About this episode
Bigfoot - There Was No Escape In 1964, the narrator's grandfather and uncle, experienced campers in the Appalachian Mountains, took a risky shortcut through the eerie, lifeless Devil's Bowl to beat nightfall. What began as suspicious noises—snapping branches, rustling leaves, and clacking rocks—escalated into a terrifying ambush by multiple eight-foot-tall, hairy, ape-like creatures with piercing eyes and guttural roars, resembling Bigfoot. Pelted with increasingly large stones, the men spotted shadowy figures circling them. The grandfather, mistaking them initially for moonshiners, drew his pistol and tried to de-escalate, but a massive beast charged, knocking them down. Desperate, the uncle emptied his revolver into one creature, killing it and unleashing a horde of enraged others that swarmed, slashing and battering the pair. With broken ribs and severe wounds, the grandfather fought back fiercely, shooting several beasts in the head to defend his unconscious uncle, fearing he'd wiped out the entire group. Dragging his kin to safety, they escaped to their home for care, but the trauma lingered: the uncle bore lifelong scars and battled addiction until his death at 51; the grandfather, a Korean War vet and coal miner, carried deep regret and sorrow, dying when the narrator was 18, haunted by the unatoned violence in the creatures' "front yard." 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