East Tennessee has a reputation for strange woods, hidden caves, Bigfoot sightings, Dogman encounters, and unexplained Appalachian legends, but today, we go even deeper. Tony and the Slingshot Nation crew sit down with Ricky to explore bizarre supernatural encounters in the forests of Maryville, Alcoa, Kodak, and the surrounding Tennessee mountains, including a Bigfoot-like creature crawling across a trail on its fingers and toes, possible Dogman activity near the Greenway, eerie cave systems beneath East Tennessee, occult bloodline connections, spiritual warfare, shadow figures, strange knocks on homes, and the chilling idea that something ancient may be moving through the woods after dark. From cryptid sightings to demonic encounters, today we ask one unsettling question: what is really crawling through East Tennessee?

What if the things people have been reporting in the woods for decades just put a woman in the hospital? The Pittsburg County Sheriff has been in law enforcement for 38 years. He says he has never seen injuries like this from a wild animal. DNA is being tested. No identification has been made. She described it as dog-like. Meanwhile, in northeast Ohio last month, eight people reported encounters with a massive bipedal creature in just five days.

The following written confession was submitted via email: . . .Once we got a the more wooded section we could hear something maybe 50 ft away start to mirror our movements through the brush. We stop and it would stop. Both of us got a little freaked out and turned back to go see if one of the others was messing with us, but we found them playing with the fire. After recounting our encounter and enduring the chastising from them, we decided to go back as a group . . .

On this episode of Slingshot Nation, Nick shares an encounter that still doesn’t make sense. It started with a strange light in the sky. Then came missing time. Not long after, something large and bipedal was seen moving through the trees. The sounds weren’t normal. The atmosphere wasn’t normal. And the experience didn’t seem to end that night. Since then, Nick says there have been ongoing synchronicities, strange moments, and a growing feeling that whatever happened may not have been random. Was he simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or was something positioning him there for a reason?

The following written confession was submitted via email: …My wife woke me up and said that she thought something was in our backyard. We both go to the kitchen window that the dog was barking at and when we look out towards the back left corner of our fence we both see this white form clear our 7 foot fence as if it was hopping over a puddle. When I asked my wife if she saw it she said yes. As I looked out in the backyard in a tired confusion I could see two white objects laying in the yard. It was very dark but there was enough ambient moonlight that I could see something….

In this crossover episode, Tony from The Confessionals Podcast joins the crew at Ninjas Are Butterflies for a deep dive into the unknown. The conversation spans government UFO cover-ups, suppressed evidence, and recent disclosure claims that hint at a far bigger mystery. From UFO conspiracies and alien agendas to cryptid legends and terrifying real-life encounters — If you’re drawn to the shadows of the unexplained, you won’t want to miss this one.

Every state in America has its own share of strange legends, mysterious creatures, and stories that blur the line between myth and memory. From swamp beasts in the bayous to ghostly hitchhikers on desolate highways, the U.S. is a patchwork of paranormal lore. And what better state to start with than the one we call home—Tennessee. With its ancient mist-covered mountains, deep lakes, and centuries of layered history, the Volunteer State is teeming with cryptid tales that refuse to die. Below are some of the most legendary monsters said to roam Tennessee’s woods and waters.

The following written confession was submitted via email: …When I was 18 or 19 yrs old I saw something at 1 or 2 am on Skyline Drive in Virginia, just north of the swift run entrance which is on Rt 33. I went up there during that winter night to listen to distant cb traffic in my car. If I'm not mistaken it was January or February of 1991. I had not long returned home from Ft Benning Georgia after completing basic training. I had driven 1 or 2 miles north after entering the drive and did a U turn to pull off at an overlook to listen to my Cb radio…

Tony Merkel uncovers eerie connections between Dogman, ancient burial sites, and the Nephilim—including a chilling 1936 encounter where the creature spoke the word “Gadara.” From AI’s bizarre hallucinations and cryptid connections to the rising number of Dogman sightings near cemeteries, Tony dives deep into the supernatural.

The following written confession was submitted via email: …[Y]ears ago when I was a teenager, a small group of neighborhood boys and I were chased out of a cornfield that butted up against our subdivision. The thing (for lack of a better word) was Jet black and hunched over like an ape or some kind of beast. It was staring at us from about 20-30 feet away and practically motionless…

If you’ve ever found yourself in a cozy cabin on a snowy night, gazing out into the frosty wilderness, you might have wondered what might be lurking just beyond the trees. Maybe a bear, maybe an Abominable Snowman, or maybe the Winter Werewolf, a beast both feared and revered in wintry folklore!

The following written confession was submitted via email: To put in perspective I’m from northwestern pa this happens yrs ago the first story I was with my grandmother who is this 4’11 full blooded sioux she always cranky and she’ll smack a smile off a grizzly well one night we were sitting at the table eating dinner mind you she liked her whiskey could drink everclear straight kind of women so as we’re sitting at the table we start hearing this weird like grunting sounds coming from the outside like a mixture of a dog an a pig…

The following written confession was shared via email: …I was drawn to and at the edge of the woods at this point when all of a sudden heard a low grumbling growl in the darkness. It was so dark and our phone flashlights wouldn't reach too far. I felt instant fear and an urgency to leave but I needed to know I had actually heard something so I walked away slowly back towards the group. But as I took just a couple steps away from the wood line I heard it again…

The following written confession was submitted via email: …Shortly after passing Oakley North houses and getting to where the woods were on both sides, I began hearing something large in the woods, walking as I would walk, and if I'd stop it would stop…

Tony Merkel sits down with Larry Ragland on The Big Picture to dive into the mysterious world of the paranormal and supernatural. They tackle questions that have intrigued high strangeness believers for generations, from werewolves and Bigfoot, to open portals and Skinwalker Ranch, to extraterrestrial beings and more.