Latest / Journey to the Fringe / A tale of two creatures

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A tale of two creatures · Journey to the Fringe

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from the unexplained to the mundane join us on
0:21
our journey to the fringe hello and welcome to
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journey to the fringe where we shine lights on
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fringe topics and chelsea one thing we really
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need to address yeah we either need to acknowledge
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that ghost hunters are out there trying to kill
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ghosts or They need a better name. It's just,
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it's simple. Do you think that's why they never
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appear to ghost hunters? I'm just worried they've
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been killing them this whole time. Wow, my mind
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is blown. I think you're right. Yeah, ghost finders.
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Yeah, ghost finders, ghost spotters. I mean,
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we have bird watchers. You can have ghost watchers,
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but like ghost hunters, it's very clear what
1:10
you're trying to do. And we need a better name
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if that's not what you're trying to do. Holy
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shit. Wow. We are your podcast host, Taylor and
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Josie, who cannot stew on this. You need to move
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on because we have a different episode to move
1:23
on to. Here today, doing another Halloween episode,
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and that means a creature feature. And I think
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- It's Halloween month. Yeah. I got my spooky
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Halloween skull right here to remind me of what
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I'm doing right now. To keep you humble. Exactly.
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Keep me on task. Let me go to your head. Yeah.
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Right, I'm recording a Halloween episode. I only
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have one cryptid today. This story is the story
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of the Deer Man, specifically of central Alberta.
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We're going back to our roots here. I did not
1:59
know about this guy. Yeah, well you're about
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to learn something more. I was just wearing a
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jacket growing up. Yeah, this might be him. Throughout
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2019, an anonymous cryptozoologist from central
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Alberta documented a string of alleged Deer Man
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encounters on his blog AlbertaDeerman .com .blog,
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all of which are supposed to have taken place
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in rural communities across the Canadian prairies
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throughout 2018. Why you would do research like
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this and remain anonymous? No idea. But this
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guy is from Alberta, so you know, intentions
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could be blurry. All this guy has on his website
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is blog entries of encounters. Not sure where
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he got them because all the eyewitnesses are
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unnamed, claiming that all of them requested
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that their names be withheld for fear of ridicule.
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And he doesn't seem to do much more than a handful
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of those blog entries. I did a quick search and
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there have been Deer Man sightings also in Ohio,
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Oklahoma, and Delaware. So if we have another
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episode, let's do that. This one's gonna be a
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little bit of a funner episode. So without further
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ado, here's the first sighting of the Alberta
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Deer Man. Now, this report isn't based on the
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experience of a single person, but instead a
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husband and wife. a church -going couple who
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were retired and who both worked for the county
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of Lacombe and both couldn't believe what they
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had seen. As they always did on that day, they
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ate together, had coffee, and decided to drive
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through the country, a tradition they kept for
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the latter part of 20 years. On that fateful
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morning, the two drove through the fog and turned
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off the main highway 50 and decided it would
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be a nice change if they drove down Range Road
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225. A decision that would soon lead to a sighting
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that would never be forgotten. While they drove
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slowly through the fog, they both claimed they
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saw something moving in and out of the fog with
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such great speed that it couldn't have been a
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map. While they continued to drive, they could
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swear it looked like a deer, but it was too large
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to be a deer. Not wanting to scare the unknown
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skittish animal, the husband slowed to a stop
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and waited for a moment or two. in the hopes
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of having it run away, in the hopes of not hitting
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it. Slowly, the husband began driving again and
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was forced to slam on the brakes as standing
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just a few feet in front of them was the dear
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man. It stood perfectly still and slowly stood
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up on its hind legs and is said to have towered
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over their car. Without a second thought, the
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husband slammed on the horn and stepped on the
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gas. The fear took hold of him just before his
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car was to make contact with the deer man and
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it bolted into the fields covered by the thick
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fog. The couple had no idea what they saw and
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didn't stop until they reached their home and
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ran inside. Encounter number two. This encounter
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is shared by a retired librarian whose name has
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been held back for fear of ridicule. It was early
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in the morning and she was making coffee and
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breakfast. She glanced out her window as the
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coffee was brewing. Standing just a few yards
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away was the Deer Man. She recalled that it stood
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perfectly still like a statue and their eyes
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locked and neither one of them blinked. And before
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she knew it, the creature, why didn't she blink?
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She is also a deer man. She will not identify
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herself. I assume when they say something doesn't
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blink it's because it's a paranormal virgin.
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Like I don't understand when she's not blinking.
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Just take her like staring contest very seriously.
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Yeah, maybe she's entranced and before she yeah,
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maybe she's a trained staring artist. Staring
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contest enthusiast. Staring contest. Why is that
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suddenly a tongue twister? Before she knew it,
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the creature slowly made its way to the window.
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Its non -blinking eyes were almost hypnotic.
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maybe it was her eyes could it not have this
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been a regular deer could have been but no this
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is deer man if you didn't listen to the title
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of the episode as this bond was made i don't
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know why it's being described it was quickly
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cut off as the deer blinked just kidding And
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it turned around and began to make its way back
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to where it came from. But not before taking
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a few of the crab apples from her tree. Ever
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since then, she has continued to wake up at the
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same time every single day in the hopes of catching
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a glimpse of what she said was the most majestic
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animal she's ever seen. What the fuck is the
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story? I can't tell if you're active or not at
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this point. This is a serious story. Okay. She
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never felt fear like the others who've reported
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their encounters with the Deer Man. Oh, she wasn't
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scared of the Deer Man. It could have been a
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regular deer, don't you think? If it was stealing
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crab apples. And she wasn't scared. There's nothing
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in the story that would say a deer couldn't do
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that. Yeah, no. I'm not gonna lie. The writing
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on this blog was absolutely atrocious. It was
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just so bad. And the stories that I'm telling
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you, I had to make many changes to them to make
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them at least readable. However, I'm only one
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person and it was so, so bad. I can't even...
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I just need to ask you, the changes you made,
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were they to make it readable or more deer -like?
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The crabapple was mine. Just kidding. Do you
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like it? If you liked it, I put it in there.
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No, it was to make it more readable. There were
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words in there that made it completely illegible.
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Like she was a librarian. I'll get to my thoughts
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at the end of this, but I just usually think
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of librarians as people who have a good handle
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on the language. Yeah, I don't know necessarily
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that it was actual people's encounters more than
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someone just they were all written in the same
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style. To be honest with you, they are all horrible.
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They all had redundant sentences all over the
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place. It was pretty bad. And I'd like to point
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out at this point. We still have no description
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of the actual Dear Man. I'm not sure if that's...
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But I never know whether or not I should or if
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I just missed it because I wasn't paying attention
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for like a two minute window. Yeah, I'd prefer
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not to take any blame for that. I'd like to put
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it squarely on the blog poster's shoulders. Is
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it the blog person's shoulders or is it just
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the fact that we assume we know what a Dear Man
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looks like? Yeah, here's the thing. I thought
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this would be a fun one to share because I don't
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know that I would take this one too serious,
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but I felt like I should still cover it and it's
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this Deer Man of Central Alberta. So I couldn't
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not cover this and it deserves a Halloweeny episode,
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I thought. Yeah. So story number three is the
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farmer and the Deer Man. This report takes place
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smack dab right in Highway 53. west of Donalda,
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and it deals with a farmer and his livestock.
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If you are the faint of heart, I suggest you
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understand that in the world of the living, life
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is born and taken away. With that being said,
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a farmer was awoken one night to the sound of
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his pig screaming with fear. This woke him up
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and caused him to run outside in his underwear.
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Brandishing a rifle, he scanned the area and
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found that all his pigs were accounted for. And
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this checks out because it is Alberta. I can't
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tell you how many times I saw someone running
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with a remote in their underwear. And it's just
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habit, you gotta go check your pigs. Yeah, exactly.
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My pigs, they yell. Is there a chance that someone
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wears underwear? I don't see why not. I mean,
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we don't have a description of them, so your
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guess is as good as mine here. Not knowing just
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what spooked the pigs, he fired two rounds into
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the air in the hopes of scaring what he only
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assumed was a coyote or perhaps another vastly
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larger predator. But on that night, he was called
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yet again. Vastly larger predator in central
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Alberta. Yeah, dear man. Yeah. It's either coyote
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or dear man. Yeah. You never heard that? Either
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Coyote or Deer Man or One -Eyed Jack. Which was
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Deer Man more or less. Yeah, he's pretty much
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Deer Man now that I think of it. So that one
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night he was called yet again to check on his
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cows this time who were crying out in the night.
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The farmer didn't know what to make of it and
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quickly got his son and ran towards the barn.
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The cows were clearly spooked and were stomping
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their hooves and shrieking. Sorry, I don't know
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why they're shrieking. Like, someone was there
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or something. As people who farmed cows, that's
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not how cows act. Even if someone was there or
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something, they don't shriek or something. They
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have slightly different moods depending on the
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circumstances, but not ever considered a shriek.
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I would say that a pig would shriek before a
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cow would, but even then a pig would squeal.
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Yeah, and a cow would squeal even before it would
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shriek. It's true, it's true. He already crossed
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off a coyote as it would have ran away by now
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and everything looked clear. Coyotes don't wear
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underwear. Nope. He was about to leave the barn.
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That was until he heard the floor creak above
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him in the hayloft. That's when he realized that
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whatever it was was hiding up above. He said
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he initially thought it could be kids, perhaps
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wanting to tip a cow or try to rob him before
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he could say a single word. We had two options.
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This is rural Alberta. Yeah, lots of kids robbing
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people out there. Or tipping cows. And those
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are like two things they're doing. Before he
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could say a single word, a noise that filled
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him with fear echoed through the barn, driving
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his animals into a frenzy. Before he could do
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anything, the mysterious figure jumped down and
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bolted through the night. This wasn't the end
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as he fired another shot and this time almost
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hit the deer man. It's a deer man now. It was
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too late and the creature vanished into the night.
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The animals were all unharmed and were on edge
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for the rest of the night. After a few days,
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the dust settled down and life returned to normal
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for the most part. But now he sleeps with one
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eye open and his rifle loaded next to his bed.
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I wonder if he sleeps with actual clothes on
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so he doesn't have to run outside his underwear
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anymore. I got another one. Citing four. This
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is in William Canyon Trail in Denalda. Again,
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founded in 1911, Denalda is a village located
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in central Alberta. I don't know why I didn't
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start with this one and is known for having the
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largest lamp in the world. That's totally an
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Alberta thing. Yep. They got a lot of large things.
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While an elderly woman whose name she didn't
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want to reveal out of fear of public scrutiny.
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recalled her sighting of the elusive deer man
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as she was committed to doing her daily hike
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routine in order to stay fit and active. She
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was alone and just thought that day would be
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like any other. She recalled that she heard nothing
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but silence, a common trait when about to witness
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the deer man. She was taken aback by this as
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she usually heard birds or other hikers in the
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area, but not today. Yeah. Yeah, she stopped
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and was feeling a sense of dread. Soon she heard
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the sound of a twig snapping. As she turned around,
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she came face to face with the dear man who stood
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before her like that of a statue. Is this her?
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citing, or is this her romantic novel rendition
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of it? Yeah, I'm gonna go back again. It's probably
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the blog writers romantic Dear Man novel. Because
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I am now picturing this as like a seven part
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series Dear Man, the untameable, the romantic
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novels. Yeah Amazon if you will notice the writing
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style is much the same for every single sighting
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Yeah, and it there's not much eyewitness about
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it. I would say don't all that is in the middle
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of nowhere, Alberta It is I didn't look at that
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actually look home. Yeah, just above Stettler.
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Yeah, you didn't mention the big lamp though
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No, I did not mention the big lamp for I've not
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seen the big lamp not middle of nowhere. There's
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a big lamp Yeah, biggest city is either Red deer,
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which is pretty big or cameras. Yes. Oh, it's
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over there. Equal parts between. OK, so let's
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remember that she just turned around. She heard
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a twig snap. Could have been her stepping on
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a twig. That was not clarified for us at this
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point. Turns around. Deer man's there. The feeling
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of terror washed over her and she didn't move
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an inch. The deer man took a step towards her
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and towards a clear few feet taller than her.
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That sentence didn't even make sense. It attempted
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to communicate, she recalled, as if it was trying
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to talk, but all it could mutter was that of
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what a deer makes while warning others. What?
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Have you ever heard a deer warn you of something?
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What does it say? He's saying it like we should
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know. I don't know. I really don't know. Yeah,
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I don't know. the day was cool and damp though
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this was completely naked like a wild man okay
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yeah this is the romantic novel version she just
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alludes to that there's dick flopping out like
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everywhere it didn't show any effects of said
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weather not a shiver or a tremble It reached
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out with his hand in an attempt to touch it.
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Before it could, in the distance, a conversation
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could be heard between two other hikers and a
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dog that was barking like it was rabbit. The
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next thing she knew, the dear man bolted from
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the scene. Just what it was about to do is up
17:05
for debate. But one thing for sure is, if this
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creature was attempting to communicate with a
17:12
person, where was it about to prey on its next
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victim? No one can say for sure, but its fear
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of being spotted by people wasn't an issue before,
17:21
until the sound of a dog. Is this creature afraid
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of our four -legged companions? Or did it fear
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retaliation if it decided to be hostile in search
17:30
of food? After the event took place, she decided
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to run towards the others and warn them of what
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she had witnessed. Not knowing exactly what she
17:39
was talking about, they believed she saw something
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truly terrifying. As they left her, they had
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to restrain their dog as it began going crazy,
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attempting to break itself free from its owners
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and run to the unknown. Okay, I have one last
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one. This sighting comes in from a 17 year old
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kid traveling to see his friends on a Friday
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night on a May long weekend. usually these details.
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He was cruising around and exploring the countryside,
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but on this day he got lost driving down Rage
18:09
Road 174. It's such vague details with all of
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a sudden a very specific detail. Yeah. And decided
18:16
to pull off the road and turned off to the Crop
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Production Services Road. As he was driving way
18:22
below the speed limit in an attempt to find his
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way back, he coasted until he came to a complete
18:28
stop at the site that befell him. was one of
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monstrous. The very thought of a half man half
18:35
deer on all fours standing perfectly still. Well
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there's one thing we found out about Deer Man
18:40
so far and that is that he stands perfectly still.
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That's about the only thing that we can put together
18:47
from all of these. His dick is swaying. We can't
18:51
get that from one story. Especially from the
18:55
last one. He was definitely naked. The strange
19:03
creature was attempting to cross the rope but
19:06
stood perfectly still like a statue. What? It
19:09
was attempting to cross the rope but it stood
19:12
perfectly still. Perfectly deer like. Oh my god.
19:16
That is perfectly deer like actually. They freeze.
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Oh, someone is here. I must freeze. yeah right
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in front of the fast moving object not knowing
19:27
what to do he just sat there his mouth wide open
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i don't know if this is the deer or the boy the
19:36
stench of musk filled the air and soon seconds
19:40
turned into minutes he was afraid to move even
19:43
an inch as he thought at any moment that beast
19:45
could attack him and do god knows what thoughts
19:48
were racing through his head and his parents
19:50
not knowing where he was of him not graduating
19:54
not going to prom and not being able to follow
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his dreams the deer man slowly stood up revealing
20:00
its true height and slowly it began to walk towards
20:04
the car moving just like that of a deer very
20:16
quickly in skittish movements but very slowly.
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While the temperature dropped, steam can be seen
20:23
shooting out of its nose. It silently towards
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him and began letting out snorts that cut through
20:30
the air and filled him with fear. Just as the
20:33
dear man stood a few feet from the driver's side
20:35
window, the young man began to cry and without
20:39
a spare second, he threw the vehicle into drive
20:42
and sped off. The last of the dear man occupying
20:45
the same distance as the nameless individual
20:48
was that he slowly began to run towards the vehicle
20:51
until it gave up. Through his rear -view mirror,
20:54
he saw it get back on all fours and return into
20:56
the darkness. I didn't give you all the stories.
21:03
I'm going to be honest with you. I thought the
21:05
Dear Man was a fun thing and it was the Dear
21:08
Man of Central Alberta. And I just, once I started
21:12
reading this and editing this, I was like, there's
21:14
no way I can't do this in all of its glory. It
21:18
hasn't happened. It does need to be a romantic
21:20
novel series. It does. So to me, just my feel
21:25
of it, and I hate to do this on a Halloween episode,
21:28
but I also love to do this on a Halloween episode.
21:30
I feel like Taylor will regain what I lost on
21:34
this, but I honestly feel like it's a 17, 18
21:38
year old who was like, I'm gonna start a blog.
21:41
It's like someone who doesn't really have a working
21:44
idea of cryptids. I could slap something together
21:47
much better. And there is an actual dear man
21:50
out there, like I listed. There's a bunch in
21:53
Ohio, Delaware, Oklahoma. it's actually out there.
21:58
This guy could have given it much more details
22:01
to make it a little bit more substantial, but
22:04
he clearly just made it all up. I was really
22:06
hoping for more. Or he just accepted stories
22:11
too. No, because these are all written in the
22:15
same exact narrative. They are all written in
22:18
the same person. That doesn't mean... that he
22:20
didn't have other people give him stories and
22:23
he wrote them. That's true. He could have got
22:26
some ideas, but you can tell he made up the details.
22:30
He wrote the stories. There's no eyewitness.
22:32
There's no quotes. There's no consensus. There's
22:36
not even a description of the creature. We all
22:38
have to just assume that we're all seeing the
22:41
same thing and that is a deer head on a human
22:45
body. Is that what you get from it? That's what
22:48
I'm seeing in my mind. It's a human body with
22:53
a deer head. Yeah, no, that's got to be what
22:56
it is. Deer man. Maybe it's a human with deer
22:59
horns. Fully deer to the bottom of the neck and
23:03
then human all the way down from there. Yeah.
23:07
All of its genitalia glory. Yeah, yeah, no, I
23:10
definitely picture it with human genitals. But
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I like it's not even like this guy was taking
23:16
encounters and just did a shitty job Relaying
23:19
them like these are not encounters. They are
23:22
not at all He didn't give descriptions or anything
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and the funny thing that I found about this is
23:27
blogs actually linked back to this citing it
23:30
as a source When they say dear man is a cryptid
23:34
because he came up in my research and I was like,
23:36
oh he sounds good and people give vague descriptions
23:40
and then say that it links back to this guy here's
23:43
the blog and then these are stories directly
23:45
from the blog there's literally last it was updated
23:49
with years ago this guy says stay tuned i'm gonna
23:52
give you more stories he never comes back with
23:55
and yeah so i was hoping for more i got too much
24:00
into the research before these are highly edited
24:03
by me and you listen to them they're not great
24:07
No, Chelsea, it's trying to give us the best
24:09
representation of the stories. I really did.
24:13
And I read them so nicely for you. And so when
24:16
it's not a Halloween episode, because it's a
24:19
scary time of year, you got to like I don't want
24:22
to put too much stress on you being too scared.
24:25
So I needed to lighten it up a little. We'll
24:27
have another scary episode of the other Dear
24:30
Man sightings and we'll we'll do an actual Dear
24:33
Man episode for you. But. Without further ado,
24:37
I think Taylor needs to redeem this episode now.
24:40
You're welcome. I think I can, Chelsea, because
24:43
the next story I knew it comes most strictly
24:47
from police reports. OK, that's much better.
24:51
Almost the opposite of what I just did. Yeah,
24:55
I think this is going to be good because Chelsea,
24:57
we're going to be taking a look at the big muddy
24:59
monster, which I almost see. I think he almost
25:03
sounds like a blues guitarist. but he is not
25:06
he is a cryptid in murphysboro illinois wow illinois
25:11
again eh yeah i told you i had a theme what's
25:15
going on in illinois a quiet town nestled along
25:18
the big muddy river what unfolded over the course
25:21
of two weeks will become one of the most thoroughly
25:25
documented cryptic cases of American history.
25:28
What? Complete with official police reports,
25:31
terrified witnesses, and a mystery that still
25:34
lingers to this day. So, Chelsea? Yeah? We're
25:37
going back to June 25th, 1973. OK, quick question.
25:41
Is this him bowling? Oh, yeah. That's that big
25:43
muddy boy. OK, he's bowling, I think. Yeah. I
25:46
mean, he's got the thick thighs that I'm looking
25:48
for. Yeah. Just brace yourself. This might be
25:50
a Bigfoot episode. Okay, but Dear Man was in
25:55
it, so it's not fully... We can't commit it to
25:57
a full episode. Big Muddy Monster might be a
26:02
Bigfoot. I'm just warning everybody at the start.
26:04
He does look like a Bigfoot, yep. But I welcome
26:08
him with open arms. I do. I'll accept him as
26:11
he is. We're gonna start on June 25th, 1973.
26:14
A humid Monday night in Murfreesboro, Illinois.
26:17
Around 11 pm, Randy Needham and Judy Johnson,
26:21
two young locals, were parked near the Riverside
26:24
Park boat dock, a secluded area along the Big
26:27
Muddy River popular with couples looking for
26:30
privacy. I'm sure they were just taking in the
26:32
views, hoping to see some Deer Man dong or something
26:35
like that. Suddenly, the quiet evening was shattered
26:44
by a loud rustling in the nearby woods. At first,
26:48
they thought it might be a raccoon or a deer,
26:50
but then something enormous emerged from the
26:52
trees. According to their statements in the police
26:54
report, the creature was at least seven feet
26:58
tall, possibly taller. was covered in long, shavy,
27:01
matted hair or off -white hair, soaked and streaked
27:05
with mud. Its eyes glowed red in the darkness
27:08
and it emitted a stench so overpowering that
27:11
both witnesses described it as sickening, a mix
27:13
of rotting garbage and sulfur. The creature didn't
27:17
make any vocal sounds, but it moved with purpose.
27:20
Stepping toward the car, Needham and Johnson
27:22
panicked. They sped away and drove straight to
27:25
the Murfreesboro Police Department, visibly shaken
27:27
and nearly incoherent with fear. Officer Nash
27:31
and Officer Manwaring were dispatched to the
27:33
scene. When they arrived, they found large, fresh
27:36
footprints in the mud, approximately 10 to 12
27:38
inches long and deeply pressing to the ground,
27:41
suggesting a creature of considerable height.
27:44
The officers also noted a lingering odor in the
27:47
air describing it in the reports as strong and
27:50
offensive. They reached the area with flashlights
27:52
but found no sign of the creature however the
27:55
physical evidence footprints broken branches
27:57
and the pungent smell was enough to convince
27:59
them that something unusual had occurred. Chief
28:02
Toby Berger was notified and took the report
28:06
seriously. He later stated that the witnesses
28:08
appeared genuinely terrified and that their story
28:11
remained consistent under questioning. The police
28:14
report from that night is one of the most detailed
28:17
in the entire Big Muddy Monster case and it set
28:20
the tone for the investigation that followed.
28:23
The siting wasn't just the beginning, it was
28:26
the catalyst. It turned a quiet river town in
28:28
the epicenter of one of the most documented cryptic
28:30
investigations in US history. And it's still
28:33
one of the most compelling accounts not just
28:35
because of what was seen but because of how seriously
28:37
it was taken by law enforcement. The next day,
28:41
Chief Toby Berger launched a full -scale investigation.
28:45
Officers returned to the scene with tracking
28:47
dogs. According to the report, dogs picked up
28:50
a scent but refused to follow it. Something about
28:52
the trail terrified them. The detail was noted
28:55
explicitly in the police documentation, adding
28:58
credibility to the fear surrounding the creature.
29:02
Now, around 10 .30pm that evening, June 26th,
29:06
A call came in from Cheryl Ray, a resident near
29:08
the park. She and her daughter had seen a large
29:12
hairy creature moving through their backyard.
29:15
Officer Nash and Manwaring were dispatched immediately.
29:18
According to the police report filed that night,
29:21
the woman described the creature as very tall,
29:23
covered in white hair, and walking upright. She
29:26
said it passed through her yard, heading towards
29:28
the woods, and her daughter, who was visibly
29:30
frightened, corroborated the sighting. Both described
29:33
a terrible smell that lingered in the air after
29:36
the creature disappeared. When officers arrived,
29:39
they noted several physical signs, broken branches,
29:42
disturbed underbrush, and a trail of large footprints
29:44
leading away from the property. Prints were similar
29:47
to those found the night before. Deep impressions
29:50
left roughly 10 to 12 inches long, spaced in
29:54
a way that suggests a bipedal gait. The police
29:56
report also mentions that the officers themselves
29:59
detected the odor described by the witnesses.
30:01
It was strong, accurate, and unlike anything
30:04
they had encountered before. One officer compared
30:07
it to a mix of sewage and wet dog, while another
30:10
said it was enough to make you gag. Tracking
30:12
dogs were brought in again and once more they
30:15
picked up the scent, but just like the previous
30:16
night they refused to follow it. The report notes
30:19
that dogs whined and backed away, clearly disturbed
30:22
by whatever they sensed in the woods. Chief Berger
30:25
later commented that his second sighting, coming
30:28
from a residential area involving a child, added
30:31
a new layer of concern. The consistency in the
30:34
creature's description, its size, hair color,
30:36
smell, and speed matched the previous report
30:39
almost exactly and the physical evidence gave
30:41
weight to the claim. In the early hours of June
30:44
27th at 2am, Officer Nash was patrolling near
30:48
the Big Muddy River, close to the area of previous
30:51
sightings. The night was quiet, humid, and heavy
30:54
with tension. Murfreesboro had already seen two
30:57
unsettling reports in his many days and officers
31:00
were on edge. While scanning the brush with his
31:03
spotlight, Nash noticed movement. Something large
31:06
and fast starting through the undergrowth. He
31:08
radioed for backup immediately with the minutes
31:10
chief Toby Berger. Officer Manwaring and several
31:14
other officers arrived on the scene. According
31:16
to the police report filed that morning, the
31:18
team began a coordinated search of the wooded
31:20
area near the river. They moved slowly, flashlights
31:23
cutting through the dense foliage, weapons drawn
31:26
not out of aggression but caution. The previous
31:29
reports had described a creature that was massive,
31:32
unpredictable and foul -smelling. Then they found
31:34
a trail of fresh footprints. These prints were
31:37
similar to those documented on June 25th and
31:39
26th, approximately 10 -12 inches long. Deeply
31:43
embedded in the soft ground, spaced in a way
31:45
that suggested a bipedal gait. The officers also
31:49
noted broken branches and disturbed vegetation,
31:51
consistent with something large moving through
31:54
the area. But the most striking detail in the
31:57
report was the smell. Once again, the officers
31:59
described a strong offensive odor, lingering
32:02
in the air like a warning. One officer compared
32:06
it to rotting meat mixed with stagnant water.
32:09
Another said it was unlike anything I've ever
32:11
smelled in my career. Despite the physical evidence,
32:14
the creature itself remained elusive. The team
32:17
continued searching for over an hour, but the
32:19
trail eventually went cold. The report notes
32:22
that the terrain became too difficult to navigate
32:25
and the visibility was limited. Still, the officers
32:28
were convinced that something had passed through,
32:30
something big, fast, and very real. Later that
32:33
day, a local resident named Ray Miller contacted
32:36
the police to report a sighting near his home.
32:39
He described the creature as gorilla -like but
32:41
taller, with long white hair and glowing eyes.
32:44
Though his account wasn't filed as a formal report,
32:47
it was added to the investigation notes and matched
32:49
the previous descriptions almost perfectly. The
32:52
third encounter marked a turning point in the
32:54
investigation. It wasn't just isolated witnesses
32:57
anymore, it was trained officers working through
33:01
together, documenting physical evidence in real
33:03
time. The consistency across all three reports,
33:06
size, hair, color, odor, and behavior, suggests
33:08
a pattern, and the fear was no longer just among
33:11
civilians. It had reached the rank of law enforcement.
33:15
By now, the story had reached local newspapers,
33:17
and they ran headlines like, monster sighted
33:20
in Murfreesboro. Reporters from Chicago and St.
33:23
Louis arrived. Riverside Park became a circus
33:26
of monster hunters, skeptics, and curious families.
33:29
And on the evening of July 7th, a group of local
33:33
teenagers reported a new sighting near the Big
33:36
Muddy River. According to the police reports
33:38
filed that night, the teens had been walking
33:41
along the riverbank when they saw something massive
33:44
moving through the trees. They described it as
33:47
huge, white, and fast. A blur of fur and motion
33:50
that vanished into the woods almost as quickly
33:52
as it appeared. The teens were visibly shaken
33:55
when they contacted authorities. Officers responded
33:58
promptly arriving at the scene to investigate.
34:01
The police report states that the area was thick
34:04
with brush and difficult to navigate but police
34:07
officers did find physical signs consistent with
34:10
previous encounters. Large footprints embedded
34:13
in the soft ground, broken branches and once
34:15
again the unmistakable stench. The odor was reported
34:19
in the report as strong and offensive. similar
34:22
to the description from June, a mix of rotting
34:25
vegetation, sewage, and wet animal fur. Officers
34:28
noted that the smell lingered in the air long
34:30
after the creature had disappeared, suggesting
34:32
it had passed through recently. What made the
34:35
sighting particularly compelling was the consistency.
34:39
The creature's size, speed, hair, color, and
34:42
smell matched every previous report. And while
34:45
the teens didn't get a close look at its face,
34:48
They were adamant about its upright posture and
34:51
the unnatural way it moved, fast, fluid, and
34:54
silent. The police report also mentions that
34:57
the officers attempted to follow the trail but
34:59
lost it as the terrain became more difficult.
35:02
No further physical evidence was recovered and
35:04
the creature was not seen again. It marks the
35:10
end of the documented encounters during the 1973
35:12
investigation. After that night, no new reports
35:16
were filed and the Big Muddy Monster seemed to
35:18
vanish as mysteriously as it had appeared. Now
35:21
there are some theories. Some believe it was
35:23
an escaped exotic animal, perhaps a bear or ape.
35:26
Others thought it was a prank or mass hysteria.
35:29
Cryptozoologists propose it could be a regional
35:31
Bigfoot variant, and skeptics point to the lack
35:34
of hard evidence. But believers held firm, citing
35:36
the consistency of sightings and the genuine
35:39
fear expressed by the witnesses. Though the sightings
35:42
taper off, the legend of Big Muddy Monster never
35:46
die. Murfreesboro embraced its mysterious visitor.
35:50
and the town now hosts an annual Big Muddy Monster
35:53
Festival, celebrating the lore with costumes,
35:56
storytelling, and community events. What makes
35:59
the Big Muddy Monster so compelling isn't just
36:02
the creature, it's the atmosphere, the humid
36:04
summer nights, the river mists, the small town
36:07
backdrop, and it's the story that blends fear,
36:10
mystery, and community. It's about a town responding
36:12
to the unknown, not with panic, but with curiosity
36:15
and folklore. And Chelsea, I find this guy super
36:18
fascinating. And yes, you can actually go to
36:20
the Murphysboro Monster or the Big Muddy Monster
36:23
Festival every year in Murphysboro, Illinois.
36:26
Like they have a statue of him too. Thank you
36:29
first off for grounding my episode and how I
36:32
started that. That's for sure. This is exactly
36:38
what this episode needed coming off of what I
36:40
did. How cool is that sighting? I've never even
36:45
heard of them, and that has to be one of the
36:46
coolest ones. First of all, he's an albino Bigfoot.
36:50
I know. Except in the first sighting, it could
36:53
be black or white. They didn't know for sure.
36:55
Well, he was so covered in fucking mud. He was
36:58
filthy. He's big in money, yeah. I'm going to
37:00
say he was probably white in that one, too. And
37:04
that would explain the glowing red eyes. He was
37:07
albino. Now. What about let's float a theory
37:11
here that okay, here's what I'm picking up on
37:14
like I think he seems like he's probably a Bigfoot
37:18
and The thing about Bigfoot is we did such a
37:23
good episode on Bigfoot like back when we first
37:25
started It's in the history books for journey
37:28
to the fringe and that one was a good one It's
37:32
paranormal Bigfoot and paranormal Bigfoot is
37:35
not a guy that is Should we call him different
37:38
than a cryptid? Because I feel like a cryptid
37:41
is something based in this reality. To the parameters
37:45
of our reality, yeah. Yeah, and I feel like paranormal
37:49
Bigfoot, which I think is what Bigfoot is at
37:52
his core. He's a paranormal dude. He is in and
37:56
out of this reality, which would explain a lot
38:00
in relation to this Bigfoot sighting, which you're
38:03
not going to ever see someone who's a Bigfoot.
38:06
person ever fess up to that he's anything but
38:09
for us on a halloween episode because there's
38:12
a lot we can talk about within that particularly
38:14
the smells that always seem to come up with these
38:17
creatures yeah but who doesn't have a smell every
38:19
once in a while and my other theory is sulfur
38:24
particularly and maybe just maybe this one i'm
38:31
gonna rank Probably like third or fourth on my
38:34
list of other possible things. Paranormal Bigfoot,
38:37
number one. I'm pretty sure that's why he would
38:39
never be seen again. He came into this reality.
38:43
He checked it out and he was like, nope. And
38:46
that was that. The fourth maybe, maybe two, maybe
38:50
two or three, he's in a freezer. Oh, he could
38:52
be in a freezer. That's fair. Yeah. And hence
38:56
why we haven't seen him a whole lot ever again.
39:00
Or by that chili. Yep. Walmart Chili. Yeah. So
39:05
those are my theories about where the albino
39:08
Bigfoot went. He's rare. He's more rare than
39:13
a regular paranormal Bigfoot. And that was a
39:17
beautiful episode. Yes. And good on the law enforcement.
39:21
Good on them. If I was a police officer, I picture
39:24
myself in all these different careers in this
39:27
podcast. If I was a police officer, I feel like
39:30
I would do that too. Yeah, yeah. Say hello. Yes,
39:35
it's three in the morning. A Bigfoot sighting.
39:38
I will stop at nothing. No other town will get
39:43
in my way to finding this. But this with the
39:49
sign over to closed on the PlayStation run out.
39:53
And I would take the most detailed, beautiful
39:57
notes you will have ever seen. And I would be
40:01
paying attention to every detail. And they would
40:04
say unknown creature. And I would be like, say
40:07
no more. That's probably Bigfoot. We're busy.
40:10
I'm all in on this. Yeah. I'm really happy about
40:14
that episode. I'm glad because I have been Taylor
40:17
here with Chelsea. We are journey to the fringe.
40:19
Thank you all for listening and we'll see you
40:20
next week. Bye. Thank you for listening to Journey
40:24
to the Fringe. If you have liked what you have
40:27
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40:55
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40:59
I'll see you in the next episode.