Bigfoot Collectors Club

Host: Wood Elf Media

Episode: "Thunderbirds!" Deep Dive

Date: February 18, 2026

Episode Overview

In this lively and comically high-spirited deep dive, hosts Michael McMillian and Riley Bray embark on a comprehensive exploration of Thunderbirds—a legendary cryptid prevalent in Indigenous North American mythology and American Fortean folklore. Tracing tales from 19th-century newspaper accounts to modern sightings and petroglyphs, the hosts dissect the myth’s evolution, possible origins, hoaxes, and the intersection of legend, paleontology, and cultural memory. The conversation features personal anecdotes, historical digressions, and ample banter, all characteristic of Bigfoot Collectors Club’s trademark blend of skepticism and open-minded curiosity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Stage: Thunderbird Hype and Origins

• Main Theme Introduction (04:12–05:38)
  • This is the first deep dive episode of 2026, following months of research into winged cryptids and humanoids.
  • Michael frames the Thunderbird as "deeply rooted in Native American first people's mythology" (10:17), with a complex place in both folklore and cryptozoology.

“Thunderbirds: deeply rooted in Native American first peoples’ mythology... Perhaps storytelling accounts.”
— Riley Bray (10:17)

The Tombstone Thunderbird: Old West Encounters and Yellow Journalism

The Tombstone Epitaph Account (05:38–09:43)

• April 26, 1890: Tombstone, Arizona. Two ranchers reportedly confront a massive, exhausted "flying monstrosity" resembling an alligator with bat wings (07:09).
• After shooting the creature, they cut off part of its wing as proof but allegedly fail to recover the entire body—leaving a story with no follow-up and much speculation.

“Now too large to drag back to town on horseback, the men apparently cut off a bit of the creature's wing and rode back into Tombstone...”
— Michael McMillian (07:27)

• The encounter is later dubbed "The Tombstone Thunderbird," despite its dragon-like, non-avian description.
• The story resurfaces periodically, becoming a staple of cryptozoological lore and seeding rumors of a mysterious Thunderbird photograph.

The Elusive Thunderbird Photograph

Folklore of the Fabled Photo (53:42–62:35)

• Many cryptozoologists (John Keel, Ivan T. Sanderson, etc.) claim to have seen or owned a lost photograph: a group of men posing beneath a gigantic, barn-nailed bird.

• Artist Andrew Minier redraws the image from memory, convinced as a child he saw it in a book:

  "I'm confident that the photograph I saw was an image of a gigantic eagle-like raptor, definitely with a hooked beak and most likely with a feathered head and neck."
  — Andrew Minier, as quoted by Riley Bray (54:13)

• The earliest traceable source—an old Pennsylvania folklorist named Hiram M. Cranmer—shares the story both in print and in letters to Fortean magazines (59:59–61:08).

• Hosts suggest it’s either a tall tale, an early photographic hoax or “tall-tale postcard,” or a collective false memory (Mandal Effect–style).

• Michael notes that nailing big birds to barn doors was a real practice and that tall-tale composite photo postcards were popular in the early 20th century (65:20).

Thunderbird in Indigenous Myth & Petroglyphs

Folkloric and Artistic Depictions (12:08–13:46, 26:02–31:07)

• Thunderbird is “an eagle or condor-like spirit bird” said to create thunder and lightning by flapping its wings—often in spiritual opposition to serpentine underworld beings.
• "Why, if totem poles include real, local animals, would Thunderbird and beings like Wild Man (akin to Sasquatch) be the only fictional ones?" Michael ponders (13:28).
• Historic petroglyphs and art in Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, and beyond depict the Thunderbird as a large, square-winged bird, distinct from eagle designs.

“Are these petroglyphs, you know, recording something that the naked eye is seeing in nature?”
— Michael McMillian (30:53)

Examination of Modern and Historical Sightings

San Diego "Dragon" Account (14:00–17:35)

• Within months of Tombstone’s article, a San Diego newspaper prints an account of a child seeing a similar flying creature—"pale and frightened" insisting he saw "the devil." The child validates his claim after viewing an illustration like that from the Tombstone story.

Illinois as Thunderbird Hotspot (22:28–24:11, 31:59–36:06)

• 1948, Alton, Illinois: Multiple credible witnesses (including Army Colonel Walter F. Sigmund and local flight instructors) report "condor-sized" black birds casting plane-sized shadows.
• The mayor of St. Louis sends an aide on an absurd quest to capture a Thunderbird (23:28–24:11) ("Take the St. Louis Arch and you make a big bird net out of it...").
• Links to ancient local myth: The Piasa bird—described by French missionary Jacques Marquette (in a heavily accented reading by Riley, 26:54)—is a chimera with eagle beak, antlers, scales, and a fish tail.

The Lawndale Attack & "Chief AJ" (1977)

The Lawndale, Illinois Incident (32:50–36:06)

• In July 1977, Ruth Lowe witnesses a gigantic black bird drag her ten-year-old son Marlin 35 feet by the collar before releasing him (33:54).

  "Ruth ran to her son’s rescue, attacking the bird, which ultimately gave up..." (35:03)

• Bird described as black with a white neck ring, 9-foot wingspan—much larger than any local turkey vulture.

The Saga of Chief AJ Huffer (36:09–45:10)

• Local photographer and “colorful character” Chief AJ claims to film two enormous birds over Lake Shelbyville. His credentials and personal flair—ex-Marine, self-described Native American, record-holder, slingshot inventor—become a comedic subplot (41:12–45:10).

  “Month of July, 1977, many reports of giant living Thunderbirds... I, Chief A.J.... was called upon by CBS television to try to film a living Thunderbird."
  — Chief AJ (37:13)

• Experts later identify the birds as likely turkey vultures or Andean condors, though neither explain the predatory behavior witnessed by the Lowe family.

Scientific Candidates & Cultural Theories

Explanations for Giant Bird Sightings (45:15–51:17, 47:49–50:16)

• Modern possibilities:
  • Turkey vulture, Andean condor, California condor (all large but rarely matching the color, size, or talon strength described).
  • Migratory birds lost or relocated due to climate, or even escaped exotics.
• Relic species: Hosts discuss the Teratornis, a Pleistocene bird with 17–24 foot wingspans (reading from Laurin Coleman’s "Cryptozoology A to Z" at 48:46).
• Oral and cultural memory: The continuing presence of Thunderbirds in Indigenous tradition and American folklore may be an echo of very real, now-extinct megafauna, kept alive through storytelling long after physical extinction (48:07–48:23).
• Some stories—involving dragon-like flying reptiles—are suspected to be imaginative yellow journalism, tall tales, or the product of old West storytelling culture.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Sighting Reliability:

“You know, two cowboys and a little boy—those are our eyewitnesses. How reliable are we?”
— Michael McMillian (67:41)

On the Collective Memory Angle:

“This was a real creature that lived and died some thousands of years ago... It’s embedded in our collective memory and passed down through ancestry and stories and oral tradition.”
— Riley Bray (63:21)

On Historical Documentation:

“Without Fate [magazine], there’s a lot of stuff we don’t get. We don’t get Men in Black. We don’t get the Shaver Lake mysteries.”
— Michael (57:16)

Thunderbirds’ Place in Imagination:

“It’s like the giant eagles from Lord of the Rings... but like a goth raven.”
— Riley (62:28)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Show Premise: 00:57–04:12
• Thunderbird Overview & Mythology: 09:44–14:00
• The Tombstone Thunderbird Account: 05:38–09:43
• San Diego Dragon Story: 14:00–17:35
• Illinois Sighting Flaps: 22:28–31:07
• Piasa Bird Mural & Marquette Reading: 26:02–28:45
• Lawndale "Attack" and Chief AJ’s Film: 32:50–45:10
• Cultural and Scientific Theories: 45:15–50:24
• Lost Thunderbird Photograph & Memory: 53:42–62:35
• Conclusions & Final Thoughts: 66:17–67:55

Resources & References (As Mentioned)

• [Video of Chief AJ’s Thunderbird Footage](YouTube link cited manually by hosts) (37:09)
• Petroglyph references via Kids Britannica and other archive links (28:26, 29:28)
• Cryptozoology A to Z by Lauren Coleman (48:46)
• Blog post by researcher Kevin J. Gull on the "Lost Thunderbird Photo" (53:44 and 65:20)

Tone & Style

• The conversation is playful, self-aware, and peppered with asides, but also demonstrates sincere interest in cultural history and natural science.
• Both hosts share personal and speculative takes but emphasize plausible explanations by show’s close.
• Comic moments abound (extended riffing on Chief AJ’s slingshots and life story, the futile mission to net a Thunderbird with the St. Louis Arch, and affectionate ribbing on folklore’s unreliable witnesses).
• Thematic focus is grounded in respectful discussion of Indigenous myth but open to skepticism regarding latter-day cryptozoological claims.

Takeaways

• Thunderbird legend is likely rooted in both real ancestral megafauna and reinforced by continuing oral and artistic traditions.
• Many contemporary sightings are explainable via misidentification of known large birds, climate shifts in migration, escaped exotics, or tall-tale storytelling.
• The "lost photo" is probably a product of folklore, manipulated memory, or early hoax photography.
• The episode ultimately celebrates the intersection of natural history, myth, and collective imagination—characterizing the Thunderbird as an example of the blurry border between observed reality and communal storytelling.

End of Summary