Alaska's Abandoned Portlock: Big Hairy Creature Linked to Mysterious Disappearances

Have you ever heard of the abandoned town of Portlock, Alaska? If not, you're not alone. This remote town, located in the southernmost part of the Kenai Peninsula, was once a bustling community but was eventually abandoned by its residents between the 1940s and 1951. But what could have caused an entire town to pick up and leave, leaving behind their homes and livelihoods? According to the YouTube channel Roanoke Tales, the abandonment of Portlock Alaska is one of the strangest and most disturbing cases of a town being abandoned. The channel, which focuses on unexplained phenomena and abandoned places, delves into the history of Portlock and the possible reasons behind its abandonment. Before Portlock became a town, the area was inhabited by the Alutiiq people, who had their own legends and stories about a large, hairy creature they called "not knok" or "big hairy creature" that stalked the area. Some argue that the term "not knok" was changed to fit the narrative of Bigfoot or Sasquatch, but regardless, the Alutiiq people avoided the area due to their fear of this creature. The first European to set foot in the area was British ship captain Nathaniel Portlock in 1786, who named the landfall after himself. The town was eventually established in 1921 when the United States post office opened. At its peak, the town was home to around 31 people, with most residents working as lumbermen, miners, or fishermen. But things took a turn for the worse in the 1920s and 1930s when sheep hunters began to go missing in the woods surrounding the town. These disappearances continued into the 1940s and caused a panic among the residents, who began to abandon the town in droves. So, what could have caused these mysterious disappearances? Some speculate that an interaction with a large, hairy creature similar to Bigfoot or Sasquatch may have triggered a hunting spree on humans. Others suggest that the harsh and remote conditions of the area simply became too much for the residents to handle. Regardless of the reason, the abandonment of Portlock Alaska remains a fascinating and unexplained case. If you're interested in learning more, be sure to check out the video from Roanoke Tales. And who knows, maybe the answer to the mystery lies in the woods, waiting to be discovered.