The Apes of Indiana (Testimonial)

                          

“I was in Indiana when Bigfoot revealed himself to me in November, 2018. My girlfriend and I were camping in a place I grew up in, a National forest wilderness area in Monroe County, in southern Indiana. “  

“We weren't way out, but were tent camping in a horse camp that sees a fair amount of use. It got dark around 7pm and all the wood was too wet to start a fire; so we we’re lying in the tent enjoying the quiet, when I heard footsteps around the back side of our tent. “  

“At any other time, I would've dismissed it as a wolf or coyote, because they're everywhere around there. However, that night 2 fellow campers had gotten into a fight, which end in one of them leaving the site and as the one who remained was very intoxicated and antagonistic, I became worried that he was sneaking around our camp.”

“I said in a loud enough voice ‘if you don't get away from my tent and stop messing with me, I'm going to kill you!’ I'm not real proud of that but we were out far enough that help wouldn't come soon, so I was really just trying to intimidate him. “

“A couple more minutes go by and I hear more steps and this time I hear the door handle on my Nissan (Car) get pulled in. It's a really distinct sound and by this time I was really paying attention because I thought our intoxicated neighbour was already in my camp.”

“So, I come out of tent pretty quickly and pretty aggressively, but there’s nobody there. Not only that, but the guy I think is messing with us is 50 yards away by a fire with his girlfriend. So I shine a light around, don't really see anything & tell myself that maybe I’m hearing a deer we’d seen walking around in the treeline, before sundown.”

“This has been going on for just 15-20 minutes now and I'm starting to feel a little nervous. So, I go back in the tent, but this time I adjust the rainfly a bit, so I can see outside and try to catch a glimpse of whatever it is that I keep hearing.”

“Within a couple minutes, I hear more steps. There's a really bright moon in the sky. I roll over and look out of the opening I made in the rainfly and I see I don't know what? It didn't look or move like anything I'd ever seen before. I continue to watch from inside until it moves out of sight and I bolt back out of the tent to try and see what it is?”

“I ran in the general direction I saw it go, it but it's gone. As I'm standing next to the tent shining the light in the woods, I realise I'm looking at a large figure and it's walking straight to me. I did not believe in Bigfoot until that exact moment in time! “

“So, this horse camp is essentially an opening into thousands of acres of woods and there's nowhere to run. I spin around in a panic and dive back into the tent and zip it up.  The figure was roughly 30 feet away when I saw it and I can hear his footsteps smashing the frozen ground, as he’s coming right to the tent!”

“He, I believe the creature was male, walked up to the back corner of the tent, stood over it, grunted, hit his chest and growled at me. I was frozen! This thing was massive! I'm confident at least nine to ten feet tall and a thousand pounds. “

“As he's intimidating me and I'm lying there frozen; the juvenile (smaller figure) that started all of this was sniffing me, right next to my head. Their silhouettes were clear in the moon light as they stood over the tent, the big male’s shoulders seemed as wide as I am tall. I'm not a small man, but next to this thing I was tiny.” 

“This was when he started making strange noises at the juvenile. It was a very parenting tone. There was a lot of body language involved and he spoke in a series of clicks and pops with his tongue. It wasn't just nonsense because the juvenile was responding back with sounds too, which sounded more like a squealing noise. There were a couple of back and forth communications like this between them and then the juvenile headed into the woods with the adult right behind him.”

“Shortly after this, I heard a loud cry or scream and a real loud whoop noise, followed by over a half dozen different calls in reply coming from all around the woods.” 

“Previous to this experience, I believed that people who talked about creatures like Bigfoot were just engaged in wishful thinking and that if such things existed then we'd surely have evidence?”

“I can tell you that I was so scared to death that my fight or flight instinct chose freeze, that night. I'm 6'2" tall and a healthy 200 pounds, so I've never really been intimidated just by the size of something. However, this "being" just radiated power that I've never felt or seen before. He was there the entire time and I had no clue until he came up out of the woods and I immediately went into ‘timid mode’. “

“I knew he was the superior being between us and that he could crush my spine with minimal effort. That said, he decided not to. He felt that my cowering in the tent was enough. I'm glad they are intelligent enough to make decisions like that...”

I hear so many amazing Bigfoot encounters and this one is not as unusual as one might think. A curious juvenile being shadowed or watched over by an adult who stays hidden, but watching at a respectful distance, while the juvenile explores. The protective actions of a big male that intimidates anything that poses a threat to the ‘child’ and yet stops short of inflicting any harm.

Also, the witness’s claim to witness a rarely observed behaviour...Sasquatch speech, is very intriguing! There are very few accounts of this and I would theorise that it was possibly revealed possibly due to the parental situation of having to instruct ‘a child’.

The reported curiosity and restraint of these creatures does seem to show a remarkably intelligent animal and judging by the physical power they seem to possess, we're quite fortunate that they are not quick to use it.

Written by Andy McGrath

For Books; Merch; Podcasts; Conferences & Expeditions; 

check out: https://linktr.ee/beastsof

The Tornit

Inuit Legends of the arctic tell of large 'Bigfoot-like creatures, known as the Tornit or Alaskan Bushman; that inhabit Alaska's North Slope.

The creatures are reported as being bipedal, reaching 10 feet in height and being either black, brown or greyish, in colour. Large human-like footprints are found in areas where the creatures are reported to live.

The Alaska Bushman is said to love the tundra, unlike its cousin, the Sasquatch, which is usually reported in the vast forests of the Pacific Northwest and is also reputed to have a taste for meat, preying on caribou and other animals. One family who hunt Caribou each fall, from their cabin, between the towns of Barrow and the community of Atqasuk, claim to have had several encounters with the creatures; even claiming to have witnessed a Tornit/Bushman chasing a herd of Caribou about a mile from their cabin, reporting that they saw - 'A big herd of caribou coming towards them, when suddenly a big black creature started chasing them.'

On another occasion the family observed 3 tall black figures watching them from the hill near their cabin.

Another witness claimed to have been followed by one of the creatures, while sailing. The creature, which ran along the shore, followed his boat downriver, before disappearing into the undergrowth.

Whether this animal is the figment of overactive imaginations or the fireside embellishment of a hunter’s tale; what remains is a startling correlation between behaviours and descriptions of Bigfoot-like creatures that have been consistently reported around the world for decades.

It should not be overlooked that Polar bears do frequent the North Slope near Barrow Alaska and if a bear were to lose its fur to mange, then the dark skin beneath would possibly match some of the descriptions given here.

Alaska is a largely unexplored land comprising 663,268 square miles, with a population density of 1.2 people per square mile. The relative isolation in this pristine wilderness, making an ideal hideaway for our hairy friends.

 Written by Andrew McGrath 

For Books; Merch; Podcasts; Conferences & Expeditions; 

check out: -https://linktr.ee/beastsof

Standing Alone, All on his Todd!

In my latest book, Beasts of the World: Hairy Humanoids, I had wanted to investigate the footage of the alleged Bigfoot', that appear in the Todd Standing documentary - Discovering Bigfoot.

My own (poor) attempt at faking some Bigfoot evidence! 

Photo By Andy McGrath

The claim is that Todd has faked his footage either with CGI, animatronic puppets or make up and prosthetics. His claims and the remarkable footage he has produced have divided opinions in the Bigfoot community for many years, culminating with the release of his long awaited documentary. The argument sadly, is no closer to being resolved.

Shortly after the release of Discovering Bigfoot, I posted a summary of the film, stating that I believed that the film vindicated the reputation of Todd and that unless those who doubted his voracity could prove how the creatures depicted within had been faked, then they should accept the footage as genuine.

As you might imagine, the feedback I received regarding this challenge was less than pleasant, but within that considerable trolling, there were some, who pointed out quite correctly that lack of available evidence does not in itself recuse the defendant from standing trial at some point in the future.

Having heard a rumour that Todd Standing's sister was a make-up artist (it is not in fact his sister, but his wife and rumour has it, she's a beautician and not an FX makeup artist.) I thought it prudent to consult someone in the special effects industry, to evaluate the footage and especially to give an opinion on whether or not the creatures depicted in Standing's film, could possibly be created using modern CGI and make up techniques.

Michal Finegold is a Senior CG Technical Director with experience in feature films, television shows and commercials. With an extensive background in both computer programming and traditional art, she has worked on films like - The Hobbit, Noah, Captain America, Happy Feet Two and many others.

Michal examined the footage of all 3 purported Bigfoot close ups, in Todd's documentary (Teddy Squatch, Blinky and The Devil Face.)

Here is her report:

"In my opinion, based on viewing the scenes and based on my experience as a professional visual effects artist, these scenes of Bigfoot could easily be faked by people with professional CG and compositing skills, as well people skilled in creating practical effects - makeup, masks, puppets etc.

'Blinky', looks a lot like a person with makeup and various practical effects. The shot we see of him in the film at 1:01:08 onwards, might seem difficult to manipulate digitally because of the foreground leaves. But what I think is that if any additional comp work was necessary - perhaps to hide any parts of skin not covered well enough by makeup and fur pieces - that could easily be done if the blurry foreground leaves weren't actually there in the original shot. If I were working on this, I'd shoot the man in the makeup without any leaves obscuring him, and then after I do any touch-ups on the computer, I'd composite some leaves on top and blur them like mad, to give the impression that this is shot through leaves, and to make it look like something harder to mess with digitally.

The second one, 'Teddy', with lighter fur and black eyes, first and foremost looks like it could be just a mask or a puppet of some sort. It wouldn't have to be animatronic, there's so little movement. Somebody could just be holding it off camera.

Note, that we don't see eye movement, and in particular, blinking. Wouldn't these creatures blink more? We don't see the face changing expression either - the mouth, the cheeks? Facial animation, and especially blinking and eye movement, are very difficult to do well, and their absence doesn't make sense biologically, but does make a lot of sense if these are fake.

This looks like it could easily be a combination of somebody with makeup and practical effects, and some computer graphics work compositing in those dark eyeballs and perhaps the areas where the fur comes very close to the eyes. Or honestly, it could even just be a very well made puppet.

The last one, the Devil-face, really looks like it could just be a person with black make-up on his skin. I see absolutely no reason to see otherwise.

Also overall, with all of these, they don't move much, and neither does the camera. This makes it particularly easy to composite all sorts of things - images of various animals - as long as they are similarly lit. When the camera doesn't change angles, and the character doesn't, then even pieces of still images can be used and tracked onto the scene. Even if we did see it with more movement and from many different directions, it would still be possible to fake it, but harder. It would require very high quality, full CG modelling and animation, and photo real rendering, in addition to compositing.

The fact that the footage is so short, low resolution and low frame rate, also makes it easier to fake. It means the amount of work is a lot less than if there were, say, several minutes of this at high resolution. That would mean more work to perfect many frames, and more work on each of those frames. Any little digital touch ups are way easier if you only have to do them on a few frames, and even easier when those frames are low resolution and details get lost.

I think an expert compositor would be the most important factor in achieving this footage - because even simple CG work can be made to fit in a scene like this by a good compositor. (Compositor is somebody who works in 2d, using 2d footage and images and putting them together or combining computer generated 3D stuff with 2d footage)

It wouldn’t be too costly, because these are such short clips, and angles that don't change much. The fact that they are short make it easier and less expensive. The fact that they are without a lot of movement or change in angle means you can actually get away with little 3D computer generated work and just have a compositor do everything - or even NO 3D computer generated work and have it all be faked in 2D with footage and makeup or props. (i.e. - you can take a frame from footage of a non-moving Bigfoot mask that somebody is holding, and you can manipulate it even just in 2D to make it seem like it’s moving a tad or even blinking! If you’re an expert compositor and the angles don’t change, that is!)

The compositor services are not cheap, but it can just be one person, not a whole team and just one license for compositing software . And if you do 3D computer generated elements, again it’s just one person and one software license and not a lot of render time since it’s not that many frames and it’s low res, so somebody can do it on their home computer, they don’t need a big expensive render farm like we use at work for big projects.

I would definitely say the images are of a high quality. They look good, the creatures blend into their surroundings nicely, although they would be more impressive if they showed more angles and facial movement, but if they are fake - it’s a smart choice not to show much movement because then it’s easier to make it feel real! Part of good vfx work is sometimes making those smart choices so you can get what you need on a budget

Finally and again, the fact that they barely move, means they could just be some puppet heads someone worked hard on to make look realistic - many people have these skills and do these things every day for films and other projects

So there we have it, Todd's work could be faked (with some effort and expertise I might add!) But does this mean that they are fake? There is so much about Todd Standing's actions that do not make sense to me.

If this is a hoax, then it is one 10 years in the making, (hardly a financial get rich quick scheme!) That has drawn in professionals like, Jeff Meldrum and the now deceased, John Bindernagel. Two seasoned scientists that would not be easily fooled!

Not to mention, of course, that Todd is a skilled and seasoned outdoorsmen, who even took on and impressed, Survivorman presenter, Les Stroud, with his knowledge and skill in the Canadian wilderness.

There has recently been some talk around the campfire, of anonymous actors who have signed non-disclosure agreements with Todd, and are claiming to have been involved in his hoax. But, until names are given and copies of these 'alleged' agreements are brought in to the public realm, I would suggest that these accusations are no more provable at present than any other accusation about Todd Standing, his ethics or his evidence.

For my part, I have always been of the opinion that some of the footage is genuine and some is fake. A strange line to take, I'm sure you'll agree, but it's where I'm currently comfortable to stand. My door always being open, of course, to a greater reveal of any confirming or condemning evidence!

Whether or not you believe in the authenticity of Todd Standing's work, it must be admitted that what he has created, or captured, is of an extraordinary nature and worthy of a little personal investigation.

I would highly recommend watching Discovering Bigfoot, to anyone who is interested in this phenomenon, as an enjoyable and informative bit of telly!

Written by Andrew McGrath

Excerpt for my book - Beasts of the World (Vol.1) Hairy Humanoids

For my: Books; Merch; Podcasts; Conferences & Expeditions, check out - https://linktr.ee/beastsof

LAKE MONSTERS

What are Lake Monsters? Why do people throughout the world and in especial, across the northern hemisphere, claim to see them? 

Are they extant examples of long-forgotten reptiles? If yes, then why are they so rarely seen? Is there a class of, as yet undiscovered, shy gorgon amphibians, cleaving to the nethermost regions of our deep and unmapped meres; or, does a giant eel, whose anatomy is so beyond the pale and scale of every known species of its genus, somehow personify a prehistoric tribute to the past? Who knows? What is known, is that this particular cryptozoological archetype is one which finds  corroboration in the ancient and modern accounts of the world's nations.

My first trip to Loch Ness (photo by Nily Ron)

Whilst the golden age of Lake Monster hunting ended long ago, there are still small pockets of devoted souls, thinly spread across the globe, to whom the weary wait along the water’s edge still holds the promise of detection and discovery. 

These delightfully dedicated and sometimes self-deluded watchers are our sacrificial lambs; stationed along the front lines and absorbing the blows of mockery and social mastication! In so doing, their endless hours of watching and decades-long investigations, provide us with a real- time log of sightings and topographical changes to these phenomena; enabling researchers and sceptics alike, to objectively dissect the hard-won data they have succored on our behalf.

When it comes to the media, many cryptozoologists have an uncomfortable, ‘hand in glove’ relationship, that both benefits; by providing much-needed attention to the field and degrades; through the inevitable sensationalism and obfuscation of the ‘facts’, to fill the theatre, so to speak!  This uneasy alliance has been in place since the early days of the hunt for the Loch Ness Monster and has understandably encouraged some less than savoury characters, to enter this arena, for perceived short term financial gains.

Since those early days, however, we have seen many changes to the way in which information, and in especial, entertainment has been disseminated. More recently, the advent of social media has had an enormous impact on the field; initially removing the theatrical bias of the corporate media giants and opening up the genre to untainted research, directly from researchers on the ground. But, sadly, this new leveling of the playing field too has succumbed to the mechanism of melodrama and an unending aspiration to obtain, likes, shares and subs, that has been seemingly forced upon the faithful as a means of survival in this current epoch - the age of connectivity!

Where to go from here? Is there any direction left within which to search for those undiscovered and elusive animals that continue to evade us? I’d say a resounding yes! Indeed! More than ever before, the tools and information one needs to embark upon such a hunt are gamely available, priced for the masses and ready to be delivered to your door.

So, you might reasonably ask yourself – "what am I waiting for?"

Written by Andrew McGrath

Excerpt for my forthcoming book - Beasts of the World (Vol.2) Water Monsters

For my: Books; Merch; Podcasts; Conferences & Expeditions, check out - https://linktr.ee/beastsof