SC EP:1164 This thing made eye contact with me

A listener writes "I was working as an HVAC Tech but was still learning the ropes and was being introduced into what being on call was like- long story short a coworker picked me up one night and we went up towards northern western Massachusetts for a no heat call. After spending some time in the basement with the hatchway doors open, my coworker went outside to use the bathroom and I followed him out to catch some fresh air and get something from the van. He goes out maybe 30/40 yards so the home owner doesn't see so he's pretty far from me. A few minutes pass by and as I'm sitting in the van (on my phone) I hear something walk up towards the van. After this thing had come up to the van with be sitting in it for over 10 minutes, there was a crack in the back door of the van so it wasn't open completely but you could see through about 3-4 inches. This thing made eye contact with me with 1 eye. Stood there for about 10-15 seconds and then blinked. After a few more seconds this thing took off incredibly fast after hearing some noise come from the open basement door."

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03Speaker 00

  It looked like somebody was bent over and had their head in the window of the deer blind and it either heard me or smelt me and he pulled his head out of the tent and stood straight up and that, that shocked me. They don't make people that, that big.

• 0:31Speaker 01

  The way it moved, almost as if it was gliding across the beach. I've never seen anything move like that in my life.

• 0:45Speaker 01

  They were screaming at each other in gibberish.

• 0:49Speaker 01

  It sounded like a language and they were chuntering away, back and forwards, back and forwards, back and forwards.

• 0:57Speaker 01

  I know what a bear looks like and there is no way on this planet that what I saw bears.

• 1:14Speaker 02

  911, what are you reporting?

• 1:16Speaker 03

  Jesus Christ, you better... Karen, see ya!

• 1:19Speaker 02

  Hello?

• 1:20Speaker 03

  Get somebody out of here.

• 1:22Speaker 02

  What's going on now, sir?

• 1:23Speaker 03

  That son of a bitch is about six foot nine, I don't know.

• 1:26Speaker 02

  Do you see him now, sir?

• 1:27Speaker 03

  Yes, I'm looking right at him. Uh-uh.

• 1:36Speaker 04

  This is Tyler from Woodstock, Georgia, and you're listening to the best podcast on the planet, Sasquatch Chronicles.

• 2:21Wes Germer?

  Welcome to the show, everyone. Thanks for being here tonight. Got a great show planned for you. We'll be chatting with Gabriel, and Gabriel comes to us from Massachusetts. And he had this encounter about a year and a half ago. He was on a construction site, sitting in the van when one of these creatures approached. I'll kind of let him go into it. If you've had an encounter and you'd like to be on the show, shoot me an email. My email address is [email protected]. And if you get a chance, check out sasquatchchronicles.com. You can become a member and get additional shows. Let's jump into it tonight. I want to welcome Gabriel. Gabriel, thanks for coming on.

• 3:07Speaker 03

  Yeah, no problem. It's a pleasure to be here. I'm a big fan. I'm a new fan, but definitely a big one, so.

• 3:15Wes Germer?

  Oh, thanks, man. And thanks for listening. I really appreciate it. Now, you had this encounter about a year and a half ago out there in Massachusetts, didn't you?

• 3:25Speaker 03

  Yeah, about a year and a half ago. It was, I think, January, February, somewhere around there, in western Massachusetts.

• 3:38Wes Germer?

  Well, if you would, would you start from the very beginning? What were you doing and what happened?

• 3:44Speaker 03

  Um, okay, uh. So I work in HVAC, uh, heating, ventilation, A C. All that stuff. I started out three years ago at a, at a, at a company in, in Amherst. I think at this point in time, I was, I was still learning the ropes, you know, I haven't been on call yet. Uh, so, uh, there was this, uh, we have this program pretty much where, you know, you could, uh, uh, for people who were, were learning, you could, uh, ride along with a, a senior technician to kind of get the hang of things. And just, you know, learn, learn more than just during regular work hours. So, uh, I had my coworker, uh,

• 4:25Speaker 03

  Ron, Ron has passed away since unfortunately, but we, uh, he lived about 10 minutes away from me and, uh, so it worked out really well. Uh, so one night he called me up. It was around nine P M. Ish, uh, and he asked if I wanted to, to tag along with him. Uh, there was a house that had uh, continuous problems. We've been going back and forth there for a while. So he, you know, every time they get something that's, you know, uh, not an average technician could do, they would, they would send him. And luckily for me, I was right next to him. So a lot of the time I would go on call with him. And we would, we would figure things out. Uh, so this one night, uh, I think it was a Thursday, we

• 5:10Speaker 03

  had driven up to, uh,

• 5:15Speaker 03

  sorry, this is also the first time I've been able to talk about it since the encounter. Or since whatever happened, happened. Um, so we, we drive up to, I think it was, uh, it was Leyden, I think Colraine, the, the Leyden Colraine area, I forget the address, but it was, it's borderline Vermont. Near like Mount Snow, I think. I think that's uh that's kind of the area where I think we're like maybe an hour, even less uh from from from there.

• 5:47Speaker 03

  And you know, we're out in the sticks. I'm I'm I'm not I'm not. I've never really lived in in a in a secluded area like, you know, where there's miles and miles of woods. I've always been. Not a city boy, but you know, whatever it is for for someone who just hasn't lived in the city or. Or uh middle of nowhere, but we drive up maybe an hour, an hour up together. And it kind of honestly, things I feel like things kind of take off pretty quickly. So on our ride there, we finally get, it's an hour ride, we finally get to the to the house.

• 6:28Speaker 03

  And there's probably about, honestly, I would say maybe a quarter mile of driveway before you get to the house. And as you drive into the, if you go onto the driveway, there's true uh fruit trees on either side of them. I think there were pear trees. Some some type of some type of pear, which I which I later in the story, I guess it'll it'll make more sense as I as I talk about it. But um we we get to the to the house and uh the the lady comes out, it's a nice old lady. She's probably in her eighties, maybe. Uh her husband in past all the was uh. Uh she she wasn't used to have the having people to to talk to. So she was with us for a while. Once we started to to get the hang of things, once we were in the basement.

• 7:12Speaker 03

  And I'll say, while we were, when we we drove up to the house, the way the setup was uh uh for the van, we were in a in a work van. As right before you park, there's a house on the left. That's where the house is. It's it's honestly, it looks more like the the back of the house, to be honest with you. And then uh there's the hatchway, uh some grass and then gravel uh on the on the on the ground. And then um across from across from the hatchway, there's like heavily wooded area. So uh we pulled in, I I I've never, again, I'm not, I've never uh grew up in the woods or, you know. I I've listened to to, you know, some of some of your, some of your episodes and you know, so many people.

• 7:57Speaker 03

  They grow up in the woods and hunting and they they, you know, they know the woods like the back of their hand. Um, but it was was pretty new to me. Uh, so you know, there was a, it's a weird feeling I got. Uh, just being in the area, just in general, you know? And I'd say maybe about an hour, an hour passes as we're working on the unit. The lady, I I I won't say her name for privacy reasons, I guess. Um, but uh, she goes upstairs, she's tired. At some point, we we we think we have uh, the issue fixed. And so we don't want to bother. And so we head outside as we're heading outside.

• 8:36Speaker 03

  Um, we're still in the basement, uh, the hatchway, by the way, it's it's a, it's a almost like a dirt floor kind of basement. Um, those houses are just so old, uh, most of them have have dirt floors. So uh, the hatchway is open the whole time as we're working uh, in the basement about an hour and a half. And uh, as we're going out, my my coworker, uh, Ron, he says, uh, he's gonna go take a smoke and. A leak, he's uh, he's gonna go use the restroom pretty much. So we don't bother this old lady asking to use the restroom. So he goes out, when you step out of the hatchway. If you looks like a maybe, maybe forty five degrees to the left, there's the workman.

• 9:18Speaker 03

  Uh, it's at the end of the uh, like the farther end, like towards the woods is where closer uh, where he where he parked. Not on the gravel or grass, but or not on the grass, I mean, on the gravel. And uh, he goes to the left and he goes out, maybe I I. I think I, I think I mentioned about thirty, forty yards. Um, I'm not really that good with measurements, but he was far enough, he had a headlamp on. He was far enough to where like you could see the little, little dot, uh, uh, a little light um, on his headlamp still. Um. So he goes out quite a distance to the homeowner, just in case she comes out, she doesn't, you know, see him being in her backyard. And uh brings the cigarettes with him.

• 9:59Speaker 03

  Uh. And as he's doing that, um, I I don't, I grew up in a, in a smoker's home. I don't, I don't, I don't like the smell of cigarettes. Uh. So I decided to stay back. And I didn't want to be in the basement because uh there's a bunch of bugs and spider webs, spider central in there. Uh. So I was waiting in the van. I'd say for about ten minutes. Oh, uh, before, actually, I want, I want to say that uh at, at this point in time, uh, before he went out to use the ba- uh restroom, uh, we have, uh, thought we fixed the issue. Um. And then, so there's this, there's called, what's called a uh uh, it's basically a timer on the unit uh for thermostat. When you turn the system, like if you turn the breaker off, uh, you turn it back on. There's about a

• 10:44Speaker 03

  ten to fifteen minute time period where the system is just testing itself before the unit turns on. So, okay, so then we're out at the van and, or I'm out at the van. Uh, I'm by myself. I have uh one AirPod in. And I'm just, I'm sitting on a bucket and uh, just on my phone. I think about ten minutes passed by. And, you know, I wasn't paying too much attention uh to the time and I

• 11:11Speaker 03

  hear what I, what I, I'm, I'm watching, I'm watching uh reels on YouTube or Instagram. And I hear the very slightest and most faint, like uh breathing, I guess. And it's like, huh. Uh, but it was very, very subtle. And, you know, at, at this point, I thought that Ron had come back uh from using the restroom in his little smoke break. Um. And then I hear it again. And then I, and then at this point, I'm on my phone and I, I, I, I paused the video I'm watching and I I look up, I'm sitting directly in the middle uh of the van. I'm not as far away from the door as you can be, but

• 11:55Speaker 03

  one of the two back doors are closed completely and then the other door. Is open, I'd say maybe about three inches. And I said, and and it's it's dark outside. Um, the only light, if any, was coming from the hatchway. Uh, and that's only because we, and there were no lights in the basement um originally and. So we had, we had some job lights in there, just two lights enough to light the basement and the stairs uh out the basement. And I, I'm, I'm here on top of the breathing, I hear what sounds like a tap, not.

• 12:39Speaker 03

  Not like a knock. But almost as if it was, it was, it's, the back door is metal, um, so it was almost as if. Someone put their hand on, on like the, the, the outside of uh the open door and. At that moment is when I heard the second, uh, the second uh breath is what I feel, I think. And uh I look up and I'm. I'm maybe a little over halfway.

• 13:14Speaker 03

  Looking straight out in into the van, I'm, I'm looking, I'm looking down at my phone and I start looking going up and I. And I see this just black.

• 13:25Speaker 03

  Uh, sorry, just one second. I just get so nervous talking about it, man. Um.

• 13:32Speaker 03

  I see this black uh figure, very, very dark figure uh there and. I kind of freeze for a second. Or for what feels like forever, but I'm, I'm sure it was only just a couple of seconds.

• 13:49Speaker 03

  And I can, I'm not sure what I'm looking at at this point, but I, I just know that what I am. Looking at is dark. Very, very dark, uh, very tall. And it looks almost like it's hunched over. When I say that, it's almost as if, uh, so the doors, so the doors that were in the back of the van, they're not, uh, they're not sleep, not clear. The glass isn't clear. It's, it's almost like, uh, you know, if you have a shower curtain, a clear shower curtain, that's like, uh, blurred, that's kind of what it is, except it's, it's like exaggerated. Is exaggerating the blurred, uh, and you can kind of see this

• 14:33Speaker 03

  figure there, all hunched over and almost like, like, uh, you, you know, you, uh, like, uh, uh, similar to, you know, the stories where people are, are saying something's looking behind it, behind the tree. Um, and I'm, as I'm, I'm looking up, I, I don't notice anything else besides obviously the, the huge shape that's there. Uh, and it wasn't, it wasn't gigantic like a, like a refrigerator, but it was just big and, um.

• 15:05Speaker 03

  So I'm looking up about halfway, uh, halfway up the door and I don't, I don't, I still see just like a black mass and then about three quarters of the way up there. So if you're standing outside of the van, you'd have to be about seven, maybe seven and a half feet tall in order to kind of be where exactly I was looking at that point. And I saw this very dark, black eye and

• 15:39Speaker 03

  in, in, in that second, I, I

• 15:43Speaker 03

  wasn't sure exactly what I was looking at. You know, I, I

• 15:48Speaker 03

  I, when I I didn't, I knew it wasn't like a, a crazy animal. Because I would have, I feel like I would have heard it, you know, it was January slash, uh, February. So, you know, there's, there's leaves on the ground. I don't, I don't, it wasn't snowing, uh, at this point in time, but there were leaves all over the ground. Um, and you know, I would have, I, I really feel that I would have heard something. And. I'm staring at this thing and my my screen is on as I'm looking up almost

• 16:27Speaker 03

  and shaken, almost as if, you know, like you're telling a scary story around the campfire. You have that flashlight that's underneath like your face to give you that dramatic look. And I know that this thing can, whatever it is, can see me so clearly. And you know, it's as if it's, I, and I and I'm I'm frozen. I I feel I it feels like minutes pass by and I know this whole thing happened within maybe about five to 10 seconds. And then, you know, I'm I'm just hearing, I hear just that slight breathing

• 17:06Speaker 03

  noise again, and we were just locked eyes. And I want to turn my phone off, but I'm I'm nervous that if I do, I'm not going to be able to see a single thing. And this thing will.

• 17:20Speaker 03

  So I'm not sure what exactly happened, but at some point right before, at some point, it it it just leaves. And right before it left at the very same time, I don't know if it was maybe my the the headlight on my my coworker, uh, my coworker's head, like if he, once he turned his head this way, I don't know if if if that's what made it happen, but the eye, the pitch black eye I was staring at, I'd like, it was it was almost as if like, uh, so it just started glowing, like just immediately.

• 17:55Speaker 03

  And I think that really freaked me out.

• 17:59Speaker 03

  Almost, you know, in a way, I want to say in a way, it almost made me feel a little better. Because it it, you know, for like a half of a second, it I didn't feel like I was staring into emptiness or into just something that was pitch, like an eye that was pitch black. And you know, you know, it almost gave like a sense of, you know, of humanity or something. It was like, okay, this whatever I'm looking at, it's like, it's not, honestly, my first thought went to like some sort of demon, uh, demon or something, to be completely honest with you. And

• 18:31Speaker 03

  and as it, when it, when it did that, um, the light, the glare went away. Uh, and as the glare went away, the the the the timer, uh, for the basement, uh, it was a boiler specifically. It had turned on and there was a really, really big loud boom coming from it. And in that, in that, in that half second that all, all three of those things happened, you know, it, it, the glint, the glare, or the light, the light shining, I honestly, I think I really do think it was the light from his headlamp that reached that far. It, it, it just took off. And right before it took off, it looked like total, to the left.

• 19:14Speaker 03

  Almost as if it was honestly the direction it looked, it was like where Ron had went to have a smoke break and, and use the restroom. And in that half, in a half second, I saw like, it looked like all, all the way to like as far left as you can look. And then I could see like white on the outside, like on the very, very outside, kind of how, you know, we have that white around our, around our, our pupils. And, and I, I think at that point, I was, I think that if I was right back to thinking like what, what, I was just wasn't sure what I was looking at. And in that, in that moment, everything happened.

• 19:58Speaker 03

  It just took off. And when I say it took off, it, it took off, like, um, I,

• 20:07Speaker 03

  you could, you, in this like a, it's like in Jurassic Park when, you know, you, you, you can feel the stomping.

• 20:16Speaker 03

  Or even, actually, I can, so if you were to grab a wrench, like a really big, heavy wrench or pipe wrench or something and drop it on the ground. I heard it was, it was like a really loud thump, but it was on, it was on the gravel. And then it was one, one step on the gravel, one in the grass, one more in the, in, in the leaves. And I heard, I heard three, boom, boom, boom, like that. And.

• 20:45Speaker 03

  And and.

• 20:49Speaker 03

  When Ron came back, he he heard, he he said he heard and felt it as he felt something. And he thought that the boiler in the basement was continuously making these booming noise. It wasn't like loud, but like you could feel it in the ground is is what I'm trying to say. And, you know, he he come, he comes over and I'm still in the van. Um, I think at this point I I turn my light off because I'm I I turn my phone off and uh. I am just, I he comes up to the van, he opens it or he calls my name first and and I don't, I don't really say anything. And then he calls it again and then I'm like, and I I just say hello.

• 21:35Speaker 03

  Um, and then he comes open the door, he's like, what are you, what are you just doing in here? And then, and I I asked him if if if he's, if I asked him if he saw an animal, you know, I'm not gonna say what I'm really thinking. Um, but I asked him if if he saw an animal that was out here. He said, he said, and I word for word, he said, what, like a raccoon? And I said, no, I I said, I think there was, and honestly, this, I never come face to face with a bear before. Uh, but I I just knew that's not what this thing was, um, especially with how quiet and how. How intense, honestly, his, the the, I say his, I don't know if this thing is a boy or girl or male or female. Um, but I get the vibe that it was male.

• 22:19Speaker 03

  I don't know what makes me think that or feel that. Um, but I I explain, I had to tell him, I said, I think, I think there was a bear here. He look out and so he he's looking to the right now, like where the woods are. Like he's he's facing the back of the van, so his right would be my left. And he, uh, he's like, I don't, I don't see anything. He's like, you see, he's like, and he asked me, he's like, are you, are you messing around with me? Um, and I was like, no, he's like, uh, yeah, there's nothing, there's nothing out here. And he made it, he made a joke of, you know, me to. It was a bad joke. Um, you know, just the kind of joke he made is not really in my taste, but he was, he just made a joke uh suggesting I was like schizophrenic or something um. You know, very, very uh.

• 23:05Speaker 03

  Well, not a lot of thought and went into the joke, you know, um, but in that moment, he's like, well, there's no animals here now. So we went down into the basement. He turned the switch off to the, to the boiler and then, and then the uh homeowner uh comes out. Uh, she comes out in her robe and she.

• 23:23Speaker 03

  Asked what, what, what had happened and we explained to her what, what had happened with the boiler, you know, was. Uh, and it's a lot to explain, but pretty much, uh, and I thank God, honestly, I thank God for that noise because I feel like if I didn't, if I, if that noise didn't happen, I, I don't know. I don't know if that noise scared it off. I don't know. I don't, I don't, I, I just don't know. But what happened was in the boiler was there was oil spewing into the, into the unit and uh. When it, when it finally lit off, there was just a really big loud boom, like uh, there's, there's some uh part on, on, on, on like the piping that kind of flaps open. So it um also adds to the boom noise.

• 24:05Speaker 03

  It was just really, really loud, really unexpected, almost as if, almost as if, you know, there was this like a stick of dynamite exploded, to be honest with you. It was very loud, very, uh, you could feel it. And so she comes out and she asks, you know, what happened? We tell her everything's okay. Or he tells her everything's okay. I'm, I'm, I'm quiet. At this point, I'm not saying a word. I'm. I'm, I'm honestly, I, I think at this point, I, I step, I'm stepping up onto the stairs uh to stand next to her because I don't want, I'm so I can watch the woods because I'm, I'm freaking out. And at some point, I'm, I'm genuinely thinking if I went crazy because. He, Ron didn't see anything. And I think that's honestly the biggest.

• 24:46Speaker 03

  The weirdest, I think the weirdest thing to me is that he didn't see anything. And I, I feel like if hi- his light was able to reach the gla- uh, the eye. Eyes of whatever I was looking at, he should have seen something. And I don't know, maybe it was just pitch black dark that, and he was so far, he couldn't see anything. From that distance, um.

• 25:07Speaker 03

  So Ron, Ron explained everything to the homeowner. He, he starts going back down to the, to the, to the basement. He's like, all right, let's go, let's go, let's go see what, what happened or, or make sure everything was. Fine, it's looking along the lines of that. And I asked her, I asked her, um, I said, do you have uh, is, do you have bears that come out here? And she looked at me and I don't know if I had a white face or if I looked visibly scared. I honest, to be honest with you, I agree. I think I, I think I did. I think I did look very scared. I was very jumpy, I think is is a good word. And she looked at me and I, and I, I think this is kind of what verified that I, I wasn't

• 25:51Speaker 03

  going cra- crazy. And you know, I guess this, I, I, I hope I'm not, uh, maybe I'm just, uh, uh, taking what she said and, you know, differently than how she meant, but she looked at me. It was almost, you know, a little bit of a comforting, uh, face she made. And, and she said, don't worry, all the animals. Uh, all the animals up here are friendly. And then, and, and I don't know, I don't know what exactly she meant by that. You know, obviously, if I run into a bear, that thing could do whatever it wants. But, but she, but she said that to me and I, and I and it bring, it brought me some comfort because I think looking back at it, you know,

• 26:34Speaker 03

  just looking back at it. And I was like, maybe she meant that, maybe she's had some experiences with whatever that was, and it wasn't harmful to her. Um, I think at that point, uh, everything, every, uh, I was just talking with her. Um, she was just asking questions about, about, uh, me working and because I'm like, um, I look very young for my, I'm twenty five. I think I was twenty three at the time. I look very young for my age, uh, and she was just asking me questions about that. And, uh, we, and then after that Ron came up and I grabbed our tools and we just, we, we left. Um, I actually waited for him to, uh, to turn the van like, like five, six point turn the van around. So I didn't have to walk on the wood side.

• 27:20Speaker 03

  But where the passenger door was. And that's kind of where, you know, things left off. And while on a ride, on a ride back home, it was about another hour back down. And Ron is, Ron's asking me, he's like, are you, are you sure it was a bear? And I was like, honestly, I, I am not anymore. I, I really don't know what I was looking at. And, you know, he was, I think. He was maybe in his late fifties, early sixties or something. And he told him, I don't know how to, he pretty much told me to, you know, don't go, you know, don't go around. People are gonna think I'm crazy if I go around saying I, I saw something

• 28:03Speaker 03

  that was not normal, pretty much. And, uh, but in more of, in more, not in this, was less in a serious way, more in like, uh, it just so you know, kind of way. And, uh, yeah.

• 28:20Wes Germer?

  It's intense, you know, being that close to one of these creatures and it's terrifying. And I don't care how big and bad someone claims to be and, oh, I would do this and I would do that. Uh, you get a real attitude adjustment real quick when you're close to one of these things. And, you know, you were talking about the eye shine before or the eye glow and it didn't click with me until you were saying Ron had a headlamp on. Do you think the eyes were actually glowing or do you think it was the eye shine reflecting back? That's kind of what you were seeing?

• 28:55Speaker 03

  Yeah, it was, it was eye shine, but you know, it, the way, the way it was, it wasn't, it, the glow was, I'd say it was white slash gray, but a little more white, like it definitely what it was definitely coming from that headlight is what, is what I think. And, uh, it was, it was honestly, if it really, they look like a mix of like glowing eyes and eye shine. Like if, like I've seen, you know, memes and stuff on, on, on social media and it's like, uh, like raccoons who have, uh, eyes and they're, and they're, and they're like, almost they look like, uh, stars almost like twinkles. Um, there was a mix of that and you, you could almost see like, uh, but more full, like a, like orb almost, which is kind of what makes me feel like it was. Glowing other than shiny.

• 29:41Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I know. Kind of looking back in that moment, it's hard to say, you know, you can pick up eye shine from a deer a mile down the road as you're heading towards it. That is interesting, though. I could see how you would snap out of being frozen in that moment. The back door, how wide open was it?

• 30:01Speaker 03

  Uh, it was about maybe three, four inches. Um, so the, if you're, if you're standing, if you're in the van,

• 30:10Speaker 03

  the door that was on the right was closed. That's usually the door that you can't close the other door without closing that one. So, uh, that door was closed. And then the one that you would close after was the door that was open, which is the door that was on my left. Um, and it was, it was cracked open, maybe about four inches, three or four inches. So I, I kind of, um, I, and that, you know, as you're, as you, you know, you asked me that question and I, I feel like I'm kind of, kind of remembering like a lot, like just not, not, not skin, but it was like a layer of something of after the skin. It was really dark, but I could kind of, I can kind of tell like two different shades of, of, of, of,

• 30:54Speaker 03

  I don't want to say black, but I guess black.

• 30:58Speaker 03

  And like towards, I guess maybe towards the, I'm trying, I'm trying to recall exactly, exactly where I was looking when I was looking at this thing, but I don't, I, to be honest with you, I don't think I was looking anywhere else besides looking at it in the eye. Like I think, I think I was just too focused, but if I look away from whatever I'm looking at, it's going to do something.

• 31:20Wes Germer?

  And I might've missed it in the beginning, but, and I know in this moment, it probably feels like forever, but how long do you think you guys were looking at each other?

• 31:29Speaker 03

  Uh, I'd say maybe like five to, five to 10 seconds. And I say that and it just, it feels longer than that. So I don't, I don't want to say it was 20, 30 seconds, but it, it, I think. Think it was around five to 10 seconds.

• 31:46Wes Germer?

  Yeah, you know, and those work vans, I mean, when they're open three to four inches, if I'm standing back there, you're probably going to see most of my face. That kind of shows you how big this thing was. Uh, where you're only seeing, I, I know you said you saw some of the skin of the face, but you're mainly focused on that eye looking at you. What do you think its intention was? Do you think it even knew you were in there at first?

• 32:14Speaker 03

  I, so I kind of, I kind, I think I have an idea of kind of what was, what was like, what happened exactly? I think with the hatchway open, I think, you know, we're loud, we're talking normally. It's, it's pretty quiet. It's not dead silent. You know, like, like time stopped kind of silent. But it was, it was, we were loud enough to where like, if you're standing outside the house, you could hear us talking, you could hear the metal, uh, the metal, like the, the, the pipe wrenches grabbing onto the metal and you could hear us saying, all right, one, two, three, push or one, two, three, pull or and stuff like that. So I, I think, I think a lot of it was that it was curious. And I think, I think it was, I think it was curious.

• 32:58Speaker 03

  You know, I, I, I did have an idea that, you know, at, at some point, while Ron went to the, like out the hatchway to the left and down into the woods, that with his, with his cigarettes, I think that it didn't, it one, I don't like the smell and I, I don't, I don't think this thing liked the smell of those either. Um, and I, and I think, I don't know, may, maybe if it was in his area initially and, you know, and maybe it moved to my side. And just to like investigate or just to be curious. And then, you know, once it got up to the door, saw I was in there and then, and then just like, oh shit. I didn't leave her here. But you know, there's no way for me to know that.

• 33:43Wes Germer?

  And this thing didn't vocalize at all. It didn't growl at you. You were just kind of hearing the breathing?

• 33:49Speaker 03

  Yeah, um, I didn't really hear any, any growling or, you know, grunt. I just, I've heard from other episodes. People mentioned that they hear some sort of growling or, or grunting or whoops or, or something. Um, I, the only thing I heard was just this heavy but short breathing. And, you know, and actually, uh, that reminds me to say that when I made eye contact with this thing, I didn't hear a single breath. It was almost as if like, I don't know if he, like I was, I think at the time I wasn't breathing either. Um, like it was almost as if I held my breath too, but I noticed that that noise, I didn't hear it breathing anymore. So I, with that being said, I, I, I, I don't, I don't think it knew, it really knew that I was in there.

• 34:35Speaker 03

  Especially if the lights, the lights in the van are off and the only light coming off was just from my, uh, from my phone. And I have an air, I'm watching videos and I have an AirPod in, so there's not really, there's no sound really coming from, uh, from the inside of the van.

• 34:50Wes Germer?

  What was your gut feeling at the time? What, what do you think would have happened if your coworker wouldn't have walked up on the van?

• 34:59Speaker 03

  Um, I think it was, I think it was surprised that I was there. And I think, you know, honestly, I think, uh, I think that if, if, if

• 35:11Speaker 03

  he had come out earlier or had seen it earlier, or maybe if he had his headlight off instead of walking closer to it. I think that it maybe would have been a little more, a little less, I think, I think it would have, uh, wouldn't have been as, as quiet as it was, uh, because it knew.

• 35:31Speaker 03

  Like it, it's, I'm trying to, I'm, I, I don't, I don't know. I really don't. And something that I thought about is.

• 35:43Speaker 03

  I I think about that a lot. And I think that if it wasn't there, I don't think it would have hurt me exactly. But I think if I would, I think if I had tried to to like scare it or something, I think it would not run away. You know, whether that's, you know, it making a noise back or in trying to intimidate me, I was there, I was much, much, much smaller than this thing. And I could tell that from the inside of the of the van. And I I don't think that the presence of my coworker being there would have scared it off. Would have scared it off. I think, you know, these things, it seems like they have a history of not wanting to be seen at all.

• 36:27Speaker 03

  But I think the the initial thing that kind of made this thing dash away, just the boom coming from the basement.

• 36:36Wes Germer?

  Oh, I got you. So you would think it ran off because of the boiler firing up and making that noise as opposed to your coworker walking up. Um, you know, the thing with Sasquatch that always amazes me for something as big as they are and as intimidating as they are. They're easily startled, whether that means someone else walking up or a noise or you'll hear where people are in tents and they'll turn on uh, their car alarm when this thing's around their tent and it runs off. When this thing actually ran off, and I realize it's the back of the van, but were you able to see it as it ran off? Or was it kind of in the direction where you couldn't see it?

• 37:18Speaker 03

  Uh, it just, I think, you know, I didn't, I didn't, the the three thumps that I heard. What they were almost as if, you know, from just it went to one direction and that direction was just left like complete, just like a straight shot left. Um, and I think that would have been the best way it could have gone. Cause I think if it were, if it ran towards the front of the van, my coworker would have seen it. And if it ran to the like far and like towards the driveway area, my coworker would have seen it. Uh, so I think it just ran straight. But the the weird thing is that like, I, I, I wouldn't, I wouldn't have seen it run away. Because I was stuck in the same spot. I didn't want to.

• 38:01Speaker 03

  Leave the van, to be honest with you. I didn't want to go investigate. I didn't want it, whatever this thing was, I didn't, I didn't want to be a part of it, to be honest with you. And I was just kind of hoping that it was, you know, it was, it would leave, whatever it was, it would leave.

• 38:14Wes Germer?

  How big do you think it actually was? Because you know, those HVAC, the guys that work in HVAC, those vans are generally pretty big.

• 38:23Speaker 03

  Yeah, there were, it was a Ford, uh, it was a Transit. Forget what size, but it was one of the high, high top vans. I'd, man, I don't, I'd say it was maybe, it wasn't, it was hunched over, but not that hunched over, like it was picking something up or anything. I think it was just kind of more like looking down to, to kind of like see, almost, you know, like if you're turning a corner to kind of see like around the, if you're trying to peek around a corner. Uh, I think that's kind of what it was trying to do. And in the process of doing that, and maybe bent over, I'd say maybe a foot. So maybe this thing was, I don't know, eight, eight and a half feet tall.

• 39:02Speaker 03

  And something else is that it wasn't refrigerator kind of build. It was, based on the shadow that I've seen outside the glass. Uh, and again, the glass wasn't completely clear. It was, it was, you know, it was blurry, like blurry glass, pretty much. And, uh, and that, and that's just so, you know, if you park at a van in the city or something, people don't see you all the expensive tools we have in the van. And, uh, I could, I could see that this thing wasn't super big, but it wasn't, it really definitely was not skinny. And I, and I, I don't know what would have scared me more if this thing was skinny and tall or big and tall. I, I, I don't know.

• 39:45Speaker 03

  But I, I'd say maybe eight, eight to eight and a half feet tall.

• 39:49Wes Germer?

  What do you make of, uh, how the homeowner responded to you? Um, it's almost like she probably saw that you were scared. I mean, it's not something you can hide.

• 40:01Speaker 03

  Yeah, I think because, I think because of her response and that, I think that's a really, really weird response. And I think, I think she knew that there was something, you know, what it was, I'm not sure. Um, I did, I did try to see if she had like cameras outside or something, uh, after just to see maybe like, I don't know, maybe if she's experienced this before. Has like, maybe she had cameras installed or something, but she had, you know, there were no cameras outside. Uh, there were no lights. Um, and I think that's because uh, she was so old, there's no really need for her to, to have lights around her house. Uh, she, she did mention that she had a caretaker that would uh, come to the house every, every day or every other day or something.

• 40:45Speaker 03

  Uh, at the beginning of the, of uh, at the be, towards the beginning of when we were there. So there's not really, you know, a lot of reason for her to leave the house at nighttime. And but I, I, I do think that she knew something. I'm not sure what, but I, I think she, I think she knew there was something not normal there. But you know, with, with the fact that she said, all the animals up here are friendly, or she said, it was something along the lines of that. Uh, I think, I think she, I think she kind of knew why I was asking. And I, and I think because she was so fast to switch up the conversation after that, I don't know if, I don't know if she wanted to. And when I say that, I mean, she started asking me uh, questions about my career. Uh, she, I think she wanted to switch up topics. I don't know if it made her nervous or she saw how uncomfortable I was feeling.

• 41:31Speaker 03

  And maybe tried to distract me from it. I'm not sure.

• 41:34Wes Germer?

  Have you ever considered going back to the property to where this happened?

• 41:39Speaker 03

  Uh, no, not at all. Um, actually, the, uh, I'd say a big, about half the reason why. Uh, I am, I'm, so I live in uh, Boston now and about half the reason why I moved over here was to get away from the woods. Um, I've had a lot of dreams about this and. And like if I, you know, I, I barely want to go to a park, you know, let alone, let alone live in an area with, you know, a small patch of woods. Just every, just, you know, looking at it, just uh, woods, uh, kind of just, it just brings me back and uh, that's just not something I want to think about.

• 42:16Speaker 03

  And you know, maybe, maybe it would be different if I knew exactly what it was, or maybe it would make it worse if I knew exactly what it was, but. Just the overall, it's the overall experience. It made it like, apart with wanting to live with my. Girlfriend, that was the, that was the second thing that came, you know, it was just to get away from this area. And in the time, I didn't even live in a, in a, in a heavily, you know, in a wooded uh, uh, city I lived in, the city I lived in at the time was Holyoke. And there there's it's very, very far from woodsy area. Again, not something I'm not something I'm used to.

• 42:52Wes Germer?

  Yeah. What was kind of your feelings about Sasquatch before this ever happened to you?

• 42:58Speaker 03

  Um, I, I, I'm, I'm definitely, I think before I was, I think I was a believer. But I think I was a believer and you know, there are too, just too many stories. Um, I think I was listening to an episode uh, yesterday or the day before, um, and, and someone, and someone said the same thing of like, there are just, there are thousands and thousands of reports of, of, of things like this happening. And, you know, statistically, some of them can't be lies at all. And, and it really makes you think of like, you know, if this, if, if, if this is kind of going.

• 43:37Speaker 03

  If, if, if so many people are having the same, the same experience or very similar experience and not only in, in, in this state or that state or in the U S, but all over the world, it kind of, it really makes you think and, and question kind of what you know about, about, you know, everyday things.

• 43:56Speaker 03

  Um, but I, I, you know, I, I did believe, uh, I'm, I'm a very, uh, I, I, I don't want to say I'm a super spiritual person, but I, I, I, I, I believe in, I believe in a lot of things, you know, as far as, you know, I don't know if I believe in vampires exactly per se, you know what I mean? But, you know, I think, I do think there are a lot of things on this planet that can't be explained and shouldn't be explained, uh, shouldn't be known. And I think that this is as of right now, kind of something that you know, the genre of Sasquatch or Bigfoot or Yeti, I think, I think it's, it's, it's been,

• 44:35Speaker 03

  I think the, I don't want to say that the truth has been hidden for so long, but I, I guess you can kind of go along that path towards and and kind of say that it's for a reason and what that reason is, I, I wouldn't know.

• 44:48Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I could understand how you feel. Um, when you were looking at this thing, you guys are sitting there eye to eye. Did you get the feeling that you were looking at an animal?

• 44:59Speaker 03

  No, not at all. I got, I, especially with how, with how quiet.

• 45:05Speaker 03

  And almost, I want, I want to say these eyes look human, but they were just so black and I, I, they definitely, they definitely were not human. Uh, they, they were, the eyes were, I'd say they were maybe oh, like a mix, like half, half and half oval and, and more circular. Uh, but that I, I don't think they were exactly, uh, uh, human eyes either. Um, you know, but you know, I, I, I, I've seen, I've seen pictures of bears and all these documentaries of, of bears. And I know for a fact it wasn't, uh, with how quiet, again, with how quiet it was. And just the placement of where the eye was from where, uh, the

• 45:44Speaker 03

  inside of, you know, like, uh, the inside of the nose was. So like, if you wipe like, I don't know, like an eye bugger or something, that very tip or top of the nose, like you can see kind of where it started. And, uh, which made me think that it wasn't, what I was looking at wasn't really an animal. It, again, like I was kind of, I was with, especially with how dark it was. I was, I was thinking I was looking at something that was, you know, demonic, you know, like a, like a real, uh, monster.

• 46:13Wes Germer?

  I've heard demonic many times. What, what kind of made you feel that way?

• 46:18Speaker 03

  I don't know. I, uh,

• 46:21Speaker 03

  maybe it was a mix of, uh, me not just not experiencing, you know, I've never been camping. I don't know what it's like to go camping and I never will go camping. Um, so, you know, just, and I guess, I guess to an extent I've always had this fear of, of the dark, like I'm not like scared of the dark, but it's the, the fear of it. Um, and I, I, I, it's just, maybe it's the idea of the unknown. And because it was so unknown to me, I wasn't, I'm not familiar with what it was, what it could do. Uh, yeah.

• 46:56Wes Germer?

  Yeah. A lot of people say demonic and I was just kind of curious and what made you feel that way? You know, I ask everyone on the show, what do you think Sasquatch is? And there's no wrong answer. Uh, I'm curious on what you think it is. And I know you were into the topic before. Did your opinion change when you were, uh, kind of looking into the topic and now being in this position of actually seeing it?

• 47:20Speaker 03

  I'm I'm not, I'm not too sure, obviously. Um, I think it's definitely something that is alive, like flesh and blood. I I'm not, I don't, I don't, I don't know if I exactly believe in the more spiritual path for it. Um. And I, you know, I, I, I, and I'll never know if it, I don't know, and I'll never know. But I, I do think that this is, it's something that uh is flesh and blood. And I think it's been around for a very, very, very long time, you know, whether it's

• 47:58Speaker 03

  uh maybe, you know, there's actually my, my girlfriend mentioned this thing, uh, I forget what it's, uncanny, uncanny valley, uncanny valley, I think it is, and it's pretty much the, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm not sure if you probably are familiar with what the concept or the idea of it, but it's pretty much this, this primal fear of something that looks human, but isn't. And I don't know if that's, it goes as far back as that. Um. And I, I forget the second half of, of, of your question, Wes, I'm sorry.

• 48:32Wes Germer?

  Yeah, no, that's okay. I was curious if your opinion changed before and after the encounter.

• 48:38Speaker 03

  I don't think it's changed at all. Um, the fact that, you know, it, I heard three thumps and then just none at all. It, it, I was thinking that maybe what if it did just disappear? And I've heard stories of, you know, things like that happening. Uh. But another, another fear that I had was that what if it just took three thumps, three steps, and it was just out of sight? And that's all it was, was just out of sight. It was still there, just hidden. Which is why I had, I had Ron turn the van around, do like a seven point turn before I got into the van. And he was a little annoyed about that, but I think he, I think he understood to an extent. Um, but it hasn't, in my, my opinion, really. Hasn't changed. I still, I still think it's, I guess, for the most part, live flesh and blood.

• 49:23Speaker 03

  I've been, you know, I've always been fascinated with the idea of something that could be supernatural. And I don't know if you would call Sasquatch supernatural or not, but um. If I, if I could go back in time and not go and not experience that, I think I would. You know, for the sake of my, you know, for the, for, for my own sake, I, I, I think I, I'd rather not have experienced that. And I, I, I think that if I, if I. I, I wish I, I had some sort of proof because I, you know, just talking around in that hour. That hour drive back, I, I felt like I was, I was going crazy. And I, I, I wish I had some sort of, some sort of evidence to show that I wasn't, you know, to them.

• 50:07Speaker 03

  Or to him specifically. I haven't really told anyone about it. Um, I can't really talk to my girlfriend about it. Uh, she is definitely afraid of, uh, of anything, you know, supernatural. Um, she's had. A spooky experience once and at, at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston, uh, for work. And, uh, to the point where I went, I actually went over there the next day. This is before we moved in together. Uh, to the point where I went over there the next day to stay with her for that second night. And I did get some pretty, pretty creepy vibes from that place too. But that's.

• 50:45Wes Germer?

  Yeah, you know, Gabriel, I can relate a lot to what you just said. Um, and to this day, if I could go back, I wouldn't have had my encounter. I would have never gone out that night. And I think, you know, when you have an encounter. There's such a range of emotions. There, there's fear, there's. I mean, you name it, you're experiencing it in that moment. And it's one of those things to where. It affects people so much. And I think that's why it hurts so much when. We try and explain our, what we saw to people and then they, they goof on us. Because there is that emotion attached to what happened to you.

• 51:30Wes Germer?

  Um, a year and a half later, how has this still affected you?

• 51:35Speaker 03

  Man, uh, you know, there are, there are times where I've, I've kind of waken up, um, just having dreams of, of me just honestly, just staring at this thing. And not even, you know, in these dreams, it's been the same, I've had the same dream, not every time, but when I do dream about this thing, sometimes it's, it's, it's me, I'm sitting down, it's pitch black everywhere. And then all I see is just like that, that almost like ton of vision, um, that like maybe three inches away from the eye on both sides, straight up down. Um, and it's just like the edges of the door, pitch black, and I'm sitting there and I'm staring at this thing.

• 52:16Speaker 03

  Um, even to this day, I'll have dreams where I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm sleeping in my, in my apartment. I live in apartment building, there are no woods anywhere near me, a three-story apartment building. And I'm, I had these dreams where, you know, things are knocking on my window and it's, you know, I, I, I just recently started getting back into, into, you know, listening to podcasts, just like yours. Um, where people are sharing experiences and it would, it would, you know, it's kind of, you know, pushed me a little bit to kind of at least express it. Maybe I can get a little bit of closure to kind of what I've, what I've seen. And, you know, I've, I've had dreams like that, um, I've, I've, you know, I can't, I can't even look, I can't, you know, there are times even now when I'm on call,

• 52:59Speaker 03

  um, I'll get the call in and I'll GPS to see where it is. And if it's, if it's secluded, you know, and like a similar, like similar to what I was, uh, where I, where I was at, uh, during the experience, I, I, I won't, I won't go. Um, and I'll ask, I'll ask another coworker to, you know, if they can take it for me, I'll pretend I'm sick or something. And, uh, it's, it's affected me pretty, pretty bad, uh, you know, I do. Feel like it's getting better, um, you know, and I don't know, maybe that's just because I am living in the city and not, and not in, and not uh over there anymore.

• 53:33Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I think the two things that have helped me the most is time. Uh, and time's a funny thing, you know, time can heal and time can punish. Uh, you know, when, when people mess up in society, we uh lock them up and there's time associated with it as punishment, but time can also heal. Uh, and the farther you get away in time away from your encounter, I, I think that that helps. And it also helps too to hear other people's encounters. You know, I've, I've learned so much that if I were to encounter one again and not be frozen with fear, and I'm a big enough man to say uh, that would be my biggest concern is my own fear taking over.

• 54:19Wes Germer?

  Uh, but you learn so much from people's encounters that I could almost tell you what I think the creature is going to do. And I think my odds are pretty high uh, as far as what it's going to do. And that's not because of anything on my end. It's just from hearing so many encounters, you, you tend to learn about their behavior. And I think stuff like that really helps and realizing you're not the only one that has encountered it. And you know, in your situation, I kind of think the creature was uh just as shocked to see you in the van as you were to see it.

• 54:55Speaker 03

  And, and I think, I think the fact that it touched the van, cause like I said, there was a, a light tap, like as if it put his hand on it, like not so gentle to where like it wouldn't make a sound. But you know, if, if you're just like resting your arm on something, that's kind of, that's kind of how hard it, it did it. And I, I don't think it would have done that. And I also think especially it would have, it would have controlled its breathing more if it had known that I was in there. Um, it wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't as if like it was, it was running a lot and then it just stopped to catch its breath. It was more like it was just breathing how it would normally breathe. And something else that I actually I had failed to mention was that I, I, I after, after the experience, like I, I, I'd come up.

• 55:38Speaker 03

  Van and I there was this this not not dog not wet dog smell but more like wet like wet towel like you you you soak up like dirty water and let it dry and do that a couple more times that's kind of what it smelled like a little bit it was it wasn't too windy but uh which is I think why I could I could still smell it while I was will smell still smell that that scent while I was while I was out there um not something that you know was super strong with you know like like it would like I lived in a swamp or something but I I I think that whatever it was it just wasn't the cleanest.

• 56:14Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I get what you're saying. Kind of that sour smell from a wet towel and there is um the the smell does come up a lot. Uh people will describe it. I've heard it described many different ways. And it's an amazing account and I'm honored that you would come on and share it because I know you haven't shared it with uh with a lot of people and you have my cell phone. If you ever want to chat, feel free to hit me up, man. But I really appreciate you taking the time to come on.

• 56:43Speaker 03

  Very welcome, Wes. I appreciate it. You know, I do. I do appreciate talking about it. I think I think talking about it kind of helped me and I think you know maybe maybe you're just comforting me or just to comfort me but you know it's I think I think talking with you helped me a lot and you know, I'm still not I'm still not going to be accepting any any on call, any on any any any calls, you know, in in wooded areas anytime soon still, but you know, it definitely helped. I'm really glad I was able to get this off my chest a little bit and and talk about it with someone who who could understand and I think that's uh I think that's probably why I was so willing to talk to you.

• 57:22Speaker 03

  Um you know, there's a there are a couple. There's another podcast I've listened to and you know, those people call there's they they leave like a message uh for the for the person and the person kind of listens to it and then says something after and I I wanted more than that and you were you were able to help me out. So, thank you.

• 57:40Wes Germer?

  Yeah, brother. Well, it was a real honor having you on. Thank you again. And that's it for tonight, everyone. Remember, if you've had an encounter, shoot me an email. My email address is [email protected]. And if you get a chance, check out sasquatchchronicles.com. You can become a member and get additional shows. Until next time, everyone.

• 58:07Wes Germer?

  The lights on With roses and a hand up in the heart

• 58:13Wes Germer?

  The lights on My wheels untorn and go alone The lights on Baby you should know that you're gone The lights on This is my home This is where I own Memories of you dear Untie your eyes Close at the sky I'll miss the ride Memories of you dear

• 58:46Wes Germer?

  I saw a moon as a human and lighter The lights on And it power grew wider The lights on So we both must be a little wiser

• 59:01Wes Germer?

  The lights on To do in something a quieter The lights on This is my home This is where I own Memories of you dear Untie your eyes Close at the sky I'll miss the ride Memories of you dear

• 59:48Wes Germer?

  Put the lights on This is my home This is where I own Memories of you dear Untie your eyes Cleaves at the sky I'll miss my life Memories of you too

• 1:00:54Wes Germer?

  Say that you're still here in my mind And this smile you're leaving behind Cause I found the key to you

• 1:01:04Wes Germer?

  Say that I want you darling And I'll make you stay young Don't slip away now

• 1:01:15Wes Germer?

  Say that you're still here in my mind And this smile you're leaving behind Cause I found the key to you

• 1:01:26Wes Germer?

  You are the destiny And I'll make you stay young Don't slip away now Don't slip away