Johnson Co. Paintsville, Ky - Dec. 22, 1978

On Lewis Fork of Big Sandy River

A report by Shirley Elkins, shortly before Christmas, 1978:

"We had a major flood here; and every one was told to leave town; because they said the dam might burst. I ran up to some family's house that had married a kin person. They kept the radio on all night and gave me the bed next to a wide window. I could see a graveyard nearby; and some dogs began to go nuts. Barking; then with a yelp; they all ran off. I looked out the window; and all I could see was fur against the window; and it felt like hands against the house; shaking the house. Then I saw quite a scary sight. A human looking creature; as it walked away from the window making grunting sounds. It walked upon the graveyard; and shook a tree; tore up bushes; and disappeared on down the hill. When I told the family; they said; they hadn't seen anything; but some nights they heard scratching on the side of the house; and their cats and dogs acted scared; and they had found the garden tore up one summer; and trees shredded. They are dead now; and I don't know who lives there; and if the same thing is still happening." Ms.Elkins also sent a letter to researcher, Bill Green of The New England Bigfoot Information Center, who forwarded it to the IBS, concerning an event that took place in the same town way back in April of 1944 which involved alleged Bigfoot aggression in the form of a physical assault on a patient at a hospital where she was working as a nurse on the night shift.

" I was on night shift at the hospital in my home town; April of 1944; and that rainy night a man was in the waiting room to see the doctor. He was all a mess of scratches; and his mother was telling him to just say he fell down; and not anything about being in a fight with a tall man-like hairy thing. They kept him overnight at the hospital; and later that night someone phones us about an accident caused by a tall hairy creature that was in the road. A year passed; and I went to work at a restaurant and there was this man I'd seen at the hospital; he was the owners son (his mother); and became my husband June 7; 1945. He told me what happened that rainy night in April; near dusk; and it had been dark and rainy all day. Ellis had gone fishing; and had caught a pile of catfish for the restaurant. He was out back cleaning them on a table lit by a 25 watt bulb; when up from the river bank came what looked like a man; only he was with dark hair; long and shaggy all over. It growled at him; pushed him; and made a grab for the fish. He thought it was a young teen dressed in a costume; and was going to pull the suit off. Then he said I grabbed a bottle and hit him; and he landed in the rain barrel; that was kept outside for quick clean up. The creature jumped out; growled again; and shook him; then hurled him to the ground; and ran off with the fish. And mom didn't believe it; she thought the staff at the hospital would send for a shrink if I told this to them. It had small; aqua color eyes-like a cat; heavy scattered eye brows; looked like a young teen; only was very bushy in hair of a shiny slate color; and he wasn't over 6 feet tall; slim; long body; legs short; had large long feet; long claw-like nails; like overgrown human ones. It's tail bushed when it saw the fish! Looked like it smiled; but still growled; had sharp long pointed teeth. It left five toed tracks in the mud; that had the impression of claws. He drank beer every day; so the few that knew of the event; thought he was nuts or drunk; so his mother never wanted him to tell this to anyone."

(credit: IBS, Bill Green)