All language subtitles for The UnXplained S05E06 1080p WEB h264-EDITH_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
A giant, hairy beast

that walks on two legs.

A ferocious killer wolf

with a taste for human flesh.

And a red-eyed,
nocturnal bird of prey

that is believed to be
a harbinger of doom.

♪ ♪

Throughout the world,
there have been

countless sightings
of bizarre creatures

that, based on
eyewitness accounts,

can only be described
as monsters.

Fearsome, grotesque beasts

that cannot be explained
by science.

Is it possible that there
really are terrifying monsters

lurking in the shadows
of our planet?

Well, that is what
we’ll try and find out.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
Bigfoot researcher
Matt Moneymaker and a colleague

are investigating
reported Bigfoot sightings

in a wooded area
near the town of Kent.

After spending years
pursuing Bigfoot in hopes

of seeing one himself,
Matt is eager to find out

whether there really is
a giant creature in these woods.

We were staked out along a road.

The guy I was with
was about 60 feet away.

And at about 2:30 a.m.,

something comes
walking down the road.

I see something.

He sees it first
through night vision.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
Matt rushes over to investigate

and is stopped dead in
his tracks by the sound of...

(growling)

...inhuman growling.

MATT MONEYMAKER:
This thing steps out,

a very big, tall,
hair-covered thing...

(roaring)

...standing out there
growling at me.

When you’ve got something
that big that close to you,

you could see it well enough
to know that must be a Bigfoot.

So I just kind of
backed up and walked away.

(growling)

I was pretty happy at
that point, because I’m thinking

if this one’s going
to do that reliably,

then this is a place
that we’re going to get

some video footage of them,

if we’re coming here
with the right kind of gear.

SHATNER:
But when Matt returned
with camera equipment

to document the encounter,

the creature had vanished.

Although Matt was not able
to photograph the large,

hairy beast that he witnessed,

he remains convinced
that what he saw

was, in fact, Bigfoot.

It’s one of those things
that sounds so over the top,

but after I had
a face-to-face encounter,

I knew it was
exactly the same thing

that all the witnesses
around there had described.

SHATNER:
The encounter inspired
Matt to found

the Bigfoot Field Researchers
Organization, or BFRO.

MONEYMAKER:
The roots of it are people
who were sharing information.

We were sharing
sighting reports mainly

from different parts
of the country.

And I came up
with the idea that--

why don’t we put all these
into a website?

You know, sort it
by county and state

so people can look up reports.

And when we did that,
it worked really well.

Lots of people
started submitting reports.

SHATNER:
According to the BFRO,
there have been more than

3,500 credible
Bigfoot sightings since 1960.

Although science has yet
to prove the existence

of the legendary man-beast,

that hasn’t stopped Bigfoot

from becoming
a full-fledged phenomenon.

CHRIS BADER:
Bigfoot is literally everywhere.

There are Bigfoot stories
in Nevada.

There are Bigfoot stories
in Nebraska, Florida, Texas.

Literally every part
of the country

has its own stories
and legends of Bigfoot.

It’s likely wherever
you live in this country,

you are within
100 miles of a place

that purportedly has a Bigfoot.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
If these sightings are
of a real creature,

then what exactly is Bigfoot?

And how did this
phenomenon begin?

(crunching steps)

TOK THOMPSON:
Bigfoot is generally reported

to be a very large, very furry,
uh, hominid creature.

Something like a person, uh,
but not a person.

Seen very often
remotely in the forest.

And with various stories about
sightings or about footprints

that really are
pretty widespread

in many, many communities in
the United States and in Canada.

Before 1958, people
didn’t use the word Bigfoot.

But it was in 1958
in Northern California

guys building a road
found footprints

around their gear when they
would come back in the morning.

And a guy named Jerry Crew
made plaster footprints

of these tracks
and showed them to a reporter

in Eureka,
and they dubbed it Bigfoot.

That was where
the name first originated

and got into
American vocabulary.

SHATNER: Photos of Jerry Crew’s
cast of giant footprints

made headlines
across the country.

Many Americans came
to believe that a tall,

bipedal, apelike creature roamed

the forests
of the Pacific Northwest.

I grew up in Washington State

where it’s hard to
underestimate Bigfoot’s power.

♪ ♪

Bigfoot is the mascot
of different companies.

Bigfoot is all over billboards.

As a young boy
in Washington State,

I fully believed
in Bigfoot’s existence.

SHATNER:
In 1967, interest
in Bigfoot surged

when an investigator
named Roger Patterson

captured incredible footage

of a creature that matched
the description of Bigfoot

near Bluff Creek
in Northern California.

(growling)

Patterson’s film
became an instant sensation,

but skeptics claimed

that it had to be a man

in a monkey suit.

One of the issues when it comes
to people believing

in Bigfoot existing is,
let’s face it,

mainstream sciences
shun away from this topic.

However, amateur researchers
are trying to pick up the slack,

bridge that gap between
amateur and mainstream science.

SHATNER:
Bigfoot researchers claim
that the vast majority

of Bigfoot sightings are sincere

and that hoaxes represent only
a small fraction of reports.

They also point out that stories

of Bigfoot-like animals
are not merely a recent fad.

Believe it or not,
more than 3,000 years ago,

the ancient Babylonians
told stories

of a creature that sounds
an awful lot like Bigfoot.

Except they called it Enkidu.

♪ ♪

Enkidu is a hairy, wild

man-creature
with super strength,

and he’s fearsome,
he’s ready and willing

to defend this wild territory
that he inhabits.

The king, Gilgamesh,
becomes his soulmate,

basically-- best friends.

So, this king becomes
this amazing hero

through his relationship
with this wild man

that has shown him
how to negotiate the boundaries

between humanity and wildness.

SHATNER:
Since that time, descriptions
of so-called "wild men,"

half-human, half-ape beasts,

have popped up throughout
history, all over the world.

JONATHAN YOUNG:
In the Caucasus, there was
something called the Alma

that was a big monster,
a nature creature.

In Australia, there’s
the aboriginal version,

which they call it a Yowie.

There is the Yeti
in the Himalayas.

So there are local variations,

but the story is more
or less the same:

very big, seemingly animallike.

Or is it human
or is it some hybrid?

There’s the point.

SHATNER:
In North America, there are
Native American legends

that go back centuries,

long before the discoveries
made by Jerry Crew

or Roger Patterson.

LYNNE McNEILL:
We know that Sasquatch,
the preeminent Bigfoot creature

that we have
in the United States

located in
the Pacific Northwest,

that very word, Sasquatch,
comes from a Salish tribal word

that means wild man
or hairy man.

YOUNG:
The natives of the Northwest say

that there are creatures that
walk upright and only at night.

And can speak in their language.

TODD NEISS:
I found in speaking
with indigenous peoples

that they don’t describe them
as an animal at all.

They call them the First Ones
or the Old Ones.

These were the tribe that was
here before we got here.

♪ ♪

Could Bigfoot be one
of man’s ancient ancestors?

According to many cultures
around the world,

it’s a distinct possibility.

And if Bigfoot does exist,
could it mean

that we might share our world
with other strange creatures?

Perhaps a clue
can be found in Texas,

where legend has it
that a vicious monster

prowls the night
and has an insatiable thirst

for blood.

SHATNER:
After purchasing
a brood of chickens

from a neighboring ranch,
Phylis Canion makes a series

of gruesome discoveries
inside her brand-new henhouse.

I brought the chickens home, and
I had them for about two weeks.

And I went outside, and one
of the chickens was dead.

What makes it unusual

is the chicken
was still laying there.

And with the amount
of predators that we have

in the state of Texas,

any predator would have taken
the chicken and eaten it.

♪ ♪

(camera bulb whooshes)

SHATNER:
Over the next few weeks,
Phylis collected the remains

of 27 more of her chickens,

each one killed in
the same inexplicable fashion.

Every one of them had been
opened up in the thorax area,

the feathers missing,
and what appeared to me

to be no blood on the ground.

So, that told me then
whatever it was

was not interested in the meat
but interested in the blood.

And when I was talking to
friends and neighbors about it,

they all immediately said,
"Oh, my gosh,

"that’s the behavior
of a chupacabra.

It’s going to kill the animal
and suck the blood."

SHATNER:
"Chupacabra."

To those who claim
to have encountered one,

it is a fearsome monster.

Chupacabra means "goat sucker."

And it’s a really
creepy-looking creature.

Some people say it looks
like some kind of

strange hybrid-like dog.

The continental
North American chupacabra, uh,

is a four-legged,
or quadrupedal animal

about the size of a dog,
completely hairless

with a bluish-gray
elephant hide type of covering.

They also display a number
of abnormal characteristics.

Oftentimes, their limbs
are disproportionate lengths.

So they’re very grotesque,
odd, weird-looking animals.

Certain that what was preying
on her chicken coop

was not a coyote
or any other known canine,

Phylis began to consider whether
it might be a chupacabra.

And then one morning,
she got her answer.

One Saturday morning,
I got a very early call, 7:00.

My neighbor rancher called
and said, "Oh, my gosh.

"The strangest animal
has been hit and killed

in front of the Canion Ranch."

So, I got in the truck, drove
over there and I brought it back

and I took a 50-pound feed sack

and I cut it in half
and laid it on the ground

and I laid the animal on it
to give everybody

a perspective
of the size of the animal.

I have seen mangy coyotes
all of my life,

and this had no hair on it
and no indication at all

that the skin
was infested with any type

of skin disorder
from mange or anything else.

It just did not have
any hair on it at all.

SHATNER:
Phylis sent tissue samples

from the dead creature
out for analysis.

After waiting expectantly
for weeks,

she was surprised
by the results.

So, when they called me,
they said,

"Well, it’s coyote
on the maternal side

and Mexican wolf
on the paternal."

The DNA tests
indicating that the...

the animal was a...
was a hybrid, essentially,

between a Mexican wolf
and a coyote

is a little surprising
in the fact

that those species
don’t typically hybridize.

But it’s not
entirely impossible.

We do know that the ranges
of those two species do overlap

in Arizona and Texas
and northern Mexico,

so it’s at least
physically possible

that they could encounter
each other, um, to form hybrids.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
With such conclusive
DNA results,

many considered the case closed.

But according to Phylis,

something was not
quite adding up.

The mystery of the whole thing

was the manner in which
every chicken was killed.

It would suck
all of the blood out.

So, we know that it’s
coyote and Mexican wolf,

but neither of those animals
suck blood.

So, even though this animal
has that DNA, what is it?

Why would it have that behavior?

When the taxidermist
mounted it for me,

he had to get a coyote mold
and a wolf mold,

and blend them together
to make the hide fit.

The tail is longer than
a wolf tail or a coyote tail.

The neck, the ears,
everything was so extreme.

It took him forever
to get it mounted.

We had about 13
different specialists

from around the world
come and look at it.

And to date, they’ve all left
scratching their head

like the day they came in,

because they just cannot
figure it out as well.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
If they really exist,

are chupacabra merely the result
of natural selection gone wrong?

Or could this grotesque monster

be the result of
not natural causes

but manmade ones?

There are some
who believe the answer

is a disturbing yes.

Through the course
of my research

on the Texas chupacabras,

I found a direct correlation
between sightings

on Phylis Canion’s property
and elsewhere,

and coal-burning power plants.

Coal-burning power plants,

in fact, emit huge amounts
of sulfur dioxide

and other hard metals
like lead into the atmosphere.

And in recent studies,
scientists have found

that sulfur dioxide
is, in fact, a mutagen.

It altered the cellular makeup
or genetic makeup

of laboratory mice.

So, in fact, this pollution
could be having

a similar effect on these
Texas coyotes or other canids.

Chemicals in the environment

can absolutely cause mutations
to animals in-in the wild.

We saw this in Minnesota
when a classroom

out on a field trip
discovered a pond

with frogs that had
extra legs or missing limbs

or body features
in the wrong position.

And these were most likely
caused by some type

of environmental contaminant.

There is actually
a type of chupacabra

that’s been reported
from parts of Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rican chupacabra
is described as about

three and a half
to five feet tall,

standing on two legs,
fangs, claws,

and strangely a row of spikes
going down its back.

Why are there so many different
versions of the chupacabra,

and why are they so radically
different-looking

in terms of
the Puerto Rican version

versus the North American
version versus other versions?

So, in fact, pollution
could be having

a similar effect to create
all types of strange creatures.

♪ ♪

Is the chupacabra
a genetically mutated animal

that evolved as a result
of industrial pollution?

Perhaps, but then again,

monsters have been reported
for centuries,

long before the onset
of modern civilization.

For instance,
in 18th-century France,

more than 100 people fell victim

to a ravenous, wolflike creature
that was known

as the Beast of Gévaudan.

SHATNER:
On a warm summer morning
in this farming region

of south-central France,

14-year-old Jeanne Boulet

leaves home to tend
her flock of sheep.

♪ ♪

By sundown, she’s dead.

-(growling)
-(roaring)

(screaming)

Murdered by a mysterious animal

that reportedly
mutilated her body,

severed her head
and ripped out her heart.

Jeanne Boulet was the first
documented casualty

of a monster that
many people believed

was roaming around
south-central France

beginning in
the late spring of 1764.

By the end of September,

another ten or so casualties,
however, had appeared.

GERHARD:
La Bête du Gévaudan, also known
as the Beast of Gévaudan,

was a mysterious
wolflike creature

which mounted
a murderous rampage

over a three-year span
within the 18th century.

The Beast frequently attacked
women and young children

who had been assigned the task

of herding sheep and cattle
in remote mountainous meadows.

And in many cases,

they were rather defenseless
and vulnerable.

(growling)

SHATNER:
Between 1764 and 1767,

the so-called Beast of Gévaudan

terrorized the
Margeride Mountain region

of southern France.

According to historical records,

more than 100 people
were brutally killed.

SMITH:
The Beast of the Gévaudan’s
ravages

did incite panic
among the people.

And we know this largely
from evidence from journalists

and others who were
commenting about

the activities of the Beast.

By early 1765,
newspapers all across France,

and indeed all across
Europe and in America,

were reporting on
the Beast of the Gévaudan.

His exploits, the various
hunts for the Beast,

the various mysteries
surrounding it,

which is why so many people
were transfixed by this story.

(crackling)

GERHARD:
There were many attempts
to hunt down the Beast.

People in the Gévaudan region
typically did not own guns,

but there were posses formed.

Groups that would go out
in the woods and literally

beat the brush with pitchforks,

sticks, knives, whatever types
of weapons were available.

However, the hunt for
the Beast really ramped up

when King Louis XV
became involved.

He brought in a professional
wolf hunter named d’Enneval,

who allegedly killed
over 100 wolves,

but the killing
still did not end.

SHATNER:
According to multiple reports,
the beast resembled a wolf

but was unlike any canine
that was known to man.

GERHARD:
Many of the local villagers
noted as saying it resembles

a very large wolf,
but the Beast of Gévaudan

attacked and killed people

in a nature that was
very unlike a wolf.

(growling)

-The nature of these attacks...
-(howling)

...the way that this thing
was decapitating people...

-(roaring)
-(screaming)

...disemboweling people,

this was something
completely different.

SMITH:
One of the reasons this
becomes such a magnetic story,

it’s because there were
always new strange stories

about the Beast’s behavior,

its appearance,
its strange abilities.

The peasants on the ground
were describing it as

having the ability
to walk on its hind legs,

glowing eyes,
and having five or six talons

rather than four.

They didn’t use
the word "werewolf."

They used descriptions
of this creature

that made it easy to believe

that this could indeed
be a werewolf.

GERHARD:
The Beast of Gévaudan
is one of France’s

most enduring
and popular mysteries.

There are museums.

There are statues.

There are songs.
There are stories.

This was like
a real-life nightmare.

To this day, the Beast
of Gévaudan is celebrated

in French culture and it really
has a profound effect on people.

SHATNER:
The descriptions of the Beast
were so terrifying

that it’s not surprising
locals thought

it was some kind
of supernatural monster.

But there were
scientists at the time

who proposed a different theory.

SMITH:
Among the many hypotheses
that emerged

was that the beast
might be an African hyena.

The hyena was this
very mysterious creature

that lots of naturalists
and others wrote about

in the 1750s and ’60s.

The general description
of the Beast of Gévaudan

was a wolflike creature
but bigger,

the size of a mule
or a calf, perhaps.

It had a large head.

It had a long muzzle,
lined with razor-sharp teeth.

Pointy ears.

A long tail with
a tuft of fur on the end.

The coat of fur was
typically described

as a reddish-brown or gray,

with a black stripe running down
the back and a white breast.

These are hyena-like
characteristics.

CORBIN MAXEY:
Back in the day, kings
and even people of status

had exotic pets,
they had exotic zoos.

Who’s to say that
a hyena didn’t escape?

If you take a look
at the victims,

their chest cavities torn apart,

their limbs missing,
their heads decapitated,

this all resembles
attacks of a hyena.

SHATNER:
Could the Beast of Gévaudan have
been an escaped African hyena?

Perhaps.

(roaring)

But while that theory
may make sense,

the best clue
scientists have today

about the Beast’s identity

was obtained on the day
it was reportedly killed.

The Beast’s reign of terror
ended on June 19, 1767,

when a local hunter
named Jean Chastel

felled the monster with
one shot of a silver bullet.

(gunshot)

♪ ♪

After Chastel shot
this strange creature,

the killings actually stopped,
so everyone was in agreement

that-that he had actually
killed the beast.

♪ ♪

A surgeon who conducted
an autopsy determined

that while it resembled
a wolf, it was not a wolf.

And in fact,
it possessed 40 teeth

compared to a wolf’s 42 teeth,
which is quite strange.

♪ ♪

The Beast’s remains
were paraded around

the Gévaudan region
for weeks thereafter.

And by the time
the carcass was taken

to the Palace of Versailles
and presented to King Louis XV,

it was so smelly
that he immediately demanded

that it be removed
from the palace.

And to this day,
nobody knows what happened

to those remains--
they vanished.

♪ ♪

Ultimately,
while some people feel

the Beast of Gévaudan may have
been a supernatural phenomenon,

the deaths, the occurrences
documented, they’re real.

And the Beast of Gévaudan
remains a great mystery.

(growling)

Was the Beast of Gévaudan
a common wolf

or something
far more terrifying?

Either way, the people
of France believed

that the Beast needed
to be hunted down and killed.

But fighting back
against monsters

may not always be an option.

In fact, there have been reports

of another wolflike creature,
in Utah.

One that is so fearsome
and so powerful

that not even bullets
can stop it.

SHATNER:
Here on 512 acres of rugged land

lies a remote cattle ranch.

But according to local legend,
this desert landscape

is also home to a creature
of unspeakable evil.

(snarling)

A creature known
as the Skinwalker.

SKINNER:
A Skinwalker is a shape-shifter.

It can become many things:
a fox, a coyote, a wolf.

There are these recorded stories
of bipedal creatures

that are walking around
with wolflike heads.

The locals on the reservation,
they won’t talk about it

because even mentioning
the name of the Skinwalker

invites these things in.

♪ ♪

SHATNER:
Skinwalkers.

Shape-shifting werewolves

who dwell not in remote
forests of Eastern Europe

but in the remote desert
regions of North America.

Experienced ranch hands
Terry and Gwen Sherman

purchased the ranch
and the surrounding area.

Almost immediately, they find
themselves face-to-face

with something they would
later describe as pure evil.

One day, Terry had gone up to
check on his cattle and noticed

this extremely large,
what appeared to be a wolf

walking around on his property.

(snarling)

It grabbed one of
the calves by the snout

and began to tear at it.

So he pulls out his .357 Magnum

and shoots point-blank.

And the wolf doesn’t react.

It doesn’t appear fazed at all.

So he grabs
his deer hunting rifle

and shoots the wolf
to knock it down.

A piece of fur and flesh
flies off of the wolf.

But, again, completely unfazed,

and at this point, the wolf
is kind of trotting off

into the distance, casually.

SHATNER:
Leveling his rifle,
Terry cautiously

followed the wolf’s trail,

only to discover
it had disappeared.

♪ ♪

In the days and weeks
that followed,

the Shermans began to wonder
if what they encountered

was a normal wolf

or something more.

(howling)

SKINNER:
In the case of the bulletproof
wolf, what’s interesting

is that wolves are not native
to the state of Utah

for, I think,
the past 100 years or so.

GERHARD:
The werewolf of legend
is described as looking

very much like a regular wolf
except much larger.

And oftentimes, it is said to be

sort of bloodthirsty
and cunning.

We have lots of interesting
legends around the world.

For example, in Russia,
they’re known

as the vârcolac or the bodark.

In France, you have
the loup-garou.

In Scotland, the wulver, and
in South America, the lobizon.

And even in countries
where you don’t traditionally

have wolves,
you have similar legends.

For example, in India,
there are weretigers.

And in Africa, wereleopards
and werehyenas.

And even in Mexico, werejaguars.

We have to acknowledge
that the notion

of a shape-shifter,
like a werewolf,

something that combines
the elements

of human and animal together
into one single body,

from a scientific perspective,
is quite troubling.

(growling)

But the fact that these legends

are so widespread
is quite intriguing.

SHATNER:
An enormous,
bloodthirsty, cunning wolf

that also happens
to be bulletproof?

Is it possible that
the Shermans encountered

one of the werewolves
that may have been haunting

Skinwalker Ranch for centuries?

And if so, what physical
evidence is there

to support such
a fantastic notion?

SKINNER:
There has been numerous reports

of cattle mutilations that occur
not only on Skinwalker Ranch

but the entire Uinta Basin.

GERHARD:
Many of the accounts
of animal mutilations

from Skinwalker Ranch
describe animal carcasses

that have almost been
surgically dissected.

Certain large cats can make
very clean, precise wounds.

Things like mountain lions.

But it is notable that
you have so many accounts

of weird livestock mutilations
from Skinwalker Ranch.

This is very hard to explain
in terms of the natural world.

SHATNER:
With so many accounts
of cattle mutilations

and sightings of unusually large
and ferocious wolves,

it is difficult to escape the
notion that something strange

is prowling the grounds
of Skinwalker Ranch.

But according
to some scientists,

that doesn’t necessarily mean

that people are seeing
a werewolf.

One of the really fascinating
theories that relates

to these monstrous wolves
from Skinwalker Ranch

is that these could, in fact,
be surviving representatives

of a species known as
dire wolves, Canis dirus.

These were very robust wolves
that lived

during the Pleistocene epoch
up until about 11,500 years ago,

and they were very prevalent
in North America.

They were certainly much larger
and stockier than modern wolves.

So it’s not beyond
the realm of possibility

that a species from 11,000
years ago may have survived

in small pockets in certain
remote areas of North America.

♪ ♪

Is the Skinwalker a rare breed
of animal that simply

hasn’t been identified yet
by mainstream science?

Or could it be exactly
what witnesses insist it is:

a werewolf?

Well, if a shape-shifting canine

sounds too frightening
to be true,

then just wait till you hear
about our next monster.

It’s a flying beast
with glowing red eyes

that has been seen in the skies
above West Virginia,

and it’s known as the Mothman.

SHATNER:
Linda Sigman and her boyfriend

head out for a quiet
nighttime drive.

Far beyond the city lights,
they pull over

to do some amateur stargazing.

After a few minutes,
they realize they’re not alone.

We got out
and we sat on the car,

and we’re sitting there talking
for a little bit, and...

I noticed a bright star
over to my right.

And all of a sudden,
it started to get bigger.

And it turned bright red
and started to glow,

and like it burst
through the clouds.

And it came right over in front
of the car, and we looked up,

and the object was so big
that we couldn’t see

the night sky
or the stars or anything.

(engine cranking, sputtering)

When my boyfriend tried to start
the car and it wouldn’t start,

finally got the car started
and we started to pull forward,

and I saw him.

And he appeared to be

a large flying man with wings.

It was the creature

that I perceive to be Mothman.

(screeching)

His wings were back,
and he was anywhere between

eight and nine feet tall, and as
we were going around a turn,

the Mothman flew
and flew into the trees.

I don’t know what else
it could’ve been.

SHATNER:
The Mothman?

A large, red-eyed,
human-sized creature that flies?

But if such a creature exists,
where could it have come from?

GERHARD:
Mothman is one of
the most enigmatic creatures

in the annals
of the unexplained.

And first gained
public notoriety

in November of 1966.

And within a matter
of days and weeks,

there were dozens or
perhaps hundreds of sightings

of this creature
around the Point Pleasant area,

causing a mass hysteria
situation.

♪ ♪

Skeptics have attributed
the Mothman sightings

to a misidentification
of giant owls

or even a crane
that is local to the area.

There’s all kinds
of other explanations

that have been given,
but when you interview

the people that actually saw
and experienced this,

they’re not talking
about anything

that is conventionally known.

DAVID SPINKS:
West Virginia people
are outdoorsy people.

They know all the animals
in the woods.

Most are avid outdoorsmen,
hunters,

fishermen,
they know the difference

between an owl
and a Mothman type creature.

GERHARD:
We have to consider
that the Mothman’s behavior,

which involved chasing cars
at over 100 miles an hour,

taking straight up off
the ground like a helicopter,

none of those would indicate any
type of flesh-and-blood animal.

SHATNER:
Chasing cars at over
100 miles an hour?

If true, then this thing
is no owl.

At least not a normal one.

♪ ♪

But for the residents of
Point Pleasant, West Virginia,

the more pressing question
is whether the Mothman

is a friend or a foe.

It’s been seen a lot of times
right before tragedies happen.

That’s the only
common thing we know.

It seems to show up
at tragedies.

JEFF WAMSLEY:
On December 15, 1967,

the Silver Bridge, which spanned

from Point Pleasant
over to Kanauga, Ohio,

collapsed at about 5:00
on a Friday evening.

Uh, it was the worst bridge
disaster in U.S. history.

46 people died.

I was six when the bridge fell.

And I remember at that time
there were people that claimed

that they seen a large bird
flying back and forth, you know,

across the river
before the bridge fell.

NICK REDFERN:
The official story is
that it was just wear and tear

and the 46 people
who were killed

just didn’t really
stand a chance.

There are rumors
that the Mothman was seen

around the time
that the bridge collapsed.

So, there was inevitably
talk around town that somehow

the Mothman had either
caused the tragedy

or, in a strange way,

was kind of like a grim reaper
for many people.

GERHARD:
To this day, residents of
Point Pleasant draw a connection

between the Mothman
and this bridge collapse,

perhaps perceiving
the Mothman’s appearance

as some type of premonition
or omen of the tragedy.

JOHN HIPES:
I would say probably
in Point Pleasant it’s 50/50.

50% of the people believe
that Mothman caused

the Silver Bridge tragedy,
and the other 50% believe that

he may have been here
as a warning

to get everyone on guard that
something terrible may happen.

Is it possible that,
contrary to popular belief,

the Mothman is a force for good?

It’s an interesting notion

and suggests that
some strange creatures

may have more in common
with humans than we realize.

For instance,
there have been reports

of a bizarre beast that dwells
in the swamps of South Carolina

and is said to be part man...

...and part reptile.

17-year-old Christopher Davis
stops to change a flat tire

deep in the back roads
of Scape Ore Swamp,

and he quickly senses

that he is not alone.

About the time he’s putting
the jack and the flat tire

into the trunk of his car,

he looks up
and he sees something

coming at him in the moonlight.

The closer this thing got,

the more he knew
this wasn’t a person.

He looked up and he saw

a greenish-looking figure,

maybe about seven
to eight foot tall

and arms that draped
down to the side

with three claws on each hand.

(chittering)

SHATNER:
Sensing he could be in danger,

Christopher bolts into the car

and drives away
as fast as he can.

-(engine starts)
-(chittering)

Christopher looked
in his rearview mirror,

and could see
this thing pursuing him.

He was completely frightened,

utterly overwhelmed
by what he saw coming at him.

Eventually, it disappeared
into the darkness.

SHATNER: Christopher
got home safe and sound.

But his terrifying story quickly
spread through the media.

Newspapers
and television stations

jumped on the bizarre encounter.

NEWS ANCHOR: Deep in the Scape
Ore Swamp of South Carolina,

there reportedly lives
a creature

that is part man and part beast.

A creature that 17-year-old
Christopher Davis

claims attacked his car
late one night

on this lonely country road.

Seven feet tall.

Long arms. Red eyes.

STAMEY:
There was a media frenzy
once the story got out.

There were stories in newspapers
in Korea about the Lizard Man.

And that’s just a tribute

to the viral-ness
of the Lizard Man.

SHATNER:
During the media frenzy,
dozens of other eyewitnesses

began contacting
the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

They all claimed to have had
similar encounters

with a strange,
three-fingered creature

that appeared to be part man
and part reptile.

But rather than
dismiss such reports,

law enforcement
took them quite seriously.

They had the witnesses come in.

They interviewed them,

in some cases
gave them polygraph tests.

And all of the witnesses

that reported sightings of
the Lizard Man were credible.

(hissing)

SHATNER:
Could there really be
a reptile species

that evolved to walk upright
like humans?

And if so, is it possible
that there are bizarre

human-and-reptile hybrids
that are still alive today?

STAMEY:
There have been
a number of other sightings

of the Lizard Man
outside of Lee County

and Sumter County
in South Carolina.

There’s some in Europe.
There’s some in South Africa.

Every one of them was
about six to eight feet tall

with red eyes.

It always had red eyes.

That is one commonality
that you can’t get over.

And so, it is certainly possible
that the Lizard Man is real.

So, what do you think?

Do we share our planet
with Lizard Men,

otherworldly beasts
and bloodthirsty wolves?

May seem hard to believe.

That is, until you
come face-to-face

with one of these
creatures yourself.

So perhaps we should
heed the warnings

of the eyewitnesses,
just in case

there really are dangerous
monsters on our planet that,

for the moment,
remain unexplained.

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