The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word cryptid as “An animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti.” For the following witnesses to living cryptids, there is no dispute. In this series of National Cryptid Society’s case files, you will read what the witnesses have experienced in their own words.
Keep an open mind when reading these accounts, and also remember one’s perception and memory of an event can be influenced by the emotions felt at the time of the occurrence. The contributors to this series of articles are doing the best they can to recount what are in some cases very shocking and traumatic experiences.
If you have a personal cryptid sighting story you would like to tell us, our contact information is at the bottom of this article.
NCS Case File #35: Sasquatch Encounter in the Smoky Mountains
Submitted by Jeremy
Encounter Date: April 2014
Location: Smokey Mtn Park, Skyland campground north of Cherokee
“I relied on Kewaunee Lapseritis* map dowsing to specify a place to have an encounter. I slept in the open and fasted and after four days I had an encounter.
In the middle of the night I was awake and sitting against a small tree. I felt a poke in my back. I turned around expecting to see a small, brave little critter responsible, but saw nothing.
Fifteen minutes later I heard someone running toward me from behind and in an instant I felt someone’s hand grab my head as if palming a basketball, and just as quickly letting his hand release me. He continued past me in a jog.
I could well see his outline against the cloud covered sky. He was about six feet tall and had the body of a MMA fighter. He went about ten feet and turned to the right and disappeared into fallen trees, which he navigated with near supernatural agility.”
NCS contacted the witness for additional information about the encounter.
“There was no smell that I detected. Its hair was medium length over its body. It was dark, everything I saw was mostly by way of silhouette against the sky. I could hear his footfalls normally.
I think he was counting coo one me, or something like that….a juvenile playing out a ‘dare’ like move…..just a feeling.”
NCS asked if there was any injury and if the witness felt if this was “roughhouse” behavior and non-threatening.
“Not quite roughhousing….I think he may have been leery of me or timid or for whatever reasons they keep any contact to a near zero minimum. So it was kind of like a kid taking a dare and crossing a line by this counting coo act (not to imply there were others present).
I was surprised. I had lesser experiences in the past, so I was not fearful at the time. I just called out “Come Back” knowing he would not. It was all pretty quick.”