Ok, so I am a closet Bigfoot enthusiast. I truly do believe in them. I finished this book in a day. It was very good. However, I can't buy into all of the things that "Mike" has put in front of us. I know that believing is based solely on the trust of what people say is true, but it seemed like the story kept getting more and more unreal.
In the beginning of the book, I had a hard time believing that Mike's photos were stolen (just after making contact with Autumn). And then the fact that a friend of his had stolen all of his persoanl information out of a notebook in his car (social security number, and usernames and passwords for his emails). Who does that? Mike seems like a pretty intelligent and untrustworthy guy. Are we really supposed to believe that he had to write down his social security number and username and password because he would forget?
Even with that, I was still willing to look past it and see what the rest of the story brought. Reading a lot of the early encounters, I definitely didn't question the validity of it. They were different from other encounters that I have heard about, but it seemed like it could have possibly happened. However, later in the book, Mike goes back to the swamp to try and get a picture of Bigfoot using trail cams and a handheld camera. But, before doing this, he asks Autumn how he should go about getting a camera. Didn't he say he possessed pictures earlier before they were stolen from him? And that the quality was ok, even though they were taken with a disposable camera. And that the girl who developed them at Wal-Mart commented on how great the costume was of the man wearing the monkey suit. Why would he do something different if the way he initially got them worked fine before? Also, during this time, he said that he felt uneasy, that something was wrong. He was feeling waves of sadness and such. Then after taking down the cameras, he attributed the feelings that he was feeling were actually the feelings of Enoch. Come on, really? We are supposed to believe that you have a connection with Enoch that Elliot had with ET?
Another thing that had me second guessing the story was when talks about going to the "Skunk Ape Convention". He previously stated that trying to follow a Skunk Ape (Bigfoot) is close to impossible because their walking speed is his running speed. Well, at one point, he does follow Enoch miles and miles into the swamp. With a ton of his camping equipment may I add. I don't know how you keep pace with a bigfoot through chest high, alligator and snake infested swamp, weighed down with all of your gear. Later, he says he went back, but used a small boat to get through the deep water.
Mike says he doesn't want to do anything that would expose Enoch or himself or where they are. But, with him talking about all of the footprints he comes across, what would casting a print hurt? That would in no way expose anything. He also shows that there are people in the area fishing, swimming and hunting. If you run into people that frequently, how have they never happened upon your campsite? How isolated are you actually?
I hate to second guess this guy, but there were too many things that just seemed way out of reach. I do agree with him on his opinion of Bigfoot Researchers being a bunch of arrogant, stupid tree knockers (Matt Moneymaker immediately comes to my mind). I do also believe that he has had encounters. I think that he is on to something with the way that he is trying to entice them with food. And being repetetive in where he does this. But, I also believe that Mike suffers from some mental illness, such as depression and post traumatic stress disorder. I think he is a lonely, lonely guy who wanted a friend and found one in Autumn. Autumn almost comes off as being a little too gullible in her book. Mike says he chose to tell his story to Autumn because she "gets it". But, she was the same Autumn Williams that was running through the woods in Mysterious Encounters. I think Mike just saw a pretty girl who was into Bigfoot and developed a whopper of a story to get in touch with her. Maybe that is a little harsh, but what can I say? A book with a fancy cover is not proof. People lie. I am not calling Mike a complete liar, but the fact of the matter in this world is that people LIE. It is in our everyday life, and to trust everyone based solely on what they sy is neither healthy or smart.
Good "story", but that is all I can call it. I hope that I am wrong in some of these assumptions Mike and Autumn, but without actual proof, you both have concocted a fairy tale.
In the beginning of the book, I had a hard time believing that Mike's photos were stolen (just after making contact with Autumn). And then the fact that a friend of his had stolen all of his persoanl information out of a notebook in his car (social security number, and usernames and passwords for his emails). Who does that? Mike seems like a pretty intelligent and untrustworthy guy. Are we really supposed to believe that he had to write down his social security number and username and password because he would forget?
Even with that, I was still willing to look past it and see what the rest of the story brought. Reading a lot of the early encounters, I definitely didn't question the validity of it. They were different from other encounters that I have heard about, but it seemed like it could have possibly happened. However, later in the book, Mike goes back to the swamp to try and get a picture of Bigfoot using trail cams and a handheld camera. But, before doing this, he asks Autumn how he should go about getting a camera. Didn't he say he possessed pictures earlier before they were stolen from him? And that the quality was ok, even though they were taken with a disposable camera. And that the girl who developed them at Wal-Mart commented on how great the costume was of the man wearing the monkey suit. Why would he do something different if the way he initially got them worked fine before? Also, during this time, he said that he felt uneasy, that something was wrong. He was feeling waves of sadness and such. Then after taking down the cameras, he attributed the feelings that he was feeling were actually the feelings of Enoch. Come on, really? We are supposed to believe that you have a connection with Enoch that Elliot had with ET?
Another thing that had me second guessing the story was when talks about going to the "Skunk Ape Convention". He previously stated that trying to follow a Skunk Ape (Bigfoot) is close to impossible because their walking speed is his running speed. Well, at one point, he does follow Enoch miles and miles into the swamp. With a ton of his camping equipment may I add. I don't know how you keep pace with a bigfoot through chest high, alligator and snake infested swamp, weighed down with all of your gear. Later, he says he went back, but used a small boat to get through the deep water.
Mike says he doesn't want to do anything that would expose Enoch or himself or where they are. But, with him talking about all of the footprints he comes across, what would casting a print hurt? That would in no way expose anything. He also shows that there are people in the area fishing, swimming and hunting. If you run into people that frequently, how have they never happened upon your campsite? How isolated are you actually?
I hate to second guess this guy, but there were too many things that just seemed way out of reach. I do agree with him on his opinion of Bigfoot Researchers being a bunch of arrogant, stupid tree knockers (Matt Moneymaker immediately comes to my mind). I do also believe that he has had encounters. I think that he is on to something with the way that he is trying to entice them with food. And being repetetive in where he does this. But, I also believe that Mike suffers from some mental illness, such as depression and post traumatic stress disorder. I think he is a lonely, lonely guy who wanted a friend and found one in Autumn. Autumn almost comes off as being a little too gullible in her book. Mike says he chose to tell his story to Autumn because she "gets it". But, she was the same Autumn Williams that was running through the woods in Mysterious Encounters. I think Mike just saw a pretty girl who was into Bigfoot and developed a whopper of a story to get in touch with her. Maybe that is a little harsh, but what can I say? A book with a fancy cover is not proof. People lie. I am not calling Mike a complete liar, but the fact of the matter in this world is that people LIE. It is in our everyday life, and to trust everyone based solely on what they sy is neither healthy or smart.
Good "story", but that is all I can call it. I hope that I am wrong in some of these assumptions Mike and Autumn, but without actual proof, you both have concocted a fairy tale.
