Disbelief to Believer: Big Foot Denier Changes Opinion After Chance Encounter with Ape-Like Behemoth in Spokane

There are two major groups when it comes to Bigfoot: those who believe and those who think sightings are mere hoaxes.

Well, a longtime member of the latter switched sides after seeing the legendary beast for himself. Now, more details of his story are being shared.

Paul Freeman used to be quick to discount the idea of a 10-foot, ape-like beast walking the deep woods in Washington state. Of course, that was until he encountered some "strange activity" in the woods in Spokane in 1982.

It all started with a particular smell that Freeman detected and then an incredible sighting, which led to his life mission of proving Sasquatch exists.

Freeman described the beast he saw as similar to what has been depicted in historic photographs of a "prehistoric man." He said it was an ape-like behemoth that was unmistakable.

In a History channel documentary, Freeman's son Michael relayed his father's story.

"It looked at him about the same time that he looked at it and he said that it stopped, and he could hear it breathing, he was close enough," Michael said. "He could see the stomach muscles in its chest moving as it was breathing. Then it started to walk off, stopping a couple times to look back at him before leaving the area."

The encounter took place in 1982, and it made Paul determined to prove the existence of one of the world's most controversial phenomena.

"All he wanted to do was prove to people that they existed and that he was not crazy," Michael said.

Ahead of the encounter, Paul had already seen traces of elk and deer, according to the Daily Star. But the expert forester was intrigued when he saw footprints that were so large, they appeared to belong to Bigfoot.

The footage captured by Paul still serves as one of the clearest "Bigfoot" videos ever seen. According to Michael, the encounter "scared" his father.

Paul died in 2003, so his son is now relaying details of his father's encounter to the world, Knewz.com reported.

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Bigfoot is one of the most famed strange animal sightings throughout history along with the likes of the Loch Ness Monster and others.

According to Satellite Internet, Washington is the state with the most Bigfoot sightings by a large margin, with 676. The next closest state is California with 445.

Florida, Ohio, Illinois, Oregon, Texas, Michigan and Missouri are also known to be among the states with the most sightings.