West Virginia Bigfoot Talk
Posted by: Loren Coleman on May 30th, 2009
Lecture: “Cryptozoology: Bigfoot–Myth or Reality?”
Date: Tuesday June 2, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Location: National Conservation Training Center, Shepherd Grade Road, Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
Larry Battson, Wildlife Educator will present the lecture “Cryptozoology: Bigfoot–Myth or Reality?” on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 7:00 pm at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV.
Is Bigfoot really some type of human-like creature? Battson has been studying Bigfoot for 30 years and travels the country to research the alleged sightings. Recently Battson was featured by History Channel’s MonsterQuest. Battson and his wife Cheryl operate Wildlife Educational Services in Greencastle, Indiana.
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.
I have heard Larry talk before. He is a very informative speaker. This would be well worth your time if you can get there.
wish i could be there
I grew up in WV outside Sissonville along Poca River Road, one night, 45 years ago, coming home from seeing a girl about 2 in the morning I was walking down Poca River Road no Moon very dark night and something came down off the hill and across the road in front of me. It was very large and black, the night was so dark I couldn’t really tell what is was but at that time my Grandpa who had hunted trapped and fished the area all his life had never seen a bear in that area at the time. Whatever it was it came across a barb wire fence like it wasn’t there and on across the road. It was big tall and black. I honestly had never heard of a big foot or anything like that but this had all the hall marks of an unknown encounter. My grandpa had shown me some tracks in the mud on the river bank way back then that looked like human foot prints bare foot but it was winter and very cold. We both laughed and wondered why someone would be bare foot in the winter but I never really made any connection with bigfoot. All I know was it scared me half to death and I never have known what it was.
Live in Logan county and would love to hear Larry. Lot of wilderness in our state and I had a sighting in 89 so I believe sasquatch do travel through southern WV every now and again,probably more frequent in the north and the eastern part of the state. Peace.
I live in VA, close to the WV stateline. I’ve had 2 encounters myself. There is no doubt in my mind that there are Sasquatch in the forests here.
The first was about 100 ft away from me. Something came crashing through the woods like crazy. at first i thought it was a falling tree for as noisy as it was. I instinctively looked to see what was going on and instead of a tree, I saw a large, upright standing black creature barreling through the woods. It jumped, yes jumped, a fence and hid in a thickett across the creek from. At first I was stunned and confused trying to figure out what it was and what to do. I finally decided to investigate a bit(not close of course, it was a huge animal I just saw). The thickett was across the creek, and the creek is fairly wide and deep with steep banks so I figured I’d be safe on this side. I went and threw walnuts into the bushes trying to stir it up so I could get a good view. Unfortunately, it never moved. I eventually tired of waiting and went inside and watched from my window hoping I’d spot it if it thought I was gone. I never saw it leave, but I did get distracted from watching after a while and was kinda afraid to go traipsing into the bushes myself after it.
When my brother got home, I immediately told him and we both headed across the creek to examine it. He got close, closer than I would’ve liked for him to be. Anyway, in the midst of the bushes there was a large “bed” type area. It was very large. No wild animals I know of leave beds that large. That was the end of the 1st encounter.
The 2nd Encounter I was with my mom. It was about a year after the 1st. My mom and I were outside on the backporch. She noticed a tree shaking strangely. We noticed that there was no wind, and it was the only tree shaking. We pondered for a while before we both noticed a figure at the base of the tree. It appeared to a large ape(Looked like a gorilla to me) at the base of the tree and it would occasionly reach up and shake the tree. We watched in amazement for about 30 minutes before it simply turned and vanished. Once again my brother missed the endounter but went to investigate after hearing about it. We heaed over to the tree to look for footprints and such, but nothing except mark of the tree. It looked like the bark was rubbed off in a semi-handshaped mark. It was the same size as my brother’s hand.
It’s my assumption that perhaps the 1st encounter may have been a mother rushing back to her child hidden in the bushes, and the 2nd encounter(Way smaller than the 1st) was perhaps the baby from the previous encounter.
All in all I’m very proud to have witnessed these creatures as I have. ^^
How did it go?
The program in Shepherdstown, WV was phenomenal. There was over 200 people that attended. Also a hour long television program produced by the USFWS was broadcast over their television feeds that cover North America. This was a interview that I did with historian Mark Madison. John Green told me that this was a landmark, historical event in bigfoot history. And I am proud to be a part of it.