In the first half, cryptid and paranormal investigator Tex Wesson shared details of his investigations and personal encounters. He had a chilling encounter with a Dog Man at the age of 16 in North Central Texas, and subsquently his interest in cryptids was reignited after discovering online communities sharing similar experiences, leading him to connect with others in the field. During a Bigfoot expedition in Oklahoma, he saw another Dog Man-- a 7-7.5 foot-tall creature, standing on two legs in a wheat field. He characterized the creature as resembling a werewolf as depicted in Hollywood movies, with a "barrel-chested" build and covered in thin, stringy hair. Dog Man often appears to be aggressive and scary and there was even a notorious case in Kentucky where a family was allegedly attacked, Wesson reported.
Regarding the nature of Dog Man, he commented, "I had no doubt it was physical. Why would it have to jump over a fence and hide in the grass...if it was spiritual and paranormal?" Contrasted with Dog Man, Bigfoot appear to be less menacing, and may be wary of humans, though the juveniles are perhaps more curious, Wesson suggested. He has collected handprints and fingerprints that were left on their vehicles or equipment during their Bigfoot investigations, and the experts who looked at them could not identify them other than to say so they weren't human. He also recounted a troubling episode of "missing time" during an investigation, where he and a colleague lost several hours without memory of what transpired. They missed the pathway back to their truck, he explained, and video footage showed that someone else seemed to be controlling their camera during part of the missing time, adding to the mystery.
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Historian at the University of Louvain, Belgium, Kristof Smeyers, has written books on various historical subjects. In the latter half, he spoke about modern cases of stigmata, as well as demonic possession and exorcisms. Demonic possession is the idea that "evil has some kind of a supernatural presence that can take control of a human body" or even inanimate objects, and it transcends religious cultures and dates back centuries, he detailed. Smeyers studied cases from the 19th and 20th centuries for a forthcoming book and said that, in many cases, it involved someone growing up and saying they didn't want to go to church anymore, leading to suspicions of possession. He highlighted how after the movie "The Exorcist" came out, which depicted a particularly terrifying case of possession, "you could notice an increase in cases of people claiming to be possessed."
Stigmata are bodily marks or scars that appear on a person in the same places as the wounds of Jesus Christ during his crucifixion. One of the first known cases dates back to the 13th century with St. Francis of Assisi. "Since then, hundreds have claimed to experience stigmata," but he noted that not all are spiritually righteous, with some inflicting the wounds themselves for personal gain. Smeyers observed that many stigmatics are often young, less educated women who feel overwhelmed by the experience and seek religious counsel. Some believe the blood from the wounds contains special properties, and certain stigmatics bleed on devotional cards, and people collect these as relics. Studying cases among Protestants in Britain and Ireland, he found the phenomenon was not restricted to Catholics. One Protestant woman who had stigmata, saw her bleeding as a symbol of global suffering during World War I; others become prophets or cult leaders, he said.
News segment guests: Charles R. Smith, Sandra Champlain