In the summer of 2007, I took a trip to Winsted to see if I could get more information about the legendary Wildman. Many of the newer residents had never heard the story, but a trip to the local historical society proved worthwhile. Although many believe that something was seen during that time, no one will say exactly what. You have to remember that in 1895, the Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Yeti or whatever you want to call this creature was unknown. However, people in many different parts of the United States encountered human-like ape creatures in the woods and, as in the case of the Winsted sighting, were simply referred to as “Wildmen.” During my visit, I found the original news story and talked to several people who knew about the infamous creature. I was also told of another sighting that took place in the late sixties in Kent, Connecticut, only about 10 miles north of my home. Concerning the report below, I was not able to track down the original witness, but I did get the story from the Danbury News Times, which carried an account of the sighting in 1969.
The Bulls Bridge Bigfoot
This sighting happened in 1968 when the witness was a young boy, about seven or eight years old. It was a cloudy day in late September and the boy was playing near a window in a two-story farmhouse when something outside caught his attention. He watched as a hairy nine-foot-tall creature came over a hill and crossed the front yard. It had a huge stride, as if in a hurry. It kept looking back as it walked, swinging its long arms. When it turned its head, the creature had to turn its shoulders to be able to look toward his direction. The young boy stood motionless, watching as the hairy ape-like figure moved up a hill. The creature slowed down and made eye contact with the boy for only a second. Its eyes glowed like an animal at night when light is shined in its face. The boy later said that he could see the creature clearly because it was still daylight, and he didn’t get scared until it disappeared around the side of the house. That’s when he ran in to the kitchen where his parents were playing cards with another couple. The boy tried to get their attention, but they took it as whining for a treat; a nuisance. It wasn’t until the parents escorted the boy out the front door and slammed the door in his face that they figured out something was wrong: he started yelling, screaming, and kicking the door. Terrified, the boy continued screaming, beating and kicking the door, crying to be let in. His parents let the boy inside and with fearful tears, he told them about the “hairy man.”
His father and a friend went outside to look around, probably thinking they would find a loose cow. The witness then recalls what happened next: “I’ll never forget the look on their faces when they saw the footprints that dwarfed their own.” The father’s friend was a tall man of around six-foot two or three, and when he stretched his legs to step from one footprint to another, it was nearly impossible for him to match the creature’s stride. Their disbelief had turned to fear. Wanting to follow the tracks that went across a recently plowed field, they agreed going in a car would be quicker and safer. They drove down a dirt road and followed the tracks as they crossed the road and up a small hill. The tracks then went into another plowed field and just disappeared as if the creature vanished into thin air.
Since this report also came from Litchfield County, Connecticut, I wondered if this was another sighting of the infamous Wildman. I had learned through local residents that there were eight more sightings of the creature from 1969 to 2008, mostly by hunters in the deep wooded areas of Shelton, Kent, Sharon, and New Milford, well away from populated areas. I explored one of these locations with three other people in 2008. As we walked into the woods, we heard a loud whooping sound that turned into a scream and then a growl. Whatever was making the noise, it sounded like we were getting too close and the creature wanted us to stay away. I later listened to a number of alleged Bigfoot sounds taped from all parts of North America and I must say, several of them sounded exactly like what my research team and I heard that day. If this creature is an ancient ancestor of man, it’s remarkable that it could hide out in one of the most populated areas of the United States for so many years without being shot by hunters or captured on camera. However, if we take into account that this may be a creature that is able to merge in and out of our dimensional reality, its appearance, disappearance, and elusiveness would make sense.
Bigfoot On Video
The following case is a classic in Bigfoot history because it involves the first home movie of the creature ever taken. If the film is not a hoax, it represents undisputable evidence that Bigfoot does exist and the creature can be photographed. Over the years, a number of skeptics have claimed the movie shows nothing more than a man in an ape costume walking in front of the camera. They also claim that when still images are blown up, you can actually see a zipper in the back of the costume. I have looked closely at the video and never saw a zipper or any other evidence to indicate that it is a large man in an ape suit. I have to remind my readers that when a photograph of any type of paranormal event is very clear and sharp, people question it and say it must be fake. On the other hand, when a blurry photograph is presented in which you cannot make out what is on the video or still image, for some reason, there are more skeptics and true believers who will give it validity.
The Patterson Film
On October 20, 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin were out looking for Bigfoot in the Bluff Creek Riverbed area of northern California on horseback. Their intent that day was to gather footage of the Sasquatch habitat—they really did not expect to actually see one. While riding their horses, suddenly one reared, bucking Patterson off, but he was able to grab the 16mm camera from the saddle bag just in time. Gimlin held his horse firm, and watched in awe as the sequence unfolded. Patterson thought his horse reared because of a cougar or bear, and wanted to film it. Instead, they were confronted with a large, dark, hair-covered body crouching down in the riverbed. With only a little more than one minute left of film, Patterson began filming. As he did, the creature stood up and began to walk away quickly. With his camera in hand, Patterson began chasing the animal, while Gimlin spoke a major concern for Patterson’s safety. Patterson tried to catch up to the creature and filmed what has become the most compelling film evidence ever gathered of a live Sasquatch. The film is shaky in the beginning, but becomes more stable toward the end when the animal can be clearly seen and identified. Twenty years after the video was shot, several men who lived in the same town as Patterson came forward and said they were in an ape suit and that Patterson paid them to help perpetrate the hoax. When I heard this, it made me laugh; it reminded me of a similar claim after UFO sightings in the Hudson Valley. Several groups of pilots came forward and claimed that they were responsible for the sightings by flying in close formation and attaching unconventional lights to the wings of their planes. Actually very few people believed their claims, and those who actually saw the UFO didn’t buy it at all. As in the case of the Patterson film, someone is always going to claim responsibility for a dramatic event to achieve their “fifteen minutes of fame” and perhaps make some money on the side.
Today, this Bigfoot footage is called “The Patterson Film” and in the late sixties, the film appeared on all major television networks in the United States and then on TV stations around the world. Just like a controversial UFO sighting with great photographs, there are those who believe it is real, while others insist that it’s a hoax. In my opinion, it is the best image of Bigfoot I have ever seen.
Searching For the Hairy Bogeyman of Thailand
The only thing I found beneficial about my enlistment with the U.S. military was the travel. I was stationed in countries I most likely would never have seen, especially those in the eastern part of the world. From 1969 to 1971, I was stationed at a number of different military bases in southeast Asia, but the country I found the most interesting and beautiful was Thailand. Thailand is called the “land of the smiling faces” and for good reason: when people come up to you and say hello, they have big smiles on their faces and really mean it. During my stay, I was a
ble to travel through the backcountry of the north, explore many of the old ruins, and track down some local legends. I found the scenery extraordinary and the people a refreshing change from Westerners. My Italian heritage and the hot Asian summer sun made my skin very dark so I didn’t look like a typical American. Thai people occasionally mistook me as a visitor from India and although my Thai was choppy, I could get by in most conversations. Also, because of the American military presence at the time, many of the more educated Thai people spoke perfect English, so communicating my needs and getting information was not a problem.
While exploring old temple ruins near the village of Phimai, I was invited to join the local residents at a community lunch and dinner. People there are mostly Buddhist and are taught to always welcome you into their home, even if you are a stranger. At the time, the village had a population of perhaps two hundred people and was located down a dirt path about a mile or so from the Phimai ruins. Over dinner one night, the elders of the town told me of a “hairy wild man” that lived in the jungle and would occasionally come into the old temple to sleep at night and collect food the villagers would leave for him. The creature was described as being 8 feet tall with long red and black hair all over his body. I was told that it stood straight up like a man but could not talk and had the face and eyes of a human. Although the beast stayed out of the village, the people would bring food to the center of the old ruins hoping that this would satisfy it and it would leave them alone. I asked if the creature ever harmed anyone. One of the elders replied that as long as they left it food, the beast (which they thought was some type of nature spirit) would not harm them. One of the villagers who spoke English told me that fifty years ago (1920) the creature came into the village at night. He took food, broke into a hut, and stole two young sisters aged fourteen and sixteen. The beast picked up both of the girls with one arm and with the other arm, threw a sack of rice over its shoulder and ran back into the woods.
The girls were never seen again, and local legend says that the “Wildman” took them for mates. The villagers believed that the ridge above the temple is where the creature lives with his family. According to the story, several children were born that are a hybrid between a human and the Wildman. The stories of this beast are very similar to the Western tales of the bogeyman. Children in this village were told that unless they behaved, the Wildman from the hills would come down at night, take them away, and they would disappear forever, never to see friends and family again.
My Day in the Temple
After my conversation with the village elders, I asked permission to look through the ruins just to see what I could find. Although the legend of the Wildman was on my mind, my main purpose for visiting this location was to study and photograph the old temple. I still had at least six hours of daylight and decided to make the most of it. I was alone at this time and, as I was young, I often took foolish risks and traveled into the backcountry alone with only a concealed 45-caliber hand gun for protection (which, by the way, I never had to use).
I walked through the halls of the eight-hundred-year-old temple and marveled at the sculptures and carvings. Some of the inner sanctums and chambers were quite dark and—I must admit—a little scary. I walked down a dark corridor and shined my light ahead, almost expecting to see the creature’s face. I spent the next four hours taking notes and photographs; but as the sun started setting, I remembered what the elder said about the beast coming down from the hills to gather food the townspeople left for it in the temple. As I began walking toward the main entrance, I heard a very loud sound in the jungle as if something very large was coming down the hill. It was twilight and at least a half hour’s walk to the village so yes, I admit it, I chickened out because it was getting closer and sounded very big!
I quickly exited the temple and was greeted by a number of the villagers carrying prepared food and flowers to place in the ruins. I told them about the sounds I heard and they seemed quite frightened, but one brave lad took the food and ran into the main part of the temple, dropped it on the stone floor, and ran back out yelling that he had seen the creature walking down the corridor that joined with the main hall. I shined my light in the hall and saw nothing, but the young man then grabbed my light and said, “You will make it angry!” I grabbed the flashlight back from him and told them that I was going to walk inside to see if I could see this thing. One of the older boys said I was ba ba bow, Thai slang translating to “very, very crazy.” He held on to my arm and said “Don’t go! You will make the beast angry, it will come and steal our animals and take the children!” At that point I acquiesced; I needed a place to spend the night and if the elders thought I was breaking their laws or putting them in danger, they probably wouldn’t have let me stay in the village for the night—I would have been on my own. The thought of traveling back through the jungle at night was not a pleasing one; the nearest town with transportation was a 10-mile hike away!
After returning from the temple, I had dinner with a family that was kind enough to let me sleep in one of their rooms. At about two in the morning, I woke and heard the cries of some type of animal in the direction of the ruins. The best description I can offer was a yelping, growling, and screaming noise unlike any animal’s I had ever heard. Whatever it was sounded almost human, but then its vocalization would shift and become more animal-like. It seemed to be coming from at least three creatures, and I heard it most of the night. As I listened, my thoughts went back to my younger days in New York watching Half Human. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that someday I would be in an Asian jungle possibly encountering a Sasquatch-like creature.
The next morning I went back to the temple to see if there was any trace of what was there the night before, but I found nothing. The creature had left no evidence of its existence, like it was some type of phantom not from our world. I thoroughly searched the ruins and afterward, returned to the village to say goodbye. I asked the elders for permission to return with two or three of my friends to spend the night in the ruins. At first they were reluctant, but agreed if we left behind our weapons and anything that could be used to harm the beast. I agreed, thanked them, and journeyed back to the city I was staying in which at that time was called Korat. Korat was the location of an American military base and was 70 kilometers southeast of Phimai village.
Stakeout
Due to military obligations (and the fact that the Vietnam War was in full swing), I didn’t get back to the village and the ruins for another two months. Meanwhile, I had another problem: trying to talk a couple of my buddies into coming along with me. At that time I was something of a platoon leader and had to promise them several days R & R (rest and relaxation) in Bangkok after the trip. Finally, two guys agreed, Charlie and Bill whose home states were West Virginia and Tennessee, respectively. I want to remind my readers that this adventure took place forty years ago and we were all at the time a part of Special Forces and attached to the 173rd Airborne; despite our young age, all three of us had seen a considerable amount of combat action. As it turned out, however, not even that would prepare us for what was about to take place.
We arrived at the village in the late morning and were greeted by the locals. By then, the villagers had come to know me and welcomed my companions with open arms. I had brought a number of gifts for the children, the elders, and of course the family that was kind enough to let me stay in their home during my last visit. We were due back at the base in four days so I had only planned to spend one night in the ruins and leave the following morning. Now, I must make it perfectly clear that we were not part of a research team and had a very limited budget; we were soldiers so the extent of our equipment was two flashlights with extra batteries and one camera. If we did find anything, documenting it was of little concern. I didn’t really care who believed me; all I wanted to do was to get a glimpse of this creature, most likely due to my fascination with Half Human.
As the afternoon drew to an
end, we dropped off our weapons with the elders and proceeded to the temple ruins. I wanted to camp in the courtyard next to the side entrance that led to the main hall—this doorway was in close proximity to the jungle and the hill where I heard the noise during my last visit. The area was quite overgrown but we were able to make ourselves comfortable. As evening approached, I told my companions we would take two-hour shifts during the night. Darkness fell and the sounds of various animals could be heard in the distance, mostly birds and monkeys, but every now and then there would be a cry or shriek from something unidentifiable that brought all three of us to our feet looking out to the dark jungle.
At midnight all was quiet, and if it weren’t for the bats buzzing around our heads, it would have been peaceful. The temperature was 85 degrees or so with high humidity; the sky was partly cloudy with no moon. We began our watch as two lay down on the stone floor using our sleeping bags as beds while one person stayed awake with a flashlight. I took the first shift and for those two hours all was quiet. I then woke up Bill for his shift. I went to lie down and drifted into a very light sleep. About an hour later, I saw flashes of light and heard thunder in the distance—a storm was approaching. I lay back down and thought to myself that once it started raining, I would move everyone into the main chamber and stay close to the entrance.
Files From the Edge Page 13