Patrick Doesn't Believe In Bigfoot

A city kid walks into the Oregon woods certain he’s going to debunk a legend—and walks out carrying a story he can’t quite explain. Patrick, a sharp sixteen-year-old from Jersey City, heads to Eugene for a family reunion where Bigfoot talk flows as easily as barbecue smoke. He rolls his eyes at the tales, cracks jokes about the Loch Ness monster, and agrees to a post-reunion camping trip to settle the debate once and for all.

We follow the cousins deep into a forest where starlight feels close and the trees press in. Around the fire, the older boys lay down lore: tree knocks, bone-chilling howls, and footprints that dwarf a man’s. What Patrick doesn’t know is that a prank is brewing—friends staged a hundred yards away, sounds queued up, and a hair-mask reveal set to launch a budding YouTube channel. The setup lands perfectly: a low growl in the night, heavy steps outside the tent, and a towering silhouette at the edge of the firelight. Panic spikes. The mask comes off. Laughter erupts. For a breath, the world is safe again.

Then dawn redraws the map. The pranksters’ campsite is trashed—gear scattered, food lines torn down, no one in sight. They’re later found sleeping in their cars, scraped raw from a blind sprint through brush, swearing something big arrived near 4 a.m., growled, and methodically untied the food meant to thwart bears. Not a bear, they insist. Not a person, either. A sheriff report replaces punchlines. And Patrick’s certainty, once solid as pavement, softens into caution.

This story isn’t proof, and it isn’t propaganda. It’s a tightrope walk between bravado and the unknown, between what cameras catch and what the dark keeps. You’ll hear the beats of a perfect prank and the uneasy rhythm that followed, and you’ll decide where to place your belief. Along the way we talk fear, folklore, forest safety, and why attention-chasing can go sideways in wild places that don’t care about your upload schedule.

If you’re drawn to campfire mysteries, skeptical takes that get tested, and the electric edge where myth meets midnight, press play. When you’re done, subscribe for more strange stories, share this with the bravest friend you know, and drop your verdict in a review—hoax, bear, or something else?

Transcript

Meet Patrick And The Plan

SPEAKER_00 0:15

You know, I was thinking just the other day. It's been a long time since you've been here really half today. Why I think it's time to play another episode. I'm your host, the Master.

Family Ties And Bigfoot Talk

Reunion Antics And Hints

Into The Woods At Dusk

Campfire Stories Turn Serious

The Midnight Growl

Mask Off And Laughter

Morning After Shock

Sheriff, Scratches, And Doubt

Belief, Aftermath, And Warning

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Patrick McConnell was a sixteen-year-old boy living with his mother in Jersey City, just outside of New York. He was very excited about attending his family's reunion in Eugene, Oregon, where he would meet several of his cousins for the very first time. Patrick was a city smart kid. He knew how to avoid trouble and gang violence. He could survive in the big city, but now Eugene, Oregon, that is a little bit different. In fact, it's like a different planet. Patrick's parents divorced a couple of years ago, and times were kind of hard with very little extra money for vacations. Why, it's a good thing that Patrick's grandparents pitched in and bought airfare for him and his mother to attend their 10-year family reunion. Most of his family lived on the West Coast, but his father transferred to Jersey City about 20 years ago before Patrick was even born. And there was talk about him and his mother moving back to Eugene, Oregon someday to be closer to the rest of his family. Now, Patrick wanted to know more about his West Coast family, so he started following some of his cousins on Facebook. Well he had two cousins who were twins, and they were 14 years old. Their names were Helena and Brent, and he had two other cousins named Mike and Barry, and they were in their early twenties. Everyone seemed to be talking about Bigfoot living in the forest near their homes. And it appears that cousins like to hang out together and go camping. And on their last camping trip about a month ago, they heard a Bigfoot yelling and knocking on tree trunks. Now, no one actually saw the hairy beast, but everybody at the campsite listened to the sounds, and that was enough to end the camping trip. Of course, Patrick chimed in on the online conversation, stating that he didn't believe in Bigfoot, and that the sounds were probably made by someone trying to prank the group. His cousin Brent said, Well you weren't there. You have no idea what you're talking about. Just wait until you visit. We'll take you on a camping trip and let you see for yourself. And Patrick replied, No problem. I'm not scared of some make believe hairy Bigfoot. So Patrick and his mother flew to Eugene, Oregon. Now the trip took all day. They flew from JFK to Eugene, and there were several stops along the way. They had to spend just about as much time waiting in airports as they did flying. Patrick bought a book about hunting for Bigfoot because his cousins were discussing it a lot, and when his mother asked him about the book, Patrick told her that he didn't believe in all this stuff. But his cousins seemed to be talking about it, and he wanted to be able to share in the conversation. They were planning a camping trip after the family reunion, and Patrick was eager to prove that Bigfoot was simply a folklore made up to keep people out of the woods. In his opinion, the reason was to scare people away from discovering illegal whiskey stills. Finally, Patrick and his mother arrive for the family reunion. Patrick had been looking forward to meeting everybody, and the family reunion took months to plan. And the day was finally here. Eugene Oregon. Why it was much colder at night, so Patrick's mom got him a brand new coat. And finally, meeting his cousins was a highlight, and they started talking about the upcoming camping trip. They promised that something extra special might happen because they were taking him to a place where Bigfoot had been spotted in the past. But of course, Patrick quickly dismissed the story. He was still eager to go on the camping trip and maybe even do some fishing, but he considered his cousins would probably try to prank him, so he was ready to show them that he was not scared. Now the reunion itself was a blast. There was barbecue and games of tag with the younger kids, and a lot of reminiscing about past gatherings. Patrick's cousin kept whispering to each other and snickering whenever he was nearby. And when he asked, What's so funny? They just grinned and said, Oh, you'll see. His cousins talked about being deep in the woods. Now, Patrick loved the idea of going camping, but something about this trip, well, it felt a little off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was as if his cousins were hiding something from him. Now, after the reunion, it was time to head out for the camping trip. The four cousins packed their gear and drove for hours, leaving behind the city lights of Oregon going to deep shadowy forests. The campground was remote and was far enough from civilization that the night sky was stunningly blanketed with stars. And as they set up the tents, his older cousin Mike kept dropping hints about something lurking in the woods. You know, he said casually while gathering firewood, this area is famous for Bigfoot sightings. And of course, Patrick just kind of laughed and shook his head. Yeah, right. And I suppose the Loch Ness monster swims in the river too. And Barry chimed in, and his voice was low and serious. No joke, Pat. There have been reports here since the seventies. People say that they've heard strange noises at night, like like howls and stuff that just doesn't belong to any known animal. Now Patrick tried to brush it all off, but he was very curious. Could something actually be lurking out here in the woods? And as night fell, they gathered around the campfire telling ghost stories. The air grew kind of chilly, and Patrick put on his new jacket, and the sounds of the forest and the rustling leaves and the cracking branches seemed to close in around them. Mark and Barry took turns sharing increasingly creepy tales about campers who went missing, only to have their belongings found shredded or clawed into pieces. And then Brent leaned forward, his face half illuminated by the flickering flames of the campfire. He said, You know, a few years ago, some campers, just like us, they saw something huge standing between the trees and this area right here. And they said it was over eight feet tall, covered in a dark hair, and had glowing eyes. And when they tried to get a little closer, look, it let out a scream and it chilled them to the bone. And then they saw its footprints twice as big as a man's. And all the stories and all the sounds of the forest started getting to Patrick. He did feel a little creeped up about this, and even though he didn't want to believe it, so Patrick said, You're just messing with me, right? Well, Mark and Barry exchanged a glance and they were smirking. Oh, you'll find out soon enough. Patrick didn't know that his cousins had coordinated a plan to include some of their friends who were instructed to position themselves in another campsite about a hundred yards away. And they had planned to make a lot of scary sounds in the middle of the night to scare the hell out of Patrick. Well, the idea was to create a video for YouTube and start a popular Bigfoot channel at Patrick's expense, of course. Mike started talking about how Bigfoot used a heavy stick to hit the base of hollowed-out trees to drive wildlife out of their nest so that he could chase them down and eat them. And just as soon as he mentioned this fact, an unsettling sound of two large branches striking each other could be heard in the near distance. The sound of something huge stomping around in the tree line could also be heard. Now, with all of the stories and the sounds, Patrick started thinking about Bigfoot. Maybe, maybe he was a little bit too hasty in his belief. Maybe Bigfoot was real. And as the night wore on and eventually everyone settled into their tents, Patrick laid awake with his eyes open, listening to the sounds of the forest, and trying to shake off the unsettling feeling that their stories had left him with. And he finally drifted off to sleep, and a distant noise echoed through the trees. It was a low growling sound, unlike anything he had ever heard before. His eyes snapped open and he sat up and his heart started racing. Suddenly there was a loud rustling sound right outside of his tent, followed by heavy footsteps. Guys he called out with his voice trembling. Is that you? There was no answer back. And just outside of his tent flap, he heard a low growl. Patrick's breath caught in his throat. He grabbed his flashlight and he unzipped the tent as quickly as he could, shining the beam into the darkness. He saw a massive shadow looming just beyond the edge of the campfire light. It was a very tall person, and it seemed to sway back and forth as it was trying to decide what to do next. Mark, Barry, Patrick shouted, his voice breaking. There's there's something out here. The shadow stepped forward, and Patrick saw it more clearly. The creature was covered in thick, dark hair, and it had a face that was almost human, but not quite. Patrick's mind raced. Is this Bigfoot? The creature burst into laughter and pulled off a hairy mask, revealing that it was one of their friends from the nearby camp. We got ya Barry emerged from behind a tree laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. You should have seen your face, Pat. I thought you were gonna get ready to run for your life. Patrick's fear quickly turned into relief, and he couldn't help but laugh along with them, even though his heart was still pounding. You guys are the worst, he said, shaking his head. You really had me going there. And at this point it was about one in the morning, and the excitement of the prank had started to wind down. Mark asked Barry, did you get that on video? And Barry said, Yep. We're gonna get a million followers on YouTube. Everyone returned to their tents to sleep for a second time. The next morning Patrick and his cousins visited their camp's website, about a hundred yards away in the woods. And when they arrived, they were surprised that the campsite was in shambles, and the other friends, why they were missing. Wow, this looks strange, said Mark. It seems like they left in the middle of the night, and they left all of their gear here. It was scattered everywhere like a maybe a bear had gone through it. Patrick and his cousin spent the next two hours yelling their names, but they got no response. Finally everyone packed up and returned to their cars who were parked a couple of miles away. And they found their two friends who had just gone back to their cars and slept in their cars, leaving all of their gear behind, and they were still asleep. Barry knocked on the window and woke them up. Hey, what's going on? The friends claimed that a real Bigfoot had attacked their campsite in the middle of the night, and they both had to run and leave everything just to escape with their lives. They described a large, hairy, human-looking thing, and it hit their campsite about four o'clock in the morning, and it started growling and eating their food, which was tied up to keep the bears out. But this was no bear. This thing figured out how to untie the food and started tearing everything down, and that's when we ran back to our cars in total darkness. Now Patrick was convinced that this was just another prank, but the two friends seemed to be terrified, and they didn't even want to return to the campsite to get their stuff. And then Patrick noticed that the two friends were all cut up and bleeding. What the hell? The two friends had to run back in the middle of the night to their cars, and they ran through many low-hanging limbs and brush and got all cut up. Well, if this was a prank, they sure went all out for it, even to the point of getting hurt. Patrick really started believing them when they wanted to stop at the local sheriff's office to report the incident. My gosh, who would do that? This must not be a prank. This must have really happened. Now, Patrick and his mom finally returned home, and several months have passed, and Patrick is now a Bigfoot believer. He's not too eager to go camping anytime soon, but he does keep in touch with his cousins, who have also stopped going camping. And as far as I know, his friend's camping gear is still scattered all over the wooded hillside in Oregon. So if you plan to go camping in Eugene, Oregon, and you stumble into a scattered campsite, run.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

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