For years, strange stories have circulated about ‘wild people’ living deep in the American wilderness – people who’ve cut themselves off from modern society and, some believe, turned to cannibalism.
The rumours have become even more popular online in recent years, with countless Reddit threads, YouTube videos and TikToks debating whether something sinister is hiding in the woods.
One person wrote: “Too many people go missing. This is one explanation for what may have happened.”
Another added: “I have always felt afraid in national parks, like I wasn’t alone and now I know why.”
“Too many people disappear in national parks under very weird circumstances for something like this not to be happening,” somebody else comments.
Chilling Claims of ‘Wild Men’
YouTuber Donnie Laws has explored the claims on his channel, saying: “The first reports of any wild man in the U.S. was around 1877, in Western North Carolina. Some gold miners ran into one as they were going to work in the mines.
“They followed it to a cave and found a whole bunch of bones of all different types of animals. They don’t say if there’s any human bones but that’s what they found.”
Not long after, newspapers were reporting on another ‘wild man’ discovered in the same region – one who was eventually sent to an asylum, never revealing who he was or where he came from.
Brian Jeffrey, from the Black Mass Paranormal podcast, has claimed: “Recently there has been an increase of reports of these people.
“They are supposedly known to set traps to capture lone hikers in the mountains. They have targeted the elderly and children specifically.”
The Disappearances That Fuel the Theory
Some of the most well-known missing person cases have only added fuel to the fire.
Dennis Martin
In 1969, six-year-old Dennis Martin disappeared during a family camping trip. Despite one of the largest search efforts ever mounted in the area, he was never found.
He went missing on Father’s Day weekend. He was playing with other children while on a family outing at the Spence Field area of the Appalachian Trail.
Dennis hid behind a bush, planning a sneak attack on the parents, and was never seen again.
Teresa Gibson
In 1976, 16-year-old Teresa “Trenny” Gibson vanished without a trace. She was 5’3 and 115 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.
Last seen wearing a brown plaid jacket, blue jeans and Adidas shoes. She was on a field trip from Bearden High School, with 40 other students and one teacher chaperone, to hike Clingmans Dome to Andrew’s Bald.
Students last reported seeing her in the distance, bending over and taking a right turn off the trail. When the group reconvened in the parking lot to go home, Trenny was missing.
A can of beer and three cigarette butts were found near the spot where she stepped off the trail, causing speculation that she was abducted in nearly plain view.
Thelma Pauline Melton
A few years later, Thelma Pauline “Polly” Melton, 58, disappeared while hiking with friends – walking just a few yards ahead before vanishing without a trace. She was last seen wearing a pink and white blouse, tan slacks and glasses.
She and her husband, Bob, wintered in Florida and spent the warmer months in their airstream at Deep Creek Campground with a group of friends.
One afternoon Polly set some spaghetti sauce to simmer for dinner and went for a walk on an easy, well-marked trail with two friends, Red and Trula, as she did most days. About an hour in, Polly suddenly picked up the pace and left the women behind.
When they called out to her, they said she looked back, laughed and kept going. She never arrived back at the campground.
And in more recent times, others have also gone missing. In 2011, 45-year-old Christopher Cessna disappeared while hiking alone.
Derek Lueking
The following year, Derek Lueking left a note on his car dashboard reading: “Don’t look for me,” before heading into the woods, never to be seen again.
Podcast reports even claim hikers have spotted “hairy, naked men” in the area. One couple allegedly saw a man “covered in blood” while climbing to a waterfall.
He was a fan of survivalist TV shows and bought a bunch of supplies before heading to the Park — maps, an axe, a survival manual, a compass and thermometer a Bear Grylls survival tool pack including a small flashlight, a fire starter and a multi-tool.
His white Ford Escape was found at Newfound Gap, but he’d left much of the supplies in the car, including his tent and sleeping bag.
Derek’s family maintains a Facebook page dedicated to finding him, last updated in November 2020: “As you slip farther and farther away, we miss you still.”
The National Park Revealed
All of these disappearances – and the chilling rumours surrounding them – are tied to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee and includes stretches of the famous Appalachian Trail.
The park is thickly wooded, vast, and easy to get lost in – making it fertile ground for myths of feral people living off the land.
Experts Cast Doubt
Of course, there’s no hard evidence to support the cannibal theory.
Ferber Resort explains: “More importantly, there is no evidence, reports, or even official documentation and digital capture of feral people in the National Parks. It might all be a hoax or just plain theories formulated due to the fear of strange places.”
Still, locals aren’t taking any chances. Laws warns: “You do not let your children run off into the dark woods by themselves. That is a complete no-no.
“You don’t have to meet a wild man or a bigfoot. He could just meet a bear or a bobcat or any animal.”
Featured image credit: Find a Grave
