Welcome back to another episode of Dark Florida.
I'm your host, Brooke Morland. Before we get
to today's episode, be sure to give us a follow
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at Dark Florida 411. Today's episode is a really
special one. I had the chance to sit down with
Natalie Smearman of Relic Films. She's someone
who's had her own powerful and personal experiences
with Bigfoot, the supernatural, and the unexplained.
We talk about everything from cryptids to orbs.
the Hat Man, and the kind of encounters that
shift how you see the world. What really stood
out to me, though, is how Natalie brings a deep
sense of purpose to her work and how refreshing
and inspiring it is to see another strong woman
exploring these fringe spaces so fearlessly.
We also talk about The Vanish, which is Relic
Films' upcoming documentary that she is involved
in. And let me say, this is one to watch for.
So grab your flashlight and your open mind. We're
going in. Thank you so much, bro. From what I
understand is you got involved in Bigfoot. You
went to your first conference in 2024. Yeah,
yeah. 2024 in Ocala, Florida. And that was my
very first dive into really hands -on Bigfoot
investigating more of an interview process. And
then I dove into the more intricate pieces later
on. So I have been interested in Bigfoot and
that piece of it for about 12 years. I did a
lot of investigating and it was with either interviews
online, in books, and just talking amongst friends,
but it was more of TV that did the documentaries,
and I watched a lot, learned as much as I could
because when I grew up in West Virginia, there
was a lot of talk about Bigfoot, but I never
really took it seriously. It was growing up in
Appalachia, it was this more of... You keep your
blinds shut at night. You don't go into the woods.
If you hear something whistling or calling your
name, no, you didn't. You stay out of the woods.
So I grew up and that was very, very normal.
And then I moved out of West Virginia. And when
it came to Florida, I started hearing reports
of Bigfoot activity, which up North you think,
is that really real? And then once i dove into
it even more i'm realizing there are reports
all over the world not necessarily quote unquote
big foot. What in different countries it's called
different things and so i had to learn more about
it on that type of person. And project management
which i am in you dive down deeper you you uncover
every little layer until you get to the root
of it and you don't stop until you reach that.
And that's the path I'm on now. And for my birthday
last year, I gifted myself a VIP ticket to the
Ocala conference. And I got to meet these wonderful
speakers who I've watched on television for so
many years. And I had an out -of -body experience,
basically. I was just over the moon. And I ended
up connecting with so many amazing people and
two of which I want to call out which are Adam
Davis and RPG. They have been just absolutely
by my side this entire journey from that moment
until right at this very moment. And I am so
grateful for them for really guiding me and educating
me because if it wasn't for Adam, I wouldn't
be in the position I'm in right now. So it's
been really cool. Those are two great humans,
for sure. Yes. You're from West Virginia. And
a fun fact about me that I don't think a lot
of people know is I lived in West Virginia growing
up, too. What? Where from? Yes. I was in the
Panhandle, Hedgesville, Martinsburg area. OK.
I was in the northern Panhandle of Weirton and
just above Wheeling. about 30 minutes outside
of Pittsburgh. That is such a cool fact. I lived
there probably for seven years growing up and
we lived on this really remote mountain. It was
called Third Mountain. Technically the town was
Hedgesville, but we were in no town. There was
our closest neighbors like acres and acres away.
Like that's third. driveway at the end of the
cul -de -sac, but you don't see them because
you're tucked up in the hills there. And I remember
always being so fearful. And I look at it in
a different way now that I know more about the
supernatural and the weird and the paranormal.
I remember we had these big windows. And in our
basement, the houses are kind of built into the
hills a little bit up there. I remember always
being so scared at night that somebody was looking
in at me and running upstairs and being so scared
to get into my room and shut the door, hide under
the covers. And I was really afraid. And I always
had this fear that someone was watching me. And
I've never felt like that anywhere else. It was
strange. That's strange because I always felt
that same way too. Like there's something or
someone always watching you. always, no matter
what. And it's really a creepy feeling that you
don't get in a lot of places. Yeah, that's so
true. And I never knew maybe much as a child,
but I look at it a lot differently now. Yeah,
yeah, it's very different. And whenever I go
back home, it's this feeling of, I'm so happy
to be there. It's just a calm. even though you
still have that feeling like I'm being watched.
I know I am. It balances out. Yeah. I mean, it's
truly, it's a beautiful place, but that Appalachian
lore is very real. Very real. Very, very real.
And you take advantage of the beauty that's up
there and the rolling hills and the mountains
and the foliage, because you have all four seasons.
And I always took advantage of it like, oh, it's
just fall. It's just this. It's just that. Now,
I live in Florida, central Florida, and now I
go back home and like, oh, just to see that foliage
or lightning bugs, the fireflies. I don't see
that down here. I mean, you'd have to go out
in the middle of Ocala National Forest to see
a couple of fireflies. At most you see just a
couple. It is the little things you take for
granted and going back up home, back up north,
you have a new appreciation for it. Very much,
very much. I love West Virginia. Yes, that cool
crisp air at night and having a bonfire and just
in the middle of the woods and just being. That's
a beautiful thing. I miss that. In regards to
Bigfoot, I know that you also have a little bit
of a paranormal background, too. But while we're
on the vein of Bigfoot, have you had any sightings?
I have had experiences, not a visual sighting,
but an audio, several audio. experiences and
one was here in Florida in the Everglades I heard
I was camping it was the middle of the night
and I heard in the swamp something two beings
talking back and forth and it lasted a little
over a minute and this was very early on in my
investigative world and and as we all know was
starting out you start to hear something and
then after it's over you're like I should have
recorded that why didn't I record that? Because
you're so excited and overwhelmed. And then the
other audio was also here in the Ocala National
Forest and it was near these Indian mounds, and
it was on a patch of land that was owned by the
government. And as soon as we reached, because
there was a river there, and a lot of alligators,
and went down to the water's edge, and across
the way was the government -owned land, and it
was about 1 .30 in the morning, and you hear
a knock, two whoops, and about a minute later
was a scream, and then it went dead. dead silent
it was almost like there are humans here watch
out and it was like almost warning the others
hey we've got activity watch out so i'm curious
how would you describe the scream it was a woman's
scream a high pitched as if a young woman was
screaming And that was an incredible, intense
moment because had I not really understood where
I was and what the whoops were and what the wood
knocks were, I would have thought there was a
woman in trouble. And it was very human -like.
And I knew there wasn't a woman across there
because that's a government -owned patch of land.
And there's a ton of alligators stopping everybody.
from ever. You can't even swim over or even walk
over because there's so many alligators. I think
that's something too to highlight for anybody
who might not be from Florida is any water here
in Florida is going to have at least one alligator
at minimum. And that's like at the bare minimum.
And yeah, alligator infested waters at night
are no bueno. And were you near the bombing range
or was this a different? It was north of there.
So I thought that it was very odd for there to
be a government owned, like a postage stamp of
land. And it's really no rhyme or reason because
I know where the bombing range is. And we were
a couple miles north of there. And I'm like,
this is just odd for that to be here. And there
was nothing visual that you could see that was
there. And it was all heavily wooded and really
You didn't see a road. You didn't hear anything
other than what we heard when we first got to
the water's edge. And then that was it. That
reminds me of a similar encounter I had in the
Panhandle. We were near water. We had arrived
at a location and we knew other people were going
to be coming down the road soon. So the guy who
is in my group, his name is Rick Rellis and he's
been a guest on the show and he talks a little
bit about it in that episode. But he has this
pop gun. And he was like, I'm going to go ahead
and do this. So he does the pop gun and I think
maybe he does it three times. And then all of
a sudden, almost instantaneously, we got back
this blood curdling and it sounded like a woman
scream, but it was not a regular woman. It wasn't
like me or you. It was this howl and it sounded
feminine to me, in my opinion, maybe a female
Squatch. I don't know. Yeah. then it set off
the coyotes. I'm very familiar with how coyotes
sound. It wasn't that. The rest of the night
we had some other paranormal stuff happen. So
when you said female, like scream, that just
flew up a flag for me. I know what you're talking
about. That was, it was so strange. Cause you're
like, am I hearing this? And then you're right.
A lot of things set, will set coyotes off and
even, you know, if you yell at them, it'll set
them off. That's so true. I've done that a time
or two. You can get coyotes going. Yeah, you
can. And they'll just keep going. And then one
will set off the other. And that's just like
a chain reaction. So cool. You had your two class
Bs. Yes. Now did the chatter down in the Everglades,
did that sound like the samurai chatter that
you hear people sometimes describe? It was very
odd. And it wasn't. It was like this sound of
I'm signalling you it was more of a signal talk
and it was going back and forth and back and
forth and it was making the same exact sound
but it was on two different sides and i checked
all of the apps all of the area i talked to locals
i'm like what makes that sound they're like there's
nothing that makes that sound here and i'm like
well it had to be by process of elimination something
that you don't know and of course we're in an
area where there's a lot of skunk ape sightings
and this could be the only thing that it could
be. So it was like almost like a high -pitched
whoop with a who at the end and it was like warning
like hey there are people here because there
wasn't just me camping there were other people
camping in that area and it was it went on for
about a minute but also something that happened
which a lot of people say you know, there's there's
a connection with you hear an owl out of nowhere.
And then you hear this owl and then that is what
happened is like the back and forth, the back
and forth. So and that owl didn't signal anything
else. It just just that one hoot and then the
signal back and forth. And it was almost like,
all right, this is what's happening. There's
people here. Don't go over there. Yeah. I really
like that theory. I always say that I think the
owls are involved somehow. Yeah. Because you
hear that either they're mimicking owls or maybe
owls are announcing their presence like spirit
guide or something like they're working together.
Yeah, I have heard it before and other people
have said, yes, as soon as you hear that, I'm
listening. And then when I witnessed it, I was
like, oh, okay, now I get it. I get it now because
that happened right after I heard the owl. Yeah.
It's interesting how, like you said, the nature
kind of plays into it, whether it be maybe the
squatches set off coyotes or owls. or they make
an area go dead quiet, I think that it's so important
to listen to everything that's happening out
in the woods because it's letting you know what's
going on. Absolutely. And I think you need, and
I'm a firm believer in investigating when you
hear something. and you're not sure what it is,
a lot of people go straight to, oh, it's Bigfoot,
it's Sasquatch, it's Skunk Ape. You really need
to talk to the locals if you're not familiar
with that area. And I always ask, if I hear something
that I'm not sure about, I always ask, what could
it be? And to eliminate everything else and then
make that... educated guess where you're like,
okay, this that's the only thing it could be
because I did have another experience in the
Everglades and I purposely did something and
I don't recommend this to everybody. I went camping
by myself and I had my bear spray. I had all
my gear and I position myself where I was absolutely
alone now way across the way. I mean a good football
field or two across the way was another camper.
So I'm laying there in the middle of the night
and I hear a loud tweet. I'm like, that's not
normal. And then I'm laying there very still.
And then with about two minutes later, large
footsteps are right beside my tent. And then
I hear what sounds like a small child, like a
toddler trying to talk. And then it just disappeared.
And I started asking around, I'm like, what could
that be? And so, you know, I heard That's the
skunk ape. That's it. It came up to you. I'm
like, OK, I need a little bit more information.
And somebody said, well, we're not sure what
it is. And so finally, I was able to ask a lady
who is a biologist in that area who knows all
of the local wildlife. They're like, she goes,
that's a male panther in heat. I said, so really?
And she's like, absolutely. 100 % male panthers
in heat, chirp, make bird noises, and make these
odd noises. Well, I work with a gentleman. He
is the vice president of pharmacy operations,
but he also runs a large cat refuge just south
of Orlando. And I texted him, I said, here's
my experience. Could this be a large Florida
panther? But like a male in heat, he goes, absolutely.
He goes, my male panther does that all the time.
He goes, you could walk up and he's chirping
like a bird. I'm like, that is just odd. So when
you hear something that you're not used to, always
investigate. Investigate as far as you can to
uncover every possible avenue. And then once
you've exhausted that, then you can say, okay,
it's something that's on. I just want to say
you're so brave for camping out in the Everglades
by yourself. The swamp, I was on a piece of land
that was just, you know, it was dry. I could
walk five steps to the swamp and it was right
there. And so and then there were smaller ponds
behind me with with gators in it. But it was
in October and I knew that, you know. mating
season was done, nesting season was done. They're
kind of like, you know, you're human. Just stay
away from me and I'll stay away from you. And
really, that was it. That's all that happened.
And I felt, you know, vulnerable and nervous.
But I forced myself to be there. To see what
could I lure in? So I don't recommend that to
everybody by no means But I did have bear spray
with me and a knife in the event Something were
to happen and my phone was close by with a couple
bars on it. So I admire your bravery I really
do but you're right. I think that's interesting.
I like the idea of Luring something to you. I
like that with research as well putting yourself
in their environment I believe that they're very
curious creatures doing something to kind of
bring them to you to pique their curiosity. I
think that's genius. Yeah, because I'm like,
you know what? You've heard of campers, you know,
one or two people out camping and they have a
sighting. I'm like, let's let's redo that. I'm
going to do that. And everywhere I go, I do something
a little different each time. I, you know, sometimes
it, you know, I could put out a dog toy, a squeaky
dog toy to see. if it piques their curiosity.
So that's something new. Do you do a lot of solo
camping? No, I do not. I normally will camp when
there is a group of people. This one time I decided...
I'm going to go ahead and do this as an experiment.
I didn't mind it at all. It was very peaceful.
I got to really be in my thoughts, in my own
mind, and really decompress. And it was beautiful
because you're alone. You're in nature. You're
hearing all these beautiful sounds and the birds
and seeing everything. And then it was just at
night. I got creeped out a little bit. I'm not
going to lie. But it was like one of the best
things I've ever done. Is there any projects
that you're working on? I am. So this weekend
I will be in Tennessee and we are so excited
because not only is it the Gatlinburg Conference
I'll be working that conference and greeting
people. I'm working with Gather Up Events on
Friday and Saturday. But on Sunday, I'm going
to go out. I work with Relic Films. The producer
and owner of Relic Films is Greg Ogles. He was
able to work with another group to get us into
Cades Cove at night. And so we're going to be
doing research and filming. in the Smoky Mountains
in Cades Cove on Sunday, which I am over the
moon about. We're gonna be just, when we go in
and do these things, we keep an open mind. Whatever
that we see, we're not out there looking just
for one thing. It's whatever we come across.
And we keep an open mind about whether it be
paranormal orbs. Bigfoot, feral people, dog man,
various other things that could be out there,
we're open to. I am so excited, which is one
of the wonderful things about volunteering for
Gather Up events is you get to volunteer and
you get to talk to a lot of the speakers and
really interact with them a lot more and network
with them. That's a phenomenal experience for
me. But that's how you build that relationship
and It's the Bigfoot family. I know some Tennessee
researchers who have told me about some sightings
and things that have occurred in there. So I
wish you luck. I know you mentioned a few things.
You mentioned Dogman. And that's also something
that is very prevalent in that eastern Tennessee
area near Gatlinburg. Absolutely. And I am excited
because I have not really had the level of investigative
experience with Dogman that I have with Bigfoot
and paranormal. So I'm excited to get into that.
Well, the thing number one you have to put in
your pack is silver bullets. Yeah. I'm just kidding.
I was trying to get through that with a straight
face. Wolf dog, man. You know, right. And you
know. There's actually a difference between the
two. I've heard. Yeah. I've heard. Okay. So for
the listeners who maybe don't know, werewolf
is someone who is a human, but can transform
into that werewolf form. Whereas a dog man. is
a hybrid creature of some sort that stays in
that dogman space all the time. It doesn't transfer
back into human. It has that head and upper body,
even the legs of a dog, bipedal dogman creature.
Well, we are going in November. we're going to
be filming another documentary and we're going
to go to Land Between the Lakes. And so we are
going to be rustic camping in the area where
Dog Man has been sighted multiple times. So I'm
excited. We're going to spend a week there. Wow.
That's awesome. That's another place on my bucket
list trips. I'm excited. I'm so excited. I'm
over the moon on that one because that's a place
I've wanted to go. And now with this opportunity,
We're going to film there. So this will be your
first time in the area. Yeah. Yeah. I look forward
to hearing about that. So all of that will be
a part of Relic Films. Yes. Yes. So I filmed
with Relic in March and that The Vanished is
the documentary and that's going to be coming
out in January of 2026. And then we're going
to be filming in November and that should come
out the end of 2026. So it takes about a year
to process and edit and do the interviews on
the side, because, I mean, it's a process. It
really is a lot of work and behind the scenes
stuff that really goes into it. Very much so.
There's a lot of work, a lot of behind the scenes,
a lot of, you know, working on B -Real and also
with the sounds and the music and the highlights.
There's a lot. You mentioned it earlier that
you do have a background in the paranormal. When
we were talking, you said that you've had some
shadow people experiences, some encounters with
ghosts. Yes. Do you mind telling me a little
bit about that? Absolutely. So it started when
I was three and I would see my great grandmother
who had passed away far. before I was born. And
throughout my growing up, I always felt spirits
around me and things would happen. And it wasn't
that I was able to see them all the time, but
I was able to feel them. I was able to see like
a shadow passing by in my peripheral. But when
I was 13 years old, I was going through a really
difficult time in my life. And I was asleep in
bed and I was woken up in the middle of the night
and my great grandmother was standing at the
foot of my bed. and she's standing there glowing,
just like little bun on the top of her head,
her little house dress that she wore, just cutie
patootie little thing. And she's standing there
with a little smile on her face, just like, it's
okay. You know, I've got you, we're watching
over you, which was, it made me feel at peace.
And I was like, I'm like looking like, did I
just see that right? And then she just faded
away. And as the years progressed, I always had
this feeling of presence in the home. When I
moved away, I stayed with my uncle and aunt to
go to do schooling. And I would be woken up in
the middle of the night with somebody calling
my name. And nobody was there. And it just kept
progressing. So I just kind of got used to it.
And the more I learned about spirits and people
passing on, the more I learned that they are
energy, that they are still with us, that they
are watching over us. And a lot of times, there
could be a spirit just passing through. And so
when my kids were born, they started seeing spirits
as well. So I taught them, because I was never
taught this, you know, there are spirits, it's
okay. You know, they're watching over us. They're
making sure that you're okay. You know, some
spirits you may not know that are just passing
by that think that, you know, it's an interesting
house or, you know, we like this or it's a fun
environment. They want to hang out for a little
bit and then they're going to move on and that's
okay. You know, they respect us. We respect them.
Well, when my son was in grade school, he said,
Mom, there's a dark man. that watches me and
he has a hat on. And I'm like, okay, what is
it? He's like, he just watches me and then he
just disappears. Now, I don't know for our viewers,
but Hat Man is very much prevalent in the paranormal
realm. And this is not a good spirit to have
around. They pray and they're a dark entity.
And so the one thing I have learned about the
dark entities is that you need to stand your
ground. You have control. That is your home,
your space, your child, your family. And you
set the ground rules. You set the boundaries.
So I saged. I told Darkman, I called him Darkman
because that's what my son called him, but he
was actually Hat Man. I said, you are not welcome
here. You are not to come near my son. Don't
do it again. Well, months passed. Nothing. And
then he showed up again. And so kept cleansing
the area. I'm like, I just need to cleanse the
area a bit more, you know, bring some more positive
energy in. And periodically he would show up
and then I'd cleanse it again. Well, one day
my son came home. He goes, Mom, dark man followed
me to school and he saw he was in the hallway
of my school and he was watching me. Well, my
son, my kids that weekend went to their dad's
house to go visit. I said, you go down there,
I'll take care of dark man. I went in and I had
the biggest come to Jesus meeting. And I said
to him, I said, I saged, I said, you ever show
yourself to my children, I will personally drag
you to the depths of hell and stay with you there
for eternity. And he never showed up again, but
you can't show fear. You can't. And I told him,
I said, you don't fear him. You stay on your
ground. You tell him no. He had an experience.
But 2015 comes around. I had married my second
husband, who I had known since, God, 1986. We
were in middle school and high school together.
And so we got married, moved to a house in Florida,
and he was coming with all of his boxes, and
I was coming with all of my boxes, and we had
a three -car garage full of boxes. So one weekend
we said we're gonna go through every box, just
grab one, we'll unpack it no matter whose it
is. Yeah, and it was an all -day event. I unpacked
a box, which was his, not a big deal, and I opened
up, there was another box in there, and I opened
it up. And I took it out, it was like this, like
a plastic bracelet, kind of, and I thought one
of his kids made this. I was like, oh. I'm like
look how cute this is I said which you know he
had three kids I said which one made this for
you he goes oh no he goes that's a souvenir off
my first kill he was in the army for 20 years
and he was a retired green beret he saw a lot
of combat and a lot of battle and he goes it's
tradition to take a souvenir off your first kill
and keep it I said you brought this into my house
I said did you have a ceremony did you sage it
is there an entity attached to it I'm like, what
is going on? He goes, no, you're crazy. Nothing.
I'm like, I don't want this in my house. He goes,
I'll box it up and I'll put it away. I said,
I don't want this in my house. I said, bury it,
have a ceremony, do whatever. No, you're crazy.
I'm like, so I let it go. We unpacked boxes,
put everything away. Well, about three months
later, I saw a shadow figure peeking around the
corner. And I told him, I said, there's a shadow
figure. He's like, oh, you're seeing things.
Well, one day, I'm taking a shower, I'm getting
ready to take a shower, and I hear a knock on
the door to the laundry room. And I'm like, that,
nobody can get in there. So I'm thinking to myself,
maybe I left my garage door open, maybe my neighbor's
knocking on the door, just saying, hey, your
garage door's open. Nothing was there, and my
garage door was closed. So this went on with
a little shadow figure, not big, little, peeking
around the corner. And it happened right in the
house near the opening to the garage. So the
laundry room, the master bedroom, the master
bathroom, master closet, including our guest
bathroom, were all right there. Well, this shadow,
I called him Shadow Dude, kept peeking around
the corner. So I had a meeting with him. I saged,
I said, listen, I don't want you here. I know
you don't want to be here. I think I know why
you're here. So here are the rules of the house.
And I had a list of rules. And I said, you are
to follow these rules. We can live harmoniously
together. Even though I don't want you here and
you don't want to be here, we can live together.
But we have to show each other respect. Everything
was fine for quite a few years. He would peek
around. I would acknowledge him. He would be
fine. It was just like these little things. He
would just peek and fine. Peek and fine. Well,
the marriage started to go bad. Shadow Dude started
showing himself a whole lot more. I woke up in
the middle of the night, Shadow Dude was standing
over me, watching me sleep. I screamed, like,
that can happen. So the next day I told Shadow
Dude, I'm like, you just crossed the line. You
broke a rule. Don't ever do it again. Well, as
I noticed, Shadow Dude started to grow a little
bit more. He got a little bit bigger because
of the turmoil that was happening in the house.
He was feeding off that negative energy. And
so when the marriage went really, really bad,
I moved upstairs, and my soon -to -be ex was
still downstairs in the master bedroom. I moved
upstairs. Well, nothing happened upstairs, ever.
Everything, the air was light, everything, the
mood was good, everything. The moment you went
downstairs in that area, you felt the air just
being heavy. And like, there was like a negative
presence there. And so one night, my son was
downstairs. He went into the guest bathroom to
use the bathroom. He walked out, turned out the
light. And it was very dark because it was night.
And something from the master bedroom growled
at him. And he came upstairs. He goes, Mom, something
growled at me from the master bedroom. Like,
here we go. He crossed the line again. So went
in, had the biggest come to Jesus, very similar
to Hat Man. I was like, I will drag you to the
depths of hell for eternity if you ever. go near
my children or me again. So, fast forward a couple
months, it's now Thanksgiving, my kids and I
went away on a cruise, we were gone for a week,
we get back, during the day, come inside, the
kids go inside the house first, I come in with
a couple things, I walk in, I look in the master
bedroom, and Shadow Man, Shadow Dude is standing
there, looking at me. And I said, is this how
we're gonna start this off? And he ran, he just
disappeared. And then right after that, my ex
took all of his belongings, put it in storage
and never saw Shadow Dude again. And then he
moved out and then it was gone. That air lifted,
no more negative energy. Nothing came with us
to our town home that we're in now. And everything
has been good. Wow. So it was definitely something
connected to either, well, probably to him and
that bracelet. Yeah. Because, I mean, you can
imagine, here's someone fighting for their country
who's clearly not educated. They are like living
off the land, brutally killed in combat and having
something that meant something to them ripped
off their body and taken by what they perceived
as the enemy and held as a souvenir. So I'm sure
that there was an emotional attachment there
that was created from being brutally killed.
And so I can just imagine. Regardless, I mean,
I fully support our military and everything that
they do. And I thank them for all of their service
and sacrifice. And this entity that was with
him, it was just, it was so bad. So I tell people,
you know, have a ceremony, don't keep it in your
house, whatever it is. If you want to have a
souvenir, make sure that you have that cleansed
completely. Situations like that are haunted
locations or places of high strangeness, taking
something and bringing it into your home. you
don't know what other entities could potentially
be attached to it. You hear that a lot sometimes
with antiques too. I had someone who came on
and their house was fine and they were an antique
dealer and then started having shadow people
after bringing in some of these antiques and
now they have a company. Yeah, I mean, there's
attachments. And I mean, they're like, that meant
something. You know, that was valuable to me.
And now it's here and I want to stay with it
for whatever reason, unknown reason. But it's
just, it was, it was a very, I've had decades
of experience with the paranormal. And when we
were filming in the Smoky Mountains for The Vanished,
we had a ton of paranormal activity happening
during the day and at night. disembodied voices,
orbs. We had a lot of, like, I'm standing, we
were doing a night investigation, and it was,
I mean, dead at night, and we're kind of, we're
spaced out enough. I mean, we know each other's
there, we can kind of see each other's outline,
but I thought my producer was right behind me
talking to me, like, right behind my head, like,
and I couldn't hear what he was saying, and I
turned around, and nobody was there, and he was
down the way. And there is just, you know, different
things that happen, and you just have to... respect
their space and, you know, make sure that you're
completely cleansed and going in there with a
good frame of mind. And so we have investigated
abandoned churches and have received responses
because I did a recording and I was asking questions,
you know, and I got this feeling like I think
they're upset about something. And I had this
feeling this is what they're upset about. And
when I asked that question, I got a response.
I was like, that's what they're upset about.
And there's always a reason. There's always a
reason. When you guys are going out, you kind
of go out with an open mind. Okay, this is a
Bigfoot activity or there could be this other
stuff and you go where it takes you because so
often it seems like these worlds overlap with
each other or maybe they're part of the same
world and we're just experiencing multiple different
phenomenas at the same time. But it is interesting
how the paranormal tends to bleed in with Bigfoot.
Very much so. orbs that we saw. I mean we were
seeing them every time we went out which is very
unusual. You don't see orbs all the time and
we were and we were going in spaces and being
very respectful and before we went in we had
this frame of mind either we were meditating
or praying or just being very respectful like
we're coming in very respectfully we respect
your space whether they felt that that was it
was safe they wanted to see us we were doing
experiments like you know, what would bring them
in closer. And positive energy is what brought
them in closer. Laughing, you know, dancing,
singing, it brought them in. So it was really
a cool kind of experiment that we did. Could
you describe the orbs? What color and how big
were they? So they weren't huge. Like we saw
one large one. when we were out investigating,
but the rest of them were pretty small and they
had different colors. So the temperature, just
to let you know, this was in March in the Smoky
Mountains. It would get down to like 30, 40 degrees.
So there were no bugs flying around. There were
no fireflies. There was no nothing. We would
go out and we would see a little red orb, an
orange orb. They would be green and blue and
sometimes silver. and they would just and then
they would like and then they would back off
and then they show up somewhere else. So I had
an orb like I couldn't figure out what it was
at first and I'm like what is that and it was
just like just going very low to the ground and
then it just danced off and then all of a sudden
it appeared right in front of me and it would
back up. and go around like a tree and look again,
like almost like there was an intelligent presence
to it or an intelligent presence controlling
it to kind of get a vibe of who I was and kind
of like seeing if I was okay. And it was such
a great experience. Now, do you have any theories
on maybe what they were or what they were connected
to? So the area in which we were in that specific
area. was very well known for having reports
of portals. And we did not see a portal, but
we had a lot of activity in those areas, a lot
of activity. And the orbs would show up in these
areas of known activity. So we would arrive there,
be in our presence, and we weren't being quiet.
We didn't go in and camo. We didn't come in aggressive.
We're coming in and we're having conversations
and we're laughing and we're telling jokes and
you know, we're just kind of hanging out being
ourselves and not showing what's around us as
a threat that we were a threat. And then that's
when we would start to get the activity. That's
really cool. I think that goes back to our previous
point of doing something to draw them out, to
lure them in, whatever that or they may be. You're
peeking something's curiosity. I'm a big proponent.
I like to sometimes sing. I haven't danced yet.
I'm pretty sure my research partner would look
at me like I was crazy if I started dancing,
but I'm going to have to just tell her to get
over it. Marian might be okay with it. She might
look at me like I'm crazy first and go, I guess
that's just Brooke. And you know what? She might
join in. You just don't know. Yeah. You know,
we could be like The Proposal out there with
Sandra Bullock and Betty White. Yeah, and out
there dancing around and Betty White's going,
what's happening? Yeah. Yeah. And she's in her
shaman kind of vibe. You know what? I love that.
I might have to do that next time we're out.
And it was funny because every time, you know,
I was out there, I would sing to myself in my
head. And it was always the same song that came
to my head, You Are My Sunshine. And it's a happy
upbeat song that kept me in a happy upbeat mood.
And I think I have a theory that it helped. I
don't know if it did or not. Well, I think intention
is a big thing in this field is what your intentions
are. And some of the best researchers I've been
out with are the ones, in my opinion, who go
out and I love it, they just start talking to
the woods. They're like, hey, we're here. We
just want to learn from you. We're here to observe
you. If you'd like to interact with us, we're
okay with that. They kind of start having this
dialogue and setting that positive intention.
I really think it is so important, especially
when you're out doing this. 100%. We're not here
to hurt you or harm you or anything like that.
So I think intention is big. Absolutely. I absolutely
believe in that because, you know, I have heard
reports of people going into the woods in camo,
you know, stalking, and then you get an aggressive
response. Right. And other people go in, dress
normal with positive intentions, and they get
a peek around, you know, a tree or, you know,
it walking through going, Okay, what is that?
And just looking past and like, you're not a
threat to me. And I think as a woman, I, and
I'm, of course, biased, because I'm a woman,
I think us doing the investigation, these cryptids,
whether it be Bigfoot or Dogman, they don't look
at us as a threat, where they would to a man
like that's a man is far bigger there you know
and so I think a woman can go in and going okay
I'm okay you have that nurturing kind of attitude
and you know it's okay you know and and and you
know how many animals have we talked to in the
woods like oh aren't you cute who's got your
nose and you know stuff like that and of course
men don't do that no and we're giving off a completely
different pheromone I mean, even when it just
comes down to our chemical makeup, we don't have
as much. Most women don't have as much testosterone
as a male would naturally be producing. We, our
bodies go through 28 day cycles, whereas a man,
they go through a 24 hour cycle when it comes
to cortisol and hormones and all of that. I 100
% believe that 100%. I could see that. I could
totally see that something feeling more comfortable
or more and more curious. Yeah. And, you know,
one of my many goals in getting into Bigfoot
and cryptids and paranormal is to encourage other
women. You know, I'm 52 years old and I want
to encourage other women who are, you know, empty
nesters. Kids are older. You lose that sense
of like, who am I? To get out there. You know,
it's okay to go in the woods and explore. Go
on a hike. You know, if you're interested in
Bigfoot or something else, Get out there and
and take that leap of faith because it took a
lot for me To go to that first Bigfoot conference
because I was alone. Nobody went with me I knew
absolutely no one and I went in with the intention
that I'm gonna talk to as many people as I can
to learn as much as I can and I walked in the
door to the VIP Line and I started talking. Hi,
you know what? Immediately made friends and still
to this day. I am friends with a lot of those
folks And that was phenomenal. And I think the
Bigfoot community has this amazing aura, this
energy, where you get into it and you just become
family. And it's like this camaraderie and you
support one another and you cheer one another
on. You know, I want every single person out
there who's investigating to win, to see something,
to learn more. I'm everybody's biggest cheerleader.
Go, I'm gonna be your biggest supporter. So I
love the fact that, you know, we're able to support
one another. And right before the West Virginia
conference, I got contacted by two friends, don't
know each other, completely separate. Both of
them contacted me going, Nat, you have inspired
me. I'm going to go do this because I saw what
you're doing, and if you can do it, I can do
it. And then my other friend up north going,
You know what? You've inspired me. I'm going
to get out there more. I'm going to go and investigate
more. I'm going to do more research and I'm going
to attend more conferences and I'm going to and
I'm like, that is so amazing that we're getting
more people out of their comfort zone to step
forward and to have an experience and whatever
it is, whether it be paranormal, cryptids, Bigfoot,
or even something completely different. And I
was at the Bigfoot Festival in West Virginia.
And I'm standing there and I was helping RPG
with his booth and he had his booth along with
Squatch Juice. So we were all there. And I was
manning the booth alone this one time and a woman
in her he's walked up to me and said, I just
want to thank you for showing other women what
we all can do. And I was like, I'm like, that
meant so much to me just because even though
for me, I love doing what I'm doing. and getting
out there and exploring and just being in nature
alone and to have this experience and to investigate.
But to be a cheerleader for others, I just that's
one of the biggest rewards. The Bigfoot community
is unlike anything else. It's about finding those
people. And it's really encouraging because we're
all exploring different avenues. with Bigfoot,
with the paranormal, with the supernatural and
it's happening out there. The world is weird.
You know, what do they say? Wild, wonderful West
Virginia. That's like wild, wonderful and weird
is really the world that we live in. There is
enough for everybody out there. We're involved
in such a cool community where we get to do things
like this and we get to explore our passions,
have people cheer us on and encourage. It's like
we're in this race together, all inching towards
the same goal. Right. To find out what this is,
whatever this is, and to have a better understanding
because there's still that unknown. And having
conversations like this. So you go out and do
your research, I go out and do mine, and then
we get to talk. And I'm like, hey, what did that
scream sound like? And you're like, well, it
sounded very female -like. So now we're putting
together a data point and we're bridging a gap
and going, ooh, okay, so I had a similar experience
and we're documenting it. We're sharing it with
each other and we're finding these commonalities
that will say, okay, well, we know it does this.
We know it's around that coming up with those
solid data points for the work that we're doing.
And I love that. When you get to do this, it
is very freeing. It's unlike anything. And I
think it's safe to say that you almost become
obsessed and you get kind of obsessive with it.
I think that's one thing about this community,
all searching for the same thing. We're not going
to stop. No, and we're not going to stop. And
we all do it. And we have our different methods.
We have our different views. And to your point,
there's no right. or wrong way. You just try
to do whatever you think is best. And if it works,
we share it. Like this is what worked for me.
Okay, now the next person does it in a different
area. And then see if we could get the same results.
Now we've got a path, we're starting a pattern,
which is amazing. And then we can all document
it together and we're on the same path. And you
know, since I started this journey, we talked
before that I'm a program manager, I'm also working
in the corporate offices, and I work with executives
all the time, and I'm on calls every week with
executives, and I start talking about this stuff.
And you know, when we have a little downtime,
I'm like, yeah, this is what I did, I did this
investigation, or I did this and I went to this
conference, and these high -level executives
who are, you know, vice presidents, presidents,
CEOs, big wigs, and they're like, tell us more.
Well, where do you go? Well, tell me. Now you've
got me intrigued. What's this? What's that? And
I'm like, you know, sending them links and I'm
sending them books and I'm sending, you know,
here's the conference that's closest to you.
And now all these folks. So my boss who oversees
everything, his wife is like, you got to take
me out swatching. You've got it. You've got to
take me out. You know, a lot of times people
are afraid to talk about it, but for me, I talk
about it. I don't care who you are. I'll talk,
I'll talk. And so sometimes I get strange looks.
Sometimes I'm told that I'm crazy and that's
okay. That's all right. I'm cool with that. But
then most of the time they're like, really? You
do this? Oh my gosh. You know what? You've got,
are you going to be on that podcast? Here it
is. Oh, let me learn more about this and learn
more about that. So now you're spreading knowledge.
So I don't think people should be afraid to talk
about this. I think the more you talk about it,
the more educated the folks around you become
and the more widespread this phenomenon becomes
going, okay, there's more to this. let me look
into it further. And everyone in the office will
know that you have the coolest hobby ever because
what we get to do is the coolest thing. I know
I'm biased, but I think that we have the coolest
hobby that you could ever dream of having. You
know, we do. And again, we are biased, but we
do have the coolest hobby because how many people
out there would say to you, I would never do
that? I would be too terrified to do that. Well,
and to your point, so when I did my first primitive
camp, I had never gone camping as an adult. Going
on my first primitive camping trip last year,
I did it. I survived and I really liked it and
I enjoyed it. I fell instantly in love. And so
then ever since then, I can't tell you how many
camping trips I've gone on since then. It was
one of those things, though, where If I said,
I can't do this, I won't be able to do it. But
I went in with, I can. So many people limit themselves
by saying, oh, I could never do that. I can't
do this. It's like, yes, you can. Your biggest
hurdle, it's not the heat. It's not Bigfoot.
It's not the night itself. It's not any of that.
It's you. Once you get over your own fear of
just stepping out of your comfort zone, incredible
things can happen. I think that growth can be
uncomfortable, but so is staying the same. When
we're uncomfortable, we grow and we learn. Then
I was able to prove to myself, similarly to you,
hey, I can do this. If I can do this, what else
can I do? Now I've discovered something that
I love and I would have never done that had I
not stepped out of my comfort zone because a
lot of people hear, oh my God, you're going backpack
primitive camping in Florida. Oh, it's hot. It's
this. It's that. And it's like, yeah, okay. All
those things are true. Right. We limit ourselves.
We set up our own boundaries. And if you go in
with, to your point, I can do this. And once
you do it, you are so empowered. You're like,
I can do this. What was stopping me before? Me?
I was stopping myself so now it's like I can
go further I know I can and then you climb to
the top of one of these mountains and you're
looking out over just vast forest and you're
like I did that okay what else can I do and you
just keep going and keep going and now you're
like in this groove like I'm gonna keep doing
something every single time that I have the opportunity
And I'm going to go further and further and further.
And I have I just made a three year goal list
and a five year goal list. So I have a whole
list of goals that I want to accomplish in three
years. And then after that, I've got my five
year list. And it's like I'm going to reach every
one of those goals in three years. And then in
five years, I'm going to reach every one of those
goals. And after five years, I will be traveling
the United States in my van, my travel van, and
I'll have a tiny home. on some acreage in the
mountains. And I'm just going to be like, this
is my life now. Your comfort zone will kill you.
Your story is just so inspiring. I love when
you get to leave a conversation and you feel
just hyped up and inspired. I feel like that's
what you've done here today. I love talking with
other people who have that energy about them,
that they're just motivated. And I love that.
I love that you're setting goals and crushing
them. And I think that's incredible. I look forward
to watching you on your journey and hopefully
getting to join you along the way and collaborate
some more on some things. You're going to crush
it. I already know it. Thank you so much. And
I would love to collaborate with you sometime,
anytime. Just let me know. And there's a lot
of stuff coming up that we can do. And it's going
to be so interesting what comes in the future.
And with your career as well, I mean, what you're
going to be able to do is going to far surpass
me. I'm excited to see that. Absolutely. And
I had so much fun here. I appreciate you so much.
Thank you. I hope you enjoyed that conversation
as much as I did. Natalie's honesty and insight
and passion for uncovering the truth It's always
empowering to connect with other women doing
this kind of work, especially in the spaces that
we're in. Keep your eyes out for the Vanished
Relic Films new documentary. It's coming soon
and I have a feeling that it is going to make
some waves. If you liked this episode, be sure
to follow Dark Florida on Instagram at Dark Florida
Podcast, and don't forget to subscribe wherever
you get your podcasts. And hey, if you have a
story you'd like to share or want to be a guest
on the show, shoot me an email at darkfloridapodcast
.com. Until next time, stay curious and stay
strange.