Hi, Nance. I just discovered your channel from my recommended list, since I've been watching Bigfoot videos recently. I thought it was really neat how you share the stories of your viewers, so I figured I'd go ahead and send mine in, maybe your viewers would enjoy it.
Usually, when I share my story, people laugh and think I'm crazy, or that I'm just exaggerating, but I'm fairly convinced that Bigfoot - Sasquatch - The Grassman, or whatever, does exist.
There are two separate instances for my family, about 20 years apart, both from the same location: the densely forested area of southeastern Ohio, near Zaleski State Forest. This area is known for bigfoot sightings.
The First instance was before I was born. My parents were staying in my uncle's small cabin, out in the woods, along with my uncle and his wife. It was late at night, they were all inside, just talking and having a nice time. My mother and my uncle's wife were sitting on the sofa, which faces the door, when something caught their attention. They both looked up at the door at the same time. They both claim to have seen yellow eyes peering in through the top window of the door: now, this door has 3 small windows toward the top, each about a foot and a half wide and 4 inches high, stacked on top of each other. The top-most window is about six and a half feet from the floor. A person would have to be six and a half feet tall, standing on their tiptoes, to see through this top window.
Naturally, both women screamed when they saw it, which prompted the two men to jump to their feet. When they did, whatever it was peering through the window made a dash for it. They heard one thud, a creak from the screened porch door being flung open, two more thuds, then a slam as the screened porch door swung closed...and silence. (Now, the front of the cabin has a nearly 30-foot-wide deck, with a 10-foot section enclosed like a screened porch. The door for the screened portion is about 5 feet from the front door of the cabin, and the steps off the deck are about another 12 feet from the screened portion door.) Considering the size and dimensions of the deck, whatever it was cleared about 17 feet in only 3 strides. The first stride between the front door and the screened porch door, two strides on the open deck, and presumably a leap off the deck, completely ignoring the steps. This equates to about 5 feet per stride. Show me a human that takes natural strides that large... And I don't know anyone with yellow eyes, or who would intentionally stand on their tiptoes to look through a top window when it is more natural to look through one at eye level.
I don't know if they bothered to look for tracks the following morning. None of them ever said they did, and I don't know if they would have known what to look for anyway. None of them are hunters or experienced outdoors people.
Second instance was a personal experience.
I was about 12 years old at the time (so 20 years ago.) Same location, my uncle's cabin, which sits on his private property, about 30 acres of densely wooded hills, near a creek. I was there with my father, uncle (not the cabin owner), and my two cousins. We were there for the 4th of July weekend, so we had brought a few firecrackers and bottle rockets and such.
We started a bonfire in the clearing near the cabin, sat around it and started setting off some of the fireworks. It was a pitch black night. About 10 or so minutes of various fireworks passed. We let one of the bottle rockets up into the sky, and it popped. Then another.
I thought I heard something along with the pop this time. I asked everyone to be quiet, "What was that?"
We stopped the fireworks and listened. Thinking back, it was quiet, eerily quiet. No crickets or anything. It didn't register at that time, because we were listening for something else, but no one heard anything.
We let off a few more fireworks, then it sounded again...this time loud enough that the others heard it, but still sounded like it was a distance off. "What is that?" I asked again. It was such a foreign sound, like no bird or animal I'd heard before, but it was still a little too far away to really hear with clarity.
My dad and uncle just shrugged and said, "Probably a deer, or someone down the road having a party."
They continued setting off fireworks for another couple minutes. Then we heard it again. LOUD this time. This thing sounded like it came from the treeline, which was only about 150 feet or so from where we were gathered around the bonfire.
This sound was unlike anything I had ever heard before, and I've never heard anything like it since. It sounded like a mix of different apes all frigging TICKED OFF. Think howler monkey mixed with gorilla, and oddly enough even a slight hint of bobcat, then imagine that mix of sounds HOWLING. This thing was obviously angry.
My dad and uncle both shot out of their chairs. I'd never seen those two men have genuine fear before, but this was it. We quickly went to the cabin while the unknown creature howled a second time, and my uncle grabbed the rifle he'd brought with him.
From the deck, he shot about 10 rounds toward the treeline, where the sound had come from.
We waited for a few seconds...the fire made the darkness look even darker...we couldn't see anything. We didn't hear anything, either...(except the sound of something rattling. Turns out the deck boards were vibrating, because my legs were shaking so badly. I have never been more scared in my life.)
Then, suddenly there was a rustling in the trees down toward the creek. The creek was about 100 yards from where the sound originated at the treeline. How this thing traveled 100 yards silently in the short amount of time it took us to get from the fire to the cabin is beyond me.
What's even scarier is it probably means this thing passed somewhat close behind us as we made our way there. Regardless, right after the rustling occurred, my uncle fired a few more rounds down toward the creek where the rustling was heard.
Silence (aside from the vibrating deck boards...)
We waited several minutes.
My dad then took a flashlight and headed down toward the creek. I was scared for his safety, worrying that this angry creature was waiting there, and would attack him. Thankfully, he came back only a minute later, having seen nothing. Mind you, this creek isn't a huge creek, it's only about 10 feet wide, which even most people would be able to clear with a running jump, but the fact it was so silent...no crunching branches or splash of water or thumping steps. Just the one rustling of foliage, then silence. I imagine any person running that fast to clear that distance, and then to do a long jump over a creek, would've made some obvious noise. This creature, whatever it was, seemingly just vanished.
Now, I can't say for certain it was a Bigfoot, because no one saw it; we only heard the sounds it made. However, there are a couple important things to consider. Firstly, I imagine any normal animal would get scared by fireworks and attempt to avoid the area. Whatever this creature was came to investigate, which means it was curious and likely intelligent...and what it saw and/or heard angered it.
Secondly, I have scoured the internet for information on animals that can be found in Ohio, and listened to all kinds of sound clips of those and many other animals. Owls, wild cats, deer... What we heard that night was none of those animals. It was truly unlike any living animal I personally know of. Again, the only way I can describe it is that it sounded like a mix of howler monkey, gorilla and bobcat growls all layered over each other, and it was a deep, bellowing, guttural howl of something that was clearly angry. I can't even express what a blood curdling sound it was. It still haunts me. Even as a grown man, every time I recall this story, I still get goosebumps. I have them right now as I write this, and my eyes have even been watering a bit. It was a traumatic experience, for sure.
I absolutely believe in the possibility that Bigfoot exists, and if what I personally experienced was a mad one, I don't EVER want to meet one up close. It probably comes as no surprise, but I've never been back to that cabin.