Exit The Wolfman: Gable Film Update
Posted by: Loren Coleman on October 1st, 2007
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.Friedrich Nietzsche
The Gable Film is merely, as seemed obvious in the beginning, an alleged hoax. Many readers have sent in comments and links. I will pluck one, that of Cyptomundo reader SC, as an example that gets directly to the point:
Follow this link to read Mr. Steve Cook’s explanation as to the nature of the “unintended hoax.”
It seems three frames of the film reveal a human leg moving to the side, which, according to him, exposes the “creature” as a man on all fours. Pondering the footage from this new perspective has lead Mr. Cook to conclude it is definitely faked, but not intentionally created to hoax anyone. It is merely vintage footage of an amateur crew of filmmakers working on their own backyard “Boggy Creek.” Pondering Mr. Cook’s conclusions, I can come up with a different idea. The obvious one. Let’s call it “The Intentional Hoax” theory.SC
If you follow the link to Steve Cook’s posting, you will find his message ends with the following paragraphs:
On the other side of that coin, I now fully understand why witnesses to real events are so reluctant to come forward with evidence; and even when they do, they do not want their name associated with the story. Despite the fact that I had no intent to ever market the film in any form, and that I never claimed it to be authentic, my character suddenly came into question. In the six days The Gable Film was publicly available, I was grilled, cajoled, insulted, and called everything from a profiteer to a liar to other names I would be ashamed to type. Not just from one or two people, but from hundreds. In addition, my website has been hacked, and the film and several other unpublished files have been stolen and posted on the internet.
In conclusion, there are a handful of self proclaimed experts in the crypto-creature industry (make no mistake folks, it’s an industry, and a lucrative proposition for some of them) who have become so jaded and cynical, they really should look for a new line of work. It would seem that if evidence has not had the good sense to fall into their lap it is automatically dismissed as a fraud, and so is anyone associated with it. It is precisely that attitude that will prevent real evidence, when it comes, from ever seeing the light of day. There is no need to mention any names. You know who you are.
First, one must wonder why he took this all so personally?
The reality, of course, is that such discussions as evidenced above infrequently issue from people who seem to not understand that healthy skepticism is part of cryptozoology, that no one in cryptozoology really makes any money, and that most of us have all heard it before. As John Green says, it takes strong personalities in the field to deal with all the criticisms hurled our way, inside and outside the community.
Those who have promoted this footage, who either were hoaxed themselves or were behind this alleged docudrama, should not be surprised by hundreds of people who wish to say something, one way or the other, about this Gable Film. That’s what happens, and that’s what is assumed would occur in our media age. It has nothing to do with people wanting to undermine the good stories and the remarkable sightings. On the contrary, it has a lot to do with the credibility of the field being maintained at a high standard, in an awkward age of YouTube-screened hoaxes and website showings linked to wild speculations.
This state of affairs has been known in the Bigfoot world for years, and merely comes down to, “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Even a man who is pure in heart
And says his prayers by night,
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
And the autumn moon is bright.The Wolf Man, 1941 Universal Pictures.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
It’s situations like these that lead people to discredit significant pieces of footage like the Patterson-Gimlin film. Hoaxes coming from people who are considered to be inside the cryptozoological community are even more frustrating to those who spend their time and effort trying to prove the existence of real cryptids. It’s a real shame…
First time poster here, Loren, but have followed your work with much vigor for years. It tickles me to think there are cryptids out there like Bigfoot, Loch Ness, Dogman, Mothman, etc. I have particular interest in Bigfoot and feel it is only a matter of time before we get some definitive proof such as an updated Patterson film. But, I digress…to the issue at hand of the Gable Film:
Has anyone asked Mr. Cook if we can view the unedited footage? Would be curious to view it without all the drama (although it would make a great Blair movie as a previous poster suggested). Anyway, keep up all the good work, Loren!
i don’t know, that black blob looks like a gorilla to me, it sure moves quick too. this is the type of fluidity that is missing (imo) in such films like the p/g footage. if it’s fake, then it’s pretty damn good.
Sigh. I say again, unfortunately, not terribly surprising.
You would think that with all of the modern technology Cryptozoology would be making leaps and bounds. It seems this technology is holding us back more then it is helping us.
Now any average Joe can make a fake photo or movie with very little effort. In some instances like this one, it is very compelling and gets our hearts racing until you watch it a few times. To me something just wasn’t right.
I believe like alot of people that a living or dead specimen is the only way cryptids will be accepted by science. People need to understand that cryptozoology is a serious science. By making these photos and movies it is just making a joke of it like The Weekly World News did for many years.
If it is a hoax, I still want to know how it was done. Amazing.
hey loren, wow this is definetly a very informative update article about the gable film. like i said before this film needs more research study etc done it & the people who filmed it need to reinterviewed again. i realy like everyone above opinions regarding this new filmfootage. thanks bill green 🙂
This film continues to puzzle me. I don’t think it’s a human in a suit. At one point, it appears as if all four legs are off the ground, as if the subject is leaping during its charge. I don’t know if a human being could do that at that speed, especially while wearing a suit.
I don’t believe this is a hoax, but a misinterpretation of a film taken at a drive-through wild animal park. While it does look like a gorilla, I think it’s more probable that it is a large baboon, and that the passenger of the vehicle jumped out to get a closer look. This would also explain why he was filming in a moving vehicle to begin with… to film animals in the park.
Perhaps the film was never turned in to the authorities because the film maker knew he wasn’t supposed to be outside of his car in the wild animal park. My guess is that alcohol was involved.
That’s just my theory.
Maybe the tag on the film (Gable Case #MPO41177-1) is the title of a civil suit against a wild animal park. This would explain why there is no record with the police, as it would not be a criminal case. Perhaps Michigan civil court records could shed some light on this mystery.
My son downloaded the film for me since his computer is faster. He watched it, and made the remark that it looked as if someone got an Old Deuteronomy costume from a second rate non-equity touring company of CATS, dressed someone up in it, and had them run around a field. Unfortunately, most of these film finds turn out to be hoaxes…I was reminded, while watching this one, of one that circulated last year that was supposed to be the story of several kids who went missing, I think in Kentucky, and a skeleton of a Mothman like creature was found, with the implication that this thing had killed these kids. While waiting for the film to load from the link, being on a slow dial up connection, I noticed that in several places in the film, one of those creepy screaming creatures kept popping up, the ones that are usually sent out in emails around Halloween purporting to show a ghost or some kind of creature that jumps out screaming at you during the download. This reminded me very much so of that…I kept looking for something to pop up in the Gable film, but I didn’t see anything.
The Gable film, to me, is in the Catch-22 of videos. If it was any clearer, it wiykd be dubbed a hoax because it was too clear. If it was any more out of focus, it would be judged a hoax because nothing could be made out anyway. So, let’s look at what we know.
This thing runs on all fours and covers distance, FAST! Is there any human that can run on all fours like this, be that speedy and cover that amount of distance? Maybe, but to me it seems that a human would have to be a feral child brought up by wolves that had always been running around on 4 legs. So, a hairy feral human could be the beast in the Gable film.
However, in every known case of feral children, they ALL want nothing to do with humans, and all of them run AWAY from anything human. If this was a feral beast, it seems that it would also run away instead of becoming aggressive. So, I have to rule out anything feral and anyone in a costume. It’s just too fast and too agile.
The scenery looks like a typical midwestern clearing in a woodland. It doesn’t look African, or tropical in any way. So, not being tropical means ruling out a gorilla, unless you want to make the standard statement that some Gorilla escaped from a zoo. Yeah, sure.
About the best guess as to anything known, would have to be a silverback. But if you take a close look at the video, and actually take a look at a real silverback running, they just do not look all that familiar. The Gable beast looks very squat, and it appears to have pointy ears, although this is a matter of interpretation of what there is.
So, my opinion is something unknown. It doesn’t fit into anything that is normal, or what we people perceive as normal, anyway. And couple that with the fact that it appears to attack the camera person, that is certainly abnormal behavior indeed! And so it goes.
In my opinion there IS a human leg in the first few seconds of the film.There is also an obvious tail as it charges, and when it bites the camera there is an obvious pharynx.
If you freeze it in the correct places, there are also ears, an eye, and a jump.
Firstly, the Human legs.:
As the video progresses the legs seem to fold in on themselves and disappear.(Almost like the creature has changed forms)When the creature is charging, you can freeze frame and see the hind legs which no longer look even remotely human.
Second, the tail:
In the beginning there is no visible tail.As it begins to charge, however, the tail is clearly visible.
Third, pharynx:
Which obviously could be fake, but it is also something every mammal needs to survive.
Fourth, ears and eyes:
The ears and eyes are inconclusive, as most animals posses them, and I’m not going to bore you with my own opinion.
Fifth, the jump:
This, in my opinion, could be the most significant part of the film.I challenge anyone in the world to run and jump, lifting all of your limbs completely off of the ground , land properly, and continue a charge.(On your hands and knees of course, as the above article suggests a hoaxer has done.)
Finally, as I know most of you are thinking, I am not crazy. If you want to get technical, you believe that there is a large great ape species living all over the world that,(1) Has never been captured,(2) Has never left any confirm able (IE, not fake able) evidence( hair, blood, bones, ect.), and (3) is only seen on a clear day in an open field when you have a grainy old camera in your hands.
I simply think that there are intelligent, maybe even “human”, creatures out there.
(1) Why has no one captured one?Who knows whether they have or not.Would somebody report capturing a “person” to the authorities?
(2)Why is there no confirm able evidence?Maybe there is, but its disguised, per say. Would you report finding dog tracks around your home?What about human tracks, or maybe deer tracks…See what i mean?
Why is there no videos or pictures of it? How do you know there aren’t.Why don’t you search for humans on Google Pictures, or maybe bears, or cats even.
I am simply putting forth a theory, which in my opinion holds a lot more “water” than the standard bigfoot views.I don’t doubt that people see hairy, unknown creatures all around the world, or that they have for thousands of years.I doubt that these creatures are big, mainly bipedal gorillas that are smart enough to evade capture by even the most sophisticated methods.