Long ago, before the Smoky Mountains were scouted by European pioneers, an explorer was traversing the Appalachian mountains. He was mapping out the region, documenting local flora and fauna, as well as noting places for future development. After several days, he came to a particularly rocky section of terrain. With a poor step, he tumbled down the mountainside and broke his leg. With several agonizing cries, the explorer pulled himself into a cave he had spotted near the base of the cliff. To his relief, the cavern appeared to be uninhabited. Hoping for the best, he straightened his leg out, tore his over-shirt into lengthy strips, and tightly wrapped them around a thick stick placed against the broken bone. The man tried to quiet and calm himself but even the brush of wind against his leg elicited a shrill yelp of agony. After much time spent in excruciating pain—and after his adrenaline had depleted—he fell asleep. Through fleeting moments of consciousness, a giant black creature seemed to loom over him, prod his leg, and place a burning, slimy substance on it. The explorer wasn’t sure if it was a hallucination or a real monster.

Unfortunately, the creature that had visited him was a female Yahoo, lured to the cave by his howls. Each day the creature would visit the man and put a gooey, bitter scented substance on his leg and each week would leave a raw deer carcass by his side. The man was too weak to move or resist the creature’s goading hands, flitting feverishly in and out of consciousness; the monster made advances on the man while he was in a delirious state and soon became with child. In horror of the creature and in realization of events that had taken place, he planned to escape—or at least have a quick death. However, he greatly feared the Yahoo and remained still and quiet in its presence. The explorer’s health improved somewhat; though, the meat gave him a stomachache. Soon, he was able to sit up and hobble to and from the cave’s entrance, where he drank from a pool of rainwater. Once the pain mostly subsided, he leaned on a large stick and tried to make his way down the mountainside. With a frightening cry, the Yahoo appeared and grabbed the man roughly, throwing him back into the cave. Every time the man tried to leave, the Yahoo brought him back.

Many months later, the Yahoo continued to imprison the man, bringing him an assortment of food each week. The man’s mental state declined; he began howling, yelling into the night hoping that anyone would hear. During the cold season, the explorer used buckskins to stay warm and ate snow to stay hydrated. Still, he began pondering giving up. During this time, the Yahoo gave birth to a halfling, who was often seen hanging around its mother’s neck. The man’s leg had healed poorly and a bit crooked; pain sometimes shot up it with a poorly placed step, usually ones he made in haste. With every thwarted attempt, his dream of escape waned.

One day, though, the creature appeared ill. Once its daily visit ended, he sprinted down the mountain, ignoring the pain emanating from his bad limb, all the while searching for the river he saw over a year ago. He was hoping to hide his scent and tracks in the swift waters but to his great surprise, he saw a boat. With tears in his eyes and words stuck in his throat, he yelled frantically and incoherently to the crew.

Hoisting himself up onto the ship, he collapsed in relief, crying and stammering. They feared he was insane, dangerous, or diseased until they heard a spine-chilling howl: YAH- hoooo! The black creature stood on the bank, snarling, screeching, and gnashing its teeth. It threw rocks at the ship, chasing after it when it drifted farther down the river. With one last howl, it grasped the halfling child over its head and ripped it in two, throwing it against the boat’s side with a loud thud.

The crew looked at the beast in fear and wonder before returning their attention to the laughing, crying, deranged man.

- Kentucky & West Virginian folklore

Daniel Boone and the Yahoo | Historical Mention of the Beast

Daniel Boone—one of America’s most well-known folk heroes—was an explorer, woodsman, frontiersman, and pioneer famous for his settlement of Kentucky and other Appalachian regions. In the late 1700s, Daniel lived in Limestone, KY (later renamed Maysville), until 1799, moving with his family to St. Louis, Missouri. Around the age of 70, following a message from his son in Greenupsburg, he visited his cousin, Jacob. While visiting, Boone was invited to a gala at a local inn, where he was honored with other notable citizens.

During the party, one of the attendees asked Boone about rumors of his encounter with a gigantic, black beast. As he began to recount the adventure, a haughty socialite interrupted him, insisting that the story must be a lie, for such a creature could not possibly exist. After the insult to his integrity, Boone refused to tell the story, even though he was repeatedly prodded and urged by the group. Later that night, the son of the innkeeper asked Boone why he wouldn’t tell them about the monster. He replied that he disliked crowds (but it was more likely that he disliked that specific group and was a tad stubborn). The boy asked to hear the story, noting that there was no one else around, so Boone could tell him. Smiling, the old man recounted the time he bested a 10 ft tall, black-haired giant he referred to as “Yahoo”.

THE HOLLERING BIGFOOT

The largest, most fearsome bigfoot species on the eastern portion of North America, the Yahoo blends into its environment and the night, howling throughout the mountains.

HABITAT

The Yahoo can be found throughout the Appalachian region and has most often been reported on the southern and southwestern border of West Virginia; the eastern and southeastern borders of Kentucky have also frequently reported Yahoo calls. It is thought that these gigantic creatures once roamed the land between the east coast and the middle of North America until native tribes and European colonizers reduced their number and hunting grounds. The population of Yahoos continues to battle against the encroachment of human territory but has since been pushed back to the remote wildernesses.

APPEARANCE

The region’s most infamous species of bigfoot, the West Virginia Yahoo, has a dark gray skin tone and jet black hair with hints of a walnut hue—giving it the darkest hair of any bigfoot West Virginian species. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 550 lbs (females up to 480), and can grow up to eight ft tall (females a little under seven and a half ft tall). The Yahoo has a face only describable as ‘squashed’, with pronounced cheekbones and a deep underbite. Jutting, yellow teeth sit below a pug nose and wide eyes which contribute to its unsettling presence. Compared to other species, the Yahoo has shorter, yet thicker limbs and broader shoulders.

ACTIVITY

Social Interaction, Daily Life, and Development

Yahoos begin life as a small, sure-footed, and agile creature weighing about eight lbs. Their mothers carry one or two younglings in the womb for nineteen months—the time they need to develop enough to have a chance of survival. Young Yahoos stay with their mother until the age of seven and learn how to hunt, find mates, construct a nest, and interact with other Yahoos. Children never wander far from their caretaker but do enjoy exploring their surroundings or picking up interesting objects or snacks and bringing them to their mother. As they follow their parent through the wilderness, their muscles strengthen, allowing them to climb trees more gracefully and travel longer distances. Within the first seven years, Yahoos grow from 1 - 6 ft tall, put on at least 350 lbs of fat and muscle, and enter adulthood.

Following puberty, a Yahoo leaves their nest and mother, venturing out into the forest to look for their own plot of land to call “home”. Yahoos do not like to live too near to one another—having about twenty square miles of territory each—but are not aggressive towards each other as other bigfoot species. They communicate through knocking—which are sound patterns produced by hitting a stick, stone, or arms and hands against trees, rocks, or the ground. Knocking is utilized to convey distances from one Yahoo to another, call for help, reveal locations of food or gifts, and convey warnings. The creatures mark their territory by rubbing their scent glands (under the armpit) on tree branches throughout the territory, urinating on/near the perimeter, and by small rudimentary cairns (stacks of stones). Yahoos have excellent hearing, but subpar scent identification; the smells that cling to and are produced by a Yahoo are so strong that a human can smell them four miles downwind; though, these scents are often undetected or overlooked by the beasts.

Like bears, Yahoos eat as much as possible from spring-fall to prepare for winter hibernation. The bigfeet are omnivores and must continually take in calories to meet their daily dietary need of 5,000 calories a day; as such, they will consume almost anything.2Traveling along their hunting and migration routes, Yahoos eat seasonal/local berries and fruits, leaves, flowers, and roots. Near rivers, creeks, and lakes, they will capture crawdads, turtles, and fish. For the most part, Yahoos survive on deer and bear meat, though they also hunt birds, snakes, squirrels, raccoons, and other small mammals. The beasts will also raid garbage sites, consume roadkill, take campsite food that is not “bear-safe”, and have been reported to also steal hunter-killed game. The creatures are silent, stealthy hunters despite their large size; small prey is quickly snatched and eaten alive. Large prey is strategically incapacitated by a blow to the head from a fist, rock, or stick, or are grappled until their necks are twisted—sometimes to the point of decapitation. The bigfeet first consume the liver followed by other internal organs in large prey, avoiding the pelt and gnawing on the bones. Small creatures are consumed in their entirety.

Yahoos belong to a larger family group (made up of ten or more individuals) that meet up each winter in a secluded area that features a large tunnel or cave, which functions as a den. Once there, they block off the den’s entrance and lie in a heap until the spring thaw. The melting snow and increasing temperatures will bring the creatures out of their deep sleep and hiding; they then separate until the next cold season.

Yahoos reach puberty at age seven and successfully breed about every five years; this bigfoot species mates for life, though males only stay with females from April - May and during hibernation. Mates are chosen from outsider family groups; after pairing, males are adopted into the females’ troop. Yahoos do not find mates or reunite with their partner through knocking, but through loud, deep, wavering howls of “YAH-hoooo”. Paired Yahoos’ shouts contain different notes than unpaired Yahoos. Mates will recognize each others’ call and scent and are quick to reconvene. Unpaired Yahoos use their call to compete for mates—females prefer louder and more wavering, lengthy calls, and will return the male’s shout with one of their own as they follow the sound. If more than one female is attracted to a mate, they will fight over the male until one submits; the loser must leave the area and continue to search for a partner.

Yahoos live to be about 35 years old. They do not perish of old age but typically die of infections, exposure, illnesses, or grief. Dental disorders, parasites, and flu-like maladies are often to blame for a Yahoo fatality. When a Yahoo feels death drawing near, they call for their mate (if they have one) and seek solitude deep within the forest or an abandoned cave that lies in their territory. When one mate dies, the other is soon to follow; the grieving Yahoo ceases to eat or drink, dying from exposure, dehydration, or starvation. Female Yahoos may also die of grief after the death of their offspring.

TOURISTRY

Yahoos should not be sought out; they are dangerous, aggressive creatures that are also agile in West Virginian terrain. If one is encountered, small holes or cracks in the ground or mountainside should make for a sufficient retreat where the beast cannot enter or reach into; unfortunately, the Yahoo may wait out individuals for up to a week, therefore, it is important to always have ample provisions on hand. They can be killed via a shot directly between the eyes where their skull is thinnest—though they often move around too much for an easy hit.