout Everglades National Park and 10,000 Island's area, a stinky hair ape man is stalking the area. Also spotted in the Cypress National Preserve, this "Skunk Ape" as they call it because of the horrible smell it admits, blends in with its surroundings, is said to be 8 feet high with a large dome head and prominent brow, and massive chest. They flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida where Josh could miss the opportunity to harass Jael about reading the "Twilight" series of books. After getting their vehicle, they headed due west from Fort Lauderdale to the Cypress National Preserve. This area is over a million acres of swamp and uninhabitable by humans, with roads not existing in the interior. Along the way they stopped at the "official" Florida research center. This place had everything you ever wanted on the Skunk Ape and even a large python that seems to roam the place freely, yikes! They head off to meet with Dave Shealy, who founded the Skunk Ape research center and had a terrifying encounter with the beast. He took Josh to the remote area where the sighting occurred. While sitting at a tree stand he noticed that about 100 yards away, a large hairy man-like creature was looking right at him. He continues to tell Josh that there are 100's of sightings and there are some people that have come up missing in the everglades through the years. He uses raw meat, such a dear liver, to attract the animal to capture its existence. They grab a meal of frog legs and alligator and make one more stop before heading out to the everglades. Radio host Ed Craft swears he saw the Swamp Monster while camping. He tells Josh that you must be willing to go where no other humans will go in order to find the Swamp Ape. This is definitely a job up the DT team’s alley.
After getting to the Big Cypress Preserve, they trade their vehicle for a Swamp Buggy to navigate through the first part of the bog. Josh stops to talk to Billy, a Centennial Indian, whose tribe members have witnessed the Skunk Ape for years. He tells Josh that just two days ago some on his tribe members during a tribal ceremony spotted the Skunk ape. Josh then arranges with Tom Shirley, the game warden, to use swamp boats to get to the location of the sightings. After 3 hours, they finally arrived in the area of the recent sightings when Josh spots something big in the woods walking around. He said that it was large and walking upright. They looked for a half an hour to see if it would appear again but found nothing but alligators. After the boats dropped them off, they headed in to find an area for their base camp. They had investigated swampy areas before and were prepared for almost anything.
After finding a good area for base camp, the set up 4 infrared cameras around the perimeter and 4 trap cameras with bait sitting in front of them. Josh was told to watch for water moccasins and panthers that are in the area. Josh and Jael head off with the thermal camera and to do a sweep of the area. Before getting the last trap camera set up, they hear something big and close in the swamps near them. They also heard lots of splashing in the water. Bicha is out putting bait near the first infrared camera and hears something walking behind them. They start experiencing big time movement all around them. Josh and Jael head back to base camp and see alligators with one heading towards them. They continue on their sweep when Jael hears something moving around them and in the water. They both hear something walking around in the brush near them. In one of the cameras at base camp they spot something moving in front of it. It looks like a panther and they warn Josh about what they saw. Meanwhile, Josh and Jael are trudging through water and see a Cottonmouth snake which is poisonous and they slowly back away. Back at base camp, they see something streak by camera 3 and then it gets knocked down. They head out to investigate and find the camera lying on the ground and the bait was gone. They then see something big in the trees in front of them and hear it moving all around them. They kept hearing branches breaking. At the same time, Josh and Jael are still walking in the swamp and this time spot an alligator and back away from it. Josh and Mike head out to where camera 3 was tipped over to see if they can capture any audio. Josh got a hit on the thermal but can't distinguish what it was. They also experienced a very loud noise like something was crashing down. They take their evidence back to Los Angeles where Josh sits down with former Los Angeles zoo curator, Mike Dee, to go over the footage. The thing caught on the thermal camera appeared to be upright in a standing position. He said that it could be a black bear, but there wasn't enough on the thermal to say for sure. He did feel that the animal caught on the base camp's camera could be a Florida Panther. It is very rare to capture a picture of this animal especially at night. Could the eyewitnesses be seeing a bear? With all the reports of seeing this Skunk Ape, the investigations are far from being over.
I will sometimes come across fascinating mysterious creatures besides Bigfoot or aliens that I might want to know more about. I saw a special on this cryptid on the Travel Channel and found the story of where it came from and some of the witness stories interesting. The Jersey Devil is a legendary cryptid that is sometimes referred to as the Leeds Devil. This creature is found to dwell in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. There are several descriptions of this cryptid with different deviations of its appearance. It has been described as a flying two-footed animal with hooves, having a horse like head with a tail, and glowing red eyes known to paralyze a man. It releases a high pitch squeal and varies in height anywhere from three feet to more than seven feet. The stories of this creature have made its way to modern times with New Jersey naming their hockey team after it.
Where might it have come from? There are so many stories even dating as far back to Native American folklore of the origin of the Jersey Devil. The story that many people tend to believe the most is the one about Mother Leeds. The story goes that Mother Leeds had twelve children and was about to give birth to her 13th child. She believed that a 13th child would be the devil and was afraid to give birth. In 1735, on a stormy night, Mother Leeds gave birth to a child that looked normal, but quickly changed to look like a creature with hooves, a horse’s head, bat wings and a forked tail. There were rumors that she was a witch and the father of this child was the devil himself. This story reminds me of the plot for “Rosemary’s Baby”. After the cryptid was born it let out a loud scream, killed the midwife, and then flew up the chimney and into the pines. Five years later a clergy performed an exorcism for the devil and for 100 years there were no reported sightings of the creature. It was told that a Japhet Leeds, whose wife was Deborah Leeds, named twelve children in his will which was written in 1736. This falls in line with the legendary story of Mother Leeds thirteenth child being the child of the devil, lending credence to the story.
Where would we be with the skeptic’s point of view? Many of them believe that the Jersey Devil in nothing more than the wild imagination of the English settlers told to many generations. The Pine Barrens was a place that many early settlers were afraid to go into because of its dark, uninhabitable, and deserted eeriness to it. It is easy to see how the stories may have gotten started from them seeing animals such as bears, the smell of the pines, the dark unknown of what is lurking in these barrens, could have fueled their imaginations.
The Jersey Devil stories are intensified by the eyewitnesses who have encountered this legendary cryptid. In 1840, many livestock was reported killed by the devil because of the unusual tracks found and reports of loud screaming could be heard afterwards. From this time on until the 1900’s there were reports of sightings anywhere from flying above them, killing animals and terrifying children. The more frequent activity of sightings were reported in January of 1909. The reports were made on a daily basis and were anywhere from seeing it flying overhead, it’s tracks in the snow and all over town, to spotting it sitting right outside their homes and attacking people. Then the sightings stopped until 1951 when a boy claimed to have seen a screaming creature. Then in 1957 a strange rotting corpse resembling the Jersey Devil was found and many felted that the cryptid was dead. Even though the creature was thought to be dead, many encounters of the Jersey Devil have been made after that date. The reports of sightings are still being made today.
Some movies were made based on the story like the 2008 low-budget horror flick “The 13th Child: Legend of the Jersey Devil”. Even an episode of The X-Files was titled “The Jersey Devil” where is compared to Bigfoot and were revealed to be wild humans. Real or not, the Jersey Devil does make for interesting folklore.
As long as I can remember I have had a fascination with Bigfoot. This elusive creature has gone by many names such as, Sashquatch, Yeti, Red Gorilla, and Abdominal Snowman to name a few. My fear of the Abdominal Snowman went all the way back to my young years with the animated movie, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer”. You laugh, but you all know that he scared you as well. Then in 1972, I went to the theatre with my friends to see the film, “The Legend of Boggy Creek”, about the “Fouke Monster”. This semi-factual documentary-type film dealt with the alleged Bigfoot like cryptid that was seen around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1940’s. The film partially features interviews with witnesses that have had encounters with the human-like creature and reenactments of those encounters by actors. Charles B. Pierce used an old movie camera and hired local high school students to make this 89 minute film. The reenactments are cheesy by modern standards but as a young kid, it scared the crap out of me.
The Legend of Boggy Creek is out to track down the existence and legend of the “Fouke Monster” as seen by those living in and around the town of Fouke for many years. This Bigfoot has been described as having a foul odor, covered with reddish-brown hair, standing at least 8 feet tall and probably weighing around 300 pounds. It appears to have three toes as reported from the tracks that have been seen in the farm fields. Many of the locals that have seen or came across this elusive Bigfoot are seen in the film as themselves telling their stories. They tell stories of how the creature killed many animals as well as 100 pound hogs, and then ate them. We also follow some hunters with their dogs looking for the creature. The dogs sense something in the air and will not move or give chase. The narrator of the movie tells us that people have shot at the creature in the past but it has been able to escape without harm. Other stories are from locals including a police deputy of having the creature dart out in front of their car while driving down a dark road. The most frightening story of the whole film was the story of the attack of the Ford family in their own home in May of 1971. According to Elizabeth Ford, the creature tried to seize her through a screen window, while she was sleeping on the couch. The next day Bobby Ford had his own experience while on his front porch. The creature grabbed him on his shoulders, throwing him to the ground. He had to be treated at the hospital for mild shock. The Fords said they have heard something moving outside their house many times especially on the nights of the encounters. The next day they found footprints, heavy scratches on the porch and damages to the house’s exterior. At the end of the movie, the narrator questions whether or not the “Fouke Monster” is still alive or still out in the marsh lands in and around Fouke, Arkansas.
The question to whether it is still alive could be a resounding yes because of the reports of sightings to this day. The “Fouke Monster” has also been referred to as the legendary swamp creature the “Skunk Ape” which gets its name from the nasty skunk-like odor it leaves. Many Bigfoot enthusiasts as well as cable shows like MonsterQuest, have sent investigators and Bigfoot experts out in the woods or murky swamps to track down some evidence that this creature does indeed exist. You can watch the entire movie on youtube.com if you are interested.
...Big hoaxes. At least that's what a lot people believe.
In 1967 two men by the names Roget Patterson and Robert Gimlin took what is considered the best and most convincing evidence of the creature we all know and love as Bigfoot. The picture above, taken is Bluff Creek, California, is directly from the famous video footage by the two ranchers. The video can be seen below. Bigfoot, also known at the Sasquatch in some places, had been sighted well before this footage, but this really brought the legend to a whole new level.
In fact this creature had been spotted dating all the way back to 1924! A man by the name of Fred Black claimed he and four other miners were attacked by such creature in Ape Canyon in Washington state. The story goes that they saw large ape like creatures chucking rocks at them and their cabin. They went out and shot at what they described as "mountain gorillas". The next day they saw extremely large footprints.
Of course people have tried to debunk this event saying that a story came out that at the same time a group of young people were around throwing rocks in the canyon. Also it is reported these young people drew such footprints in the mud to prank the miners in the cabin. Thing is, we will never truly know.
In 1941 a woman named Jeannie Chapman and her young daughter claimed they had to escape their home because a 7 1/2 foot Sasquatch approached their home and tried to attack them. No one has been able to debunk this story.
In 1958 a man named Jerry Crew brought a large casting of what he claimed was Bigfoot's footprint, to a newspaper office. He claimed this print came from their isolated work site in Bluff Creek, California ran by a man named Ray Wallace. However when Wallace died, his children came forward and revealed a large wooden footprint that their father used to fake the Bigfoot's big foot.
Since then their have been HUNDREDS of sightings all over the world. Most of them brushed off as being hoaxes. The only evidence that has truly stuck is the footage from Roger Patterson. This footage has been picked apart like crazy. People have claimed it is simply a man in a costume. Which by the way, Patterson's friend Robert Gimlin came out many years later saying it really was him in a costume. People still don't believe that. The fact is many people have tried creating such costumes and have attempted to walk the same way, and have been unable to recreate the footage exactly as it was.
Some analysts point out if you look real close, you can actually see the movement of muscles on the creatures legs. Now if a man was wearing a costume, like Gimlin ultimately confessed he was, you would not be able to see his leg muscles move. Costumes don't have such detailed leg muscles, especially in the late 60's. Also some scientists who have willingly analyzed the footage claim the creature's stride is very much not like a human. They say it would be near impossible for a man to create the form of stride.
Most men and women in the science field have blatantly laughed off this Bigfoot drama, saying it's just impossible for such creature to exist. But the fact remains, most of these scientists have not even given much thought or scientific analysis to any of the claims. They just automatically say it's all a great big hoax. There are the rare few, including Jane Goodall, who firmly believe Bigfoot is real. She says she has spoken with MANY Native Americans who have heard the sounds of Bigfoot as well as seen them. Some people in this field are just open to the possibility. Of course though, there are plenty of hoaxes inside the Bigfoot world. One came very recently actually! Watch this video below to see the actual news footage of the men who claimed to find the body of Bigfoot.
In 2008 Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton claimed they stumbled across the deceased body of a Sasquatch in a forest in northern Georgia. They put the body in a large ice chest and froze it to keep it safe and intact. They contacted Tom Bicardi, also known as the Bigfoot Hunter and asked him to come see for himself. Dyer and Whitton received $50,000 from Bigfoot Inc. as a good faith measure. In their press conferences and interviews, all 3 men boldly stated they wanted to make as much money as possible off this discovery. After their big press conference, the body was thawed and left in the hands of the Searching for Bigfoot team. It was soon discovered that the hair was not real, the head was hollow and the feet were made from rubber. Dyer and Whitton had no choice to finally reveal it was a hoax.
So you see, there are in fact people trying to make bank of this Bigfoot madness, but not all of it has to be fake! Like I've stated, there have been MANY respected scientists who have just brushed off Bigfoot without actually really looking into it. The fact remains there is more proof he exists then there is that he doesn't. You can't just look at a video and say, "oh that's not real" or "that's obviously a man in a costume" and then have no physical proof to back it up! That's stupid! People say these things to come off smarter than they actually are. They just want to be right and sound sophisticated when really they have nothing to actually give us. I'm sorry if that sounded rude in anyway, but it's the case in anything paranormal.
People just beat us down by trying to make us think these things aren't real and don't exist but all they have is words. They rarely come forth with evidence and samples, and what not. We have WAY more proof that these things are real then skeptics have that these things are not real. That's a definite fact folks! This battle between skeptics and believers is very one sided in my opinion. Now by no means are we right in every case, I'm not an idiot! I know that people do fake evidence (like with Bigfoot) and I know we can't physically prove everything, but dammit at least we try!! We at least analyze pictures and videos, and even try to recreate and debunk things. Skeptics just look at something and say, "I know that's not real, just because it isn't possible". That's weak! Yes there are some who do try, but not enough! Oops, I've ranted, sorry!
There have been way to many eye witness accounts of Mr. OR Mrs. Bigfoot. There have been TONS of pictures taken of him or her! There have been plenty of videos. Plenty of documentaries! Now about 90-95% of all of this evidence can probably be brushed off as a hoax or just debunked, but that still leaves a small percentage of evidence that leaves us wondering if the big guy himself really is wandering the woods of the world, just waiting for the next person to come by with a camera and snap a nice little picture of him! Is he really out there? I say hell yes, but I'll let you be the judge!
--Mike--
This is the original footage of the Patterson-Gimlin sighting of the world famous "Bigfoot" creature. Is it real? You be the judge.
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This creature, the Thunderbird, is massive, dark brown in color, enormous beak, sharp claws, and a wing span of nearly 30 feet. The journey begins north to the frigid weather of Anchorage, Alaska. While waiting for their connecting flight, some locals were telling their stories of the Thunderbird. They tell them that the temperature has been 20 degrees to below 35 at night. They then boarded their flight from Anchorage to Dillingham, an isolated town that can not be reached by road. It was whiteout conditions when they arrived there. Josh talk to a local pilot, who told them that what he saw was no ordinary bird, it was much different. In order for them to get a sweep of the area, they took an airplane up to check it out. They chartered a 1961 classic plane, and scouted out the area where they spotted the tiny town of Manokotak. This was the town where most of the sightings have been reported. Back on the ground in Dillingham, they geared up for the long trek to Manokotak. Josh wants to look for eyewitness to help them target the best investigation sight. Using a fleet of snowmobiles and local guides, they head off in the below freezing weather to Manokotak, a.k.a. Thunderbird country. On the way, Bicha flips his snowmobile but is ok. The yuk’ip natives fed the crew some local cuisine, and moose fat. Then they hooked up with Timmy Evon, an Alaskan pilot who spotted the Thunderbird very close to where they were. He directed them to the exact location where he saw the creature. They found the area and set up base camp.
I will sometimes come across fascinating mysterious creatures besides Bigfoot or aliens that I might want to know more about. I saw a special on this cryptid on the Travel Channel and found the story of where it came from and some of the witness stories interesting. The Jersey Devil is a legendary cryptid that is sometimes referred to as the Leeds Devil. This creature is found to dwell in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. There are several descriptions of this cryptid with different deviations of its appearance. It has been described as a flying two-footed animal with hooves, having a horse like head with a tail, and glowing red eyes known to paralyze a man. It releases a high pitch squeal and varies in height anywhere from three feet to more than seven feet. The stories of this creature have made its way to modern times with New Jersey naming their hockey team after it.
