Original subtitles

fd

[ animal growling ]

[ crow caws |

fd

[ distant scream |]

fd

fd

[ animal shrieks ]

fd

fd

[ wings flutter ]

[ dog growls |

fd

[ sinister music plays ]

[ birds chirp ]

[ crow caws |

fd

Adams: Something was throwing it right at us.

[ animal growling ]

It was so close, but there was no sign of a person.

[ loud, heavy thudding ]

Something was breaking saplings, just kind of crunch, crunch.

The whole mood went from, "let's have a good time

And sing around the campfire,"

To, "oh, what do we do now?"

[ animal growls ]

| said, "if you want to know the truth, it sounds like bigfoot."

[ animal growls ]

fd

fd

My name is rodney adams. I'm from louisville, Kentucky.

Any time that | really could, | spent outdoors,

And I've just been in the woods my whole life.

fd

On this particular weekend, | had a nice big job on a Friday

And a nice one on a Monday,

And they were both relatively close but very far from home,

So | decided | was just going to camp through the weekend

Instead of driving back.

fd

| was on a kayaking, backpacking forum,

And | just kind of posted, "hey, Camping alone this weekend,"

And | said, "anybody wants to join me,

I'd love to have some company,"

Because camping by yourself down there can get a little,

You know, shady sometimes.

[ birds chirping ]

And | just wasn't ready for that kind of solace, | don't think.

| was hoping to have some company.

fd

[ upbeat music plays ]

fd

| had been to the gorge quite a bit before.

It's a very unique area.

fd

It's paradise, a very beautiful place.

fd

| arrived about...

You know, it was probably 6:00, | guess.

The other guys actually show up right about then.

-Hey, it's rodney, right? -Yeah.

Yeah, I'm john, and this is chris.

Nice to meet you.

| was like, "yeah, I've hiked down there a couple of times.

| haven't really stayed."

Got all my stuff together, and | had a backpack.

fd

Can you tell this is our first time proper camping?

Come on.

| had been to the red river gorge as a student in kentucky

At the university of kentucky.

| spent many, many weekends there.

fd

It's just beautiful.

Old-growth forest, the trees are 200-plus years old,

And | like to be as remote as possible.

[ sinister music plays ]

[ distant scream |]

fd

There has been sightings of wolf in that area,

Coyote for sure, bobcat,

And there was an occasional bear through there.

Nowadays, there's actually a lot more.

The bear have actually moved back into that area.

Pretty much spent my whole life in the woods

In some shape or form.

I've never really been a hunter.

| felt pretty comfortable in there

With the amount of wildlife that's there.

That's probably why | didn't really have a weapon with me

Other than a machete for chopping limbs.

[ crows caw, wings flutter ]

fd

[ crow caws |

It's just solid woods, thousands and thousands of acres,

Very dense, very old-growth forest.

fd

In the summertime, you really can't see, you know,

40, 50 feet, even during the day,

Because it's just so dense.

fd

[ wings flutter ]

fd

[ animal growling ]

fd

fd

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There's a big ridge and a bluff there,

And then down below there was a waterfall and a huge stream,

And the stream, it's just crystal clear.

It's beautiful.

[ upbeat music plays ]

fd

[ awed laughter |]

Here's our home for the night.

Amazing.

fd

When we saw that spot, it just...Ah.

It just shined to us.

You know, that was the spot we wanted.

It's beautiful and perfect.

We get down there, start setting up.

fd

You know, | get my bedroll out and get my tent set up

And get all that nailed down before it started to get dark,

Which was really not a whole lot of time.

You know, about 2 hours is all you really got.

I'm going to go get some wood.

| always build as big of a fire as | can get

And keep it going all night.

The last thing you want to do is have to scrounge for wood

In the dark,

And if you don't have a fire going there,

The coyote are coming.

Coyotes are a real threat, but they don't like fire.

The ones we have nowadays seem to be

Actually kind of mixed with dog,

So they're bigger than the average coyote,

And they're actually a little meaner.

[ sizzling ]

fd

fd

[ animal growls ]

[ fire crackles, birds chirp ]

fd

Decided | better get my pots and pans and scrub out the stuff

Because if you let them sit for a day,

You'll be scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing,

So | get down near the water

And just kind of scrub out the pans.

[ animal growls ]

fd

[ animal growls ]

[ wings flutter ]

fd

[ animal growling ]

fd

[ animal growls ]

You could hear it splash, you know,

Overtop the sound of the babbling creek

That's constantly running.

| really just kind of looked around,

And | was really startled because | didn't see anybody.

[ animal growls ]

fd

[ somber music plays |

[ animal growls ]

A little bit of hemingway's nectar?

Oh, there we go.

Thanks, man.

-May |? -Yeah, absolutely.

Adams: I've got a little bottle of kentucky bourbon in my pack

Because it's a lot easier than carrying a 12-pack of beer.

Here you go, buddy.

Adams: And that's, you know, just kind of giggling and carrying on

And really not listening to or thinking about what's out there.

[ light growl ]

[ birds chirping ]

About 20, 30 minutes into the whole sitting around the fire,

| hear a rock come boom and hit the ground.

fd

It actually landed right in front of me

And rolled right up to the fire pit.

Hey! Hey!

Who's up there?

It kind of startled us because it was so close.

It was like something was throwing it right at us,

But, you know, there was no sign of a person.

It's huge.

| actually realized when | picked it up

That it had been pulled up out of the ground

Because you could see the fresh dirt on it.

Hey!

Who's out there?

You better not be messing with us!

fd

When that second rock came in, it made a really big splash.

[ music climbs ]

Something had to have a significant amount of power

To throw that rock.

Quit messing with us!

Leave us alone!

Both of those guys at that point became kind of visibly scared,

And the whole mood went from,

"let's have a good time and sing around the campfire,"

To, "oh, what do we do now?"

Hey!

fd

fd

[ fire crackles ] [ animal growls ]

fd

[ animal breathes heavily ]

fd

Once it had gotten a little darker

Is when we started to hear things.

[ animal growls ]

[ animal growls ]

[ animal growls ]

[ animal growls ]

[ crash! ]

[ crash! ]

[ crash! ]

fd

Is there somebody out there?

[ distant crashes |]

You know, of course, we got no response,

And that's when the vocalization started to happen.

[ animal growling ]

It was very guttural, like a [imitates growl]

[ grunting-like noise ]

Really low, you could feel the force

Of that grunt in your body.

[ animal grunts ]

It must be a deer or something. It'll move on.

| wanted to really think in my mind that it was a large buck,

But it would've had to been reallylarge buck,

And | hadn't seen any sign of a deer.

[ growling continues ]

We heard the second vocalization

Probably 10 minutes after the first one,

But it was different. It was kind of like a

[imitates growl] sound.

[ short bark-like growl ]

That one probably, | would say, 40 to 50 feet over to the right

From where it was the first time.

[ bark-like growl continues | [ thudding ]

| hear whap! Just really loud, crack!

Like somebody had grabbed a piece of wood

And smacked it against a tree. [ thudding continues |

It caught me off guard. It was very loud.

It really sounded like a baseball bat.

[ thudding ]

fd

| really couldn't think of how that would happen naturally.

fd

Something was breaking saplings, just kind of crunch, crunch.

fd

You know, the commotion of a large creature of some kind.

fd

Well, | heard definitely some rustling and some snaps

But bipedal heavy footfalls,

And they're heavy.

[ branches crunching, heavy footfalls ]

fd

It's on two legs and not four because,

You know, the sounds of four is, like, kind of a

[imitates four-legged footfall]

And nota [imitates two-legged footfall]

But it really had a heavy footfall.

fd

It sent chills up my back.

In fact, | think I'm getting goose bumps now

Just thinking about it.

[ animal growls ]

And so, at that point in my mind,

I'm already realizing that whatever I'm dealing with,

It's not a deer, and it's not a human.

[ animal growls ]

[ crash! ]

[ animal growls ]

It wasn't what | had heard before.

It started out very low, kind of, "ah!"

[ animal roars ]

fd

And at that point, | was able to really tell

Exactly where it was coming from.

What is it?

Shh!

Keep quiet.

| could see this creature standing next to the tree,

And there was enough moonlight that | could see an outline,

And | could tell that it was very large.

You know, you could actually see the fur kind of glistening

In the moonlight a little bit.

And | couldn't see its face,

But | could tell from where it was standing

That it was much taller than me and much wider than me.

| grabbed my flashlight, and | shined it up there,

And when | did, it ducked behind the tree,

But | could see the edge of it still there,

And it was trying not to be seen.

Where did it go?

| hear a crack.

fd

A cedar limb almost hit me.

| remember seeing it flipping end over end

Through the fire light,

And it went right past my head.

Look out!

And I'm thinking, "oh, wow. Now it's throwing limbs at me."

Ah!

So | decide I'm going to throw things back at it.

| don't know if it was a great move or not,

But it felt like the thing to do at the time.

Somebody's messing with us.

| said, "it's not a somebody. It's a something."

fd

fd

fd

[ animal growls ]

Adams: They were pretty unnerved at this point.

| said, "if you want to know the truth, it sounds like bigfoot."

Both of those guys were kind of visibly scared

And definitely in fight-or-flight mode,

But | wasn't really ready to run off.

| was a little nervous, the fact

That | didn't have a firearm of any kind.

The only real weapon | had was a machete,

But | really didn't visualize myself

Doing hand-to-hand combat with whatever this was.

And then I'm thinking, "if we leave, how many more are there?

Is it just one creature here, or am | dealing with creatures?"

Guys, we're going to have to post watch.

I'll go first.

You guys get some sleep.

[ animal growls ]

fd

They got in the tent.

| got the first watch, and | felt

That | was safer with the fire,

And | know right here there's only a couple directions

Where it could come at me.

[ animal growls ]

| still wasn't really sure if this thing was going to

Just rip us limb from limb,

And | think, in my mind, | thought it might.

| was just ready for it to happen at any moment.

fd

And from that point on, things started to gradually die down,

And | actually felt more comfortable,

And | decided that | was going to try to get some rest,

| guess "if you can't beat them, go to sleep" kind of philosophy.

fd

fd

| eventually get into my tent at about 12:00.

fd

And | had left camping pans stacked

Over by the edge of the creek there.

[ clatter ]

| hear my pans get knocked over, and I'm thinking,

"oh, it's probably a raccoon."

[ loud clattering ]

And then | hear some more intense rummaging,

Like it's got one of my pans in its hand

And maybe trying to scrape something out of it.

fd

| could see it over there, and it's got my pan in its hand,

And it's just kind of scraping the edges of it.

It pretty much just froze me in fear.

| couldn't even move.

It made me feel confused, scared, terrified all at once.

It was actually kind of hunched over.

Even then, it was taller than my tent.

It was probably 6, 7 foot without standing up straight.

[ growls ]

What else really shocked me was the width of the shoulders.

| mean, it looked like if you picture your standard doorway

That this thing would have to duck

And turn sideways to get through a door.

To me, it looked like the missing link

Between a large primate and a human.

Definitely had very long arms, like, the ratio of arm to body

Was longer than a human,

Was built, like, similar to a gorilla but much taller,

And it's got that width and that bulk of a gorilla

But just bigger, a whole lot bigger.

[ clatter ] [ growls ]

It threw my pans down, and it just went [growls]

Made that loud grunt kind of sound.

[ grunting ]

Man: We got to get out of here. Come on. Let's go.

Where are we going to go, out there in the dark

With that thing?

It really scared the living daylights out of me,

Even at that distance, and it looked at me.

[ growls ]

| grabbed my flashlight again and went, "hey!"

Leave us alone!

And | hit it right in the face.

[ growls ]

| could see its eyes...

fd

...And its teeth.

| knew what | was looking at,

And there was no doubt at that point

That what | was looking at was bigfoot.

fd

fd

[ growls ]

| could see its eyes and its teeth.

| knew what | was looking at, and there was no doubt

At that point that what | was looking at was bigfoot.

[ growls ]

It really looked like | caught it off guard,

And it just kind of looked at me with this grimacing face.

fd

| kind of ran back.

| was actually terrified.

| definitely felt that it was coming all the way at us,

But it stopped.

| guess it didn't want to enter

Into the clearing of our campsite.

Guys, | need your help!

Get out here!

But at this point, | was very disturbed

And definitely in fight-or-flight mode,

But | wasn't really ready to run off.

It was more like fight mode.

Hey!

Get out of here!

Ah!

I'm actually yelling and screaming in its direction,

"you expletive expletive, get the heck out of here!"

Hal!

Get out of here! -We should go out there.

We're not going out there.

Leave us alone!

Get out of here!

Hal!

[ grumble-like growls ]

Adams: When it was retreating out

Was when that first long vocalization

Came out, that, "ah," kind of a sound.

It really sounded like it was a frustration,

Mad kind of a vocalization.

[ long growl ]

[ long growl ]

fd

It let out another [grunts] kind of a sound,

And it kind of scurried up around the side of the hill.

[ leaves crunching ] [ bark-like growl ]

It was just kind of crunching all the way up,

And then it went up above us onto that ridge,

And it would vocalize like, "ah,"

But, you know, it was getting further away.

[ distant roar ]

Does this sound mean, you know, he's giving up

And this is his last-ditch effort to try to scare us out,

Or does this particular sound mean

He's calling in his buddies?

fd

Am | hearing the one that | just had an experience with,

Or are there more than one?

fd

It almost sounded like somebody answered it from over there.

[ distant roar ]

| laid back down, and the rest of the night,

I'm convinced that | hear things all night long.

It just wasn't safe to leave.

fd

The other guys, they were hitting the road,

And | think they were probably going to wake me up

Before they left,

But | don't even know if they would've done that.

They were pretty shook up.

We were all pretty shook up.

You know, these guys were professional career individuals.

-Sorry. -Go. Go.

Adams: One of them was a lawyer.

They had reputations to worry about,

So they really didn't want to speak of it.

To this day, | don't know if they ever have.

[ animal growling ]

fd

[ growling continues ]

| couldn't expect other people to even believe me

Because | was so stunned by the fact

That it had happened to me that | was in denial.

[ water rushing, birds chirping ]

It almost makes you question your own judgment

In your own reality and sanity,

But, you know, | Know it was real.

It happened.

Now | know that I've seen something that, all my life,

| always thought a little bit of it was legend,

And now | know that it's real.

It totally changed the whole scope of my life.

Now I'm constantly on the look to see it again.

fd

My focus now is really almost obsessed

With finding out what these creatures are about.

More information | can get, the better.

fd

When | go in the woods now, it's no longer a machete

And a walking stick.

| usually carry a firearm, and I've always got a camera now.

fd

| want to be prepared for it this time,

That one video or picture that's undeniable proof.

fd

Still in a lot of people's eyes, I'm that crazy guy now that

| didn't want to be labeled as,

But that's just who | am at this point

Because | can't unsee what I've seen.

fd

You know, | know it was real.

It happened, and I've been searching ever since,

Trying to find it.

fd

[ animal growls ]

fd

fd

[ birds chirping ]

[ distant whispers ]

fd

Are you ready to accept the spirit world?

| feel terrified.

| don't want to make contact with a ghost.

-Show yourselves. -[ screams ]

The first reaction out of anybody's mouth is, "holy crap."

Get me out of here. There's something pulling me in!

Some sort of force is trying to keep me down there.

We just need to get her out.

Aah! Jess!

fd

fd

Ashley: My friend jessica and | were home

In our small beach town in florida

One summer between college.

We were bored.

She suggested that we go visit her boyfriend up in savannah.

You excited?

| can't wait.

It's been 3 weeks.

Ashley wanted to come with me because she's just an adventurer

And wanted to kind of come along for the ride

And explore savannah.

You know, | never told you what he does in his spare time.

He does ghost tours.

No way! That is so cool.

Immediately, | was fascinated by that.

It's been 3 hours of I-95 highway,

And, all of a sudden, you get off the exit for savannah,

And it's mossy trees hanging over the streets.

It's so pretty.

fd

It almost feels like you have gone back in time a little bit.

fd

We arrived in the late evening.

fd

-Hey. -Hey.

And he said to us, "hey, would you be interested

In going down

And seeing the catacombs?"

-This is ashley. -Hey!

-Nice to finally meet you. -Yeah, you too.

Ashley really wanted to go.

So where are we going again?

To some old catacombs.

They date back to the 1800s.

Oh, so exciting.

When he tells me that, | think it is so exciting.

This is terrifying.

They say it used to be part of an old hospital.

The catacombs that run underneath savannah

In the late 1800s

Were used as a sort of quarantine for all

Of the yellow fever patients in the city.

They say a lot of people never left them alive.

[ nervous laughter ]

Jess: The best place for a ghost tour

Is anywhere where people have died,

And a lot of people died in the catacombs.

fd

Ashley: When we get to the location that's the entrance

To the catacombs, there is an abandoned hospital,

Which just makes me feel like

| am walking into a horror movie.

After a few minutes checking out the grounds, he tells us

He needs a minute to be able to find

The entrance of the catacombs,

Which he eventually does find.

[ ominous music plays ]

fd

Jess: It looks very dangerous.

Clearly, no one's meant to go down there.

fd

It just looks completely like a black hole.

You can't see anything.

You can see that it's probably about 8 to 10 feet down,

| would say.

There are no ladders, no stairs, nothing leading down.

It just looks like a hole in the ground.

fd

The first person to go down into the catacomb

Is my friend's boyfriend.

Jess: So he goes ahead to make sure

There's no homeless people down there,

Make sure that no one is, you know, kind of squatting.

fd

There's no lighting.

There's no way to call for help if you need it.

So many things could go wrong down there,

And nobody can help you.

Ah!

Well, who's first?

| will.

| jump in next because | am so eager to get down there.

fd

When | get down there, | see a stone room,

And it's walled off

After about 40 or 50 feet, so it's a big room.

It's just not miles of catacombs.

It's just this one area.

fd

Jess: | get scared easily to begin with,

So something of this nature

| probably wouldn't have agreed if the whole group hadn't been

So gung-ho to go,

So I'm the last person to go in.

fd

| immediately had a very creepy feeling.

It's in the middle of the summer when we went,

And it was very, very cold.

fd

Ashley: | am down there for a few minutes, and | think,

"okay. This is it. There's just a stone room.

Nothing's happening.

| think we should probably go.

Adventure is over. I'm a little bored."

Hey, let's have a seance.

Let's try to summon some spirits.

fd

Everyone, get in a circle.

One of the gals that we're with suggests doing a seance to see

If we can make contact with a spirit, which terrifies me.

Everyone else is very cool with it.

Everyone else is into it wamntsto do it,

So |, against my better judgment, agree to participate.

| am very hesitant to do this,

But | am kind of along for the ride with everyone,

So | go along with the group.

Ashley: Jessica and | exchange this look that reads of,

"are we really going to do this?"

Are you ready to accept the spirit world?

Jess: It's clear that we're both a little scared,

A little freaked out,

But we don't want to go against the group,

So we go ahead with it.

fd

We need total silence to invite the spirits into our world.

Everyone, please close your eyes.

After | close my eyes, | felt very scared.

| had sweaty palms, felt very uneasy.

fd

Spirits, if you're here, please make yourselves known.

Very eerily quiet.

fd

The chanting echoed.

If you're here, please make yourselves known.

Ashley: | am way too scared to close my eyes

Because there's just enough moonlight coming into the room

That | can still see the people I'm with,

And that gives me a sense of comfort.

| just stand there with my eyes

Bugged wide open, barely blinking

Because | don't want to feel that vulnerable.

| feel terrified. This is not what | wanted.

| don't want to make contact with a ghost.

Make yourselves known.

| started to feel like there was somebody else in the room,

Just, like, this thick presence.

Makes yourselves known.

| don't want a spirit here.

| don't want to make contact.

| do not care if it's friendly.

This is not what | wanted. This is too much.

If you're here, please...

| start thinking, "go away. No. No ghost. | don't want a ghost,"

And | start thinking my rejecting thoughts

Because | don't want it to make contact with us.

[ distorted voice ] spirits...

| feel a bit at the mercy of the group,

Sort of a step past adventure into dangerous territory.

Please show yourselves.

[ indistinct whispers ]

[ thud ] all: Aah!

fd

fd

Girl: [ distorted voice ] spirits, please give US a Sign.

One of the gals that we're with suggests doing a seance to see

If we can make contact

With a spirit, which terrifies me.

Please show yourselves.

[ thud ] all: Aah!

We hear a huge thud, like a smash on the wall.

fd

And there's a huge stone,

I'd say maybe about 10 pounds, a very large stone,

Is just shattered in like 100 pieces on the ground.

fd

The first reaction out of anybody's mouth is, "holy crap."

That rock was in a million pieces

At the other side of the room.

I'm done. No more séance for me.

This is crazy.

| have no desire to investigate what happened.

At that point, I'm kind of fight or flight,

And | want to get out of there.

My heart has dropped, sunk right into my stomach.

lam so genuinely afraid.

My adrenaline is spiking through the roof.

| think, "well, if thers a ghost, it doesn'likeus."

It's a way of saying, "get out."

-Oh, my god. -That's how | took it.

| don't understand how this could happen.

| look over at ashley. She's completely pale.

| think a yellow fever patient threw that rock.

Oh, my god. [ gasps ]

Ashley: We were somewhere we weren't supposed to be.

Jess: It seems that whatever is down there is very angry.

| want to go.

No one is wanting to stay and investigate.

No one is wanting to continue to try

To make contact with a spirit.

Ashley: Everybody is terrified.

Everybody wants to leave.

fd

| am now down there with just one other person,

And he gives my leg a boost, pushes me up.

fd

None of us have had trouble getting out so far.

She's about halfway out.

She's got her foot on a ledge,

And she's about to propel herself out of the hole.

Here, take my hand.

It won't be much longer.

Take my hand.

I've got you. There we go.

| got you.

| got you.

All of a sudden, this force,

It's almost like a suction force,

Like you're being pulled down to the ground,

Just pulls my entire body.

There's something pulling me. l-| can't get out.

It almost felt like if you put your hand up

To the suction of a vacuum cleaner,

How there's such a tremendous force

That pulls your hand toward it.

It felt like that but for my whole body.

Please! -A little more.

| got you.

Aah!

And she just falls to the ground, just falls.

Like, there was no warning.

It wasn't like, "ooh, | think you're slipping."

It was, "she's on the ground."

Jess.

I'm crying, part of it in pain,

But part of it just because I'm so terrified,

Thinking that, like, | might not be able to get out of here.

[ jess crying ]

Jess? Jess!

Ashley: There's no reason | can think of that jessica would have fallen.

We had a great grip on her.

She wasn't having any trouble getting out,

So I'm terrified that this ghost is back for more.

Jess, are you there?

We just need to get her out.

Jess?

fd

| think that some sort of energy or some sort of force

Is trying to keep me down there.

Come on, jess.

Get me out of here.

| get up from the ground, and we try it again, and that time,

I'm able to grab my boyfriend's hands.

[ both sigh ]

And I'm just glad that my friend is okay.

Ashley is trying to comfort me,

But at that point, no one really knows what happened.

My boyfriend says, "you know the whole history of this

Is that there were guards who were stationed

At the entrance of the catacombs who would make sure

That the patients weren't able to escape?"

distorted voices]

fd

When he tells us the story of these guards,

| feel instantly like they must have something to do

With why jessica fell.

That night in the catacombs really changed my outlook

And beliefs on the paranormal.

I've always listened to other people's stories

And been very skeptical,

But having this experience of my own really made me believe.

I've had some unexplained experiences,

And until there's an explanation for that, yeah, why not?

Of course it could be ghosts.

It was the most terrifying experience of my life.

fd

Aah!