About this episode
Beware The Devil's Knot - Dogman In the rural Truman County of the 1940s, the Dumeyer family—Will, Georgia, and their children Bobby and young Cassandra—lived on a farm bordering the eerie Devil's Knot, a dense, legend-shrouded hollow said to swallow people whole. Will, a fearless hunter, returned from World War II only to face bizarre attacks on their livestock: a massive, bipedal canine-like creature tore apart animals and left enormous tracks. On the opening day of deer season in 1947, Will ventured into the Knot and vanished, leaving Georgia increasingly unhinged as she reported werewolf assaults to skeptical authorities. The community searched everywhere but the Knot, fueling rumors that Will fled his "crazy" wife. Years later, 12-year-old Bobby, burdened with farm chores and known for school pranks, took a risky shortcut through the Knot to reach home before dark, believing his father's spirit protected him. One winter evening, after detention, he returned to find his seven-year-old sister Cassi missing from school. Defying his terrified mother's pleas, Bobby entered the Knot unarmed to search for her, instructing Georgia to alert the sheriff. Deputies followed but found only echoes, glowing red eyes, and unearthly growls in the suffocating darkness. As hope faded, a rifle shot rang out, followed by a howl and Cassi's blood-soaked emergence, whispering only, "He saved me." Bobby was never seen again. The tragedy shattered the family: Georgia and a mute, haunted Cassi were institutionalized, the farm sold, and the Knot's legends swelled with the Dumeyers' names. Tales spread of a protective Bobby—bloodied ghost with a rusted rifle—who guides lost children who call to him. Decades on, journalist Chig Chesterfield, interviewing elderly survivor Gordon Hightower for a Halloween story, uncovers these truths. At 12, Chig himself dared the Knot on a campout dare, emerging shaken after a spectral Bobby led him through horrors, forever binding him to the legend. Join my Supporters Club for $4.99 per month for exclusive stories: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/what-if-it-s-true-podcast--5445587/support