How reliable are the Sherman family's 1994–96 accounts, and how did they reach print?
Where it stands
Four answers have been proposed. The core of the accounts was reported in good faith, but the story grew as researchers, the press and the… leads, with evidence 2 for, 1 against: partly supported by its tests. Three are still possible. Of the one narrower question under it, one is answered.
Why it matters
Every later claim about the ranch starts with Terry and Gwen Sherman, who went public in a single newspaper feature in June 1996[1]. Within three months they had sold to Bigelow and Terry Sherman was working for him under a nondisclosure agreement, so after October 1996 their story reached print through others: researchers quoted in the press, and then the 2005 book, which renames them the Gormans[2][3]. How much of the founding account is first-hand, and how much it changed on the way, decides how much weight it can bear.
Answers 4
History
- Van Eyck puts forward: the Shermans honestly reported experiences they could not explain, and the June 1996 article is a fair record…
- Van Eyck: the Shermans had not reported the cattle deaths or sightings to officials, and the county sheriff had no…Against: The Shermans honestly reported experiences they could not explain, and the June 1996 article is a fair record…
- Van Eyck: the family gave the account under their own names to a newspaper before any buyer appeared, and said they…For: The Shermans honestly reported experiences they could not explain, and the June 1996 article is a fair record…
- Van Eyck: the wolf, the vanished dogs and the humanoid figure are absent from the June 1996 account and appear later,…For: The core of the accounts was reported in good faith, but the story grew as researchers, the press and the…
- Van Eyck: the family said they lost money on the sale.Against: The accounts were largely made up before the sale.
- McCue puts forward: the core of the accounts was reported in good faith, but the story grew as researchers, the press and the…
- McCue: salisbury, who interviewed the family, nonetheless accepted that genuinely anomalous events occurred while…Against: The core of the accounts was reported in good faith, but the story grew as researchers, the press and the…
- McCue: terry Sherman told Frank Salisbury that much in Hunt for the Skinwalker only resembled his experiences and…For: The core of the accounts was reported in good faith, but the story grew as researchers, the press and the…
- Sheaffer puts forward: the accounts were largely made up before the sale.
- Sheaffer: many of the most bizarre incidents in the 2005 book were witnessed only by Terry Sherman, who stayed on as…For: The accounts were largely made up before the sale.
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