Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Strange encounter with a 'little man'
This is one of the weirdest stories I’ve ever heard.
Jim, the guy who had this ‘encounter’, is the older brother of one of my closest childhood buddies. Jim is a cool person, very calm and easy-going. He’s a big outdoorsman….a hunter\fisherman kind of guy.
He’s also not into the ‘paranormal’ at all. It was actually humorous for him to even discuss this story.
When I was 12 years old, Jim was around 18 or 19, and he would sometimes let some of his younger siblings and me ride with him when he drove to the cabin that their family owned. It was about 70 miles away, in some heavy wilderness. The men in their family used the place for hunting and fishing.
There was an area that we called "the clearing", which was an open area in a dense woods. You'd follow a trail for about 3/4 mile from the cabin, and you'd come into this clearing, which was an amazing natural circle of trees. We put some tree stumps inside the clearing to sit on. I remember the sunlight filtering through the trees, which sometimes produced a fantastic effect. The place always had this vibe, like it was a powerful spot. It can be spooky. As a kid, I felt like it was almost overwhelming sometimes.
I was at Jim’s house recently, helping him with his computer. We were talking and I brought up the cabin, and I said “ There’s something about that place that’s eerie…it’s mystical”. I told him how the place literally scared me when I was a kid.
He said that he had something ‘absolutely crazy’ to tell me, that he had never told anyone, not even his wife, because it was just too crazy. He felt like I might be ‘understanding’, because of the way I talked about the place.
This is our conversation, almost verbatim…
Jim said: ‘Remember the spot we called 'the clearing'?
I saw something there in August of 1994. You won't believe me..you'll think I'm crazy... I guess a person could try to explain it away as a complete and total hallucination.
I swear I saw it as sure as you’re sitting there.’
Me: What did you see?
Jim: 'I was out there about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, and I was just walking up the trail with my .22 rifle. I was walking really slowly. I scared up a couple grouse and they flew right up in front of me, almost in my face. It got very windy and looked like it was going to rain or storm. As I approached the clearing, I heard this really spooky bird call sound. It was very mournful, like a dove or pigeon. I have no idea if that sound was related to what I saw. I could not place the sound. When I walked into the clearing, I saw this shadow, this movement to my left, so I looked over, thinking it's going to be an animal, and then I saw this little man!'
Me: What????????
Jim: 'This tiny f'ing little man! He was kneeling down, like he was doing something with the plants... he seemed to be waving his hand over some plants, and I think I startled him...he stood up.
I only saw him for about 4-5 seconds...then he disappeared into the shadows. I saw his head, neck, shoulders, upper body, and long skinny arms. He was very thin.
I doubt that he weighed 10 pounds.
I froze, absolutely motionless, and watched him.
I could actually make out some of the features on his face, even though he was in the shadows. He had this really strange appearance, like a cartoon that had come to life.
If he was wearing any clothing, it was some kind of jumpsuit, almost like a type of camouflage… I couldn’t see any discernible shirt or pants.
He was two feet tall....the top of his head was the height of one of our tree stump stools. I got the distinct impression that he was doing something which I interrupted, I caught him by surprise, startled him...and that wasn't cool, and something told me to leave there quickly, so I turned around...I didn't run, but I walked very fast, trying to stay calm and quiet. I didn’t even go back to the cabin. I got in my truck and drove home. I was so freaked out I stopped at the store right before I got home. I got one of those small bottles of whiskey, like a pint, and poured the whole thing into a glass of Coke and drank it.”
Jim asked me who I thought the little man was, and what he was doing.
Like I was supposed to know! I told him I sure as hell don’t know. I’ve been doing some research, and in addition to the standard gnomes and faeries lore, I found some native American stuff about ‘little people’ that is quite interesting. I’ve also read some stories about construction crews in some Scandanavian locales actually re-routing highways so as not to disturb the little people. That’s wild!
Like the majority of ghost stories
, I think most of the stories about ‘little people’ are the result of over-active imaginations, but I believe these little people do exist. Maybe they live underground, or only in densely wooded areas. I also think they totally avoid humans.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Garbage-Eating Troll
It was June 15, 2009, about 14 miles outside of Monroe, Louisiana, near a place called Rocky Branch, where I lived. My son and I were driving toward an old town called Farmerville to get a Coke, and we were using my mother's truck, the gas gauge of which didn't work too well. We ran out of gas. We got out of the truck and began walking back toward Rocky Branch, and in the meantime I called my husband to come pick us up as it was time for him to be getting off of work.
The sun was just starting to set, but not dark out yet. More like shadowy, but you could still see everything real good. Anyway, we knew that we had to walk about five miles to get home, and on the way we had to pass up these three huge garbage cans on the right side of the road, where all the locals hauled their own garbage to.
We were walking along, basically grouching about our predicament. As we passed the garbage cans, we got the shock of our lives. There was this thing that looked just like a freaking Troll out of a Dungeons and Dragons book! It was standing there eating out of the garbage can. It had a big, wide forehead, a long nose with wide nostrils, and a long, skinny chin. It had long white hair and big huge eyes. It had a large torso, but skinny arms and legs. When it saw us, it crouched between the garbage cans, as if it did not want to be seen.
My son took off running like a steak of lightening up the road, yelling "What the hell is that?" He was 17 at the time, and me, well I was right behind him. All I could think of was, "Please don't chase us, whatever you are." My son and I were running like champs and hoping that the thing wasn't mean and that it wasn't following us, because as we walked on it was getting darker and darker, and there were woods on both sides of us.
Finally, my husband came and picked us up along the road after I called him on my cell phone. This story is no joke. This really happened! All I know is, there are some strange beings out there that are as real as you and I are! Just how many, I don't know. But what I do know is that I'm not crazy and I don't do drugs. I don't even drink, to be honest. What I saw was absolutely beyond the shadow of a doubt, REAL!
The sun was just starting to set, but not dark out yet. More like shadowy, but you could still see everything real good. Anyway, we knew that we had to walk about five miles to get home, and on the way we had to pass up these three huge garbage cans on the right side of the road, where all the locals hauled their own garbage to.
We were walking along, basically grouching about our predicament. As we passed the garbage cans, we got the shock of our lives. There was this thing that looked just like a freaking Troll out of a Dungeons and Dragons book! It was standing there eating out of the garbage can. It had a big, wide forehead, a long nose with wide nostrils, and a long, skinny chin. It had long white hair and big huge eyes. It had a large torso, but skinny arms and legs. When it saw us, it crouched between the garbage cans, as if it did not want to be seen.
My son took off running like a steak of lightening up the road, yelling "What the hell is that?" He was 17 at the time, and me, well I was right behind him. All I could think of was, "Please don't chase us, whatever you are." My son and I were running like champs and hoping that the thing wasn't mean and that it wasn't following us, because as we walked on it was getting darker and darker, and there were woods on both sides of us.
Finally, my husband came and picked us up along the road after I called him on my cell phone. This story is no joke. This really happened! All I know is, there are some strange beings out there that are as real as you and I are! Just how many, I don't know. But what I do know is that I'm not crazy and I don't do drugs. I don't even drink, to be honest. What I saw was absolutely beyond the shadow of a doubt, REAL!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
New rash of Bigfoot sightings reported across Fayette County, PA
Is it the power of the pen, the power of suggestion or the promise of anonymity that produced the latest rash of reports of Bigfoot sightings in Fayette County?
An article about a Bigfoot sighting north of Uniontown by a woman who wished to remain anonymous was published in August. Her account was investigated by members of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society and researcher Stan Gordon of Greensburg, perhaps best known for his investigation into an alleged 1965 UFO crash in Kecksburg in Westmoreland County.
Following the publication of the article, Eric Altman, director of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, reports that he has received phone calls about eight additional Bigfoot sightings in Fayette County, four of which were clustered around Dunbar.
"We also had a fifth second-hand report of a teen boy who is alleged to have seen a creature following him through the woods in the Dunbar area while he rode his quad," said Altman, 39, of Jeannette. "The boy is said to be so shook up by the incident that he doesn't want to be interviewed and was so frightened he won't go back to the area."
Altman claims that Fayette County seems to be quite an active area for Bigfoot sightings, based on the inordinate number of calls he has received over the past six months. Besides the Dunbar sightings, two have been reported in the Jumonville area, one in Confluence and one in Connellsville.
"Since the name of the witness in the newspaper account was kept confidential, I feel that people experiencing the same phenomena are now more comfortable and are coming forth to tell their stories," he said
When conducting his research, Altman first interviews the witness on the phone, claiming that, over the years, he has become quite adept at determining if they're telling the truth. After trying to get as much information as he can, he then sets up a face-to-face meeting, preferably at the location of the sighting.
"In a person-to-person meeting, I can read a lot from a witness' body language, eye contact and facial expressions," he said.
The latest sighting report came from Heath Landman of Dunbar, who said he doesn't mind revealing his identity and claims he and his son, Heath Nickolas Jr., 20, saw "something" crossing the road in front of them about 35 to 40 yards away as they were driving on Ferguson Road in Dunbar at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31.
"The creature was walking at a fast pace on two feet, stood about 6 feet 3 inches tall and had a cone-shaped head," said Landman. "It was moving at a good clip without running, got across the road in three steps, then headed up an embankment and into a thicket. The next thing I knew, I heard my son say, "My god, Dad, what was that?"
In a state of shock, Landman turned his car around, headed for home and called his three brothers on the phone. They, along with two nephews, later went with the Landmans to the site where the creature was spotted. After exploring the area, one brother found pieces of hair stuck on brier and a nephew took photos of footprints in the snow, which were shown to Altman during his subsequent investigation.
"The hair found at the site is now protected in a container," said Altman. "We have contacts across the country who can conduct lab tests to try to match the hair to that of known species. We can also do DNA tests on the sample."
Another incident took place on Sept. 23 in the mountains near Dunbar. A mother and daughter out for a drive stopped at a pipeline to take in the view and heard a rustling noise in the brush below. Thinking it might be a bear or a deer, they later saw that it was an upright creature, very muscular and tall, Altman recounted.
"They reported that the creature got to within 150 feet, and just walked away without looking at them or threatening them in any way," said Altman, who met with the witnesses the following morning. "While hiking around the vicinity of the sighting, we discovered a large 19-inch, foot-shaped impression in very hard ground and an area where the brush had been trampled underfoot." While investigating yet another sighting report in the Dunbar area, Altman discovered a deer kill that had been eaten away until only the head and hide remained, as well as a 3-by-10-foot lean-to type structure in the area.
One unusual sighting at the end of July involved a woman who claims to have spotted two creatures just outside Dunbar - one a smaller one eating on some blackberries and a much larger one estimated to be about 10 feet tall. "There have been several reports of multiple sightings in other parts of the state," said Altman. "Many claim that the creatures have large dark eyes and range in size from 7 to 10 feet, are muscular and bulky and have a variety of hair color."
With the recent snowfall, Altman is hoping that people in the area come across unusual or revelatory footprints. Since the recent snowfall, members of the Bigfoot Society have gone back to sighting areas in search of footprints five or six times -- but have found no additional evidence.
"We encourage anyone who's experienced a Bigfoot sighting or who has information on the subject to phone us at 724-516-6344 or file a sighting report on our Web site www.pabigfootsociety.com," said Altman. "We keep the names and personal information of witnesses confidential and promise to take their reports seriously."
Source
An article about a Bigfoot sighting north of Uniontown by a woman who wished to remain anonymous was published in August. Her account was investigated by members of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society and researcher Stan Gordon of Greensburg, perhaps best known for his investigation into an alleged 1965 UFO crash in Kecksburg in Westmoreland County.
Following the publication of the article, Eric Altman, director of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, reports that he has received phone calls about eight additional Bigfoot sightings in Fayette County, four of which were clustered around Dunbar.
"We also had a fifth second-hand report of a teen boy who is alleged to have seen a creature following him through the woods in the Dunbar area while he rode his quad," said Altman, 39, of Jeannette. "The boy is said to be so shook up by the incident that he doesn't want to be interviewed and was so frightened he won't go back to the area."
Altman claims that Fayette County seems to be quite an active area for Bigfoot sightings, based on the inordinate number of calls he has received over the past six months. Besides the Dunbar sightings, two have been reported in the Jumonville area, one in Confluence and one in Connellsville.
"Since the name of the witness in the newspaper account was kept confidential, I feel that people experiencing the same phenomena are now more comfortable and are coming forth to tell their stories," he said
When conducting his research, Altman first interviews the witness on the phone, claiming that, over the years, he has become quite adept at determining if they're telling the truth. After trying to get as much information as he can, he then sets up a face-to-face meeting, preferably at the location of the sighting.
"In a person-to-person meeting, I can read a lot from a witness' body language, eye contact and facial expressions," he said.
The latest sighting report came from Heath Landman of Dunbar, who said he doesn't mind revealing his identity and claims he and his son, Heath Nickolas Jr., 20, saw "something" crossing the road in front of them about 35 to 40 yards away as they were driving on Ferguson Road in Dunbar at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 31.
"The creature was walking at a fast pace on two feet, stood about 6 feet 3 inches tall and had a cone-shaped head," said Landman. "It was moving at a good clip without running, got across the road in three steps, then headed up an embankment and into a thicket. The next thing I knew, I heard my son say, "My god, Dad, what was that?"
In a state of shock, Landman turned his car around, headed for home and called his three brothers on the phone. They, along with two nephews, later went with the Landmans to the site where the creature was spotted. After exploring the area, one brother found pieces of hair stuck on brier and a nephew took photos of footprints in the snow, which were shown to Altman during his subsequent investigation.
"The hair found at the site is now protected in a container," said Altman. "We have contacts across the country who can conduct lab tests to try to match the hair to that of known species. We can also do DNA tests on the sample."
Another incident took place on Sept. 23 in the mountains near Dunbar. A mother and daughter out for a drive stopped at a pipeline to take in the view and heard a rustling noise in the brush below. Thinking it might be a bear or a deer, they later saw that it was an upright creature, very muscular and tall, Altman recounted.
"They reported that the creature got to within 150 feet, and just walked away without looking at them or threatening them in any way," said Altman, who met with the witnesses the following morning. "While hiking around the vicinity of the sighting, we discovered a large 19-inch, foot-shaped impression in very hard ground and an area where the brush had been trampled underfoot." While investigating yet another sighting report in the Dunbar area, Altman discovered a deer kill that had been eaten away until only the head and hide remained, as well as a 3-by-10-foot lean-to type structure in the area.
One unusual sighting at the end of July involved a woman who claims to have spotted two creatures just outside Dunbar - one a smaller one eating on some blackberries and a much larger one estimated to be about 10 feet tall. "There have been several reports of multiple sightings in other parts of the state," said Altman. "Many claim that the creatures have large dark eyes and range in size from 7 to 10 feet, are muscular and bulky and have a variety of hair color."
With the recent snowfall, Altman is hoping that people in the area come across unusual or revelatory footprints. Since the recent snowfall, members of the Bigfoot Society have gone back to sighting areas in search of footprints five or six times -- but have found no additional evidence.
"We encourage anyone who's experienced a Bigfoot sighting or who has information on the subject to phone us at 724-516-6344 or file a sighting report on our Web site www.pabigfootsociety.com," said Altman. "We keep the names and personal information of witnesses confidential and promise to take their reports seriously."
Source
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Lake Ariel Elf
On October 12th, 2009 in Lake Ariel Pennsylvania, a strange incident occurred. I enjoy building little forts in the woods near my house, and I was gathering straight, four-foot-long branches, which are hard to come by. I had gathered about 15 of them, then it was time to go inside to do my homework (it was 4:00 p.m.). I piled the branches neatly in a stack in the middle of a clearing in the woods. I walked to the house and began my homework on the patio.
Once I was finished, I went inside to watch my favorite daily cartoon on TV. At 6:30, the show finished and I got bored. I went on my computer and heard a rustling in a few leaf piles outside my open window. I excused it as one of several of my outdoor cats, and went on with my computer time. At 7:00 I ate my supper and watched the news. I went to bed to read at 9:30 after folding some laundry. I fell asleep at 10:30 and woke up at 8:00 a.m.
I ate my breakfast at 8:15 and watched a cartoon at. At 9:00 it finished so I got dressed and went outside. I had my binoculars for bird watching, and a notebook and pencil to record the birds I saw. I noticed the leaf piles were scattered around the yard and they had to be re-raked. I ignored the fact that more helping my mom rake the yard was coming, and I set straight out to the woods.
I came to work on my branch pile, and saw that about 50 branches, perfectly 4 inches around, and four feet across, had been placed there. I gasped, wondering who found these perfectly straight branches. I was planning on extending my ground bird-watching fort as I hauled several branches at a time to my site. Once I had updated my fort, I sat on the old rickety swing set and read for an hour. I walked around the front of the house for 15 minutes, just poking around ant hills and messing around with grasshoppers.
I came to the backyard to go back to my fort when I saw at my stick piling site, believe it or not, a little human-like creature! It freaked me out just looking at it. I noticed it was piling sticks in the piling site for me -- those perfect, four-inch-around and four-foot-across sticks. The perfectly straight ones. The ones without fault. The little man was climbing trees and snapping out branches. I gasped as it nimbly hopped out of trees and dropped sticks onto the pile.
He was about four feet tall with a hunch in his back and brown hair all over. All I could make out of it is that it was creepy. He had such long hair that it covered everything on its body. Its hands had no hair and they were white. I saw no visible nose, but black beady eyes. He walked like a monkey. I freaked out and stood rooted to the spot. Suddenly, my legs felt ice cold and I ran away, trembling. As I ran, my legs heated up and felt like they were on fire.
When I was in the house with my shade and window closed, all doors locked and shutters closed, I relaxed in my room, cuddling my big golden retriever, Sudsy. We both fell asleep, but we both woke up to the rustling of leaves outside. I cracked open my shutter the tiniest bit and saw the scary human-like creature racing through the leaves, bouncing up and down, and speeding around in circles. It took handsful of leaves and threw them in the air as it danced under the decaying shower. Sudsy growled and the animal stopped dancing, rooted to its spot. It looked shame-faced at the messed up leaf piles and slouched away. My eyes followed its progress as it made its way to the woods. It hopped nimbly into the trees and gathered sticks (presumably for me). It laid them in pile and, suddenly noticing me, it straightened up and grinned at me with crooked, rounded, stubby teeth. It waved its left foot at me, as if it was a greeting, then left, disappearing into the treetops.
For the next few days, it left me sticks until my mother screamed at the sight of my helper. I had started leaving him grapefruit halves, which he ate gratefully, but after the screaming, he peeped through my shutters and then never returned. I have always remembered this unusual creature finding the perfect sticks, but never had Shingle (which I named him) return again. Although Sudsy finds Shingle's footprints in various places in the mud, I have never, ever seen my woods buddy ever again. (Although I occasionally leave out grapefruit, hoping Shingle may one day return.)
Once I was finished, I went inside to watch my favorite daily cartoon on TV. At 6:30, the show finished and I got bored. I went on my computer and heard a rustling in a few leaf piles outside my open window. I excused it as one of several of my outdoor cats, and went on with my computer time. At 7:00 I ate my supper and watched the news. I went to bed to read at 9:30 after folding some laundry. I fell asleep at 10:30 and woke up at 8:00 a.m.
I ate my breakfast at 8:15 and watched a cartoon at. At 9:00 it finished so I got dressed and went outside. I had my binoculars for bird watching, and a notebook and pencil to record the birds I saw. I noticed the leaf piles were scattered around the yard and they had to be re-raked. I ignored the fact that more helping my mom rake the yard was coming, and I set straight out to the woods.
I came to work on my branch pile, and saw that about 50 branches, perfectly 4 inches around, and four feet across, had been placed there. I gasped, wondering who found these perfectly straight branches. I was planning on extending my ground bird-watching fort as I hauled several branches at a time to my site. Once I had updated my fort, I sat on the old rickety swing set and read for an hour. I walked around the front of the house for 15 minutes, just poking around ant hills and messing around with grasshoppers.
I came to the backyard to go back to my fort when I saw at my stick piling site, believe it or not, a little human-like creature! It freaked me out just looking at it. I noticed it was piling sticks in the piling site for me -- those perfect, four-inch-around and four-foot-across sticks. The perfectly straight ones. The ones without fault. The little man was climbing trees and snapping out branches. I gasped as it nimbly hopped out of trees and dropped sticks onto the pile.
He was about four feet tall with a hunch in his back and brown hair all over. All I could make out of it is that it was creepy. He had such long hair that it covered everything on its body. Its hands had no hair and they were white. I saw no visible nose, but black beady eyes. He walked like a monkey. I freaked out and stood rooted to the spot. Suddenly, my legs felt ice cold and I ran away, trembling. As I ran, my legs heated up and felt like they were on fire.
When I was in the house with my shade and window closed, all doors locked and shutters closed, I relaxed in my room, cuddling my big golden retriever, Sudsy. We both fell asleep, but we both woke up to the rustling of leaves outside. I cracked open my shutter the tiniest bit and saw the scary human-like creature racing through the leaves, bouncing up and down, and speeding around in circles. It took handsful of leaves and threw them in the air as it danced under the decaying shower. Sudsy growled and the animal stopped dancing, rooted to its spot. It looked shame-faced at the messed up leaf piles and slouched away. My eyes followed its progress as it made its way to the woods. It hopped nimbly into the trees and gathered sticks (presumably for me). It laid them in pile and, suddenly noticing me, it straightened up and grinned at me with crooked, rounded, stubby teeth. It waved its left foot at me, as if it was a greeting, then left, disappearing into the treetops.
For the next few days, it left me sticks until my mother screamed at the sight of my helper. I had started leaving him grapefruit halves, which he ate gratefully, but after the screaming, he peeped through my shutters and then never returned. I have always remembered this unusual creature finding the perfect sticks, but never had Shingle (which I named him) return again. Although Sudsy finds Shingle's footprints in various places in the mud, I have never, ever seen my woods buddy ever again. (Although I occasionally leave out grapefruit, hoping Shingle may one day return.)
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Woods Helper
My job is to sell low-cost homeowner's insurance in rural counties. Usually, these customers only have rough cabins with wood fire heating (which runs up insurance costs) and cannot be insured by the major companies. My own company takes up this slack.
I arrived on a sunny morning at a very modest cabin in Banks County. It was at the end of a dirt road behind a small stand of trees. Much of the area is forested. I was greeted by a very old woman who told me that she lived alone, but would like to take out a policy on her cabin. I needed to inspect the place and take some pictures, as is routine before offering a contract.
I was walking around to the shed outside when I saw a totally hairy and muscular biped of some sort stacking wood. This thing wore no clothes, but had very long hair covering its entire body. It had a black nose and very large eyes and a mouth very much like a human being, but not quite. It was hard at work stacking wood and did not seem to notice me. I should also mention that it was no bigger than around 3-foot, 5-inches tall, if even that. It was, however, very plump and wide. It made a grunting sound as it worked. It seemed very strong.
I asked the lady what on earth it was, and she casually replied that it was a "woods helper" and that many of the county's old-timer residents had one from time to time to help them with tasks that they were too old to handle. These "woods helpers" only asked for food and some drink. The woman also explained to me that they drank only beer and never seemed to be drunk or disorderly. She said they had been a blessing since long ago to many of the older people in the area. She did not know what species they were. In fact, she did not even understand the word "species," which is not unusual for rural people like her. She said that everybody knew about them, but that not many people liked to talk about them.
I got one more look at the thing before I drove off. It was moving rocks into a runoff ditch this time. It looked like something from a sci-fi magazine or even a comic book. But it was real.
Find out what this small Bigfoot-like creature might be: -----> http://www.whatisbigfoot.com