The Scream (Origin Story)

In late June-early July of 2023, I was walking along a trail in a recently reopened forest. The area had been closed for two years due to a forest fire. The young green bushes and wild flowers stood out against the charred and blackened trunks. About a mile into the trail, I got an eerie feeling and decided to pull my .357 out of my backpack and put it in my beltline. I would only use it to save my own life but there are bears and mountain lion in the area. On the way in, I had heard what sounded like chainsaws in the distance, but I paid no attention to them. I thought it was weird that they were so deep in the forest. I had not seen anyone for miles and miles, not even a car had passed me while I was driving to the trailhead. I think I was one of the first to visit the area since reopening.

I reached my destination without any further incident or weirdness. I enjoyed some sun and a swim at the beautiful river spot. After a little while I became uneasy not having my gun on me while in the water. I left after a little more than an hour as the eerie feeling became strong and the sunlight was starting to fade.

On the way back, maybe half a mile from the river spot, I heard a very loud scream that lasted for about three seconds. It sounded like it came from ten feet away from where I was standing. Bushes blocked my view from the sound. It was as loud as a fire alarm. The sound was unlike any animal that lives in the area. I was terrified. I panicked and ran for 15-20 feet, before turning around, ready to draw my gun. But there was nothing there. Nothing at all.

When I ran away from the sound, I ran faster than I had ever run in my life. It was fueled by pure fear and adrenaline. I know not to run away from a predator in the woods, but I panicked. I remember thinking WHAT IS THAT!?!?! while running. I like to think if my brain would have landed on "it's a bear" or "it's a mountain lion" I would have stopped panicking, but as I said before the sound was of nothing I could comprehend being in the woods of Oregon. I was puzzled by what had happened and kept checking behind me often. My dog usually loves to run ahead of me about 30-50 feet or so and run back and does this the whole time we are out on trails. After the scream my dog walked behind me the rest of the way to the car. Right behind me with his head next to my knee.

My initial explanation for what happened was that a tree had leaned and almost fallen as I walked past it. But when I thought back on the sound, it was much different from what I imagined a tree groaning would sound like. When I described the scenario to other people without doubting it was a tree leaning, they agreed with each other that it did not sound like a tree to them at all. They threw out ideas like an elk or a mountain lion so my research began.

As I researched what might have caused the scream my research quickly led me to Bigfoot. Not elk, mountain lion, or any other conventional animal species that lives in North America. I found that the area I was in had around 100 reported sightings over the years. That's just the reported ones. I also found that there is a book written about the area called The Bigfoot Highway.

So I continued exploring the area. My whole perspective was about to change. I could not not believe what happened just a few days later…