Big John and the Yahoos
Exploring Kentucky Bigfoot reports
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Moving closer to home, Carter County has been the location of several
reported sightings. Although the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO)
records only one sighting, from the early 1980s, where the witness came forward
after nearly 20 years of silence, other organizations have received multiple
reports from both locals and visitors. These include the legends of “Big John”,
a white Bigfoot often seen in the area around Carter Caves State Park,
especially the dumpster where he has been spotted on a few occasions,
presumably rummaging for food. The BFRO’s report from Carter County, a Class B
incident, took place near Grayson in the small unincorporated community of Rush
on the Carter/Boyd County border. According to the report the witness never
actually saw anything other than eyes shining at him from the underbrush, but
his wife did report someone peeking in a window at her, the bottom of which was
over six feet off the ground. He also reported hearing strange noises, having
items thrown at his home, and spotting odd structures in the woods around his
house that he believed may have been nests or territorial markings.
Two other reports in the BFRO database, from directly across the river
in Greenup County, include a Class A sighting on the old Addington’s landfill
property from January of 2001 and a class B report from January of 1996 that
took place near Flatwoods. Though other researchers, such as the Lexington
based Ron Coffey, have stated that the majority of sightings occur in the
warmer months of May to October, taken together these BFRO reports seem to
indicate that the cold winter months aren’t necessarily an impediment to
experiencing activity. At the very least, it would seem to rule out the
possibility of misidentified black bears, which should be hibernating at the
time period. But whether these sightings are really a result of cold weather
Bigfoot activity, or just winter boredom and cabin fever fueling the
imaginations of witnesses, remains for others to determine.
In
the first Greenup County incident the witnesses were riding four-wheelers on
the Addington property when one stayed at the bottom of the hill to work on the
four-wheeler while the other witness walked to the top of the hill to relieve
himself. Though it was too dark for him to make out fine detail, he could tell
the creature was large. He estimated it at nearly 8 feet tall and around 450
pounds. Though he wanted to run, he stated that he was petrified with fear and
stood watching as it walked away while making a strange grunting noise. He did
have the presence of mind to photograph the footprints that it left behind in
the wet and muddy conditions, but reported he was keeping those private until
he could share them with the BFRO investigator in person.
The 1996 incident took place in Flatwoods, near Turley Avenue. As the
witness and his friend walked down a gravel road at around 11 in the evening,
they spotted a large object in the middle of the road, about 200 yards ahead of
them. The witnesses first thoughts were that a tree stump or large rock had
rolled out into the road. As they approached to within 100 yards, wondering to
themselves how it had gotten there, they observed the mass rise up onto it’s
hind legs from a crouched position and turn towards them. Though they could not
make out any distinguishing features, due to the low light, they could tell
that it was dark in color and very large, “at least 8 feet tall.” Like the
previous witness they were so scared they reportedly froze in their tracks and
observed it for about 20 seconds as it turned walked off into the woods. This
witness also reported periodic high pitched howls heard by themselves and other
residents of the neighborhood and stated that another neighbor reported to him
that he saw something level with his head through his kitchen window. This
neighbor was reportedly 6’2” and the house had a foundation that was “three
cinder blocks above the ground”.
The investigators at Kentucky Bigfoot Research Organization (KBRO) have
several other sighting reports from Greenup County in their database, including
a 1989 sighting near campsites on the Little Sandy River outside of the city of
Greenup and a 2008 report of grunts and vocalizations near Russell. Another
report, from 2006 near Lloyd, reported a creature that ran for a long distance
on two legs before dropping to all fours, behavior that has also been reported
in sightings in other states.
There are many other reports from our neighbor to the south, including
the Erickson Project and their supposed photos and video of a sleeping Bigfoot
and another grainy video of a supposed juvenile sasquatch eating pancakes left
out for him, which require an enormous suspension of disbelief to accept. But
suspect reports aside, something has shaken people up in the Bluegrass State
and left many of them afraid to explore the woods and wild places around their
homes. Whether it’s a physical animal currently unknown to science, a
misidentification or misinterpretation of more mundane phenomenon or critters,
or something completely psychological in nature, there is no doubt in the minds
of sincere witnesses that they have seen something. And as long as they believe
they’ve seen it, the stories will continue and the legends will persevere.
Have you seen a Bigfoot, a devil monkey, or anything else odd in the woods around Scioto County or other nearby locations? Share your stories with us! You can reach us at jeremy@latetothegames.com.
Originally published in the Scioto Voice Newspaper (Wheelersburg, Ohio), as part of my River Valley Myths and Legends series.
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