Report Received From: The GCBRO Online Report Submission Form.
 
Report Posted To GCBRO Web Site On:  February 5, 2006

DATE:    July 23, 2005
 

TIME:     10:00pm-12:30am
 

LOCATION:   Bennington County, Vermont
 

TERRAIN:    Borial forest, Mixed vegetation and landscape. Next to large swamp that is good for viewing wildlife
 

OBSERVED:    My wife and I set up camp early in the afternoon, cooked some dinner and left the campsite to go to the swamp overlook to watch for moose and black bear. Conditions were perfect for wildlife viewing but on this night we did not see anything. we returned to our camp shortly after dark started our fire, and sat back to relax and enjoy the majestic wilderness. After a couple of hours, a bag of marshmallows and some shooting stars, we heard a strange scream or yell come from far across the swamp. At first I thought it might be a bared owl so I called to it. The animal without hesitation immediately screamed out again but the sound was a bit more clear this time. the scream did not sound like an owl but of something i have never heard. I again (mocking the sound I heard) called out again. Same response with out hesitation. This went on for several minutes until I stopped yelling. After several minutes of silence, we heard the scream again but a bit closer to us and slightly off from the direction we first heard it. curious by this and beginning to think it might be a bobcat, though I am an avid outdoorsman and can distinguish the difference in calls of north american wildlife, I again mocked the sound I heard and got no response from the woods for several minutes. Then a frightening scream from roughly 100 yards away scared the hell out of us! My wife scrambled to plug the spotlights into the car while I grabbed My NE firearms 12 gauge shotgun and loaded a 3" magnum slug. We shinned the woods for several minutes but could not see anything, no eye shine just the trees. I threw a couple of logs on the fire while my wife stood guard with the gun. We shut the spotlights off convinced that our mad dash for weapons and lights scared whatever it was away. after a few more minutes we heard what sounded like a thump, then the distinct sound of sticks, and leaf litter crunching. something was walking in the area we last heard the call but much closer to us. it sounded like it was 50 yards or less away. we again spotted the tree's with our lights but could see nothing. I decided to call out again to see if it would respond and it did! The forest erupted in the loudest most blood curdling scream I ever heard from over my shoulder out on the dirt rd.  My wife was tending to nature when i did this and she was on the opposite side of the car towards the road. She nearly jumped the car with her pants down. I again shinned the spotlight in the direction of the road and again nothing. We heard the sound several more times along with the sound of the brush as if something were walking around our camp. This call would come from all directions we would put the spotlights out there to see it but saw absolutely nothing every time. We had our dog with us, a 75lb lab and she was very curious about the sound when it was out at a far distance. She would not take her eyes off the woods in the direction of the sounds. as the sound got closer to us my dog began to get very restless. she would pace back and fourth and watch the woods. as the sound got very close to us my dog stood behind my legs watching the tree's and she began to shake profusely! when my wife went to use the restroom and the scream came out from behind the car the dog crawled under the car and layed there shaking violently. My dog usually will bark at wildlife she has even ran after a black bear on one encounter in this same forest but this time she acted like she was as scared as me. This experience ended when a Bennington county sheriff patrol car came flying down the dirt road. after the car passed we did not hear another sound from the forest. I rigged a line of rope around the car, hung all the pots and pans from it along with various other items from camp and tied off to our cooler which i placed on top of the car. We slept in the car that night with the loaded 12 gauge right next to me.
 

Activities of Witness:   camping
 

Description of Creature:  no sighting of animal. strange screams and a thumping noise.
 

Other Notes:  I spend alot of time looking for wildlife in the more remote reaches of the forest and have had several encounters with the local wildlife. I have sometimes come across some strange looking prints in the mud. I used to blow things like this off figuring a bear overstepped his own track but after this experience i wonder weather or not it is possible. I have never considered myself to be a bigfoot believer but now im not so sure. I can tell you that this is the only place i have ever heard this noise and I travel all across the northeast and midwest to explore the forests and see wildlife.
 

Other (Informational or Encounter History in the General Area) Notes:    A scream or yell much like what we heard in july, two years prior to this encounter but from a great distance and we heard the sound only once during our whole camping trip. the sound was again heard late at night.
 

Additional Notes and or Follow up Comments:  N/A

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