Tyler Houck - Cryptid U.S.: Tales of Bigfoot, Lake Monsters, and More from Across America

Kangaroos on the Loose! 168
Sewer Gators 173
Mysterious Snakes 175

7. Continue the Search for Cryptids180
Acknowledgements186
Bibliography187
Picture Credits194
About the Author195

Monsters have been with man since the beginning oftime. Every culture has stories of some type of beast, be it adragon, cyclops, or witch. No one today believes in thingslike that, but people still tell stories of strange, unknown creatures.

Almost everyone today has heard of at least one ofthese monsters. Ape like creatures are seen all over theworld, and are called different names depending on whereyou go. In America(and in this book), they are called Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and many other names. In Australiathere is the creature called the Yowie, Nepal has the Yeti, China has a wildman called the Yeren, Russia has the Almaor Almasti, Sumatra has the Orang Pendek, and so on.

Lake monsters are also seen all over the world. Themost famous, by far, is the Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, seen in Scotland. The first recorded sighting of the monster or monsters occurred in 565 A.D, and they have continued until the present day. Coming in a tie for second are Champ in Lake Champlain, which is located between New York and Vermont, and Ogopogo of Okanagan Lake, in Canada.

The United States has had more sightings ofCryptids(hidden or unknown animals) than anywhere else. Aquatic Monsters are seen in many lakes and rivers, hugeape men are said to live in the wilderness, giant, presumably extinct animals are seen flying in the skies, and a menagerie of other unknown beasties are seen all over thecountry.

The creatures in this book are from every corner of thegreat U.S.A, and range from Bigfoot, to Lizard Men, Werewolves, and Lake Monsters. Now you start your journey investigating all the unknowns of the U.S.

The giant, hairy, ape-like creatures known as Bigfootor Sasquatch have been seen all over the U.S. since the firstpeople came to America. There seems to be several types(ifnot separate species) of these creatures across the country. For example, Bigfoots seen in the Eastern part of thecountry and in the south seem to be a bit smaller and more aggressive than those in the pacific northwest. The FoukeMonster, seen near Fouke, Arkansas, has been known to attack humans. Bigfoot on the western side of the country tend to be tall and shy. They try to hide as soon as they seethey have been spotted.

The top state for sightings of Bigfoot or Bigfoot-likecreatures is Washington. Number two on the list for themost sightings in California(The famous Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film was shot in this state) and number three isOregon. The other two states on the top five list are statespeople dont often associate with Bigfoot. Number 4 isOhio(where I live). The Ohio Bigfoot even has its own nickname, the Grassman. Florida, in the number five spot, also has its own Bigfoot called the Skunk Ape.

Those are the five best places to see Bigfoot, but thereare some states where there have been very few sightings. Dont even bother trying to find evidence of a Bigfoot in Hawaii. They just arent there. Delaware also has fewsightings, along with Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Nebraska, Kansas, and the Dakotas. But, always remember, justbecause there arent many Bigfoot sightings in these statesdoesnt mean the creatures are not there (except for Hawaii).

The Pacific Northwest has more Bigfoot sightingsthan anywhere else, and that is where we will start our journey into the Cryptid U.S.

Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest

The date was October 20, 1967. Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin were in Bluff Creek, California, trying to find aSasquatch. As they came to a dried up creek bed, they sawa strange creature. Pattersons horse reared, and fellbackwards upon him. He quickly got up and pulled out hiscamera. He filmed about a minute of footage of what somebelieve is a female Sasquatch.

A frame from Pattersons film Many people consider Pattersons film the best pieceof evidence for Bigfoot. But, many people will also say

Thats just a guy in a gorilla suit! That would be true, buta suit of that quality would be very, very, very expensive in 1967, and the film has never been proven to be a hoax by scientists.

The first Sasquatch sighting by a European occurred around 1000 AD. It took place on the eastern side of North America, far away from the Pacific Northwest. LeifErickson and his crew saw large, hairy, wild men when they got to America. According to Leif, the wild men lived in the woods, had a rank odor, and a deafening shriek.

An early encounter in the Pacific Northwest took placein 1934. A prospector named Albert Ostman was camping near Toba Inlet, British Columbia. One night as he wassleeping, he said a Sasquatch grabbed him and carried himaway from his campsite while in his sleeping bag. TheSasquatch carried him for three hours until it dropped him on a plateau. A family of four of the creatures surrounded him. He said there were three adults and a child. They kept him in the area for six days.

Ostman said one of the creatures stood eight feet tall. He had his gun with him, but didnt shoot any of thecreatures because they had done him no harm. He said theSasquatch fed him a sweet tasting grass while he wasthere. He said the female would collect leaves, wash them, and then stack them up.

After he had been held captive for almost a week, Ostman decided that it was time to try to escape. He gavethe big male Sasquatch some of his snuff, and it made himgroggy. It was then that Ostman escaped.

In 1957, over 24 years later, Ostman decided to tell hisstory because he had seen other stories in the paper. Hedidnt tell his story because he, like most witnesses, didntwant to be thought of as crazy.

Many Sasquatch researchers like John Green havecited this story as evidence of the creatures existence. Some researchers, however, do not believe his story. Bigfoot researcher Peter Byrne says I will not acceptOstmans story without more evidence.

Another story, from 1955, describes William Roesencounter. At first, he thought the creature he was seeing was a bear, but then realized it was something much different. He said it was six feet tall, three feet wide, and weighed approximately 300 pounds. It was covered with dark brown fur with silver tips. It was a female. However, he said Its torso was not curved like a females.

Another encounter occurred in 1940. The Chapman family said they were visited one day by an eight-foot tallSasquatch. Mrs. Chapman and her children, who were athome when the creature appeared, fled. When her husband got home later, he found a heavy fish barrel overturned, and the contents were scattered all over the cabin. Hugefootprints, 16 inches in length, and 8 inches wide, circled the house. The stride was four feet.

Another incident occurred the same year as AlbertOstmans kidnapping in 1924. Fred Beck said that he and four other miners were attacked in the middle of the nightthat July. Several apemen pelted their cabin with rocksand pounded on the sides of the cabin, trying to break in. Before the attack, Beck said they had shot and possibly killed one of the creatures, which could have caused theothers aggressive behavior. In 1967, Beck wrote a book about the experience. He argued that the creatures were