Dec 7

I looked directly in its eyes

A listener writes “My story, at age 12, I am now 65. There was always an overnight camp out and I remember how excited all of us kids were as we climbed on the bus and it seems like forever to get to wherever we’re going to camp out but I remember they said it was on the edge of the Sierra forest and there was a river or a Creek If we dared to get in it. We didn’t know what that meant but all the more. it was suspenseful. The river was beautiful, but it was too wide for us kids to cross and the water was freezing cold.

On October 21st, at the overnight campout in 1966 the night before I turned 13, all of us kids along with the counselors sat around the fire. We learned how to make baked potatoes and hotdogs on a stick. We made s’mores and roasted marshmallows and told ghost stories.

One of the counselors disappeared we thought they had gone to the restroom, but in the middle of one of the other councilors telling a story they jumped out and scared the heck out of us and we all fell out laughing after we discovered it was the counselor. It was now time for bed. All the kids slept on the riverbank sandy beach. I knew it was going to be cold in the morning on that beach, so I slept near the camp table. Sometime later I woke up to go to the bathroom. Before I
got out of my sleeping bag. The first thing I grabbed was my flashlight as we were all required to bring one with this in the event we needed to go the bathroom in the dark.

I unzip my sleeping bag halfway down. I grab my flashlight and I turned it on. As I continued to unzip more, I rolled over to my right, flashlight in hand and I turned and saw a very An unbelievably tall and big silver/white hairy thing standing near the picnic table between me and the other kids that were on the beach. At first, I thought it was the counselors playing a prank, but I realized it was too big, too tall. And when I say this, I really mean it was way too tall and way too big. I remember looking at it and I looked all over and I saw it’s right side was facing me showing me that the arm with way way too long. I’m no biology expert but as I said I’m a voracious reader and I know how our bodies are supposed to look.

I looked directly in its eyes, I guess it looked in my direction minutes on my flashlight on and I was puzzled and afraid but not terrified. There was no specific look on its face it just looked and basically ignored me. It looked like a person in the face. Part way down on his forehead around the eyes to just below the chin was no hair and the ears were covered with hair, I mean, all I could see was the eyes, nose, upper lip and mouth was skin I don’t recall in my memory what color the skin was and the rest was hair. I say hair because it was not fuzzy like a bear, dog other kinds of animals it was like our hair. It was straight but I can’t recall how long it was I just remember it covered all of its body except the hand I could see or rather the palm. I remember on the right side that was no hair on the palm. I have no concept of how much time went by, I recall looking into its eyes then looking down at my friends sleeping on the beach and there was dead silence and I recall flashing my flashlight while I was looking at them on the beach and flashing it back at it and it was gone. I heard it walking away, or shall I say I felt it walking away, because I could feel the vibration in the ground, you know kind of like when a big rig truck passes by your house and you can kind of feel that vibration.

it was at that point I decided I didn’t really need to go to the bathroom and I slowly zipped up my sleeping bag to cover my head, you know as kids, we think if we can’t be seen we can’t be caught and I recall I was shaking. My flashlight was still in my hands but I don’t recall if it was on and I didn’t go back to sleep for the rest of the night.”

4 Responses to “I looked directly in its eyes”

  1. Paul M

    Man at 12 yrs old , l would have had skig markz in me undies … wet sleepin bag…. and been babbling like a baby…. Some how you came out of this like a champion…. I’m sure you were very scared, but wow good job holding it together as good as you did…

    • shirley b

      Hi Paul, This was a year before the Patterson film. I didn’t know better to be terrified. You know as kids, we learn what to be afraid of and since that was not in my learned fears, I was curious but smart enough to keep my mouth shut and not move. As an adult, I DO NOT want to see one that close ever. They are wild and unpredictable and if it did happen, then yea my undies would not be suitable for the public’s nose. The podcast should be coming out soon and you can hear a bit more of me.

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