Topic: Upstate New York

The history of spiritualism is explored as a uniquely American religion born in the "Burned-Over District" of Western New York. This region saw an eruption of diverse movements including Mormonism, the Shakers, and the Oneida community's experiments with free love. Taggart suggests a link between the construction of the Erie Canal—a "superhighway" of capitalism—and the subsequent spiritual and social upheavals. The movement is credited with providing a platform for women to speak publicly, significantly influencing the early women's rights movement.

Bruce Hollenbeck details his family's encounters with a Bigfoot-type creature in Kinderhook starting in 1979. Initial reports involved trash bags being neatly untied rather than torn, followed by a sighting by Hollenbeck's cousin, Barry. Barry reported seeing three bipedal creatures with reddish-brown fur making clacking sounds near a swampy area known as Cushing's Hill.

Farber shares a rare personal anecdote regarding a property he purchased in upstate New York. After a psychometry session and an evocation ritual focused on prosperity, he received cryptic messages about "thinning the forest." Years later, during a financial struggle, a mechanic informed him that his land contained $40,000 worth of harvestable timber, illustrating a synchronicity between his ritual work and material reality.

Evidence suggests a possible breeding population of these creatures, as witnesses have reported seeing groups and even female entities with small offspring. Godfrey mentions a MonsterQuest case involving a woman who passed a polygraph test after seeing multiple creatures near a stream. Other reports include sightings of pairs of upright canines jogging along highways in upstate New York.