; Phantoms and Monsters: Pulse of the Paranormal

Friday, November 22, 2019

'Rawhide's Back!' - Recent (& Previous) Bigfoot Activity in Yadkin County, NC


I recently received the following information:

I recently typed "strange howling in woods at night Yadkin County NC" after listening to different fox sounds for the past 8 hours and being unable to find a 100% match to satisfy me that a fox was indeed what I've been hearing; and your site was the very first hit on the list. Let me tell you, I 100% believe that anything is possible. I am a firm believer in the supernatural from first hand experiences. I believe in "aliens," just not the little green men from the movies. With all that open space and all those galaxies you're pretty damned ignorant if you think our small corner of all that is the only life sustaining place. But Bigfoot is something I've always found "silly".

I moved to the small town of East Bend, NC 12 years ago. My husband's family is from out here. I'm a former Air Force brat and needless to say, not much of a nature girl. So there are plenty of sights and sounds that are out of my comfort zone. After 12 years though, I've heard and seen enough of them that I am pretty comfortable with, and feel safe in my surroundings. I worked 3rd shift until recently and have always been a night owl; so I keep different hours from the norm. Last night makes 4 times, since about a month ago, that I have heard a very unsettling noise that I am having a hard time putting into words. It's been around 11-12 pm 3 times and 2-3 am once. It's a series of almost ape/monkey type sounds then a "whooping" type howl that sounds a lot like an ambulance siren. My husband heard it the second night I did back in mid-October and likened it to a recording that would be played for Halloween. We have woods behind and beside us. Also here recently on a couple different occasions when my usually very chill and quiet Pitbull has been left outside. What has alerted me to the fact she was not inside was her standing at the corner of the yard right behind my bathroom where the woods are barking and growling her "this sh*t ain't cool" alarm that she very rarely if ever does. This lets me know its not a cat or rabbit or something she's familiar with. It wasn't however on a night I also heard that.

There are a few other things that come into play here. I'm trying really hard not to let my imagination run wild. Okay, so first, back during the summer on more than one occasion while sitting in the chair I sit in at night in the corner of my room, there's a small window behind it. It's that clouded/textured glass you can't see through. However its one of those old "crank open" windows and the crank broke, so the outer part of it stays open unless I pull it shut manually. So while it's a good 2 feet above head level for a tall man (my husband is 6'3), if you had a ladder (or were super tall) you would be able to look under the slats and see in. There's a curtain over it too but its semi-sheer. Anyway, at least 3 different times on different nights within a couple weeks while sitting there reading or on my phone or whatever, out of nowhere I was overcome with this paralyzing fear and feeling of someone or something was behind me watching me. For whatever reason I cannot explain since as I stated I have never bought into Bigfoot; that's exactly what picture flashed in my mind. I'm very "in tune" spiritually, as is my husband. No I cant tell the future (although multiple dreams I have had have later happened). I'm not some bells and whistles run of the mill gypsy. But I am very aware so to speak. So when I get a feeling like that I fully believe it. While I'm telling myself how silly I'm being, and asking myself 'WTF,' I've been reading to make me picture a Sasquatch, and trying my best to either get up and walk to my bed on the other side of the wall, or turn around and open the curtain and see for myself that there's nothing there; I literally couldn't move nor quell my fears. I finally jumped up and sprinted to the bed, almost falling because my legs would barely hold me.

Now here's what really tripped me out. About 3 weeks after the last time that happened to me, one night my husband (mind you I have not spoken of any of this to anyone. I mean, it's ridiculous...is it not?) begins telling me about how several nights prior when I had been asleep (and proceeds to word for word, feeling for feeling I kid you not) explain my exact same scenario down to the picturing a Bigfoot. This was hard for him to say, even to me, as he is an extremely "practical" man. He's very open to things and knows anything is possible but he's not into sci-fi or anything like that. Bigfoot isn't up his alley either is what I'm getting at. We just stared at each other in a moment of disbelief when I told him the same thing had happened to me. But we have had quite a handful of alike and spiritual/not humanly explainable situations over 14 years so it wasn't brought up again.

I've saved this for last because I didn't want it to taint your feelings or opinions in any way about my stories thus far. Ever since we've moved out here all the cousins and second cousins have talked about "Rawhide". One older lady told me several times "there's a creature (pronounced "cweetoore" you gotta get the full picture here lol) in those woods," talking about the ones around me. Her grandfather and my husband's great grandfather used to own all of the land around me. He broke it up among his kids and the part I live on has been passed down. So supposedly back in the day, this being sometime in the 80s/90s I think, there was "something" running wild I guess you'd say, in these parts. Apparently livestock and pets were disappearing, some found ripped completely to shreds and scattered a ways away later. I can't remember all the details but basically they all swear it was a Bigfoot and granddaddy shot it one night and it took the hair off its hind end that apparently never grew back. Supposedly there were a few more sightings over the next few years and they all say he was sporting a bald spot. But now mind you, Granddaddy also did time in a Tallahassee prison for running quite the moonshine operation in those woods as well. I can't say what he saw nor if I'd believe it coming from him, I never met him. But coming from these drunken fools I was thinking just that; that all these "sightings" were being told by so and so to so and so and they're all known drunks and it's probably just old tales told to scare the kids. Granddaddy was a little (a lot) rough around the edges and thought teaching kids there was nothing to fear by scaring the living sh*t out of them was hysterical to him and a favorite pastime. Again, here's the part that right now more so than the night he told me trips me the hell out.

My father-in-law's brother, opposite side of the family. Less crazy, more class, blue collar hard working man, very quiet. Certainly not one to make up or go along with "tales" as he barely speaks and is too honorable a person to lie, especially one so extravagant. My husband told me a very different take on this whole thing. They were living in Roanoke while all this was going on. His dad was a Norfolk Southern engineer; they were home on vacation as they did often. He's talking to his cousin and she's crying and telling him about how their horses have been going absolutely nuts at night, stomping and whinnying, her dog went missing and they found its leg and a couple bones in the field. He later overhears their dads and granny talking about it (again. Granny would smack someone for spreading some "nonsense' and she was just as engaged in the talk). His uncle is telling his dad that one night the previous week when the horses started up he grabbed his shotgun (this was after the dog, and this is the country) and started out to see what it was and in the window cut out of the door stood a very large "ape-like man" with red eyes. Said he never appeared aggressive, just stood there looking at him. They kept eye contact for a minute or so, and then "he" slowly turned and walked away and into the tree line.

Had I heard that from anyone else; well you now know how I'd react- "were you high? Drunk?". I put it out of my head over the years as this was all a long time ago. There's no telling what all happened, but I've lived in the area this long and haven't heard of, heard, or seen anything that couldn't be explained or that gave me reason to think it was anything more than a local "urban legend". I'd all but forgotten about it honestly. Last week something happened (I don't know what. Something silly) and my husband jokingly said "Rawhide's back". Two nights ago my son came tearing into my room around midnight. He's almost 13 and a big boy not over easily frightened. Maybe it was because it seemed much closer this time, so the sheer volume coupled with a very strange and unfamiliar sound from something seemingly right outside our bedrooms. I get it. He and I were the only ones awake. It happened twice several seconds apart with the first seeming a lot further away.

If you read all of this my friend, I applaud and thank you. Its not a sighting nor any kind of proof of anything. The river is about 2 miles from my house, I meant to mention that. I don't know man. All I know is that some weird things been going on. I've never heard that sound and I cannot find a clip to match it. And way too many things are falling into place for my comfort.

So there's my story. If you care to know if anything else goes down let me know and I will gladly oblige. Maybe between us we can figure this out. Or maybe I should stop telling myself my gut and intuition are wrong when they never are. B

I have received other Bigfoot reports from the Yadkin River area before:

Recent Bigfoot Sighting on North Carolina's Yadkin River

Updates: Davie County, NC Cryptid / Arkansas Juvenile Bigfoot

Possible Bigfoot Detected - Yadkin River, Davie County, NC

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Bigfoot: Exploring the Myth & Discovering the Truth

Monsters of North Carolina: Mysterious Creatures in the Tar Heel State

Living Among Bigfoot: Words of Warning

Mysterious & Strange Stories in the North Carolina Mountains

Weird Carolinas: Your Travel Guide to North and South Carolina's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets