What Earl Buried

This is the tenth and final part of the series from Garrett, a residential contractor who spent eight years on a remote forty-seven-acre property in the southern Appalachians of western North Carolina.In spring 2021, while re-pointing the root cellar walls, Garrett discovers a hidden cavity Earl built into the original foundation in 1971. Inside is a sealed plastic bundle containing a leather-bound journal, a hand-drawn map, and a letter addressed to Garrett by name.The letter explains that Earl believed the creatures could hear spoken conversations and that sealing the information in stone was the only way to pass it along without violating the silence he'd maintained for over four decades.Earl's journal covers 1972 through 1981. The critical entries describe two visits to a ravine roughly a quarter mile northeast of the cabin in the national forest.In fall 1972, Earl followed a track line into a narrow slot canyon and found three worn sleeping depressions, organized bone piles, and evidence of long-term habitation. In January 1973, he returned and discovered the beds had been recently used, with melted snow and shed hair. Deeper in the ravine, under a natural rock overhang, he found a curated collection of polished creek stones arranged by size, bundled stripped sticks, and mineral specimens including a standing quartz crystal point. Earl never returned and never told Vernon, Reba, or anyone. Following Earl's map on January 15, 2022, Garrett hikes to the ravine and confirms every detail. The beds are still in use with recently melted snow. The bone pile persists. The collection on the shelf has grown over fifty years to include more stones, sticks, and additional mineral specimens. On his way out, Garrett finds one of the creatures standing at the ravine entrance. It watches him approach from a hundred and fifty yards, and at twenty yards he stops. The creature shifts to the side, pressing against the rock wall to clear the passage. Garrett walks past at four feet, the closest encounter of the series, and exits the ravine. He connects the river stone left on the bluff sitting slab in 2016 to the collection, understanding it as a deliberate gift.Garrett sold the cabin in 2023 after Bowie's death at age thirteen and moved to Asheville with Ruby.He sold to a young couple from Boone without disclosing what lives on the ridge. This final episode closes the ten-part series.Have you experienced a Bigfoot sighting, Sasquatch encounter, Dogman experience, UFO sighting, or any unexplained cryptid or paranormal event deep in the woods? We want to hear your story.Email your encounter to [email protected] for a chance to be featured on a future episode of Backwoods Bigfoot Stories.Backwoods Bigfoot Stories is a paranormal storytelling podcast featuring real Bigfoot encounters, Sasquatch sightings, Dogman reports, cryptid experiences, and true scary stories from the backwoods.Follow the show and turn on automatic downloads so you never miss a chilling encounter from the forest. Listen with the lights off… if you dare.