Ernie Franklin owned a house near Sabine National Forest in Hemphill, Texas. His small ranch home was nearly isolated down a single lane road. Franklin started composting in a bin outside his kitchen window. As he prepared his meals he would just scrape the unwanted food into the bin.
After a few weeks, Franklin grew tired of cleaning up his yard after various animals got into the compost bin. So he got rid of it.
About a week after he stopped the food composting, he was abruptly woken in the middle of the night by a thumping on his roof. He grabbed his shot gun and rushed outside to see what was on his roof. He just caught a glimpse of a dark figure leap off the sloping one story roof.
Shining his flashlight around for about 10 minutes, Franklin was convinced the animal was gone. He went back inside. But he was unable to go back to sleep because the rest of the night rocks hit his roof and there was a bloodcurdling howl from right outside his house.
In the morning, Franklin found Bigfoot prints in the dirt around his house. He figures that the Bigfoot came to rely upon his compost bin and when it found it gone, it grew frustrated and angry. After that one night, the Bigfoot never returned.
Frankie P
So, there goes my composting trial! That is scary. I was gonna put the veggies etc., in the flower bed out back, but not now.
JOHN E
frankie its ok …ya right sure makes you think about it all.
SANDRA E
He was lucky that he was terrorized only one night….it could have carried on for some time! Thanks Wes!!
DonRay
I wish he put a camera up, before he decided to give up composting… Ciao
Alexander F
Wes, no disrespect intended. I’ve been an editor my entire professional life. All writers need one. You happen to need one quite explicitly. Ever think of taking one on? I’d be happy to help. Keep up the great work!
noe G
That should have been sent via an email.
Joshua J
Been to Hemphill numerous times for my job in government. Lots of timber out that way and very rural. I’m not surprised this occurred.
Paul M
I’m gonna compost till the beast falls thru my roof. Or at least till I hear a scream…
Mary W
Lets us know how that turns out Paul. Good luck! Does this qualify as armchair squatching? Make sure the scream you hear won’t be your own. Scary! Ps do the camera thing too!
Charles R
Not the first one I have heard that when a forest giants easy food supply gets cut off they can get a little testy. Bfro had a great report on one that was stealing food out of a familys garage for over a year and they did not even realize it. Other factors that happened that put them onto what was taking the food. They started locking the gargage and that is when the house slapping and other mischevious behavior started happening. Report has been pulled as the investigator gave such a good description of the property other people were contacting the residents and they wanted no part of this.
Dave T
He’s probably been visited from time to time and doesn’t know it. I wonder what he does with his leftover scraps now? If he puts them in the trash can, it’s just a different dinner plate to the Squatch.
Pamela C
X
Asheim
We live in the country here in Norway surrounded by forests. We get moose in the garden munching on the apple trees, we see the moose poop all around. One stripped the bark off our new plum tree and killed it. Good tip about the compost though we have never had any signs of the hairy man of the forest our way. Just leaving cat food out for our cats brings in the critters too so we had to stop. Forest animals can be quite pesky too but nothing like having a 500+pd creature stomping around mad as hell on your roof!!
m99
_I thought compost was supposed to be away from the house? Such as, in the back of the yard. Plus, there’s a technique to it… not just a place to dump. The reason I mention this is because it’s known to attract rats and other critters if not done properly. I wondered something when I read this account… did the BF smell the compost and was attracted by that?