By STEVEN JUPITER
PITTSFORD—It’s not uncommon to hear folks recount their sightings of Bigfoot in these parts. If you haven’t seen him yourself, chances are you know someone who has. Or someone who knows someone who has. In any event, the area between Whitehall, NY and Pittsford has reputedly been home to Sasquatch for many moons.
But have you heard tell of the Pittsford boga man? Local lore has it that travelers on the byways and thoroughfares between Brandon and Pittsford were oft harassed and tormented by the Pittsford boga man, a creature of mystery and great power who would pluck night riders right off their horses and scurry them off to his hidden lair, never to be seen again.
On the evening of May 17, 1901, a young man who lived on Pearl Street in Brandon set out for Pittsford, an act which inherently courted danger, as the Boga Man was sure to be on the prowl. When the youth failed to return home, concerned neighbors drew the only logical conclusion: he had been snatched by the Boga Man! Why, there could be no other explanation! A posse need be formed and marched down to Pittsford to get to the bottom of things. They would do their best to rescue their missing brother from the clutches of the monster.
Happily, upon arrival in Pittsford, they discovered the young man safe and sound. Whether through guile or innocence, he had somehow managed to evade the gnarly claws of the Pittsford Boga Man. The townspeople could breathe a sigh of relief for one more night at least.
Now, it should be no surprise that this corridor between the Green and Taconic Mountains would be home to such a fearsome beast. In the 1800s, it was well known that the membrane between this world and the next was especially thin here. People came from far and wide to contact their deceased loved ones. The Eddy Brothers of Chittenden, for example, were famed spiritualists who claimed to have open channels of communication with the departed. That they were ultimately exposed as frauds is irrelevant to the fact that the northern reaches of Rutland County were and are a veritable playground for supernatural beings.
So, the next evening you find yourself traveling on Route 7 or West Creek Road or Birch Hill Road or any other pike ‘tween Brandon and Pittsford, keep your eyes open and your wits about you. You may well find yourself face to face with the loathsome Boga Man!
