Bigfoot Researcher Returns to Central Tennessee Encounter Hotspot

Posted Friday, August 21, 2026

By Squatchable.com staff

# Inside Chaos Mountain: A Tennessee Investigator Shares Years of Strange Encounters in the Woods Came across a fascinating piece of footage the other night that I just had to share. A long-form interview with a fellow named Craig Roach, who has spent years exploring the backcountry of Central Middle Tennessee, and the things he's experienced out there are the kind of stories that make you sit up a little straighter in your chair. Craig is careful with his words. He doesn't call himself a researcher, more of an enthusiast who has stumbled into one of the most active stretches of woods in the state. He's worked alongside some well-known names in the field, including Janice Carter, and has been involved with investigations spanning both Sasquatch and Dog Man reports. The area he focuses on sits right at what he calls a "divide" — a kind of invisible line where Bigfoot activity seems to shift into Dog Man territory. Spooky stuff to think about. One of the most compelling moments in the interview comes when Craig describes hearing disembodied voices deep in the woods. Not just any voices — what sounded like a father and a child. He followed the sounds for several miles, always just out of reach, never catching up, never seeing a soul. The voices would call out, respond to each other, and then vanish. For anyone familiar with the literature, this kind of phenomenon has been reported for decades across the country. Tapes exist of similar vocalizations captured in remote forests, and researchers have long debated whether these could be some form of communication between Sasquatch family groups. Craig also talks about a personal sighting that clearly still gets under his skin. He came out of a trail one day and saw a figure standing in the open, maybe 200 yards out. The figure watched him, then turned and walked up the same trail he'd just come down — heading straight for where his vehicle was parked. He moved fast to catch up. No car door. No engine. No tires on gravel. Nothing. Just gone. And whoever it was, Craig says, was massive. Then there's the "nursery." That's what Craig calls a spot deep in the woods where he found the first of several tree bends — trees that had been deliberately arched over without breaking. For those unfamiliar, tree bends are a fascinating piece of the puzzle. Researchers like to document them because they don't occur naturally. The wood fibers are bent, not snapped, which suggests an enormous amount of controlled force. Some believe these are territorial markers, while others think they might serve as shelters or even nursery sites for young Sasquatch. Craig returned to the area multiple times and found five more bends. When he went back again, they were gone. Just like that. The interview also touches on something that always raises eyebrows — game cameras mounted ten feet up a tree, screwed in place, in the middle of nowhere. Who puts a trail cam that high, in that kind of terrain? Craig has no idea, and neither does anyone he's asked. It's the kind of detail that sends your mind in all sorts of directions. There are also the tree knocks. Craig describes hearing two trees slammed down hard behind him during a nighttime investigation, with no hunters, no dogs, no explanation. Local hunters have told him they've found blinds built out of broken twigs in the area — structures no human would construct. And he's had things thrown at him while walking certain trails. All of this in the same general locale. Towards the end of the footage, Craig mentions a "gifting area" — a spot where objects seem to appear, sometimes arranged in ways that defy easy explanation. Gifting sites have become one of the more intriguing areas of study in Sasquatch research. Witnesses across the country have reported finding rocks stacked, feathers placed in specific patterns, twisted sticks, and other oddities left behind in remote clearings. Some researchers believe these are deliberate offerings, a kind of communication or acknowledgment from the Sasquatch themselves. What makes this footage worth your time is how grounded Craig stays throughout. He's not selling anything. He's not performing. He's just telling you what happened to him, year after year, in these woods. And the sheer volume of incidents in one concentrated area is hard to dismiss. If you're into Tennessee cryptid lore, Dog Man connections, or just love a good long-form sit-down with someone who's actually put in the time on the ground, this one is absolutely worth the watch. Grab some coffee, settle in, and let Craig take you into the woods.