Something was watching them from the ridge—and it stayed just outside the headlights.

Host and paranormal experiencer Jim Powell sits down with longtime North Carolina investigator Tim Dills for a deep conversation about Bigfoot, Dogman, orange orbs, intelligent cryptid behavior, and high strangeness in the Appalachian Mountains.

Tim recounts nearly two decades of unusual activity beginning with a Bigfoot encounter in 2008. He describes orange orbs appearing before cryptid activity, strange whistles and vocalizations, rocks thrown toward investigators, trail cameras being disturbed, and audio recorders mysteriously unscrewed and packed with dirt.

The conversation also turns to Dogman when Tim shares the nighttime encounter that changed him from a skeptic into a believer: glowing eyes near his truck followed by impossible, synchronized barking from deep within the North Carolina woods.

Jim and Tim compare their personal experiences and examine whether Bigfoot, Dogman, strange lights, equipment interference, and apparent trickster behavior might be more closely connected than many researchers are willing to consider.

Topics include:

• Bigfoot encounters in North Carolina
• A firsthand Dogman encounter
• Orange orbs preceding cryptid activity
• Equipment and trail-camera interference
• Intelligent and trickster behavior
• Strange whistles and non-human vocalizations
• Appalachian paranormal phenomena
• Possible connections between cryptids and high strangeness

Chapters:

00:00 — Jim Powell and Tim Dills
05:47 — Tim’s First Bigfoot Encounter
23:00 — Intelligent Behavior and Strange Vocalizations
27:20 — Orange Orbs Before Bigfoot Activity
31:45 — Are the Lights Connected?
36:23 — Recorders Packed With Dirt
38:20 — Something Tampers With the Equipment
52:00 — The Rubber Chicken Experiment
54:30 — Trickster Behavior in the Woods
1:02:26 — Tim’s Dogman Encounter
1:05:00 — Glowing Eyes Above the Truck
1:08:00 — Impossible Barking in the Darkness
1:13:00 — Bigfoot, Dogman, and a Possible Hierarchy

Find Tim Dills:

YouTube: North Carolina Investigates (NCI)
TikTok: TimDills13

Jim and Jamie revisit a night in Land Between the Lakes that stayed with Jim long after the investigation ended. He describes unexplained lights near camp, strange sounds in the woods, and a frightening moment when he felt disoriented. Jamie shares what was happening with her team as a storm moved in.

What happened out there? Jim and Jamie compare memories, talk through the details, and leave room for the parts they still can’t explain. This is one firsthand account, shared as remembered—not a confirmed identification of what was in the woods.

From the Vault brings older Night’s Watch stories back for another listen. If you’ve had an unusual experience in the LBL, or have a story you’d like Jim and Jamie to discuss, get in touch with the show.

00:00 Jim and Jamie revisit the LBL

02:03 A warning before the teams split up

03:26 The armadillo thermal mix-up

04:44 Lights near the cemetery

06:24 The booms, grunts, and disorienting moment

08:58 Looking back at what happened

10:04 Martin’s account of the previous night

11:38 Jim alone at camp as the storm approaches

12:30 A prayer and a feeling at the tree line

14:12 Back to the tent

16:33 Movement around camp

17:47 The strange clicking sound

20:04 What Jim thought he heard

21:14 The storm arrives

22:40 Jamie describes what her team experienced

23:41 Will they return to the LBL?

24:48 Jamie’s project update

25:40 More LBL footage for members

26:54 Send the show your stories

Could the Cynocephali—dog-headed people described in ancient and medieval accounts—connect to today’s Dogman mystery? Jim is joined by Seth Vandebrooke of Project Eleazar to explore accounts tied to Ctesias, Photius, Philostorgius, Ratramnus of Corbie, Saint Augustine, and Charlemagne, including the debate over whether the Cynocephali were human. This remastered From the Vault episode revisits the history, theology, and cryptozoology behind one of the strangest chapters in Dogman lore.

Seth’s episode notes and sources:
https://www.projecteleazar.com/the-nights-watch-dogman-according-to-9th-century-kings-and-scholars/