Have you ever had a memory of something unexplained, but you're not certain if it actually happened or if your mind just made it up??
This is pretty strange, and is something I've never told anyone about or posted anywhere before. Over the past couple of years, I've recalled a "memory" of seeing a creature resembling Bigfoot, decades ago. But I can't be sure if it actually happened or not...
In my 20s, I used to go mountain biking alone in a rural area in SW Pennsylvania. There was a trail I'd ride on that was about 10-12 miles long, winding through remote, wooded hills in that area.
The "memory" that I have is this: one time, when on the return ride back to the car (I still had miles to go), I took a break. Stopped the bike and got off for a few minutes. (This was broad daylight, either in the late morning or mid-afternoon.) I looked behind me down the trail, in the direction from which I had just come. Suddenly a large, hairy, ape-like creature covered in brown fur walked across the trail (on two legs) from right to left, about 70-80 yards away. It didn't look at me, wasn't hurried, just walked straight across the trail and disappeared into the woods. I only saw it for about a few seconds. I think my reaction was something like "WTF was that??!!" I did not go back to that area to check it out as far as I remember, just continued on back to my car.
What I "saw" in this memory was absolutely not a bear, and it could only have been one of two things: Bigfoot, or a prankster dressed up in an ape suit. (but a prankster seems unlikely, as that trail does not get many people on it at all, and that person would have been waiting in that particular spot a long time to "reveal" himself to someone passing by. Plus I easily could have missed the sighting altogether if I had not looked back at that exact moment) Is it possible that since my brain had no frame of reference for such a creature, that my mind just blotted out the memory for a long time?
If that actually happened to me, why didn't I have many sleepless nights about it? I don't even recall dwelling on it at all on the car ride back home. How did I somehow block it from my mind, for decades?? And if it didn't actually happen, why would some event that my mind made up be so specific? Why would my mind make up an event from 30+ years ago? And why do I continue to think about it now from time to time, more than 30 years after it "happened"? It's very perplexing.
Also, a few years back, I looked up the Bigfoot researchers site or whatever it's called, and found a reporting database for Bigfoot sightings. Out of curiousity I checked for reports in any area near me, and somebody had reported a Bigfoot sighting in that very area where I used to mountain bike. (I don't remember what year they reported that)
More about me: I'm a Bigfoot skeptic. I think the idea is kind of cool, but seriously doubt that this creature exists. I've always been drug-free. And I'm what you would consider to be a reliable witness. I held a high-level security clearance my entire career, never any mental problems, etc.
And do you want to hear something really funny? I can't even post this to r/Bigfoot, because I guess I made a little joke there once related to a comment and they BANNED me from their subreddit! 🤣🤣 (they're a touchy group over there..)
I'd be interested in hearing any stories you might have of similar experiences related to unexplained encounters and repressed memories, etc.