Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Michigan - Harper's History Vol.1 #23



by Scott Harper

Michigan. The Great Lakes State. The Wolverine State. Michigan is the only US state to be made up of two peninsulas. Fifty percent of Michigan is covered by forest. Many lakes, ponds, and streams dot the peninsulas that make up Michigan, as well. Deer, and other wildlife are populous. In short, the state of Michigan is perfect country for Sasquatch—despite the heavy lake effect snow the region receives during the winter. And Sasquatch have been there for quite some time. 



In 1878, a woman was hanging laundry in her backyard. A noise captured her attention. Upon looking up, she saw a 12-foot-tall, white Sasquatch in the cow pasture. The creature ran on all fours, leapt over a cow, stood up to its full height, then charged the woman, now running on two feet. She screamed, and ran into the house. The creature, chasing her, got tangled up in the clothesline. The woman ran from the house, to the lumber mill where her husband worked, refusing to return home for hours. When she did return home, with her husband, her husband found footprints, but no other sign of the creature. 



A report filed in 1891 told of a Wildman of "gigantic proportions" with arms to below its knees, and "hands twice the usual size". The "Wildman" was said to have killed a bulldog with "one swipe". This took place in Gladwin County. 

During the winter of 1917, in Ironwood, Michigan, two hunters saw a "man in a fur suit" steal a deer they had killed. The "man" made off with the deer carcass tucked under his arm. 

News of a 12' 7" skeleton being unearthed in Jackson, Michigan made front page news on September 6, 1919. 

Somewhere along the Saginaw River, in 1937, a Sasquatch was seen to climb from the river, rest leaning against a tree for a time, and then return to the river. 

An area in Charlotte County Michigan bears the name Gorilla Swamp due to a string of sightings of a bipedal, hairy creature seen there multiple times in 1951. 



The most humorous Sasquatch sighting I've ever heard of occurred in Petosky State Park in 1962. A Michigan native was hiking in the park when he heard a noise. Upon investigating, he spotted a Sasquatch. The creature appeared not to see him, and simply kept walking. After only a few steps, the Sasquatch stubbed a toe on a raised tree root, tripped, and fell flat on its face. Afraid of drawing attention to himself by laughing, and angering the Sasquatch, the witness withdrew, and went on his way. 



From 1962 until 1964 sightings of a creature dubbed the Monster of Sister Lakes was sighted off and on a number of times in Cass County. In 1964, a woman was chased into her house by a creature with long black hair, and glowing eyes. The woman estimated that the being weighed 500 pounds. It left footprints that were 6-inches-wide. It was thought that the creature that chased the woman had been the Monster of Sister Lakes. 


August 13, 1965 brought a frightening account of an encounter with a 7-foot-tall, black- haired, growling Sasquatch. 17-year-old Christina Van Acker, and her mother, Ruth, were in a car, heading home. Christina was driving. Though they saw nothing in the road ahead of time, the car ran over something. After the bump, Christina stopped the car. Instantly, the Sasquatch reached through Christina's window, grabbed her by the hair, and slammed her head into the car door. Christina passed out. Ruth, later claiming that there was nothing she could do, fled to get help. Apparently, and luckily, Christina survived the ordeal with nothing but some bruises. 



Sasquatch have been in the area we call "Michigan" for a very long time—long before the Patterson/Gimlin film, which was recorded in 1967. They're still there, too. Reports still come steadily from the Wolverine State. Years ago, I may have even had my own experience with a Sasquatch on Mackinac Island. 


It was the late 1980s, or very early 1990s. I was on a vacation trip with my parents and best friend at that time. We were walking a trail in woodlands on Mackinac Island. Something off in the woods screamed. At the time, we chalked it up to a bobcat. Still, all four of us were unnerved, and turned around, and left the area quickly. To this day, I don't know what screamed in those woods. If it was a bobcat, though, it was a very large one! 



About the Author
   

 Scott Harper is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 30 published short stories, and several novels. Harper grew up in Ohio, and graduated from Marysville High School in 1993, and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels. He has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions, and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film, and comic books. He was also a contributing writer for "Nuclear Winter Entertainment" for several months before that site shut down. Scott is very happily married to bestselling paranormal author Desirée Lee. Together, they have a wonderful little girl, and are working jointly on several projects. Those projects include multiple books, as well as the hit webcomic "MoonWraith." 


  More information about his work can be found on his website: www.scottharper.net



Blog Post by Dan Lindholm








Monday, July 8, 2019

Massachusetts - Harper's History Vol.1 #22



by Scott Harper

In the 1970s, renowned cryptozoologist Loren Coleman gave the name "Bridgewater Triangle" to an area in southeastern Massachusetts that is roughly 200 square miles. The Bridgewater Triangle, located about 30 miles south of Boston, has been home to a huge variety of strange phenomena over the years. Reports of everything from UFOs, to unexplained orbs of light, to ghosts, to Thunderbirds, to ancient Native American curses, to Sasquatch come out of the area on a regular basis. The Hockomock Swamp area is where most of the Sasquatch reports filter in from. However, not all sightings of these beings within the state are recent. 




One of the earliest encounters with a Sasquatch in the state of Massachusetts took place in July of 1765. Settlers were exploring part of the area which is now Great Barrington. They spotted a large, hair-covered creature in the swamps. Keeping back, they followed the creature, and watched it bed down to sleep. The settlers captured the Sasquatch, and took it to Cambridge to be studied. There is no record of just what took place, but the creature was released from captivity, and escaped back into the wild. 



In 1826, a Haverhill man named Andrew Fink became very ill. Part of his illness was a fever. As days passed, Mr. Fink grew worse, and worse. He slid into delirium. One day, when his family wasn't paying close attention, Andrew Fink got out of bed, and slipped out of the house, disappearing. A few days later, reports began circulating of a "wild man" in the nearby woods. Mr. Fink's family investigated, hoping that what was being reported would turn out to be Mr. Fink. Instead, while looking for Mr. Fink in the woods, they encountered a Sasquatch. No report was made of what the family did with the creature upon discovering it. Sadly, Andrew Fink's body turned up several weeks later, in a stream. He had died while wandering the forest in his delirium. 



An article appeared in a newspaper—the North Adams Transcript—on August 23, 1895 reporting an account in which a Massachusetts selectman spotted a Sasquatch. The selectman was on a stage coach, travelling to Connecticut, when he had his sighting. The creature was simply walking along the tree line when seen. The article also mentioned plans to attempt to capture the Sasquatch, but no details were forthcoming as to what those plans entailed, or if such a capture was ever attempted. 


During July of 1909, police combed the woodlands near Haverhill after a series of reports of a large, hairy creature had been filed in the area. There doesn't seem to be record as to whether or not they found anything. 



Oddly, after the 1909 report, I couldn't find a thing until the early 1970's. Why? Did people stop reporting Sasquatch sightings for a few decades? Did the Sasquatch in the area migrate out to other locations for a while? Did the Sasquatch simply stop allowing themselves to be seen for several years? If so, why do so before, and after? Did something happen during those intervening years to drive them away? 


On June 9th, 1959 the infamous Worcester tornado hit. It's classified as the 21st most deadly tornado in US history. It killed 94 people, and left 10,000 others homeless during the 90 minutes that it stayed on the ground. During that time, it traveled 48 miles. How did this storm affect the Sasquatch in the state of Massachusetts? Could it, and other bad weather, have forced the local Sasquatch out of the area for a time? 


We may never know what caused the lack of sightings in Massachusetts between 1909 until the 1970's. Whether the Sasquatch were being seen, and not reported, or had left the area, the reason may always remain a mystery. 


About the Author
   

 Scott Harper is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 30 published short stories, and several novels. Harper grew up in Ohio, and graduated from Marysville High School in 1993, and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels. He has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions, and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film, and comic books. He was also a contributing writer for "Nuclear Winter Entertainment" for several months before that site shut down. Scott is very happily married to bestselling paranormal author Desirée Lee. Together, they have a wonderful little girl, and are working jointly on several projects. Those projects include multiple books, as well as the hit webcomic "MoonWraith." 


  More information about his work can be found on his website: www.scottharper.net



Blog Post by Dan Lindholm






Sunday, May 12, 2019

Maryland - Harper's History Vol.1 #21





by Scott Harper

  Maryland is a small state. Yet, it might surprise a lot of people to know that, according to famous Sasquatch researcher John Green, Maryland ranks 5th in the nation in Sasquatch sightings. It lags only behind Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington, and California in the sheer number of sightings recorded. Western Maryland contains mountains from both the Appalachian, and Allegheny ranges. Meanwhile, the southern part of the state boasts a lot of marshy swamplands. Both types of terrain are prime locations for Sasquatch. About a 40-mile-long section of the Appalachian Trail also runs through Maryland. There are a great number of sightings that take place along this route. Many Sasquatch researchers think that the creatures use the Trail as a convenient pathway.





  Also, there are three major river systems in the state—the Potomac, the Patuxent, and the Patapsco. Many sightings have taken place along these waterways. Such watercourses provide not only water for the Sasquatch, but a steady supply of food, as well. There are a number of reports on file, from a variety of locations, involving Sasquatch swimming, or wading, and apparently catching fish. There have also been reports of the creatures stealing fish from the nets of people who are fishing. It's very common for rivers to boast large numbers of sightings along their routes.

  While the most famous Sasquatch sightings in the state of Maryland are from the Sykesville Monster flap in the 1970's, the history of Sasquatch sightings in Maryland reach back much, much earlier. Native American accounts of the creatures in the area go back at least to the 1700's. There are even 16th century accounts of some Native tribes buying, and selling Sasquatch skins. It seems that some tribes in the area used to actually hunt Sasquatch. Sightings of these creatures go much further back than the Patterson/Gimlin film from 1967, despite the mistaken beliefs of some.






  In 1892 a "Wild Man" was reported several times, having been seen in the woods near Brownsville, Maryland.
1914 saw a report from Churchville, in which an 8 year-old boy spotted a Sasquatch sitting on a log behind the house where the boy lived.

  Sometime during the early 1900s, in Chestertown, Maryland, a number of small calves had been killed on a farm. Two boys—brothers—set out one night to try and discover the killer. While they were outside, they heard "an awful moaning" coming from the woods. Upon following the noise, they discovered a trail of huge, human-like footprints. The discovery of the tracks ended the boys' investigation, and sent them running back into their house.

  In 1909, a farmer in Dorchester County was surveying his farmland from a horse-and-buggy. He saw a 7-foot-tall, hair-covered creature standing over several dead cows. Several sightings of Sasquatch—be it the same creature, or different specimens, we don't know—took place in the Gambrill State Park area during the 1920s.

  In August of 1957, in Prince Georges County, Mr. and Mrs. Reverty Garner pulled into the driveway at their home. They were alarmed to see a "gorilla-like creature" with "beady red eyes" standing in their driveway. Although he slowed the car, the man struck the creature. He put the car into reverse, backing away. The Sasquatch pursued. There doesn't seem to be an record of what took place next.






  A police officer had an unsettling encounter with a Sasquatch in Carroll County in 1959. The officer in question saw the creature cross a road, and step over a fence. When the man shouted, "Halt!" at the Sasquatch, the creature turned, and started walking toward the officer. The officer then drew his gun, and fired a warning shot. The Sasquatch continued approaching the man as if nothing had happened. The officer jumped back into his car, and fled the scene, leaving the Sasquatch behind.

  Another too-close encounter took place in June of 1961 in Leakin Park. A Mr. and Mrs. Fergeson were in their car when they saw "huge eyes" staring in the window at them. Mr. Fergeson got out of the car. The Sasquatch turned, and walked away. Mr. Fergeson followed after it. When the creature began growling at him, Mr. Fergeson fled back to the car.

  In 1964, workers in the Pretty Boy Dam area were building a house. They spotted a Sasquatch walk out of the forest near the reservoir. It's apparent that Sasquatch have been in the area we now call Maryland for a very long time. Given how perfect some of the territory there is for them, it's no wonder why. They have abundant food, water, and shelter there. Given the number of sightings that come from Maryland, it would be my guess that there's a good-sized breeding population of the creatures there—and there probably has been for centuries.


About the Author
   

 Scott Harper is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 30 published short stories, and several novels. Harper grew up in Ohio, and graduated from Marysville High School in 1993, and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels. He has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions, and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film, and comic books. He was also a contributing writer for "Nuclear Winter Entertainment" for several months before that site shut down. Scott is very happily married to bestselling paranormal author Desirée Lee. Together, they have a wonderful little girl, and are working jointly on several projects. Those projects include multiple books, as well as the hit webcomic "MoonWraith." 


  More information about his work can be found on his website: www.scottharper.net



Blog Post by Dan Lindholm