November 22, 2018
Source: Mysterious Universe | By Nick Redfern
Stan Gordon is one of the United States’ leading researchers of the stranger sides of the Bigfoot phenomenon. And they don’t come much stranger than a case that Gordon investigated, in late 1973, in his home state of Pennsylvania. It’s important to note that the case in question was one of dozens that Gordon received from 1972 to 1974, which, collectively, suggested the presence of unknown, hairy, man-beasts all across Pennsylvania. Many of the cases that Gordon investigated, however, were dominated by phenomena that, for many Bigfoot investigators, fell far outside what one could call the norm – including a certain event that occurred at Fayette County, in October 1973.
It was the dark night of October 25 when all hell broke loose in the heart of the county. The primary player in the story was one Steve Palmer who was both amazed and frightened to see a brightly illuminated UFO hovering over local farmland, around 9.00 p.m. But that wasn’t all that Palmer encountered: a pair of immense, ape-like animals with very long and muscular arms surfaced out of the shadows of the dark field and proceeded to walk right towards Palmer, himself. He wasted no time and blasted them with a salvo of bullets.
Very weirdly, the bullets appeared to have no effect – at all – on either creature, and they retreated into the darkness. The UFO did likewise, vanishing in an instant. That was not the end of the affair, however. Approximately four hours later, things took on even stranger, and far more terrifying, proportions.
It was roughly 1.00 a.m. when Stan Gordon arrived on the scene, having been alerted to the Palmer encounter by a local police officer, one who had been apprised of the facts. Along with Gordon were fellow investigators Dennis Smeltzer, Fred Pitt, David Smith, and George Lutz. They met with Palmer, who proceeded to tell them of his unearthly encounter with the two Bigfoot and the UFO. Then, quite out of the blue, something horrifying occurred: Palmer’s breathing changed, to the extent that he was literally panting heavily and deeply, and he broke into a deep, guttural growl and knocked both his own father and Lutz to the field floor. And that was only the start of things.
Pitt found himself unable to breathe properly, Smeltzer felt faint, and Palmer fell to the ground, having apparently passed out. A powerful, rotten odor of brimstone suddenly dominated the cold night air. The terrified group knew that it was vital they get out of the field – and quickly, too – before things got even worse. Later, when Palmer regained consciousness, he told Gordon and his team that he, Palmer, while in his passed out state, had seen before him a sickle-carrying, dark-robed figure that warned him the Human Race was on the verge of destroying itself – and would do exactly that unless it curbed its violent instincts.
Fayette County
Even stranger than that, a couple of weeks later, Palmer was visited at his home by two Air Force officers, one in uniform and the other in plainclothes. It became very clear, and very quickly, that the pair knew all about Palmer’s weird encounter and the later experience. They even confided in him they knew that both UFOs and Sasquatch were genuine. There was a specific reason for the visit: first, they showed Palmer a number of photos of Bigfoot creatures and wanted to know if the beast he encountered resembled them. Second, they asked if Palmer would be willing to be placed into a hypnotic state, to ensure that the military secured all the relevant data. Palmer agreed. And with all the information in hand, the two men got up, thanked Palmer, and left. Despite telling Palmer they would keep him informed of any future developments, they failed to do so. He never saw them again. It was a fitting end to a case steeped in mystery.