The leaves are just starting to change up here in the woods of Craftsbury, Vermont. Yeah, we're way up here in the northern part of the state, and it already feels like fall, Ray. Oh, what was that that just ran by? Oh, yeah, you know, I think it looks like a deer. You're right. I can see the white tail trailing behind him. The thing we're looking for is much larger than a deer, Ray.

Oh, okay.

Well, what are we looking for?

We're searching for a giant of a creature, eight feet tall with claws, but almost human looking.

We're in Craftsbury searching for the Gooniac.

Hello, I'm Jeff Belanger. And I'm Ray Osier. Welcome to episode 265 of the New England Legends podcast. Thank you for joining us on our mission to chronicle every legend in New England, one story at a time. We can't do what we do without you. If you've got a local legend to share with us, please contact us anytime through our website. We love hearing from you. And while you're on our website, you can see all of the upcoming dates for my fall story tour. You can check out the dates for Ray's band, the Pub Kings, and there's links to buy the brand new 2023 haunted New England calendar with stories by me and photography by Frank Grace. Now before we go searching for the Gooniac, we want to take just a minute to tell you about our sponsor, Nuwada Irbles. Ray, when we're hiking through the woods, looking for strange beasts, it can take a heavy toll on our feet. No kidding. My dogs are always barking after a woodsie hike. Then it's a good thing we've got Nuwati Herbils in our corner, Ray. Everyone knows Newadi Herbils for all of their great natural teas, but they also make creams, balms, and oils. When we're done with today's hike, we should indulge in some barefoot soak by Nuadi Herbals. That sounds perfect. Barefoot soak is a natural blend of bath salts, herbs, and essential oils designed to

soothe and freshen your weary feet. You mix a quarter cup of barefoot soak with a gallon of

warm water, then soak for 15 or 20 minutes. And when you're done, after you patch your feet dry,

reach for some newadi herbals, bare feet cream. When the weather turns colder and the air inside gets dry, my feet crack and bare feet cream

helps a lot with its blend of natural ingredients.

After a soak and some bare feet cream, I'm ready to go back on the trail.

Let Nuwadi Herbles help support your healthy lifestyle.

Check out the Nuwadi Erbil website to see all their great products. And, of course, you get 20% off your order when you use the promo code, Legends 20 at checkout. Visit Nuwariurbles.com. That's N-U-W-A-I-Eurbles with an S.com. All right, Jeff, the Gooniac? It's a great name, right? Yeah. And we first learned about this one from my buddy, David Weatherley's brand new book, Monsters of the Green Mountain State, cryptids and legends of Vermont, with a forward by Joseph A. Citro, and I love the name and just started digging. Now, what is a gooniac? So it's described as an eight-foot-tall, humanoid-type creature with, like half-man, half-animal. All right. Well, why can't we just say Bigfoot? I know. I totally get it. Well, there are a couple of issues at play here. On the one hand, if I described an eight-foot-tall, primate-human type of creature, and the circles we roll in, just about every single person would immediately say Bigfoot.

Of course.

I mean, it fits the description.

It does.

But some folks don't like using the word Bigfoot because we may think they're crazy.

So they come up with something else.

An upright giant primate by any other name would smell as sweet, right?

No, absolutely.

And very cultured of you, quoting Shakespeare, right?

I feel like we need to class things up a bit here. That makes sense. Okay, so here's a little more background about where we are. The land for this town was first granted to Ebenezer Crafts back in 1791. So the town is named Craftsbury after him. Sure. The population today is about 1,200 people, and we're just about 25 miles from the Canadian border as the ghost flies.

...