1 00:00:02,042 --> 00:00:04,667 WILLIAM SHATNER: A demon born in the dead of night. 2 00:00:04,875 --> 00:00:09,083 An insatiable monster hiding in the ocean's depths. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,833 And a violent swamp beast 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:15,375 terrorizing an entire town. 5 00:00:17,208 --> 00:00:21,208 Since the dawn of humanity, tales of monstrous creatures 6 00:00:21,417 --> 00:00:23,208 lurking in the shadows of our world 7 00:00:23,417 --> 00:00:28,042 have sparked both fascination and fear. 8 00:00:28,208 --> 00:00:30,958 Today, we often dismiss these accounts as the stuff 9 00:00:31,083 --> 00:00:33,583 of myth and legend, 10 00:00:33,750 --> 00:00:37,208 but are we overlooking a potentially terrifying reality? 11 00:00:37,375 --> 00:00:39,583 With scientists discovering 12 00:00:39,750 --> 00:00:44,042 as many as 18,000 new animal species every year... 13 00:00:44,208 --> 00:00:47,958 isn't it conceivable that there could be real-life 14 00:00:48,125 --> 00:00:51,542 flesh and blood monsters 15 00:00:51,708 --> 00:00:53,333 living among us? 16 00:00:53,542 --> 00:00:57,542 Well, that is what we'll try and find out. 17 00:00:57,708 --> 00:00:59,667 ♪ ♪ 18 00:01:12,167 --> 00:01:16,167 In southern New Jersey, a vast sea of trees 19 00:01:16,333 --> 00:01:19,583 stretches as far as the eye can see. 20 00:01:21,208 --> 00:01:25,833 Below the dense canopy of these woods lies a primeval world 21 00:01:26,042 --> 00:01:29,042 filled with ominous sights and sounds 22 00:01:29,208 --> 00:01:32,167 that are shrouded by dark undergrowth. 23 00:01:32,292 --> 00:01:35,792 This foreboding wilderness is known 24 00:01:35,958 --> 00:01:38,458 as the Pine Barrens. 25 00:01:40,250 --> 00:01:43,500 The Pine Barrens is basically a million acres of woodland 26 00:01:43,667 --> 00:01:45,208 in the southern tip of New Jersey. 27 00:01:45,375 --> 00:01:47,833 You can essentially get lost in the Pine Barrens 28 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,083 and never be seen again 29 00:01:50,292 --> 00:01:52,833 because they are just so vast. 30 00:01:52,958 --> 00:01:57,750 At nighttime, you can hear animals crunching all around. 31 00:01:58,792 --> 00:02:02,458 But the problem is you can't see where these things are. 32 00:02:03,375 --> 00:02:05,083 It's a terrifying place. 33 00:02:05,250 --> 00:02:06,542 And it's very, very scary, 34 00:02:06,708 --> 00:02:08,875 especially if you're lost there by yourself. 35 00:02:09,042 --> 00:02:10,958 (owl hoots) 36 00:02:11,083 --> 00:02:14,292 SHATNER: The Pine Barrens is home to over 500 animal species. 37 00:02:14,458 --> 00:02:17,667 But according to locals, there is one creature 38 00:02:17,875 --> 00:02:22,708 said to dwell here that has yet to be officially identified. 39 00:02:23,750 --> 00:02:27,833 It's a grotesque, winged monster that is known 40 00:02:28,042 --> 00:02:29,875 as the Jersey Devil. 41 00:02:31,375 --> 00:02:34,167 The New Jersey Devil legend is ingrained 42 00:02:34,375 --> 00:02:36,167 into the state of New Jersey so much. 43 00:02:36,375 --> 00:02:38,667 It's something that every kid hears when they're growing up. 44 00:02:38,792 --> 00:02:41,583 The Jersey Devil's gonna come and get you. 45 00:02:41,750 --> 00:02:44,208 One of the most famous aspects of the Jersey Devil 46 00:02:44,375 --> 00:02:48,042 is its horrific screech or roar. 47 00:02:48,208 --> 00:02:50,583 (creature screeches) 48 00:02:50,792 --> 00:02:53,125 If you hear something like that in the Pine Barrens, 49 00:02:53,250 --> 00:02:54,833 you run. 50 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:56,875 (creature screeches) 51 00:02:57,042 --> 00:02:59,083 CHAD LEWIS: The Jersey Devil looks like it should have come out 52 00:02:59,208 --> 00:03:01,125 of Dr. Frankenstein's lab. 53 00:03:01,250 --> 00:03:03,458 It's a hodgepodge of animal parts. 54 00:03:04,750 --> 00:03:09,792 It has a horse's head with horns growing out of it, 55 00:03:09,958 --> 00:03:13,083 a long dragon or kangaroo body, 56 00:03:13,250 --> 00:03:17,375 ending in thin, long bird legs and hooves, 57 00:03:17,542 --> 00:03:20,083 a forked tail on its back. 58 00:03:20,292 --> 00:03:23,833 It has giant leather bat-like wings on its back. 59 00:03:25,042 --> 00:03:28,125 If you were to describe something out of a nightmare, 60 00:03:28,250 --> 00:03:30,792 the Jersey Devil would be that description. 61 00:03:32,208 --> 00:03:34,375 SHATNER: Could a winged abomination 62 00:03:34,542 --> 00:03:37,167 really lurk somewhere in the Pine Barrens? 63 00:03:38,417 --> 00:03:41,333 Perhaps clues can be found by examining the origin story 64 00:03:41,500 --> 00:03:45,167 of this fearsome monster that has been spoken of 65 00:03:45,292 --> 00:03:48,875 in local lore for more than 250 years. 66 00:03:49,042 --> 00:03:51,875 (creature screeches) 67 00:03:54,417 --> 00:03:56,500 SHATNER: As the story goes, in 1735, 68 00:03:56,667 --> 00:04:00,250 inside a small house in Leeds Point, New Jersey, 69 00:04:00,417 --> 00:04:04,583 a woman gave birth to her unlucky 13th child. 70 00:04:05,542 --> 00:04:09,875 And when it was born, it became a monster. 71 00:04:12,250 --> 00:04:15,083 According to tradition, the Jersey Devil 72 00:04:15,250 --> 00:04:17,458 is actually the 13th child 73 00:04:17,625 --> 00:04:20,333 of a woman known as Mother Leeds. 74 00:04:21,417 --> 00:04:25,667 And she is on record as having 12 children. 75 00:04:25,875 --> 00:04:30,583 So, the story that we get is that, when Mother Leeds 76 00:04:30,750 --> 00:04:34,333 was giving birth to this purported 13th child, 77 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:38,167 she apparently, legend says, 78 00:04:38,333 --> 00:04:41,500 cried out, "The devil can take this one." 79 00:04:42,417 --> 00:04:44,958 And she initially gave birth 80 00:04:45,167 --> 00:04:47,000 to a healthy, happy baby boy, 81 00:04:47,208 --> 00:04:49,500 who almost immediately transformed 82 00:04:49,708 --> 00:04:52,125 into this demon-like creature. 83 00:04:52,292 --> 00:04:53,625 (creature screeches) 84 00:04:53,792 --> 00:04:56,292 Some stories say that Mother Leeds was killed 85 00:04:56,458 --> 00:04:58,250 after the baby was born, by the baby. 86 00:04:59,375 --> 00:05:02,000 Other stories just say he flew up the chimney 87 00:05:02,208 --> 00:05:03,917 and into the Pine Barrens. 88 00:05:05,083 --> 00:05:07,458 SHATNER: Skeptics are quick to dismiss the story of a devil 89 00:05:07,667 --> 00:05:12,000 born of human flesh, but after this alleged event, 90 00:05:12,208 --> 00:05:14,708 entirely new tales of the monster 91 00:05:14,875 --> 00:05:17,625 started to surface in South Jersey. 92 00:05:21,167 --> 00:05:22,542 ...in the early 1800s, 93 00:05:22,667 --> 00:05:24,750 a military officer of great distinction 94 00:05:24,917 --> 00:05:27,375 was said to have had a firsthand encounter 95 00:05:27,542 --> 00:05:30,208 with the Jersey Devil. 96 00:05:30,375 --> 00:05:32,958 The Jersey Devil has had run-ins with many 97 00:05:33,125 --> 00:05:34,375 famous people over the years, 98 00:05:34,542 --> 00:05:38,000 such as Commodore Stephen Decatur. 99 00:05:38,125 --> 00:05:41,208 He was a famous naval war hero, 100 00:05:41,375 --> 00:05:43,833 and he came across the Jersey Devil 101 00:05:44,042 --> 00:05:45,417 flying overhead. 102 00:05:45,542 --> 00:05:48,833 He fired a cannon at the Jersey Devil. 103 00:05:50,750 --> 00:05:52,583 And, according to some eyewitnesses, 104 00:05:52,750 --> 00:05:54,875 he shot a hole through one of its wings, 105 00:05:55,042 --> 00:05:57,458 but it just flew away like nothing had happened. 106 00:05:58,750 --> 00:06:03,458 McNEILL: Naval Commodore Stephen Decatur spoke openly about this. 107 00:06:03,583 --> 00:06:06,833 So, when a prominent person comes forward to say, 108 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:10,083 "Oh, no, absolutely, I saw this, you know, strange horse-faced, 109 00:06:10,250 --> 00:06:13,958 winged, dragon-like creature, and I shot a cannonball at it," 110 00:06:14,125 --> 00:06:17,500 that impresses itself upon us in a way that kind of says, 111 00:06:17,667 --> 00:06:19,000 "Wait a minute, okay." 112 00:06:20,042 --> 00:06:24,458 The pattern of belief here is so consistent. 113 00:06:26,042 --> 00:06:29,083 SHATNER: By the turn of the 20th century, belief in the existence 114 00:06:29,250 --> 00:06:33,750 of the Jersey Devil had long been part of local culture. 115 00:06:33,917 --> 00:06:37,542 But then, during the week of January 16, 1909, 116 00:06:37,708 --> 00:06:41,667 an unprecedented avalanche of Jersey Devil sightings 117 00:06:41,833 --> 00:06:43,625 surfaced in the numerous communities 118 00:06:43,792 --> 00:06:46,000 bordering the Pine Barrens. 119 00:06:46,208 --> 00:06:51,125 And for the first time, this demonic creature terrified 120 00:06:51,292 --> 00:06:53,667 not just the residents of New Jersey 121 00:06:53,875 --> 00:06:57,500 but also newspaper readers across the United States. 122 00:06:59,542 --> 00:07:02,875 1909 is really a key year 123 00:07:03,042 --> 00:07:04,583 for the Jersey Devil story 124 00:07:04,792 --> 00:07:06,417 because what we see happen 125 00:07:06,542 --> 00:07:08,500 is really what amounts to 126 00:07:08,708 --> 00:07:10,542 just an absolute panic. 127 00:07:10,708 --> 00:07:13,500 There starts to be report 128 00:07:13,708 --> 00:07:16,333 after report after report 129 00:07:16,542 --> 00:07:19,125 of people encountering the Jersey Devil, 130 00:07:19,292 --> 00:07:20,917 shooting at it... 131 00:07:23,208 --> 00:07:27,583 ...seeing its hoofprints on top of their chicken coops 132 00:07:27,708 --> 00:07:30,167 and their farm buildings. 133 00:07:30,375 --> 00:07:33,292 People are sheltering in place 134 00:07:33,458 --> 00:07:36,042 because of the Jersey Devil. 135 00:07:37,542 --> 00:07:39,500 One of the more dramatic sightings involved 136 00:07:39,667 --> 00:07:42,333 a trolley car in Haddon Heights, New Jersey 137 00:07:42,542 --> 00:07:44,875 that was allegedly dive-bombed by the creature. 138 00:07:45,042 --> 00:07:47,833 When accounts of these Jersey Devil sightings 139 00:07:48,042 --> 00:07:50,042 and attacks surfaced in local newspapers, 140 00:07:50,208 --> 00:07:52,458 it actually caused mass hysteria. 141 00:07:52,667 --> 00:07:55,667 Local businesses and schools were shut down. 142 00:07:55,833 --> 00:07:59,167 The Philadelphia Zoo offered a reward of $10,000 143 00:07:59,333 --> 00:08:01,375 for the creature's capture, 144 00:08:01,583 --> 00:08:04,000 and vigilance committees and posses were formed 145 00:08:04,208 --> 00:08:05,458 to hunt the creature. 146 00:08:07,125 --> 00:08:10,167 HEIMBUCH: I do think because of the sheer amounts of accounts 147 00:08:10,375 --> 00:08:12,167 that happened in 1909, 148 00:08:12,333 --> 00:08:14,750 of course some of them are not gonna be true. Absolutely. 149 00:08:14,917 --> 00:08:17,167 But the fact that so many of them happened, 150 00:08:17,333 --> 00:08:19,375 I really believe that there were some 151 00:08:19,542 --> 00:08:21,583 actual Jersey Devil encounters during this time. 152 00:08:21,750 --> 00:08:24,250 SHATNER: The panic of 1909 153 00:08:24,417 --> 00:08:26,500 immortalized the Jersey Devil 154 00:08:26,708 --> 00:08:29,125 in both national and local history. 155 00:08:29,250 --> 00:08:32,917 But curiously, Native American lore suggests 156 00:08:33,042 --> 00:08:36,458 that the origins of this Pine Barrens monster 157 00:08:36,667 --> 00:08:40,750 may actually go back much further into the distant past. 158 00:08:41,792 --> 00:08:44,750 In this part of the world, before the arrival of colonists, 159 00:08:44,875 --> 00:08:48,292 the tribes that lived here were the Lenape, 160 00:08:48,458 --> 00:08:52,208 and they referred to this part of the world-- the Pine Barrens 161 00:08:52,375 --> 00:08:56,708 of what is now New Jersey-- as "the place of the dragon." 162 00:08:57,792 --> 00:09:01,000 So, the presence of a creature 163 00:09:01,167 --> 00:09:03,208 in this place of the dragon 164 00:09:03,375 --> 00:09:06,292 has been recorded long into the past. 165 00:09:07,417 --> 00:09:11,000 We really do see two different cultural understandings 166 00:09:11,208 --> 00:09:13,333 of this place coming together 167 00:09:13,500 --> 00:09:16,083 in the idea that there's a creature here 168 00:09:16,250 --> 00:09:19,625 that maybe looks a little bit like a dragon. 169 00:09:20,625 --> 00:09:21,792 HEIMBUCH: Whether or not you believe 170 00:09:21,917 --> 00:09:24,708 the Jersey Devil theories or legends, 171 00:09:24,875 --> 00:09:27,042 he existed well before any of that stuff existed, 172 00:09:27,208 --> 00:09:30,667 and it's a big part of the state's identity. 173 00:09:30,750 --> 00:09:33,500 The Pine Barrens is such a huge, vast place 174 00:09:33,667 --> 00:09:36,167 that, absolutely, a creature can live there 175 00:09:36,375 --> 00:09:38,417 and not ever be seen by anyone 176 00:09:38,583 --> 00:09:40,458 for the rest of their entire lives, 177 00:09:40,583 --> 00:09:43,458 which kind of leads credence to the theory that 178 00:09:43,583 --> 00:09:45,875 this creature does exist. 179 00:09:46,083 --> 00:09:48,208 (creature screeches) 180 00:09:55,167 --> 00:09:57,708 SHATNER: Population: 733. 181 00:09:57,875 --> 00:10:00,917 This small town near the eastern border of Texas 182 00:10:01,083 --> 00:10:03,167 appears similar to hundreds of other 183 00:10:03,375 --> 00:10:05,792 rural communities in the region. 184 00:10:06,708 --> 00:10:08,833 A single highway cuts through town, 185 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,792 which is surrounded by vast woods, 186 00:10:11,875 --> 00:10:14,542 creeks, 187 00:10:14,708 --> 00:10:18,417 and acres of mosquito-ridden swampland. 188 00:10:18,542 --> 00:10:21,583 Fouke, Arkansas is thousands of acres 189 00:10:21,750 --> 00:10:23,375 of very swampy area. 190 00:10:23,500 --> 00:10:25,500 And within that, 191 00:10:25,667 --> 00:10:28,500 there is plenty of places that creatures 192 00:10:28,625 --> 00:10:32,208 could find seclusion and could easily survive. 193 00:10:32,375 --> 00:10:34,375 The woods and the swampy bottoms 194 00:10:34,542 --> 00:10:37,083 are just so thick that 195 00:10:37,250 --> 00:10:38,875 they could travel through these woods 196 00:10:39,042 --> 00:10:43,083 and not be seen, uh, very much, if at all. 197 00:10:44,250 --> 00:10:47,708 SHATNER: This rugged landscape is teeming with wildlife, 198 00:10:47,875 --> 00:10:49,875 but according to locals, 199 00:10:50,042 --> 00:10:52,542 there is a massive, monstrous creature 200 00:10:52,708 --> 00:10:54,000 that stands out from all others, 201 00:10:54,208 --> 00:10:57,375 because it bears an uncanny resemblance 202 00:10:57,542 --> 00:10:59,125 to a human. 203 00:10:59,333 --> 00:11:02,625 They call it the Fouke Monster. 204 00:11:02,792 --> 00:11:04,625 LEWIS: By physical description, 205 00:11:04,792 --> 00:11:06,500 the Fouke Monster-- 206 00:11:06,625 --> 00:11:09,667 it's very large-- seven to ten feet tall, 207 00:11:09,875 --> 00:11:15,000 very thick, long, matted-down hair, 208 00:11:15,167 --> 00:11:19,667 usually dark brown or a reddish tint. 209 00:11:19,875 --> 00:11:24,792 It's a biped walking and running upright on its hind legs. 210 00:11:24,958 --> 00:11:27,333 BLACKBURN: The creature is often known 211 00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:29,083 to elicit a frightening howl. 212 00:11:29,250 --> 00:11:30,417 (creature howling) 213 00:11:30,583 --> 00:11:31,958 It's often said 214 00:11:32,125 --> 00:11:34,667 to have a very terrible, rank odor. 215 00:11:34,833 --> 00:11:37,625 It's said to be similar to a Bigfoot, 216 00:11:37,708 --> 00:11:40,125 yet more scraggly, 217 00:11:40,333 --> 00:11:44,417 more rugged looking, 218 00:11:44,583 --> 00:11:46,792 and witnesses often have a very 219 00:11:46,958 --> 00:11:51,167 emotional reaction because of the fear of this creature. 220 00:11:51,333 --> 00:11:53,625 SHATNER: It's estimated that there have been hundreds 221 00:11:53,750 --> 00:11:56,250 of sightings of the Fouke Monster, 222 00:11:56,417 --> 00:11:58,708 dating back to the 1800s. 223 00:11:58,875 --> 00:12:01,083 And locals are convinced 224 00:12:01,250 --> 00:12:04,583 that tangible evidence of the beast exists. 225 00:12:04,750 --> 00:12:07,792 Over the years, people have made numerous plaster casts 226 00:12:07,917 --> 00:12:10,792 of unusually large footprints 227 00:12:10,958 --> 00:12:14,333 said to have been left by the massive creature. 228 00:12:15,542 --> 00:12:17,583 Today, many of them are preserved 229 00:12:17,750 --> 00:12:21,917 in a town museum known as the Monster Mart. 230 00:12:53,917 --> 00:12:56,167 STATNER: Are these strange footprints proof 231 00:12:56,375 --> 00:12:59,333 that a giant, hairy beast roams the swamplands 232 00:12:59,500 --> 00:13:01,708 of Southwest Arkansas? 233 00:13:01,875 --> 00:13:03,833 Perhaps. But, of course, 234 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,667 many residents don't need convincing, 235 00:13:05,792 --> 00:13:07,167 because they claim 236 00:13:07,375 --> 00:13:09,833 to have actually seen the Fouke Monster 237 00:13:10,042 --> 00:13:12,542 with their own eyes. 238 00:13:12,708 --> 00:13:14,458 Back in the early '70s, 239 00:13:14,625 --> 00:13:16,000 my friend Karen and I were riding 240 00:13:16,125 --> 00:13:17,625 in the back of a pickup truck. 241 00:13:17,833 --> 00:13:20,000 And all of a sudden, 242 00:13:20,167 --> 00:13:23,250 we saw this thing step out from behind a big tree. 243 00:13:24,375 --> 00:13:25,958 It was probably about three and a half feet 244 00:13:26,042 --> 00:13:27,833 across the shoulders. 245 00:13:28,042 --> 00:13:29,958 And it turned and took another step 246 00:13:30,125 --> 00:13:32,708 and was gone into the plum thicket. 247 00:13:32,875 --> 00:13:34,917 That's why we never went in the woods anymore after that, 248 00:13:35,083 --> 00:13:37,042 'cause we... we knew how big it was, 249 00:13:37,250 --> 00:13:39,667 and that thing could snap you like a twig. 250 00:13:40,708 --> 00:13:44,708 DOYLE HOLMES: About 2004, I'm in a little canoe, 251 00:13:44,875 --> 00:13:47,833 and I hear splashes. 252 00:13:48,042 --> 00:13:50,583 I could see the image, 253 00:13:50,708 --> 00:13:54,208 the silhouette of something with two legs 254 00:13:54,375 --> 00:13:56,167 standing up. 255 00:13:56,333 --> 00:14:00,125 This thing was hairy. It's big legs, big trunk. 256 00:14:00,250 --> 00:14:01,958 It was very impressive-looking. 257 00:14:02,125 --> 00:14:04,083 After a while, he just turned around 258 00:14:04,250 --> 00:14:06,083 and just walked off in the marsh, 259 00:14:06,250 --> 00:14:08,750 and I didn't see him again. 260 00:14:08,917 --> 00:14:12,042 Now, I, at that point, never believed in the monster, 261 00:14:12,208 --> 00:14:13,958 or that there was something else out there. 262 00:14:14,125 --> 00:14:15,875 But my mind started getting open 263 00:14:16,042 --> 00:14:18,000 to the possibility at that point. 264 00:14:18,208 --> 00:14:20,833 SHATNER: For the residents of Fouke, Arkansas, 265 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,833 the possibility that an unidentified creature 266 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,292 could dwell in their midst is simply part of living 267 00:14:26,458 --> 00:14:28,542 in this rural community. 268 00:14:28,708 --> 00:14:30,708 And many believe that the monster is 269 00:14:30,875 --> 00:14:34,458 not only real, but also quite dangerous. 270 00:14:34,583 --> 00:14:36,500 The most infamous incident 271 00:14:36,667 --> 00:14:38,708 that cemented the Fouke Monster's 272 00:14:38,875 --> 00:14:44,167 menacing reputation occurred on May 2, 1971, 273 00:14:44,292 --> 00:14:49,958 when it reportedly attacked a local man named Bobby Ford. 274 00:14:50,042 --> 00:14:52,042 One of the most sensational 275 00:14:52,167 --> 00:14:56,125 and well-known encounters with the Fouke Monster 276 00:14:56,250 --> 00:14:58,792 originates at what's known as the Ford house. 277 00:14:58,958 --> 00:15:02,292 On a Saturday night, the Ford family started 278 00:15:02,458 --> 00:15:05,250 to hear something creeping around on the porch. 279 00:15:07,375 --> 00:15:09,208 And all of a sudden, 280 00:15:09,375 --> 00:15:13,083 this big, hairy hand came in through the window. 281 00:15:16,167 --> 00:15:19,375 Bobby Ford went outside and shot at it. 282 00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:21,000 (gunshots) 283 00:15:21,125 --> 00:15:23,042 All of a sudden, something ran out 284 00:15:23,208 --> 00:15:26,000 from beside the house and attacked him. 285 00:15:26,167 --> 00:15:28,042 He barely managed to escape, 286 00:15:28,208 --> 00:15:32,208 and whatever had happened shook him up so bad 287 00:15:32,375 --> 00:15:34,875 that they ended up having to transport him 288 00:15:35,042 --> 00:15:37,083 to the Texarkana Hospital, 289 00:15:37,250 --> 00:15:40,667 where he was treated for shock and injuries 290 00:15:40,833 --> 00:15:43,333 as a result of this attack. 291 00:15:43,458 --> 00:15:46,792 The Fords found a strange footprint 292 00:15:46,958 --> 00:15:50,417 which looked large and somewhat human-like, 293 00:15:50,583 --> 00:15:52,417 yet had three toes. 294 00:15:52,583 --> 00:15:55,250 And so, something very scary 295 00:15:55,417 --> 00:15:58,833 and something very unexplainable happened. 296 00:15:59,042 --> 00:16:00,833 SHATNER: The attack on Bobby Ford made headlines 297 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,458 around the country, 298 00:16:02,583 --> 00:16:05,333 due to the sensational nature of the story, 299 00:16:05,542 --> 00:16:08,750 and because shortly after it took place, 300 00:16:08,917 --> 00:16:10,625 physical evidence was recovered 301 00:16:10,750 --> 00:16:14,833 which seemed to corroborate the Ford family's claims. 302 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,042 Following the publicity around the Ford incident, 303 00:16:18,208 --> 00:16:22,667 a farmer found a track line of footprints 304 00:16:22,875 --> 00:16:24,833 that went across a soybean field, 305 00:16:24,917 --> 00:16:28,958 and these tracks were roughly human-shaped, 306 00:16:29,167 --> 00:16:31,542 yet had three toes. 307 00:16:31,708 --> 00:16:33,375 And this was investigated 308 00:16:33,542 --> 00:16:35,417 by the Miller County Sheriff's Office, 309 00:16:35,542 --> 00:16:37,333 the game warden, wildlife officials, 310 00:16:37,458 --> 00:16:39,875 and none of them could really explain 311 00:16:40,083 --> 00:16:42,292 what the heck these footprints were. 312 00:16:42,417 --> 00:16:47,083 So, that built credibility to what the Fords were saying. 313 00:16:48,125 --> 00:16:49,500 SHATNER: Perhaps what's even more remarkable 314 00:16:49,667 --> 00:16:53,167 than the fact that inexplicable, three-toed tracks were found 315 00:16:53,375 --> 00:16:57,083 shortly after the Ford incident is that a plaster cast 316 00:16:57,208 --> 00:17:00,792 of those footprints can still be seen today 317 00:17:00,917 --> 00:17:03,125 in the Monster Mart. 318 00:17:21,792 --> 00:17:25,083 SHATNER: While the outside world may be skeptical, 319 00:17:25,250 --> 00:17:29,333 many people in Fouke, Arkansas remain utterly convinced 320 00:17:29,542 --> 00:17:31,458 that their town is home to a monster 321 00:17:31,625 --> 00:17:35,250 that is not the stuff of myth and legend, 322 00:17:35,417 --> 00:17:40,167 but rather flesh and blood. 323 00:17:40,292 --> 00:17:43,667 But there's another legendary monster 324 00:17:43,833 --> 00:17:45,792 that inspires nothing but terror, 325 00:17:45,917 --> 00:17:48,083 because it's said to be so evil 326 00:17:48,208 --> 00:17:50,292 that it can drive ordinary people 327 00:17:50,417 --> 00:17:55,125 to commit... unspeakable acts. 328 00:18:01,417 --> 00:18:03,167 SHATNER: A group of psychiatrists 329 00:18:03,333 --> 00:18:06,000 from the University of Miami School of Medicine publish 330 00:18:06,167 --> 00:18:10,000 an intriguing and unsettling study. 331 00:18:10,167 --> 00:18:14,250 Their report documents a rare mental illness 332 00:18:14,417 --> 00:18:18,500 that is known as Windigo Psychosis. 333 00:18:18,708 --> 00:18:22,125 BLACKBURN: Windigo psychosis is a kind of controversial condition 334 00:18:22,292 --> 00:18:27,167 in which a person is believed to have 335 00:18:27,333 --> 00:18:29,833 intense cravings for human flesh. 336 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,333 This could result from isolation, 337 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:38,000 lack of food, in which a person ends up 338 00:18:38,167 --> 00:18:39,833 getting a condition of high anxiety 339 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:41,500 that just sort of comes out 340 00:18:41,667 --> 00:18:44,583 in this bizarre cannibalistic craving. 341 00:18:45,625 --> 00:18:47,917 SHATNER: While Windigo Psychosis continues to be studied 342 00:18:48,125 --> 00:18:50,083 by medical professionals... 343 00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:54,000 ...the name of this disturbing condition 344 00:18:54,167 --> 00:18:59,292 actually has its origins in Native American lore. 345 00:19:00,292 --> 00:19:01,833 For centuries, when native people heard 346 00:19:02,042 --> 00:19:04,250 the word "windigo," they understood it to be 347 00:19:04,417 --> 00:19:06,292 not a form of mental illness 348 00:19:06,458 --> 00:19:10,750 but rather a terrifying monster. 349 00:19:10,875 --> 00:19:13,000 The windigo is a creature 350 00:19:13,208 --> 00:19:15,542 that comes to us from Algonquin tradition. 351 00:19:15,708 --> 00:19:17,333 So the Ojibwe People, 352 00:19:17,500 --> 00:19:20,083 the Cree People right around the Great Lakes area, 353 00:19:20,292 --> 00:19:22,250 in both the U.S. and in Canada. 354 00:19:23,792 --> 00:19:25,292 This is an area of the world-- 355 00:19:25,458 --> 00:19:28,292 the Great Lakes region-- where winters are harsh. 356 00:19:28,417 --> 00:19:31,792 And starvation-- that was a common thing. 357 00:19:31,958 --> 00:19:35,000 The key theme to the windigo story is 358 00:19:35,125 --> 00:19:38,667 that this is a creature that eats human beings. 359 00:19:38,875 --> 00:19:43,167 "Windigo" is a word from the Algonquin language, 360 00:19:43,375 --> 00:19:48,417 which translates into "evil spirit that devours mankind." 361 00:19:49,458 --> 00:19:52,167 Descriptions of the creature vary from tribe to tribe, 362 00:19:52,292 --> 00:19:56,667 but in general, the windigo is a very tall giant 363 00:19:56,833 --> 00:19:58,667 with glowing red eyes, 364 00:19:58,833 --> 00:20:03,375 rows of sharp teeth, and an extremely long tongue. 365 00:20:03,542 --> 00:20:05,917 Many cultures believe that the windigo is 366 00:20:06,083 --> 00:20:08,458 the most fearsome and deadly creature 367 00:20:08,625 --> 00:20:10,625 ever to set foot in North America. 368 00:20:10,792 --> 00:20:14,250 It has an insatiable hunger for human flesh. 369 00:20:14,375 --> 00:20:17,500 The more it eats, the bigger it becomes. 370 00:20:18,542 --> 00:20:20,750 SHATNER: A skeletal monster that becomes bigger and stronger 371 00:20:20,958 --> 00:20:22,333 with each human it devours? 372 00:20:22,542 --> 00:20:25,625 It's undoubtedly terrifying, to say the least. 373 00:20:25,750 --> 00:20:30,333 But could the legend of the windigo actually be true? 374 00:20:30,542 --> 00:20:34,333 Well, according to Native American tradition, 375 00:20:34,542 --> 00:20:35,583 it is. 376 00:20:35,708 --> 00:20:37,583 And perhaps the most haunting part 377 00:20:37,750 --> 00:20:42,125 of the legend is that these hideous creatures were once 378 00:20:42,333 --> 00:20:44,333 human beings. 379 00:20:44,500 --> 00:20:48,167 BLACKBURN: According to the Native American stories, 380 00:20:48,375 --> 00:20:52,083 the process for somebody becoming a windigo is either 381 00:20:52,250 --> 00:20:55,167 an evil spirit possesses the person 382 00:20:55,333 --> 00:20:57,708 and then becomes the windigo 383 00:20:57,875 --> 00:21:00,333 or the person simply 384 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:03,000 transforms into the monster. 385 00:21:03,167 --> 00:21:05,833 LEWIS: If you dreamed of the windigo, 386 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,042 that would welcome the windigo to come and attack you. 387 00:21:10,208 --> 00:21:11,833 So, there were multiple ways 388 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,500 that you could be possessed by the windigo. 389 00:21:14,667 --> 00:21:16,542 SHATNER: While Native American legends 390 00:21:16,708 --> 00:21:19,542 of windigo transformations might be easily dismissed 391 00:21:19,708 --> 00:21:22,792 as parables rather than real events, 392 00:21:22,875 --> 00:21:25,667 that may not be the case. 393 00:21:25,833 --> 00:21:28,167 Perhaps the most compelling argument 394 00:21:28,375 --> 00:21:31,375 that windigo possession is in fact real can be found 395 00:21:31,542 --> 00:21:34,333 by examining the horrific story 396 00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:39,292 of a 19th century Cree trapper named Swift Runner. 397 00:21:39,417 --> 00:21:42,292 The story of Swift Runner is one of the most gruesome 398 00:21:42,375 --> 00:21:46,167 and heartbreaking tales of a person becoming a windigo. 399 00:21:46,292 --> 00:21:51,000 During the winter of 1878 and '79, 400 00:21:51,167 --> 00:21:53,000 Swift Runner took off with his family 401 00:21:53,167 --> 00:21:55,833 to their winter hunting grounds. 402 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,167 But then the game disappeared. 403 00:21:58,375 --> 00:22:01,125 Times were tough and food was scarce. 404 00:22:01,250 --> 00:22:03,792 During this particularly brutal winter, 405 00:22:03,958 --> 00:22:08,125 he actually killed and ate his wife and his children. 406 00:22:08,333 --> 00:22:09,875 And according to the story, 407 00:22:10,042 --> 00:22:13,958 Swift Runner been possessed by the spirit of the windigo. 408 00:22:14,167 --> 00:22:15,500 LEWIS: Swift Runner said 409 00:22:15,667 --> 00:22:17,708 an evil presence overcame him. 410 00:22:17,917 --> 00:22:21,833 When authorities took him back to the grounds, 411 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,333 they discovered something out of a horror movie. 412 00:22:24,542 --> 00:22:29,333 Bones thrown all about, skulls everywhere. 413 00:22:29,542 --> 00:22:34,292 He was eventually arrested and sent to Edmonton, 414 00:22:34,417 --> 00:22:37,833 and was hanged for being a windigo. 415 00:22:38,875 --> 00:22:41,000 SHATNER: Did Swift Runner commit shocking crimes 416 00:22:41,208 --> 00:22:43,333 because he was possessed by the windigo, 417 00:22:43,542 --> 00:22:46,542 as some people believed at the time? 418 00:22:46,708 --> 00:22:50,333 Or was he simply afflicted with an extreme form of psychosis, 419 00:22:50,542 --> 00:22:53,542 as the modern medical community now claims? 420 00:22:53,667 --> 00:22:58,167 Just like many tales regarding monsters of myth and legend, 421 00:22:58,375 --> 00:23:01,333 the truth remains elusive. 422 00:23:02,250 --> 00:23:06,000 The key defining feature of the windigo 423 00:23:06,208 --> 00:23:08,333 is about cannibalism. 424 00:23:09,375 --> 00:23:11,583 We can see that as a supernatural creature 425 00:23:11,750 --> 00:23:14,708 or we can see it as a medical condition. 426 00:23:14,875 --> 00:23:19,250 But as far as anyone can tell, the windigo psychosis 427 00:23:19,417 --> 00:23:22,542 is pretty specific to that cultural area. 428 00:23:22,708 --> 00:23:26,083 And there are things known as culture-bound conditions 429 00:23:26,292 --> 00:23:29,625 that only happen to people from a given cultural background. 430 00:23:31,375 --> 00:23:33,875 BLACKBURN: The fact that we have science 431 00:23:34,042 --> 00:23:35,750 referring to the windigo-- 432 00:23:35,917 --> 00:23:38,292 it doesn't prove that the windigo exists, 433 00:23:38,458 --> 00:23:42,208 but it just underscores the fact that the windigo 434 00:23:42,375 --> 00:23:46,250 has transformed from Native American tales 435 00:23:46,375 --> 00:23:49,625 to something we're talking about in modern times. 436 00:23:50,625 --> 00:23:54,167 Is the windigo a real creature made of flesh and blood 437 00:23:54,375 --> 00:23:57,500 or a menace that dwells within the human mind? 438 00:23:57,500 --> 00:23:57,833 or a menace that dwells within the human mind? 439 00:23:58,542 --> 00:24:02,292 In either case, it embodies pure terror. 440 00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:05,750 Not unlike a massive, winged beast 441 00:24:05,875 --> 00:24:10,750 that, in 1909, incited such widespread panic 442 00:24:10,917 --> 00:24:13,500 that a $100,000 reward was offered 443 00:24:13,667 --> 00:24:16,500 to anyone who could slay it. 444 00:24:16,708 --> 00:24:19,917 The hideous monster was known as... 445 00:24:20,125 --> 00:24:21,958 the snallygaster. 446 00:24:30,792 --> 00:24:32,875 SHATNER: The residents of this quaint 447 00:24:33,042 --> 00:24:36,250 rural community are shocked to read an unsettling report 448 00:24:36,417 --> 00:24:40,125 in a local newspaper named the Middletown Valley Register. 449 00:24:40,292 --> 00:24:42,042 An eyewitness claims 450 00:24:42,208 --> 00:24:47,458 to have seen a gigantic flying monster soaring in the sky. 451 00:24:47,625 --> 00:24:50,000 The creature appeared to have bronze wings, 452 00:24:50,167 --> 00:24:54,833 an enormous horned head and a 20-foot-long tail. 453 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:59,583 This hideous beast was referred to as the "snallygaster." 454 00:25:01,375 --> 00:25:03,375 The first documented reports 455 00:25:03,542 --> 00:25:06,292 of the snallygaster started in 1909. 456 00:25:06,458 --> 00:25:10,333 And then it just kept getting printed again, 457 00:25:10,542 --> 00:25:12,333 different sightings throughout the area, 458 00:25:12,458 --> 00:25:14,417 mischief that it was causing. 459 00:25:14,583 --> 00:25:17,500 It was described as this dragon-like creature 460 00:25:17,708 --> 00:25:20,667 with a beak and tentacles and razor-sharp claws 461 00:25:20,833 --> 00:25:23,417 and all kinds of terrifying things. 462 00:25:23,625 --> 00:25:25,875 And then it escalated from, 463 00:25:26,042 --> 00:25:29,375 "I saw it flying over the mountain" to 464 00:25:29,583 --> 00:25:32,875 "It killed my chickens and destroyed part of my barn." 465 00:25:34,875 --> 00:25:37,042 So it definitely escalated into a frenzy where people 466 00:25:37,208 --> 00:25:38,625 were truly afraid. 467 00:25:40,125 --> 00:25:43,500 LEWIS: In 1909, people of Frederick County 468 00:25:43,708 --> 00:25:46,167 were seeing the snallygaster everywhere. 469 00:25:46,333 --> 00:25:49,500 It was out in farm fields, it was crossing roads, 470 00:25:49,708 --> 00:25:51,500 people were taking shots at it. 471 00:25:51,708 --> 00:25:54,000 -(bird squawks) -(gunshot) 472 00:25:54,167 --> 00:25:56,167 They would say that their bullets would bounce off 473 00:25:56,333 --> 00:26:00,000 of its skin as though it had a scale-like armor. 474 00:26:01,042 --> 00:26:03,458 SHATNER: Newspaper coverage about the snallygaster 475 00:26:03,667 --> 00:26:06,042 terrorized people throughout Frederick County. 476 00:26:06,208 --> 00:26:08,000 But the panic escalated 477 00:26:08,167 --> 00:26:11,083 when a report surfaced that the winged freak 478 00:26:11,250 --> 00:26:13,042 had actually killed 479 00:26:13,208 --> 00:26:15,667 a human being. 480 00:26:15,792 --> 00:26:18,625 There is one death blamed on the snallygaster. 481 00:26:18,750 --> 00:26:22,583 It was a Middletown man named Bill Gifferson. 482 00:26:22,708 --> 00:26:24,667 People found the body, 483 00:26:24,792 --> 00:26:26,875 had no idea how this happened, 484 00:26:27,042 --> 00:26:29,125 and eyewitnesses said that it was 485 00:26:29,292 --> 00:26:31,667 a snallygaster that got hold of him in the night. 486 00:26:32,708 --> 00:26:35,500 GERHARD: Allegedly, the gentleman was scooped up, 487 00:26:35,708 --> 00:26:38,167 his jugular vein bitten by the creature, 488 00:26:38,292 --> 00:26:39,625 drained of his blood, 489 00:26:39,833 --> 00:26:41,458 and his body was discarded on a hillside. 490 00:26:41,583 --> 00:26:44,333 COOPER: Bill Gifferson's death actually led 491 00:26:44,542 --> 00:26:48,000 to more horrifying kind of media coverage, 492 00:26:48,125 --> 00:26:51,667 telling people to stay inside and to be afraid 493 00:26:51,833 --> 00:26:53,708 and watch out for it. 494 00:26:53,875 --> 00:26:55,708 And especially once it got dark. 495 00:26:56,833 --> 00:26:59,833 SHATNER: As reports of the snallygaster circulated, 496 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,250 the monster famously drew the attention 497 00:27:02,417 --> 00:27:06,333 of a very powerful person who loved to hunt big game. 498 00:27:06,542 --> 00:27:10,667 The 26th president of the United States: 499 00:27:10,875 --> 00:27:13,125 Theodore Roosevelt. 500 00:27:13,292 --> 00:27:15,000 McNEILL: Teddy Roosevelt 501 00:27:15,167 --> 00:27:18,292 was ready to pick up his gun and go down and shoot it. 502 00:27:18,417 --> 00:27:22,333 He was ready to cancel trips he already had planned 503 00:27:22,542 --> 00:27:25,458 to take on this creature. 504 00:27:25,667 --> 00:27:28,375 Now, in the end, Teddy Roosevelt said, 505 00:27:28,542 --> 00:27:31,292 "I don't need to march to Maryland 506 00:27:31,458 --> 00:27:33,375 and kill this thing myself anymore." 507 00:27:33,583 --> 00:27:37,167 But it was a big deal when it happened. 508 00:27:38,417 --> 00:27:39,792 SHATNER: It's easy to assume 509 00:27:39,958 --> 00:27:42,000 that the frenzy surrounding the snallygaster 510 00:27:42,208 --> 00:27:46,042 in 1909 was simply the result of mass hysteria. 511 00:27:46,208 --> 00:27:48,667 But the history of this part of Maryland suggests 512 00:27:48,875 --> 00:27:52,333 that the truth may be far more intriguing. 513 00:27:52,542 --> 00:27:55,583 Because, during the 1700s, 514 00:27:55,750 --> 00:27:58,458 German colonists living in this area 515 00:27:58,583 --> 00:28:02,292 also reported a fearsome winged creature. 516 00:28:02,458 --> 00:28:04,000 Although, back then, 517 00:28:04,167 --> 00:28:07,875 the snallygaster had a slightly different name. 518 00:28:09,292 --> 00:28:11,833 The idea of the snallygaster originated 519 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,833 with the German immigrants who made their way 520 00:28:14,958 --> 00:28:18,833 to the Maryland area in the 1700s. 521 00:28:18,917 --> 00:28:21,542 They had called this thing the Schneller Geist, 522 00:28:21,708 --> 00:28:25,542 a fast spirit or quick ghost, as they called it. 523 00:28:25,708 --> 00:28:28,125 Eventually, that became corrupted 524 00:28:28,333 --> 00:28:30,417 into the "snallygaster." 525 00:28:30,583 --> 00:28:33,667 It was thought to be a deadly monster. 526 00:28:33,833 --> 00:28:37,000 And people feared it for a hundred and some years 527 00:28:37,208 --> 00:28:42,000 before it was ever mentioned in any known written account. 528 00:28:43,042 --> 00:28:45,542 SHATNER: It's fascinating to trace the history 529 00:28:45,750 --> 00:28:48,667 of the Schneller Geist in colonial times 530 00:28:48,833 --> 00:28:51,875 to the snallygaster in 1909. 531 00:28:52,042 --> 00:28:56,000 However, you might think that as the 20th century progressed, 532 00:28:56,167 --> 00:28:57,875 modern people would stop panicking 533 00:28:58,042 --> 00:29:00,708 over this alleged monster. 534 00:29:00,875 --> 00:29:04,042 But, in fact, it was just the opposite, 535 00:29:04,250 --> 00:29:06,167 because in 1932, 536 00:29:06,375 --> 00:29:10,333 it appears that the snallygaster returned 537 00:29:10,500 --> 00:29:12,167 to terrorize this community. 538 00:29:13,125 --> 00:29:15,625 In 1932, the sightings began again. 539 00:29:15,792 --> 00:29:19,208 We had a lot more people going out and hunting 540 00:29:19,375 --> 00:29:21,583 for the snallygaster. 541 00:29:21,750 --> 00:29:24,000 News coverage made its way even further, 542 00:29:24,167 --> 00:29:26,958 even down to Washington, D.C. 543 00:29:27,917 --> 00:29:31,875 This was not a small, localized story. 544 00:29:32,042 --> 00:29:34,417 This was a story that went big. 545 00:29:34,625 --> 00:29:39,167 The Smithsonian offered $100,000 546 00:29:39,375 --> 00:29:41,833 for proof of this creature's existence. 547 00:29:42,042 --> 00:29:44,667 The Smithsonian Institute, 548 00:29:44,833 --> 00:29:47,125 who, if they don't grant gravitas to a story, 549 00:29:47,333 --> 00:29:48,833 I don't know who does. 550 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,250 SHATNER: What are we to make of the numerous occasions 551 00:29:52,417 --> 00:29:56,667 in which the snallygaster has incited widespread panic? 552 00:29:56,792 --> 00:29:58,583 Ultimately, it's hard to say whether sightings 553 00:29:58,708 --> 00:30:01,500 of the monster were genuine encounters 554 00:30:01,708 --> 00:30:04,333 or simply the product of mass hysteria. 555 00:30:04,542 --> 00:30:06,167 But one thing is certain: 556 00:30:06,292 --> 00:30:09,375 the snallygaster continues to loom large 557 00:30:09,542 --> 00:30:12,750 in the history of Frederick County, Maryland. 558 00:30:12,917 --> 00:30:14,333 When I moved to Maryland, 559 00:30:14,542 --> 00:30:16,208 I started researching local folk legends, 560 00:30:16,417 --> 00:30:18,792 and the snallygaster really caught my eye 561 00:30:18,958 --> 00:30:21,250 because it was such a big part of history. 562 00:30:21,458 --> 00:30:26,250 So I go to local businesses and paranormal conventions 563 00:30:26,417 --> 00:30:28,000 and things like that, to just speak 564 00:30:28,208 --> 00:30:30,833 about the folk history of Maryland 565 00:30:31,042 --> 00:30:33,667 and how it ties into the snallygaster. 566 00:30:33,875 --> 00:30:36,583 And even in modern times, 567 00:30:36,708 --> 00:30:38,000 there are people that live out there 568 00:30:38,167 --> 00:30:40,667 that hear and see strange things 569 00:30:40,833 --> 00:30:44,000 that could be considered the snallygaster. 570 00:30:44,167 --> 00:30:48,500 So, the fact that this legend has persisted throughout time 571 00:30:48,708 --> 00:30:52,417 definitely means that it could still be around to this day. 572 00:30:52,625 --> 00:30:55,708 SHATNER: Whether or not the snallygaster actually exists, 573 00:30:55,875 --> 00:30:59,375 it remains fascinating from an historical perspective. 574 00:30:59,542 --> 00:31:03,833 But halfway around the world, off the coast of Australia, 575 00:31:03,917 --> 00:31:07,000 some believe that a giant sea monster lurks 576 00:31:07,167 --> 00:31:09,417 in the depths of the ocean. 577 00:31:09,583 --> 00:31:13,583 And remarkably, there may be scientific proof 578 00:31:13,708 --> 00:31:16,958 of this formidable predator. 579 00:31:24,375 --> 00:31:26,250 SHATNER: The deep waters of the Pacific Ocean just 580 00:31:26,375 --> 00:31:28,167 off the eastern coast of the land down under 581 00:31:28,375 --> 00:31:32,000 are world famous for deep sea fishing. 582 00:31:32,167 --> 00:31:35,458 Here, fisherman regularly catch a variety of marine life, 583 00:31:35,625 --> 00:31:39,250 including marlin, swordfish, 584 00:31:39,417 --> 00:31:41,000 and even sharks. 585 00:31:42,667 --> 00:31:46,833 But in March of 2019, an unusual incident took place 586 00:31:46,958 --> 00:31:48,792 when a local fisherman hooked 587 00:31:48,917 --> 00:31:52,208 a 550-pound Mako shark on his line. 588 00:31:52,375 --> 00:31:55,833 As he hauled it into his boat, the only thing left... 589 00:31:55,958 --> 00:31:57,625 was a severed head. 590 00:31:59,750 --> 00:32:01,417 The rest of the massive shark's body 591 00:32:01,542 --> 00:32:05,000 had apparently been devoured by an even larger-- 592 00:32:05,125 --> 00:32:08,542 and unidentified-- ocean predator. 593 00:32:09,750 --> 00:32:14,000 Pictures went viral of this mako shark 594 00:32:14,208 --> 00:32:18,083 just absolutely decimated from the head down. 595 00:32:19,083 --> 00:32:21,000 There was so much mystery surrounding this 596 00:32:21,208 --> 00:32:23,958 because looking at this picture of this mako-- 597 00:32:24,083 --> 00:32:27,167 this thing looks humongous. 598 00:32:28,167 --> 00:32:30,625 It seriously did cause some speculation 599 00:32:30,708 --> 00:32:33,708 as to what kind of mega predator could have caused 600 00:32:33,875 --> 00:32:35,583 a bite this big 601 00:32:35,708 --> 00:32:38,250 on such a huge shark. 602 00:32:39,375 --> 00:32:42,333 SHATNER: What animal could be so large and so ferocious 603 00:32:42,500 --> 00:32:46,708 that it literally ripped a shark to shreds? 604 00:32:46,875 --> 00:32:48,708 As news outlets around the world reported 605 00:32:48,875 --> 00:32:52,250 on the story, an extraordinary theory emerged. 606 00:32:52,417 --> 00:32:57,208 Is it possible that this violent encounter 607 00:32:57,375 --> 00:33:00,417 was the work of a real-life sea monster? 608 00:33:02,167 --> 00:33:03,958 It may sound like an outlandish notion 609 00:33:04,083 --> 00:33:05,500 but the surprising truth is 610 00:33:05,667 --> 00:33:07,917 that this is not the first inexplicable attack 611 00:33:08,042 --> 00:33:10,375 that has been recorded off the coast of Australia. 612 00:33:10,542 --> 00:33:14,125 In fact, scientists have been actively searching 613 00:33:14,333 --> 00:33:17,667 for an elusive and monstrous predator 614 00:33:17,750 --> 00:33:21,958 in these waters since 2003. 615 00:33:23,042 --> 00:33:25,833 In 2003, I was involved with Australia's 616 00:33:26,042 --> 00:33:29,250 premier scientific organization, the CSIRO. 617 00:33:30,375 --> 00:33:33,042 They had started a satellite tagging program to better 618 00:33:33,208 --> 00:33:36,250 understand the movement patterns of great white sharks. 619 00:33:38,375 --> 00:33:41,667 We tagged four or five great white sharks, 620 00:33:41,833 --> 00:33:43,542 and one of them in particular, 621 00:33:43,708 --> 00:33:47,125 Shark Alpha, was around nine, ten feet in length. 622 00:33:47,250 --> 00:33:50,375 No small animal by any stretch of the imagination. 623 00:33:51,542 --> 00:33:54,167 About two months later, the tag showed 624 00:33:54,375 --> 00:33:56,667 this shark had been chased down 625 00:33:56,792 --> 00:33:58,500 the continental shelf edge, 626 00:33:58,625 --> 00:34:02,000 down to a depth of around 2,000 feet, 627 00:34:02,208 --> 00:34:05,458 where it appeared to have been devoured by something. 628 00:34:05,625 --> 00:34:07,750 And that something had an internal temperature of 629 00:34:07,917 --> 00:34:09,625 around 72 degrees Fahrenheit. 630 00:34:09,750 --> 00:34:13,042 And that temperature, regardless of where the tag went then, 631 00:34:13,208 --> 00:34:16,375 the depth, that temperature stayed relatively constant. 632 00:34:16,542 --> 00:34:19,000 It was a bubble of temperature showing 633 00:34:19,167 --> 00:34:20,417 it was inside the stomach of something. 634 00:34:21,583 --> 00:34:24,125 What that could be, we don't know. 635 00:34:24,250 --> 00:34:27,958 But the proportions it would have to have 636 00:34:28,083 --> 00:34:30,833 to eat a great white is colossal. 637 00:34:30,958 --> 00:34:33,708 It would have to be massive. 638 00:34:33,875 --> 00:34:35,417 You're really starting to stray 639 00:34:35,583 --> 00:34:36,917 into the realm of the unbelievable. 640 00:34:37,042 --> 00:34:39,958 So that leaves the kind of 641 00:34:40,083 --> 00:34:44,583 uncomfortable notion of: what is it? 642 00:34:44,750 --> 00:34:47,708 SHATNER: It's alarming to think that there could be a giant 643 00:34:47,875 --> 00:34:49,500 sea monster lurking in the deep 644 00:34:49,708 --> 00:34:54,583 that can swallow a great white shark whole. 645 00:34:54,708 --> 00:34:57,500 Nevertheless, some scientists claim that 646 00:34:57,667 --> 00:35:00,500 even more evidence of a fearsome sea creature 647 00:35:00,708 --> 00:35:04,042 lies in the strange behavior of marine life 648 00:35:04,208 --> 00:35:06,917 off the coast of Australia. 649 00:35:07,083 --> 00:35:11,000 FANARA: In 2023, a number of pilot whales 650 00:35:11,208 --> 00:35:14,208 beached themselves on the shores of Western Australia. 651 00:35:14,417 --> 00:35:19,167 These whales were huddled in an unusual way. 652 00:35:19,375 --> 00:35:22,542 People got some of these whales back out to the water, 653 00:35:22,708 --> 00:35:26,750 but they came right back in and beached themselves again. 654 00:35:27,958 --> 00:35:31,417 What the reason was remains a mystery. 655 00:35:31,583 --> 00:35:35,458 One of the theories is that this pod of whales 656 00:35:35,625 --> 00:35:38,500 was escaping something, was running away from something. 657 00:35:39,750 --> 00:35:43,083 Now, if it was a great white coming towards a pod of whales, 658 00:35:43,208 --> 00:35:44,500 there's power in numbers. 659 00:35:44,708 --> 00:35:47,500 They wouldn't beach themselves over that. 660 00:35:47,708 --> 00:35:50,625 So it couldn't have been just a regular great white shark. 661 00:35:50,750 --> 00:35:51,792 There's no way. 662 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:54,833 But if it was something 663 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:59,292 about 65 feet long... maybe. 664 00:36:00,542 --> 00:36:03,542 RIGGS: Is there something else that's in the food chain 665 00:36:03,667 --> 00:36:06,875 that is literally frightening them to shore? 666 00:36:07,042 --> 00:36:08,458 Is it possible that there is something 667 00:36:08,583 --> 00:36:11,875 out here that we literally haven't seen before? 668 00:36:12,083 --> 00:36:13,375 That's the question. 669 00:36:14,417 --> 00:36:16,875 SHATNER: With so many anomalous incidents happening 670 00:36:17,042 --> 00:36:20,208 in the waters off Australia, it naturally begs the question, 671 00:36:20,333 --> 00:36:22,958 are they all connected? 672 00:36:23,125 --> 00:36:24,667 Is there a giant sea monster that can bite 673 00:36:24,875 --> 00:36:26,333 a mako shark in half, 674 00:36:26,500 --> 00:36:28,167 swallow a great white whole, 675 00:36:28,375 --> 00:36:31,958 and send a horde of whales fleeing for their lives? 676 00:36:33,292 --> 00:36:34,917 The truth is that, for the moment, scientists 677 00:36:35,042 --> 00:36:36,375 are at a loss for answers. 678 00:36:36,583 --> 00:36:40,458 And for many, the possibility that there are 679 00:36:40,583 --> 00:36:43,708 monstrous, undiscovered creatures in the unexplored 680 00:36:43,875 --> 00:36:49,083 depths of the ocean should not be dismissed. 681 00:36:49,292 --> 00:36:53,125 When you take into consideration that we literally 682 00:36:53,292 --> 00:36:55,208 don't know very much about the ocean, 683 00:36:55,375 --> 00:36:58,417 we only have mapped something like 20% of it, 684 00:36:58,583 --> 00:37:02,000 and we've only seen something like one or two percent of it, 685 00:37:02,208 --> 00:37:04,875 there could be things hiding out here 686 00:37:05,042 --> 00:37:06,792 that we've never seen before. 687 00:37:07,833 --> 00:37:10,750 SHATNER: If there is a nightmarish monster that inhabits 688 00:37:10,917 --> 00:37:14,458 the ocean's depths, we can take comfort that it hasn't yet 689 00:37:14,667 --> 00:37:18,458 claimed any human victims, at least as far as we know. 690 00:37:18,625 --> 00:37:21,625 But there's another creature that is said to inhabit 691 00:37:21,708 --> 00:37:23,542 the remote deserts of California, 692 00:37:23,542 --> 00:37:24,000 the remote deserts of California, 693 00:37:24,458 --> 00:37:27,083 which is even more frightening 694 00:37:27,208 --> 00:37:29,750 because it has reportedly attacked 695 00:37:29,917 --> 00:37:33,375 unsuspecting people. 696 00:37:39,500 --> 00:37:43,375 SHATNER: This rustic town, located in the Mojave Desert, 697 00:37:43,542 --> 00:37:46,750 is adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park. 698 00:37:46,917 --> 00:37:50,833 Each year, millions of people visit Joshua Tree 699 00:37:50,958 --> 00:37:53,833 to hike through its twisting expanse of boulders 700 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:55,667 and oddly shaped trees. 701 00:37:55,875 --> 00:37:59,750 But unfortunately many adventure seekers 702 00:37:59,917 --> 00:38:03,458 who trek into this wilderness never return. 703 00:38:04,625 --> 00:38:07,167 BLACKBURN: On occasion, human remains have been found 704 00:38:07,375 --> 00:38:11,167 out in the area of the Joshua Tree National Park, 705 00:38:11,375 --> 00:38:12,667 and these are presumably hikers 706 00:38:12,833 --> 00:38:14,833 who have gone missing over the years. 707 00:38:15,958 --> 00:38:19,458 So, while it's a beautiful, striking-looking place, 708 00:38:19,542 --> 00:38:23,500 it's also very secluded and very dangerous. 709 00:38:23,625 --> 00:38:26,917 SHATNER: It's easy to see how tourists hiking in Joshua Tree 710 00:38:27,083 --> 00:38:30,208 could get lost and fall victim to the scorching 711 00:38:30,375 --> 00:38:32,500 temperatures of this desert environment. 712 00:38:32,708 --> 00:38:36,208 However, some locals believe that mysterious 713 00:38:36,375 --> 00:38:38,708 deaths in the park are the work of 714 00:38:38,875 --> 00:38:42,417 a frightening monster, who is referred to 715 00:38:42,583 --> 00:38:44,417 as the Yucca Man. 716 00:38:45,542 --> 00:38:49,000 The Yucca Man is seen in the southern regions 717 00:38:49,125 --> 00:38:50,667 of the California area. 718 00:38:50,750 --> 00:38:55,458 Sightings of the Yucca Man date back to at least the 1960s. 719 00:38:56,458 --> 00:38:59,167 It's described as being very tall, 720 00:38:59,375 --> 00:39:01,625 covered in hair over its entire body. 721 00:39:02,625 --> 00:39:06,500 CHRISTOPHER BADER: The Yucca Man is what you might call a desert-based Bigfoot. 722 00:39:06,708 --> 00:39:08,917 People go missing in the Yucca Valley 723 00:39:09,083 --> 00:39:10,208 and its various campgrounds. 724 00:39:11,208 --> 00:39:14,583 Part of the evolving lore of this creature is, perhaps it is 725 00:39:14,792 --> 00:39:17,917 preying on humans when it finds people who are vulnerable. 726 00:39:18,083 --> 00:39:23,542 SHATNER: The idea that a giant monster roams this remote area 727 00:39:23,708 --> 00:39:27,792 and preys upon unsuspecting hikers is chilling. 728 00:39:27,917 --> 00:39:31,208 But according to local lore, another fearsome encounter 729 00:39:31,375 --> 00:39:32,833 involving the Yucca Man 730 00:39:33,042 --> 00:39:38,500 allegedly took place at a nearby U.S. Marine Corps Base. 731 00:39:39,542 --> 00:39:42,292 One of the more famous Yucca Man encounters occurred 732 00:39:42,458 --> 00:39:45,833 in 1971 at the Twentynine Palms Marine Base. 733 00:39:46,042 --> 00:39:49,625 A marine was on night duty 734 00:39:49,833 --> 00:39:51,958 and encountered this eight-foot-tall 735 00:39:52,125 --> 00:39:54,792 blond Sasquatch creature. 736 00:39:56,208 --> 00:39:59,792 He then became unconscious, and when he was found, 737 00:39:59,958 --> 00:40:04,917 his rifle was bent in half with no explanation. 738 00:40:05,042 --> 00:40:10,042 He was unharmed, but it's pretty scary to think of a Marine being 739 00:40:10,208 --> 00:40:13,708 knocked unconscious and a rifle being bent in half. 740 00:40:13,833 --> 00:40:16,750 SHATNER: While it's impossible to verify the Yucca Man's 741 00:40:16,917 --> 00:40:20,500 alleged run-ins with military personnel, 742 00:40:20,667 --> 00:40:24,167 many locals are convinced that this dangerous creature 743 00:40:24,333 --> 00:40:26,375 actually lives in the Mojave Desert. 744 00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:28,583 And like other monsters that have been 745 00:40:28,750 --> 00:40:31,417 widely reported by eyewitnesses 746 00:40:31,542 --> 00:40:34,167 but not officially recognized by science, 747 00:40:34,333 --> 00:40:37,333 the possibility of its existence 748 00:40:37,542 --> 00:40:40,917 both tantalizes and terrifies. 749 00:40:41,042 --> 00:40:43,917 We love believing in these creatures 750 00:40:44,042 --> 00:40:47,333 and monsters because we love getting scared. 751 00:40:47,542 --> 00:40:50,833 But we also love the unknown. 752 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:52,208 Not knowing if we've 753 00:40:52,417 --> 00:40:55,375 discovered every species on the planet. 754 00:40:55,542 --> 00:40:58,500 The mystery is the best part of it all. 755 00:40:59,542 --> 00:41:03,042 McNEILL: We are often inclined to see belief in 756 00:41:03,208 --> 00:41:06,083 fantastical creatures as somewhat irrational, 757 00:41:06,208 --> 00:41:07,667 maybe fantastical. 758 00:41:07,833 --> 00:41:10,333 Something that isn't scientific. 759 00:41:10,500 --> 00:41:13,708 And yet there's news reports of people 760 00:41:13,917 --> 00:41:16,333 interacting with creatures that maybe we can't identify. 761 00:41:17,375 --> 00:41:21,833 That keeps it alive. It is not fundamentally proven false. 762 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,833 And that kind of monster is what we are continuing 763 00:41:25,958 --> 00:41:28,667 -to be obsessed with. -(creature shrieks) 764 00:41:28,875 --> 00:41:32,792 From frightening encounters with the Fouke Monster 765 00:41:32,958 --> 00:41:35,625 to supernatural stories about the Jersey Devil 766 00:41:35,750 --> 00:41:38,958 and panicked reports of the snallygaster, 767 00:41:39,125 --> 00:41:43,708 it can seem like our world is literally teeming with monsters. 768 00:41:43,875 --> 00:41:48,542 And while physical proof is hard to come by, the sheer number of 769 00:41:48,708 --> 00:41:53,500 eyewitness accounts suggests that we share our planet with 770 00:41:53,667 --> 00:41:57,500 dreadful creatures that remain unidentified 771 00:41:57,667 --> 00:42:00,500 and... unexplained. 772 00:42:00,667 --> 00:42:02,917 CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS