As far back as I can remember, watching films in the
seventies as a Kid, information flooded my mind about Bigfoot. Others that
stuck with me over the years are The Abominable Snowman and Loch Ness Monster,
also known as Nessie from Documentaries such as MYSTERIOUS MONSTERS
And SASQUATCH.
What child growing up in the seventies
and eighties did not cringe at the thought of some big hairy hand reaching
through a screen window, or perhaps the lurking fear of something unknown hiding
and watching just under some pool of murky water .Both Bigfoot and Nessie physically
resemble creatures we all think of as long since extinct and primitive; the
fact that something prehistoric “could” still exist makes it all the more real and
exciting.
Over the years many documentaries have shown
‘’high tech ‘’attempts at proving the existence of Bigfoot and/or Nessie with various
sensors and sound recording equipment. The famous 1967 Paterson/Gimlin film was
of course always rolled out as the centerpiece of the program. As of this
writing nothing concrete has surfaced, but the thought of a hairy man beast in the
woods still persists.
The earliest incident that I can remember to
date, that solidified my interest in such things happened when I was about four
or five years old, while visiting the fair in
my hometown of Owingsville Ky. There
was a white covered trailer with a PA system there; it was a traveling exhibit
and over the speakers was a recording of scary, but enticing music; a man’s
voice repeating the story of how a mysterious hairy manlike creature that had
been found in a block of ice and the body was on display in a freezer inside
the trailer. My Sister Bess and her friend, who both were six years older than
me, went in with curiosity. My Mom offered to buy me a ticket as well, but I
was too scared and stayed outside with her.
Later my sister described the glass
and ice encased corpse in the display as looking as though it was made out of,
‘’Tootsie Roll.” Assuming this to meant she thought it was definitely a fake.
The fact she thought it was a fake didn’t mean much to me, I’m still kicking
myself to this day that I missed a rare once in a lifetime opportunity to have
seen the famous MINNISOTA ICEMAN. Despite
my balking, fear quickly turned into thrill and amazement. I was hooked, and I
could not stop thinking about a possible frozen body in the trailer. Even more
so, I rapidly became intrigued by all things macabre and mysterious.
From Then on the more adults or
other children tried to scare me with weird stories, the more of a lasting
impression it made. I can remember a neighborhood boy who once attempted to
scare little kids at the shallow end of a swimming pool by dragging his arms in
an apelike manner; he was just playing around rising up out of the water and
saying BOGGY CREEK! BOGGY CREEK! I had just days before seen the poster for the
movie Boggy Creek 2 with the dark silhouetted
long armed simian splashing through a
swamp[which is hard to get out of one’s mind once you’ve seen the poster ] and
wondered to myself, ‘could such a thing actually be real.’
Not getting to see the original
BOGGY CREEK until years later as an
adult, it finally came out on VHS and then I had my chance. It is still a good movie
today even though shot in not so flattering 16mm film, this works to its
advantage as the filmmakers only showed grainy distance shots of the shambling creature,
thus heightening the imagination of the viewer.
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| ZILPO: Recent photo of The approximate spot where I saw a black thing standing by the road .In The 80's it was all gravel and the sighting took place on a dark summer night in heavy greenery . |
Like many others
of my generation, the idea of something being out in the dark was not just
great movie material, but it was more about the possibilities. The possibility
that in ones on backyard, there could be something unknown lurking. It was not
until the 1987 movie HARRY AND THE
HENDERSONS, did the image of Bigfoot as a placid, smiling and close up in
your face endangered forest creature [that endures to this day ] get implanted
into the public consciences. I am not saying instead Bigfoot should be feared,
but you see the pattern here? There has
been so much media driven material it’s hard to separate fact from fiction.
If such a creature
exists, it has yet to be captured [or a body hauled in to a city hall.]The Eastern
Sasquatch often is reported to have somewhat different physical characteristics
than the Pacific variety. It’s possible it is even a separate creature. The
Fouke Arkansas monster [Boggy Creek],
Missouri MOMO, The Ohio Grassman, and the Florida Skunk Ape are some of the catchy
names of Eastern hairy monsters that are often reported being seen in the areas.
So where do the Myths, Movies and Media Hype end and the facts begin? I know in
Kentucky There are frequent sightings and just as frequent the witnesses fail
to report the incident out of fear of ridicule.
Convinced that since there are regular
sightings reported in other places, there are just as many in Ky. It is my
observation that Kentuckians are often of the type of people not wanting to get
involved with the unknown or things misunderstood. I believe this to be a kind
of Apathy born from the standpoint that since Kentucky unfortunately has been
in the past, an often overlooked state. One grows up with the notion that ‘since
nothing one does will matter in the big scheme of things what’s the point. Also Many
desperately wish to really avoid ‘hick stereotypes’ and negative attention.
This attitude may be changing slowly
as sightings are becoming more viral on the internet and mainstream on
television. While looking over forum postings of sightings [ often relating events
that took place years before the advent of the internet ] I find For the most part there is still little to
follow up on. For more recent Sightings The Best part is you often get
a first-hand witness and no News reporters getting in the way, This strips away the ‘hype.’ The Net has been a great
thing for Crypto zoology no matter what; it allows the researcher unlimited
access to details and reports. In the past Flaps of sightings might occur, 911
may be called and even the occasional TV crew would interview a witness, but
that is where it would end, that is unless you saved a news clipping or videotaped
a broadcast.What is Bigfoot?
Does he exist at all? There are all kinds of theories. I believe it makes sense
to not adopt any particular belief system or position until more facts appear. I
have always tried to remain a skeptic; I have found it is a healthy
attitude when one has an interest in exploring the strange and the unexplained.
That being said, I have seen some very strange things over the years and had
the opportunity to meet credible witnesses.
When I was seventeen years old I
saw something I will never forget. It was in the area of Cave Run Lake, known
as Zilpo. I was on a camping trip with a couple of buddies who we will call Kevin 1 and Kevin 2.We had been riding around
all night in a old white Chevy pick-up, “Country cruzin’,” we called it. Our
Final destination was to go to nearby Clear Creek camp grounds and set up camp.
However, we then decided to go to Zilpo Beach first. In those days the road to
Zilpo was gravel, narrow and less accessible than it is today. We were down on
the beach at night, no one else was around and we were playing war games. We
had on Camo, web gear, and it was particularly popular past time for many kids
in our High school to stage various types of Vietnam and Navy Seals type games.
It was getting late ,about 3 AM so we loaded into the
truck and drove back up the steep winding road back to Clear creek, which was about
eight miles away. Soon, as I drove up the road, in the headlights I spotted something
as I drove by slowly. It was visible only from the chest up as it was in high
brush and vines. It was obvious it was absolutely jet black and it stood out
among the bright green foliage. It looked like the shape of a man but covered in
not hair but black glossy short fur like a black bear. I could only see half of
the face as I looked out the window. It had to be no less than ten feet from
the truck. The face even in the dark, showed a strong brow ridge, like that of
primitive man. As far as body language goes it appeared that it was staring
angrily at us as though it had been in the process of crossing the road but now
had to be very still. It may have just been my impression, but I felt like it was
somehow drawn to us since we had been making a lot of noise playing on the
nearby beach. The things appearance was like a wild animal but ultimately like
a man also. It was wide shouldered but since it was in the woods I could not
tell the height of the creature.
My Illustration of what I saw.
After I passed it I turned to my
passengers and said ‘’tell me you saw that.’’ Kevin 1, who was sitting in the
middle of the bench seat just stared at me with wide eyes and nodded affirmatively.
At that same moment Kevin 2, who had apparently been staring out the passenger window
in the total opposite direction blurted out, “what, what?!’’ He was looking all
around but we were past it. We were still moving, now rounding a bend. I
replied, ‘’It looked like Sasquatch.’’ Kevin 1 nodded in agreement. We drove on
into the night, I don’t think we discussed the incident further, it was late
and we wanted to find a camping area.
Now, why I did not back up and take another
look I don’t know. I continue to kick myself for these failed attempts at
exploration. One reason may have been the road was narrow and slippery and it
was a two wheel drive, long bed truck and I did not want to lose momentum; there
were also steep curves and it was dark with remote surroundings. Who knows
really? Another possible explanation could be is what one witnesses out of the
ordinary and unexpected can sometimes experience what is known as a temporary
mental block. It is a kind of option paralysis that witnesses report after the fact.
I have been back to the area many
times since to look around and it has been difficult to pinpoint the exact spot
where it was standing. I have taken trails and walks all over the hills above
the road, but I have yet to see tracks or any signs, however, this did not end
up being the end of my story with strange things in the woods.
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| The Very Crest of the hill above Zilpo, few ever hike there. |
