Haunted Highway – Bear Lake Beast and Vergas Hairy Man – S01E01

Bear Lake Beast

Jack Osbourne, son of the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne has decided to satisfy his curiosity for the paranormal, by traveling the Americas searching the nature of Urban Legends. If this sounds a little familiar, it is. This is by and large the same premise as Destination Truth. However, for right now, Jack is focusing his attention on America and his team is much smaller. It’s two teams of two (with Jael of past Destination Truth and Fact or Faked fame) heading up the other camp. So how does the show compare and what do they come away with?

Well, first off, it really feels like the intro Blair Witch. There’s lots of talking to the camera and explaining what they’re doing. It’s not bad, it’s just makes me laugh a little.

And they don’t visit any markets. A convenience store looking for supplies just doesn’t have the same local color as the markets Josh finds himself in.

But on with the investigation. First up is the Bear Lake Beast, a creature, like Loch Ness that’s supposed to inhabit a lake. There are multiple sighting and even one guy who says he was up close and personal with it. Unfortunately, his description is a little vague and he doesn’t have too many details. But Jack and Dana head out onto the lake to see what they can find. Using Sonar they scan the water and Jack sets himself up with a late night underwater dive. The tension mounts as he disappears for a little while, but he does resurface with a large bone in his hand. Now there’s something.

Dana also captures footage of something in the water. The Flir shows it to be much warmer than the surrounding area. Even though it looks big, it only lasts for a second and then it’s gone. It’s not evidence, but it’s something.

After some analysis, Jack finds out there are thermal springs under the lake. They’re pockets of warm water that push up to the surface. Was that what Dana caught on the Flir? And what about the bone? Well, it’s an animal bone, more than likely a cow bone. What was it doing in that cave? Was it drug down there? Did the animal try to swim and it drown? It was a food source to something…

Vergas Hairy Man

This is basically derivative of Bigfoot that lives in Minnesota. The story is similar to the Skunk Ape and others. It’s a big hairy creature that lives in the woods, is tall, is covered in hair and gives of a pungent odor. Jael and Devin are heading out into the middle of nowhere to try and locate it.

They meet with some local residence who claim to have seen it. A woman they meet says she had encounter out in the woods during a snowmobile trip. The creature chased them after the sound of the engines distressed it.

Jael and Devin head into the woods and play engine sounds to see if they can "rouse the beast". Jael does capture something on the Flir that appears to be walking. There is definitely something there, but it’s such a blob there’s no way to tell. It didn’t come across as aggressive none-the-less. The also discover a lot of broken branches and bent over trees as though something was making a path. There is also the discovery of human-like hair. Are they in the lair of the Hairy Man?

When the evidence get analyzed the team begins to have doubt. Jael begins to feel the whole thing is a hoax. Since the town knew they were out there, did someone or a group go out into the woods to keep the legend alive? Is there something really living out there or were they duped?

Other Articles of Interest:

• Haunted Highway – Lake Murray Beast and The Donner Party – S02E04
• Haunted Highway – Island of Lost Souls – S02E01
• Haunted Highway – Louisiana Swamp Woman and Pioneer Cemetery – S01E05
• Haunted Highway – Darkman of Standing Rock and Blackstar Shadow Man – S01E02
• Haunted Highway – Manchac Swamp and Moonville Tunnel – S02E02
• Haunted Highway – Beast of Bray Road and Tonopah Mine – S02E03
• Haunted Highway – Utah Skinwalker and Ozark Howler – S01E03
• Haunted Highway – Bridge of Doom and Shades of Death Road S02E05
• Haunted Highway – El Dorado Hell Hounds and Georgia Skinstealer – S01E04
• Haunted Highway – Black Angel and Arizona Domes – S02E06