Bigfoot Sightings

Report Received From: The GCBRO Online Report Submission Form.

Report Posted To GCBRO Web Site On: October 1, 2008

OBSERVED: Back in 1976 -- in the fall semester of the school year -- I was attending the seminary there. During the evenings I would usually walk the little road, located behind the monastery/seminary buildings, to say my rosary. Behind the buildings is a garage housing the cars for the monks. There is a field directly behind this, which leads to the piney woods. The field is fenced in, since the monks sometimes would let the cattle graze there.
I was saying my rosary, when I began to hear a soft whimpering sound coming from the forest area. I was familiar with the noises made from foxes, cattle, and other animals in the area, so it gave me some alarm to hear this strange sound. It sounded like a mixture of a dog whimpering and a human voice crying. I could also hear the snapping of branches as the creature moved in the woods. Needless to say, I was stunned! I listened to hear what the creature would do, because I could tell it was following a path in the woods -- heading toward the edge of the wooded area near the field. I just knew it was going to come out into the open -- but it stopped right at the edge. I could hear the sound more distinctly now. I turned to run toward the monastery in order to alert someone, when I just stopped and thought, "No. Nothing was going to hurt me." Besides, I didn't want the creature to be alarmed at my running and disappear, so I stayed and looked toward the woods. The creature paced back and forth -- as if it could see me there -- and just kept making this strange whimpering sound. After about fifteen minutes, it started to back off and return into the woods. After another five minutes -- to make sure it had truly gone -- I just hightailed it to my room. I didn't know what to report, since there had never been any talk of other seminarians seeing or hearing something as such. And I didn't want the seminary professors to think I was having illusions. But I knew this was something to keep in mind. A few years before, there had been reports of Bigfoot in the St. Tammany area, which had caused quite a stir -- even prompting someone to write a song, of all things. But I wasn't one to chalk my event to Bigfoot as yet, until I was watching a program relating to Bigfoot a few years later. The show had a recording purportedly of a Bigfoot. When the recording was played, my heart just stopped! That was exactly the sound I could remember from my encounter!

The night was a clear evening, with no breeze. I could hear the cattle lowing way off in one of the back fields of the monastery grounds.

Activities of Witness: I was walking back and forth on the road -- quietly saying my rosary for the evening.

Description of Creature: I never observed the animal itself. I could only hear the whimpering sound made by the animal as it paced back and forth. I could also hear the snapping of branches as it walked through the woods.

Other Notes: At the time I truly didn't connect this with Bigfoot. If I had, I would have certainly gone to the area the next day to check out the brush, the path, and the branches.

Other (Informational or Encounter History in the General Area) Notes: A few years before, there had been a couple sightings around the St. Tammany Parish area. I cannot truly say if any previous sightings had been made at the monastery grounds.

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