Bigfoot Collectors Club – “The Stephenville Lights” w/ Kevin Kirkpatrick (Feb 4, 2026)

Podcast by: Wood Elf Media
Guests: Kevin Kirkpatrick (comedian/actor, Groundlings)
Hosts: Michael McMillian (actor, “True Blood”) & Riley Bray (musician, TOMI)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the enigmatic 2008 Stephenville, Texas UFO mass sighting—“the Stephenville Lights”—with returning clubhouse favorite Kevin Kirkpatrick. The trio balances personal anecdotes, high strangeness, skeptical banter, and listener-friendly irreverence, exploring UFO lore, paranormal skepticism, and the legacy of being lost (in the woods… and in life), before digging into the details and witness accounts of this major—but often overlooked—modern UFO event.

Clubhouse Chatter: Food Hacks, Childhood Trauma, and Haunted Theaters

[01:18 – 19:11]

• Opening Banter & Welcome

• Kevin Kirkpatrick is introduced as a recurring “club scout” and comedic friend.
• The group opens with hilarious arguments about burgers, mustard-on-chips as a “life hack,” and impromptu “food innovation therapy.”
  • [04:01] Kevin’s Tip: “Dip your chips in mustard and it’s heaven.”
  • [04:47] Michael: “Edie Patterson, former guest… we were squirting mustard on corn chips and just chowing.”
• Creative sandwich-making philosophies are shared—including the “apple mush sandwich” and veggie improvisation.
• Running “apple family” gag returns: applesauce, apple tart, and the debut of “apple mush” (“the angriest member of the apple family”).

• Personal Paranormal & Nighttime Fears

• Michael notes a friend was too spooked by Kevin’s last story of “something crawling in the hedges.” Kevin reports continued “human-sized shuffling” in the bushes of his new house:
  • [07:51] Kevin: “I do still occasionally hear that human-sized shuffling… it’s either supernatural or the loudest mouse on earth.”
• Brief aside about raccoon domestication and animal evolution.

• Haunted Theater Story

• The group discusses whether the Groundlings theater (and all theaters) are haunted.
  • [10:19] Kevin: “The feeling… is almost like a weird free fall…every spirit in there is just like when the alien’s inches away from her face in that movie.”
• A ritual: pitch-black after-hours challenges, sensory deprivation, and manufactured spooks.
  • [13:10] Kevin: “We would challenge people to go just one at a time into the theater… and some people can’t do it.”
  • They improvise: “scary sounds you’d hate to hear in the dark”—everyone tries to out-gross and out-creepy each other.

Recent High Strangeness: Bigfoot vs. Marines

[19:31 – 34:39]

• New Segment: “Where in the World is Bigfoot?”

• Michael presents a “recent” (though actually 20-year-old) report to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO): a 2005 sighting by three U.S. Marines at Quantico, Virginia.
• Report Details:
  • Marines attempted navigation at night; compasses inexplicably lead them in circles (apparent magnetic anomaly).
  • They witness an “8-foot, massive, hairy creature” manipulating two large trees, then pursued them through woods with heavy, crashing footsteps.
  • BFRO’s Matt Moneymaker rates this a “Class A” sighting.
  • Group discusses plausibility (“could it have just been a bear?”), the strange tree-manipulation, and why it took 20 years to report.
  • The “skeptics” (esp. Riley) note memory fallibility, social stigma, and the wish for direct wilderness voices.

• Lost in the Woods: Childhood Stories

• Kevin reveals his lifelong aversion to the woods stems from being lost as a child for 5-6 hours in rural Texas.
  • [32:13] Kevin: “My grandmother was sobbing… eventually found my way to a main road…”
  • Humorous retellings of both Michael and Riley’s “getting lost” stories (Michael in Rome, Riley driving into LA’s Skid Row as a new driver), along with a near-miss with a sinister NYC bellhop (Kevin).

Believe It or Bullshit: Lightning Round

[48:24 – 51:45]

Quickfire beliefs (or not):

• Kevin’s lightning verdicts:

  • Ghosts: “Bullshit”
  • Bigfoot: “I kind of believe it.”
  • UFOs: “Bullshit” (“So much of the reporting smacks so hard of bullshit.”)
  • Loch Ness, Tarot, Ouija: “Bullshit”
  • Manifestation, Life after Death, Aliens: “I believe it.”
  • Mythics (Dogman, Goatman, Bat Squatch): “Bullshit”

• Quote—skepticism about UFOs:

  • [51:07] Kevin: “People have really abused that one… everybody’s got a UFO sighting because they see anything they’re not sure what it is—‘I’m so rare and fortunate…’ I get a real bullshit vibe.”

Deep Dive: The Stephenville UFO Encounter

[53:32 – 86:44]

• [Background & Setting]

• Stephenville, TX—cattle/dairy town, lots of sky, population 20,000.
  • [60:51] Kevin: “I just remember it’s just rural. Yeah, yeah—farmland.”

• Main Eyewitness Encounters

• January 8, 2008: Multiple residents—including pilot Steve Allen, Mike & Claudette Odom, and more—witness large bright orbs and a massive, silent “mile-wide” triangular craft.
  • [58:33] Kevin (as Steve Allen): “It was like a hundred horsepower car trying to keep up with a 1000 horsepower one.”
  • Craft transforms: lights in a line, then arch, then vertical, then “burned like fire and vanished.”
  • Steve reports intense tranquility/peace during the event (a quasi-religious feeling).
• Constable Leroy Gaten: Sees colored orbs and military jets, and also catches a strange orb on dash cam (video rendered nearly useless as if “jammed”).
• Richard Sorrells (Hunter):
  • Witnessed the craft in daylight; triangle blots the sky, “rivetless” with structured indentations; rumors of “praying mantis-shaped alien occupant.”
  • [68:32] Michael: “Harassed by military helicopters and threatening visits (bullet left on dashboard, veiled warnings).”

• Public Response & Fallout

• Local reporter Angela Joyner becomes the story’s champion; paper sells out, but she is later fired for running with the piece against editor’s wishes.
  • Ironically, editor Sarah Vanderburg herself later sees the lights.
• Community uproar: hundreds attend MUFON town hall—dozens report sightings.
  • [72:19] “They set up 35 chairs and hundreds of people show up.”

• Military Response & Radar Evidence

• Initial military denials: “We weren’t flying jets” — then reversal: “OK, but nothing happened.”
• Radar data (obtained via FOIA) confirms presence of anomalous, transponder-less craft matching witness accounts:
  • Object seen on radar moving up to 2,000 mph, sometimes slow, corresponding precisely to witnesses' locations/timing.
  • [80:07] Robert Powell (MUFON): "These stories check out with radar data...there’s absolutely no doubt there’s an object in the sky...without a transponder code."

• Discussion & Skeptical Takeaways

• Is it military tech? “Maybe, but that doesn’t explain a mile-wide silent craft or ‘praying mantis occupant.’”

• Possible shushing or intimidation of witnesses by military.

  • [74:38] Kevin (as Steve Allen): “A reflection off two airliners? How about a reflection off my white ass!”

• Stigma persists—witnesses face ridicule/loss of business.

  • Allen, Sorrells, and Joyner pay social and financial prices for speaking out.

• [85:54] Michael: “It’s a big case and there’s not enough about it out there, I think... it’s one where witnesses are still alive.”

Collector’s Corner & Final Thoughts

[87:07 – End]

• The hosts and Kevin recommend TV shows: The Pit, Traders, and Pluribus (tongue-in-cheek parody names).
  • Michael describes The Pit as “a roller coaster show… really well shot and written.”
• Michael thanks listeners for support after his father’s passing, and plugs bonus content/ad-free episodes (BCC Clubhouse).
• Riley demonstrates his Aztec flute, which produces “spooky” ‘Legend of Zelda’-like sounds—joking it might summon a UFO.
  • [91:17] Riley: “[Playing flute] Spooky, right?”

Notable Quotes & Moments

Childhood Trauma in the Woods

• [32:13] Kevin: “I was lost in the woods in fifth grade... maybe 5, 6 hours. My grandmother was sobbing… my granddad told me when I got back, ‘I was about to call the police,’ as though it was my fault.”

On Paranormal Belief

• [29:05] Michael: “Maybe it’s just trying to chase them off…Maybe it didn’t want to catch them.”
• [34:29] Kevin: “I like a big sky. Like a big horizon. I don’t like to be closed in and I’m afraid I’ll get lost.”

Stephenville UFO

• [59:26] Kevin (as Steve Allen): “When it came past us, I developed the most peaceful, easy feeling I think I’ve ever had in my life… It was almost like a religious experience.”

Military Denial Snark

• [74:38] Steve Allen/ Kevin: “A reflection off two airliners? How about a reflection off my white ass.”

Key Timestamps

• [01:18] Show intro, food hacks, mustard on chips
• [07:45] Paranormal update: “human-sized shuffling” story continuation
• [10:17] Haunted theater blackout ritual
• [19:31] New segment: Bigfoot recent sighting (Quantico, Marines)
• [32:13] Kevin’s lost-in-the-woods trauma origin story
• [48:24] “Believe It or Bullshit” lightning round
• [53:32] Main: Stephenville Lights deep dive
• [68:32] Eyewitness intimidation stories, possible Men in Black
• [72:19] MUFON town hall/ UFO community response
• [80:07] Radar evidence discussed
• [85:54] Reflections/discussion on stigma and potential military explanations
• [87:07] Collector’s Corner, plugged shows
• [90:45] Aztec flute demo

Final Takeaways

• The Stephenville Lights remains one of the most compelling modern mass UFO sightings: dozens of credible witnesses, corroborating radar, and classic small-town drama.
• The episode blends humor and skepticism, with memorable personal stories about being lost—fitting for an episode about "the unknown."
• The hosts highlight the still-strong stigma against UFO reporting, the legacy of ridicule, and the ongoing need for open-minded—but critical—investigation.

Useful For:
Anyone wanting a funny, in-depth, and human look at the Stephenville Lights UFO mystery, vivid reenactments, and top-shelf skeptical (but playful) podcasting. Even longtime fans will appreciate revealing backstories and heartfelt personal anecdotes.