I just got an email from Brent Thomas about a new festival screening of the really cool looking Bigfoot horror "Nightbeasts".
Yes, I know, another day another Bigfoot movie right?
Well, normally I would say yes, but "Nightbeasts" looks like an excellent entry into the genre with all kinds of Native American lore and pissed off Sasquatch's running around.
Oh thank God, it had been almost a month since I last wrote about a Bigfoot movie. I was starting to think that the "Sasquatch Movie Craze" was in hibernation there for a minute. Thankfully giant harry ape men are still the monster of choice for independent film makers. I was starting to get worried.
Naturally I could go into a prolonged list of all the Bigfoot horror movies that are being produced, or have been produced, over the last two years, but why bother? There is no need to beat this horse any more than I already have.
Lets just say that all the Bigfoot fans have nothing to worry about. There are enough movies out there to occupy your Saturday nights from now until doomsday.
The latestGigantopithicus creature feature to come wandering out of the cinematic woodlands is a short film by Australian director Sean Francis Ellis called "Claws" which was filmed just up the highway from me in Big Bear, California and stars Spencer Falls, Adrian Chang, Sarah Belger, Paton Ashbrook, Alessandro Giannetti and Tom Skalka.
Here is the synopsis:
For 350 years, the Tutchone people of Western Canada have told stories about the Beast known as Yakatutch, which lives in the remote wilderness of the Yukon. Once a fierce warrior, Yakatutch was cursed for an unspeakable crime against his tribe, and banished to the farthest mountains. But the tribal leaders who cursed Yakatutch could not foresee what has come… a large population, living on the edge of its habitat.
When an unknown animal starts killing people near the small Yukon town of Whitehorse, Anthropologist Marcus Fletcher discovers DNA evidence of something part-human and part-animal. He believes it is the legendary creature, but his son Scott (22), a local snowboarding champ, is unconvinced. Marcus meets with a Tutchone Elder, who explains that Yakatutch can only be killed by one of his descendants. The Elder sends Matusa, a powerful-looking but quiet young tribesman, who has been raised for one purpose: to kill The Beast.
Marcus introduces Matusa to local Police Captain, Pierre Babineaux, who is intrigued by their story. He invites them to his home for dinner, but Scott is uncomfortable, because he is dating Babineaux’s daughter, Ayasha, a beautiful young RCMP officer. That evening, Babineaux’s wife Anita, who is also Tutchone, makes a startling revelation about Matusa – he is her son. He was taken away as a child, because she was unmarried.
When police discover more victims with distinctive claw-shaped wounds and The Beast’s DNA, Marcus makes an even more startling discovery: The Beast is evolving – becoming more human. Marcus believes The Beast is the key to potentially ground-breaking DNA research. He secretly goes to the mountains alone, hoping to capture The Beast, alive.
Believing that Marcus is in grave danger, Scott convinces Babineaux that the legendary Beast is real. Anita warns him to stay away from The Beast’s domain, but Babineaux decides to go, with Matusa as their guide. Aware of the danger, Ayasha joins her father and her half-brother, Matusa, to help Scott find his father, and hunt down The Beast.
The film actually did very well at the Beverly Hills Film Festival Screenplay Competition in 2010 and now Ellis has plans to expand it into a full-length feature film.
The director explains, "At this stage, the film is about one year away from production. The shoot will take place in the winter, in a mountainous area of the US or in Canada. The creature from the film is being designed currently, but no artwork is available yet. It will likely be a suit with some CG enhancements."
"Huge", "Scary", "Strong", "Aggressive", "Fast", "Threatening", "Threatening" these are all terms that have been used to describe several Bigfoot-like creatures that are said to inhabit the desert regions of southern California. These mysterious giant apes go by many different names, The Borrego Sandman, The Speedway Monster, Zoobies, Devils, and the Yucca Man.
The first sightings of the Yucca Man began in the early 1970s as more and more people began to populate the remote desert regions east of Los Angeles. As families migrated out of the congested city to the cheaper outlying areas in the desert stories of a large harry monster began to circulate amongst the relocated suburbanites. At first no one really paid much attention to these reported encounters that many believed were just the product of bored imaginations.
All of that, however, was about to change.
On a cold February night in 1971 a lone guard manned a post outside an armory on the outskirts of the Marine Base near Twenty-Nine Palms. Without warning the otherwise unearthly quiet was suddenly shattered when a large mass appeared out of the dark desert landscape. The guard raised his riffle and commanded the being to "halt". Much to the young mans surprise the large figure did not stop but instead charged right at him at an inhuman rate. As the figure grew closer the Marine realized what was approaching, rapidly, was not a man at all, but a huge, upright running, hair covered creature. Paralyzed by shock, the young guard stood his ground, too frightened to move.
The mysterious creature threw the young man to the ground rendering him unconscious. When the guard’s relief arrived several ours later they found him almost incoherent with his riffle almost bent in two.
After the incident both the CIA and FBI were called in to conduct an investigation. Much to their surprise, the locals were more than eager to tell their own stories about giant man-beasts in the area.
As a matter of fact, on the very same night as the attack on the guard, two of the creatures were seen roaming through a neighborhood, relatively close to the base. When a local couple took a look outside of their front window to see what was upsetting their dog, they saw the two Yucca Men crossing the front lawn. Then some time later the same creatures were seen near a horse corral some distance away by others in the same neighborhood.
The investigation also revealed that several employees at the Joshua Tree National Monument had seen Bigfoot-like creatures on numerous occasions.
Eight years later, in May of 1979, a young couple were leaving their condominium complex in Desert Hot Springs, north of Palm Springs, when a large harry creature emerged from behind a yucca in front of their car. According to the driver the animal, which had "a chest the size of a refrigerator and arms that hung down below its knees", was so large that he could only see it from the mid-section down. The beast that reportedly was covered in long tan colored hair disappeared quickly back into the night leaving no footprint evidence.
Also in 1979 a 12-foot-tall Bigfoot made a visit to Hemet California some distance to the south of Palm Springs twice in a period of a week. This time, however, the creature left a grand total of 17 tracks in the mud along a rural road during its initial visit. These tracks measured 18 inches in length and were spaced some 6 feet apart.
Noted Bigfoot researchers Douglas Trapp and Danny Perez both conducted a investigation of this sighting, even going as far as to perform a "stakeout" of the location where the tracks were found. But alas, the monster did not return.
In 1988 a couple of service men from Twenty-Nine Palms were returning home from a day of fun in the sun at Big Bear Lake at about 9:00 p.m. when they encountered a creature that the locals call the "Cement Monster", due to the fact that it is said to live near an old cement factory in Lucerne Valley.
As the two men approached the old factory, a large upright running creature moved across the road in front of their car. As was the case 9 years earlier in Desert Hot Springs the animal in question was so large that the men could only see it’s lower half.
In disbelief the two men just looked at each other for a moment before one of them exclaimed "What the Hell was that?" The other replied, "That was the Cement Monster, after him!" The driver hit the brakes while the other reached for a gun that was in the glove box. The two adrenaline filed men searched up and down the road and around the cement factory, but never found any sign of the creature.
The pair came to the conclusion that they had seen some form of prehistoric man and returned to their journey home.
Is there a race giant of Bigfoot-like creatures that live in the inhospitable desert near Palm Springs California? To the locals the legend of the Yucca Man is all too real. Though from its behavior, it may be one monster that researchers may want to stay way clear of.
Written By: Ken Hulsey Sources: 24 Frames Per Second / Avery Guerra
No country outside of the US has embraced the digital movie revolution like China. Proof of this new found desire to produce fantasy films in line with their western counterparts seem to be popping up on a regular basis now as the willingness of Chinese film makers take on bigger, and more expensive projects has taken fire. Over the past couple of years we here at MIN have reported on two ambitious CGI effect laden sci fi epics from China, namely the undersea creature feature “Empires of the Deep” and the giant robo film “Future Fighters.”
Now the Chinese have caught on to yet another American movie trend, which they now want to mold into their own image. I am, of course, talking about the Sasquatch movie craze.
Oh sure, they have Bigfoot over there too, in fact, if you follow cryptozoology at all then you probably already know that the big harry guy has distant relatives that once roamed China a couple of million years back in the form of Gigantopithecus. In China today sightings of the Yeren (Giganto still with us) or Mountain Wildman, are still very common and several government funded expeditions have been undertaken to hunt for the elusive creature.
In the upcoming film “Primary Zone” the Yeren and CGI are going to be blended together to create a 3D movie experience that the Chinese hope will rival “Avatar.”
Details out of the east are a bit sketchy as the film is still in the early stages of development, but what has leaked out, and has been translated into English, reveals that the plot will revolve around a group of scientists who venture out in search of the monster.
Also according to reports “Primary Zone” will have a budget of $15 million, which seems rather small compared to Hollywood movies, but as fans of Asian cinema know film makers in China, Japan and Korea have been able to make some rather impressive fantasy films with minimal money.
Avery Guerra was kind enough to send me the links to a couple of interesting new films that so far haven't gotten much media hype.
The first is a little horror film called "The Mountain Wailer" (above) which is being released by Draconic Pictures under the direction of Rob Garcia. What I gather from the trailer, which is in Spanish,is that a couple of hikers in Venezuela get attacked by a Sasquatch, a werewolf or some other thing that goes bump in the night.
Looks very dramatic though.
The second is a "Blair Witch" meets the "X-Files" clone called "Unaware".
As you probably guessed before you even saw it, the film is about a couple who go out looking for fun, in a place that they shouldn't, and get chased around by a bunch of pissed off aliens, government types and the lot.
As is to be expected, the film is being marketed "Blair Witch" style with the old 'we found this footage a put together into a movie' routine.
I don't think anybody is going to buy that, but if you liked 'Blair Witch', and the 'X-Files', plus a couple of people bitching at each other to the point that you pray for the aliens to abduct them and do nasty things to their 'out holes,' then this may be for you.
Granted, that may be kinda unfair, the film could be kinda fun. Hey, who doesn't enjoy a little scary alien action from time to time?
Written By: Ken Hulsey Sources: Robert Hood / Avery Guerra
For the last couple of years American independent film makers have caught a major case of the 'Bigfoot Movie Crazies' with at least a dozen movies about the legendary beast being put into production. Now, it seems that the trend has spread across the Pacific to Australia, where low-budget movie maker Cole Bayford has decided to feature the countries own version of Sasquatch in his short film entitled "Yowie".
The film itself is actually a graduate project for the Griffith University Film School: Bachelor of Film and Screen Media Production Program in which Bayford is currently enrolled and is being filmed in actual Yowie country, Springbrook, NSW, a location where the creature has been sighted numerous times over the years.
Bayford had this to say about the project, "The themes in Yowie are of young love, jealousy and the ‘what if’. What would you do if you witnessed a death in the bush? Yowie explores the reality of basic human instincts and reactions. The film showcases the strength of relationships and the importance of communication between people in terror. The story delves into the speed of emotional change and rising paranoia’s effect on decisions.'
Sounds like some pretty well thought out stuff.
Here is the official synopsis:
Deep in the Australian bush, a legend lies dormant. In an effort to rekindle their relationship a couple drives into the hills for a romantic retreat. James and Vivian find themselves caught between a breakdown in their relationship and a fight for survival against a mysterious beast. What seemed like a new beginning is now a terrible encounter with the unknown. After James mistakes Angus, a harmless bushman, for the Yowie, he shoots him dead. The only way they can endure is to find a way to trust each other again, which, in this extreme situation, is easier said than done. Will they survive the night? And if they do, where will they stand after all that’s happened? This myth is deadly…
"Yowie", which is being produced by Jarred Bocca and stars Rupert Raineri, Anna Kennedy and Brendan Smoother, may only run for 10 minutes, but it looks as if Bayford has managed to squeeze a big film into a little package.
Bayford adds, “A younger audience and those of all ages who love tension and drama can sink their teeth into this psychological thriller."
Look for "Yowie" to hit the film festival circuit in 2011.
POLAND -- Does this video prove that Bigfoot really exists? The couple that shot the video seem convinced it does. According to The Sun newspaper, Justyna Folger was vacationing in Poland when she spotted the creature. "At first I thought it was a bear but then it raised itself on to two legs and ran off. I couldn't believe it." Do you believe her story?
Caught on Tape? Bigfoot Swiping Candy, Man Claims Cleveland News - Fox 8 - Jessica Dabrowski
ASHEBORO, N.C. — A candy bar and thermal imaging equipment are said to have captured pictures of an elusive creature whose existence has been debated for centuries.
According to WGHP-TV, Mike Greene, a former fraud investigator, claimed he has proof Bigfoot was lurking in the Uwharrie National Forest in North Carolina over a year ago.
Greene is now sharing the video that, he said, can't be anything other than Sasquatch.
Watch WGHP's report to form your own conclusion about what was moving through the trees that night.
Chupacabra Monster May Be Mitey-er Than First Imagined AOL News
As stories continue to emerge from Mexico and the American Southwest of a legendary creature known as the chupacabra (Spanish for "goat sucker"), identifying at least a few of these animals may be a more simple task.
Some researchers now believe the mysterious four-legged killer and livestock blood sucker may, in fact, be coyotes infected by tiny, eight-legged parasites, or mites.
"It's easy to try and convince people that something might exist because of fears and speculation, but it's a whole lot harder to prove that something doesn't exist," said Robert Roy Britt, editor-in-chief of LiveScience.com.
"It's a wonderful explanation and I'm glad there's scientific proof for what we already knew, but it doesn't explain a lot of the reports from Puerto Rico and other places," said Loren Coleman, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
The strange physical characteristics of these creatures have been seen on videos and photos taken of the hairless coyotelike animals in rural areas.
“I’ve lived here all my life and have never seen such a thing,” said Crooked Run resident Stephen Summers, 44.
Summers claims he saw an ape-like creature Tuesday afternoon walking down an electric right-of-way, a short distance from Arnoldsburg along State Rt. 16.
“Everybody is laughing at me, but I saw it. I swear to God,” Summers said.
Summers (shown right) was traveling south in a car, looking out a passenger side window when he claims he spotted the Big Foot or Sasquatch-like creature on a hillside across the West Fork of the Little Kanawha.
“It was tall, about nine feet, hairy and the prettiest black I’ve ever laid my eyes on. I could see between its’ legs. Its’ legs looked as big as five-gallon buckets,” Summers said.
Summers said the driver of the vehicle couldn’t stop because a car was “on his tail,” indicating the driver and a passenger didn’t see the creature, “But they believe I saw it.”
“I’ve been in the woods all my life. I wasn’t drunk,” he said, again proclaiming, “God in heaven, be my witness, I saw it. I’ll take it to my grave.”
Summers said he had heard about other sighting in the Arnoldsburg area a few years ago.
“I know a lot of people won’t believe me, but I wanted them to know anyway,” he concluded.
25th anniversary of Congo search for Loch Ness Monster-type creature LoughboroughEcho.net
THIS week marks the 25th anniversary of when Territorial Army Sgt Joe Della-Porta, then 22, went off to the Congo in search of a mythical Loch Ness type monster - the Mokle Membembo.
The monster, a dinosaur type creature, was said to have been sighted many times, but never photographed. Joe was part of a four-man team taking part in the five-month expedition.
In the time since I last wrote about both the "Borrego Sandman" and the "Fontana Speedway Monster" I have managed to stumble upon more reported sightings of both creatures while doing research on another. Not wanting to proceed with an article about another of California's legendary creatures, and not wanting to add to the other two articles, I have opted to write a follow-up article instead.
It seems that the Bigfoot that reportedly inhabit California's southern regions have been a lot more active over the decades than I first realised.
Here are a bunch of stories that I happened to come across while doing my research:
Borrego Sandman
As I had mentioned in my previous article, the Borrego Sandman, is said to inhabit the rather desolate desert areas of Southern California that reach from the Mexican border to the San Bernardino Mountains to the north.
It may come to the surprise of those who follow stories about Bigfoot and other mysterious creatures that the first report of these creatures by European settlers did not come from either the East Coast, Midwest, or Pacific Northwest. It actually came from southern California in 1769, when Spanish priests founded the first mission in San Diego. Local Gabrieleno Indians told the padres about "harry devils" that lived nearby. In fact, according to written accounts, the Indians actually lived in fear of these large, foul-smelling, "wild-men" and refused to anywhere near their reported home called "towis puki" (camp of the devil) on the southern bank of the Santa Ana River.
The area of "Deadman Hole" near Holcomb Village, just west of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, was a water stop on the old Stagecoach lines during the mid to late 1800s and the reported site of several alleged murders that were blamed on Bigfoot. In 1876 one the passengers who ventured out of the safety of the coach while it's horses stopped to take a drink reported seeing a large, naked, harry "thing" watching him from behind some scruff.
After that, several people met their demise at the site, either strangled or beaten to death by an unknown person or thing. Of course, the monster got the blame, whether it actually did the killings or not.
In March 1888 two local hunters, Charles Cox and Edward Dean, set out to hunt down the monster and put an end to all the murders. According to a report in the San Diego Daily Transcript (newspaper) the pair found, and killed, what they were looking for, a creature that was described as a gorilla, with the face of an Indian, and fangs like a bear. The body of the creature was transported to San Diego where it was to go on public display, though before it did, it mysteriously disappeared.
In April of 1876, the San Diego Union reported on an encounter with a "missing link" near Warner's Ranch, also west of Anza-Borrego, by a young man named Turner Helm. According to Helm the creature had dark fur like a bear and a face like an American or Spaniard.
Moving forward in time now to 1964, when a father and son were pelted with rocks by a"shaggy" creature while hiking near Escondido, then later that very same summer, a juvenile Sandman was blamed for the death of three cows on the MGM Ranch near Jamul, again to the west of Anza-Borrego. This time the creature left behind plenty of large human-like tracks in the soft dirt.
In 1985 a set of large, human-like, tracks were found in the mountains near Anza. A local hiker, who reported the story to the BFRO, noted "I have hunted that area and hiked around there over the years. Many times I have been out there and knew or had some feeling of another presence. I don't mean like small animals or anything of that sort; just some unexplained feeling that someone or something has been watching me or following me."
It seems that the Borrego Sandman has had a long and very interesting history for sure.
The Fontana Speedway Monster
As I mentioned in my prior article, the "Speedway Monster" was seen in the area of the Mickey Thompson's Fontana International Dragway during the 1960s. What I didn't know was that this creature who reportedly wandered the fields near the track and rummaged through it's garbage also had a violent side.
In July of 1965 a young boy was attacked by the monster as he walked home. According to the account the creature surprised the lad by jumping out from behind some bushes. As he tried to wrangle away from the monster his clothes were torn to shreds. The child manged to get loose and run away, the monster reportedly didn't give chase.
On August 27th of that same year a young woman named Jerri Mendenhall was attacked while in her parked car on a residential street in Fontana by a mud-covered monster that smelled "like a dead animal". The creature reportedly crabbed her through the open drivers-side window. Frightened, the young woman put the car in gear and stepped on the gas to escape. Again, leaving the monster in the dust.
Oh, and here is a little history. Back in the 1800s an area between what is now the towns LaVerne and Pomona, near Fontana, was known to local Indians as "Toybipet" ("devil woman who was there) the reported hunting ground of a female Bigfoot.
The southern California city of Fontana has had a long and glorious history in auto racing. As most of you probably know, the city is the present home of the Autoclub Speedway which holds a yearly major NASCAR race along with other racing events of different types.
What many of you might not know is way back in the 1950s there was a drag-strip in the area that was considered one of the best in the country. The Mickey Thompson's Fontana International Dragway, as it was called, lasted for almost two decades before a series fatal accidents forced it to close in 1972.
The area is now a housing tract known as the The Village of Heritage and lies about a mile east of Etiwanda Blvd on the north side of Foothill Blvd.
It seems that these race events that took place for two decades in the area attracted more than legions of die-hard race fans, they also attracted a very curious monster.
The height of these sightings took place in the early 1960s when race patrons would regularly spot a giant, harry, Bigfoot-like creature crossing a field adjacent to the track in full view of the grandstands.
The Bigfoot was seen so regularly that it earned the name "Speedway Monster".
Though the animal was witnessed by hundreds of people, no one ever worked up the courage to investigate it.
It is hard to speculate why a creature that is known for being reclusive and shy of humans would trek so close to a race track filled with people and to mention the load noise produced by the cars?
One can only assume that it was curious about what all the fuss was about or more likely that the creature was making plans on rummaging through the tracks trashcans for left-over burgers and hot dogs after everyone cleared out.
Though the speedway closed it's doors in the early 70s reports of the "Speedway Monster" continued in the city of Fontana and the nearby San Bernardino Mountains continued.
In 1975 a group of Boy Scouts were woken up by a Bigfoot rummaging through their campsite near Barton Flats, likewise in 1976 a young man came face-to-face with the creature outside his cabin near Big Bear.
The area of Lytle Creek, in Cajon Pass, near Fontana has been a 'hot-spot' for Bigfoot sightings for decades.
In 1991 Fontana resident John Davis reported that a harry creature on two legs raided his chicken pen.
The most interesting, post Fontana Speedway, story came in 1992 when several motorists on Foothill Blvd spotted a family of Bigfoot walking along the railroad tracks the crossed over the the busy street. The location was reportedly close to the local Ace Hardware store.
This report is so interesting to me personally because my wife's family had move to nearby Rancho Cucamonga at about that same time. I can tell you from first hand experience, that the area of Fontana was no longer a rural area filled with farms and vineyards in 1992. It was an up and coming community with new housing areas and shopping centers.
To believe that a family of Bigfoot would have wandered into this busy area is nothing short of fantastic ........ if it is to be believed?
Then again the "Speedway Monster" has never been known to shy, so who knows?
Many of you are undoubtedly familiar with the legends of Bigfoot and all of his ape-like kin who are reported to dwell in the numerous remote wilderness areas and swamps throughout North America. These vast areas where man seldom treads provides a perfect refuge for these creatures where food and water are plentiful and protection from the elements can be easily attained.
It may come to your surprise that the legendary monster is also a desert dweller as well.
As hard as it may be to fathom there are many reports from the vast deserts of Southern California of Sasquatch-like creatures roaming the sand, much like they do in the lush forest. These very dry areas with little vegetation, and almost no water supply would seem like the last place that a 6-t0-10-foot-tall animal that weighs upwards of 400 pounds, and not to mention is covered with thick fur, would want to call home, yet the sheer number of Bigfoot sightings in these areas are too numerous to ignore.
In the late 1960s reports of Bigfoot sightings in the desert towns of Lancaster and Palmdale reached a feverish pace that lasted well into the 1970s, then tapered off. Though these areas border on the Mojave desert, they also border on the Angeles National forest, so it wouldn't seem to unlikely that the creature could have been lured out of the wilderness and into the desert for some unknown reason.
More bizarre are the stories that have surfaced from nearby Edwards Air Force Base, that is farther inland and farther from the forested areas near Los Angeles, of frequent intrusions by creatures that match the description of Bigfoot. As the story goes, Base Security is in possession of several surveillance video tapes that plainly show giant, up-right, apes trespassing in the numerous underground tunnels under the facility. How, or where, the Bigfoot break into, or gain access to these tunnels has never been revealed, obviously for security reasons, but reportedly these incidents happen rather often, and are a nuisance.
The Mojave Desert and Death Valley are two of Southern California's more famous barren areas, but there is also a stretch of inhospitable desert that stretches from the Mexican border northward to the edges of the San Bernardino mountains. This area to has had it's share of Sasquatch sightings over the decades, and this is the area I wanted to focus on today.
The desert wilderness of the Anza-Borrego area has been home to many a tall-tale and several strange events over the past several hundred years. Many a desert rat has emerged from the region with tales of a mysterious Spanish ship filled with pearls inexplicably marooned in the sand, or of a Viking boat embedded in the rock, strange lights in the night skies, and most commonly, of vast quantities of gold just waiting for some lucky prospector to cart out.
It was undoubtedly the lure of these reported gold deposits that first lured the white man into this desolate area and it is from one of these fortune hunters that the first report of Bigfoot, or the Borrego Sandman as it is known in these parts, came. Reportedly in 1939 a prospector, who when interviewed in the 1970s wished to remain anonymous, was attacked by a large group of upright-walking-apes as he camped near the Borrego Sink. The frightened man described the creatures as very large, covered in white fur, with glowing red eyes. The only thing that saved the man from the attack was the fact that the monsters were afraid of his camp fire.
Another report of giant footprints from that same general area came from a man named Victor Stoyanow in 1964. His story was retold in a famous article in SAGA magazine entitled, "America's Terrifying Woodland Monster-men" in 1969. The piece also featured the story of Harold Lancaster, a miner who encounter the Sandman in 1968. Here is an excerpt:
Gold prospectors and treasure hunters frequently seek their lost bonanzas in isolated areas. Since 1964, treasure hunters in the Borrego Valley desert in California have whispered about "the Abominable Sandmen of Borrego." The arid area is near the Mexican border, it is virtually uninhabited. There are many fissures, caves and crevasses in the Superstition Mountain region and prospectors say the Cocopah Indians have told of a subterranean labyrinth under the mountain, Maj. Victor Stoyanow was seeking an access into the Superstition Hills in January 1964, when he noticed large, humanoid tracks in the sand dunes. "The prints ran in pairs, generally parallel and averaged about 14 inches in length and nine wide at the instep," Major Stoyanow declared. He returned to the desert on several other occasions, made plaster casts of the prints, and snapped photographs."Curious as I am, I hope that the person who discovers what kind of beast it is doesn't happen to be me." Major Stoyanow said after his thorough investigation into the tracks.
The San Diego Union ran an unverifiable article some years ago of a "sandman" that was shot by hunter Frank Cox at Deadman's Hole, near Warner, California in San Diego County. The beast was described as a cross between "a man and a bear." The head was rather small, with protruding teeth and powerful jaws. The muscular creature had feet that measured 24 inches in length and the body weight was estimated to be 400 pounds.Harold Lancaster, treasure hunter, was prospecting in the Borrego Sink, east of the settlement of Borrego Springs. California in July 1968, when he saw a "sandman." "I was camped up on a mesa one morning when I saw a man walking in the desert," he reported. "The figure came closer. I thought it was another prospector. Then, I picked up my binoculars and saw the strangest sight in my life."It was a real giant apeman," Lancaster said. "I had heard about the screaming giant apeman up in Tuolumne County that frightened people for a couple of years. Another person and I even went up there to look for the thing. I decided it was a hoax and never expected to actually see one."
As the "sandman" drew closer, Lancaster became worried. "That thing was big. I was no match for it," he reported. "I had a .22 pistol on my hip but it would have been like shooting at a gorilla with a pea shooter. I was afraid the beast might get too close. So, I fired a couple of rounds into the air. The sandman jumped a good three feet off the ground when the sounds of the shots reached him. He turned his head, looked toward me and then took off running in the other direction!"Why didn't Lancaster shoot the alleged sandman? "I was afraid," he admitted. "They should be protected. They're a form of a human, a primitive species. It would be murder to kill one. They should be studied."
Reports from the area continue to this day. In 1998 some hikers discovered a set of strange footprints near Boundary Peak, close to the Mexican border. Likewise in 1993 a hiker saw a Bigfoot, um ...... using the restroom on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. Reports have also surfaced from military personnel at Camp Pendleton who had encounters with the creature while on maneuvers during the 1960s and 1980s.
ABC News On Fresno Bigfoot Ghost Theory - Javier Ortega
Interesting report from ABC 30 Fresno on the multiple sightings of Bigfoot near the Fresno mountains of California. The reporter interviews some folks that have encountered the legendary creature near Fresno, as well as Dr. Jeff Meldrum and his progress on the investigation of Bigfoot. If you ever have driven through the Fresno mountains then you’d understand the sheer volume and density that the landscapes holds. The mountains and forest is completely surrounded by redwoods, bushes, caves, valleys and rivers…a beautiful place.
There may not be actual giant bipedal humanoids wandering the wilderness, but that hasn't stopped Bigfoot fanatics from coming up with some seriously weird theories explaining all those footprints and blurry videos.
While Bigfoot seems like a North American phenomenon, there are tales of giant wildmen around the world, from the Tibetan Yeti to the Australian Yowie and Siberia's Chunchunya. Could these creatures really be endemic worldwide? Or is there some deep part of the human psyche that peers into the wilderness and sees not something alien, but rather a horrifying reflection of what we could have been (and might still be) without the thin veneer of "civilization" we've wrapped ourselves in?
Or maybe we're actually seeing invisible, telepathic, hypnotic otherdimensional aliens.
Here are the five weirdest theories of what's really going on when people report a Bigfoot sighting.
Theory One: Bigfoot represents a lost species of hominid.
On the surface, this theory doesn't seem that crazy. The deep forests and remote mountains of the world could hide a few evolutionary offshoots. It's a lot harder to hide a sustainable population, though. Within a single habitat, any population below about 500 would be considered severely endangered. While it is technically possible such populations of large primates could exist in several places throughout North America and have escaped detection (no confirmed carcasses, bones, scat, or abandoned nests), it is incredibly unlikely. And trying to explain away the scientific implausibility of this theory gives rise to the increasingly arcane theories that follow.
Theory Two: Bigfoot is a Native American nature spirit.
I know it's culturally insensitive to include this on a list of "bizarre" theories, but cloaking an idea in religion or tradition doesn't make it any less ridiculous. In an early issue of the Bigfoot newsletter The Track Record, Gayle Highpine surveyed the various attitudes of North American tribes toward Bigfoot. Lakota, Dakota and Ojibway consider him a spirit guide and harbinger who brings "signs or messages that there is a need to change, a need to cleanse." One Dakota tribe member told a local newspaper, "They exist in another dimension from us, but can appear in this dimension whenever they have a reason to."
In August, the Humboldt Beacon carried the article, “Validating Bigfoot” which described the work of researchers connected with the Falcon Project who plan to carry out research in Humboldt County. This is the first in a 4-part series.
In 2007 there was an incident that took place in the scientific community that created interest of considerable proportion. Most people didn't really notice what had happened, but Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum had struck the anvil of science so hard that the shock waves of his published paper entitled “Evidence for the Existence of North American Apes” will continue to be felt for years to come.
Scattered across the United States at that time were a handful of men who would feel that shock wave, and eventually unite under the same purpose: to find out exactly what the creature is that is mentioned in Dr. Meldrum's paper, and to capture it on film.
What is a hominoid?
Hominoids are what have, up to now, been collectively labeled as Pre-Humans, (post- Miocene Apes). These are the tailless short armed apes that we've all seen in the fossil record, from the Australopithecines to the Genus Homo.
It simply means the family of apes (according to classification) that resemble humans in their ability to walk on two legs instead of four. Outside of that distinction, Hominoids seem to share most of the same characteristics in the family of Hominidea with other apes.
In modern times, when some of the first foot prints were discovered around logging sites, the term “Bigfoot” was given to the individuals responsible for the tracks, because they had very large feet.
Almost every Native American and First Nation Tribe has a name to describe these creatures. The most popular of these names is Sasquatch. For the purpose of eliminating the confusion of so many different names for this being, we will refer to them here as Hominoids.
Grass Valley Man Announces National Bigfoot Hunt CBS 13
A local man says he came face-to-face with Bigfoot. He said he's getting ready to spot the creature again using balloons.
A Grass Valley miner used to camp for up to five months every year -- just him and his tent, until one night he saw a creature so mysterious he doesn't rest so easy outdoors anymore.
"It just wandered left and right down the canyon here. Then it went 30 feet from car. It was close enough I could reach through the tent and touch it. My heart beating so hard I could hear it," said William Barnes.
William says he will never be the same after his encounter. This gold miner was camping near Greenhorn Creek in July 1997, when at 2 a.m., he came face to face with Bigfoot.
"It took me 4 years to mention it to the first person -- one of my best friends," said William.
Once William opened up about his heart-stopping sighting with the 500-pound mysterious ape, he found out he was not alone.
"About 80 percent don't report it because they get ridiculed," said William.
But William says 16 people in the area told him they've seen the same monstrous mystery.
If there are all these sightings, where are the footprints? William hasn't seen any in Nevada County. He just says look on the ground.
William will set out on a road less traveled, planning to spend a year and $200,000 hunting for the Sasquatch from the sky.
Some journalists and scientists are intent to search for snowmen, which were reportedly seen in taiga of Mountain Shoria, Altai Republic.
Local hunters claimed they had seen tall creatures covered with hair, which looked like snowmen, in February 2009 and even took a picture of their footprint.
Various opinions exist – Russian anthropologists believe that possibility of yeti existence is extremely low, since their bodies have never been found and studied. However, some scientists (I wouldn’t dare to call these people “scientists”, actually) are sure that snowmen exist and, even more, that they have come to Earth from other planets.
The expedition, scheduled to start for the end of September, will hopefully shed light on these mystery.
Does the Loch Ness Monster Have British Relatives? AOL News
The hunt is on for a new lake monster -- not at Scotland's Loch Ness, home of the fabled "Nessie," but this time in nearby England.
Ever since 2006, when the first report emerged from England's biggest lake of a 20-foot-long creature in Lake Windermere, a new lake monster legend has gained strength on the sightings of something dubbed "Bow-Nessie."
Sky News reports that monster hunters are using sonar to try to find the elusive animal that reportedly lurks in the 220-foot-deep, 10-mile-long lake.
Lake Windermere, located in the northern part of England, is a popular holiday and summer home destination and is bordered by two towns, Ambleside and Bowness-on-Windermere -- hence the clever monster nickname, Bow-Nessie.
Couple hears an unusual scream while camping overnight on the Peace River
My husband and I have lived in Charlotte County FL our entire lives. We have camped with our families for over 40 years up the peace river (only accessable by boat) into Desoto county...After Hurrician Charley, We had gone early to set camp and meet friends. Later that evening, we heard an undescribable screem/yell/growl from somethin very big. Because of the number of alligators there, I at first thought an animal was getting bitten and dragged into the water as we heard water splashing and the yell continued and went from sounding hurt and suprised to angry and mad (I had heard for a long time that there was a big foot in that area, but have never heard, smelled, or seen anything...well into our 40's we never thought we would.) The yell lasted approx 5 seconds, going from something sounding like it was hurt fighting and then angry.
Night fisherman has sighting at Clinton Lake boat docks
On my way home I called dad and told him what was going on. He told me back in the 70's, there was sightings of what the town called the Salt Creek monster. I'm no skeptic, but at the same time I haven't ever seen it.
After a while he tells me I should go back and check the place out a little more closely. I decided it was probably a good idea just for some peace of mind. I drive back out to the boat launch, and park in the parking lot. I have the truck lights on as well as my flashlight that I'm scanning the area with. After about 15 minutes I give up and go to leave.
As I'm turning around in the parking lot, the truck lights pick something up standing in the trees. I immediately stomp on the brakes. About 20 yards away I'm looking at something that's probably seven feet tall, not overly muscular but it was covered in black hair. It also had a big pair of yellow eyes. It had a deer in the head lights look about it and it tore off running through the trees along the lake. I had been in track in high school and this easily outpaced the fastest runners I'd ever seen. When it ran it didn't pump its arms. They just swayed a bit. Before I really understood what I was seeing it was gone. I drove my little truck as fast as it could go all the way home.
Late-night roadside sighting by a young man outside of Moultrie
About a year ago, I was coming home from taking my grandmother to work. We lived on a paved but heavily wooded road. There are numerous ponds and fields surrounding the area. As came across the final curve in the road, something caught my eye. Just on the inside of the ditch by the pond before my house stood a figure. At first glance I would have thought my eyes to be playing tricks. I slowed down and stopped fearing that I was going to hit a large animal. I seen this tall figure (roughly 6 feet to 7 feet in height)turn and stare at my headlights. It was Auburn-Brown and had very wirey hair. Its head was kinda of oblong like that of monkey. The face was flat other than the wierd looking nose (looked like a squished pig nose). Its eyes glowed red in the headlights. Once I stopped, it immediately turned and crouched into the ditch below. I was so scared of being attacked that I drove the half mile home, ran inside and told my parents all about it.
Written By: Ken Hulsey
