A Closer Look at the Ohio Howl

Near Wellsville Ohio in 1994, Matt Moneymaker recorded a loud moaning sound that would go on to become known as the Ohio Howl. Since its capture, that sound has become associated with the voice of a sasquatch vocalizing somewhere in the hills along the Ohio river. Indeed, in the years to follow,  this howl would be heard and recorded in a variety of locations across North America. It has now become so well known that the Moan Howl forms the basis for many attempts by researchers to lure sasquatch into vocalizing for the recorder.

Such an important piece of evidence for the existence of bigfoot naturally bears closer scrutiny for the purpose of A) identifying unique characteristics, B) differentiating it from known vocalizers, and C) looking for similar patterns in other potential sasquatch vocals. When similar patterns are found, an association is established, and unique characteristics from the newer recordings may be added to the body of knowledge regarding sasquatch vocalizations.

For those interested in how sasquatch communicate with others of their kind, this type of investigation can be deeply intriguing. And in my efforts to examine this matter I've found a large number of researchers with a wide collection of audio captures that fall into the emerging profile of the sasquatch voice. They've been very generous with their ideas and their recordings, and networking with them has allowed me to put many theories together, validate or invalidate several ideas, and make some minor discoveries of my own along the way.

In the weeks and months to come I will be releasing a series of video-spectrograms, similar to the one above. In these spectrograms I will highlight characteristics of these calls and demonstrate their relationship to other sasquatch vocals. With time a profile should emerge which builds a picture of both common sasquatch calls, and some rare and strange sasquatch vocals as well.

In the mean time, let's begin with the Ohio Howl. I'd like to point out three features in this recording that are worth becoming familiar with.

First, the attenuated fundamental. This was first brought to my attention by Bob Densford from Texas. If you watch the spectrogram as it plays, you'll notice a series of stacked lines (all gently curving arches) coinciding with the sound of the howl. The lowest line is called the fundamental frequency (F0), the next line up is a harmonic of that frequency (F1 or 2x the fundamental), and the next up is another harmonic (F2 or 3x the fundamental). Upon closer examination, you will see that F0 is visually dimmer than F1. It is diminished in power, or attenuated. F1 is actually much brighter than F0, stronger than any of the other harmonics, and is where the vocal "resonates" the strongest. This is the note that you hear most clearly with your ears (although the fundamental and other harmonics are contributing to the richness of the sound). Attenuated fundamentals are not unique to the sasquatch, but they do appear in many of the recordings with the best potential for being a sasquatch. They are one of the hallmarks that I watch for when trying to rule a recording in or out.

Second, just after the 7 second mark in the howl recording (14 seconds on the video) there is a softer, flat howl, that sounds like a low "wooooo". This is not readily noticed in the original audio file, but it stands out clearly after cleaning up the dog barks that are stepping on it. More data is needed to back up this theory, but I believe this might be a response to the loud vocalizer, coming from a second sasquatch. I base that idea upon recognition of very similar, low flat howls, in a number of similar recordings. I've even heard this low howl twice while in the woods investigating. Over the weeks and months ahead I will single out this vocal in other video-spectrograms.

Third and finally, I would call your attention to the shape of the howl in the spectrogram. Moan howls have a characteristically long, gentle arch shape to them. Few other vocalizers routinely produce this shape. Coyotes are often more erratic and shorter. Wolves are often very flat and long. Cows can come close, they are deeper and shorter. This type of howl could be produced by man or canine, but the unique form is something to watch for when examining an audio clip. Combine that with other attributes (like frequency range) and the profile of the sasquatch moan howl becomes much easier to recognize.