PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A former Sweet Home city council member has gone viral after posting a video to TikTok claiming that he spotted a mythical giant in the Cascade foothills of Linn County on Oct. 23.

In the video, Sweet Home resident James Goble said that he was traveling along Quartzville Drive near the Green Peter Reservoir when saw a distinct rock formation open like a “door.” Peeking from behind the “door,” was a giant, the former government official said. The mountain “door” allegedly closed back up before he filmed the video about the sighting, which received more than 5 million views before he took the video down.

“It looked like somebody was staring out of [it],” Goble said in the video. “Dude, giants are freaking real. I don’t care what anybody says.”

  • giant sighting
    The rock formation that Goble said opened like a door in October. (Photos from Google Street View)
  • The Green Peter Reservoir seen in November of 2023. (Linn County)

Goble’s sighting occurred east of Whitcomb Creek County Park. Linn County spokesperson Alex Paul told KOIN 6 News that Whitcomb Creek County Park is closed and gated as the reservoir has been drained for the season. However, Quartzville Drive, the stretch of roadway where the rock formation is located, remains open to the public. Some on TikTok have taken an interest in the local mountainside in hopes of finding the giant mentioned in Goble’s post. However, Paul said that the county doesn’t want people exploring the campgrounds during the off-season.

“We do not support folks going in there and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not want folks in there due to the water level drawdown at Green Peter Reservoir,” Paul said.

Goble declined to provide a formal interview about the sighting. However, he told KOIN 6 News via email that he had no plans for the video to go viral.

“The power of social media is wide, and I never thought this would go so far,” Goble said. “I’ve posted things in the past, but I only had 60 people following me. So, when I heard and ‘thought’ I saw something, I did a video after for my friends to see what I [was] seeing.”

Goble has made repeated trips back to the rock formation to film follow-up videos about the sighting and lead groups of thrillseekers to the area. While no additional giant sightings have occurred, Goble maintains that his sighting was real.

“It is amazing how many people are adventuring out to see this,” he said. “They all need to be careful and leave no trace of garbage around. I truly hope some gets lucky as I did, and it changes their lives forever.”