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Stories of boggy creek monsters in Arkansas, skunk apes in Florida, Yeti in the Himalayas and the like have long been part of our world, but in the mountains we call home Expedition Bigfoot: The Sasquatch Museum in nearby Blue Ridge, Ga., is a popular attraction. And it’s a big reason why downtown Murphy is about to get its own special sighting – and this one can be witnessed in person, not just seen in an out-of-focus photograph from 50 yards away.
From 5-8 p.m. Friday, a giant 10-foot, wood-carved Bigfoot, dubbed “Arty MacMurphy,” will be placed as a permanent monument in the outdoor garden of The Murphy Art Center, 12 Peachtree St. on the square, where it’s destined to become an attraction in its own right. The entire community is invited by the Valley River Arts Guild to come out and “Party With Arty” during the First Friday Art Walk.
Arty was creatively carved by talented local chainsaw artist Chris Gagnon of The Bear Factory, who breathes new life into old trees. The party will include live music, food and drinks – and your camera, of course. I wish I could show you the finished version, but until Friday all I can say it’ll be worth the wait.
For some local residents, Bigfoot isn’t just a legend – he’s the real deal, and they’ve even seen him in these parts. Cheryl Peacock of Andrews, who pitched the idea of holding a Sasquatch festival earlier this year to the Andrews Board of Aldermen, interviewed a couple of folks who say their own eyes have seen the hairy creature. (Due to fear of potential embarrassment, or because their wife said no, the Cherokee Scout is keeping their names out of print.)
The first incident happened roundabout 2014, when an Andrews man and his son were returning home around midnight after watching dirt-track races. When they drove down Junaluska Road to Old River Road past Appletree Group Campground, a fluorescent pink color caught his eye.
“I know that sounds nuts,” he said, very self-aware. That’s when he saw “this figure, and it just took me a minute to process it.” His son saw it, too.
“What I seen when we came across the bridge was a huge, kind of reddish-blondish figure, but it was down on its knees and crunched over,” he said. “It was slumped over and had its head down, and had a piece of fluorescent pink plastic, like a 2-by-2 plastic tube. It was like it was cradling up a baby in its arms and its head was down, protecting what could in that plastic.”
And, yes, the creature was a big’un.
“It had a huge head,” he said. “I would estimate its shoulders were at least 40 inches wide. It didn’t look like it had a neck. It had huge hands, like really long fingers. I would estimate if it had been standing up – I mean, in between its toes and to its knees was 4-5 foot. I’m not kidding. I mean, this thing would have been at least 8-foot-plus if it had been standing upright.”
The man and his son went back the next day. Sure enough, there were indentions in the ground where he had seen the creature and big footprints around it.
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However, that wasn’t the end of it. When the man, a detective, went to work the following Monday, his captain called him in and said, “Tell me you haven’t seen a Sasquatch this weekend.”
“That just blew my mind, because I hadn’t said a word to nobody,” he said. “He said, ‘We’ve had eight calls this weekend from people in Nantahala saying they saw a Sasquatch out around Junaluska Road.’ I told him I didn’t know anything.”
An area couple know a little something about that. On the very same day as the first incident, they enjoyed a weekend day at Appletree and left late in the afternoon. While approaching the Cherokee/Macon county line, they spotted a 3-foot-tall owl standing in the road.
“This owl was particularly big, and it was standing not more than maybe 2 or 3 feet off the side of the road, and I thought somebody had hit it and it was injured. The owl didn’t move, it was 100% alive, but we thought it was injured and dazed. It was looking at something across the road,” the husband said.
“This thing across the road was like 8 or 9 feet tall. It was gigantic. It was very slender. Its hair was wet and matted. It was more human looking, but the eyes were less than human because they were larger than what a normal human eye would be. The fur was dark-skinned and really long.”
The couple slowed almost to a stop when another vehicle came over the crest of the hill and slammed on the brakes. They were directly beside the tall creature across the road. While that vehicle quickly took off, the couple took a minute to process what they were seeing.
“What really it sticks in my mind how long its arms were, its hands were down below its knees, and its fingers went even further,” the husband said. “The shoulders were incredibly broad, but the body was very slender. The arms were slender. It wasn’t a hulking, big thing. The face was round and kind of small compared to its body, but not disproportionate. The eyes were very large, and the nose was long and pronounced. It did not resemble a primate in any other way than maybe the body structure and it having hair all over its body.
“Other than that, it was something else. It was almost a surreal experience where, like you just felt like I don’t even know how to explain it.”
His wife called herself “the biggest skeptic on the planet.”
“When he would kind of talk about Bigfoot and stuff. And I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re crazy for believing that, that’s ridiculous.’ And still, I’m an extreme skeptic. So I don’t know what I saw,” she said. “I just know I saw a creature, a being, something.”
Just in case you think Bigfoot might have moved from here since then, Peacock just had a potential Bigfoot sighting herself on May 6. She even found a tree structure nearby that could be a place where the creature hangs out. Research is ongoing at that location.
So, is Bigfoot really out there? Color me as someone who wants to believe. In the meantime, come downtown Friday and see the next-best thing.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or Twitter @daviddBstroh.