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Aaron Deese + Alexander Petakov : テキサス州の「踊る悪魔」の調査を語る

· 約113分

前置き​

テキサス州の「踊る悪魔」…この正体は、ホラ話だろう。テキサスはこの手のホラ話（tall tale）の本場。悪魔の化身を誰が追い詰める？ 一斉にその場から逃げ出すだろうに。そもそも目撃証言すら一致しない。

要旨​

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超常現象探求の舞台裏

この資料は、‌‌「オブザーバーから冒険者へ：超常現象の探求」‌‌と題された‌‌アノマコン2025‌‌での‌‌アーロン・ディースとアレクサンダー・ペタコフ‌‌によるプレゼンテーションの文字起こしです。

二人は、自身が‌‌「スモールタウン・モンスターズ（Small Town Monsters、STM）」‌‌でそれぞれ‌‌作家・プロデューサー‌‌、および‌‌映画制作者・プロデューサー‌‌として活動するまでの‌‌個人的な変遷‌‌を共有しています。

彼らは、超常現象の‌‌「熱狂的なファン」‌‌から‌‌「フルタイムの調査員（研究者）」‌‌になった経緯を語り、‌‌誰もが‌‌超常現象の分野に‌‌貢献できる‌‌というメッセージを強調しています。

また、ビッグフット調査や書籍執筆のアドバイス、そして彼らが訪れた‌‌ポイント・プレザントやブラフ・クリーク‌‌などの‌‌象徴的な場所‌‌での体験談も含まれています。

目次​

  1. 要旨
  2. オブザーバーから冒険者へ：超常現象探求に関するブリーフィング
    1. エグゼクティブサマリー
    2. 1. イントロダクション：スピーカーとSmall Town Monsters (STM)
    3. 2. 愛好家から制作者への道のり
    4. 3. 主要な調査事例と現地での経験
    5. 4. これから始める人への実践的アドバイス
    6. 5. 結論と哲学
  3. サンアントニオの踊る悪魔 (El Camaroncito)
    1. 1. 伝説の概要とアーロンの個人的なつながり
    2. 2. 悪魔の正体と逃走
    3. 3. より大きな文脈：普遍的なモチーフ
    4. 4. 教訓的な物語としての機能
  4. アーロンとアレクサンダーが語る、超常現象調査の魅力：オブザーバーから冒険者へ
    1. 1. はじめに：誰もが探求の旅に出られる
    2. 2. 最初の挑戦：アレクサンダーとネス湖の謎
    3. 3. 地元の伝説と世界の共鳴：アーロンと「踊る悪魔」
    4. 4. カウボーイ対人狼：プラム・クリーク・モンスターの追跡
  5. Bluff Creek : Patterson-Gimlin film の撮影地
    1. 1. 歴史的意義と個人的な感情
    2. 2. 訪問の詳細と環境
    3. 3. Petakov氏のキャリアにおける位置づけ
  6. Point Pleasant : Mothman の発祥地
    1. 1. モスマンの伝説との繋がりと調査の始まり
    2. 2. 訪問と個人的な感動
    3. 3. 神話化された場所としての位置づけ
  7. Plum Creek の Dogman
    1. 1. 個人的なつながり
    2. 2. Plum Creek Monsterの伝説と調査
  8. Bennington Triangle
    1. 1. 伝説の背景と訪問の動機
    2. 2. 現地での体験と認識の変化
    3. 3. 公的なアクセス性
  9. 情報源
  10. 文字起こし（話者識別）

オブザーバーから冒険者へ：超常現象探求に関するブリーフィング​

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エグゼクティブサマリー​

このブリーフィングは、Anomicon 2025のプレゼンテーション「オブザーバーから冒険者へ：未知への探求」から得られた主要なテーマと洞察をまとめたものである。Small Town Monsters (STM) のアーロン・ディースとアレクサンダー・ペタコフは、単なる超常現象の愛好家から、この分野のコンテンツ制作者および研究者へと至った自らの経験を語った。

本プレゼンテーションの核心は、超常現象の研究やコンテンツ制作は誰にでも開かれており、特別な資格や名声は不要であるというメッセージである。両氏は、自身の個人的な体験談や、記憶に残る現地調査の事例（テキサス州の「踊る悪魔」、カリフォルニア州のブラフ・クリークなど）を共有した。さらに、これから活動を始めたい人々に対し、ビッグフット研究の始め方、書籍執筆のプロセス、そして最も重要な点として、野外調査における安全確保の徹底について具体的なアドバイスを提供した。彼らの哲学は、情熱を持って行動を起こすことの重要性を強調しており、すべての愛好家がこの分野の会話に参加し、貢献することを奨励している。

1. イントロダクション：スピーカーとSmall Town Monsters (STM)​

本プレゼンテーションは、超常現象ドキュメンタリー制作会社Small Town Monsters (STM) に所属するアーロン・ディースとアレクサンダー・ペタコフによって行われた。彼らは、自身たちが愛好家から専業の研究者・制作者へと変貌を遂げた経験を共有することを目的としている。

  • アーロン・ディース (Aaron Deese): STMのライター兼プロデューサー。ポッドキャストネットワークとソーシャルメディアの運営を担当。書籍の執筆も手掛ける。
  • アレクサンダー・ペタコフ (Alexander Petakov): STMの映画監督兼プロデューサー。数多くのドキュメンタリー、ウェブシリーズ、ドキュシリーズの監督・撮影・制作を担当。
  • Small Town Monsters (STM): 未確認生物に関するドキュメンタリーを制作する会社。YouTubeや各種ストリーミングプラットフォームで作品を配信しており、書籍の映画化など多岐にわたるプロジェクトを展開している。

主な制作シリーズ（アレクサンダー担当）:

  • Bigfoot Beyond the Trail
  • Dark Coast
  • Hunt for the Alaskan Bigfoot
  • Strange Places
  • The Appalachian Bigfoot Files
  • On the Trail of Champ

2. 愛好家から制作者への道のり​

両氏は、超常現象への興味がどのようにしてキャリアへと発展したか、その個人的な経緯を語った。

2.1. 興味の原点​

  • アーロン・ディース: 13、4歳の頃に映画『モスマンの予言』を鑑賞し、原作がノンフィクションであることに衝撃を受ける。「もしこの話が一つでも本当なら、我々が現実について理解していると思っていることすべてが疑わしくなる」と感じ、世界観が完全に変わった。
  • アレクサンダー・ペタコフ: 子供の頃に父親から聞いたヒマラヤのイエティの話に魅了される。90年代の『X-ファイル』や『MonsterQuest』といったメディア、そしてインターネット黎明期のクリプトズーロジー（未確認動物学）に関するブログや書籍に大きな影響を受けた。大学卒業後、アウトドア、映画制作、クリプトズーロジーという3つの情熱を組み合わせることを決意した。

2.2. Small Town Monsters (STM) への参加経緯​

両者のSTMへの参加は、既存の名声や人脈ではなく、自発的な創作活動がきっかけとなっている。

  • アレクサンダー・ペタコフ: 卒業後、スコットランドのネス湖を訪れ、自主制作で短いドキュメンタリーを制作。その作品をYouTubeで公開したところ、STM創設者のセス・ブリードラブの目に留まり、メールで連絡を受けた。これがきっかけとなり、2017年から2018年にかけて『On the Trail of Champ』シリーズを制作することになった。
  • アーロン・ディース: 2019年頃、セスの監督作品『The Mothman of Point Pleasant』を観て感銘を受け、STMのファンになる。ソーシャルメディアで交流を始め、やがて自身のポッドキャスト『Hey Strangeness』を開始。最終的にSTMで書籍を執筆する機会を得て、それがフルタイムの仕事へと繋がった。

アーロンは、「この世界に参加するには、既存の信頼性や名声が必要だと多くの人が考えているが、文字通り誰でもこの会話に参加できる」と強調した。

3. 主要な調査事例と現地での経験​

プレゼンテーションでは、両者が個人的に調査した、あるいはSTMのプロジェクトで訪れた印象的な事例や場所がいくつか紹介された。

事例/場所スピーカー概要と要点
エル・カマロンシートの踊る悪魔アーロン初調査: テキサス州サンアントニオの地元伝説。1975年のハロウィンの夜、ナイトクラブに現れた謎の男が、ヤギの蹄（または鶏の足）をしていたという話。硫黄の匂いを残して姿を消したとされる。この話は、1500年代のアイルランドの「ヘルファイア・クラブ」の伝説とモチーフ（蹄、硫黄の匂い）が共通しており、非常に興味深い。
ネス湖の怪獣アレクサンダー初調査: 自主制作ドキュメンタリーの題材。しかし、湖の生態系や食料源を徹底的に調査した結果、以前よりも懐疑的な見方になったと語る。
ブラフ・クリークアレクサンダー印象的な場所: カリフォルニア州北部にある、有名なパターソン・ギムリン・フィルムの撮影地。「この分野に興味があるなら訪れるべき場所」と感じ、その隔絶された環境と美しさに感銘を受けた。滞在中には奇妙な雄叫びのような音を聞く体験もした。
ポイント・プレザントアーロン印象的な場所: ウェストバージニア州にあるモスマン伝説の地。映画やドキュメンタリーで見た建物を実際に目にし、深夜2時の誰もいない路上に立った時、「信じられないほど素晴らしい、言葉で表現しがたい感覚」を覚えた。
プラム・クリークの怪物アーロン印象的な場所: テキサス州の「ドッグマン・トライアングル」の一部。狼男のような生物の目撃談がある場所。元々の目撃者の一人であるジェームズ・ウィッター氏にインタビューを行い、彼が馬に乗って投げ縄でその生物を捕まえようと追いかけたという壮絶な話を聞いた。

これらの経験から、彼らは「自分が住んでいる場所のすぐ近くにも、調査対象となる幽霊、怪物、UFOの目撃情報、埋蔵金の伝説などが存在する可能性が高い」と述べ、身近な謎を探求することを奨...奨めている。

4. これから始める人への実践的アドバイス​

プレゼンテーションの後半では、超常現象の研究やコンテンツ制作を始めたい人々への具体的なアドバイスが提供された。

4.1. ビッグフット研究の始め方（アレクサンダー・ペタコフ）​

  • 心構え: 心を開きつつも、何でも信じ込むのではなく、批判的な視点を忘れないことが重要。
  • 情報収集: ネット上には質の低い情報が溢れているため、一次情報源（古い書籍、原稿、目撃者本人への接触）を探す努力が必要。グローバー・クランツ、ジョン・グリーン、ジェフ・メルドラムなど、古典的な研究者の文献を読むことを推奨。
  • 野外調査の安全性:
    • ‌‌ wilderness（荒野）を過小評価しないこと。‌‌ 準備不足は致命的な結果を招く可能性がある。
    • 天候への備え、水分、食料、そして非常時の通信手段（例：Garmin inReachのような衛星GPSコミュニケーター）を必ず用意する。
    • 現地の野生動物（クマ、毒ヘビなど）に関する知識を持つこと。
    • 無理は禁物。「山は明日もあるが、あなたはいないかもしれない」という意識で、危険を感じたら引き返す勇気を持つ。
    • 単独行動は避け、複数人での行動を推奨。
  • 調査方法:
    • 高価な機材は必須ではない。「ビッグフット探しは目的のあるキャンプのようなもの」と捉え、楽しむことが大切。
    • 「常に音声を録音せよ（Always roll audio）」。映像よりも音声の方が長時間録音しやすいため、奇妙な物音がした際に証拠として残せる。
    • 最高の目撃談の多くは、ビッグフットを探していない人々（林業従事者、ハイカーなど）によって報告されている。

4.2. 書籍の執筆方法（アーロン・ディース）​

  • プロセス: アイデア → 概要 → 草稿 → 破壊 → 修正 → 繰り返し という継続的なプロセスである。
  • 最も重要なアドバイス: 「とにかく書き始めること（Just start writing）」。「溝掘り職人は溝を掘り、作家は書く」という言葉を引用し、行動の重要性を説いた。
  • インポスター症候群の克服: 「自分にはできない」といった否定的な感情を無視し、毎日少しずつでも書き進めれば、いずれ本は完成する。
  • 資格は不要: 動物学の学位のような専門資格は必須ではない。この分野の美しさは「誰でも歓迎される」点にある。

5. 結論と哲学​

両者のプレゼンテーションは、超常現象の探求がエリートだけのものではなく、情熱を持つすべての人に開かれた分野であるという力強いメッセージで締めくくられた。

  • 包括性: 「テーブルには全ての人のための席がある」。誰もが独自の視点やアイデアを持ち寄り、貢献することができる。
  • コミュニティによる前進: 愛好家一人ひとりが貢献を積み重ねることが、この分野全体を前進させる力となる。
  • 行動の奨励: 彼ら自身も「ごく普通の人間」であり、情熱を追求した結果として現在の立場にある。もし何かをやりたいという気持ちがあるなら、後で後悔しないように挑戦すべきだと聴衆に呼びかけた。

最終的に、このプレゼンテーションは、単なる体験談の共有に留まらず、次世代の探求者やクリエイターを鼓舞するための、実践的かつ哲学的なガイドとして機能した。

サンアントニオの踊る悪魔 (El Camaroncito)​

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これらのソースは、サンアントニオの踊る悪魔（El Camaroncito）に関する物語を、‌‌Aaron Deese（アーロン・ディース）がフルタイムの調査員（調査者）となる以前に行った、個人的かつ初期の熱心な調査‌‌の一例として説明しています。

Aaronにとって、超常現象への関心は13歳か14歳のときに映画『プロフェシー』を観て、その原作（ノンフィクションに分類されていた）を読んだことに始まります。これにより、彼は現実に対する見方を完全に変えられました。その後、2019年か2020年にSmall Town Monsters（STM）との関わりを持つようになりますが、サンアントニオの踊る悪魔の伝説は、彼が‌‌最初に深く調査した、あるいは熱心に研究した事例‌‌として挙げられています。

以下は、サンアントニオの踊る悪魔（El Camaroncito）についてソースが伝えている詳細です。

1. 伝説の概要とアーロンの個人的なつながり​

  • ‌‌名前と場所:‌‌ この伝説は「‌‌サンアントニオの踊る悪魔‌‌（The Dancing Devil of El Camaroncito）」として知られています。‌‌El Camaroncito‌‌はかつてテキサス州サンアントニオのウェストサイドにあったナイトクラブで、その名前は「小さなエビ」を意味します。
  • ‌‌発生時期:‌‌ 物語は‌‌1975年のハロウィーンの夜‌‌に起こったとされています。人々がクラブに集まり、仮装をしてダンスを楽しんでいる最中に、‌‌白いスーツ‌‌を着た謎のよそ者（ストレンジャー）が入ってきました。
  • ‌‌地域性:‌‌ ナイトクラブがあったウェストサイド・サンアントニオは、世代を超えて地域に住む人々の結びつきが強く、ほとんどの人が互いを知っている閉鎖的なコミュニティの中心地です。
  • ‌‌アーロンの関心:‌‌ Aaronの妻がこの出来事が起こった場所からわずか2ブロック離れた場所で育ったため、彼はこの話に特に思い入れがあります。彼は、妻側の家族がこの話を聞いて育ち、「いとこがそこにいた」「おじがそこにいた」と話すのを知っているため、この物語が非常に素晴らしいと感じています。
  • ‌‌現在の場所:‌‌ 伝説の場所は改装され、現在はラ・ミチョアカーナ精肉店（La Michoacana meat market）の420番目の店舗になっています。

2. 悪魔の正体と逃走​

  • ‌‌悪魔の足:‌‌ 謎のストレンジャーは素晴らしいダンサーでしたが、誰かが彼の足を見てしまいます。この足の描写にはいくつかのバリエーションがあります。
    • ‌‌ヤギの蹄‌‌を持っていたという説。
    • ‌‌鶏の足‌‌だったという説。
    • ‌‌片方ずつ‌‌持っていたという説（これは、誰に尋ねるか、どのブロック出身かによって変わります）。
  • ‌‌逃走:‌‌ ハロウィーンにもかかわらず、その足があまりにもリアルだったため、人々はパニックになり、暴徒が形成されました。彼らはストレンジャーを店の奥の部屋まで追い詰めますが、彼は窓から逃げるか、あるいは‌‌空気中に消えてしまった‌‌とされています。
  • ‌‌痕跡:‌‌ どちらのバージョンの逃走においても、彼は硫黄、または‌‌火山灰のような長引く臭い‌‌を残していきました。硫黄の臭いは、しばしば悪魔のしるしとして（火や火山と関連付けられ）キリスト教中心の物語で語られるモチーフであるとAlex Petakov（アレクサンダー・ペタコフ）は指摘しています。

3. より大きな文脈：普遍的なモチーフ​

Aaronは、このサンアントニオの物語が単なる地域の伝説ではないことに興味を持っています。

  • ‌‌アイルランドの類似譚:‌‌ 彼は、1500年代に遡る‌‌アイルランドの「ヘルファイア・クラブ（Hellfire Club）」‌‌の物語との類似性を見出しています。
  • ‌‌共通の要素:‌‌ ヘルファイア・クラブ（悪魔崇拝者と噂されていた）に謎のストレンジャーが現れ、カードゲーム中に誰かが彼の足を見ると、‌‌ヤギの蹄‌‌があったことが判明します。その人物は姿を消し、やはり‌‌硫黄の臭い‌‌を残します。
  • ‌‌アーロンの結論:‌‌ Aaronは、このモチーフが1500年代のアイルランドと1975年のテキサス州サンアントニオという隔絶した場所と時代に出現するという事実に魅力を感じています。

4. 教訓的な物語としての機能​

Aaronは、この物語が地元のコミュニティで‌‌教訓的な話‌‌として使われてきた点を強調しています。この伝説は、「門限を破るな」「こっそり出かけるな」「母親の言うことを聞け」といった警告として使われていました。オンラインで見られる一般的なバージョンでは、ダンスに行くことを禁じられた若い女性が母親の言いつけに逆らったという話になっています。

Aaronは、サンアントニオの踊る悪魔の調査を通して、彼自身のような人々（本を書き、映画を作る人々）が話題にする前から、この物語が地域社会に存在していたことを知るきっかけとなりました。彼は、世界中のどこにいても、幽霊、モンスター、UFO、埋蔵金など、調べられる「何か」が近くにある可能性が高いという教訓をこの話に結びつけています。

アーロンとアレクサンダーが語る、超常現象調査の魅力：オブザーバーから冒険者へ​

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1. はじめに：誰もが探求の旅に出られる​

このドキュメントは、超常現象ドキュメンタリー制作チーム「Small Town Monsters (STM)」のアーロン・ディーズとアレクサンダー・ペタコフによるプレゼンテーション「オブザーバーから冒険者へ」で語られた、興味深く、示唆に富んだ超常現象の事例を紹介するものです。

アーロンはSTMのライター兼プロデューサーとして、ポッドキャストや書籍執筆を手がけています。一方、アレクサンダーはフィルムメーカーとして、数々のドキュメンタリーやウェブシリーズの監督・制作を担当しています。彼らは、単なる超常現象のファンから、その謎を追う最前線の冒険者へと歩みを進めてきました。

彼らがプレゼンテーションを通して最も伝えたかったメッセージは、非常にシンプルで力強いものです。それは、「特別な資格や知名度がなくても、誰でも超常現象の会話に参加し、貢献できる」 ということ。専門的な学位や高価な機材がなくても、あなたの情熱と好奇心こそが、未知の世界への扉を開く鍵なのです。

では、彼らがどのようにして単なるファンから調査の最前線へと足を踏み入れたのでしょうか？まずはアレクサンダーがキャリアを始めるきっかけとなった、有名なあの湖の怪物から見ていきましょう。

2. 最初の挑戦：アレクサンダーとネス湖の謎​

アレクサンダーが本格的に調査に取り組んだ最初の重要な事例は、世界で最も有名な未確認生物の一つ、「ロックネス・モンスター（ネッシー）」でした。

ネス湖は、アレクサンダーが子供の頃から愛してやまない場所でした。大学卒業後、ヨーロッパを旅する中でスコットランドのネス湖を訪れた彼は、その長年の想いを形にするため、短いドキュメンタリーを制作しました。しかし、徹底的なリサーチの結果、彼は意外な結論にたどり着きます。それは、調査前よりもネッシーの実在に対してより懐疑的になったということでした。

彼がそう考えるに至った主な理由は以下の通りです。

  • 生態学的な疑問: 湖の生態系を調査した結果、巨大な生物の群れが生き延びるために必要な食料資源が、ネス湖には不足していると考えた。
  • 徹底的な探索: 過去にソナー調査など、非常に高度で徹底的な探索が何度も行われてきたにもかかわらず、決定的な証拠が見つかっていない。

しかし、この調査は彼にとって無駄ではありませんでした。むしろ、彼の人生における「重要な転機」となったのです。ネッシーの実在には疑問を抱いたものの、彼が制作しYouTubeに公開したこのドキュメンタリーが、STMの創設者であるセス・ブリードラブの目に留まりました。これがきっかけとなり、アレクサンダーはSTMの世界へと足を踏み入れ、プロのフィルムメーカーとしてのキャリアをスタートさせたのです。

アレクサンダーが海の向こうでキャリアの扉を開いた一方で、アーロンは自分自身の裏庭にこそ、時空を超える謎が潜んでいることを見出します。彼が情熱を注ぐ、地元テキサスに伝わる悪魔の伝説です。

3. 地元の伝説と世界の共鳴：アーロンと「踊る悪魔」​

アーロンが特に情熱を傾けているのが、地元テキサス州サンアントニオに伝わる「エル・カマロンシートの踊る悪魔」の伝説です。これは彼にとって単なる調査対象ではありません。彼の妻が、事件があったとされる場所からわずか2ブロックの場所で育ったという、極めて個人的な繋がりを持つ物語なのです。

物語の舞台は、1975年のハロウィーンの夜。町のナイトクラブで起きたとされる出来事は、おおよそ次のようなものです。

  1. 人々が仮装して踊るクラブに、白いスーツを着た謎めいた男が現れる。
  2. 男は並外れたダンスの腕前で、次々と女性を魅了していく。
  3. その時、誰かが男の足元に目をやり、叫び声を上げる。彼の足は人間のものではなく、なんと動物の足だった。
  4. 正体を知られた男に人々はパニックになり、彼を追い詰める。
  5. 男はバスルームの窓から逃げるか、あるいは煙のようにその場で消え、後には硫黄のような匂いだけが残った。

この「悪魔の足」については、話が伝わる地域によっていくつかのバリエーションが存在します。

バリエーション足の特徴
パターン1ヤギのひづめ
パターン2ニワトリの足
パターン3片足ずつ、ヤギとニワトリの足が混在している

この物語がアーロンにとって非常に魅力的なのは、単なる地元の怪談に留まらない点です。このテキサスの伝説は、時と場所を遥かに超えた別の物語と、驚くほど似通ったモチーフを共有しているのです。

1500年代のアイルランドにも、「ヘルファイア・クラブ」と呼ばれる場所で、カードゲームの最中に現れた謎の男がヤギのひづめを持ち、正体を見破られると硫黄の匂いを残して消えたという伝説があります。全く異なる時代と場所で、同じモチーフの物語が語り継がれているという事実は、この現象の奥深さを示唆しています。

身近な伝説が時空を超えて共鳴するように、超常現象の目撃談は、時に常識を揺るがすほどの迫力を持っています。最後に紹介するのは、カウボーイが人狼を追いかけたという、テキサスの荒野で起きた驚くべき事件です。

4. カウボーイ対人狼：プラム・クリーク・モンスターの追跡​

次に紹介するのは、1980年代にテキサス州ロックハート近郊のプラム・クリークで目撃された、「直立した犬のような生物（ドッグマン）」の事例です。この場所もまた、アーロンの祖母が暮らしていた家のすぐ近くであり、彼にとって個人的な繋がりを感じさせる場所でした。

この事件の中心的な目撃者は、ジェームズ・ウィッター氏。彼はその生涯を牧場での仕事に捧げてきた、「文字通りのカウボーイ」と呼ぶにふさわしい人物です。長年メディアから遠ざかっていたウィッター氏でしたが、STMのヘザー・モジアーの尽力によって、ついにインタビューが実現しました。彼の証言は、他の多くの目撃談とは一線を画す、壮絶なものです。

STMのインタビューでウィッター氏が語ったのは、彼が馬に乗り、投げ縄を手に2体の怪物を全力で追跡したという驚くべき体験でした。彼は本気で怪物を捕獲しようとしたのです。しかし、怪物は彼の馬では到底越えられない高さの柵をいとも簡単に飛び越え、森の中へと姿を消してしまいました。

この事例が示す重要な点は、「オリジナルの目撃者に直接話を聞き、彼らの生の証言を記録として保存することの価値」です。噂話やインターネットで拡散される「TikTokバージョン」の物語は、時間が経つにつれて尾ひれがつき、元の話から歪んでしまいがちです。STMが実践するように、当事者から直接一次情報を得て、その物語を歪曲される前に後世に残すことは、失われゆく歴史を保存する、極めて重要な活動なのです。

これらの事例が示すように、超常現象の探求は遠い世界の出来事ではありません。アーロンとアレクサンダーが最後に伝えたかったのは、この冒険の扉は、私たち自身のすぐそばにあるということです。

###5. 結論：あなたの冒険が待っている

アーロンとアレクサンダーのプレゼンテーションが私たちに伝える最終的なメッセージは、超常現象の研究は誰にでも開かれた、エキサイティングな探求であるということです。彼らの経験から得られた、これから探求を始めたいと考える人々へのアドバイスを以下にまとめます。

  • 身近な場所から始めよう: あなたの町にも、まだ知られていない不思議な物語が眠っているかもしれません。
  • 誰もが参加できる: 専門的な学位や資格は必要ありません。あなたの視点や貢献が、謎を解く新たな一手になる可能性があります。
  • 物語を記録しよう: 目撃者の話に耳を傾け、その体験を記録することは、非常に価値のある活動です。
  • 旅そのものを楽しもう: 目的は、必ずしも決定的な証拠を見つけることだけではありません。調査のプロセス自体が、豊かな経験となります。

彼らが示した道は、まさに「オブザーバー（観察者）からアドベンチャラー（冒険者）へ」。この世界の不思議に心を動かされたなら、次はあなたがページをめくり、自分自身の物語を始める番です。冒険は、すぐそこに待っています。

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Bluff Creek : Patterson-Gimlin film の撮影地​

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「印象的な訪問地」というより大きな文脈において、これらのソースは、カリフォルニア州の‌‌Bluff Creek（ブラフ・クリーク）‌‌が、‌‌Alexander Petakov（アレクサンダー・ペタコフ）にとって最も興奮し、個人的な「すごい」という感情を抱）‌‌が、‌‌Alexander Petakov（アレクサンダー・ペタコフ）にとって最も興奮し、個人的な「すごい」という感情を抱いた初期の場所‌‌の一つであったこと、そして‌‌ビッグフットの謎‌‌を追求する者にとって必見の場所であることを強調しています。

Bluff Creekについての主な点は以下の通りです。

1. 歴史的意義と個人的な感情​

  • ‌‌ビッグフットの原点:‌‌ Bluff Creekは、ビッグフットという言葉が生まれた場所として有名です。
  • ‌‌パターソン・ギムリン・フィルム (PGF) 撮影地:‌‌ この場所は、伝説的なパターソン・ギムリン・フィルム（Patterson-Gimlin film）の撮影地であり、その現場が再発見された場所でもあります。
  • ‌‌必見の場所:‌‌ Petakov氏は、Bluff Creekがこの種のトピックに興味を持つ人であれば「‌‌訪れるべき場所‌‌」だと感じていました。
  • ‌‌充足感（フルサークル・フィーリング）:‌‌ 彼は、長年読み続けてきた場所を訪れたことで、「‌‌非常にフルサークルな感覚‌‌」を得たと述べています。

2. 訪問の詳細と環境​

  • ‌‌訪問時期:‌‌ Petakov氏は、2021年にBluff Creekを訪れました。これは、彼が制作したYouTubeのシリーズ「Beyond the Trail」の撮影としては、時系列的に3番目のエピソードでした。
  • ‌‌ロケーションの特性:‌‌
    • この場所は‌‌驚くほど美しく‌‌、今日でも‌‌非常に人里離れた（リモートな）場所‌‌です。
    • 到達が非常に難しく、‌‌森林の未舗装の道を長時間運転‌‌する必要があります。
    • 道が非常に険しいため、Bluff Creekやパターソン・ギムリン・フィルムの現場へ向かう途中で、5台の車の‌‌タイヤが5本も破壊され‌‌、交換しなければならなかったというエピソードが紹介されています。
    • この地域は国立森林（National Forest）内にあり、訪問することが可能です。
  • ‌‌調査中の経験:‌‌ 約5〜6日間の滞在中に、いくつかの奇妙な出来事がありました。
    • Petakov氏がこれまでに聞いた中で最も奇妙な「‌‌フープ（Whoop）‌‌」のような音を聞いた。
    • 犬が怯える事件があった。
    • 人々が何かを聞いた。

3. Petakov氏のキャリアにおける位置づけ​

このBluff Creekでの撮影は、彼にとって‌‌その時点までで最もお気に入りの撮影の一つ‌‌となりました。当時、「Beyond the Trail」は非常に新しいフォーマットであり、Small Town Monsters (STM) のYouTubeチャンネルもまだ小規模で、Petakov氏らは「ただビッグフットを探しに行くエピソードシリーズを撮影し、森に出て冒険するだけ」という感じで、プロフェッショナルな感覚は薄かったと述べています。

彼は、Bluff Creekのような場所（またはポイント・プレザントのような場所）は、それについて書かれた多くの本やドキュメンタリーを通じて、人々が訪問前に‌‌先入観を抱いている‌‌ことが多いと指摘しています。実際にそこへ行くと、その場所が持つ神話化されたイメージや、認識していた特定の風景が重なり合い、「‌‌認識を変える‌‌」非常にクールな経験となる、と説明されています。

Point Pleasant : Mothman の発祥地​

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Point Pleasant（ポイント・プレザント）、ウェストバージニア州は、「印象的な訪問地」というより大きな文脈において、‌‌Aaron Deese（アーロン・ディース）にとって最も重要な個人的経験の一つ‌‌として、また‌‌超常現象の探求者にとって神話的な場所‌‌として説明（アーロン・ディース）にとって最も重要な個人的経験の一つ‌‌として、また‌‌超常現象の探求者にとって神話的な場所‌**‌として説明されています。

Point Pleasantに関する主な点は以下の通りです。

1. モスマンの伝説との繋がりと調査の始まり​

  • ‌‌アーロンの調査のきっかけ:‌‌ Aaron Deeseが超常現象の世界に深く関わるきっかけの一つが、‌‌モスマン‌‌の伝説です。彼は13歳か14歳のときに映画『‌‌プロフェシー‌‌（The Mothman Prophecies）』を見て、その原作（ノンフィクションとして分類されていた）を読んだことで、現実への見方が完全に変わりました。
  • ‌‌STMとの出会い:‌‌ その後、彼は2019年か2020年頃に、セス・ブリードラブ監督のドキュメンタリー『‌‌モスマン・オブ・ポイント・プレザント‌‌（The Mothman of Point Pleasant）』を見つけ、感銘を受けます。この作品がSmall Town Monsters（STM）の存在を知るきっかけとなり、彼がSTMで働くことになる直接の道を開きました。

2. 訪問と個人的な感動​

  • ‌‌重要な訪問地:‌‌ AaronにとってPoint Pleasantは、ネバダ州のエリア51（近づける限り）やロズウェルと並んで、‌‌最も重要な「大きな場所」‌‌の一つでした。
  • ‌‌非現実的な経験:‌‌ 彼はこの場所を訪れた際、‌‌非常に非現実的な（super surreal）経験‌‌をしたと述べています。
  • ‌‌現場の認識:‌‌ 彼は、部分的に現地で撮影された映画『プロフェシー』やセス監督のドキュメンタリー『モスマン・オブ・ポイント・プレザント』を見ていたため、特定の建物を認識することができました。
  • ‌‌感動的な瞬間:‌‌ Aaronは、‌‌午前2時‌‌にPoint Pleasantを訪れ、通りの中央に立ちました。周囲に誰もいなかったため、彼は「これはすごい（This is amazing）」と感じた、‌‌言葉で表現するのが非常に難しい‌‌感覚を覚えました。

3. 神話化された場所としての位置づけ​

  • ‌‌既成概念と現実:‌‌ Alexander Petakov（アレクサンダー・ペタコフ）は、Point PleasantやBluff Creekのような場所は、多くの本やドキュメンタリーによって‌‌神話化‌‌されており、訪問者が‌‌先入観（preconceived notion）‌‌を持って臨むことが多いと説明しています。しかし、実際にその場に立つことで、認識していた特定の風景や特徴を再認識し、‌‌「認識を変える（changes your perception）」‌‌非常にクールな体験となると述べています。
  • ‌‌観光可能な場所:‌‌ Point Pleasantは、モスマンの博物館や像など、一般の人々が多くのものを見学できる場所として挙げられています。また、超常現象のロードトリップやレジェンドトリッピングをする人々にとって人気のある目的地であり、これはSmall Town Monsters（STM）が扱う小規模なコミュニティの本質を体現しているとも言えます。

Plum Creek の Dogman​

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ご提示いただいたソースは、「印象的な訪問地」というより大きな文脈において、テキサス州の‌‌Plum Creek（プラム・クリーク）‌‌を、‌‌Aaron Deese（アーロン・ディース）にとって個人的なつながりを持つ、Dogman（ドッグマン）/ウェアウルフ（狼男）の目撃地‌‌として説明しています。

1. 個人的なつながり​

  • Plum CreekがAaron Deeseにとって印象的であった理由は、‌‌彼の個人的な生活と不思議な出来事の場所が結びついていた‌‌からです。
  • Aaronの祖母が亡くなる前に滞在していた家が、テキサス州ロックハート（Lockhart, Texas）にあり、‌‌Plum Creek Monster（プラム・クリークの怪物）‌‌の目撃地も同じプラム・クリーク（Plum Creek）沿いにありました。
  • 彼は、このドッグマンの目撃地が‌‌非常に近い場所にある‌‌ことを何年も気づかずに、その周辺を車で出入りしていたと述べています。
  • Aaronは、このような個人的な結びつきを持つ場所を訪れることが、‌‌「物事が自分と結びつくのは奇妙なものだ」‌‌と感じる理由であると示唆しています。

2. Plum Creek Monsterの伝説と調査​

  • ‌‌伝説の概要:‌‌ Plum Creek Monster（プラム・クリークの怪物）は、‌‌ドッグマン‌‌（Dogman）または‌‌ウェアウルフ‌‌（狼男）に関連する目撃情報です。
  • ‌‌発生時期と場所:‌‌ 1980年代に、テキサス州ヒルカントリーのロックハート地域、‌‌Plum Creek‌‌と呼ばれるクリーク（小川）の近くで、‌‌直立したイヌ科のような生物‌‌が目撃されたと報告されました。
  • ‌‌調査:‌‌ Aaronらは、Small Town Monsters (STM) のドキュメンタリー『‌‌The Dogman Triangle, Werewolves in the Lone Star State‌‌』の撮影中にこの場所を訪れました。
  • ‌‌原住民の証言:‌‌ 目撃地はかつて‌‌コマンチ族の土地‌‌であったことから、先住民の呪いではないかという説（Aaronは支持していないが、人々が口にすること）や、単なる非常に大きなコヨーテのような動物ではないかという説など、その正体について様々な意見があります。
  • ‌‌主要な証人:‌‌ 彼らは、当時の新聞でインタビューを受けた‌‌James Witter（ジェームズ・ウィッター）‌‌という初期の目撃者の一人を見つけ出し、彼の所有地でインタビューを行うことができました。
  • ‌‌ウィッター氏の経験:‌‌ ウィッター氏は、文字通りの意味での‌‌カウボーイ‌‌であり、馬に乗って‌‌投げ縄（ラッソ）‌‌を持って、これらの生物（2頭）を全速力で追いかけた経緯を説明しました。ウィッター氏は、捕まえる前に、彼の馬が飛び越えられないほどの高い柵を、その生物が飛び越えて森へ逃げ去ったと語っています。
  • ‌‌一次証言の重要性:‌‌ Plum Creekの調査のように、原初の目撃者と直接話すことで、人気のあるインターネット版やTikTok版とは‌‌矛盾する詳細‌‌が明らかになり、物語の記録を正確に‌‌保存‌‌する機会が得られるため、STMの調査アプローチにおいて非常に価値のある行為であると述べられています。

Bennington Triangle​

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ご提示いただいたソースは、「印象的な訪問地」というより大きな文脈において、バーモント州の‌‌Bennington Triangle（ベニントン・トライアングル）‌‌を、‌‌Aaron Deese（アーロン・ディース）が最近訪れた、事前の読書と現地の体験が結びついた場所‌‌として説明しています。

1. 伝説の背景と訪問の動機​

  • ‌‌伝説の概要:‌‌ Bennington Triangleという用語は、Joseph Citro（ジョセフ・シトロ）によって造られました。この地域は、1950年代に‌‌5年連続で5人の人々が行方不明になった‌‌場所として知られています。また、‌‌UFOの目撃情報‌‌や‌‌ビッグフットの目撃情報‌‌など、あらゆる種類の超常現象が報告されている場所でもあります。
  • ‌‌アーロンの事前調査:‌‌ Aaron Deeseは、この場所について「‌‌全ての読書‌‌」を行い、ポッドキャストを聞き、記事を読んでいました。

2. 現地での体験と認識の変化​

  • ‌‌訪問の時期:‌‌ Aaronは、Alexander Petakov（アレクサンダー・ペタコフ）と‌‌最近（"recently"）バーモント州を訪れた‌‌際に、いくつかのクールな場所を訪問し、このBennington Triangleに滞在しました。
  • ‌‌表現の限界:‌‌ Aaronは、現地に立ってみると、「‌‌これを本当に要約する方法はない‌‌」と感じたと述べています。書き物や、このような対話形式の会話では、これらの奇妙な出来事が起こった場所を‌‌記述することは不可能かもしれない‌‌と彼は感じています。
  • ‌‌立って感じる重要性:‌‌ 彼は、訪問者は‌‌そこに立ってみる‌‌必要があると述べています。実際に現地に立つことで、認識していた特定の風景や特徴と、神話化されたイメージが重なり合い、‌‌「認識を変える」非常にクールな経験‌‌となると、Petakov氏も他の場所（Bluff CreekやPoint Pleasant）の文脈で説明していますが、これはBennington Triangleにも当てはまります。
  • ‌‌体験の価値:‌‌ Aaronは、超常現象の探求に興味がある人にとって、Bennington Triangleへの訪問は‌‌非常に豊かな経験‌‌であり、機会があれば利用してほしいと述べています。なぜなら、それは「‌‌とてもエキサイティング‌‌」だからです。

3. 公的なアクセス性​

  • Bennington Triangleの多くの地域は、‌‌グリーンマウンテン国立森林（Green Mountain National Forest）‌‌内に位置しており、誰でも訪問することが可能です。
  • この地域は比較的広いエリアですが、いくつかの‌‌小さなコミュニティ‌‌で構成されており、Small Town Monsters (STM) が扱うコミュニティの本質を体現しているとも言えます。

情報源​

動画(50:16)

Observer to Adventurer Into the Unknown with Small Town Monsters ANOMACON 2025 Halloween Special

文字起こし（話者識別）​

展開

（以下は "Observer to Adventurer Into the Unknown with Small Town Monsters ANOMACON 2025 Halloween Special" と題された動画の文字起こしです。話者識別済みです。）

[Aaron Deese] : Welcome to Anomicon 2025. My name is Aaron Deese. (00:00:10)

[Alexander Petakov] : My name is Alexander Petikov, and we are going to do an awesome presentation for you guys today, kind of talking a little bit about our experiences from being enthusiasts to full-time investigators, I guess, if we want to call it that, Aaron, right? (00:00:26)

[Aaron Deese] : If we could use that term, I guess. Some people do. I don't call myself an investigator, but some people do. Sure. (00:00:32)

[Alexander Petakov] : Researcher, investigator, a lot of those terms. (00:00:34)

[Aaron Deese] : Enthusiast. (00:00:35)

[Alexander Petakov] : That's, yeah. We're going to talk about the whole metamorphosis, I guess, that we've done from really being just the everyday person, just a fan of these topics, and then turning that into what we do, which is at STM, I do films and tons of videos. Aaron has worked on films, written books for STM as well. So there's a lot. We'll kind of break it down, but... Yeah, we'll go through. (00:00:57)

[Alexander Petakov] : Take it away. (00:00:57)

[Aaron Deese] : Go through some stuff. So we've titled this presentation, From Observer to Adventurer, Joining the Search for the Strange. And what this is not going to be is Alex and I patronizing to you guys for 45 minutes, telling you, this is what we did, and this is the way to do it, and these are the right answers. And that's not what this is. (00:01:13)

[Alexander Petakov] : We'll try, at least. (00:01:14)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah, we'll try not to do that. (00:01:16)

[SPEAKER_02] : Just kidding, kidding. (00:01:16)

[Aaron Deese] : This is also not a how-to, like how to investigate. We'll probably touch on some of that stuff. But really, we just thought it would be fun to kind of share some stories with you guys, talk about some of the locations we visited, maybe share some tips that might be useful if you're interested in starting a podcast, a blog, a YouTube channel like the one you're watching this on. It's easier than you think. (00:01:38)

[Aaron Deese] : But yeah, that's kind of what's going on. So again, my name is Aaron. I'm a writer and producer over at Small Town Monsters. I run our podcast network as well as our social media. And if you're not familiar with Small Town Monsters, we make documentaries about monsters, many of which are directed, produced, and shot by my good friend, Mr. Alex Petikov here. (00:02:01)

[Alexander Petakov] : Yeah. So Aaron mentioned a little about what he does. So I am a filmmaker and producer as well. I do a variety of STM documentaries, web series, docu-series, I guess we'll call them. You can find a lot of those on YouTube or on some streaming platforms. We're in a lot of places now, but I've done series like Bigfoot Beyond the Trail, Dark Coast, Hunt for the Alaskan Bigfoot, Strange Places, the Appalachian Bigfoot Files. I think that's it. (00:02:28)

[Alexander Petakov] : Well, On the Trail of Champ as well. So I've done a variety over the years and it's been really cool. And we're always evolving as a team. We've always got different things we're into. Like Aaron mentioned, he does a lot of the podcasts. He does all of our live streams on YouTube. He's writing books. We're doing film adaptation of the books. So there's a lot going on. (00:02:46)

[Alexander Petakov] : So hopefully that's not too confusing for people rather. I've experienced some people will be like, Oh, what is STM? And I try to explain it. And they're just like, that seems more confusing, but that sounds insane to me. Well, we pull it off somehow. So yeah, we'll get into that, I guess a little bit, but yeah, again, hopefully we don't sound too preachy throughout this talk. We're just more, we kind of thought about sharing our experiences of what's been overall. (00:03:13)

[Aaron Deese] : A little behind the scenes. I find people enjoy the behind the stuff. If you've ever watched an STM documentary or even if you haven't, you just like documentaries, hopefully some of this will be interesting to you. But yeah, when I first got into this stuff, I was probably 13, 14 years old and I saw the Mothman Prophecies with a couple of friends of mine and I was like, this is such a cool movie. I should read the book. (00:03:35)

[Aaron Deese] : Thinking the book was like a work of fiction, you know, just, just the story of the movie, but written down. It wasn't that find out it's listed under nonfiction and I'm reading this book at 14 years old. And I'm like, if even one of these stories is true, as the witness describes it, then everything we think about, about reality, everything we think we understand about reality is now subject to question. Completely changed the way I saw the world. (00:03:58)

[Aaron Deese] : What got you started, Alex? I'm curious. (00:04:00)

Yeah. (00:04:01)

[Alexander Petakov] : So, I mean, I remember as a kid, my dad told me the story of the Yeti in the Himalayas and something about, you know, the, the, the allure of the mystique of this thing, mysterious creatures still being out there. And, you know, being a kid of the nineties, we had a lot of this sort of media focused around this strange stuff. You had X-Files, of course. And then as I got into, you know, middle school and high school, we had stuff like MonsterQuest, Animal X, eventually finding Bigfoot. But at the time, this was kind of the early stages of the internet as well, where blogs were really huge. (00:04:31)

[Alexander Petakov] : So I was reading regularly a lot of the cryptozoology blogs, like Lauren Coleman, Crypto Mundo, reading a lot of the books, watching a lot of the old school documentaries. And, you know, it was just something I was very interested in the idea of not just Bigfoot, but cryptozoology in general and mysterious things. And, you know, as life goes on, I kind of, you have phases, you kind of go in and out of it. And then it was really after finding Bigfoot and after I got out of college, 2015, where I was like, hey, you know, I'm really, I was really big into filmmaking too, and the outdoors. (00:05:01)

[Alexander Petakov] : So I kind of decided, let me combine love of the outdoors, filmmaking and cryptozoology kind of trifecta. And I started doing documentaries on my own, just about the Loch Ness Monster and other sort of Sasquatch encrypted related topics. And that's kind of how, how things started. Yeah. (00:05:18)

[Aaron Deese] : This is what I'm curious about. And in all the time I've known you, I've never asked you this question. What was the first case you investigated or really heavily researched? (00:05:27)

[Alexander Petakov] : Oh man. So that's funny. It was actually the Loch Ness Monster. I did a short documentary and this led into me actually meeting Seth because I'll get into that in a minute, but I went to Loch Ness. It was after I got out of school. I was over in Europe for a while. My family's originally from Southeast Europe, the Balkan area, former Yugoslavia. And I was spending a lot of time over there, kind of took like the summer off basically after I got out of school and into the fall. And I took a trip to Scotland, of course, had to go to Loch Ness. It's a place that I loved since I was a kid. (00:05:59)

[Alexander Petakov] : And I just sort of filmed a little documentary. And then later, I think that following spring, I decided to edit together a little documentary that's 12, 13 minutes long. It's terrible. Don't watch it. It's from over 10 years ago. I can't watch it at this point. So that was just a short film. And I did a lot of research into Nessie and I actually came out more skeptical of Loch Ness Monster than I did previously. I thought doing ecological research of the lake, I thought, man, this place doesn't seem like it has enough food sources. (00:06:28)

[Alexander Petakov] : It's been searched very thoroughly. So that's something that kind of surprised me, I guess, like you said, it was something you started really heavily researching. And I did a lot of research into the lake. And I just kind of actually grew more skeptical of the Nessie story, believe it or not. And eventually, I put that film out on YouTube. And somehow Seth ends up emailing me and he has this kind of fledgling company at the time, that it was basically just him called Small Town Monsters. And he was doing these documentaries. (00:06:55)

[Alexander Petakov] : And he's like, hey, we're doing this Minerva Monster Day event, we'd like to show one of your films at this event. And I was like, oh my god, that somebody actually wants to like, watch this thing. So that was really cool. And that's kind of what opened up my world into STM. So I don't know if we want to get into that right away. And if you want to talk about how you got involved in this. (00:07:17)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah, I can. (00:07:18)

[Alexander Petakov] : Or if you had that plan for later. I don't know. (00:07:20)

[Aaron Deese] : I don't want to know. There's not really a plan here. I just thought we'd hang out for a little while. Try to be mildly entertaining was my plan. But no, yeah, it was not really similar to somewhat similar to you, I guess. I, I know. Not similar at all. Now that I'm thinking about it, it was probably 2019, 2020. And I was just looking for something to do. I was going through a rough phase in life and I just needed something. (00:07:44)

[Aaron Deese] : And I was like, well, I've always been into this paranormal stuff. Thinking back to the Mothman, you know, I was like, I wonder if there are any good Mothman documentaries out there right now. And I find the Mothman of Point Pleasant directed by a guy named Seth Breedlove. And I'm like, this is such a great movie. You can go watch it right now on YouTube. If you haven't seen it, don't watch it now, do it after a Namacon. And I thought it was fantastic. (00:08:04)

[Aaron Deese] : And I was like, I want to see what else this guy has directed. This was incredible. So I go searching and I watched some of the On the Trail of Bigfoot stuff, some stuff that you were in, you know, I was like, these people seem really cool. I really like their approach. I'm going to see what they're doing on social media. Does this company have a social media presence? Turns out it does. (00:08:21)

[Aaron Deese] : So I followed STM and kind of just kept an eye on things for a while and worked up the courage to comment on some things. I think you and I met in a clubhouse room. (00:08:29)

[Alexander Petakov] : Yeah. I remember talking to him before. Yeah, definitely. And when you were still doing, you know, Hey Strangeness and other stuff. (00:08:36)

[Aaron Deese] : So, yeah. Yeah. Ended up starting a podcast called Hey Strangeness, which is not doing anything right now. And long story short, got the opportunity to write a book with STM and then jump up another three years and this is my full-time job. But what's cool about this and the reason I worked this into the notes, the reason I wanted to share it is I think a lot of people come to this world interested in creating something or joining the conversation or making a contribution. And they think that they need like cred, you know, or, or existing cloud, or they need to be semi-famous already, which I don't think either of us consider ourselves famous. (00:09:12)

[Aaron Deese] : We just make movies, you know, you don't need to do that. Literally anybody can join the conversation here. (00:09:18)

[Alexander Petakov] : We'll circle back to that later, but yeah, no, I mean, I definitely agree again, like in my case, at the time, you know, I guess Seth just liked this video about the Loch Ness Monster. And, you know, at that, after I'd put that film out, I was also doing some Bigfoot related stuff. So I ended up showing a short Bigfoot film at this Minerva Monster Day event. And that eventually led to down the road, Seth had asked me to do a series for STM. And that was what turned into On the Trail of Champ back in 2017 into 2018. But I do just want to back up and ask you if there was like a first case or investigation that you had done, similar to how I had done kind of the Loch Ness thing, or what was your first big case, you know, disregarding what we were just talking about STM-wise? (00:10:00)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah, no, I kind of ran ahead there. (00:10:02)

[Alexander Petakov] : No, you're good. I want to make sure that's good. Yeah. (00:10:05)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. It's a fun one. I like this one because it gives me a chance to tell a story. But there's a local legend here in San Antonio. I'm in San Antonio, Texas, called the Dancing Devil of El Camaroncito. El Camaroncito translates to the Little Shrimp, which was a nightclub that used to be on the west side of town. It was apparently pretty popular. And the story goes that in 1975 on Halloween night, people are gathered at this nightclub. Everybody's in costume, they're dancing, having a great time when this mysterious stranger comes in wearing a white suit. (00:10:37)

[Aaron Deese] : And Westside San Antonio is a pretty close knit community. Most people that have been in the neighborhood for a generation or more, and there's a lot of them, know pretty much everybody else. And the area where this nightclub is located is right in the heart of Westside San Antonio. The reason I know that much is because my wife grew up two blocks from where this took place. So that's one of the reasons I'm so vested in this one. (00:10:58)

[Aaron Deese] : But the stranger comes in, he dances around the room, he dances with different people. They're like, wow, what a great dancer you are, mysterious stranger. And then somebody looks down at his feet. And there are a couple variations to the story here. In one, he has goat hooves. In another, he has chicken feet. And in another version, he has one of each. So it depends on who you ask, what block they're from as to what version you get. But everybody freaks out. (00:11:22)

[Aaron Deese] : They're like, oh my goodness, I guess it was too realistic to be a costume. Because again, this is Halloween. A mob is formed. They chase him into the back room of the establishment and he escapes through a window. Nobody ever sees him again. And this is another place where the story varies. Sometimes he escaped through a window. Sometimes he just vanished into thin air. But in both versions, he left behind this lingering smell of like sulfur, like volcanic ash, which is super interesting. Now, this is a super great story. (00:11:50)

[Aaron Deese] : I like it because I have family members, you know, through my wife who grew up hearing it, who, oh, my cousin was there. My uncle was there. But what's really, really cool and what the reason I'm so latched onto it is there's another story from Ireland going back to, I believe the 1500s. And I didn't double check my notes, but there was this group called the Hellfire Club, who there were a lot of rumors that circulated about them, but they were believed by many people to be like Satan worshipers, pagans, whatever term, you know, those are not the same thing. But in some conversations, people will interchange them. (00:12:24)

[Aaron Deese] : They were thought of as not being good people by the powers of the day. There's a story that one night, a mysterious stranger shows up at this club and they're playing cards and they're drinking and maybe worshiping the devil. I don't know. But halfway through the card game, someone looks down, looks at this guy's feet. And what does he have? Goat hooves. They freak out. They're like, what is going on here? (00:12:48)

[Aaron Deese] : It's a monster. Disappears, leaves behind the smell of sulfur. So whether or not either of these stories are true, I love the fact that this motif pops up in 1500s Ireland and in San Antonio, Texas in 1975. What that means, how it got there, whether there's actually a dancing stinky devil running around the world that just pops up every 500 years, I don't know. (00:13:09)

[Alexander Petakov] : Just trying to get in the club, man. What's wrong with that? (00:13:11)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah, there's nothing wrong. He just wants to play cards and dance. Let the guy hang. (00:13:14)

[Alexander Petakov] : But the sulfur thing is, I think, a motif, right? I mean, that's often described, especially in some of these, I don't say colonial, but, you know, more kind of Christian centric stories of, you know, somebody smelling like sulfur. That's a sign of the devil, right? What is sulfur associated with fire, with volcanoes, you know, ash, that kind of thing. So that has a sort of devilish connotation. So that is interesting, right? (00:13:40)

[Aaron Deese] : Like it's there's multiple things that kind of overlap into this similar idea of if you go to this place where people are doing bad things, bad things, you know, the devil will get you. And this story is used locally as like a cautionary tale. My wife hearing it is like, oh, don't go out past your curfew. Don't sneak out. Listen to your mother. You know, the common version you'll find online is that a young woman's mother told her not to go dancing and she did anyway. But it's interesting because once you get in the neighborhood and talk to people, it's like, oh, there's actually, this story is actually present here before the internet chatter, before the people like you and I came along and started writing books and making movies about this stuff, you know. (00:14:22)

[Aaron Deese] : And the reason I'm so stuck with it is because it's so close to home for me, literally. I can go talk to people who are like, yeah, I heard it in 1976. I heard it in 1977. So it's, it's a fun one. It's a fun one. Today, the location has been renovated and it is the 420th store location for the La Michoacana meat market, which is basically Houston. Little history there for you. (00:14:47)

[Aaron Deese] : But, and the reason I put this in here is there's another point to that. There's a very good chance that wherever you are in the world, there's something nearby that you can look into, whether it's a ghost, a monster, a UFO sighting, a mysterious disappearance, buried treasure doesn't get a lot of attention these days. America has a lot of buried treasure legends. (00:15:06)

[Alexander Petakov] : You don't have to travel to Oak Island. You can go somewhere probably closer to you. (00:15:10)

Yeah. (00:15:11)

[Aaron Deese] : Jesse James is supposed to have a buried treasure somewhere in either Oklahoma or Texas. I forget which. Yeah. Yeah. That's a fun one. (00:15:19)

[Alexander Petakov] : No, that's a good point. There's definitely, you know, I think a lot of times people think, oh, I need to travel to Loch Ness to search for a lake monster. Well, chances are there's probably a local lake monster legend around you somewhere. Or, you know, even Bigfoot. That's something we've experienced where in the past people thought it was typically just the Pacific Northwest. But of course, pretty much now it's anywhere where there's mountainous areas, at least in the U.S. or Canada, like the Appalachian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, swamps down south. (00:15:46)

[Alexander Petakov] : So, you know, you can check out resources that'll show local sightings, Bigfoot mapping project, EFRO, yada yada, you know, the rest. So, yeah, like you said, it can apply to a lot of different stories and stuff that might be close to you. (00:16:00)

[Aaron Deese] : Here's a fun anecdote. I had just watched On the Trail of Champ a few years ago, and I was like, I wonder if there are any sea monster legends in Texas. And I was living in Austin at the time. Turns out Austin has a Nessie-like sea monster called Old Hippie that was seen in the 60s by people who were hanging out at a clothing optional park that still exists to this day called Hippie Hollow. Soon found out that the only sightings of Old Hippie came from Hippie Hollow in the 1960s. So place that in whatever context you can get as far as the validity. (00:16:34)

[Aaron Deese] : But yeah, like you go looking and you'd be surprised what's around you. (00:16:38)

[Alexander Petakov] : Well, that's and I think that applies to, you know, in my case with this Loch Ness documentary idea that was, you know, got me introduced to STM. Basically, I'd always been more interested in Loch Ness, even though it was across the ocean for me. Whereas I grew up a few hours from Lake Champlain, which has Champ, the lake monster, one of the more well-known ones in North America. It kind of takes a backseat to Nessie, but I hadn't done a lot of research into that. (00:17:02)

[Alexander Petakov] : And that led perfectly into when I did On the Trail of Champ for Small Town Monsters. I learned a lot about that lake that I didn't know. And, you know, I actually thought, well, hey, there's more of a chance that something like Champ might exist compared to Nessie. So that's something, you know, again, it was, it was definitely a local kind of, or semi-local tie-in for me. (00:17:19)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. I've been super skeptical. Nobody's asking me, but I'm just going to say it. I've always been super skeptical about Nessie. And then I interviewed Ken Gerhard about it. And for a group that I don't work, that no longer exists before STM. And, and if anybody can get you thinking Nessie might be real, it's, it's Ken Gerhard. He didn't try to convince me. I just asked him some questions and then he answered them. (00:17:42)

[Aaron Deese] : And I was like, dang. Yeah. I don't know. (00:17:45)

[Alexander Petakov] : I think that's great. Yeah. I haven't talked to him about that, but maybe I'll have to bring that up at some point. (00:17:51)

[Aaron Deese] : He did write a book on it, but anyway, here's another one I'm curious about. What was, and maybe we can name a couple of these, but what was a location you got to visit that you were just super stoked on? Like, you know, that place, one of those places and what's the story? (00:18:08)

[Alexander Petakov] : Man, there's been a lot. I mean, and I don't want to exaggerate right now or, you know, boost myself up, but, you know, through, through just like the last five years or so when we started doing more YouTube centric stuff, like Beyond the Trail, I've traveled to so many places in North America and just in pursuit of the kind of Bigfoot mystery. But I think in the early days when we were kind of just getting started, a place that really was like, wow, was Bluff Creek, Northern California, you know, and I'd been to that region once before, but I never went to the film site. So back in 2021, this was like sequentially the third ever Beyond the Trail we had ever filmed. (00:18:48)

[Alexander Petakov] : And, you know, we went out, met up with a bunch of people out there in, in the Bluff Creek area, the Bluff Creek project that rediscovered the Patterson-Gimlin film site. And just, it was so cool because, you know, this is a place you've been reading about forever. It's, it's well known, obviously the term Bigfoot was spawned out of that area. You have the Patterson-Gimlin film, all the history that's gone on there. So it kind of felt like a place that you kind of had to visit if you're into this stuff. (00:19:13)

[Alexander Petakov] : And just what surprised me was the stunning beauty and how remote it still was to this day. Very hard to get to a lot of driving on these forest roads. And it just, you know, it was just a very full circle kind of feeling. And that was a big one for me. And that ended up being, you know, one of my favorite shoots up until that point was in Bluff Creek in 2021. And we spent like a week out there. (00:19:35)

[Alexander Petakov] : Oh, maybe like five, six days, but we got some kind of strange stuff that happened. Still one of the weirdest whoop kind of things I've heard out there. We had this incident with a dog that was frightened and people hearing stuff and just the area was so awesome remote. So I'd say that's a big one for sure. And I can get into more on that, but I would say that was probably the first really one that was like, whoa, this is so cool. And the fact that, you know, we got to go out there and at the time, I got to say, we didn't really know Beyond the Trail was super new format. (00:20:05)

[Alexander Petakov] : We were like, you know, our YouTube channel was very small at the time. We didn't really know what we were doing. We're just kind of like, we're just going to go fill an episodic series about looking for Bigfoot and just going out in the woods and adventuring. It's not like we were these super professionals or anything. You know, I was bringing my prior backwoods experience to, you know, any kind of investigation, but this was similar to stuff that I've already done in terms of, you know, just go out and investigate in an area, just kind of hang out for a while, explore. But yeah, it kind of just came together organically and ended up working really well and was just an incredible, incredible journey. (00:20:39)

[Alexander Petakov] : So yeah, I would say Bluff Creek is the place that really first stuck out to me. (00:20:43)

[Aaron Deese] : That's a big one. That's a big one. (00:20:46)

Yeah, I would say so. Yeah. (00:20:48)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. It's, it is hard too, because when you, if you make it a point to travel to some of these places, naturally you're going to be going to the ones, if you can, you're going to be going to the ones that are your big ones. Like right. Mine were Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Area 51, as close as you can get to Area 51. Roswell, you know, so all, when I visited all of those places, they were fantastic. They were super surreal experiences, like especially Point Pleasant. I was thinking about this as you were talking about Bluff Creek, like I had seen the movie, The Mothman Prophecies, which was partially filmed there. (00:21:20)

[Aaron Deese] : I'd seen Seth's documentary, of course, Mothman of Point Pleasant. And there were specific buildings I recognized, you know, just from being so immersed in it. But then you get there and you're standing in the middle of the street. I went at two o'clock in the morning. So I stood in the direct middle of the street, nobody around. And I was like, this is amazing. Like it just, it's a weird feeling. (00:21:38)

[Aaron Deese] : It's really hard to describe. (00:21:39)

[Alexander Petakov] : It kind of just clicked. Yeah. No, that, that I understand the feeling I've had to happen in other places I've visited as well. But I think there's something to be said about those locations like that, whether it's Bluff, excuse me, Bluff Creek or Point Pleasant, or you name it. One that's, I think has a lot of, there's a lot of mythologizing behind it. And again, there's so many books that have been written about, you know, specifically Bluff Creek, specifically Point Pleasant. Like you said, there's been so many documentaries. (00:22:06)

[Alexander Petakov] : So I think you kind of have this, and I think it's something that happens prior to any kind of trip or travel and you go on, you have this preconceived notion of what a place looks like in your mind, because you've never been there, right? Your mind is, you're piecing and stitching together pieces from this documentary that I saw. And this book that I read, where you're making up your own image in your mind, and then you see what it looks like. And it either is completely different than what you expected, or it's somewhat similar, but then you recognize a feature like that. (00:22:32)

[Alexander Petakov] : And it kind of just, I don't know, it kind of changes your perception, which is really cool. (00:22:36)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. Well, we, I personally, I won't speak for you, but I had that happen recently when we were in Vermont. We went to a few cool places in that area, but we stayed in the Bennington Triangle. And I had done all this reading, you know, on, if you're not familiar with the Bennington Triangle, it's a place, the term was coined by Joseph Citro. It's a place where five people went missing five years in a row back in the 1950s, UFO sightings, Bigfoot, the works. But I, again, had done all this reading, listened to podcasts, read articles, and then you get there and you look at it and you're like, there's no way to really sum this up. (00:23:09)

[Aaron Deese] : Like these strange places where these weird things have happened. I don't know if it's possible to describe them in a, in writing, in a back and forth conversation like this, you have to like stand there. And again, that, that sounds so patronizing and gatekeeping and it's, it's not meant to be, but it's such a, it's such, if you're interested in this stuff, it's a very enriching experience. And I would hope that when people have the opportunity, they avail themselves of it. (00:23:33)

[Aaron Deese] : Cause it's, it's so exciting. (00:23:35)

[Alexander Petakov] : Oh, absolutely. I totally agree. I mean, again, we don't want to sound like gatekeepers. I mean, anyone can go and visit some of the, I mean, some of these locations, you know, other, we're not dealing with like private property or something like that. Obviously, you know, national, a lot of these places are in National Forest, Bennington Triangle, a lot of that area is the Green Mountain National Forest. Anyone can go visit that. (00:23:57)

[Alexander Petakov] : If you have the ability to do that. You know, place like Bluff Creek, also it's in the National Forest, Point Pleasant, you know, you've got tons of places you can visit, museum, the museum there with the Mothman, the statue, there's so much you can see. So and I know a lot of people get into like paranormal road tripping and legend tripping, as they call it, they go from like these little towns and towns. And I think that in some ways embodies kind of the essence of Small Town Monsters, because we've covered so much of these little communities. (00:24:26)

[Alexander Petakov] : Bennington Triangle, sure, it's a larger area, but it's made up of these kind of small communities. So I don't know where I'm going with this tangent, but it kind of, you know, again, I'm just trying to stress that like anyone can really do this. And I think we'll get more into that later. But, you know, we've just had the good luck of being able to go to so many of them. And that's why I kind of, I guess, hopefully you guys are enjoying what we're having to tell you here. (00:24:51)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah, I can't, we can't see the chat because this is pre-recorded. But, you know, hopefully, hopefully people haven't logged on. (00:24:57)

[Alexander Petakov] : Everyone's booing us in the chat. (00:24:58)

[Aaron Deese] : It's me in there right now. These guys are awful. This is boring. No, if you don't like this, come back after it's over for the next presentation. It will definitely be different and probably much better. But no, no, there's another, another place we went, which you can actually see in the Dogman Triangle, Werewolves in the Lone Star State was Plum Creek, which is another one here in Texas. And again, the reason this went in my notes is because it's weird the way these things link up with you. (00:25:27)

[Aaron Deese] : My grandmother, before she passed away, was staying in a home in Lockhart, Texas. The Plum Creek Monster, which I'll tell, I'll explain what that is in a moment, also was in Plum Creek, Texas. So we visited this place during the filming for the Dogman Triangle. And I had been driving in and out of this neighborhood for years, not realizing that this werewolf sighting was right around the corner because yes, it's a werewolf thing. Back in the eighties, there were a few witnesses who reported seeing upright canine-like creatures out in the Texas Hill Country in the Lockhart area, near a thing, a thing, near a creek known as Plum Creek. And there are different ideas about what they may have been, just like there always are when it comes to these Dogman sightings. (00:26:11)

[Aaron Deese] : This is former Comanche land, so maybe it's a Native American curse. I'm not a proponent of that idea. That's just something people have said. Maybe it's some kind of an animal. Maybe it's a very large coyote. Who knows? But one of the witnesses who was interviewed for the newspapers was a guy named James Witter. And he did this initial interview back in the eighties and kind of was like, I don't really want to do anything else with this. You know, Heather Mosier, shout out to her over at STM, was able to track him down. (00:26:36)

[Aaron Deese] : He invited us out to his property and we interviewed him, one of these original witnesses. And he described chasing two, a pair of these things on horseback at a full tilt with a lasso. He was going to rope it. This guy was a, when I say cowboy, I mean that in the most literal sense. He spent his whole life working on ranches and dealing with cattle and horses and literal sense. Like, I don't think Texas fits a lot of the cliches that come to mind when you think Texas, but James Witter is a cowboy, like 100%. So he tells this story about actually chasing one of these things to lasso it. (00:27:11)

[Aaron Deese] : And before he could get close enough, it jumped over a fence that was too high for his horse to jump over and escaped off into the woods. So if you're interested in the Plum Creek monster, go look that up. That's a particularly exciting, exciting example. That's the word, example. (00:27:27)

[Alexander Petakov] : Yeah. And it's a cool connection, again, in an area that you were previously familiar with that ends up being something you guys go to investigate for the specific production that you guys were working on. And that's always fun. I mean, that's always cool being able to just showcase those stories. And that's the thing too, I think, contacting the original, one of the primary witnesses. I was just doing a project recently where I've talked to primary witnesses of the same incident, like almost eight years apart. (00:27:56)

[Alexander Petakov] : And it's interesting because you have to draw back to that. And I think that's part of the cool thing that we do at Small Town Monsters. We really try to talk to those people. I think in a lot of ways, these documentaries serve as a way to preserve the record on some of these stories. Because unfortunately, there are certain cases that people are like, hey, you guys should do a film on Hopkinsville goblins or whatever. That's one, for example, we get a lot. (00:28:18)

[Alexander Petakov] : It's like, unfortunately, a lot of the people involved are no longer with us. We always try to reach out to the primary witnesses and people who have things going on or had things going on. That's part of the approach too. (00:28:33)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. And I think that stuff's important because I'll mention another one of Seth's productions, The Flatwoods Monster. He was able to interview some of the original witnesses. And there are details in that movie that the original witnesses will explain that contradict the popular TikTok version or the popular internet version. Same basic narrative, same basic story, but the whole thing about, oh, the dog died. That didn't happen. There's little things. (00:29:01)

[Aaron Deese] : So when you're able to talk to these people and hear it from them firsthand, you get the chance to preserve that. And unfortunately, like you mentioned, people pass away. Life is short. Time is inexorable. So when you can do that, I think it's really valuable. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Here's a question for you though, and this will probably appeal to anyone who's ever seen anything that you've ever filmed. How do I, me specifically, no one else, not really, how do I start researching Bigfoot? (00:29:32)

[Alexander Petakov] : Well, I think it's pretty simple for the most part. It's not in a new formula or anything like that. I think you just need to go into it and I'll kind of break it down as I go along, but I think you just got to go into it with an open mind, but not open enough that your mind's going to fall out and you're just going to be susceptible to all kinds of craziness out there. If you're just getting started now, I would say in 2025, it's probably a little bit of an uphill battle because what I like to say, and this may sound a little bit cynical is that the Bigfoot topic is, it's so inundated with so much garbage now because of the internet. (00:30:06)

[Alexander Petakov] : You've got, like we talked about, you brought up that example with the Flatwoods Monster, you have like the TikTok and like the brain rot version of a lot of these stories that it's just put together quickly or by AI and just thrown out there, whereas the reality, you kind of have to dig for it. I think that's what you really have to do is actually investigate, actually dig into a case, try to find the primary sources, do find some of these books or old manuscripts, things that talk about some of these sightings, especially if you can't access some of these witnesses. But like, for example, just, you know, you're researching a particular Bigfoot story in your area, see if you can't find out person's contact info. (00:30:45)

[Alexander Petakov] : I mean, I brought up an example a little bit ago about these primary witnesses I was talking to, I've managed to track down. And I think that's just the way to go about it is to find out, you know, how can I get ahold of these people? And if it's not too much of a bother, of course, but a lot of, I think nowadays, one advantage maybe is that people are a little more open to talk about this than maybe they were 20 years ago. But in general, I think getting into Bigfoot research, I think you should know the basics, do your research on some of the older literature out there, check out the stuff by Grover Krantz's, the John Green's, the Jeff Meldrum's, that kind of the more, I don't say antiquated, but I want to say the older stuff, because there's been Bigfoot research that's been going on for 50, 60 years at this point, since the 1950s, really, if we're talking about that, you know, people actually, maybe not a lot of people, I think there's a lot more people getting into it now on an enthusiast level. (00:31:37)

[Alexander Petakov] : But I think one of the things that's important to remember is almost any idea you have about Bigfoot or theory you might come up with, and this is something I've been told by old school researchers and people that have been around the block, anything you think of it, oh my god, has anyone ever thought of this or done this? In the Bigfoot world, the chances are someone's probably already done it like 30 years ago. (00:31:56)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah, somebody thought of it. (00:31:58)

[Alexander Petakov] : Yeah, that's something I've learned quite a bit, kind of, not the hard way, there's nothing wrong with it, I think it's cool, but there is a lot out there, again, nowadays. And then that's more on the kind of armchair researcher side of things, if you're just studying the topic, even if you're completely skeptical, just as like a sociological study of the topic of Bigfoot research, totally fine as well. But I think when it comes to actually getting out there and looking, this is an area that I think I would caution people a little bit. (00:32:28)

[Alexander Petakov] : So obviously, if you find a local site in your area and like, hey, I want to go out and investigate that area, there's a sighting that happened here 30 years ago, I mean, chances are you go out there, you're probably not going to find any physical evidence or anything from that particular incident, if it's an old one. But, you know, just start maybe drawing patterns, look at, okay, is there a pattern of sightings in this one particular area? How many years apart do they have? (00:32:51)

[Alexander Petakov] : What time of year? Are all these sightings being reported in October, September? What does that tell you versus January, right? Depending on what seasons you might have in your neck of the woods. You know, some places like down south Florida, they have good weather, you know, warm enough weather, whereas up where I'm here in New Hampshire, we get three feet of snow for multiple months out of the year. So it's a very different environment six months later from having three feet of snow on the ground. (00:33:18)

[Alexander Petakov] : So getting out there and actually exploring the wilderness areas, like if you want to go to a place like Bluff Creek or some of these areas of national forests, I think this is an area of importance that I am going to sound a little preachy here, and I have no problem with that. But I think don't underestimate the wilderness. A lot of people do go missing, and I know there's a lot of media about that, but I'm talking just like people go missing, get hurt, injured. There's a lot of rescues. (00:33:42)

[Alexander Petakov] : Just even up here in New Hampshire, the White Mountains, there's almost every weekend there's some kind of rescue of a hiker just following a trail, you know, getting injured and not being prepared for the elements. So being prepared is essential, especially you go to a remote place like Bluff Creek, you're kind of on your own. Last summer when we were out there, we had a whole big group of people and five separate tires on cars were taken out by the rough roads and leading to Bluff Creek to the Patterson-Gimbel Field. Like five separate tires on vehicles were destroyed and had to be changed how rough some of the roads get back there. (00:34:14)

[Alexander Petakov] : So I think just like if you are... so I have a bit of a background in like backpacking and hiking, did some wilderness training as well. You don't need to do that, but I think it's important to know the basics. Like if you're really getting out there and exploring any kind of remote area, even if it's just your local, you know, mountain range or state park or whatever, just it doesn't hurt being prepared, you know, have some basic necessities. For example, if you're going out hiking, you know, have some sort of a, obviously hydration, something to eat, have something you can put over yourself if you get, you know, inclement weather, cell phones now, you know, a lot of places you might not have service in some of these more remote areas. (00:34:55)

[Alexander Petakov] : So I know that some of these iPhones that have like an SOS satellite feature, but if you're really hardcore about going into deep wilderness areas, chances are you probably already have some experience. So this is probably like a moot point, but you know, if you're just an enthusiast, Hey, I'm going to go to Bluff Creek. It doesn't hurt having something like a personal indicator beacon, PIB, or like a satellite GPS communicator, like a Garmin. So I have a Garmin inReach. I think this is, that's a little bit more for like advanced, a lot of people that maybe do more intense hiking and that sort of stuff. (00:35:26)

[Alexander Petakov] : And again, not trying to say you can't get into this. When I started hiking and backpacking, I didn't really know what I was doing. And you just kind of learn over the years, but you don't want to be one that learns in the wrong way because of some kind of injury or an accident, or God forbid something worse that happens. Because there's a lot of horror stories out there of people in the wilderness. You know, I think safety is paramount in general, when you're getting out into some of these areas. (00:35:50)

[Alexander Petakov] : Again, it can be a swamp in your area. Know the threats that you might face in the area in terms of wildlife. I mean, most wildlife, I would say, is not, I don't want to say too dangerous, but know the wildlife. You know, what happens if I get into an area and I get bit by a cottonmouth? You know, that can be very serious. That can ruin your year. I mean, or if you're in an area, Northern California, Alaska, whatever, you've got bear and moose and mountain lions and some of these critters you might encounter. (00:36:19)

[Alexander Petakov] : Chances are very rare, you will. If you see a moose from a distance, that's really cool. But I think, again, safety is a really important aspect to just going out. And a lot of times, you know, you go out these, going alone is one thing too, I should say. Probably in some of these super remote areas, I would advise. And you know, I've done this, but I have some experience. Now, a lot of these trips end up being group trips. (00:36:43)

[Alexander Petakov] : You go with friends and family. That's awesome. You got somebody to watch your back. You got people to help out if something, God forbid, does happen. But chances are, you know, you go for a week in a national forest somewhere, you drive into a location, you car camp, you're in a remote place with some friends and family. And from there, you can kind of do whatever you want in terms of research. If you are a researcher investigating, if you just want to hang out, a lot of times people consider some big footing is just like camping with a purpose. (00:37:10)

[Alexander Petakov] : I think that that can be accurate. Yeah. (00:37:12)

[Aaron Deese] : You just go to the place. Like you don't have to bring a thermal imager and a drone and all that. Yeah. (00:37:17)

[Alexander Petakov] : I just have fun with it. Try to explore the area. Like if you're, Hey, we're going to camp in this spot for four days. I want to go explore the lake. That's a quarter mile away. Let's do a hike there. Let's map the area out. Let's study the area before you go there. If you know where you're going to go, like on Google earth or Google maps, just check it out. See what the topography looks like. (00:37:35)

[Alexander Petakov] : Get a feel for the area. I mean, chances are you go out there, you're probably not going to have anything strange happen. Don't let the big brain or confirmation bias kind of take hold of you. Stay skeptical and have a good time. But if you actually want to start like a rigorous kind of investigative or research process, then there's like kind of more citizen science path. You want to look at it like, Oh, okay, I got this patch of woods. (00:37:57)

[Alexander Petakov] : I want to put up camera traps or audio, long-term audio recorders. How am I going to do that? That's where you get more into the intense stuff where you want to start maybe taking notes, daily observations when you're leaving equipment out there. I mean, once we go down that path, I think it's a little more than like the weekend warrior type stuff. But again, I think it's, what I'm trying to say here is I think just, if you have the basis covered in terms of safety and all the precautions, you can have a good time. I'm really big on that. (00:38:24)

[Alexander Petakov] : And that's why I try to stress it because again, I do hear a lot of these stories. I mean, we had just an incident end of last year in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in the Pacific Northwest in Washington. There were two guys who unfortunately lost their lives out in the wilderness because they hit rough weather time of year where you get a lot of snow in the mountains. They weren't prepared. (00:38:45)

[Alexander Petakov] : They were supposedly out doing some big footing stuff. And one thing I really stress, and this is something from my hiking and backpacking days and hiking these mountains in the dead of winter and realizing, you know, the weather conditions just take a turn for the worst. Don't push it. If you say, Hey, we got to bail out of here, do it. The mountains will be there another day. You might not be. (00:39:07)

[Alexander Petakov] : So don't push your luck. Oh, my car can make it through this one little ditch here. We're not going to get stuck. We're 10 miles on a forest service road. If it's not, yeah, if it's not worth the risk, I would say don't do it. Just think about it. Think smart. And again, just be aware. And also, unfortunately, be aware that, you know, not everyone out there in the wilderness that you're sharing that space with has the same intentions as you. You can meet some fantastic people. (00:39:32)

[Alexander Petakov] : I've met amazing folks just happen to pull into the same forest service campsite. We share a meal together, have fun, talk about, you know, maybe they have some cool stories. But unfortunately, there are people who maybe don't have that same mindset. Don't leave like thousands of dollars of equipment just laying in your car, because unfortunately, especially in this summer, I've heard a lot of these national forest sites the last, I mean, it's for a long time. It's not like it's more recently, but people breaking into vehicles to try to steal stuff. (00:40:00)

[Alexander Petakov] : So don't leave your thermal imager laying on the seat as you go to do an overnight hike somewhere and you got your car in the parking lot, you know, so just be smart about it. You know, it's like doing any kind of activity, any kind of normal, enjoying the wilderness, just be smart about it. And once you once you kind of get all those bases covered, I think you can really have fun with it and approach the topic however you'd like, you know. (00:40:20)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah, I think that's a great way to start. I think that's important, too, because there's there's ideas that like you have to do it this way, you have to go to this place, you have to go out this time of the day, you have to have this kind of equipment and you don't. No, you straight up don't. Like Patterson and Gimlin had a handheld crank camera, for goodness sake. And we're still talking about them, you know, 50 odd years later. (00:40:42)

[Alexander Petakov] : So here's something that recently I got to talk about. And recently I got to meet Les Stroud, who is, you know, such a huge influence to me, survivor man. I mean, that influenced a huge amount of my stuff for years. Yeah. If somebody could survive in the wilderness, it's him. But we were talking about, you know, the commonalities of some of the best Bigfoot sightings, you know, my personal favorite Bigfoot sightings. Most of the people that had those sightings and experiences were not out there looking for Bigfoot. They just coincidentally they were on their job. (00:41:10)

[Alexander Petakov] : They were out hiking. They were doing something. So, you know, there's maybe there is something to that, you know, play the dumb camper kind of thing and see if that something happens. But yeah, so I think there's not, you know, like like you said, we don't have to go out there with all the latest, greatest equipment. Like, sure, that stuff's great. And it's cool if you can have access to that kind of stuff. But there's been plenty of great reports and incidents that have happened. (00:41:31)

[Alexander Petakov] : People that are just kind of out there minding their own business and just having something happen. And again, I'm not going to say you go out there, guarantee you're going to have activity every time. (00:41:39)

Definitely. (00:41:39)

[Aaron Deese] : All of these three easy steps for a guaranteed Bigfoot sighting. Only $9.99. Yeah, exactly. And that's the thing. Like you get interested in this stuff and you think, oh, it'd be so cool to have a sighting and be so cool to see it. But like, it seems like nine times out of 10, the people that have these encounters, whether it's a ghost, a UFO, Dogman, Sasquatch, they're not expecting it. They're not looking for it. (00:42:00)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. (00:42:01)

[Alexander Petakov] : And a lot of times it negatively impacts their life. I mean, obviously, if you're going out in the woods with the intention of looking for Bigfoot and you have something interesting happen, chances are it's not going to be as maybe traumatic as somebody who has... that's not even on their radar. Yeah. So I think, you know, maybe you've got a leg up just in case you do have something happen, but yeah. Always roll audio. (00:42:22)

[Alexander Petakov] : That's another thing. I just got to add this quick point quick. Audio. I know it's tough and it can be hard to sometimes always run video on a phone or a GoPro or a camera. It takes up a lot of storage space. Get a good audio recorder, a Zoom H1N1, some of the Olympus ones. There's like these little recorders you can get for less than a hundred dollars. You can just run that audio the moment you get to camp and run it all night long, switch out the battery. (00:42:45)

[Alexander Petakov] : That way, if you do have something weird or some noise that you hear, it's not just a story. Oh, we actually got it on audio because always run audio. That's something that much more, I would say professional and better researchers than myself have stressed in the past. And I wholeheartedly agree. (00:43:02)

[Aaron Deese] : I've heard that one numerous times. Yeah. Yeah. (00:43:04)

[Alexander Petakov] : Now that's kind of on the line of, you know, physical, getting out there, having fun, research, doing it safely and smartly. But that's one side of the element. We talked about kind of armchair stuff at first, but on that note, I'd like to ask you, Erin, about what does it take to write a book? You know, you have done, this is not something I've experienced with. I'm more of just like, Hey, send me out in the woods. (00:43:27)

[Alexander Petakov] : I'm going to do this. What about writing books about these topics? Because that's a different type of research than getting out, physically searching hair samples or whatever. Writing a book is different. You know, why don't you walk me through kind of some of what, what that looks like? (00:43:42)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. Well, for the, for the two people who are interested in this, maybe there's somebody out there, but, and this is whether for me, whether you're writing a book or a podcast outline or a narration script or an article, whatever it is, idea, outline, draft, destroy, revise, repeat. Like it's a continual process of coming up with ideas, putting them on paper, tweaking them, changing them. You get new information. (00:44:10)

[Aaron Deese] : It changes the idea. The biggest thing, the best piece of advice anybody can give you is just start writing. Just go for it. Writer's right. That's how the way it is. This is a funny anecdote from Nick Redfern that came to me through Ken Gerhard, but ditch diggers dig ditches. Writer's right. You just got to go for it. And getting past that initial block of like, this is so much work. I'm never going to get it done. (00:44:38)

[Aaron Deese] : I'm not smart enough to do this. All the imposter syndrome stuff, ignore all of that. If you write 500 words a day, a thousand words a week, whatever your creative output capability is, eventually that thing won't get written. You don't have to know how it ends when it starts. You don't have to write it in order and you can change your ideas about what it looks like at any point. It's your book. (00:44:58)

[Aaron Deese] : So the biggest thing is like, just go for it. And then people ask, well, how do I get published? There are a million ways to get these days. You can self-publish. There are tons of indie publishers that are interested in this kind of stuff, such as small town monsters publishing. There are a lot of ways to get your work out there, but the biggest thing is like, just to go for it and don't let any naysayers or negativity you might encounter along the way stop you. I was on one of the online discussion groups one day and someone asked like, Hey, I'm interested in cryptozoology. (00:45:29)

[Aaron Deese] : How do I start looking into this just as an enthusiast? And the top comment was from someone who was like, well, the first thing you should do is get a degree in zoology. And I was like, no, because no one has time to do that. That's great if you can. (00:45:44)

[Alexander Petakov] : And if you want to do that, that's totally cool. Yeah. (00:45:47)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. That's great. But you don't have to. (00:45:49)

[Alexander Petakov] : 99% of people don't do that. Yeah. (00:45:51)

[Aaron Deese] : Yeah. Who has the time or money? Like what, what, you know, the whole beauty of this and what I really love about it is that anybody is welcome. There's a seat at the table for everybody. We can all bring our ideas and our own take and our own perspective because there's no paranormal regulatory commission. You know, there's no master's degree in, in Sasquatch research. That's kind of a great thing. (00:46:14)

[Aaron Deese] : I think maybe one day there will be, maybe one day we'll have enough data that we can do that, but it takes all of us right now who are just enthusiasts contributing to that pile to push us to that point. And you can do it too. Look straight at the camera for this. You too. That was kind of the point for me of this whole presentation. I thought it'd be fun to share some stories and some creepy encounters and just kind of make the point that like, Hey, yeah, we're all on the same team. (00:46:38)

Yeah. (00:46:38)

[Alexander Petakov] : I think that's a great idea because I think a lot of times people, you know, I've experienced this over the years, I guess people kind of put you on a pedestal because, oh, you're, you're with small town monsters or you do this. Like, oh, you're with them. Like there's, there's jealousy that comes with that, but there's also like people put you on a pedestal and I'm like, well, I'm not really doing anything different than I was when we had barely any subscribers on YouTube. And we were just like, let's just go film ourselves. (00:47:05)

[Alexander Petakov] : Like there's nothing really fun. I mean, you know, obviously you evolve over time, but there's nothing fundamentally different. Like we're, we're, we're ultimately two regular guys that just, we have fun. We have been blessed to be put in a position where we can kind of these passions and really, you know, I think go the next level in, in, into some of the research and investigations, whether it's again, for literary reasons or for, you know, putting a film together. Cause, cause there is a lot of work that goes behind, you know, putting some of this stuff together. (00:47:35)

[Alexander Petakov] : There's grueling hours and research. And, you know, we, we totally weren't like complaining right beforehand about, you know, like just the overload of stuff going on. (00:47:43)

[Aaron Deese] : No, definitely not. We were in the green room talking about how much fun we have every day. (00:47:46)

[Alexander Petakov] : And I'm not, I'm not complaining in the sense that it's a bad thing. I think it's a good thing because you know, we, like there's only finite amount of time you have, right. But there's so many things you, if you can narrow down a spot that you really want to look at and research investigate, whether it's a physical location or a topic, then like go for it. I mean, ultimately you, you could either be your, your biggest fan or your biggest enemy when it comes to just getting it done. (00:48:10)

[Alexander Petakov] : Like you said, just, if you have an idea to write something, just do it. I mean, what's the worst that can happen? (00:48:15)

Yeah. (00:48:15)

[Aaron Deese] : Worst that happens is you never finish it. (00:48:17)

[Alexander Petakov] : But Hey, somebody says, Hey, no, I don't want to publish it. Like, okay, keep going then, you know, go somewhere else, find out, find something that works. You know? I don't know. I think there's a lot worse. I think it's worse to not go for something you're really interested in if you have the ability to do it. Cause later on, you're probably going to regret it and say, man, that's something I missed out on. I don't know if I get a chance to do that again. (00:48:40)

[Alexander Petakov] : Right. So that's the way I like to approach it and the way I view it. So yeah, that's kind of my wisdom, I guess, if you want to call it that. (00:48:49)

[Aaron Deese] : I do. (00:48:50)

[Alexander Petakov] : My random wisdom thoughts. (00:48:51)

[Aaron Deese] : I think that's an apt summary. And I think that brings us about to the end of our time, Alex. So do stick around for the rest of Anomicon because it's great. And Small Town Monsters, of course, we're very humbled and proud to be sponsors of Anomicon this year. So thank you to Ryan Sprague for having us. It's been a privilege for me. (00:49:11)

[Alexander Petakov] : Yeah, definitely. And check us out if you guys want to see more about what we've talked about. Just go to smalltownmonsters.com. That's probably got more information about everything. You can find Aaron's books on there, links to the videos. But we're all over the place, streaming apps. But if you want to check out a lot of the episodic stuff, go over to YouTube, Small Town Monsters. Just Google Small Town Monsters and you will find most likely the first results are like the YouTube and the website. (00:49:37)

[Alexander Petakov] : So yeah, that's the best way to find out about a lot of stuff we were talking about. Maybe that if you this is the first time you've ever heard of us, maybe that'll give you a better idea. And then you're like, hey, maybe I can do that. And then, you know, maybe down the road, you end up contributing something. Yeah. (00:49:51)

[Aaron Deese] : So then you'll think back to this conversation and go, Oh, my God, I can do that. So there you go. There's your there's your homework. Not really. Anyway, once again, my name is Aaron Deese. This, of course, is my very good friend, Alex Petikov. Thank you so much for hanging out with us and enjoy the rest of Anamikon. (00:50:09)

(2025-10-23)