 |
| Craig Powell interview conducted by Leon Drew |
This
post by TCC Team member Leon Drew. Leon gallops the plains and rides
tall in the saddle while in the mountains of the great state of
Colorado. He is a Army Vet, History Buff, Telecom Engineer, Paranormal
investigator and Bigfoot Researcher.On November 15, 2014 I met Australian Paranormal and Yowie investigator, Craig Powell from WSPR. Below is the transcript from that interview. It was a pleasure to meet Craig and to exchange information and views on our hairy friends and spirit interactions.
LD: I’m here with Craig Powell from WSPR Paranormal Australia, nice to meet you. So what brought you to Colorado?
CP: Nice to meet you to mate, great to be in town, Cripple Creek is awesome. Initially it was equipment training with Bill Chappell with Ghost Adventures. I had heard stories about Cripple Creek being a very Haunted town that’s what basically brought me here. Will be in town for a week or so.
LD: Well pleasure to meet to meet you. You talked to Michelle Rozell from Outlaw and Lawmen Jail Museum here in Cripple Creek. So how long have you been doing Paranormal and Crypto stuff?
CP: I have been researching Paranormal since I was 16 so 20 years are or so. But have been researching the nitty gritty with my own group for 5-6 years. The Crypto side kind of fell into it through Ufology and friends. Also the Cryptozoology side. A friend of my said would you like to go look for the Yowie, The Australian Big Foot, I said “yeah I’m really interested. “ I have always seen and read things about it. But never had any experiences, so I went out with him lets just say it was a life changing experience and been in the crypto side ever since.
LD: Now with the Yowie research whats the most interesting thing you’ve encountered?
CP: My dealings with the Yowie having boulders thrown at me in the middle of the night threw bush and very accurately landing around by my feet. And I was thinking at the time if this thing wanted to hit it was going to nail me between the eyes. Because these boulders were landing around me. Also have seen big boulders come up a 40’ ravine and and land by our feet as well.
Going along with that we get the same things as you guys, we get wood knocks, we get broken branches on the trees, we even believe we stumbled across nests as well in the bush. One of the things I have found every time I had an encounter with a yowie is a chirping sound. That follows an event. A recent one with the group and I were on happen to stumble into it, we were filming for a series we were doing. We were out looking for hauntings and we ended up in the middle of bush land in Easter Victoria. Long way from were I live unbenounced to us it was a yowie hotspot. And we were hearing whoops and call throughout the night and we were focused on one thing and the crypto side to come out for us was quiet an experience for us. It felt like we were being surrounded.
LD: Have you ever seen anything like eye shine.
CP: I have seen eye shine but I can’t be 100% sure it was from a Yowie. But I have seen eyeshine. Also I have smelled that really wet dog fur type smell on several occasions. And we actually sent audio to a biologist in Queensland of some whooping sounds we heard in the bush. He actually said “Craig you shouldn’t be hearing this sounds in the Australian bush because I can’t figure out what it is. I’m really interested in to know as well what animal as making that noise.
LD: Did he identify it as some kind of primate?
CP: Yeah he said it sounded very primate like.
LD: Now these chirps you were hear now in Australia you have lots of exotic animals well from your point of view. Did it sound like a bird?
CP: You know what it sounded like an electronic bird. If that makes sense. It was a very metallic sounding chirping sound. Now the first couple of time I heard it I did dismiss it as a bird. As we were hearing growling noises and have things thrown at us.
When we went to North Eastern Victoria, a place I had never been to before, thousands of miles away from where I do my normal research we had an experiences and heard the same sound. Now there are lots of birds around but as soon as the sun goes down they go quiet. So something would happen I was hearing the same sound from where I thousands of miles away in New South Wales. So I have spoken lots of Yowie researchers in Australia and they say they have not uncounted that. Just seems every time I'm having a experience with a Hairy man, Big foot, Yowie I’m hearing this sound it intrigued me as to what it is.
LD: Now description wise, how would you describe them? Color, size, weight.
CP: From reports I have read and artist drawings I have seen very, very much like your Big Foot.
LD: What do you think the differences are?
CP: Height wise, looking the same. Weight wise think we are looking the same. The Aboriginal People think it is a spiritual creature. There have been cave drawings date back 50,000 years of the Yowies, of the Aboriginals drawing these things. But like I said every description I seen or read looks exactly like a Big Foot.
LD: I have read couple of different stories that they seem more aggressive than Big Foot.
CP: I have only read about one attack on a Yowie researcher in Australia. Other than that we a called the Pilyart kind of like the outback in New South Wales it is one of the biggest national forest in the country. There are reports of then there being quiet aggressive. There are reports or truck drivers that won’t stop there at night along the Newell Highway, even to this day they won’t stop there. That is the area I had the boulders thrown at me during the night. But look wise, very much like your Big Foot.
LD: We talked about seeing tree breaks over there. How far off the ground are they, and what do you think they mean?
CP: That’s a really good question. Height wise I have seen then from all different levels some just a bit over my head so six and a half, seven foot. And when do see the tree breaks I wouldn’t say a pattern, but a distinct purpose to them. It’s kind of like you can’t try to follow the tree breaks. Other than than not much I can tell you. Not 100% sure it is a Yowie but for me I have seen them from knee level all the way to 6-7’.
LD: Have you seen any stick structures like we have had reports around here for Big Foot?
CP: I haven’t but we have stumbled across what we think are “Nests” lots of foliage and leaves all bundled up in an area.
LD: What we have seen, is them imitating Native teepees and making “X” in trees. And have had this on my own area with Aspen trees.
CP: No none myself.
LD: Ok, on the paranormal side weirdest encounter you have had?
CP: I wouldn’t know where to start (Laugh).
LD: What is the one you tell as a story most often?
CP: Look for the paranormal, my guys will tell you my thing is physical contact. If somebody is going to be pushed or punched or scratched or kicked or marked in any form it is generally always me! So there have been occasions where we were in an jail in New South Wales called Maitland Jail. We were in a cell where a man was know to hang himself, George Sifits. And I remember sitting in the doorway one night asking George if he was still there to show me how he died. The next minute my neck started to burn and I had what appeared to be a giant rope mark. All the way around from one ear to the other ear. We actually posted that on the Internet and the guys from the television series “My Ghost Story” actually saw it. Said that look pretty spectacular they flew down and we did an episode with them. They sent a crew down to do some “B” roll footage out at the jail and what they wanted to do is reenact what actually happened to me. As they are filming the reenactment as sat in the door way and ask for George. “George can you show how you died”, as the camera is rolling this big red rope mark appeared around my neck!
LD: They cataloged it? That is cool!!
CP: Yeah so it actually happened right in front of them! It has to be one of the weirdest ones!
LD: They defiantly pegs the weird-o-meter!
CP: If there is going to be physical contact I’m going to get it! I have seen things, felt things.
For me and my crew and I it not about capturing evidence anymore. We don’t know how much more evidence that we need for proving the paranormal, the super natural, life after death whatever you want to call it. Now it’s more about figuring out why it happens. Why is it we see it and others don’t see it. What happens? Is it life after death is it multidimensional, what is it that is more along the lines why we research now. It not about finding evidence for us we got the evidence we need. It is now trying to figure out how it all works.
LD: Have you gotten into, for a lack of a better term “helped “the spirits pass over. Have you gotten into that at all?
CP: It is not our specialty. A lot of the work when we first started was private cases. It was we were trying to help people answer the questions they had. “I’m seeing things: “I’m hearing stuff” “Can you try and help us figure out what it is?” That is more or less how we got started. Trying to figure out what they were seeing and hearing. If it was super natural we would refer them to people that could help them. As far has helping spirits pass over or move on it not something we specialize in. Look Leon in all seriousness, who am I to move something on, who am I? Maybe it is the purpose to be there is something to while they are still there. I can point them in the right direction to some one who can help them.
LD: Well its been great for you to take a few minutes to talk to me and been great to meet you. I appreciate the time. Its been great to meet another investigator from halfway around the world.
CP: Well, we will have to get you Down Under to look for the Yowie!
LD: I would love to will take you up on that someday!
CP: Also if anyone is interested there is a place in New South Wales called the Blue Mountains. It is very much like what we have been talking about here in Colorado, lots of huanting, Yowies, big cats and other stuff. It is also a hot spot for UFO’s kind of like our “Area 51”. If anyone is interested in paranormal stuff in Australia, check out the Blue Mountains!
LD: Well it has been a pleasure to meet you! Thanks have a great stay!
CP: you too!
Altogether, Craig and I spent 3 hours talking and finding out the world is small and we have so much in common! I plan on taking him up on the invite, and hit the Blue Mountains Down under! Craig was having a little trouble with the elevation and the snow while he was here. It was 25 degrees this day and sunny but we had snow moving in! It was an amazing conversation and experience networking around the world!
Craig also found he liked my jeep a lot, I told him steering wheel was on the wrong side for him! Check out the Jail Museum and Craig’s Facebook pages.
Outlaws and Lawmen Jail Museum - Click Here!
WSPR - Click Here!
Signing off for now,
Leon Drew
“The Crypto Tracker”
Posts
