The Fresno Nightcrawlers
Cryptozoology's Silly Little Guys™
Without question, Bigfoot was launched into superstardom thanks to the Patterson–Gimlin film. You know the one. A handful of blurry, burnt-out frames featuring a strange, ape-like creature swaggering through the woods. But long before that grainy footage captured our imaginations in the ‘60s, people told stories about elusive, upright primates deep in the wilderness. As famous — or infamous — as those 53 seconds are, they weren’t the catalyst for Bigfoot’s mythology. I’d argue they aren’t even its best film appearance — that honor goes to Harry and the Hendersons. Prime John Lithgow in what is ostensibly a cheesy, feature length vegetarian manifesto? What’s not to love? The point is, Bigfoot has a deep history that’s impossible to trace back to a single video. But the opposite is true for our Monster of the Week, whose origins are firmly rooted in a single, famous video clip.
Origins of a Modern Monster
Walking pants. That’s how I’d describe the image of the Fresno Nightcrawlers. You can watch the clip here. I struggled to find a clean, unedited version so I uploaded one myself. No commentary. No awful music. Just the original clip. If you’ve never seen it before, I implore you to go watch it immediately and then return to this episode. Actually, go watch it right now regardless. I’ll wait.
The Nightcrawlers have an unmistakable charm. It’s no wonder they became the first real cryptid of the internet era, but more on that a little later. For now, I’d like to give you as thorough an understanding of this video’s origins as I can provide, or at least, as I can verify.
It was after midnight in early November, 2007, when a man, identified only as Jose, woke to the sound of his dogs barking. Jose had recently installed security cameras after someone (or something) stole items from his yard. His first instinct was to check the feed, thinking he’d caught the perpetrators in the act. Instead, what he saw scared him. Two white beings, with long legs, small heads, and no other discernible features, sauntered across his front lawn in Fresno, California.
After the event, Jose reached out to the local Univision Station, KFTV-DT, in nearby Hanford, California. The station called in Victor Camacho, a radio DJ and paranormal investigator. In a lecture that Camacho gave at a MUFON conference in February of 2008, he presented video of himself visiting the Univision station and watching the recording of the original tape. However, I have not found any evidence that the station aired the tape or Camacho’s interviews with Jose.
According to Camacho, the reporter on the case “wanted him” to say that the tape showed “extraterrestrials,” a claim Camacho said he could not support at the time given how little he had to work with. As for the original tape? Gone. It was allegedly filmed on a security system that didn’t store more than 24 hours of footage before resetting. All that remains is the secondary recording of the monitor.
Jose reached back out to Camacho in February of 2008, curious if the researcher had learned anything. He even invited Camacho to his home, where he agreed to speak on camera for the first time. Once on the scene, Camacho measured the front yard, as well as landmarks from the footage such as a small tree. From that, he estimated that the creatures were no taller than a couple feet. But it seems little more came from this meeting. And the Nightcrawlers likely would have faded into obscurity if it weren’t for what happened next.
Fact or Faked
The first thing I noticed about the Fresno Nightcrawlers was that they don’t, well, crawl. If anything, I’d say these creatures are performing the textbook definition of a mosey. Which might leave you wondering where the name came from. Me too. And, after some in-depth sleuthing, I’ve uncovered its etymological roots. As it turns out, the name comes from the 2010 SYFY original series Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files. Specifically, Season 1, Episode 2: Unwanted Visitors/Strange Sightings. Which is also the first time, at least as far as I can verify, that Jose had spoken to any other media outlet about his encounter.
I binged a lot of SYFY (or, for the true fans, the Sci-Fi Channel) back in the day. And, yes, that includes all their “reality” paranormal shows. Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International, Ghost Hunters Academy, uhhhh … Ghost Mine. I don’t remember much about Fact or Faked. It only lasted a few seasons, so compared to the endless cycle of ghost shows it was a blip on the radar. But I do remember the episode with the Fresno Nightcrawlers. Or, rather, I remember that the show introduced me to the original video. Unfortunately, like most of the SYFY original series from that time, Fact or Faked isn’t freely streaming anywhere. So, I shelled out $3 and bought the episode on Amazon, which then turned into $6 because I bought the wrong episode.
If you’re unfamiliar with the show, here’s a brief overview. The basic premise: a team of experts (their word) including a journalist, a special effects artist, and a “scientist” (that’s all he’s ever described as) investigate viral paranormal videos and try to decide if they’re — wait for it — fact or faked. Honestly, as far as these types of shows go, they did an okay job of providing some rational explanations for these phenomena. And, it seems, they did a great job of naming them. No explanation is ever provided for why they went with Fresno Nightcrawlers. But, when the video is played during the episode, that’s the name that pops up in the lower thirds. And, well, it stuck.
This of course made me wonder what we called the Fresno Nightcrawlers before Fact or Faked. Camacho never names them in his taped lecture from ‘08, and the few references I could find simply referred to them as the “Fresno Aliens,” with no attribution.
Interestingly, the next reported sighting of the Nightcrawlers didn’t come until a year after the episode premiered. Which leaves us with a four-year gap between Jose’s original sighting and the second one, which allegedly occurred in Yosemite National Park, not too far from Fresno.
I’ll be honest, I’m less interested in that sighting. You can watch the video here and judge for yourself, but it’s not as compelling as Jose’s to me. Namely because its origins aren’t nearly as well documented. It was supposedly given to a UFO-obsessed Youtuber by an anonymous “retired person” living in or near the park. And it’s worth noting that this happened well after the Nightcrawlers had gained viral popularity online.
A Cryptid for the Internet Age
And sure, Bigfoot has the benefit of time and a delightful 1987 family-comedy on his side, but the Nightcrawlers have social media. And while I hesitate to claim that they’re the internet’s favorite cryptid, I do think they could give Mothman a run for his money.
It’s safe to say that these modern cryptids have infiltrated nearly every aspect of pop culture. You can find them in comic form, plushie form, and even in video game form. As I’m writing this episode, I’m actually wearing a Fresno Nightcrawlers shirt (shoutout to the Cryptonaut Podcast and their awesome merch). And notably, the Nightcrawlers (along with many other cryptids) have been adopted as icons by some in the LGBTQIA+ community, a phenomena you can read a lot more about from an actual queer person here. Shoutout to JP Brammer, author of that article and a fellow Oklahomie.
I’ve always been a bit bemused by Mothman’s viral fame, but the Nightcrawlers just make sense to me. I mean, they are absolutely adorable. And as we all know, two things thrive on the internet: pure, unadulterated hatred and cute, fluffy things. Thankfully, the Nightcrawlers are the latter. And, while I don’t really have any evidence to back this up, I do believe — in their own weird way — they’ve made the internet a better place. I mean just look at these guys.
Do I Believe?
It feels almost disingenuous to say something as trite as, “the world has changed a lot since 2007.” But often the most effective route is also the most direct. Disinformation feels like it’s at an all-time high. While trust in the media — and each other — feels at an all-time low. If the Fresno Nightcrawlers’ story came out today, even with all its traceability, I think I would dismiss it out of hand. But as I said in episode one, that’s the kind of cynicism I’m trying to overcome with this series. If I am to do what I sat out to do, and redefine the boundaries of my belief, then where might I place the Nightcrawlers within those boundaries?
When I saw the video in 2010, I laughed it off as ‘pants on a wire’. But as the years went by, and the Nightcrawlers’ popularity grew, I started to think of them less as a “hoax” and more as an endearing internet myth. One that had given rise to a character that was easy to identify with. After all, the Fresno Nightcrawlers are the definition of a “Silly Little Guy™.” And now, after all of the research, rewatching the video, and tracing the history of the original sighting, I’m not so sure hoax is where I’d place this Monster of the Week. Afterall, Jose seemed like a genuine person who witnessed something he couldn’t explain. A man who only wanted answers, not fame or infamy. Though, sadly, it seems, those answers will never come. According to The Fresno Bee, Jose has since passed.
The Fresno Nightcrawlers represent one of the best aspects of human nature — our ability to find comfort in the unknown. Be that in the mysterious silence of the wilderness, the infinite expanse of the universe, or the grainy, black and white footage of something walking — or moseying — out of the darkness.
I choose to believe in the Fresno Nightcrawlers.
Thanks for reading Monster of the Week, which is released every Tuesday (unless it isn’t) and features stories of the paranormal, the unknown, and other high strangeness. If you’d like to support me, please share this Substack with all of your friends — and your enemies. You can also follow me on Instagram @garyreddinwrites, though it’s mostly pictures of my cats.
Maybe whoever named them nightcrawlers was thinking of worms, like how they pop up seemingly out of nowhere after if rains.