I thought she was honest, and loyal, and trustworthy. It made clicking noises and squeaks you could say. . The settlers called these things Mountain Apes, Hairy Men, or just Devils, the Natives called them the Nantiinaq, but whatever one called them, all of the strangeness and death spurred on a mass exodus from the area towards the end of the 1940s, and by 1951 the town was completely abandoned, leaving all of the buildings, equipment, and cannery behind. Dont Miss the Frankenmuth Snowfest This Year, Youll Never Guess Where the Ice Cream Capital of the World Is, Everything You Need to Know About Neahkahnie Viewpoint, Sip Sophistication at the Best Wineries in Colorado, The Creepiest Abandoned Places in Colorado, The Best Hot Springs in Alaska to Warm Your Bones, Feast Your Eyes on These Unique New Mexico Mountains, Everything You Need to Know Before Visiting Killpecker Sand Dunes, The History of the Haunted Captain Grants Inn, Well Never Know Why the Bells Mansion Was Abandoned, Add Brandywine River Tubing to Your Bucket List, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Then the sightings began! Publications. However, by the 1940s, there were rumors of disappearances and murders and the discovery of giant footprints, and sightings of a hairy, Bigfoot-like creature the locals called Nantiinaq. The area around the footprints was torn up with tree branches destroyed and blood found at the scene. There's probably at least a half dozen already. Tell us about it in the comments below! #1Portlock, AlaskaSettlementUpdated: 2020-02-29Portlock is a ghost town in the USA state of Alaska, located on the southern edge of the Kenai Peninsula, around 16 mi south of Seldovia. The stories of what attacked the small salmon-canning settlement mostly revolve around a large and hairy beast that haunted the dark spaces beyond the treeline at the edge of the village. Juneau Radio Center - Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce - Congressional Candidate Forum 2022, The Mandy Massey Real Estate and Home Show brokered by EXP Realty, Extreme Expeditions Northwest LLC on YouTube. Set up night vision cameras, drones and any other variety of modern technology that is now available to the average person and becomes more affordable each year. Your email address will not be published. Portlock first appeared on the 1940 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village of 31 residents. His group plans frequent hikes in the area to places that have some sort of story to tell or just to see the natural beauty of the state. Although some people will forever dispute the events at Port Lock and Port Chatham as wives tales something threatening definitely happened and was never solved. Fear took root in the population at the loss of so many lives, and people started to leave the village. 1944 and 1945, the Japanese launched more than 9,000 bomb-rigged balloons across the Pacific . Decoding the Unknown 205K subscribers Subscribe 14K 413K views 9 months ago. Get more stories delivered right to your email. Mountains, forests, and wilderness stretch for endless miles, the scene of many stories happening here. "Maybe they were seeing an extremely large bear in the area. Birth Data. It was an unexplored, beautiful area, filled with fish and plenty of space. Those items were then scanned at a high resolution and shared with the public. For the locals that grew up in the area, this thing has apparently existed for hundreds of years. Sign up for our newsletter and get notified of the best travel destinations for your next trip. Thank you! 9h. The story is that they moved, due to being scared by sasquatch. It was first inhabited in 1787 by the British Royal Navy, but wouldn't become more permanent until the early twentieth century. At first, the settlement thrived. The villagers would hear something and then she would disappear back into the cliff face.". They called them murders, but they also included people that just went lost in those reports. Feels like a perfect followup to my story, ECHOES, and I've always been meaning to write something along these lines. ASL-PCA-66 | Alaska State Library - Historical Collections, UAF-1991-18-155 | Arnold Granville photographs | Alaska Digital Archives, ASL-P237-1-18 | Carl L. Hubbs Photograph Collection, 1939, ASL-PCA-237-1 | Alaska State Library - Historical Collections, UAF-1991-18-153 | Arnold Granville photographs | Alaska Digital Archives, ASL-P237-1-17 | Carl L. Hubbs Photograph Collection, 1939, ASL-PCA-237-1 | Alaska State Library - Historical Collections, Head To This Eerie Island For A Real Life Adventure In Alaska. They described her dress as being so long that she would have to drag it. Were you bothered by something? my thoughts on why physical evidence of their existence will never be discovered is because they are not of flesh and blood as we know it. What was this creature? The loss of these lives took a toll on the small community and fear set in. Whatever lived in the woods above Portlock, and whatever had killed all the people, it had won. The first of the strange occurrences started in 1905, when people from the village were harassed by a large animal, which bothered their camps in the night. The work continued in the next season and the cannery workers came back, but the issue remained and whatever was out there returned as well. At that same time, the villagers talked about seeing a spirit of a woman dressed in black clothes that would come out on the cliffs above town. Peterson, Alaska "The Strangest Story Ever Told" by Virginia Colp 1900 to 1925 . On the southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, youll find Portlock, Alaska, a whole town that disappeared within the state, with only a few rotting houses left of the once-vibrant village. Whether the town was passed over for railroad service, by the construction of a major highway that made it too inconvenient to travel to that village, or a mining encampment whose ore ran out and depleted the local economy, ghost towns are all that remains. He ran back to get his gun and when he returned, the beast just stared at him and walked off. Alaska is Sasquatch land - or Nantinaq, as Bigfoot is locally known around Portlock. Some examples are a man who claimed to have been chased by a Bigfoot in the area in 1968, and another is a case in which three hunters said their camp had been circled by a menacing large creature for three nights straight. Maybe you're seeing it from a strange angle or it's too close to trees so you can't see its whole shape.". It was on Port Chatham Bay, 16 miles south of Seldovia, near the chromium mining settlement of Chrome. Some said when anyone cornered him, he could become violent, changing into an animal. A few old cabins, some cannery equipment, and a little graffiti are all that remain of Portlock. The Maxim machinegun played an important role in the swift European colonization of Africa in the late 19th century. Stories of mutilated bodies, missing hunters and strange . It was dissolved as a CDP by the 1990 census and has not reported again. This incident was scary enough to traumatize the entire village. [4] In 1921, a United States Post Office opened in the town. It premiered December 7, 2021. 10 Ghostly Idaho Ghost Towns You Need to See. The ghost town of Portlock, Alaska has a mysterious story. At this time, many of the workers at the cannery suddenly stopped coming to work and refused to come back, but this wasnt due to poor pay or working conditions, but rather because the men were deeply spooked. With unexplained disappearances and murders, no one felt they could take a chance and continue to live here. Read on to learn more about the terrifying history of Portlock and the Portlock, Alaska murders. After this, things began to get rather sinister. He came back to us with a collection of research on strange happenings in the town of Portlock that is south of Homer. They called them murders, but they also included people that just went lost in those reports. Juneau, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska Legislature convenes for a new session Tuesday with a bipartisan coalition controlling the Senate for the first time in over a decade, a divided House struggling to organize for the third straight term and a newly reelected Republican governor who said hes interested in working with lawmakers and problem solving.. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Yet this place was also at some time forsaken, the inhabitants held under siege by strange forces they could not understand and could not cope with, leading to strange phenomena, mysterious deaths, vanishings, and a mass abandonment and unsolved mystery discussed to this day. Alaska is full of stunning vistas, beautiful animals, and ghost towns. The people running the cannery basically begged their workers to come back and they set up armed guards for a short period of time, trying to get their workers back in town.". Yes! We're going to look at Portlock Alaska and after that maybe take a look at other haunted and creepy ghost towns! ", "When the 1930s incidents started to happen most of the Russian Aleuts actually moved out of town for a year. With these sightings, unease began to ramp up in the town. This could not be some bear or else they would have identified it as such. The Big Foot t.v show should come to Togiak Alaska 99678. At that same time, the villagers talked about seeing a spirit of a woman dressed in black clothes that would come out on the cliffs above town. Isn't this the place to be if you want to settle the question whether Bigfoot exists or not--Portlock, Alaska. Regardless of his skepticism, there is something uncanny about several groups of people being fearful of this monster. Fortunately, they didnt do that, but I wouldnt be surprised if its coming in Episode 2. Bigfoot is almost always reclusive and shy, avoiding human contact at all costs. About Data and Statistics. Im looking forward to watching the next. I think there might be a mix up. It appears that this species of Sasquatch is unpredictable and can be deadly whenever encountered. One group hunting a moose reported finding giant footprints also stalking the same animal. [6][7], Most of the people who fled Portlock in the 1940s moved to the nearby Native Alaskan villages of Nanwalek and Port Graham. They're right to be scared Where are the Bigfoot researchers? It would not report again on the census until 1980, when it was made a census-designated place (CDP), again reporting 31 residents. This was where the terrifying tales seemed to align with the untimely deaths of those citizens now lived in Portlock and Port Chatham. ANCHORAGE, ALASKA A nearly yearlong search for a missing Alaska family has come to a grim end with the discovery of four bodies, a dead dog and a handgun just off a trail in a rural area near. To this day, Alaskans steer clear of Portlock and Port Chatham. There are somethings in this world we just cant explain. A person driving down a west Kenai trail spotted clothing and what appeared to be human remains Saturday, police said in a statement. Hopefully Season 3 of Expedition Bigfoot will be out soon. I will have to go through his book again specifically looking for this. She had a very white face and would scream and moan. Not yet. Juneau, AK (KINY) - For Halloween, we decided to reach out to a local historian and adventurer to see if there were any unsolved mysteries in Alaska that would fit the spooky mood of the holiday. By 1951, the only local left was the postmaster, and when he closed the post office, he also moved. It was a true frontier of America and only the hardiest would survive. He has written for 8 years in a variety of fields including history, health and politics. - YouTube 0:00 / 42:45 What Really Happened in Portlock, Alaska? Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - With five different opinions issued by three different Solicitors of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior over the past several years, confusion exists over whether the 51-year-old Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) extinguished the federal governments ability to take lands into trust in Alaska. The workers were eventually convinced to come back the following season, but this was not the end of the towns problems. If zoos can capture gorillas why cant a team tranquilize this creature for study and hunters have guns why didnt the kill or wound this creature that attacked them, Scattered across the North American continent are many ghost towns, places that were once vibrant and alive but are now long dead and abandoned. On one occasion a local man named Tom Larsen claimed to have seen one on the beach methodically tearing apart fish wheels, but said that when he had tried to shoot it with his rifle he had felt oddly compelled to not fire. Ten years later, a piece of logging equipment hit a logger in the head, even though it would have taken more than one person to lift it. Are there a lot of haunted areas in Alaska? 8. Salmon was plentiful in the bay and a cannery operation was established, attracting seasonal workers and bringing in money. 18 Older Alaska Reports. The cannery plant posted armed guards to attempt to keep the cannery open, but it was no use. Find Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok profiles, images and more on IDCrawl - free people search website. The disappearances and the bodies found were too horrible for anyone to continue living in this small town. But the stories about Portlock, Alaska, are unlike any other, with characters from a horror movie. It is definitely highly dramatized, but I do think there is some reality mixed in. Anchorage has had 25 homicides this year and nine deaths remain unsolved; Police issue advisory this week urging residents to be 'extra aware' Brian Weed is the co-founder of a group called Juneau's Hidden History that primarily keeps track of things through their Facebook page. Hey Mike, wow this is certainly a fascinating tale. Portlock- Chatham Bay was also the site of a Territorial Boarding School for children from the surrounding smaller fish-camps, mines and villages. By 1950, every single resident had left the town, leaving it abandoned. BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES ROBERT PAUL PROPERTIES $6,950,000 11 bds13 ba6,346 sqft - House for sale 71 days on Zillow 95 Depot Road UNIT 17, Chatham, MA 02633 JOHN C RICOTTA & ASSOC. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. Bipin Dimri is a writer from India with an educational background in Management Studies. It is strange & extremely rare, though, to hear of violent or murderous bigfoots. You can even take a road trip to discover the most haunted places in Alaska. Today these two ghost towns located on the Kenai Peninsula remain uninhabited. And then came stories about hauntings in Chatham Bay and the mine in Chrome. Looking for Richard Boutte online? @Rivals. "That we can establish as the facts. A mine tunnel, house pilings, and rusted cannery equipment are all that remain of Portlock. Weed considered himself a skeptic and explained what the Nantiinaq could have been mistaken for. Return to the boat and watch if worried about safety. I would NOT spend the night onshore, only overnighting in the boat, well offshore. Once upon a time, Portlock, Alaska was a vibrant, lively town with a thriving community and a bright future ahead of it. By the 1920s, Portlock was booming, yet while the town thrived for some years, in the background it seems that there were dark and mysterious forces lurking in the periphery. In the 1920s and 30s there were several mysterious deaths in the area that seemed to have been caused by something very large and powerful. Now, an expedition returns to the abandoned fishing village to reclaim the land and its resources from the terrifying beast locals call Nantinaq.. Remnants of what once was can often still be found; old schools, churches or other buildings, usually in a ramshackle state of decay, stand, albeit perilously, serving as the only reminder that a community once thrived on the spot. Bigfoot, Vanishings, Strange Deaths, And The Cursed Abandoned Town of Alaska Even before Portlock had even existed there had long been sinister stories told by the Natives of the area. It all began almost from its very start. Sources say the primary cast of the Last Alaskans made as much as $3,000 for every episode they appeared in. Middle Name. In one engagement, 50 soldiers fought off 5,000 warriors with just four Maxim guns. Nobody lives in Portlock now. The village, established by Royal British Navy captain Nathanial Portlock in 1787, was in an unexplored and wild part of the country. [3] It is thought to have been named after Captain Nathaniel Portlock,[1] a British ship captain who sailed there in 1786. The Inuit tribesmen had their own name for the unseen killers who waited for the unwise to venture beyond the safety of their communities. FBI officials Sunday were traveling to Kenai. From the turn of the century in 1900 through the World War II for years a strange succession of disappearances, horrific murders, and sightings haunted the people of Port Chatham and Portlock that eventually intimidated the people into a complete voluntary evacuation leaving equipment, housing, offices, and personal belongings to rot in the elements because something terrible had gone on way too long! Wait for it.a killer bigfoot!! This Nantiinaq creature wasnt your usual Sasquatch, but more of a shapeshifter, keeping away from people. All rights reserved. First Name. I dont personally care about the entertainment value of the show, just hope that if things actually start happening there that theyll actually convey it to us. Nobody lives in Portlock now. The victim, John Mire (some reports say McQuire), or "The Dutchman" as he was called by the local Native Americans, was killed by an assailant thought to be "the bushman." The wind chill is 31. Now, an expedition returns to the abandoned fishing village to reclaim the land and its resources from the terrifying beast locals call Nantinaq. Also while I would love an opportunity to see one, would prolly be better to errect a structure in portlock and place tree cams on booies, or on one of the still standing structures in the waters surrounding the beach there. If the bear is standing up say in the 10 to 12-foot range, it may be the biggest bear you've ever seen and so you're brain may not put together that that's a bear. It looked more like someone picked it up and bonked him over the head.". He's written articles for MU and Daily Grail and has been a guest on Coast to Coast AM and Binnal of America. Do we think something touched it at the time? Local historian Brian Weed has said of this: When the 1930s incidents started to happen most of the Russian Aleuts actually moved out of town for a year. Mostly because there are no other major Bigfoot-related series out there right now, Ill give it another shot, but Im highly skeptical of this one. We know when the town and post office shut down. Biology, nature, and cryptozoology still remain Brent Swancers first intellectual loves. Get info on Andrew T Portlock - Sacramento, California - (916) 666-8831. Already planning an outline for a fictional version, which would condense most accounts into one long autumn/winter timeline. The people of Portlock knew what a bear looks like and this was no bear. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. So, what can be said for sure about the attacks? He would answer back. Juneau, Alaska (KINY) - It was the first time the Music Summit was held in Juneau. Number of. 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