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whitepolaris · 3 years

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Bigfoot, or the Carolina Wollybooger

What book on weird stuff would be complete without mentioning the world’s most popular boogeyman? And yes, whether you call him Yeti, Sasquatch, the Abominable Snowman, or just plain Bigfoot, it seems that not only wanders through exotic lands like Nepal and Tibet, but also tramps barefoot through the Carolina woods and pocosins-the upland swamps-in all that fur, no matter how hot or buggy it may get. he’s been spotted in the Blue Ridge, been seen trudging through the coastal swamplands, and left his size-28 footprints at various scattered points in between. Although there have been a few photos and bits of film footage that seem to show a big hair, humanoid creature running through the woods, no confirmed skeletons exist in any public collections anywhere. Because of all this, many scientists doubt that he exists at all. Still, there have been enough reports of encounters to keep the doors of possibility open.

Unfortunately, most sightings don’t result in close encounters. A loner, Bigfoot is about the least confrontational big bruiser you’re ever likely to meet. As soon as anyone from our relatively runty human race shows up, he more likely to run than fight. Most of the evidence we have is based on glimpses, footprints, and odors.

According to most descriptions, a typical Bigfoot is six to ten feet tall (some say up to fifteen feet), covered with hair except on its face, hands, and feet, has somewhat point head, walks upright, and smells absolutely awful. While Carolina mountain folks like to call him the Woollybooger or the Boojum, in the flatlands Down East the term of choice is Skunk ape. This not only refers to a silvery or the creatures’ backs but reflects their pungent smell.

Woollyboogers, Boojums, or Skunk Apes have been seen by scores of Carolinians, including law enforcement officers, librarians, schoolteachers, and members of the clergy-by people, in other words, who usually tell the truth. A guy from Mechanicsville, SC, named Cal is among the many people who have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one of them in the Carolina swamps, back in the mid-1980s. As he told us, “Me, my cousin and my father were idling up the Great Pee Dee River in a small boat. I was shooting a 22 pistol at some things and while I was looking toward the left bank I saw something that did not look right, but could not tell what it was. Then all in a split second the thing stood up and dove into the river with his arms stretched out, just like a man would dive, and it never was seen again. We went over and looked for tracks but only found slide marks on the hard muddy surface. . . . When I first saw it, it was on its feet with knees bent, kneeling down like it was doing something between his legs. As I said, ‘Look!’ it was already going into the water. My father saw it as it was going in, but it all happened in about two seconds. I don’t ‘think’ I saw a Skunk Ape, I know I saw one.”

Most of those who come forward say that the vast majority of sightings probably go unreported for fear of ridicule by those who haven’t seen the creature themselves. Meanwhile, outfits like the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) continue gathering ever more evidence that indeed something mighty big and hairy is really out there. They like to remind us that despite hundreds of reports by witnesses, many scientists refused to believe in the existence of the giant panda or giant squid, until hard evidence finally proved them real. The irrefutable proof just hasn’t been found yet, that’s all. As former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld so often repeated, “The absence of evidence isn’t the evidence of absence.”

Bizarre Critters

In Dovesville, SC, a dog belonging to Barney Odom named Flat Nose could shimmy up trees like a cat and preferred chewing on empty Pepsi bottles instead of bones. He appeared twice on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in the late 1980s. Flat Nose Road is named of him. -Ripley’s!

Bizarre Critters

During a flood in Pitt County, NC, in July 1886, huge sturgeon were able to swim through cornfields and gobble up as much corn as they could swallow. One 328-pound fish was captured and found to have eaten enough corn to fill two barrels. -Roger Kammerer

Don’t Shoot the Woollybooger

Want to go in search of Woollyboogers yourself? By far the most Bigfoot sightings in the Carolinas have occurred in the South Mountains region of North Carolina where Burke and Cleveland counties touch, with scattered encounters in adjacent parts of Rutherford, Lincoln, and Catawba counties.

However, do the responsible thing and leave your guns at home. While Woollyboogers have not yet been listed on any federal endangered species list, they are undoubtedly extremely rare. Even if you don’t end up going to jail, bagging one for your trophy wall is more likely make you a societal outcast yourself then earn you any real glory. So take pictures not lives. And maybe take some plaster too, in case you find only footprints.

#weird carolinas #type read

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