As a boy, Seth Breedlove dreamed of one day making his own films. As a young man, he abandoned that dream. But an encounter with a legend put him on the path to becoming what he is today: filmmaker, folklore historian, and monster hunter.
Breedlove is the founder of the Small Town Monsters documentary series and production group. The First Monster Story
Minerva Monster tells the story of the Cayton family of Minerva, Ohio, and their experiences with a large, hairy, human-looking creature near the family home. The encounters culminated in a frightening confrontation between the creature and several family members in August of 1978. The story, as investigated by the sheriff’s department, was reported by the local newspapers. When the newswire picked up the account, the family and the surrounding area received international attention, drawing the curious from all over the world.
For many, the Minerva “monster” could only be one thing: a Midwest version of Sasquatch, more commonly known as Bigfoot. The once local event turned into a media sensation. Cars full of onlookers stopped or drove by, slowing traffic night after night as they lined and then blocked the road in front of the family home. Many of the uninvited came armed, asking permission to search the family property in hunt for the creature.
With the unwelcome attention came ridicule for the Cayton family. But as time passed, the cars and visitors decreased. Interest in the events surrounding Minerva died down, finally subsiding altogether as the monster became old news. Things went back to normal -- sort of -- as witnesses moved away or died, leaving the events of 1978 to fading memory.
Enter Seth Breedlove
Breedlove, who recently turned 36, was born 3 years after the Cayton’s reported encounter. He grew up in nearby rural Bolivar and remembered hearing the stories of the Minerva incident when he was a young boy. Back then he was interested in comic books, monster movies (and those who made them), and getting through school. He had no idea his childhood interest in movie makers would one day lead him to make the world’s only documentary on the subject.
It was a friend at church who first encouraged Breedlove to take a closer look at the Minerva story.
“We worked in the (church) sound booth together,” he recalls. “He knew I was into comic books and monsters...and I think he just assumed I’d be interested in Bigfoot. He showed up at church one day with a bunch of DVD’s...and I watched them and got into it that way.”
Breedlove started calling and interviewing surviving witnesses and members of the Cayton family. He also contacted the deputy who headed up the 1978 investigation and the newspaper reporter who first covered the story. His thought was to write a book recording their first-hand accounts. He submitted proposals to several publishers, all of which were rejected on the grounds that there were already numerous works on the subject or new projects underway. But the story was far too interesting and far too compelling to let it just fade into legend. Frustrated, Breedlove elected to take a different approach. He would make a documentary.
There was just one problem. Breedlove didn’t know anything about video or film production. Early aspirations to make films had been abandoned when Breedlove confronted the daunting task of obtaining a formal education. “I went to Kent State for all of about 8 hours,” he laughs.
But what Breedlove lacked in formal training he made up for with life learning.
First, he had extensive experience in audio production. He was an early participant in the growing podcast industry, launching first one endeavor and then another as an online commentator and interviewer. His favorite podcast subject was, of course, comic books.
“So, I’d been podcasting since 2008,” says Seth. “(The) Flying Saucer-Cast and Ancillary Characters...both were about comic books. There was also another podcast that my wife Adrienne did called Podpie.”
Second, although he had no experience in film production, Breedlove had studied film technique. As a young man he spent a lot of his spare time reading up on his favorite movie directors. Drawing on this background, he began teaching himself the camera side of production work. Knowing he needed a crew, he enlisted the help of friends who knew video and audio and had worked in the field. In 2014 they began work on Minerva Monster.
A Podcast About Bigfoot
Business is by definition “busy” and in the same year Minerva production started, Breedlove, now “caught up in the wide world of cryptozoology, directing films and such,” signed off on the 146th episode of his Ancillary Characters podcast (although, actually, there was a 147th episode in 2016, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of So Much Justice -- hmmm). Flying Saucer-Cast had already concluded sometime earlier. But instead of abandoning podcasting, he launched a new cast -- Saswhat: A Podcast about Bigfoot.
Intended as a running commentary on the reality of the Bigfoot phenomenon, Breedlove interviewed researchers and authors as subjects for the show. Early on he interviewed friend and Bigfoot/monster fan Mark Matzke, blogger and podcast host of Monsterland Ohio Radio. Matzke soon joined Breedlove as Saswhat co-host. On November 16, 2016, after 100 episodes, Breedlove relinquished his podcast host responsibilities to Matzke and Matzke’s 14-year-old son, Andy. The father-son team continues to host Saswhat, now in it’s 130th episode. (Note to the Reader: I’ll be posting Mark’s story as a separate article tomorrow.)
Small Town Monsters Productions
During the process of researching and then producing Minerva, Breedlove became convinced that there were other stories, other bits of small town folklore, that should be preserved. The original idea to make a single film had grown instead into a series of short films that would document (as the STM web site puts it) the “...lost and bizarre history around the United States...Focusing on small town folklore...(and telling) stories through the words and experiences of those who were most affected by them -- residents and witnesses.”
During the process of researching and then producing Minerva, Breedlove became convinced that there were other stories, other bits of small town folklore, that should be preserved. The original idea to make a single film had grown instead into a series of short films that would document (as the STM web site puts it) the “...lost and bizarre history around the United States...Focusing on small town folklore...(and telling) stories through the words and experiences of those who were most affected by them -- residents and witnesses.”
Breedlove, with his wife’s support, quit full-time work and took to working part-time jobs so that he could give the STM film project (now a series instead of just 1 film) his full focus. His efforts paid off when Minerva Monster opened to enthusiastic response at the local and national level in 2015. Breedlove’s commitment to documenting the testimonies of the Cayton’s and their neighbors was a breath of fresh air to those who actually witnessed and lived through the experiences of that time.
The reception given to Minerva contributed to follow-up successes with their 2nd and 3rd productions, Beast of Whitehall (2016) and Boggy Creek Monster (also 2016). The Mothman of Point Pleasant (2017) recounted the stories of the flying apparition of the same name and its association with the December 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge between Point Pleasant, WV, and Gallipolis, OH.
STM’s newest project, Invasion on Chestnut Ridge, was released this past Friday, October 20th. Invasion documents unusual events surrounding the Chestnut Ridge area of Pennsylvania. Most famous are the 1965 Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, UFO crash and the oft-associated UFO and Bigfoot reports from neighboring Uniontown, PA.
“Small Town Monsters was a series before it became
a production company. I’ve really been doing this full time for the last 3 years…
(but) I’ve had no other job the last 4 months.” - Seth Breedlove
Far from its roots as a seemingly part-time startup, Small Town Monsters was now a full-time small business, an independent film company that not only creates and manages its own productions but also controls its own distribution. Adrienne Breedlove, the group’s business manager, processes DVD orders and coordinates the team’s business and personal appearance schedules. She also takes care of the graphic design and web site work. Seth’s parents, sister, and brother-in-law provide ongoing support as participants at STM events.
Working 18 months to 3 years in advance, Monsters will release 3 projects in 2018, 3 in 2019, and a series of documentaries based in the southern U.S. in 2020. There are also plans for a short film and separate documentaries on storm chasers and foster care families.
All of STM’s productions have been funded by Kickstarter campaigns, a format STM will continue to follow. The 2018 schedule will start off with a January 26 Kickstarter for a Beast of Bray Road documentary (planned for release later that year). 2018 releases also include The Flatwoods Monster: A Legacy of Fear and On the Trail of Champ: A New Series from Small Town Monsters.
It’s NOT About the Monster
Small Town’s schedule for the next three years is ambitious and will no doubt require more learning-as-you-go. But the thing that keeps Breedlove motivated is probably the same thing that STM’s fans find most interesting about the stories.
“It’s the human element,” says Seth. “At the end of the day, it all comes down to the people rather than the monster.”
He pauses, then adds. “It (also) helps to be too stupid to quit.”
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