What Lies Beyond

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Story 1.

The Land Between the Lakes

America's vast national parks and sprawling recreational areas are said to play host to a gallery of mysterious entities.

This week we take a look at a murderous cryptid, which is rumoured to reside in a region which separates the southeastern states of Tennessee and Kentucky.

A place known as the Land Between the Lakes.

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It was in 1963 that President John F.

Kennedy designated the rolling forest land, which separates Lake Barclay from neighboring Kentucky Lake, a protected recreation area.

Possessing 300 miles of shoreline and 170,000 acres of verdant woodland, the region has always been popular with hikers and holidaymakers.

But ever since European settlers first ventured inside its boundaries, there have been reports of enigmatic and mysterious creatures, which dwell in amongst the trees.

French hunters and trappers sometimes returned from the forest describing encounters with shadowy figures.

which would mysteriously disappear when challenged.

There were also reports of strange lights which hovered in the skies overhead, trailing the hunters as they made their way deeper into the woods.

As relations with the native population gradually improved, it became clear that there were sections of the forests which the local Shawnee tribe refused to enter.

Attempting to prevent harm from coming to the new settlers, they shared stories of a shape-shifting shaman who dwelt in the woods, one who possessed the ability to alter his form into that of a savage and carnivorous beast.

Undeterred by these tales, and lured by a relatively untouched environment in which to work, the trappers pressed on with their business, regardless.

But quite soon it became horrifyingly clear that there was some truth in the warnings they had failed to heed.

with reports of a murderous beast stalking them as they went about their work.

Word would soon begin to spread beyond Kentucky and its borders of a wolf-like entity standing nearly seven feet tall on its hind legs.

As hunters were startled by mysterious howls in the night and farmers began to find the mutilated carcasses of their livestock lying dead in their fields, the unseen terror which was responsible was given a name, the Lugaroo.

Witness testimony pertaining to this hulking and murderous creature has persisted, from historic reports of missing hunters and townsfolk to far more recent alleged encounters.

During the spring of 1973, a group of male students from Murray State University decided to take a trip out to the woods in a VW micro bus.

Travelling up along US Route 68 and out across the Egnes Ferry Bridge, They were soon deep within the land between the lakes, where they turned off into an isolated and remote clearing.

Having foraged for dead wood and set up a fire near the van, the group then settled in for the evening, drinking beers and swapping stories.

An hour or so later, one of their number rose to his feet and made his excuses, before walking off alone into the trees to answer a call of nature.

The youth in question would re-emerge several minutes later, in a visibly distressed state, claiming that he had heard something snuffling and circling around him whilst he had been out in the woods.

Initially laughing off their friend's claim as a prank, the students had continued with their evening,

but as time wore on, several more became aware of something slowly circling the camp, hidden from sight beyond the tree line.

One by one, they had each fallen silent, as the sound of snapping branches slowly progressed in a wide circle within the trees which surrounded the clearing.

These noises were accompanied by what they described as a deep sniffing sound, with two of the group later claiming that they had seen a pair of glowing red eyes staring back at them out of the darkness.

Suddenly, a deafening wolf-like howl sounded from nearby, which immediately prompted the youths to pile back into their transport and start the engine.

But no sooner had they done so than a tall and slender shape slammed into the back of the van.

The resultant force knocked several of the students inside off their feet.

As the van pulled away, the sound of shrieking and grinding metal came from the rear, as if the back end of the vehicle was caught on something.

Driving straight back to their campus, the group were horrified to discover significant damage to the tail end of the vehicle, with four deep and distinct gashes gouged into the cover of the engine compartment.

It was as if something with huge claws had repeatedly slashed and torn away at the metalwork.

Five years later in July of 1978, A 17-year-old girl named Jan Thompson had gone to stay at her aunt's house in Grand Rivers for a couple of weeks.

The premises in question were located at the junction of several hiking trails, which headed off into the nearby forest and lay not far from the banks of the neighbouring Kentucky Lake.

Thompson very much enjoyed spending her summers at the location, as it gave her the opportunity to spend time with her younger cousins, Joe and Rhonda.

When her aunt and uncle would head off to work during the daytime, She would sit outside the house and keep Rhonda entertained.

Thirteen-year-old Joe would usually spend the day off out in the woods on his dirt bike.

But one evening, as the two girls were sat playing out on the front porch, they heard the sound of Joe's bike heading back towards them through the woods.

They realised almost instantly that something was wrong.

Looking into each other's eyes with growing apprehension, the pair knew that the pitch of the bike's engine was far too high, indicating that it was being ridden at a dangerous speed.

Sure enough, when the trailbike and its rider emerged from the trees, it was travelling at breakneck speed, taking all of Joe's skill to bring it to a stop without falling from the saddle.

After he had dismounted and began to limp across to the girls, Thompson could see what appeared to be fresh blood dripping from a long tear in the right leg of his jeans.

With tears streaming down his face, her younger cousin explained how he had been heading home along a path by the old sawmill, when a dark shape had burst out of the bushes and tried to grab hold of him.

Feeling the pain of sharp claws slicing across his right leg, the boy had immediately accelerated away.

But turning to look over his shoulder, he had then seen his attacker in pursuit, now fully upright on two legs.

Thompson had been in the process of trying to calm Rhonda, who was clearly upset by the blood she could see on her brother's right leg, when they were startled by a guttural roar, which had come from somewhere further down the nearby trail.

A tall figure then stepped out from the tree line, its lean body barely discernible beneath a thick pelt of jet black fur covering its entire being.

As Jan and her cousins quickly moved back across the porch towards the front door, the creature had stepped forward, and in doing so had activated a security light affixed to the side of the house.

The creature had instantly halted, shielding its eyes from the glare, and in doing so had allowed the children to flee into the address and lock the door behind them.

For several seconds it remained motionless, almost contemplating the beam of blinding light.

Through the windows, Jan managed to get a good look at the intruder.

She would later state how it was unlike the descriptions she had heard of Sasquatches, which apparently roamed the region.

It was instead more reminiscent of a dog or wolf, and was standing upright on its hind legs.

Its black eyes were almost indiscernible, somewhat lost amongst the mass of dark fur surrounding its features.

As the creature then resumed its steady advance towards the house, Jan seized several knives from a drawer in the kitchen before ushering the younger children upstairs where they all hid under one of the beds.

For the next hour or so, the trio were plagued by the sounds of repeated banging and clattering all around the exterior of the ground floor, culminating in the smashing of glass as a downstairs window was apparently shattered.

These sounds instantly ceased when the hornblast from an approaching vehicle was heard, signalling to the children that their mother had arrived home.

Minutes later, Jan's aunt had stepped in through the front door, chiding the children for not having come out to help her unpack the shopping, as she had indicated for them to do so by using the car horn.

Upon seeing the haunted and terrified expressions on the faces of the three youngsters, she advised them to stay where they were.

and went outside to inspect the house.

It would later be discovered that one of the kitchen windows had indeed been broken inwards by the attacker.

Upon his subsequent return home, Jan's uncle had listened impassively as they had related their story.

Asking no questions of the account, he had simply forbidden the children from entering the woods again at any point, before sending them all off to bed.

There is another story, however, with which the beast of the land between the lakes will forever be associated.

A horrifying tale, allegedly covered up by the local authorities, to avoid widespread panic.

In 1982, so the story goes, an entire family was brutally murdered whilst camping in the region.

Their motorhome was discovered stained with blood, with the bodies of the father, mother and 13-year-old son found heavily mutilated in and around the campsite, apparently having been attacked by something with with huge claws.

The nine-year-old daughter was later discovered some distance away, having been lodged in the high branches of a tree.

There are several differing versions of this incident, passed down by local residents over the years since it was reported to have occurred.

For this reason, it was largely written off by many commentators as pure fiction.

due to a lack of accompanying evidence.

Then, in December of 2020, an apparent eyewitness to the event finally came forward.

Contacting a YouTube channel by the name of Cryptid Studies Institute, a man calling himself Roger claimed that in 1982, he had been invited to go camping with a family at a recreational site within the land between the lakes.

Having had several initial conversations, the presenters were so compelled by his testimony that they invited him onto the channel for a formal interview, which is linked in the description.

There are some notable differences between Roger's story and the ones which have since circulated online.

For instance, he is adamant that the body of the youngest member of the family was not discovered up in a tree some distance from the camp, but was instead found where she was killed inside the RV.

The man related that at the time of the incident, he was a 15-year-old boy staying with relatives in the town of LaGrange, Indiana.

During his time there, he had befriended a family of four, who had recently moved to the area, having made the decision to leave a neighbouring Amish community.

In April of that year, he had been approached by the father of the family, a man named Levi, and was asked if he wanted to accompany them on a short camping break.

Having been granted permission by his relatives, Roger then joined the group in their brand new Holiday Imperial motorhome, heading for a campsite situated somewhere in between Tennessee and Kentucky.

Levi and his wife Diane had two children, nine-year-old Connie and her 13-year-old brother Stephen, both of whom were friendly with Roger.

Arriving at the campsite in the early evening of April the 7th, they had found no other vehicles present.

Levi had driven slowly past the simple concrete toilet blocks, before parking up at the extreme end of the campsite.

It was at this point that the father and son had walked off into the adjoining forest to collect wood for a campfire.

Whilst they did so, the women of the family had remained inside the camper van, preparing dinner.

At something of a loose end, Roger had elected to start start his holiday by target shooting some tin cans, using the 410 shotgun he had brought along with him.

But as he had been collecting his would-be targets, he suddenly became aware of a disturbance coming from the front of the RV, with several male voices shouting in alarm.

Running forwards to the driver's seat to see what was going on, The boy was horrified to see Stephen being attacked by a towering dog-like creature, which was leaning in to bite at his neck.

At this point, Levi had suddenly emerged bearing a 20-gauge shotgun.

He immediately opened fire, hitting the creature in the shoulder and causing it to drop his son.

But as the weapon had only been loaded with birdshot, the attacker had shrugged off the injury, seizing hold of Levi, and killing him instantly.

Terrified, Roger had run run to the side door and fired his own weapon at the creature as it approached from the left.

The beast fell onto its side, and the youth took this opportunity to crawl underneath the vehicle and climb up into the framework alongside the driveshaft.

Moments later, the campervan had buckled under the weight of something huge clambering inside it.

and he had been horrified to hear the women screaming above him.

Their cries of sheer terror had been cut brutally short, as they were dispatched with the same ruthless efficiency as the father and son.

Roger couldn't be sure, but he had the distinct impression that there were in fact two of the creatures attacking the family.

He remained below, finally hearing heavy footsteps retreating off into the woods.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity in the eerie silence which followed, he rolled out from underneath the RV RV and ran to the main road in search of help.

The driver of a passing pickup truck had listened intently to his story, taking him to a nearby farm and then calling for the authorities.

When he took Roger back to the campsite a short time later, There were now several government officials and soldiers from the National Guard on the scene.

Walking them through the events as best he could, the boy was struck by the lack of predation to the dead family members, the two female victims having had their necks broken as opposed to being bitten or feasted upon.

The government agents had listened and nodded as he described how he had heard no growling or barking from the creatures during the attack, only heavy panting.

He had further explained how the attackers, despite being canine in appearance, had moved like like human beings.

He had assumed they were men in dog suits, as opposed to any kind of animal.

And yet, everything of value inside the trailer was still present.

The officials found almost $20,000 sitting in the safe, these being the proceeds from the family's recent house sale.

Roger would be taken directly to the airport in nearby Hopkinsville, where he was promptly placed on a flight back to his hometown of Cedar Rapids.

Completely stunned by what he had seen, he did not speak of it to his family, but instead watched the news to see how the story would be related to the public.

It never was,

and it would not be until many years later, when he stumbled across different versions of the incident circulating online, that he realized it must have been covered up.

America's more remote regions are no stranger to reports of tall and aggressive cryptids, which are known to attack the unfortunate souls who cross their paths.

But the majority of these have been ape-like in appearance, with a much smaller percentage being described by witnesses as canine.

The beast from the land between the lakes is somewhat distinctive, in that it supposedly resembles an upright wolf rather than possessing the hulking frame of the dogman, which is decidedly more humanoid.

However, its behaviours appear far more human-like, with the creature reacting to technology with a greater degree of understanding than similar entities.

This has led some to believe that the beast is possibly a skinwalker of Native American folklore.

The commonalities in the stories of this creature and its various encounters with people make for an interesting case, but the fact remains that there is no proof to support its existence.

Not to cast doubt on those who believe they have seen this entity and others like it, but until more compelling evidence comes forward, it will remain the stuff of legend.

Story 2 The Battle of Ape Canyon

Carved into the southeast shoulder of Mount St Helens is a deep and narrow gorge, the name of which is derived from a shocking encounter which was reported to have taken place there in July of 1924.

A true struggle between man and beast which would end up becoming known as the Battle of Ape Canyon.

The writings of the Native American tribes which originate from the northwestern states such as the Klallam and Cowlitz, contain references to a strange and secretive race.

This largely undocumented tribe was referred to by its neighbours as the Siatic, whose people possessed bizarre and supernatural abilities and were so alien and unusual in appearance that all the other indigenous societies would go out of their way to avoid risking any contact with them.

Seatic warriors were said to stand between 7 and 8 feet tall, their bodies covered in an unnaturally thick layer of hair, giving them the appearance of possessing a form of animal hide.

It was said that these ungodly beings had the ability to hypnotise those they encountered, placing charms and spells upon both human beings and animals alike.

Some stories even suggested that the Seatic were capable of killing merely by willing the idea of death into the mind of their victim.

Most testimony pertaining to this secretive race agreed that they were largely a nocturnal species, electing to dwell deep inside the sheltered mountain caves and fissures during the hours of daylight, only venturing out into the wilderness to hunt and forage after dark.

They would steal into the encampments and villages of those who had settled the region, taking whatever dried meat and fish they could lay their hands on, and in some cases abducting any unfortunate womenfolk they encountered.

A summary of the various fantastic powers and abilities attributed to this yatic makes for somewhat lengthy reading.

In addition to being able to communicate with one another telepathically, these monstrous entities could also throw their voices, imitating any animal found in the forest.

They possessed a superhuman sense of smell, making them superb trackers, and their ability to camouflage themselves within their natural environment made them formidable opponents.

Over time, many of the tribes native to the Washington and Oregon areas grew to believe that the reclusive sciatic had finally become extinct.

Encounters with and sightings of the giant humanoids dried up completely, but on occasion, a hunting party would sometimes happen across sets of gigantic footprints criss-crossing the borders of their territory.

With the dawn of the 20th century bringing far more tangible threats for the native tribes to contend with, the legend of the Seatic eventually died away.

But as settlers continued to push deeper and deeper into the traditional hunting grounds of the indigenous tribes of North America, they would sometimes find that the legends of the people they were encroaching upon had a worrying tendency to push back.

The town of Calso in Washington state had always possessed something of a notorious reputation.

Serving as a hub for the numerous communities of miners and loggers who plied their trade in the surrounding area, its overabundance of brothels and other licensed premises would eventually earn the isolated rural settlement the unenviable nickname of Little Chicago.

It was in the early hours of Saturday the 12th of July 1924 that a bedraggled band of gold prospectors stumbled into one of Calso's numerous taverns, describing to other patrons how they had just barely survived an encounter with a race of what they referred to as mountain devils.

As the morning progressed, the small crowd of onlookers which had assembled to listen to the group's story steadily grew in size, eventually attracting the attention of a pair of state park employees, J.H.

Huffman and Bill Welsh.

The two park rangers listened with interest as the five dirty and dishevelled newcomers paused between drinks to relate their fantastic and terrifying tale.

They noted how both the band's leader, Marion Smith and his son Roy, were the most subdued of the bunch.

Of the remainder, Gabe Lefevre and John Peterson were slightly more outgoing, but it was the one named Fred Beck who was doing most of the talking.

Beck explained at at length, pausing for occasional clarification and support from his colleagues, how the group had spent the last couple of weeks scouring the local foothills for potential seams of gold.

Operating from a cabin they had recently thrown up a short distance from the Lewis River, the men had initially been quite productive, until they had suddenly been overcome by an overpowering feeling that they were being surveilled by an unseen force.

As the treasure hunters had gone about their business, they had begun to notice signs that they were not alone.

Mysterious tracks were found on the muddy ground near the cabin, some of which were up to 14 inches in length and possessed four stubby toes.

The men also began to catch glimpses of a large animal moving in the depths of the forest, which they estimated to be near seven feet tall and walking in an oddly bipedal and humanoid manner.

manner.

On the afternoon of Friday the 11th, the prospectors had eaten a late lunch before heading up into the hills to pan for gold until the onset of darkness.

They had only travelled a short distance however before their journey had taken a completely unanticipated and bewildering turn.

As they had been moving along the base of the mountain, they came face to face with a group of grotesque entities, who had suddenly emerged from the shelter of a ravine which lay directly across their path.

There were four of the creatures in total, which Fred Beck would describe as resembling huge gorillas, covered from head to toe in thick matted black fur, and estimating that they must have weighed around 400 pounds each.

Time seemed to stand still as the two groups paused to regard one another.

An eerie and smothering silence descended upon the scene, neither side moving a muscle, before one of the giants suddenly took a heavy stride forwards and bellowed a guttural and inhuman roar in the direction of the five men.

Beck related how his companions had fallen backwards over themselves in sheer terror, and with the monster's savage cry echoing and reverberating off the rocky outcrop surrounding them, he had instinctively raised his rifle and fired shot after shot at the attacker.

Eventually, the fourth successful hit that he scored knocked the advancing beast off its feet and sent it tumbling sideways down into the ravine it had emerged from.

At this, the remaining trio of creatures also began to roar and scream, and the five prospectors fled the scene, only pausing some distance later when the inhuman howling and bellowing finally ceased.

But the exhausted adventurers barely had time to catch their breath before they were again running for their lives, as numerous shadowy figures began to slowly emerge from the caves and fissures they had already passed.

Having finally returned to the safety of their staging post, The men desperately set about reinforcing the cabin's door and windows, while simultaneously arming themselves with whatever tools or implements they could find.

Mere moments after the last piece of wood had been nailed into place,

the whole structure was suddenly shaken and rattled by a series of forceful external impacts.

The heavy blows which repeatedly rained down from outside were accompanied by the now familiar howls of the creatures they had run from, now seeming to emanate from all around the building.

It was not long before the first makeshift barricade buckled under this relentless assault, with one of the creatures attempting to haul itself inside through a gap it had created.

In desperation, Roy Smith attempted to fend off the intruder with an axe, but found himself violently swatted to one side.

Eventually, it was driven off with a pistol used by Roy's father, and the breach was successfully re-secured.

The group's attackers then seemed to change tact, and all the men could do was watch helplessly as a wide hole was smashed into the ceiling above them, before large rocks and boulders were being hurled into the cabin's interior.

One of these projectiles struck Fred Beck on the back of his head, rendering him unconscious for a two-hour period.

When he awoke, The assault was still going on, his companions crouching silently beside him, firing gunshots up through the hole in the roof whenever they detected movement.

Finally, at the break of dawn, the incessant roaring and hammering coming from outside the building subsided.

After what they considered to have been a suitable period of inactivity, The miners peeked outside to confirm that none of the mountain devils were lying in wait, before grabbing their personal possessions and running as fast as they could in the direction of Kelso.

When their story had been told, it took little more than the offer of a few drinks for Huffman and Welsh to persuade Beck to lead them back up the mountain to where he claimed the incident had taken place.

After several hours clambering over the ravine in question, The two rangers could find no trace of the monsters he had described, save for a few spent shell casings.

But when Beck subsequently showed them what remained of the cabin, it was a very different story.

The roof of the small shack was completely smashed in, the furniture inside was shattered and broken, and the room was littered with sizable rocks and boulders.

The two men paused to take impressions and measurements of numerous mysterious footprints which surrounded the wrecked structure, before they all hurried back down the mountain the way they had come, with the sun slowly starting to descend behind them.

The story was quickly picked up by both local and national media outlets, which dubbed the incident the Battle of Ape Canyon, and visitors from far and wide were soon flocking to the area, in the hopes of having an encounter of their own with the elusive mountain devils.

There would be no further sightings of the creatures described by Fred Beck and his colleagues, but the tale they had told would remain firmly lodged in the public consciousness for many years to come.

In the 1950s, an article in the Seattle Times claimed to have uncovered the truth behind the mysterious happening once and for all, when former members of the YMCA troop at nearby Camp Meehan claimed that they and the rest of their friends were the ones who had attacked the prospector's cabin.

They They stated that they had thrown rocks down onto the cabin roof from high above the neighbouring hillside, and that the drunken gold miners had mistaken their echoing whoops and cat calls for the roaring of angry Sasquatches.

Despite this development, Fred Beck never wavered from his belief that his attackers had been something truly inhuman.

Even when some of his detractors were able to replicate the tracks he had shown to the Park Rangers, simply by manipulating the knuckles and palm of their hands, he refused to accept that he and his fellow fortune seekers were the victims of an elaborate hoax.

As time passed, Beck's views began to markedly differ from the others in his group.

Whilst Marion and Roy Smith maintained that the creatures which had attacked them were savage beasts, whose cave must have been located close to their cabin, Beck believed they were in fact highly intelligent interdimensional beings.

He would go on to publish articles and pamphlets linking Sasquatch sightings in the United States to those of Yetis in the Far East, claiming these were coordinated global incursions by beings from a parallel universe.

Although Bigfoot sightings have historically occurred all over North America, The Pacific Northwest appears to be a focal point for the phenomena, accounting for well over a third of these alleged encounters.

And whilst most descriptions of these enormous cryptids are remarkably similar, opinions on where they came from are more varied.

Nearly every indigenous tribe in the region tells stories of cannibalistic wild men who elected to dwell away from the rest of humanity, high up in the peaks of the mountains.

The natives believe that over time, these people somehow evolved into the animal-like entities their ancestors would occasionally encounter, now more monstrous in appearance than human.

The existence of claw marks in some of the footprints associated with Sasquatch encounters leads some scientists to suggest that these creatures are more likely a surviving hominid previously thought extinct.

There are similarities in the samples recovered from fossils found in the deserts of Africa, and it is theorised that the species may have crossed a land bridge as Pangaea separated, stubbornly enduring in more remote parts of the new North American continent.

The alleged battle of Ape Canyon is intriguingly not the only mystery associated with the area.

In August 1963, a group of four mountaineers descending the same face of Mount St Helens had stopped to take a rest at a geological feature known as Dog's Head.

One of their number, Jim Carter, agreed to stop behind and take a picture of the rest of the group as they headed off again into the distance.

After a while, the other three members of the group became concerned that Carter had not yet caught up with them.

When they eventually made their way back up to where they had left their absent friend, There were clear signs in the snow that some kind of scuffle had taken place, along with a discarded box of camera film.

The skiers then followed what appeared to be Carter's trail, which led off in an apparently random and uncoordinated route in a completely different direction to the one they had followed down the mountain.

The tracks indicated that Carter had clearly been moving at some speed, executing jumps and turns which carried huge amounts of risk.

Eventually, the marks left by his skis stopped next to a steep drop, and so the party reluctantly headed down into Kelso to seek help from the authorities.

Despite two weeks of combing the canyon floor in the vicinity of the missing skiers' tracks, much like the monster shot by Fred Beck there 40 years earlier, no remains were ever found.

Whatever species attacked Fred Beck and his friends during the 1920s and chased Jim Carter to his death nearly half a century later, has managed to elude all attempts to locate or identify it ever since.

The vast and diverse nature of the geography of the United States continues to produce mysteries and unexplained incidents which no amount of science and technology has yet managed to solve.

Whether the giant hulking creatures referred to in these reports are the cursed ancestors of America's original inhabitants or are some elusive offshoot of mankind's evolutionary journey is unclear.

Regardless, it remains apparent that they are not to be trifled with.