Found My Great-Grandmother’s Journal From Smithers—She Wrote of the Sasquatch Who Fathered Her Sons

SMITHERS, BRITISH COLUMBIA — A dusty leather-bound journal discovered in the attic of a century-old farmhouse has ignited controversy among historians, genealogists, and Sasquatch researchers after its pages revealed a story so extraordinary that many initially dismissed it as fiction.

The journal, believed to have belonged to a woman living near Smithers, British Columbia, in the early 1900s, contains a series of handwritten entries describing an alleged long-term relationship with a mysterious being she identified only as “the forest giant.”

More astonishing still are repeated claims that the creature fathered two of her children.

The journal surfaced earlier this year when local resident Michael Dawson began sorting through family possessions inherited after the death of his grandmother.

Hidden beneath old photographs, letters, and property records was a weathered notebook wrapped in cloth.

The name inscribed on the inside cover belonged to Dawson’s great-grandmother, Eleanor Dawson, a settler who lived in the Bulkley Valley region between 1908 and 1946.

At first, the notebook appeared ordinary.

Many entries discussed daily farm life, harsh winters, crop failures, and community events.

Then the tone changed.

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Roughly halfway through the journal, Eleanor began describing encounters with a strange figure she claimed lived within the forests surrounding her homestead.

The first mention appeared in an entry dated June 1917.

“Again I saw the tall man among the pines,” she wrote.

“He watches but does not approach.”

Initially, historians assumed Eleanor was describing a local resident or perhaps a wandering trapper.

However, later entries painted a far stranger picture.

She repeatedly described the figure as exceptionally tall, covered in hair, and possessing unusual physical characteristics.

“He is larger than any man I have ever seen,” one passage reads.

“His face is not entirely human, yet there is kindness in his eyes.”

Over the following months, the mysterious figure allegedly appeared with increasing frequency.

According to the journal, Eleanor often observed him standing near the edge of clearings or watching from distant ridgelines.

Unlike many modern Sasquatch stories involving fear or aggression, her descriptions were remarkably calm.

She seemed fascinated rather than frightened.

“The children are afraid of him,” she wrote in one entry.

“But I do not believe he means harm.”

As the narrative continued, the relationship described in the journal became increasingly unusual.

Eleanor claimed the giant occasionally left gifts near her property.

These included fish, berries, carved pieces of wood, and once, according to her account, the antlers of a large elk.

“He understands generosity,” she wrote.

Researchers who examined the journal were struck by the emotional tone of these passages.

The entries suggested a developing bond between the woman and the mysterious being.

Then came the claims that transformed the document from historical curiosity into cryptozoological sensation.

In an entry dated October 1921, Eleanor wrote cryptically about carrying a child while expressing uncertainty about its origin.

The wording remained vague.

Several months later, however, she became far more explicit.

“The forest man has given me a son.”

The statement appears several times throughout subsequent entries.

A second child was reportedly born three years later.

Again, Eleanor attributed paternity to the same mysterious figure.

Historians caution that interpreting such passages literally may be problematic.

Early twentieth-century journals often employed symbolic language, metaphor, religious imagery, or folklore references.

Yet the journal’s later entries appear strikingly direct.

“He comes to see the boys from the trees,” one passage states.

“He never enters the house.”

According to Eleanor, the children displayed unusual physical traits.

She described them as exceptionally strong, fast-growing, and unusually comfortable in wilderness settings.

One account recalls a five-year-old child wandering several miles into dense forest before returning unharmed.

“He knew exactly how to find his way back,” she wrote.

No official records support any extraordinary characteristics.

Census documents confirm the existence of Eleanor’s sons but contain nothing unusual regarding their development.

Even so, the journal raises intriguing questions.

Family photographs taken during the 1920s have attracted particular attention.

Several images show two boys standing beside relatives.

While nothing appears obviously abnormal, some researchers claim the children possess unusually broad shoulders and prominent facial features.

Others dismiss such observations as subjective interpretation.

The mystery deepened when genealogists attempted to trace the family line.

Historical records identify no husband living with Eleanor during the years in question.

Neighbors apparently regarded her as a widow.

No clear evidence of another partner has been discovered.

That absence has fueled speculation among those willing to entertain more extraordinary possibilities.

Skeptics remain unconvinced.

Most historians believe the journal likely reflects folklore, loneliness, grief, or symbolic storytelling rather than actual events.

The isolation of frontier life could profoundly influence perception.

Mental health professionals note that prolonged solitude sometimes contributes to unusual beliefs and experiences.

“There are many possible explanations that don’t involve an undiscovered species,” one historian observed.

Nevertheless, several details continue to intrigue researchers.

The descriptions of the forest giant closely resemble modern Sasquatch reports despite being written decades before Bigfoot became a major cultural phenomenon.

Eleanor repeatedly referenced long arms, immense height, a powerful odor, and an ability to move silently through dense wilderness.

These characteristics appear in countless contemporary accounts.

Even more unusual is her insistence that the creature demonstrated intelligence and emotional awareness.

“He understands sorrow,” she wrote after the death of a family member.

For believers, such passages suggest the journal may preserve a rare firsthand account of prolonged interaction with an unknown hominid species.

Some cryptozoologists have compared the document to Indigenous traditions from western Canada that describe Sasquatch as highly intelligent beings capable of complex social relationships with humans.

Critics argue that such interpretations stretch credibility far beyond available evidence.

Michael Dawson himself remains uncertain.

“I don’t know what to believe,” he admitted during a recent interview.

“She was a real person. The journal is real. Everything else is the mystery.”

Today, the notebook is undergoing preservation and analysis by document specialists.

Preliminary examinations suggest the ink, paper, and handwriting are consistent with the period in which the entries were supposedly written.

No evidence of modern forgery has been identified.

That does not prove the claims are true.

It merely confirms that someone recorded them over a century ago.

Whether Eleanor Dawson was documenting genuine encounters, expressing symbolic beliefs, or weaving private folklore may never be known.

Yet her words continue to captivate everyone who reads them.

Deep within the forests surrounding Smithers, where towering mountains rise above endless pine-covered valleys, the legend of the forest giant endures.

And hidden within the pages of an old journal, one woman left behind a story so extraordinary that it challenges the boundary between history, myth, and the unexplained.

More than a hundred years later, the question remains unanswered:

Was Eleanor Dawson preserving a family secret—or recording one of the most astonishing Sasquatch accounts ever written?