166. Sheepsquatch

1
00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:16,480
Welcome to West Virginia
Travelers.

2
00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:20,320
Prepare to immerse yourself in
rich cultural heritage, from

3
00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,080
lively festivals celebrating
Appalachian music and dance to

4
00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:28,080
quaint towns steeped in history.
Indulge in hearty Southern

5
00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:31,800
cuisine, savoring the flavors of
traditional Appalachian fare.

6
00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,320
Served with a side of genuine
Southern hospitality.

7
00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:38,240
Experience the thrill of outdoor
adventures as you hike through

8
00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:41,840
dense forests, kayak down
winding rivers, or marvel at

9
00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,840
breathtaking vistas from atop
the majestic peaks.

10
00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:48,760
Embrace the tranquillity of
nature as you explore sprawling

11
00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,800
wilderness and discover hidden
gems around every corner.

12
00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:56,800
But be warned, as you traverse
these untamed landscapes, you

13
00:00:56,800 --> 00:00:59,400
might come across something that
you weren't expecting.

14
00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:04,080
Deep in the remote forest is a
large white beast.

15
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,920
Eyewitness reports to this
monster say that you can expect

16
00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,800
to have your flesh ripped from
bone as it grabs you with its

17
00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:14,200
raccoon like paws and sinks its
fangs into your throat.

18
00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:18,160
That is after it has rammed you
senseless with its large goat

19
00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,560
like horns.
All that to say, you won't stand

20
00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:25,320
a chance against this 8 foot
carnivorous predator.

21
00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,960
Remember this cautionary Jingle.
If you're out in the woods and

22
00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:32,440
start to smell sulfur, run, run,
run.

23
00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,640
Or else you'll die.
I think you get the point

24
00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:39,040
anyway.
Whether you're seeking

25
00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,960
adventure, relaxation, or simply
a taste of authentic Appalachian

26
00:01:42,960 --> 00:01:46,480
culture, West Virginia welcomes
you with open arms.

27
00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:49,600
Welcome back to Infinite Rabbit
Hole.

28
00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:59,120
Imagine this.
Line represents the time as of

29
00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:07,400
1985 Future Past prior to this
point in time.

30
00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:09,840
Somewhere.
Here in the past, the timeline

31
00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:14,160
you got into this tangent
creating an ultimate 1985

32
00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:21,560
alternate view near Einstein
reality for everyone else.

33
00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,680
You heard it travellers, We're
exploring the woods of West

34
00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:36,720
Virginia today.
Well, not really the woods, but

35
00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,800
what's in the woods rather?
Have you ever heard of the sheep

36
00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:43,880
squatch?
Honestly, when Jeremy came at me

37
00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:48,960
with this episode idea and I
heard the name sheep Squatch, I

38
00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,120
immediately thought, well it was
some kind of Bigfoot type

39
00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:55,640
creature and that's not the
case.

40
00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,760
But I'm sure that's what you
would think too if you hadn't

41
00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:04,000
ever heard of the sheep squatch.
This is the second episode in

42
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,840
the mini doc series, right after
Loveland Frogman, because the

43
00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,360
sheep squatch is not very well
known.

44
00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:15,440
Actually, it's probably more
well known now due to being able

45
00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:21,200
to be found in the new video
game Fallout 76, where they have

46
00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:24,440
a abundance of cryptids and one
of them is the sheep Squatch.

47
00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,320
But outside of the small area of
West Virginia where this Cryptid

48
00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,960
resides, it's not very well
known.

49
00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,120
As a matter of fact, there
aren't very many sightings or

50
00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:40,880
accounts of it, and it's very
much similar to the Loveland

51
00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:47,240
Frogman in just it's not very
prevalent in the cryptozoology

52
00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:50,840
community.
But either way, I'm sure that

53
00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,920
you'll enjoy this episode as I
enjoyed writing it for y'all.

54
00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,160
And without further ado, we'll
get into it.

55
00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:03,040
Said to be located in the Point
Pleasant TNT area and as far

56
00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,680
north as Rivesville, about 150
miles northeast, the sheep

57
00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:12,000
squatch or white thing can be a
variety of sizes and shapes,

58
00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,160
whether it's walking on two legs
and eight feet tall or walking

59
00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:19,240
on all fours and somewhere
around the size of a bear.

60
00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,800
What remains to be consistent is
that it has white fur, long

61
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,520
fangs, and seems to prey on
livestock, hence the name Sheep

62
00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,440
Squatch.
Sheep Squatch go by several

63
00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,520
names depending on who's telling
the story.

64
00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,040
A more familiar name to you
might be the Morgan's Ridge

65
00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,760
Monster, due to what may be the
first string of sightings, or at

66
00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,560
least stories about this fluffy
fanged beast.

67
00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:47,840
During the 1920s, a mine located
near Morgan's Ridge had become

68
00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:50,920
the location of many mutilated
sheep and sightings of the

69
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,600
possible predator.
One man named William O'dell,

70
00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:58,240
his son, and several farm hands
had a run in with a mysterious

71
00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,600
creature on their farm.
It was a rainy night and the

72
00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,600
party had heard a loud scream
outside in the sheep pasture, so

73
00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,440
grabbing their guns they went to
investigate the disturbance.

74
00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:12,480
It was only shortly after that
they came across the outline of

75
00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:16,840
some sort of unfamiliar beast.
The men took aim and fired at it

76
00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,040
and believed that their aim was
true due to a loud painful

77
00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,680
shriek that was heard, but due
to the weather decided to

78
00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,160
investigate the following
morning when hopefully would be

79
00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,760
clear when the sun rose.
The next day the group went back

80
00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,920
to the spot and we're hoping to
find the body of whatever it was

81
00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,000
that they had attempted to guard
their sheep against.

82
00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,160
Instead though, they found not
the body of the beast, but the

83
00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:43,800
corpses of four of Odell's sheep
mutilated with slash throats,

84
00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,760
and there was a surprising lack
of blood in the area.

85
00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,960
The following night it had
started to rain once again, and

86
00:05:50,960 --> 00:05:53,480
again a loud scream was heard in
the pasture.

87
00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:57,480
This time the men ran out right
away and once again encountered

88
00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,720
the mysterious creature.
This time though, after shooting

89
00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:03,880
it, they rushed to the spot with
lanterns in hand to see what

90
00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,640
they had hit.
But once again, there was no

91
00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:10,840
monster, just another dead sheep
with the same mutilated remains.

92
00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,440
After that night though, it
seems that the beast had enough

93
00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,920
because it never came back to
harass the Odell farm or kill

94
00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:22,520
any more of his sheep.
Another report in the 1920s came

95
00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:26,160
from a miner named Frank Kozol,
who had come across the beast

96
00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:30,400
but described it to be white and
doglike with a thick bushy tail.

97
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,280
He's returning home after his
shift had ended and was

98
00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:37,800
confronted along the way As the
creature snarled at him.

99
00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:40,920
He attempted to defend himself
with his lunch box, but the

100
00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,200
thing seemed to be like a ghost
because the lunch box apparently

101
00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,520
passed right through it.
Frank then made a run for it and

102
00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,440
it gave chase.
The pursuit ended, however, when

103
00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,720
Frank came up on a local
cemetery he decided to take

104
00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,600
refuge in and the thing vanished
into thin air.

105
00:06:57,600 --> 00:07:00,720
Honestly, this story's given me
phantom black dog vibes.

106
00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,160
The next mention of the beast
was several decades later in

107
00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:10,720
1965 from a book titled The Tell
Tale, Lilac, Bush and Other West

108
00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:14,600
Virginia Ghost tales by a
folklorist named Ruth Ann Music.

109
00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:19,800
In her book story #92 titled The
White Thing, there's a short

110
00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,560
story where the white Thing was
seen by a woman who is riding

111
00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:27,840
her horse from church and a
beast with razor sharp fangs and

112
00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,920
white fur that was bigger than a
dog but smaller than a horse

113
00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,160
came crashing through the trees.
The monster chased her for a

114
00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:37,840
time, but eventually faded away
Into Darkness.

115
00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,720
Upon arriving home, the woman
put the horse away in the barn

116
00:07:41,920 --> 00:07:45,360
and the next day found her mare
to be dead in the barn with most

117
00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,200
of its flesh ripped from its
bones.

118
00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,440
Now to be fair, I don't believe
that this is an actual account

119
00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:54,800
of an encounter unless it was
told to Ruth while she was

120
00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:57,560
writing her book.
This is probably just a story

121
00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,880
describing a local legend.
The next documented sightings

122
00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,320
didn't occur until the early
1990s.

123
00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:09,200
In 1994, there were two
sightings, 1 by a former sailor

124
00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:12,280
in the United States Navy who
was walking through the forest,

125
00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:14,880
and also by some children who
were playing in their yard in

126
00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,720
Boone County.
The man said he viewed it for

127
00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:21,160
several minutes as it drank from
a Creek and then, seemingly

128
00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:24,400
without noticing him, decided to
move on with its route through

129
00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,440
the trees.
However, when the children saw

130
00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,480
what they described to be a
large white bear standing on its

131
00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:35,159
hind legs, it did notice them
and took off right into the

132
00:08:35,159 --> 00:08:38,679
woods.
The creature was spotted again a

133
00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:43,760
year later in 1995, this time in
an encounter involving a couple

134
00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:47,560
driving through Boone County who
saw a large white beasts sitting

135
00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:51,800
in a ditch alongside the road.
Curious, they stopped their car

136
00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,080
to get a closer look.
They described the creature as

137
00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,800
mostly similar to earlier
reports, but added that it had

138
00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:02,240
four eyes.
Unlike previous sightings where

139
00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,760
the sheep squatch fled, this
time the creature leapt out of

140
00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:10,080
the ditch and attacked the car.
Terrified, the couple speed away

141
00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,200
and upon reaching home they
discovered large scratches on

142
00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:15,400
the side of their car where the
beast had struck.

143
00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:20,840
Another incident in 1999
involved a couple of people

144
00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:24,080
camping close to their home who
were gathered around a bonfire

145
00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,720
at night.
They heard an animal snorting

146
00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,320
and scuffling around camp,
similar to an aggravated bear,

147
00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:32,480
though it stayed out of the
campfire's light.

148
00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,240
Suddenly the sheep squatch
charged out of the darkness

149
00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,120
towards them.
Reacting quickly, they jumped up

150
00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:41,880
and ran back to their house,
pursued by the creature.

151
00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,360
The sheep squatch stopped at the
edge of the forest and let out a

152
00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,280
terrible scream before returning
back to the woods.

153
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,720
The next morning, the campers
returned to their campsite and

154
00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:56,160
found the area and the trail
home all torn up, describing it

155
00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,400
as if someone had tilled it up
for gardening.

156
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:03,240
The last reported incident with
this sheep squatch came from

157
00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:07,920
2015 in Fawkes Run, Virginia.
The beast was spotted once again

158
00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,920
in the forest of Appalachia. 6
Campers spending the night in

159
00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:15,200
the dense woods reported seeing
the creature close to midnight.

160
00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,120
The beast was described as 8 to
9 feet tall with a shoulder

161
00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,680
width of four to five feet.
One camper first saw the

162
00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:25,160
creature crouching at the top of
a nearby hill.

163
00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,000
When it stood up, he alerted the
others.

164
00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,560
The beast began running down the
steep hill toward the campers,

165
00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:35,080
but a river separated them.
They watched in horror as it

166
00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:37,800
searched for a way to cross,
eventually wading through the

167
00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:40,480
river.
Emerging from the river, it

168
00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:44,480
appeared to be like a bipedal
dog, and it's fur was wet from

169
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:47,640
the crossing.
Suddenly a loud, guttural

170
00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:50,080
screech was heard about two
miles away.

171
00:10:50,680 --> 00:10:53,920
The sheep's watch looked up in
shock, its face illuminated by

172
00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,920
the moonlight, and it let out a
pathetic whimper before

173
00:10:56,920 --> 00:11:00,520
sprinting away from the noise.
The terrified campers quickly

174
00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:03,280
got packed up and left,
reporting the incident to the

175
00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,040
locals but not the authorities.
Fearing ridicule.

176
00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:08,920
The identity of the campers
remains unknown.

177
00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:12,200
And that's it.
Travellers.

178
00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:17,240
Those are the accounts.
Now, this appears to have the

179
00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:21,120
same vibes as a lot of other
local cryptids.

180
00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:26,000
There's a bunch of reports, but
nearly no names are given and no

181
00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,360
newspaper clippings or any
information on where the report

182
00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:32,640
was originally published.
So personally I don't give

183
00:11:32,640 --> 00:11:34,640
stories like this much weight in
reality.

184
00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:39,960
That being said, if we look at
consistencies in the reports, it

185
00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,800
appears to be large and white
and sometimes aggressive.

186
00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,240
Let's try to tie this in with an
animal that's known to exist but

187
00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:51,760
is extremely rare.
Spirit bears, or Kermode bears

188
00:11:52,160 --> 00:11:55,560
are an albino subspecies of
black bear and are said to be

189
00:11:55,560 --> 00:11:59,440
the rarest bears in the world
and only known to reside in

190
00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,760
small sections of British
Columbia, Canada.

191
00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,720
Could one or more of these bears
also live in the dense forests

192
00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,720
of Boone County, West Virginia?
Sure they could.

193
00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:13,640
It's probably more likely that
there are a naturally occurring

194
00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:17,360
subspecies of black bears there
than a four eyed horned bear

195
00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,840
like monster Between the size of
a dog and a horse living in the

196
00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:25,720
woods, which I find hilarious.
Somewhere between the size of a

197
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:29,320
dog and a horse.
You know, like 1000 LB weight

198
00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,640
difference.
However, the sheep squatch

199
00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,840
entity isn't alone in the world
of Bovidae legends.

200
00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,640
From Pan and the story of Jason
and the Argonauts retrieving the

201
00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,760
Golden Fleece of Greek mythology
to recent sightings of the Goat

202
00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,440
Man of Pacheco Pass in
California, it seems that humans

203
00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:50,760
have always been surrounded by
some sort of legends regarding

204
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,600
these split hooved animals.
Perhaps it's due to the close

205
00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,520
relationship mankind has had
with them throughout history.

206
00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:00,960
Either way, this is just my take
on the topic.

207
00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:03,920
But if you've had a first hand
sighting of the legendary sheep

208
00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,760
squatch and want to come on and
tell us about it, then by all

209
00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,000
means hit us up on the Infant or
Rabbit Hole Facebook group.

210
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,000
Or shoot us an e-mail at infant
or rabbithole@gmail.com.

211
00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,760
But that's it Travelers, this
has been the legend of the sheep

212
00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:18,680
squatch of Boone County, West
Virginia.

213
00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,960
Thank you so much for joining us
and we'll see you next time down

214
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:23,960
the next fork of the infant or
rabbit hole.

215
00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:31,200
Bye.
I would like to thank you once

216
00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,360
again for tuning into the
Infinite Rabbit Hole Podcast.

217
00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,200
Please make sure to give us a
follow and one of those

218
00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:41,240
beautiful five star ratings on
your podcast player of choice.

219
00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,960
If you would like to join the
conversation and stay up to date

220
00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,560
on all things Infinite Rabbit
Hole, head on over to Facebook

221
00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:50,920
and search for the Infinite
Rabbit Hole Facebook group.

222
00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:53,720
You'll know it's us when you see
the logo.

223
00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,040
If you would like to help
contribute to the 'cause, there

224
00:13:57,040 --> 00:14:00,840
are a few ways to do so.
First, head on over to anchor

225
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,600
dot FN forward slash infant
rabbit hole and click on the

226
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,640
subscribe button, where for $5 a
month you'll get access to all

227
00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:11,520
our old episodes that we'll
never see the free spotlight

228
00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,400
ever again.
It's horrible stuff, but if

229
00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:16,560
you're into that kind of thing
then go check that.

230
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:20,880
Second, head on over to
infantrabbithole.com and click

231
00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:24,560
on the IRH Merch Shop tab and
grab yourself a sweet T-shirt,

232
00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:29,920
sticker or whatever else you see
that you wouldn't mind on until

233
00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:32,640
next time travellers.
I'm Jeremy and I'll see you at

234
00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:34,280
the next fork in the path of the
Infinite Rabbit Hole.

235
00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,760
This line represents the time
present 1985 Future Past prior

236
00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:38,920
to this point in time somewhere.
In.

237
00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:56,120
The past the timeline tuned into
this tangent created an

238
00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:58,040
alternate 1985.