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The Beast At Lake Merril

 

This story isn't actually my own personal experience but is a story that I'm posting on behalf of my dad (he's not internet savvy but wanted to share this when I told him about the site).

It was a few years ago, he and my uncle were driving up to a place called Lake Merrill in the mountains across the bridge and they were having a great time; the weather was nice and everything was cool. But when they rounded this bend that leads up into some very twisty, tangly overgrown backroads they saw a large humanoid-type beast run across the road and into the brush. My dad jerks the car to a stop and gets out to see what it was (he's a pretty fearless hillbilly), thinking it was maybe a grizzly or something of that nature. My uncle is frozen with fear in the passenger side and refuses to leave and calls my dad back; however my dad keeps going.

He reports that the air just reeked-we're backwoods people and we're pretty avid outdoorsman so we know the local flora, fauna, extensive tracking skills, etcetera and he said it was unlike any smell he'd ever smelled before. It was just rancid, sort of like dead fish and musty, wet dog? Is the best way to put it. He gets to the brush and there are no tracks, not rustled leaves, no trace of anything that big going through the way.

Well, Dad's pretty stumped about now, and heads back to car, shaken at this point and unnerved.

They both give the same description of the thing: tall a definite 6 foot minimum, with shaggy, overgrown hair covering its body and it was bipedal and FAST. On separate, one on one occasions with me, they've both disclosed that this thing was no bear (grizzlies typically roam 10 miles more west of this location) and that they believe it to be the infamous Sasquatch of the Pacific Northwest.

I know it sounds lame and pretty usual, and I don't know of its classified as paranormal but I wanted to share their story and get some feedback?

Clickitat and basically every other Northwest native tribe describes this same creature in their folklore and most believe it to be a forest spirit, for the lack of evidence that our environment could support such a population that's been reported. I firmly believe this, and my brother-a park biologist here, agrees also.

What does everyone else think? My dad hopes for some peoples' agreement that he's not a "paranoid old fool that's full of Bologna", as he puts it.

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The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, AndreaRC, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will participate in the discussion and I need help with what I have experienced.

daisy12 (10 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-05-04)
Awesome story, just loved it❀. Want to hear more stories from you.
RitaCMW (2 stories) (16 posts)
 
9 years ago (2015-01-06)
I am interested in knowing if you had reported this to the BFRO as suggested by TomoSWG and others. If so, was it investigated & what was their conclusion?
AshCat (24 posts)
 
10 years ago (2014-02-11)
This has a lot of the common characteristics of a Bigfoot sighting! Especially the smell you mentioned.
lissy86 (4 stories) (10 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-03-14)
We have our own version of bigfoot in Australia called a Yowie from reports I have read it is rather like a squatch, smelly and all but the pelt is more like the colour of an orang utan. 😳
JackalLantern (1 stories) (14 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-03-08)
AndreaRC, just an idea but have you posted a report on BFRO? This has all the makings of a squatch sighting so it might be worth putting on their site as well.
Kolchak (1 stories) (10 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2012-01-27)
In Arkansas we've got a cryptid called The Bogey Creek monster. Its basicly a bigfoot with darker fur and three fingers. And as its name impliese, it lives in the creek. That explanes how it has been able to avoid all us crazey gun slynging hillbillys. I wounder how meny other bigfeet can swim.
geetha50 (15 stories) (986 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-27)
The first thing that crossed my mind that it was big foot. Personally, I wouldn't consider the big foot and other similar creatures paranormal in the sense that they are spirits or ghosts. I think they are unknown creatures that live among us and we have people like your brother trying to find evidence of them. I would also like to hear or read your brother's report.
anneke8 (10 stories) (274 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-27)
Ja Fergi, The Flying Dutchman is one of those unforgetable ghost stories from SA! Hoe kon ek vergeet het! I just see some interesting info on google about Antjie Somers. She/he was a man who dressed in woman's clothing to rob people who gave her a lift. The people were so scared of her that they frightened their children, telling them Antjie Somers is going to come visit them when they a naughty. I read that Antjie Somers still haunts Table Mountain! I wonder about that one...

πŸ€” But I also read that over the years people saw Antjie Somers near some or other spot in Cape Town, so you never know hey? πŸ˜†
AndreaRC (12 stories) (31 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-27)
Rook:
It's not my opinion that they're spirits, the whole idea seems more outlandish than a physical creature to me as well. There's way too much evidence like hair and footprint forensics and,videos,as you said, that point towards a physical being
I agree totally. I haven't made heads or tails of the Patterson film yet though, and I've seen it a billion and one times,ha.Odd, my uncles last name is also Patterson. 😳

Fergie:
Thanks I will!:)

Kolchak:
You overthink,LOL.Its entirely possible here in the Pacific NW, considering we have places like the DD that have currently only been 1% explored and charted by humans. Only a bike trail is there, bit its extremely hard to get to, considered impassable by vehicle for some 25 miles around it, and no official report on the Flora and fauna residing in it has been done yet. Its incredible, how many nooks and crannies that we have yet to investigate, as possibly forest humanoid habitats.
Petersspirit (4 stories) (144 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-26)
Hello AndreaR.C,

Is Big foot a nature ghost that can manifest its self and de manifest its self, the spirits of the trees and there for as tall as they always appear? Or is it a yet to be discovered animal like human creature living in the wide woods and mountains? Who knows? Anyhow, I really liked reading about your fathers and uncles sharing, thank you for posting it!

Greetings:
Peter
Kolchak (1 stories) (10 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-26)
Rook: Your totally right. But the sightings that we have also show that almost all cryptids (Bigfoot, lakemonsters, thunderbirds, lizardmen, the works) have all disappeared without a trace. With our sonar and satellite technology it should be easy as pie to locate cryptids. Yet they remain hidden. I'm not saying that Bigfoot is from another dimension, or is a ghost, or some kind of alien. From the experience that I've had with sasquatch (first hand) these things are real animals. They live (Yes, live) among us. But how could a seven foot tall ape hide so well from an ever growing human population? Headache. Ow.: (
Fergie (40 stories) (1159 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2012-01-26)
[at] Andrea, Go to YGS from South Africa, you might learn some more of our folklore, it can be very interesting! Lol.
[at] Anneke, I agree with you, we don't have any Bigfoot stories that I know of. The only Loch Ness type story is about the 'Great Water Snake' in Swaziland. There may be more, that I have not heard about.
We definitely have a few very famous ghosts. What about 'The Flying Dutchman'? All of these can be viewed on google, plus a few more. Many years ago, I read a book called 'Lost Tales (or Trails) of the Transvaal' compiled by Michael MacCabe. Now, THAT was so interesting! I leant the book out, and it was never returned. I was so cross about that, 'ek kon spooke gevang het!' Sorry for the pun, I couldn't resist it. Lol. It was quite a thick book, with a variety of ghost stories from all over the Transvaal...
rookdygin (24 stories) (4458 posts)
+2
12 years ago (2012-01-26)
It is my opinion that there is more evidence in the sightings of 'Big Foot' that point to them being cryptozological creatures rather than spirits.

Offshoots such as them being from alternate dimensions or sightings of Native American or 'Country of Orign' Spirits (Yeti's and such) just do not seem to have the 'weight' of say the motion picture captured by Paterson and Gimlin in 1967... Then there are the footcasts that show 'dermal' ridges on the toes/bottom of the foot.

So for what it's worth I vote that that the chances are better for Big Foot being proven a Living Creature rather than a Spirit or Deminsional Being of some sort. If you were born and raised in the woods your knowledge of 'woodcraft' would allow you to move pretty quietly and hide well if you so chose too.

Respectfully,

Rook
anneke8 (10 stories) (274 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-26)
Fergie, now that I think about it, SA doesn't have much 'Bigfoots' and 'Lochness Monsters'.
But we have quite a couple of very famous ghosts he?
Like Antjie Somers and Die spook van Uniondale (The Ghost of Uniondale) and Daisie De Melker...:-)
AndreaRC (12 stories) (31 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-26)
Kolchak:
It is a headache! We just need to get to the bottom of this whole thing.:1
Kolchak (1 stories) (10 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Im not shure if Sasquatch is a spirit. I mean, ghosts don't leave tracks right? But then how would one explain they're ability to vanish into thin air, or walk around in the woods without making a sound? Head ache. 😒
AndreaRC (12 stories) (31 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Tomo:
Thanks!I definitely will post the story there also, every thread helps.:)
AndreaRC (12 stories) (31 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Fergie:
I love hearing other cultures folklore as well!:) I liked your 'gorilla' story very much especially;the 'bigfoot' phenomenon has been so widely overdramatized and played put I'm not surprised you'd think it sounded like it came straight out of a movie,haha
AndreaRC (12 stories) (31 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Kolchak:
There are so many theories about their being able to hide for so long but the most common are A.,they're a spirit and not a solid, physical being. More spectral. Or B., that they. Have a den system, like caves and what not. And the ideas are always under observation and study, so advances on the subject are pretty constant.:)
Fergie (40 stories) (1159 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Gee! Andrea, This sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie. I am not doubting your story, please don't think that. Here in South Africa, we only hear of the Tokkelosh, Sangoma's and Nyanga's! πŸ€”
It's good to hear of another countries 'folk lore' as well! 😊
Thank you for sharing!
AndreaRC (12 stories) (31 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Hippies in Oregon? This story happened in Washington, I made a mistake on the location. What does our local scene have to do with anything anyways? Do you live here because you say a lot of things that don't make sense,Moongrim.I've never heard of Sasquatch interbreeding accounts, ever. And I've spent a lot of time on the subject. What they saw, was a Sasquatch. It doesn't fit the description of anything else, and you're being pretty unnecessarily rude, I feel.
Moongrim (2 stories) (871 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
The Bigfoot figure is common to the folklore of most Northwest Native American tribes. Native American Bigfoot creatures are described as around 6-9 feet tall, very strong, hairy, uncivilized, and often foul-smelling, usually living in the woods and often foraging at night. They are almost always said to be unable to speak human languages, using whistles, grunts, and gestures to communicate with each other. In some stories, male Bigfeet are said to be able to mate with human women. They may have minor supernatural powers-- the ability to turn invisible, for example-- but are always considered physical creatures of the forest, not spirits or ghosts.

Http://www.native-languages.org/legends-bigfoot.htm

There are also many stories involving wild, hairy men of the forest in the Plains and Woodland tribes of the US, but those are forest dwarves, no taller than a human toddler.
AndreaRC (12 stories) (31 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Oh the whole Larch area is rich in Sasquatch sightings, and the phenomenon is being studied extensively by my brother and his team to discover possible explainations
I'm excited for his research to come out, its a pretty thrilling idea
Moongrim (2 stories) (871 posts)
+1
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Definitely a Sasquatch? I think not. Considering the sheer number of hippies here in Oregon.

When it comes to Skookumchucks and similiar critters, the Northwest Indians speak of MANY critters. The Sasquatch, Bigfoot, Skunk Ape, etc., are referred to as tricksters, spirits, both tall and small.

And some tales speak of the ability of Bigfoots as interbreeding with humans. Something we cannot do with chimps.
Kolchak (1 stories) (10 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
What your dad saw was definitely a Sasquatch. I think your right that they are supernatural on some level. How else could they stay hidden for this long? Meny apes (including chimpanzees) have been known to releas a stench from a special glan, just like skunks.
TomoSWG (1 posts)
 
12 years ago (2012-01-25)
Sounds like it was a bigfoot to me. You may want to go to www.BFRO.net and add your dad's experience. There may have been other sightings in that area in the past.

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