We can only imagine some of the incredible things seen by the first pioneers on the American frontier. Untouched reservoirs, fields of meadows with no roads, and skylines made only from mountain tops.

Greater still is the excitement that came with experiencing new flora and fauna. But of all the documented wildlife encounters, nothing quite comes close to the harrowing claims by Davy Crockett.

Davy Crockett

Davy Crockett is well known in America as a national icon. In the 1800’s, he swooped into society with impeccable military prowess and maintained a respectable position in Congress for many years.

But the political lifestyle soon took its toll, and Davy decided to head west to Texas with a crew of his own. The team was determined to reach the new land, despite the ongoing territory dispute with Mexico.

It was on this journey that Davy Crockett encountered an incredible sight worth recounting in a letter to his brother-in-law.

The Encounter

Davy recounted events from the frightening experience. The men had been hard at work all day, toiling away in the infamous Texas heat. He was clearing brush from a thicket alongside William Patton. The two were exhausted and stopped for a well-deserved break.

Mr. Crockett put his tools down and began to wipe his brow. But no sooner had he cast his axe aside, a huge monster appeared before his eyes.

He described the creature as a large, ape-like monster. The beast was covered from head to toe with thick fur and had small beady eyes. He recalled huge rows of teeth, visible and towering above him. The monster had an incredibly foreboding presence. Davy Crockett claims to have spit out his food in fear at the sight.

But perhaps the strangest part of the entire encounter was what the beast did next. Instead of viciously attacking the men, the creature instead had a message.

Davy Crockett recounted the warning he received from the monster, “Return from Texas, flee this Fort and abandon this lost cause.”

He was at a loss. This was surely the strangest encounter of his entire journey. He spoke up to the monster, questioning his message—but it was to no avail.

Before he could indulge himself with the grace of an explanation, the monster disappeared before his eyes. He described the exit like “morning steam swirls off a frog pond.”

The experience left Davy unsettled. He described in his letter an inability to consume meat for a couple of days following the experience.

Was he telling the truth?

Davy Crockett had an honest reputation through years of loyalty to his country through military and political service. The man was also well known for his strong Christian values, which he outlined himself in the letter. Davy swears by the encounter, not once but twice in the letter to his brother-in-law.

Was it the Texas heat or something much bigger that tried to warn Davy and his men? Only Davy and William Patton can say definitively what happened on that Texas day.

The post Did Davy Crockett Encounter Sasquatch? appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

Could there be Sasquatch living in east-central Illinois? Two reports over a ten-year span and one incredible footprint have definitely peeked my interest. There may very well be a population of Bigfoot thriving in the Land of Lincoln.

Mid-2000s Activity

In October 2005, a man night-fished at a pond in Kickapoo State Park. Abruptly, two massive splashes erupted from the Vermillion river behind him (he stood in-between the pond and the river).

“My first thought was a deer bounded across the river, then I heard the most awful scream I’ve ever heard. Almost immediately after the scream, I could hear what sounded like a scuffle in the dry leaves. After the rustling in the leaves stopped, I could hear what sounded like a large cat breathing hard or “purring”. “

The man grew up in the area and was an avid outdoorsman. The minute-long purring sounded like nothing he ever heard before.

The following summer, the man returned to Kickapoo. As he drove through the park, a “terrible musky stench” filled the air. While this could be any dead animal, it is notable in relation to an encounter ten years later.

2015 Encounter

On November 12th, 2015 a man hunted deer in Kickapoo State Park. As he sat in a tree stand awaiting some prey, a deep growl and then bizarre screams sounded from deep in the woods. Suddenly, several deer flew from the same spot where he determined the scream came from. They acted frightened. He shot at one.

Not willing to dedicate himself to the idea there was a literal Bigfoot in his midst, he dismounted the tree stand to follow the wounded deer. As he moved through the forest down a hill, the eerie growls returned.

“As I started down a small hill I began hearing these noises again. It was as if I could feel these screaming growling noises in my body. I kept hearing what I thought may have been falling tree branches or something. I looked up on this hill side 30 yards from me and seen a sillhouette of something huge. I quickly headed out of the woods and continued hearing the noises all the way out.”

Still not recognizing his dangerous proximity to a potential Sasquatch, the man returned to the spot with his father-in-law the next day (perhaps he was trying to get rid of him a la Adrienne Barbeau in Creepshow? Haha). As they searched for the wounded deer, the men felt eyes on them the entire time. A terrible odor enveloped the woods:

“A very strong pungent odor. Kind of a cross of something dead and the urine of many different types of animals.”

The strange feelings took over and they soon left.

2015 Foot Print

The hunter returned to the spot in April 2015 to hunt mushrooms. He had no luck with the shrooms, but eventually the same heavy odor hit his nostrils. This time, he felt the urgency to evacuate the situation. He scurried out into “the grassy area” en route to the car and found something remarkable in the ground:

“A single foot print it was the left foot and was very large . The print was a good one very detailed you could see the toes and everything.I wear a size 13 and this print was way bigger than my foot.”

Now, with a visual indicator of the putrid phantom in the woods growling, screaming, and watching him all these visits, the man felt intense fright. He quickly left, but not before taking a photo of his amazing discovery.

from the BFRO

Illinois: The Ultimate Midwestern Sasquatch Hotspot?

Believe it or not, Illinois ranks NUMBER FOUR (!) for Sasquatch sightings, topping popularly perceived hotspots like Texas, Oregon, Ohio, and Michigan. As of the summer of 2018, there have been 298 sightings, trailing Florida by just 25 reports. The most recent report was in April, 2018. Why is this area so conducive for Sasquatch activity?

Much like Salt Fork State Park in Ohio, the 2,842 acres of Kickapoo State Recreation Area features many waterways; especially ponds, creeks, streams, and rivers. The Middle Fork Vermillion River runs straight down through the park with plenty of small offshoots like the Glenburn Creek. These could all be very effective routes for the creautures to use.

The land was even used for coal strip-mining operations in the early 20th century. Perhaps there are caverns and large enough spaces underground where these things could live? If Sasquatch were to live anywhere, I would reckon a cave would be the most adequate.

Note: This report was originally recorded on the BFRO website and later featured on Bigfootevidence.blogspot.com.

The post Hunter Finds Huge, Clear Footprint in IL State Park appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

Here’s a bizarre story I stumbled upon recently. We can’t determine the true source, but regardless of authenticity, it is a very compelling account. Check it out:

“I’m a professional back country tracker and scout. I used to work for the US Forestry Service, which is why I didn’t want my name used.

In June of 2016 I was tasked to do a bear count in the Cascades Mountains of Washington State. It was there that I first came in contact with what the forest service calls the North American Gorilla.”

On the morning of June 4 the tracker walked a half-mile down the Bald Eagle Ridge trail. They observed signs of a potentially large animal crossing back-and-forth across the path. The rocky terrain made it difficult to determine what exactly created the tracks, and the evidence disappeared at the edge of a steep ravine dropoff.

Determined to discover the source, the tracker spent two hours moving down adjacent trails to the bottom of the valley. They emerged from the treeline into the Cadet Creek.

The smell of death filled the valley.

“It was then that I saw a large animal standing on the other side of the creek about forty-feet away. It was at least 7-8 feet tall and looked to be close to 700 pounds. I could hardly believe what I was seeing.”

The creature looked at them and released a “gut-wrenching” scream. It then leaned down and picked up the carcass of a full grown black bear. With the ungodly grace and strength only a giant could wield, the Sasquatch slung the bear over its shoulder. It effortlessly walked up a nearly vertical slope and disappeared into the thick treeline.

The tracker admits there was a steady decline in the black bear population at that time. They now believe the creatures made black bears their main food source.

The post Professional Tracker Watches a Sasquatch Carry Away Dead Black Bear appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

In 2015, the History Channel put together a program called Bigfoot Captured. Large parts of this ‘docudrama/found footage video’ really disappointed people. Personally, I always think about this dumb photo of a real Bigfoot in a cage. Despite those shortcomings, the biggest thumbs-up came from the bigfoot skeleton reconstruction segment. A team of “bio-engineers”, of sorts, advised by Bigfoot rockstar Dr. Jeff Meldrum, actually mapped out the real proportions of these creatures.

And the result was incredible:

I found this reconstruction to be extremely compelling. There are a lot of Sasquatch “figures” created. The size of those statues and sculpts never approach the insane proportions described by hundreds of witnesses.

“Patty” from Patterson/Gimlin film was very large and I think a lot of folks forget that. Witnesses always seem to be in complete awe of their gargantuan, intimidating presence. This clip helps bring that feeling out into daylight.

I haven’t seen this demonstration talked about much in the cryptosphere, so here you go.

For more detail about this process, head over to my blog post about it.

The post The Overlooked Bigfoot Skeleton Reconstruction appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

I guarantee you’ve never heard all of these, so please have a read, a listen, and a watch of the craziest, weirdest, eeriest, and most exciting Sasquatch sightings I could find.

Click here to see the ultimate Bigfoot sightings map.

#15 The Mt. Rainier Litter Bug

LOCATION: Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA
YEAR: 2016

Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington, lies between the breathtaking Mt. Rainier and the splendor of the Olympic National Forest. Just to the south, Route 507 runs through a densely wooded area. In May of 2016, just after dawn, a lifelong outdoorsman, familiar with all the local game, headed out on a fishing trip with a couple friends. They saw a figure sitting next to a pile of green plastic garbage bags by the side of the road.

The figure was only three-feet-high while crouched over the bags, although they estimated the overall height would be about six feet. It was covered in shiny black hair, even on its ears. It had a large head with a sagittal crest along the skull. They saw a wide nose, a lantern-shaped jaw, and a protruding eyebrow ridge like a Neanderthal.

The figure extended a long arm, which was covered in black hair to the knuckles, and dropped some garbage. They could distinctly see four fingers and a thumb as the creature twice discarded garbage from its search of the bags.

One of the friends glanced up the hill and spied a larger version of the same creature watching from the treeline. They guessed that this parental figure was guarding the juvenile creature as it foraged by the road. Read the very recent, original report here.

So, is this recent Bigfoot sighting actually real? Click here to leave a comment

#14 The Avocado Lake Pig Snatchers

LOCATION: Avocado Lake, CA
YEAR: 2017

Farms and orchards fill the long dusty Central Valley of California. Just east of Fresno lies Avocado Lake. One evening in 2017, a local farmer named Keith spied someone sneaking around his work trucks at the bottom of a hill. He pulled out his binoculars and saw a head pop up from behind the truck. He shouted down to them.

There was no reply, but the head looked around the truck again. Another head popped up by the other end of the truck. Keith took out his gun and threatened to shoot unless they identified themselves.

Again, there was no response, so he fired two warning shots. The pair took off running. Keith hopped in his truck to head them off.

Before he could get there, five or six huge figures suddenly dashed across the road out of the gloom, right in front of his truck. Keith slammed on the brakes and jumped out. With his binoculars he saw five or six “humanoid shapes” running swiftly. One carried a pig on its back but tripped and fell. The creatures jumped a high fence and disappeared, but continued to call back and forth to each other with “weird noises.”

Keith jumped back into his truck to chase the original two intruders. They had already crested the hill and were running straight up a steep mountain effortlessly. As they reached the summit, Keith lost track of their whereabouts.

There have been at least three Sasquatch sightings in five years in East Fresno County, according to Jeffrey Gonzalez of the Sanger Paranormal Society. “What are the odds of three people, three different families, who don’t know each other, within a radius of two to three miles, come and tell me what they witness, and it matches up.”

Leave a comment about this recent Bigfoot sighting

#13 Myakka Skunk Ape Photographs

LOCATION: Myakka River State Park, Florida
YEAR: 2000

“Enclosed please find some pictures I took. My husband thinks it is an orangutan. Is someone missing an orangutan?”

In October of 2000, an elderly Florida woman experienced several nights of odd “whoomphing“ noises coming from her backyard near Myakka River State park. The park spans 37,000 marshy acres. If you wanted to snap a Skunk Ape picture, other than the Everglades, this would be a pretty good place to do it. This is one of the few recent Bigfoot sightings where the visual evidence is so unusual that you can’t ignore it.

The witness sent two bizarre photographs and an anonymous letter to the Sarasota County Sherriff’s office.

As her story goes, apples went missing from her back porch for three straight days. Not a big deal, but she wanted to know what kept invading her yard. On the third night of odd sounds, the woman claimed she went outside to finally get a view of the intruder. Rather than a large racoon or a pesky kid, she saw something truly unbelievable:

“I judge it as being about six and a half to seven-feet-tall in a kneeling position. As soon as I realized how close it was I got back to the house. It had an awful smell that lasted well after it had left my yard. The orangutan was making deep “whoomph” noises. It sounded much further away then it turned out to be. If I had known it was as close to the hedge row as it was I wouldn’t have walked up as close as I did. I’m a senior citizen and if this animal had come out of the hedge roll after me there wasn’t a thing I could have done about it. I was about ten foot away from it when it stood up.“

Leave a comment about this recent Sasquatch sighting

#12 Zack the Hunter’s Sasquatch Sighting

LOCATION: Michigan
YEAR: 2015

“You cannot misidentify this creature”

When a hunter speaks openly about his or her Bigfoot sighting, it’s probably a very compelling yarn. This creepy story from Michigan definitely does not disappoint.

One November evening a few years back, a hunter named Zack visited one of his favorite hunting spots. It was 4:30pm and becoming dark. He wanted more time to bag a deer, so he headed to one of his most reliable locations on a hillside.

He climbed halfway up a steep hill and positioned himself on the ground behind a large stump. He waited for deer on this incline, holding his 12-gauge shotgun as dusk approached.

As the minutes passed, an eerie silence covered the land. Out of the corner of his eye, a nine-foot-tall, jet-black shape came into view. This shadow moved with enormous strides and looked like it was “on a ramp going up” to the top of the hill. It smelled awful, like “sweet, rotting meat” and a pack of soaking wet dogs. He had seen bears in the area, but this was absolutely no bear.

By the time it made it reached the top, the being was only 15 yards away from Zack and his stump. Then it turned. The hunter sat frozen in fear. The thing looked directly at him for ten full seconds. They made eye contact. Zack’s adrenaline pumped. He was paralyzed, totally unable to ready his shotgun if he would need it.

Zack’s recent Bigfoot sighting paints a remarkable picture. The Sasquatch was covered in hair and ripped like a bodybuilder. The arms were long and muscular. It could body slam a Grizzly bear and “made Hulk Hogan’s arms look foolish.” The chest and torso were “wide as a recliner.”

Its face was covered in hair. The eyes were yellowish green and it looked sick. Its nose was sunken and wide with nostrils as pink “as bubblegum.” He even saw the creature’s genitalia. It was a male.

After the brief stare-down, the creature continued pass the top and away into the darkness. Zack sat motionless for several minutes before fleeing to his car. When he reached a safe-spot he collapsed and vomited for six minutes straight. Zack’s Bigfoot sighting left him physically shaking and drained emotionally. He now completely believed in the existence of these creatures. Listen to the original interview with Zack here.
 

Leave a comment about this sighting

#11 Russian Kids Film their Bigfoot Sighting

LOCATION: Russko-Ursky, Russia
YEAR: 2012

Bigfoot sightings span the globe, from the Yowie in Australia, to the Yeren in China…. and the Almasty in Russia. In January 2012, three young Russian boys possibly filmed an actual Almasty.

The three friends closely follow a long line of two-foot deep footprints in the snow behind their village. They excitedly trace each step towards a frozen lake behind a stretch of trees. When the boys arrived at the treeline, a tall dark figure emerged from a line of bushes. The boys hushed. It stared at them for a moment and bolted away into the snowy landscape. The boys ran in terror.

Despite the all-over hair, one of the boys claimed the creature had an all-white face with absolutely no hair on it. The subject in the video appears to lean and dangle its arms just like the beings witnessed in Lettuce Lake, Florida and the Tatra Mountains of Poland. Some Bigfoot Youtubers even claim the supposed Almasty carries a child. Whatever it was, absolutely terrified these three young friends.

#10 Woody and Wes Germer’s Bigfoot Sighting

Location: Yacolt, WA
YEAR: 2012

The eerie Bigfoot sighting that launched the hit radio show Sasquatch Chronicles is truly fascinating. Wes and Woody Germer’s story opened the flood-gates for hundreds of creepy Sasquatch stories. Essentially, the show became a hotline for Bigfoot talk-therapy, since many witnesses described post-traumatic stress after dealing with the creatures. I wouldn’t be surprised if they experienced similar stress after their incredible Bigfoot sighting.

As the story goes, Woody and Wes Germer, two Yacolt brothers, were out of work and grieving over the recent deaths of their father and grandfather. The men hit the rugged back roads around Yacolt Mountain to connect over their recent struggles. They parked on a middle-of-nowhere ridgeline and chatted for a bit. Conversation silenced when three distinct sets of bipedal footsteps scraped through the woods. Wes and Woody pulled out their pistols, fearing the potential of three unpredictable night thugs.

Angry growls described by Wes as “demonic”, moved closer and closer to the car from behind. The two shadows moved closer from the sides. Terrified, Woody backed up the car and turned around to escape the situation. He drove a short way and stopped, simply too shaken to safely navigate down the tore-up road. As Wes screamed at his brother to start the car, Woody saw a figure wrapped around a tree to the left. Wes said it moved like a chimpanzee. On Wes’s side, labored “sick bear” breathing approached his window.

A few moments later a nine-foot-tall, apish body-builder emerged from the treeline and slowly paced in front of the car. It meandered across the road while continuously rotating to stare down the men. After several back-and-forths, the beast mock-charged the car several times. In the final act of his three-part performance he completely collapsed forward and scurried away on all-fours. Utterly shocked, Wes admitted that he “looked just as comfortable on all fours as he did on two legs.”

Throughout this odd display, another creature, white and lithe, shot out the treeline. It bounded across the road like a spiked beach ball and disappeared. The brothers saw their opening and blasted down the road.

So, there it is. As the show gained intense steam, skeptics decided to try and shoot holes in their Bigfoot sighting. Basically, they say it was impossible for moonlight to shine that evening. Alright. Worth looking into I suppose, but it doesn’t break the story. Despite criticism, the show persists on the bedrock of this bizarre, backwoods Washington tale.

Comment about this sighting here

Listen to the full Bigfoot sighting as told by Wes, here:

 

#9 Pastor Has Demonic Sasquatch Sighting on Country Road

Location: Cass County, TX
YEAR: 2014

“I immediately believed I was looking at a demon.”

What happens when a man of God has a Bigfoot sighting?

It was a hot summer evening in Cass County, Texas. The area south of Wright Patman lake enjoys an abundance of forests, creeks, and wildlife. A pastor took his teenage son on a fishing trip. As they came over a hill, he stopped the truck when they saw what looked like a large black bear in the road, a rarity in those parts. To their shock, the “bear” stood up and turned around to face them.

The creature was eight to ten-feet-tall, and almost four-feet-wide at the shoulders. It was covered in dark brown fur about four inches long. The fur around the face was a slightly lighter color and revealed a wide flat nose and dark eyes. One of its massive hands, “the size of a canned ham,” clenched the remains of a dead cottonmouth snake.

The pastor was convinced that he was face to face with a demon. A strongly built man and retired law enforcement officer, he leaped out of his truck to face the creature despite the pleas of his terrified son. He preached gospel at the top of his lungs, and the creature responded with a roar “so loud and deep” he could feel the vibration in his own chest. The creature threw the dead snake well over their heads, then turned and ran with astonishing speed.

The pastor retrieved the snake as evidence and calmly turned the truck around to head home.

Bigfoot sightings in Texas can be especially strange. This report is certainly one of the strangest.

Read the full report here.

Comment about this recent Sasquatch sighting here

#8 Sasquatch Chases Boys on ATV

LOCATION: Adams County, OH
YEAR: 2012

On November 9, 2012, in Adams County, Ohio, a young man and his four-year-old cousin had a terrifying Bigfoot sighting.

One day the pair went for a ride on the man’s ATV. They slowly climbed a hill on an old cattle road near the back of their family property. The young man casually eyed the terrain with the upcoming deer hunting season in mind. Suddenly, they heard a loud thumping noise and turned around. To their shock, a “large, dark brown, hairy man-like creature” chased them up the hill. The creature was about ten-feet-tall with long arms, a large head, a flat nose, and no visible neck.

The four-year-old cousin pointed at the creature as the young man desperately gunned the engine. The ATV crawled up the steep hill at ten miles an hour until they reached the summit, then suddenly accelerated to thirty. Yet they could not outpace the creature’s ten-foot strides until they reached the dirt road. The creature threw a small log at them, but they were now at a safe distance.

The young man was stunned by the encounter, but the cousin cheerfully remembers the chase of the “big hairy man.”

A year later, the same man returned to the same trail, again on the lookout for deer blinds. A number of deer carcasses in the area had been found with their legs mysteriously ripped off. Just as he finished setting up a portable deer blind, he noticed a large, dark gray, furry head staring at him from behind a tree. The creature swiftly vanished. Two recent Bigfoot sightings on the same property indicate a definite hotspot. Read the full sighting here.

Click here to comment about this sighting

#7 The Window Peeker Video

LOCATION: Unknown
YEAR: 2015

This chilling, recent Bigfoot sighting took place sometime in 2015. We don’t know much about the witness and video recorder, but a short description accompanied the original upload:

“Every year the fruit just seemed to disappear overnight off my apple pear trees. Also the birdseed used to vanish without a trace. I thought it was raccoon or something and so I set up a camera. This is what was caught on camera. You can make up your own mind as to what it is.”

– Youtuber ‘beautifulplanet’ (a terminated account)

This Sasquatch sighting is simply terrifying. Imagine sitting next to your window in the summer time and this face appears. Actually, what face? Imagine you only see a pair of floating yellow eyes on a hairy, jet-black shape. The eyes have so much character. The hair color is intensely black. It remains on the edge of the window. It looks down into the room.

What could this be? There are dozens of Bigfoot sightings where these things cautiously and intently stare into windows at night. There are also reports of “dog men.” And this one feels much more animalistic than other Sasquatch sightings. Are we looking at a man in a mask with computer enhanced eyeballs, or is this a real Bigfoot?

Leave a comment about this recent Bigfoot sighting

#6 I Think I Saw A Skunk Ape

LOCATION: Tunica, Mississippi
YEAR: 2013

“Here is exactly what I seen, I’m not sure what it is but can someone please tell me? Is there a person who can do video analyses or something? I got scared and ran away, i wish i stayed to keep taking the movie.”

– Josh Highcliff, Skunk Ape witness

If you didn’t yet realize, recent Bigfoot sightings occur all over: from the Pacific Northwest rainforest, to the swamps of Mississippi. These “things” are out there. Rarely, videos surface that pull back the curtain of these legendary creatures. This is one of the more impressive pieces of video evidence we have.

A man named Josh filmed this individual at dusk. It appears that the subject is foraging. Throughout the short clip, the dark being crouches in standing swamp water and pulls at the bark of the tree. It stands occasionally. Some Bigfoot video examiners suggest that a baby clings to the creatures back.

Once more, this is another video of foggy origin. No one knows Josh Highcliff. No one knows exactly where this was or any other context. That baby Bigfoot could easily be a backpack. It’s just a few feet too far away and a few pixels too blurry to identify one way or the other.

Click here to comment about this Bigfoot sighting

CONTINUE TO THE TOP 5 BIGFOOT SIGHTINGS SINCE 2000 >>

The Ultimate Bigfoot Sightings Map

Data visualizer and current NASA employee Joshua Stevens created this Bigfoot sightings map. His map is arguably the best visual representation of encounters spread across the United States and Canada.

Joshua said that this dataset “has to be mapped.” He created this visual through some archival work, but mainly sourced the incredible database over at the BFRO. The organization has amassed thousands of reports. This Bigfoot sightings map charts reports from 1921 to 2013:

Upon first glance, the map seems to parallel basic population centers. The more people in an area, the more encounters, right? Not exactly. In his ‘Bigfoot or Big Population Effect?’ piece, Joshua determined several regions where encounters are proportionally rare. Even though some counties are high population, low sightings; there ARE areas that are low population, high sightings. These include Northern California, Northern Michigan, the border of Washington/Canada, & Coconino, Navajo, and Apache counties in Northern Arizona.

Overall, Washington, Northern California, the Ohio River valley, and Central Florida are the hot spots. This Bigfoot sightings map also includes a nifty timeline of Sasquatch culture to consider sighting frequency vs. overall population vs. Bigfoot popularity/awareness.

CONTINUE TO THE TOP 5 >>

Leave your comments below

The post 15 Incredible Bigfoot Sightings of the 21st Century (with Map) appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

#5 The Independence Day Bigfoot Sighting

YEAR: 2012
LOCATION: Unknown

This video clip, like basically any compelling, recorded Bigfoot sighting, features a touch of controversy. No one really knows where it came from and there’s strange internet gossip about a man named Leroy who created the suit. He apparently wanted to show off his own epic skills as a costume maker while mirroring the famous Patterson/Gimlin footage. Unfortunately, no one knows.

This Bigfoot sighting is very compelling. Perhaps most interesting is our first look at what appears to be a baby Bigfoot pushing away from its parent’s chest. This two-minute video shows a distinct, bipedal, ape-like creature moving through a boulder field. It appears that the footage was recorded in the Pacific Northwest, but no one can be certain.

If this footage came out 25 years ago, I guarantee our collective jaws would drop. Unfortunately, it’s so difficult to verify modern Bigfoot sightings on video. The zoomed footage shows a tiny touch of weird edges around the subject and the creature doesn’t move with the brilliant grace so often described by witnesses. It’s a bit stubby. But if true, this is easily the clearest image of a Sasquatch we’ve seen since the famed Patterson Gimlin film of 1967. Have a look at tell me what you think.

Click here to comment.

#4 The 3am Visitor

YEAR: 2015
LOCATION: Gainestown GA

After a festive Fourth of July family reunion, a young man in Clarke County, Alabama, spent the night on his cousin’s sofa. At 3:30am he awoke to the family dogs barking wildly. Then the dogs went suddenly silent, and a sound from the front porch made him sit up and peer out the window.

The porch light revealed a large creature hunched over the garbage bags of party scraps. The arms, about four to five-feet-long with fingers like “Snickers bars with fingernails,” easily ripped into the bags. The creature was about eight-feet-tall, about 800 pounds, and covered in reddish dark brown hair about four to five inches long. The creature was very muscular with huge broad feet. It had a “very bad smell like cheese gone bad.”

The young man watched in awe for about twenty minutes while the creature rummaged. Suddenly the “thing” loped off down the road and disappeared. When he told his cousin about it, she replied that the family had already had several encounters. When she had heard the creature coming that night, she thought to herself, “I told him about this thing and he just laughed, so who’s laughing now.”

Later, BFRO investigators examined finger and hand prints on the outside of the trailer. The prints were at least twice the size of an average man’s. The family recounted several other Sasquatch sightings in the nearby area.

Check out the full, creepy encounter at the BFRO and

tell me what you think about this sighting

#3 The Grinning Sasquatch

LOCATION: Manitoba, Canada
YEAR: 2013

“You could not mistake this for a human being.”

Bigfoot sightings don’t just happen to excited hillbillies. People of all backgrounds witness these amazing beings: hunters, law enforcement, park rangers, minsters, and people who work with wildlife on a regular basis.

The witness, Petra, has an extensive history with wildlife. She was a veterinarian technician and even worked for the government, helping the Department of Natural Resource (DNR) with injured wildlife rehabilitation. This included large mammals like bear. Her trained eye provides us incredible notes on the appearance and behavior of these creatures.

Every day at 5:30am, Petra walked for an hour. Her small town in Manitoba Canada, borders deep wilderness. She would often make her way out to the lake.

As daylight crept up that morning, she walked across a causeway, or walkway, just barely above some blasted granite on her way deeper into the woods. Down in the lake 100 feet away, she noticed a large bear defecating in the water. After a moment, “the weirdest looking bear” she had ever seen stood up on two legs. It moved in a way that “defied all the laws of nature”, almost gliding up the rocky hillside with no effort.

Petra’s notes on the body of the Sasquatch:

• Jet black coat with tinges of red
• The hair on the head and shoulders was six-inches long
• The hair laid in a way that made it look like it was wearing a cape
• The overall body was huge
• Massive barrel-chest
• Shoulder width of four-feet
• Eight-feet tall standing up
• The arms were significantly longer than human arms
• The hands hung low below the knees

It floated to the treeline like it was on skates, but then unexpectedly turned to face her. The creature turned its entire upper body to look at her with a menacing, creepy grin. Petra provided even more notes on the face:

• The upper lip is thin, but it’s huge
• The space between the top lip and the bottom of the nose is double the size of what humans have
• The mouth is huge, and made her think of a trash can where you step on the pedal and the lid opens up
• The bottom jaw is incredible and the shape of the chin reminded her of a Roman helmet
• Massive eye sockets
• Wide-bridged nose, much larger than a humans. It had a flat nose with downturned nostrils.
• Overall, it seemed like a pin-head.
• Possessed a semblance of a sagittal crest (the classic cone-head looking Bigfoot).

Listen to the rest of Petra’s amazing encounter over at Sasquatch Chronicles.

Click here to comment about this incredible sighting

#2 The Lettuce Lake Skunk Ape Footage

LOCATION: Lettuce Lake Park, Florida
YEAR: 2017

The Lettuce Lake footage is arguably the most compelling Bigfoot sighting caught on video from the 21st century. Local man Matt McKamey and a friend caught this dark, tall, lithe figure on camera one hot day in Lettuce Lake Florida. They canoed through a swampy area of the park and noticed this eerie shape in the distance. The zoomed footage reveals a striking man-like creature with a nested, cone-shaped head. At first, it appeared to handle an unknown object. After it noticed the nearing canoe, the swamp “thing” descends from its perch and glides through the muck into the background.

As Matt says in the video, a potential hoaxer would have to contend with alligators and cottonmouth snakes, not to mention the stifling Florida heat.

Phil Poling of the ParaBreakdown YouTube channel struggled to identify any detail that outright proves it is a hoax. He agrees with McKamey’s sentiment that the hoaxer would have a rough time in those conditions, and thus, somewhat unlikely that it would be an elaborate ruse:

“I must agree that it would seem unlikely for somebody to want to dress up in a costume and wade around in a Florida swamp, just for the sake of a video prank.”

Click here to comment about this Skunk Ape sighting

#1 Tracey G’s Encounter

LOCATION: Iuka, Mississippi
YEAR: 2012

“I swear I am not lying. I am not making this up. I could never make anything like this up.”

Tracey G’s Bigfoot sighting is one of the scariest I’ve ever heard.

This story was originally told to Wes Germer and friends on the 75th episode of Sasquatch Chronicles.

At the time of this Bigfoot sighting, Tracey was an Alabama delivery man. He drove a tall, white van and regularly transported this-and-that into neighboring Mississippi. On a hot, stormy July night 2012, he drove into the state on a job, eventually headed up to Tennessee. On a stretch leading to the city of Iuka, the serpentine belt of his truck snapped and wrapped around the engine. He pulled over and called his boss. Help was on the way.

Growing bored waiting for help, Tracey climbed into the back to straighten up his cargo. The truck grew steamy in the southern storm. He opened the sliding cargo door for some air. A short time later he needed to urinate. Tracey checked for oncoming cars, noted his aloneness, and started peeing out the truck. A moment later, a snort of some kind startled him. He leaned out the open door and came face to face with a monster:

“I stick my head out the door. And I’m looking 12 inches away face to face with something ive never seen in my whole life.”

Tracey fell backwards in shock. He backed up against the far end of his van. The creature thrust its face inside the vehicle.

“This thing. It could have easily reached and grabbed my feet. And for a moment I honestly thought that’s what it was going to do.”

Tracey compared it to a theorized version of nasty, apelike Neanderthals presented in the Discovery TV show Them and Us. It stared at the bewildered man. Then it screamed. The entire vehicle shook, hurting Tracey’s ears. The intense scream vibrated the entire truck, including Tracey’s own skull. It made him dizzy. He compared the shriek to the piercing power of a close train horn.

Believing the monster would definitely kill him, Tracey frantically gathered his .45 pistol. Still staring inside the van, the creature noticed the weapon, pursed its lips, whooped loudly, and withdrew into the storm.

Tracey bravely leaned out of the open door, believing the monster still intended to kill him. It emerged from behind the vehicle and darted towards the trees. Tracey fired the gun. Lightning struck a moment later. The sky lit up and he saw his target. Thirty feet away, stood the eight-foot-tall devilish ape man…. next to two more creatures. Tracey slammed the door, jumped into the driver’s seat, and switched on the car. Collective screams from the creatures outside shook him and his vehicle once more. He tore away down the road without headlights or windshield wipers, successfully fleeing to nearby Burnsville MS, no doubt the most important port in a storm he ever had.

Potential encounter location: https://sasquatchchronicles.com/watch-tracys-encounter-location-from-episode-75/

Leave your comments below

The post 15 Incredible Bigfoot Sightings of the 21st Century 2/2 appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

From creator Dallas Morgan comes a backwoods Texas tale of lurking Sasquatch on a small-town Sherriff’s ranch. Battling inner turmoil following his wife’s departure, Sherriff Ted slowly awakens to the possibility that the presence beyond the treeline might have something to do with not only the dead girls on his property, but his wife’s absence as well. Here’s the description from IMDB and a trailer.

“A character-driven sci-fi mystery about a dysfunctional family living on a ranch in TX threatened by a cryptid in their woods. Ultimately, they must overcome their interpersonal conflict in order to unite and survive.”

Quick positive thoughts before a more complete evaluation below:

Sightings surpasses typical Sci-Fi Channel Bigfoot movies with a pace-ushering score, quality acting, and commendable camera work. Not to mention a very intriguing crossover that many will not see coming. Watch it here.

I’m a B-movie junkie. So far in my life I have not discovered the Godfather of Bigfoot movies. I have not seen them all, but I have seen a lot. Boggy Creek whisks up nostalgic fear and champions an important time period for Bigfoot, but it’s not a movie I can confidently recommend to a random stranger. I don’t think there is a Bigfoot movie like that yet. Sightings fights for that title, but tires out, despite many powerful qualities.

The Good?

Dallas and his team brought together a really competent class of actors for this picture. Each provided strong delivery and felt devoted to their roles. The supporting cast fortified this movie, especially conspiracy theorist/beekeeper Jerry and he local security whiz Akiro (Dante Basco, of ‘Hook’ fame). I haven’t seen him in anything since Hook, but I guess acting chops never leave certain people.

Though one can argue that Boo Arnold is your “typical” leading man, he is an excellent choice for a low-budget Bigfoot mystery. He of course, fits the police mold extremely well, and glows as a conflicted skeptic. He connects very well with the daughter Hannah (Tahlia Morgan). Their screaming exchange midway through the film was fantastic and his arc felt genuine, though worn.

I was very impressed with the finer details of this picture. Of course, going into a Bigfoot movie I always expect certain things, especially in the audio department, like camcorder-quality dialogue and out of whack sound fx. Forgive my broadstroaking, but the cinematography, sound design, and majority of the score are great quality.

The Bad?

Despite command of the camera, an intriguing premise, and a shepherding score, I felt like Sightings struggled to really energize me one way or the other. I wasn’t scared, concerned, happy, sad, or really anything. No doubt I felt moderate appreciation for a well-executed Bigfoot movie, since they are so rare, but I felt like there were intangibles missing. I think this may be attributed to the heavy ‘mystery’ element. I definitely approached it as a horror film. Not much tense horror present unfortunately. More night-time scenes may have throttled my blood-flow, including a few more minutes dedicated to the deer stand scene, for example.

I have an overarching complaint not specific to Sightings. If your movie has a Bigfoot, please, for the love of god show us the monster. I have this in so many recent Bigfoot movies. I understand that budget is an issue in any independent film… but don’t even make a Bigfoot movie if there is no money for a Bigfoot. Boggy Creek provided enough atmosphere and staunch, hanging creepiness to not have to reveal a full blow face, but Sightings doesn’t really quench my thirst like that. I think it’s just missing charm. I love the massive stomp reverberations, flowing hairy legs, and hulking silhouettes, but a tenser, more colorful atmosphere may have taken this to another level. Despite these minor complaints, I can’t wait for Dallas’s next picture. Once you know that a director knows what he or she is doing, it makes it much more exciting to sit down with their material.

— AJ

The post ‘Sightings’ (2017) Bigfoot Sci-fi/Mystery Review appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

We need more Sasquatch costumes running around on Halloween night. It’s time to unleash the Bigfoot armies this season. To help determine the greatest Bigfoot costume on the market, I employed a panel of like-minded pundits to share their opinions on these great pieces! There are plenty of epic Sasquatch suits, but these will take your evening up a few notches.

There are only a few costumes out there that are actually marketed as “Bigfoot.” I think we can all agree that this mythic being is some form of upright hairy-ape or hairy-man. Thus, I have included ape-inspired costumes in the pageant as well. Why not? Isn’t that what Bigfoot is? A gorilla standing up? I don’t think your friends will mind the deception. As long as there’s ONE Bigfoot costume in your group, you will enjoy a successful night.

Special thanks to the following sites for great contributions:

Thecryptocreep.tumblr.com
Cryptids-are-out-there.tumblr.com
Lindsey Goddard from dirtylittlehorror.com
Sam from thehauntedhousewife.com

Without further ado: the contestants for the first annual Bigfoot Costume Halloween Pageant extravaganza. Have a look at these hairy beauties.

In a Rush? Jump to:
The OVERALL Scariest, Funnest, Most Comfortable, and Best Bigfoot Costumes

Looking for Yeti’s?
Jump to the Yeti Costumes Page >>
 

Contestants for the Bigfoot Costume Pageant:

Contestant 1: Mr. SquatchNasty

From: California Costumes
Size: One size
Material: 100% Polyster
Click here for price

I see this Bigfoot costume more than just about any others on the internet. Despite the regularity, the mask is unique. The design is kind-of skeletal with giant cheek bones, a wrinkly cone-head, flowing red locks, and a fixed, baked-bean toothed smirk that screams, “let’s Squatch on the dance floor.”

The full-blown polyester will keep you content on a cold Halloween night. A humid October night will roast you alive though, so be aware. The wirey skeleton hands and bulbous, tuber-like feet and toes check the ‘grotesque’ box on your Halloween garb. If your purchase-intentions are more sinister than just Halloween, this Bigfoot costume might not be the best for hoaxing endeavors.

Judge Reviews:

The Crypto Creep:
This is the best mask, gloves, and feet I’ve seen so far. But I see all of the work was removed from the body and instead they just pinned together a shag rug from the 1960’s. 4/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
Wow. This is scary as heck. I love, love, love the feet, but the face looks like a mix between Bigfoot and the Cryptkeeper. Or maybe Zombie Bigfoot. If I bumped into this guy in a dark corner at a party, I would make a beeline for the nearest patch of light. Super freaky!

The Haunted Housewife:
Now this is your standard, realistic Bigfoot costume! I may have a hard time determining whether the creature before me is a human in a costume, or—dare I say it!— the real thing. It’s either a “Who spiked the punch?” night or a “What’s that terrible animal smell?” night. Surprise me

Cryptids-are-out-there:
Absolutely disgusting. Crusty af and inspires the same kind of fear you get from looking at old, white politicians. Bottom line: This Bigfoot looks like it wants to take away my reproductive rights and I don’t trust him. 0/10

Contestant 2: Irritated Bigfoot Suit

From: Fun World
Size: Adult One size
Material: 100% Polyster
Click here for price

The face is a little more reminiscent of an agitated Abraham Lincoln or Stanley Kubrick than what the populous identifies as Bigfoot. An angry man as opposed to an angry ape. It is interesting to see how each manufacturer presents their own “Bigfoot,” boiling down to one of those core questions: is Bigfoot more man or more ape? Depending on your response, this might be the most realistic Bigfoot costume of the lot.

Anyway, the garb itself will keep you warm for east-coast Halloween night. It also appears that this chap is flat-faced. Like, no dimension to the mask… just a cardboard cutout essentially. I could be wrong, but I can’t seem to find a product image from the side. If you like a little more definition in your masks, I’d consider something else.

 
 

Judge Reviews:

The Crypto Creep:
The look of determination in that bigfoot’s face is not enough to save this outfit. 1/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
Is he mad because he has arthritis in his hands? This Bigfoot costume gives the others some stiff competition.

Contestant 3: ROYGBIV-Foot

From: RG Costumes
Size: One size
Material: 100% Polyester
Click here for price

Black and brown… how boring. How about a red Bigfoot? Or yellow, white, purple, pink, or green? This Bigfoot suit is perfect for those who can’t make up their mind. So you want to be Sasquatch this year for Halloween? But what KIND of Sasquatch do you feel inside? Tropical? Go lime-green. Psychedelic? How about pink or purple? Scared of getting hit by a truck while you’re haunting the Halloween night? You must go banana yellow. Think of this great Bigfoot costume from RG Costumes as an inner mood ring for your inner wild, cryptid. See links to all 9 unique colors below.

Judge Reviews:

Lindsey Goddard:
This must be the Sasquatch family oddball: Smallfoot.

Contestant 4: Look What I Found

From: HouseHaunters
Size: One Size
Material: 100% Polyester, PANTS NOT INCLUDED
Click here for price

I am a big fan of these one-person illusion costumes, and this one is one of the more unique I have seen. This Bigfoot Costume will confuse the hell out of kids on Halloween…. so you know it will be a blast.

Reviews of this item note that the plastic “bamboo” cage rungs are a bit fragile, so be careful when you’re out being tossed around by your drunk Bigfoot captor. If you’re over 6’3″ you will likely bump your head up against the cage as well, so watch out.

Judge Reviews:

Cryptids-are-out-there: I can’t help but think there’s some deep metaphor or irony in here about Colonialism, but this isn’t Heart of Darkness, so Bigfoot, you’re doing amazing sweetie. 6/10

The Crypto Creep:
The greatest part about this costume is the look of longing in the gorillas eyes. It looks both excited and terrified of what it might get into with it’s now caged man. 5/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
Desperate to win first place, this partygoer decided to strike a different pose when they announced the costume contest as “no holds barred”. Haha. I love the idea. Really cool… but it might get annoying to have a monkey on your back all night. That’s two puns for the price of one, folks. Should I go for a third? Okay: What do you get when you cross a prisoner and a gorilla? A Kong-vict!

The Haunted Housewife:
Gotta hand it to the designers, this one is clever. My first order of business as an animal would be to cage the humans. You can’t blame me, though… I’m a crowd-hating introvert. Bigfoot has the right idea: staying in the woods, unseen…

Contestant 5: CharSquatch

From: Seasons USA
Size: One Size
Material: Polyester, Acrylic
Click here for price

Even though this Bigfoot costume might appear more like an angry soot-covered, homeless guy in a giant fur coat than an angry Sasquatch (see Mulholland Drive), I still love this item. It has the most unique face of all the contestants in the contest and should truly frighten the children: a massive bonus.

A hoaxer might consider this costume as well, especially if you’re trying to leave a dark, lasting impression on your victims. In that respect, this might be your most realistic Bigfoot costume. All pieces are included: jumpsuit, mask, hands, and feet!

Judge Reviews:

Cryptids-are-out-there:
I love this costume. It’s got a hint of “I almost died in the club tonight” mixed with the classic “obviously fake Bigfoot costume.” It’s like one step below Lost Tapes quality and embodies the “life is terrible but here I am anyway” mentality that we need. 7/10

The Crypto Creep:
While I appreciate the elderly stanky leg I have a problem with how this Sasquatch suit is not fitted. I’d much prefer to see abs, biceps, and thighs being served along with that well-sculpted face. 6/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
Super awesome. The hands and feet are nicely detailed; the fur looks soft, and the facial expression is positively GQ. Is it just me, or is he biting his lower lip in a sultry “come hither” sort of way?

The Haunted Housewife:
The hands on this costume really freak me out. Something about the face reminds me of Jack Nicholson, but I’m also totally getting a “Char Man” from Beetlejuice vibe. Of all the costumes on this list I think this one is the most menacing. Don’t reach for me, or try to touch me with this thing on. Please.

Contestant 6: Caged Up Sasquatch Suit

From: Forum Novelties
Size: One Size
Material: 100% Polyester
Click here for price

Thinking about being a Bigfoot-themed rectangle this Halloween? Look no further than his unique costume from Forum Novelties.

The idea is wonderful. It’s actually the opposite of the Human on Display costume. But does it deliver visually? I’m not so sure. Maybe if the arms came THROUGH the patchwork of rusty bars I’d feel more pleased by the appearance.

These caged/mad gorilla costumes are interesting. Are they all just derivatives of King Kong? Upon closer research, I do believe the concept of scary gorillas in pop culture all stared with the 1933 classic. In cinema, if an idea (creature, character, theme) succeeds, you must squeeze every hairy, snarling drop out of it. A blast of Gorilla b-movies erupted throughout most of the 20th century, cementing the mad gorilla as a sci-fi/horror staple.

Anyways, the costume is considered easy to wear. Just step into it from the back opening. There are also two other caged-in characters available: a convict and a skeleton. But let’s stick with the Gorilla, ok? We need more Bigfoot out there.

Judge Reviews:

Cryptids-are-out-there:
F R E E H I M (2/10)

The Crypto Creep:
Why is it wearing shoes? You can’t tell me that this gorilla walked up into one of JC Penney’s closing stores and said “I’ll take the slip-proof dockers.” 4/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
Seriously? Who goes through the effort of wearing this outfit all night and pairs it with boots? Boots! It throws the whole thing off. If anyone buys this costume, please order some feet, too!

The Haunted Housewife:
Hey! Those are some nice boots. I can’t have some schmuck in a caged gorilla suit out-dressing me, I say we keep him caged. The boots come off!

Contestant 7: Bigfoot from Another Planet

From: Morphsuits
Size: M-XL
Material: Polyester & Spandex
Click here for price

Perhaps the strangest costume in the pageant, this skintight selection is an allover print of a Gorilla…. I think. Might be more of an orangutan. Needless this to say, this might not be the most realistic Bigfoot costume. But who cares, you’re going to get a lot of conversation out of it!

If you’ve ever wanted to feel like you’re a character in a Nintendo 64 game, put on this hilarious polygonal Bigfoot suit.

You can see, breathe, talk, and even drink through the fabric. How convenient, to be able to breathe.

Overall, these ‘Morphsuits’ are interesting. They are half-spandex and made to be skintight, so I’m not sure how comfortable they are. Many of the reviews cite small-fit, so order it a little larger. Very cool idea, though. If for some reason, you’re not feeling apeish this year, check out one of their other bizarre creations, including skintight King Cobra, skintight Bat creature, skintight Werewolf, and of course, everyone’s favorite creature: the skintight Boil Monster.

Judge Reviews:

Cryptids-are-out-there:
Too scrawny. It doesn’t help that the face looks like it was shrunk in Microsoft Paint and then enlarged 2 seconds later. Additionally, any Sasquatch suit where you’re at risk of showing a dick outline should throw up some red flags. My jimmies are rustled. 3/10

The Crypto Creep:
This is the scariest thing I have ever seen in my life. 10/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
This is bizarre. Do you remember that lady who tried to “fix” the painting of Jesus and completely repainted the figure to look so much worse? This is the equivalent of that, Bigfoot style.

The Haunted Housewife:
Yikes! It’s literally a gorilla printed morph suit, but those eyes! You may be able to trick your half-blind grandparents into believing you brought home a puppy, if they crawl around on the floor with the Sasquatch suit on. Those eyes may melt hearts, but the rest of the suit I definitely saw in Signs.

Contestant 8: Lil’ Foot

From: HouseHaunters
Size: One Size
Material: 100% Synthetic Sasquatch Suit
Click here for price

Win the party this year with Costume Agent’s Piggy-back Sasquatch.

Make the kiddies laugh and impress that special someone with your special sense of humor… and your special appreciation of cryptid hominoids. Hop around the night on the shoulders of this smiling lil’ Squatch and stomp across the floor with the delightfully oversized big feet. Props to Costume Agent for adding that detail. Judging by the reviews, this Bigfoot suit is easy to put on and easy to wear & adjust. The hands even act as beer can holders!! Amazing.

Again, if you’re not feeling particularly Squatchy this season, Costume Agent provides a huge spectrum of alternatives (see below).

Judge Reviews:

Cryptids-are-out-there:
“One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with Bigfoot. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to Bigfoot. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints. This really troubled me, so I asked Bigfoot about it. “Bigfoot, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.” He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.” This bigfoot is a friend who will raise you up. 10/10

The Crypto Creep:
I hate it! 0/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
Wow. This Bigfoot suit has a TON of great reviews on Amazon. I was going to mock it (ex: “Were the designers on drugs?”), but who am I to squash the joy of so many others? Better to Sasquatch their joy.

The Haunted Housewife:
What in the wild hell is going on here? In all my days, I haven’t sat and stared at a costume for as long as I’ve stared at this one. This may be my favorite out of the bunch because of how bizarre and poorly done it is. File this under: Photos That Make Me Go “Hmm.” I also might have saved it to my wishlist. I’m sorry, mom and dad.

Contestant 9: Gorilla Face

From: California Costumes
Size: One Size
Material: 84% Polyester, 16% Acrylic
Click here for price

This is a solid gorilla that will work perfectly as a Bigfoot Costume. With a quizzical facial expression and fantastic range-of-movement, this entrant is one of the favorites to take the top prize.

The costume includes mask, hands, feet, chest-piece, and full bodysuit. It also comes in lime green, neon pink, and dark purple selections if you’re feeling friskier than usual on Halloween. And really confuse your deep-woods hoaxing victims with a bright Sasquatch suit. On second thought, spare the country a hot round of gun control debates, and just jump out of a box like a normal person. This hilarious video demonstrates this Bigfoot costume in action.

If Sasquatch is indeed just some sort of upright walking gorilla, then this might just be the single most realistic Bigfoot costume in the lineup.

Judge Reviews:

The Crypto Creep:
If it comes with the banana it’s a 9/10, if not well you ruined a GREAT COSTUME. 7/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
This Bigfoot suit reminds me of the old joke: “What do you feed a 600 pound gorilla? Anything it wants!” This could be a stellar Bigfoot costume with a few simple alterations.

Contestant 10: Hairy Jerry

From: Forum Novelties
Size: One Size
Material: 100% Polyester
Click here for price

The fit on this Sasquatch suit is a bit different than the other Bigfoot costume contestants. Overall, it is more baggy with MC hammer level pant split. It’s also super hairy, so get ready to tickle fellow party-goers all night.

Of course, you will “go bananas!”, as they say, for this ‘Sasquatch suit.’ It has a molded plastic chest so you can dare your buddy to punch you, and it’s wild enough to scare unassuming teenagers. Jumpsuit, gloves, feet, and rubber mask are included with this product.

It has an air of creepiness to it as well, with wide, blank white eyes. Staring is not only rude, it’s creepy as well. Reviews suggest you may have to open those peepers a little for full vision on a dark night.

Judge Reviews:

The Crypto Creep:

Once again there are two fake gorilla nipples staring back at my soul. As well as a gorilla that looks surprised someone just took its picture. But I do like the gloves and feet I guess. 5/10 skunkapes

Lindsey Goddard:
This Sasquatch looks like he just walked in on Grandma and Grandpa Bigfoot getting primal in the bedroom. His expression is priceless! Still, though, lose the banana and you’ve got a pretty decent Sasquatch suit, even if his face makes you ask, “Who so serious, bro?”

Winners of the Bigfoot Costume Halloween Pageant:

Now that we’ve met the contestants, it is time to hand out the awards. Without further ado, the best Sasquatch costumes on the market today.
 
 

Scariest Bigfoot Costume

Winner: CharSquatch

This ugly, coal black, snarling mug will terrify the crowds this year. CharSquatch might possess the only face in the lineup I would be shocked to see in a poorly lit alley or deep woods trail (hoaxers, you better not even think about it!). If Bigfoot is a strange man/ape, nasty hybrid this might be considered a very realistic Bigfoot costume.

Bigfoot Base and the panel of judges loved its raw, dirty visage, so the award for scariest Bigfoot costume EASILY goes to Char-Squatch.

Most Comfortable/Funnest Bigfoot Costume

Winner: Lil’ Foot

Hitch a ride this year and let Lil’ Foot carry you around the party. If you are trying to 1) keep it simple 2) keep it comfortable, and 3) keep it Squatchy, then this piggyback Bigfoot is the perfect garb for you. Ease of wear allows you to throw on a hat, put on a jacket when you go out, take it off in a hot building, run around in a haunted house with perfect vision, and much more.

… not to mention there are beer holders in the hands!! What a bonus.

Piggyback Bigfoot easily wins for funnest Bigfoot costume, as well. I confidently proclaim that you WILL be a big draw at the party. You might even saddle up with another Bigfoot rider at your Fall fiesta. Or even a Leprechaun!

Best Overall Bigfoot Suit: Runner Up

Runner Up: Gorilla Face

This is a classic gorilla costume. While you might not be tagged as Bigfoot immediately, you can easily channel your inner Squatchiness in this comfortable, flexible costume.

In this great apesuit, you will easily be able to pop out of the bushes, climb trees, scream at people across the street, shotgun a beer, pinball bounce around the bar, and somersault into bed at the end of the night. A perfect Bigfoot evening, if you ask me.

Overall Best Bigfoot Suit

Winner: SquatchNasty

The winner of the Bigfoot costume Halloween showdown is definitely Mr. SquatchNasty. While I was hesitant to award this best Sasquatch suit, since it is so common, it actually covers a lot of bases for folks who need to scratch their Bigfoot itch this year.

This Bigfoot suit will provide a bits of humor, bits of horror, and of course, it’s actually marketed as Sasquatch… which counters what I said earlier. But if you want people to look at you and scream “AH!! BIGFOOT!!” then this is THE Bigfoot suit you want to go with!

The post The 10 Best Bigfoot Costumes On the Market appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

Survivorman Bigfoot was an enormous breath of fresh air.

In this sixth season of Survivorman, survival expert and filmmaker Les Stroud jumps headfirst into the strange world of Sasquatching. As most by now realize, there are only a handful of individuals actively involved in Bigfootery who command unbiased respect. In fact, the majority are viewed so negatively that, despite incredible growing interest, the field is still firmly ridiculed. Enter Les Stroud’s Survivorman Bigfoot.

The Finding Bigfoots and Mountain Monsters no doubt grab ratings, but Survivorman Bigfoot is the most comprehensive, practical analysis of the cryptid on-location that I have seen. Les Stroud’s firm step into the field is incredibly refreshing. While well-produced shows like X-creatures, the Bigfoot Files, and Fact or Faked do a well, non-partisan job of evaluating Sasquatch, none of those programs feature the respected magnitude of the well-loved Stroud. For many, including me, this was a cryptoid godsend. Kind of like when your favorite team gets the best player in the league.

There was a lot to digest from this important two-specials and seven-episode stretch. Here are my highlights.

JUMP TO…
THE TOP 10 | THE TOP 5

Obligatory Todd Standing ‘Blinky’ and ‘Ewok’ Mention

First, I have to briefly mention Todd Standing’s incredible encounter video clips of two stationary Sasquatch: the blinking Mexican wolf-man and the doll-eyed Ewok.

Since these clips have already been flung across internet, torn to shreds, revered, examined, celebrated, loved, and hated I would instead like to focus on some of the more subtle takeaways from Survivorman Bigfoot. These are fantastic encounters chew on, but they clearly deserve their own analysis and background investigation.

Survivorman Bigfoot Takeaway #20 – Even Les Stroud Gets Scared

Les Stroud is an absolute badass. He can survive anywhere.

But some of the most interesting moments in Survivorman Bigfoot occur when his fearless mental fortitude rolls back a bit. Even Les Stroud, god of survival, freaks out. There are few times throughout the season where he looks genuinely concerned with his safety. In those moments, it is fascinating to observe the mental transition into “oh shit this might be real.”

After two days of beach-camping at the ominous, north-end of Klemtu Lake in ‘Episode 1: Legend of Klemtu Hill’; Stroud was met with an aggressive display from something presumably very strong. Was this an actual Bigfoot encounter? In the 48 hours leading up to the event, Les intermittently performed inviting behavior, like wood knocking and food-gifting. Whenever he returned to the beach campsite he would discover unusual prints and missing food.

On his final day, Les was startled by the sound of a large tree or rock hurled down the beach in his general direction. On this windless evening, he appeared visibly frightened and shocked. He cycled through potential causes of this aggressive crash, but struggled for an explanation. This was one of the intense times when only two culprits surfaced: man and Sasquatch.

Watch Episode 1: Legend of Klemtu Hill here

#19 Bigfoot Might Spend Time in Hollow Trees

Was a Sasquatch, spiritually or physically, communicating with Les Stroud from within a hollow tree?

In one of the more spiritual segments of Survivorman Bigfoot, Les and his Hupa Guide Inker attempt to make camp in a relentless rainstorm in the wet Hupa Valley. Inker believes that the mystical presence of Sasquatch drained their electronics and cast bad luck upon the men. As experienced woodsman, the pair oddly struggle for hours to start a simple fire. Among the rain pattering, Les describes a persistent and deliberate knocking noise coming from a large, hollow tree.

The strange knocks escalate as the pair’s frustration grows. Their determination holds strong, and in divine-fashion, a different nearby tree falls in the windy storm. The fallen timber provides Les and Inker perfect dry, pulp to light their fire.

With this ordeal, Inker felt they were spiritually tested by the Sasquatch. Their persistent strength was rewarded with fire. And the odd knocking pushed them further and further.

Watch Episode 2: Where the Myth Began here

#18 Todd Standing Was Almost Ripped Apart by Sasquatch

No stranger to controversy, Todd Standing provided a swell of compelling material for Survivorman Bigfoot, especially ‘Special 1: Nordegg’. Despite his enthusiasm for evidence, Todd was a nice part of the show.

I have always thought that other than embellishing a few times to maintain funding and/or interest, Todd really had serious encounters with Sasquatch. And real or fake, he seems to have a growing collection of Bigfoot videos.

Todd provides a pretty intense piece of video evidence to the show. In the dark clip, Todd can be heard screaming like a drunk homeless guy “Gettouttahere!!! Gitouttaheeeeya!!!” into the blackness. The only light comes from a bright red flare… his anti-Bigfoot insurance policy. The dude sounds incredibly freaked out, and we can even here a deep, deep growling that more-or-less caused him to dip into shock. Todd says that over four Bigfoot surrounded him that night in remote Alberta and were supremely pissed off. If valid, truly an incredible encounter.

Watch Special 2: Radium Springs Bigfoot here

#17 Wood Knocks and Whoops Might be Legitimate…..

Throughout the two specials and the first season of Survivorman Bigfoot, both Todd Standing and Les Stroud invite audible contact with potential Sasquatch in the area. Hiking through the remote hotspots, they attempt to communicate via short whooping noises, rock knocks, and wood knocks.

A lot of critics in the Bigfoot community dismiss these inviting tactics, but the men were relatively successful. In the first special, for example, a distant ‘whoop’ was picked up by the camera and stopped Les in his tracks. Todd confidently proclaimed: “THAT was a Bigfoot.” Les took the critical-thinking road and deliberately cross-referenced his internal survivor database. Crossing out bear, cougar, crow, quail, and other local fauna; he arrived at two possible culprits: man and something else that we don’t know of: perhaps a large ape.

Wood knocks returned a notable result as well. In ‘Episode 1: Legend of Klemtu Hill’ Les performed daily wood knocks at his beach camp. On his final early-evening on the eerie Klemtu Lake beach, something a few hundred yards away catapulted a huge object in his direction. The air was completely still and Les immediately sensed aggression in the act. Did the wood knocks invite a large predator to his camp? We will never know.

As Les regularly reminded us, though, mountainside crashes and whoops in the forest aren’t going to prove the existence of anything.

Watch Episode 1: Legend of Klemtu Hill here

#16 ….. Not to Mention Upside Down Trees

Les and Todd found an upside down tree near a logging road in remote Alberta. Perhaps more perplexing than tree-branch structures, these trees are basically ripped out of the ground and shoved back in upside-down with the roots in the air. How odd…

On this find, Les ruled out human hoaxing, due to the apparent age of the hole that likely predated the logging road. He believes the time, resources, and strength needed to flip the tree further ruled out human involvement. To accomplish this strange task, he determined one would need a gas-powered auger to dig the hole and sledgehammers to drive it in position that firmly. No hammer marks were found on the tree.

Watch Episode 4: Giants of the Forest here

#15 Tree Structures Might Be the Real Deal Too

Les and Todd regularly investigated long tree branches in the remote woods that were cross-stacked and layered like some sort of half-ass, broad teepee. Were these tree structures really built by Sasquatch?

A big portion of ‘Special 2: Radium Springs’ is basically Survivorman Bigfoot CSI. Les tirelessly tried to understand how the tree branches ended up in their positions. Did they fall naturally? Was it snowfall? Windstorm? He questions everything, arriving at the conclusion time-after-time that these structures were deliberately built.

This is another instance of ‘why would anyone do this?’ when it comes to hoaxed Bigfoot evidence.

Of course, humans can accomplish just about anything, so we must assume that they are responsible for every piece of Sasquatch evidence discussed on this show. But why on earth would hoaxers arrange these heavy branches in these twisting and strange positions.

Maybe they’re not hoaxing at all. Maybe we’re just misunderstanding the motivation.

Perhaps they are practicing their tree communication?

No, seriously.

Les references tree symbolism as practiced by the Cree Indians. Each notch and specific overlay position branch to branch meant something different. Modern day scouts and experienced woodsmen also implement similar trail signs/markers. These include tying long grass with cordage, arranging and stacking rocks, and stick/branch positioning.

Unfortunately, we must assume that these structures are human-built information markers. What do they inform? We have no idea, but…

#14 Trees Structures Are Probably Going to be Hoaxed Regularly Now

Just like wood knocking and monkey whooping before it, the concept of Sasquatch tree structures has already seeped into the hoaxing bloodstream. With enough determination, you and your evil buddies can accomplish a halfway believable tree structure in one fun-filled afternoon.

I really don’t doubt at all that about 95% of received whoops and knocks in the wilderness are just other people. It’s so effortless. If you are even a little aware of these sounds as they relate to Bigfoot, you would probably get a kick out of returning the call. It takes two seconds to whoop-out or knock on a tree… and you might just be making your distant pal’s day with an emphatic response!

#13 For a Bigfoot Encounter, Your Best Bet is to Get Them to Come to You

The notion of ‘finding a needle in a haystack’ is repeated several times in Survivorman Bigfoot.

This is one of my favorite Sasquatch-could-be-real arguments. Obviously, I completely agree with Les Stroud’s strategy. There is so much uninhabited wilderness. A 2014 article from the DailyMail cites 47% of land in the United States is uninhabited, based on ‘census blocks’. This also includes developed, but abandoned land so the numbers are skewed a bit high when we’re considering actual wilderness.

But Canada…. oh boy.

Canada is the second largest country in the world. And so completely empty.

The vast majority of the country is ‘sparsely populated’, which, according to population density reports, means that there is less than 0.4 persons per square kilometer. Most Canadians live close to the U.S. border. The sheer absence of humans in this huge section of North America is breathtaking.

So let’s take it up one more notch.

In my write-up about where specifically Sasquatch live, I proposed a range of the minimum viable species amount, mirroring that of the Gorilla (842 to 11,919 total gorillas). It’s impossible to tell of course, but if this species is “thriving”, there would have to be no less than 800 of them. They could very well be endangered though, in which case there would be less than 800. So that’s around 800 individual Bigfoot spread out across at least 1/3 of the United States, and the majority of Canada.

Les’s approach is to enter reported Bigfoot hotspots, take up residence for a few days, and employ behavior that would invite these cryptids to him. Needless to say, becoming a needle-magnet, so-to-speak, is the absolute best approach.

#12 Native American Cultures View Sasquatch No Different than other Animals

In my opinion, one of the best supporting idea behind Bigfoot’s existence and not something like the Jersey Devil or the Loch Ness Monster, is the impressive amount of Native American reference. Most Native cultures tell stories about tall, hairy men in the woods and mountains. There’s also a huge amount of native art that clearly depicts these imposing, ape-like beings.

Les is very aware of this and dedicated an entire episode to Bigfoot hunting on the Hupa Indian Reservation in Northern California, a culture strongly intertwined with the presence of Sasquatch, or Ohma– as they call it. As Les says, “Most native cultures don’t fear Sasquatch. They respect them.”

One of the more intriguing ideas supporting the Native American & Bigfoot connection is the cultural context. The art depicts Ohma, Bigfoot, or Sasquatch right alongside other real-life, documented animals. They are presented along coyote, bear, squirrel, owl, or any other creature you could throw a stick at in the woods.

The Native Americans understand them as real beings. Maybe the rest of us just need a little more time living with them to gain that understanding. But as we build and build and build urban areas, I highly doubt we will make that connection anytime soon.

Watch Episode 2: Where the Myth Began here

#11 The Government Might Kill Bigfoot

Todd Standing provided plenty of food-for-thought in Survivorman Bigfoot. In ‘Episode 4: Giants of the Forest’ he brought Les back to their original Alberta location for another expedition. This was one of Todd’s hotspots, where he experienced a lot of activity over the years. Even Les noted the amount of strange evidence.

Their return voyage was uneventful. There was almost no activity. Todd ultimately explained to Les a “sinister” theory why the Sasquatch are all gone.

On a solo expedition in the “hardcore backcountry”, Todd found five sets of boot marks spaced 20 yards apart from each other walking through the bush. He made camp near where he found the tracks and was violently awoken by loud, rapid gunfire. He heard “multiple weapons discharging hardcore” followed by immediate silence. An hour later a helicopter landed in approximately the same area. Todd watched the descent, notching no lights and fast, deliberate, militaristic behavior. It darted in with no illumination, landed, and then went back up into the black sky.

Are Bigfoot hunted by mercenaries? If so, there’s definite financial motivation. What could it be?

Watch Episode 4: Giants of the Forest here

Survivorman Bigfoot Takeaway #10 – There’s No Shortage of Unique Bigfoot Bait

Les’s strategy to lure Sasquatch comes with no shortage of unique baits. In ‘Episode 6: Searching the Southwest’ he even uses his own son!!

Here’s a few more:

Apples:

Todd Standing and Les ‘gifted’ shiny red apples to the lurking phantoms. They climbed high into trees and supposed Bigfoot structures and fastened the fruit onto protruding tree branches. The men wanted to make sure that no bear could retrieve the apples. Of course, when the duo returned a short time later the apples were gone, but does that really mean Bigfoot took them? Not at all. Todd has been ‘gifting’ apples for years. In my opinion, I think he’s just been keeping the local racoon population fat and happy.

Marbles, Crosses, and Wind Chimes:

You have to admire Les’s dedication to Sasquatch fishing. He’s a man who is not afraid to cast unusual lures.In the Great Smoky Mountains Les and Bigfoot enthusiast Scott Carpenter used shiny marbles, specifically organized stone arrangements, and even displayed a cross made of sticks: a test to answer the question, are Bigfoot actually biblical Nephilim? The final episode of season 1 focused on the extra-dimensional, ‘hippy’ lens of Bigfoot. Thus, wind chimes were used for luring the creature.

#9 Scott Carpenter Recorded Some Eerie Vocalizations

Bigfoot screams and chatter are freaky. I thought I had heard most of them; at least those posted throughout the internet, but Survivorman Bigfoot provided us a brief listen to a new recording. They all possess creepy tones and a disorienting malevolence, but Scott Carpenter’s recording from the Smoky Mountains in Episode 4 might be the strangest and eeriest evidence of Bigfoot chatter we have ever heard.

Have a listen:

#8 Bigfoot Hunting Gets People Outside

Who ever said hunting Bigfoot is bad? It’s great!!

Any excuse to get people outside, hiking, camping, and appreciating nature is fantastic.

I never thought about it much, but Les has a great point. As this subculture grows year after year, it’s bringing like-minded people together and out into the vast expanses. And I think these expeditions into the unknown will ultimately help all of us understand that these areas need to be protected, Bigfoot or not.

Conviction in the existence of Bigfoot provides most of these folks an appreciation for the vast wilderness. Most of us reside in meticulously mapped-out regions with clear borders. This naturally feeds the idea that terrestrial Earth is, for the most part, fully discovered. More and more I read about the sheer expanses in Canada and throughout the Western United States (see Takeaway #15). Les makes consistent reference to this, as well. If anything, I believe that these Bigfooters cherish the idea that our planet is still very mysterious. Outside of our charted lines, a massive, intelligent, athletic species can eat, drink, sleep and reproduce. The more people venture to the lands beyond, I believe the more people feel the need to protect these beautiful, untouched areas from human destruction.

#7 Bigfoot Might Dig Clams

In ‘Episode 1: Legend of Klemtu Hill’, Les talks about native legends describing Sasquatch as “diggers of the sand” and “clam diggers”.

Trying to attract attention on a dark night, Les dug up clams on the beach of a Klemtu Sasquatch hotspot. Though uneventful, it was very interesting to hear about Sasquatch clam digging in Survivorman Bigfoot. It’s something I’ve never really thought of. He also provided an eerie story about local clam harvesters.

In a voiceover, a Klemtu native describes a story about clammers harassed by creatures in the night. They screamed horrifically at him and his small group. He compared it to the shrieks of a violently tortured man. After a few tense minutes, they hurriedly collected their clams and started to leave. Before they could move two steps across the wet sand, a large rock landed next to the pale.

Here’s another account of these expert clammers:

In 1907 a “monkey-like wild man” appeared on the moonlit Vancouver Island beaches. The local indigenous population vacated the area out of fear as the creature dug up clams and howled “in an unearthly fashion.” They tried to shoot the five-foot high, hairy “monkey”, but couldn’t land a blow.

#6 Utah “Sasquatch” Paintings Feature Horns

In ‘Episode 6: Searching the Southwest’, Les seeks rock paintings in a “haunted” Utah canyon. The old, red markings depict elk, deer, birds, and other everyday animals found in the region. Among the smeared art, are also depictions of bipedal beings. The human-like figure stands straight up with long legs, large feet and… horns.

Many native cultures describe Sasquatch/Bigfoot as “devils”, or “mountain devils.” To many, they represent malice and fear. This must be a fairly recent portrayal, though. If I’m not mistaken, the concept of the devil is wholly European and mostly rooted in Christianity.

I’m not sure exactly when the European concept of the devil overlapped with the regional Ute or Pauite tribes, but I will say that the presence of horns does objectively convey aggression and power.

#5 Believable Hoaxing is a Serious Endeavor

Every Bigfoot sighting is either a bear or a hoax right? Les takes a serious stab at recreating a convincing fabrication in ‘Episode 7: Hidden World of Bigfoot’. His aim was to pull-off a set of tracks to trick the experts, trying to answer the question:

“How easy is it, or isn’t it to fake?”

It’s a little harder than everyone thinks. Let’s take a look at the elbow-grease put in to this endeavor.

Les heads to S.O.T.A. FX in Los Angeles to gather the materials needed for his hoax. The team explains that most every FX Warehouse in Hollywood has done a Bigfoot costume… but getting a stunt guy out on-location in the suit is “horrible.” Essentially, you’re sitting in a steaming cocoon of foam, two inches thick.

Rather than throw on a suit, Les decides to make some tracks. Easy, right?

Not exactly.

The S.O.T.A. FX team outfits him with some premier Bigfoot stomping boots. At this point he has spent over $1000 and four full days of his time. He can’t achieve the proper stride length. He can barely get the impression depth more than an inch into the ground.

He returns to the shop. Roy and Matt, the FX masters sculpt a new set of stompers made from polyurethane and attached to some stilts. Les heads out to a local creekbed and, after many trial runs, finally gets ONE track that looks good enough.

After all of this- time, airfare, custom feet, stilts, etc.- Les’s bill rings up to about $10,000…. And that’s even after the FX shop gave him a deal.

Watch Episode 7: Hidden World of Bigfoot

#4 You can Rent a Bigfoot Costume for $50

So cheap! Les says that S.O.T.A, specifically, houses dozens of costumes from Bigfoot B-movies. And if you want to rent them, it’s a pretty damn modest pricetag.

There are a lot of production stills from movies like Exists or The Untold that show the costume in a shot not included in the final film version. These stir the Bigfoot community a bit at first until someone explains the origin. But what if you rented the suit for a week and hit the local trails?

Chaos.

Could renting costumes from Sasquatch B-movies like Stomping Ground, Boggy Creek, or Night of the Demon be the next evolution of hoaxing? You wouldn’t even have to film me walking around. If you want to make a convincing video it’s all about the suit right? That’s kinda all you need. You can just film me sitting in the bushes in full fuckin’ Snowbeast garb, drooling at the camera like a maniac.

Anything is better than the Matilda Chewbacca mask.

Les’s point is proved in all of this though. If you want to hoax well, it’s going to cost you.

Watch Episode 7: Hidden World of Bigfoot

#3 Les Stroud Might Have Been Sat on by a Bigfoot

In episode 3 of Survivorman Bigfoot Les returns to the Canadian Rockies. Todd Standing retires to base-camp, while the Survivorman climbs the craggy overlook. He ascends to the top of ‘Bigfoot Mountain’ and makes camp for a couple nights.

On his second night alone on the peak Les is transported into the Twilight Zone.

That evening, Les starts a fire to, theoretically, attract and calm the Sasquatch (they presumably feel more comfortable seeing you while not visible themselves). As he drifts off into sleep near the blaze he witnesses four strange lights floating completely still in the distant sky, estimating them as roughly 5x the size of the Concord. By the time he set up his camera, they vanished.

He finally falls asleep, but rises hours later in confusion. Les gives a midnight confessional to his camera explaining a surreal dream he had about being sat on a by a Sasquatch.

Was his mind simply swimming in the topic of Bigfoot and just dreamt the encounter? Or did a large being actually walk by and sit on him?

No one knows, but the next day he retrieves a bizarre trail cam video from down the mountain. The film shows an apple extremely high, fastened on a branch, completely disappear with no visible explanation. How eerie.

#2 Les Stroud is Haunted by an Alaskan Encounter

Les’s strange experience in Alaska arguable spurred this entire Bigfoot project. It was the first bit of Les Stroud + Sasquatch talk I had ever heard, and it absolutely thrilled me. I thought, wow, THIS guy thinks something is going on out in the wilderness. From then on, I was hooked by any involvement he had in the subject.

#1 The Power of Suggestion Blankets All

There is a poisonous byproduct to Bigfoot’s growing popularity. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Survivorman Bigfoot is the fact that the power of suggestion is now completely interwoven into every piece of Bigfoot evidence. Everyone thinks Bigfoot did everything. To quote a hilarious Finding Bigfoot meme: “Pile of leaves? Definite Squatch activity.”

Todd Standing is the representative for this line of thought throughout the season. While Les takes a few moments to gather the evidence and employ critical thinking, Todd cries Bigfoot.

Indentation in the mud? Bigfoot.

Woop in the distance? Bigfoot.

Tree structure? Rock pile? Pile of shit? Claw marks in the tree?

All Bigfoot.

Although the casual viewer is probably bored silly by Les’s acute examination of tree structures, these are the most important takeaways. When a guy like Les Stroud just cannot find an explanation for an intricately woven collection of old branches, crashing boulders, or upside down trees, then I am REALLY intrigued.

Final Thoughts on Survivorman Bigfoot

To be honest, Survivorman Bigfoot is not for all walks of Bigfooter. If you lean paranormal and spiritual, you may not like it. If you lean full-on hoax/the whole topic is bullshit, you will passionately rip it apart. Given the most popular sorts of Bigfoot programming, like the entertaining Mountain Monsters and cultural phenomenon Finding Bigfoot, Survivorman Bigfoot is a huge breath of fresh air. This is the first uber-meticulous analysis of Sasquatch… even to the point where you might get uber tired of it. But one of Les’s biggest points is the insistence of meticulous evidence gathering, evaluation, cataloging & cross-checking. Since a body is unlikely to be dropped at CNN’s front door, this is the only way for serious believers to approach Bigfoot’s existence.

The post 20 Takeaways from ‘Survivorman Bigfoot’ appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

The infamous De Loys’ Ape

Casual crypto-thusiasts know of Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest, Yeti in the Himalayas, and even Skunk Apes in the southern United States. But buried beneath 100 years of bubbling North American large-ape stories is one old photograph from the Venezuelan jungle. This one picture and accompanying story have provoked endless scrutiny. It was even considered by zoologists for inclusion in the animal kingdom. Behold, the strange episode of the Ameranthropoides loysi.

What is the De Loys’ Ape?

In 1920 geologist François De Loys lead a fatigued party through miles of a green inferno: the Venezuelan-Colombian jungle. Three years earlier the Swiss-French prospector began a journey with twenty men deep into the jungle to search for geologic evidence of oil deposits. At this point in their wildly unsuccessful journey, disease and fatal skirmishes with the native Motilone Indian tribe whittled the group by half. Though the petroleum treasure-explosion evaded him, De Loys was about to stumble upon arguably a much more important prize on the banks of the Tarra River that day.

As the troop rested near the water, two large shadows appeared suddenly in the tree line. These twin, five-foot screamers approached slowly, angrily shaking branches like vengeful jungle spirits. They were ape-like, but walked bipedally like humans. The odd, irritated monsters swung their torn branches like weapons and heaved their own feces at De Loys and the shocked men. Exhausted and terrified, the team fired their Winchester rifles at the more aggressive male creature. Their bullets missed, killing the female instead. The male fled into the trees, howling in agony, never to be seen again.

When the adrenaline slowed, De Loys propped the large creature’s corpse upon a crate, supported it’s head with a stick and snapped one single photograph. The creature stood approximately five feet tall, had no tail, and bore thirty-two teeth like a human (four short of your typical New World ape). De Loys collected the remains and continued the prospecting voyage. Unfortunately, in the remaining months, more deadly skirmishes with native tribes caused the body to be lost or left somewhere in the jungle. Other accounts suggest the skinned hide and skull of the creature disappeared into a river when De Loys capsized his boat. Some even report that the skull broke and corroded beyond scientific evaluation standards because it was used as a crude salt container.

Location of the encounter

Aftermath of the encounter

De Loys kept the photo in a notebook and placed the memory of the bizarre experience in back of his mind. Years later, in 1929, anthropologist friend George Montandon came across the photograph while thumbing through De Loys’ travel journals. Excited by the bizarre creature, Montandan proclaimed this bipedal ape to be a significant anthropological discovery. He brought the photograph and compelling story to several scientific journals. Ameranthropoides loysi, as he named it, was officially born.

Holes in the story?

If valid, the tale of De Loys’ ape is truly amazing. But almost 100 years later, debate still stirs over this ‘discovery.’

The Expedition:

The apes were encountered roughly ten miles west of La Fria, capitol of the region where De Loys searched for geologic indication of petroleum. This was not a full, four-year expedition ‘Indiana Jones-style’ deep into the jungle, as many believe. This was four years of abbreviated trips into the jungle from one home-base, presumably La Fria. De Loys claimed that “no fewer of his seventeen men had been killed by the arrows of native tribesmen” and that he was even shot in the thigh. Needless to say, they really wanted that oil.

So according to De Loys, his South American prospecting mission was extremely dangerous. He even stated that only a handful of men returned from the jungle alive. Why on earth would this expedition continue if men were routinely massacred? And why wouldn’t they simply return to La Fria to either bolster their party or abandon the mission after one fatality? One must also wonder why they didn’t begin their return after collecting the body. As an academic, De Loys must have realized the significance of the discovery. How can something so important be lost with such great ease and, if true, why would the skull be used as a container for anything, let alone salt?

The Politics:

Skeptics argue that Montandon alone wove the grand mythos behind the animal. Skeptics allege he used his friend’s exotic history in the Venezuelan jungle as the setting for this fake, incredible encounter. Many believe the crux of his fakery was that the existence of a human-like ape in South America would further his own, highly controversial, human evolution theory. Montandon proposed that white people evolved from Cro-Magnon, Africans evolved from gorillas, and Asians from orangutans. He suggested that the Ameranthropoides loysi was the great ape from which indigenous Native Americans evolved from. Inclusion of the De Loys’ ape completed his “grand races” theory across the continental board.

The Photograph:

In 1962, Dr. Enrique Terega came upon a magazine article about the ape. As it turns out, Dr. Terega was in Venezuala working with De Loys at the time as a medic. He wrote to the magazine, The Universal, challenging the story. Apparently, in 1919, a spider monkey with an amputated tail was gifted to De Loys, a noted “practical joker.” While stationed together in the city of Mena Grande, this ‘Marimonda’ spider monkey died. De Loys then took the famous photograph with Dr. Terega in attendance.

Additionally, the stump of a banana tree appears to grow just to the right of the ape in the photograph. Bananas are not indigenous to South America. The likelihood that the photo was shot in Venezuela, as De Loys claimed, is reportedly slim.

Real or fake, what could the De Loys’ Ape be?

It is fake:

Most zoologists involved in the evaluation of De Loys’ ape suggest the cryptid is nothing more than a creatively mutilated spider monkey. Specifically, careful analysis points to the white-fronted spider monkey, as it features “nostrils pointing forward, vestigial thumbs, and a large, external clitoris.”

It is real:

Different theories exist to describe the perplexing De Loys’ ape.

People throughout South America have reported peculiar, five foot tall apes with reddish hair and a human cry. These cryptids, known as Salvaje or “Mono Grande”, are typically considered native legend. They were said to “capture women, build huts and to occasionally eat human flesh.” A 1553 journal entry by explorer Pedro Cieza de León describes second-hand observations of the Mono Grande, including discovery of a large carcass. More recently, three were observed by a hunter in 1980, and one only five years later twenty miles from that spot.

Perhaps the most intriguing theory to explain the De Loys’ ape is from author Gian Quasar, who sees the cryptid as not only authentic, but the most practical explanation for sightings of large, bipedal apes (Bigfoot/Sasquatch) in North America. According to Quasar, the ape fits perfectly into Native American description of the D’sonoqua via totems, paintings, and masks:

“The ocular area of the masks, confirms the D’sonoqua are the [de Loy’s apes]. The unique ocular boney ridge, exclusive to the spider monkey and the Ameranthopoides loysi, is perfectly reproduced on the mask.”

He believes that De Loys encountered these apes before or during a migration to the Pacific northwest. Quasar suggests that widespread great ape encounters in the United States are due to flared migration paths of the creature:
“It is equally possible that some could travel along the Sierra Madres through New Mexico, Texas, and eventually along the Rockies until also arriving in Canada or branching off into other parts of the United States.”

“Face of Dzunuk’wa” – Cedar c.1900 (University of British Columbia)

Both sides of the crate

Now approaching 100 years of the De Loys’ ape, both sides remain split. Apparently, the details enveloping a truly successful hoax shall remain as vague… or as truly convoluted as possible. But, the encounter itself is particularly compelling, and paired with the amazing photograph continues to bolster a deep faith that the entire experience was genuine. If the ape was fake, then it was likely nothing more than anthropologist’s home-run swing to secure a place in the evolutionary history books. But if real, we have a whole new continent to consider when discussing cryptid primates.

–AJ

Sources:
Naish, Darren. “De Loys’ Ape and What to Do with It.” Scientific American Blog Network. N.p., n.d. Web.
Dunning, Brian. “De Loys’ Ape.” De Loys’ Ape. The Skeptoid Podcast
Seres, Michael. “Dr. Francois De Loys and De Loy’s Ape (Deloy’s Ape).” Dr. Francois De Loys and De Loy’s Ape (Deloy’s Ape). BigfootEncounters.com
Fabricius, Karl. “The Lethal Search for De Loys’ Ape.” Scribol.com
Redfern, Nicholas. The Bigfoot Book: The Encyclopedia of Sasquatch, Yeti, and Cryptid Primates. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 59-61. Print.
Quasar, Gian J. “Chapter 7: Odd Anthropoid Out.” Recasting Bigfoot: Uncovering the Truth about Sasquatch amidst the Hype of Bigfoot. Lexington, KY: Brodwyn-Moor & Doane, 2010. N. pag. Print.

The post A History of the De Loys’ Ape appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

In North America, reports of Bigfoot-like creatures come from all over: Mount St. Helens to North Carolina; Alaska to Arkansas and every state between… even Hawaii. Witnesses see them on every continent except for Antarctica. The true scale of this phenomenon is impressive to say the least.

‘Bigfoot Reunion’ by Sebastien-Ecosse

Little by little I believe in the idea that these bipedal, hairy, massive phantoms could inhabit ANY remote or highly inaccessible wilderness area. But where specifically would Bigfoot live?

Warning, this article attempts to analyze the distribution and habitat of a yet-undiscovered species. Trying to shape strong hypotheses with nothing more than anecdotal evidence and speculation based on ‘similar’ animals should not be taken serious. This is all just Bigfoot-flavored food for thought. That’s all we can do with such limited information, think.

JUMP TO… Where Does Bigfoot Live in the U.S. & Canada? | What Kind of Setting Would Bigfoot Require? | Where Would Bigfoot Sleep? | Historical Accounts of Bigfoot Settlements

Where Does Bigfoot Live in the United States & Canada?

The short answer? Anywhere. But there are certain places where Bigfoot is commonly considered to live:

Mount St. Helens, Washington

Nestled in the Cascade mountain range in Washington, Mount St. Helens is best known for its incredible 1980 eruption. 57 people died in debris avalanches, structure collapses, and smoke inhalation. This includes countless injuries and millions of dollars-worth of destruction. Amazingly, stories persist to this day of several Sasquatch perishing on the mountain and surrounding country. Some witnesses claim they observed army helicopters airlifting massive dead bodies away from the smoking landscape.

Many believe that a maze of lava tubes snake below Mount St. Helens and throughout the Cascades. These tunnels would offer miles of underground shelter for large animals, perhaps even Sasquatch. The state of Washington features the most Bigfoot sightings in the United States, by far. Intricate cave systems and the expansive, remote wilderness make Washington Bigfoot capital of the United States.

The Everglades National Park, Florida

A lot of people overlook states outside of the Pacific Northwest as prime Bigfoot habitats. Many people don’t realize that Florida ranks in the top five of state-by-state sightings. Miles and miles of remote, impenetrable swampland and a huge food surplus creates a fantastic habitat for a large omniverous mammmal like Sasquatch.

But down in Florida you won’t find Sasquatch. You’ll find Skunk Apes. In dense and expansive territories like the Everglades National Park and Myakka State Park, witnesses describe a putrid smelling, lithe, black-haired ape-man. These creatures contrast the hulking, barrel-chested brutes of the Pacific Northwest. The southern body types likely have stark differences due to a more limited population size (smaller territory), a unique swamp diet, and the amount of time spent living in the water.

Salt Fork State Park, Ohio

A true midwestern hot spot, Salt Fork State Park in central Ohio boasts dozens of compelling Bigfoot sightings. The largest in Ohio, this state park features 17,000 acres of majorly uninhabited land, and 8,000 acres of lakes and waterways. Ohio is another greatly overlooked state for encounters. The state is ranked 7th in overall population, but most Ohio residents live in close to large cities throughout the state. This means that there’s still a lot of sprawling, low-traffic, food-rich country in the Buckeye state. Ohio also features a vast river system with countless tributaries and smaller waterways. Salt Fork is kind of a vortex of many of these waterways. It is also right on the edge of the Appalachian Plateau, which is sort of a gateway to the Appalachian Mountain Range. Many Bigfoot researchers believe that this range is a Sasquatch super highway, trekked annually by these creatures as they follow seasonal food sources.

Salt Fork is also the site of several popular Bigfoot conferences like the Ohio Bigfoot Conference, the Annual Bigfoot Conference. Researchers also hold monthly Bigfoot night hikes and creature weekends in the park.

Considering Population Size

Let’s try to hammer down where these creatures might establish their geographic territory. Knowing that sightings occur all over the globe and throughout the United States & Canada, let’s try to magnify what kind of area these creatures would prefer to settle.

First let’s consider a sustainable population number.

There’s definitely not one Bigfoot. There’s not even a hundred Bigfoot. The minimum viable species amount for gorillas is somewhere between 842 and 11,919. This means that unless the total amount of gorillas dipped beneath 842, the species would be just fine. I cite gorillas assuming Sasquatch are actually great apes as well. Conceivably, these creatures would need similar numbers to exist in the world, unless they’re slowly dropping off– which is possible. The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) provides a general estimate of 2000-6000 Bigfoot in North America.

Estimating population size is beyond speculative. Researchers have a hard enough time determining the required breeding population of known animals, let alone one they’ve never been able to even get close to. So where would a few thousand Bigfoot live in North America? And WHERE exactly would they settle?

Where do sightings take place overall?

Let’s take a narrowed look at North America sightings and try to drill down from there. This fantastic map from Josh Stevens plots 3,313 Bigfoot sightings between 1921 and 2013. He looks at the relationship between reported sightings and population density within each county in the United States. Utilizing all reputable data from the BFRO, Stevens notes that sightings in the midwest and east coast, while numerous, are actually proportionally rare or follow the population. Per Josh, “There are distinct regions where sightings are incredibly common, despite a very sparse population. On the other hand, in some of the most densely populated areas Sasquatch sightings are exceedingly rare.”

Bigfoot sightings map by Josh Stevens

By the numbers, here’s the BFRO’s data on state-by-state reports up to November 2016. It is very possible that these creatures don’t habituate certain states, and the small number of sightings are mis-identifications and hoaxes. But, as the reports soar per state, I find it harder to believe that every single sighting is bunk.

What Kind of Setting Would Bigfoot Require?

1) Near a Reliable Water Source

Let’s go out on a limb and decide that Bigfoot drink freshwater like every other red-blooded American. Topping the list of basic needs, the need for water should place them at all times within a few miles of a known source, likely an area that is dependable. In California, for example, drought conditions frequently dry up streams and creeks. It would make more sense that they set up shop near a pond or lake that only recedes gradually. I would imagine them to take full advantage of mountain springs as well.

2) Near a Reliable Food Source

Apes aren’t known to migrate. They are more territorial animals. Likely, when food opportunities arise, Sasquatch wander to distant areas and make temporary settlement. They may maintain a small number of ‘homes’ in an ideal, base-locale, like a cave near a water source. Some suggest that “the Sasquatch are ‘slick opportunists’ in that they know instinctively where and when certain fruits ripen, crops mature, the salmon run, birds nest and the herds calve.” So let’s not project the desires/needs of MAN onto an animal. Sasquatch don’t go fishing for fun or hike for their health. There’s no reason why they wouldn’t be extremely familiar with available food sources in a 50 mile radius. That’s their purpose: to live.¹

I think that they are intelligent enough to remember previous temporary settlements and return to those spots when food sources become available. Perhaps they stay in that general area for a few days, or weeks to gather food for a cache and move on to the next spot. Perhaps they have one truly dependable location that they can always return to. Those few places would also likely be the spot where the young and old reside.

3) In Reliable Shelters

Plenty of animals sleep out “under the stars” as we romantically put it. Plenty of large mammals construct ‘beds’ with grass and bark. I don’t doubt that Bigfoot does the same, but as an intelligent great ape who, in my opinion, has an innate need to NOT be seen or heard they probably utilize a bit more strategy when they’re going to be laying down for an extended period of time. This likely translates to settlements that allow for a quick escape, total or significant floral coverage, and ideally, high ground camps to assess dangers from afar.

Where Does Bigfoot Sleep?

1) Caves

There are easily hundreds of thousands of caves strewn throughout the United States. Over one-third of all counties in the country have at least one cave, and some have so many that they haven’t been properly indexed. Most karst/limestone caves dot the Appalachians, the Ohio valley, the Ozarks, and the Florida Lime Sinks: all top regions for Sasquatch sightings (see map above).

There are also psuedokarst caves, which are most often lava tubes. These types are most often found in the western United States. They can stretch miles long, winding about in knotted passages with multiple entrances. Mount Shasta in California supposedly features a ‘lost city’ of tubes amidst the volcano roots. A lost city of Sasquatch?! Probably not, but I’m sure there’s plenty of dark space to habituate up there.

Similarly, lava tubes spread beneath Mt. St. Helens in Washington. Just like Mt. Shasta, many believe the entire volcano, above and below, to be a major hotspot for Sasquatch colonies. Stories persist to this day of government helicopters scooping Bigfoot bodies off the mountain after the 1980 eruption. The mountain is also just two miles west of Ape Canyon: an infamous site in Bigfoot lore. In 1924, rock-throwing, shrieking ‘ape men’ terrorized five miners overnight. This event is commonly called ‘The Battle of Ape Canyon.’

2) Abandoned Mines

There are an estimated 500,000 abandoned hardrock mines in the United States. Most of them were hastily dug amid the country’s western gold rush. 500,000 empty mines: that’s a lot of uninhabited shelter space up in the mountains. Depending on surrounding terrain, I could definitely see Sasquatch settling inside. With that many mines, there’s bound to be hundreds of them found in especially remote areas. A perfect choice for a longterm Bigfoot home, no doubt.

3) Abandoned Homes

Shelter is shelter, you know? What would happen if a roaming Bigfoot came across a forgotten farmhouse way out in the country? I would think they’d look upon that house with a heap of optimism and settle in for a short time.

These creatures aren’t dumb. They won’t just walk into your Grandma’s house and take a nap. Houses and farms indicate human presence. They likely develop a comfort level with the structure and scout out human activity for a reasonable amount of time before settling in.

And once they do… welp, there goes the neighborhood.

4) Trees

Could an entire family of 800 lb apes live in a tree? I doubt it. Maybe one or two, but I don’t think that tree dwellings make sense. Certainly, I could see one resting high up in a tree, but do they even have the capability to climb after a certain age? Bears can comfortably scale a branchless pine tree with a nifty set of claws, but what would a Sasquatch do in that situation? They’re all fingers!

Gorillas live on the ground, but maintain great balance in the trees. While I don’t think many tree varieties would be sturdy enough to support a Bigfoot for a long stay, I think resting & foraging would work just fine.

Historical Accounts of Bigfoot Settlements

Usually it seems that Sasquatch finds you, or you glimpse one for two seconds as it rushes across a trail or road. Stories are rare in which a person or group stumbles into the ‘lair of the beast’, but we do have some notable historical tales that help paint a picture of an actual Bigfoot residence. Unfortunately for these two men, they became forced house-guests.

Albert Ostman’s Abduction

Perhaps the most well-known of Bigfoot abductions is the 1924 Albert Ostman story. Ostman, a Canadian prospector, claimed that he was carried off into the night by a Sasquatch while still nestled inside his sleeping bag. The creature carried him for miles and miles across the countryside. Hours passed before the abductor placed him on the ground. When Ostman crawled from the bag he discovered three more of these beings: a young boy & girl, and an old female. The abductor was like an old man. The family stood over Ostman chattering away in their own language. Ostman noted the geography of their dwelling:

“I could see now that I was in a small valley or basin about eight or ten acres, surrounded by high mountains, on the southeast side there was a V-shaped opening about eight feet wide at the bottom and about twenty feet high at the highest point — that must be the way I came in. But how will I get out? The old man was now sitting near this opening.”

Ostman lived with the creatures for six days. Though he had a weapon, he did not want to shoot the family, since they brought him no harm. As the days passed, Ostman studied their interpersonal dynamics and what perhaps brought them to this spot:

“I don’t think this valley was their permanent home. I think they move from place to place, as food is available in different localities. They might eat meat, but I never saw them eat meat, or do any cooking.” He added, “I think this was probably a stopover place and the plants with sweet roots on the mountain side might have been in season this time of the year. They seem to be most interested in them. The roots have a very sweet and satisfying taste. They always seem to do everything for a reason, wasted no time on anything they did not need.”

Ostman eventually escaped by offering the old man a box of snuff. The creature curiously ingested the tobacco, became sick, and did not pursue Ostman as he ran away.

Read the amazing full story at Bigfootencounters.com.

The Story of Muchalat Harry

In 1975 notable Bigfoot researcher Peter Byrne wrote ‘The Story of Muchalat Harry.’ A missionary priest named Father Anthony told him the story of a Nootka indian named Muchalat Harry who he rescued from the Conuma River. Near death, Muchalat Harry explained that he was abducted by a massive creature while trapping in the forests of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Much like the Albert Ostman tale, the creature came in the middle of the night and picked him up as he slept, wrapped in blankets. He was also carried for roughly three miles to a rocky settlement. Terrified, Muchalat Harry noted around twenty Bigfoot of all shapes and sizes. The group brought no harm, but poked and analyzed him out of pure curiosity.

When the sun rose, Muchalat Harry was able to understand his surroundings. The creatures made their craggy camp high up in the rising hills, beneath a high rock shelf. As the day passed most of the beings dispersed the site for one reason or another. When he finally escaped, Muchalat Harry ran for his life three miles downhill to his camp. He ran all the way passed his camp for twelve miles to the mouth of the Conuma River. There he canoed forty-five miles down ice-cold, winter rivers. When Father Anthony found him, he was near frozen and lifeless. Three weeks passed before he regained his health, still mentally shaken by his incredible ordeal.

Read the entire story at Bigfootencounters.com

‘Detail of a Nootka Sound’ watercolour by John Webber, 1778. Muchalat Harry was a Nootka indian reportedly abducted by Sasquatch

Ok, So Considering Everything… Where Does Bigfoot Live??

I would be willing to bet we’d find a Bigfoot in a remote, abandoned mine shaft within one mile of a lake in Washington state when berries are in full bloom.

K, see you there.

— AJ

Sources:

¹ Short, Bobbie. “Sasquatch Migration – No Shortage of Opinions…” Bigfootencounters.com

The post Where Does Bigfoot Live Exactly? appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

In the least, we need to appreciate well made Bigfoot movies when we can, so have a watch.

Click below to watch on Amazon and let me know what you think in the comments! I included my thoughts on the movie below the image.

Watch ‘Stomping Ground’ on Amazon Video Now >>

Did you watch it? Alright, let’s talk about it:

Stomping Ground is a competently directed, well-acted story of male inadequacy and trust in relationships. And there is a Bigfoot in it too. He lurks from a distance a couple times.

The Good

Stomping Ground is put together really well. I was expecting this to be a true dud, with poorly-recorded, cringe-worthy dialogue; boring, stock camera shots; and camcorder-level resolution. But fear not. Director Dan Riesser cooked up a quality meal right here. The screenplay is solid and funny as hell. I watched this movie a week ago and a few choice lines, namely from the character Jed (Justin Giddings), admiringly float into conversations. No one knows what the hell I’m saying, but it’s all good.

I also enjoyed the significant attention paid to atmosphere. Stomping Ground is ripe with BEAUTIFUL vista shots of North Carolina. You can immediately tell that Riesser lovingly photographed this picture. And in the background we have a soft rambling country guitar score that accents the landscape with perfection. Ahhhh to sleep in a sunny Carolina leaf pile!

The Bad

Alright, so I did like this movie, but I don’t think I would watch it again. It works on a dramatic level enough, but constantly pushes Ben’s growing insecurities while taking really weak steps to build actual suspense. There’s no horror payoff for any of it until the final 10ish minutes. By that point, my attention withered to a nub. I appreciate the minutes spent to establish characters and setting, but Jesus I’m sitting there at an hour in and a sliver of the creature hasn’t even been revealed. A large foot finally appears at 1 hour 7 minutes, or when 88% of the film has passed.

I assume most viewers discovered this movie through a horror website, or cycling through the horror section on Amazon. Judging by the cover art and screen captures of the great creature makeup, the production company wanted to promote it as something of a monster movie. So give us the god damn monster. Showing an on-screen run-in with the two victims midway through the film would have been enough to lasso me back in. The creature design is so cool. I would have loved to see it utilized for longer than a few seconds. And honestly there’s only so much love-triangle banter and big city/redneck drama I can take in a fuckin’ Bigfoot movie.

Don’t let my rant frighten you child. Bigfoot horror started as trashy drive in. Nowadays we’ve expanded into just about three other sub-categories: found footage, Syfy channel action, and independent snoozers. Stomping Ground leans snoozer, but it’s better than just about any other I have seen so far. Unlike Snowbeast, this movie might actually be worth your minutes.

— AJ

The post ‘Stomping Ground’ (2014) Horror Review appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

Tim Hall delivers his Great Smoky Mountains Bigfoot story in his living room

I absolutely love Tim Hall’s Bigfoot story. Essentially a five minute tale buffered with ten to twelve minutes of weird background details and granular, pointless notes; he performs the retelling with such a magnetic conviction. Originally published on a Youtube page that doesn’t exist anymore, the encounter reached broader audiences via Sasquatch Chronicles, or, at-the-time, Bigfoot Hotspot Radio. That’s where I heard it for the first time, and this is interestingly the story that reignited my passion for the topic.

Here’s the tale, courtesy of Bigfoot Hotspot Radio. You can find the reuploaded version on their current site here, Sasquatch Chronicles.

The story is ridiculous. It’s hilarious. It’s swamped in irrelevant explanations and is just completely oversalted, but god damnit I love it. The man’s a great talker and I truly believe his story about that night up on Mt. LeConte. I listen to it all the time. And right there in the middle really is a terrifying encounter of six men completely frozen in fear by something outside their small cabin. What did Tim and his five young friends hear on that remote, snowy mountain in Smoky Mountains National Park? And what the hell tried to ferociously break down their cabin door? This is one of the few Bigfoot stories that I return to.

In the midst of my born again Bigfootery, I played Tim’s story for my parents and girlfriend on the way to Yosemite National Park a few summers ago. I was pumped. THIS was going to sell them. I sorted through all the compelling Bigfoot stories I found on Youtube and Bigfoot Hotspot Radio, and decided this was going to be the one; THE story that would freak my family into believing. So I pressed play. What happened? I was met with impatient disdain after the twelfth mention of a “looong, haaaard hike” and laughed out of the car on the wave of Tim’s “OH DEAR GOD!!!”

So it goes for the lonesome Bigfooter. But I guarantee you they at least enjoyed the story.

— AJ

The post “Oh Dear God!!” Tim Hall’s Fantastic Bigfoot Ramble appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

© 2012 The Sasquatch Genome Project

In 2013, Dr. Melba Ketchum, a Texas veterinarian published a controversial report detailing the existence of a new indigenous peoples: Sasquatch. Ketchum led a multi-year study to sequence nuclear genomes of these elusive creatures. Her team tested over 100 pieces of perceived Bigfoot hair, ultimately finding that several samples originated from an unknown hominid species. In Ketchum’s report “Novel North American Hominins, Next Generation Sequencing of Three Whole Genomes and Associated Studies”, she claimed that Sasquatch are hybrids of Homo sapiens combined with an undetermined primate. Whether or not you believe in this study, an odd video surfaced alongside the official release.

Upon release, Ketchum paired with Bigfoot researcher Adrian Erickson to provide the public a double dose of strange: the comprehensive Bigfoot DNA study paired with a 30 second ‘teaser’ clip of a sleeping Bigfoot named ‘Matilda’. The creature in the video is “donor 37” from Ketchum’s 100 samples. Both can be yours for only $29.99!! Seriously, buy the full study here.

Given the surrounding circumstances I truly doubt this piece of ‘evidence’, but Finding Bigfoot front-man Matt Moneymaker vouches for it’s authenticity. There were supposedly even TWO sleeping Bigfoot on display in the full-length clip. At some point in the video, the creatures even rose to their feet and shuffled creepily around the researchers. When asked if Matilda is real, Moneymaker replied on Twitter, “Yes Matilda is real. There were 2 BFs there – an adult female and a juvenile female. The sleeping one was the adult female.”

And by popular demand, a new piece of the video surfaced: this time of the face:

Multi-millionaire BFRO-backer Wally Hersom and Moneymaker were granted exclusive access to view the full footage. In the video, Hersom observed “fangs” and a “black tongue” as the creature approached the camera. The creature appeared shifty and feral with darting eyes, displaying a “paranoid and aggressive” demeanor. A more detailed list of features, via Bigfootevidence.blogspot.com:

“Others who have seen the footage say it’s much more detailed than the Patterson-Gimlin film. On the full facial close-up shot, one witness described:

• Nose similar to ours (but with larger nostrils)
• Slightly chapped, rosy lips
• Pink mouth, blackish tongue
• Pointed teeth, like fangs
• Deep set eyes that dart around and don’t blink
• Her head is round, shaped more like ours than a gorilla’s, but her brow is much more prominent
• She has lots of fine, flowing hair on her head (dark reddish brown) and soft short hair on her face
• When she walks away, she moves just like the female in the Patterson Film”

How was the Sleeping Bigfoot footage obtained?

Bigfootevidence.blogspot.com sat down with Hersom in October 2012 to discuss the events that led to the bizarre video:

“Supposedly word got out that there were two Bigfoot researchers, Dr. Leila Hadj-Chikh, a biologist, who has a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology, from Princeton University, and Dennis Pfohl, a researcher from Colorado, had successfully baited a family of Bigfoots and filmed them for hours. The researchers, hired by the Erickson Project, obtained various videos of Bigfoot from different habituation sites such as Maple Ridge, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. According to sources, Dr. Leila has seen the Bigfoots many times with her own eyes but only speaks out it privately. They have shot enough video of these creatures and are convinced that what they saw were real Bigfoots.”

Sources:

“Matt Moneymaker Confirms Matilda Bigfoot Footage Is Real, Says There’s Two of ‘Em” Bigfootevidence.blogspot.com. 21 Feb 2013. Web.

All videos and content | ©2012 The Sasquatch Genome Project All Rights Reserved

The post What is ‘Matilda’ the Sleeping Bigfoot? appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

Rene Dahinden holding the “cripplefoot cast”, 1970

Right beside the famed 1967 Patterson/Gimlin footage, many enthusiasts believe the other pillar of irrefutable Bigfoot evidence to be the 1969 Bossburg, Washington cripplefoot tracks. In this small community just south of the Canadian border, at least 1089 individual footprints were discovered by a enthusiastic team of Bigfoot hunters. On the surface these appetizing pieces of evidence are remarkable, but what is the real story? The Patterson/Gimlin footage ignited a fever among Bigfoot hunters in 1967, and just two years later these tracks once again hypnotized researchers. But does this unique piece of Bigfoot evidence truly hold that much weight? In this case, it’s essential to look beyond the footprints, right into the eyes of several overzealous Bigfooters.

What events lead to the cripplefoot cast?

In November of 1969 notable researcher Rene Dahinden received a phone call from colleague John Greene. Greene explained that a fellow Bigfooter named Ivan Marx was tracking a crippled Sasquatch, evidenced by a malformed foot print found in the mud by a butcher around the town dump. Rene traveled to Bossburg to investigate. Though trampled by curious locals, the muddy grounds around the dump did yield at least one complete footprint preserved beneath a cardboard box. Rene photographed it and took a plaster cast.

Rene performed due-diligence about town, holding interviews and investigating the surrounding wilderness for more evidence. Mystified by the extraordinary crippled trait, he made base in Bossburg, living in a trailer on Marx’s property. For the next several days he made rounds about the town fringes, dropping infrequent, random piles of meat scraps as Bigfoot bait.

The morning of December 13th brought Rene’s best chance to nab the Cripple. Cruising the banks of Roosevelt Lake with Ivan Marx and an interested young local man, the team pulled over near a railway crossing adjacent to the Columbia River. Marx left the car to check on one of Rene’s meat-piles. Within seconds he flew back to the car shouting “Bigfoot tracks!”

The cripplefoot trackway

1089 individual footprints covered the snowy landscape, winding along the railroad, across the railroad, across the highway, over a 3 ½ foot wire fence, and underneath a pine tree. Beneath the tree they found a large impression littered with pine needles. In the center of this marking was a large clump of snow bearing a few toe prints. Rene believed that the creature stopped to shake off accumulating snow from its foot.

Upon realizing there were hundreds more tracks beyond the pine tree pit-stop, a fiery Rene abandoned all skepticism, shouting “Now we’re going to get that hairy sonofabitch!”

The tracks went up a steep hill and back down the same hill, side-by-side. A deep, yellow-tinged snow patch indicated the possibility the creature stopped to urinate. No samples were collected. Beyond the pee-patch the footprints led down a steep grade parallel to the river, until they finally disappeared amidst the Columbia’s rocky shore.

Left to right, Rene Dahinden, Don Byington, and Ivan Marx following the trackway discovery, 1970

What did the crippled foot look like, and what supposedly happened to ‘the creature’?

The left print measured 17 ½” inches long and 6 ½” across the ball. The right, “crippled” foot measured 16 ½ long and 7” across the ball. The right print showed more compression than the left. This suggests that the body weight favored the right side.

The most notable attribute, and perhaps the sole reason this event became so delectable to the hungry group of Bigfooters, is the infamous crippled right foot. Shorter and wider than the left foot, it strangely left a deeper impression. Rene along with several academics offer their own explanations of the gnarled appendage:

Rene Dahinden, on-scene Bigfoot researcher: Believed the ‘creature’ to have a shorter right leg and endured an accident that dislocated the shinbone.

Dr. Grover Krantz, anthropologist: Believes the tracks made by the ‘crippled individual’ are authentic and simply too sophisticated to be faked. Notably penciled in anatomical structure of the bones upon the plaster cast.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, expert on foot morphology and locomotion in primates: Believes the tracks to be authentic and the chances of a hoax to be “almost non-existent.” In an official study, he details the structure of the foot and appears to accept Grover’s skeletal outline:

“The malformed right foot has been previously misidentified as a case of talipes equinoverus (clubfoot). However, it is consistent with the general condition of pes cavus, specifically metatarsus adductus or possibly skewfoot. Its unilateral manifestation makes it more likely that the individual was suffering from a lesion on the spinal cord rather than a congenital deformity. Regardless of the epidemiology, the pathology highlights the evident distinctions of skeletal anatomy. The prominent bunnionettes on the lateral margin of the foot mark the positions of the calcaneocuboid and cuboideometatarsal joints, which are positioned more distal than in a human foot. This accords with the inferred position of the transverse tarsal joint and confirms the elongation of the heel segment. Furthermore, deformities and malalignments of the digits permit inferences about the positions of interphalangeal joints and relative toe lengths, as depicted in the reconstructed skeletal anatomy depicted below.”

Dr. David Howe, orthopedic surgeon: Believes the prints are wholly authentic. He echoes Dr. Krantz, believing that “it would be very difficult to come up with the knowledge and the ability” to fabricate the structure of the foot. He also feels that it could be a lisfranc injury: dislocation of the metatarsal bones from the tarsus, the cluster of bones that including the ankle and heel that are inbetween the toes and the shin bones. If the creature suffered a lisfranc injury, without medical treatment, the “residual deformity could heal over in [that] direction.”

Grover Krantz examines the cripplefoot cast

Treachery comes to Crippleburg

The cripplefoot tracks began a Sasquatch circus in Bossburg. Over the course of a few months Bigfooters of all types flocked to the sleepy mountain town. Among them were Roger Patterson of the Patterson/Gimlin film and the aforementioned John Greene. All of the colorful Bigfoot eggs were in one red-hot basket. Unfortunately for the gang, their salacious optimism no doubt attracted treacherous agents.

A mysterious prospector named Metlow appeared one evening in the Bigfooter’s trailer headquarters. The man, who I picture as some sort of shrouded, pale, devil incarnate, instigated a bidding war for control of an actual Sasquatch that he managed to trap in a deep mine shaft. He refused to let any of the men view the creature. This delectable offer divided the diehard group. With remote financial backing for each side, the bid grew every day. Swept up with excitement, Rene’s bid of $55,000 placed him top of the heap. Excitement faded quickly, as Metlow suddenly withdrew his proposition.

As if dangling chunks of meat for a gator congregation, Metlow returned shortly thereafter with the promise of a frozen Sasquatch foot. The group of Bigfooters once again bit hard on the proposal. And once again they divided, coming up with nothing but whiffed air on this attempt. Simply, Metlow dangled the relic, got bored or wasn’t offered enough cash, and quietly withdrew.

Peter Byrne vs. Ivan Marx

Peter Byrne (left) and Ivan Marx (right)

The cripplefoot saga cycled back to Ivan Marx for the final chapter. The original reporter of the now famed ‘Bossburg Cripple’, Marx phoned old-faithful Rene nine months after the Metlow debacle (October, 1970), proclaiming, “I’ve got a film of the cripple.” On cue, the starving gators crawled back to Crippleburg.

According to Marx, he received an anonymous phone call explaining that a “large upright creature” was struck on the highway by a train or a car. Marx had rallied his hunting dogs and armed himself with a camera. It wasn’t long before he tracked the creature and recorded several minutes of compelling footage:

“On the screen the Sasquatch is shown moving from right to left at an angle of about forty-five degrees away from the photographer. Distance from the subject according to Marx ranged from twenty-five feet to more than a hundred feet as it made its way into the heavy underbrush on the far side of the clearing. Probably the most impressive part of the film, besides its extreme clarity, is the fact that the Sasquatch is visibly injured, holding its right arm tightly to its chest and using its long muscular left arm for compensating balance. Also, both ankles of the creature seem badly skinned, the wounds showing plainly raw against the black hair of the legs and feet. In watching the frames singly, the injured or skinned area appears to extend onto the bottom of one foot, and possibly on both feet, which would account for the apparent pain-filled movements of the frightened creature. As the Sasquatch is nearing the far side of the clearing, a twisted tree limb is stepped on, bouncing up and striking it above knee level. Marx, the following day, photographed this stick, which was ten feet long. In comparison the creature photographed would have stood about nine feet tall and Marx estimated its weight as that of two large bears, or around seven to eight hundred pounds.”

Ding! Ding! A bidding war for the rights to the original footage ensued. A fresh faced British adventurer named Peter Byrne entered the sullied arena. With backing of his own from infamous millionaire (and Yeti enthusiast) Tom Slick, Byrne agreed to pay Marx a $750 monthly retainer to continue hunting the creatures. As part of the deal, the original film would be kept in a safety deposit box. Marx happily agreed.

It was not long before the astute Byrne suspected Marx’s validity. Already doubting the footage, Byrne sought trusted help. He showed a copy of the clip to a local friend and his children. Incredibly, the children recognized the exact location of the filming. Byrne investigated. According to Marx, he tracked the creature six miles north of his home into remote foothills. Amazingly, the actual location of Marx’s short movie was indeed a spot the children were very familiar with: the furthest edge of their own ranch.

Byrne investigated and found extreme inconsistencies in Marx’s description of the setting. He also noted that the shadow of the creature shifted far enough to indicate a significant amount of time passed between shots, directly contradicting Marx’s claim that the creature was filmed over the course of a few minutes. Endless sizing and logistical inaccuracies surfaced quickly. Byrne was quite thorough: a breed not so gullible as Marx’s usual audience. The weight of the inquiries finally crippled Marx. He fled town. When Byrne opened the safety deposit box containing the original video recording, they discovered nothing more than a film roll of a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

Marx surfaced years later. He narrated and produced a Bigfoot film called The Legend of Bigfoot (1976) starring his own uniquely designed, super-cone-head Sasquatch from the previously debunked footage. He even appeared on a game show called You Asked for It peddling “real” photos of a Bigfoot in a snowstorm. From the beginning to end, Marx definitely had a creative flair.

So, were the cripplefoot tracks legitimate? What the hell happened?

Quite literally, this saga begins and ends with Ivan Marx. In my opinion it is easy to see that he carefully penned a compelling narrative of a crippled Sasquatch. Marx was an intelligent and creative guy. He recognized that a simple set of large footprints in the woods would not quench the country’s Bigfoot thirst so easily. He needed some kind of ‘shtick.’ Thus, the most important feature of the entire tale: the crippled foot.

Was Marx desperate for the recognition attached to Roger Patterson only a few years earlier? Was this a long-con to sell endless amounts of footage with his homemade suit a la Peter Parker snapping Spider Man pics for The Daily Bugle? Honestly, it sounds like all of these things crossed his mind. He decided to build a Bigfoot: a memorable monster that was to be revealed little-by-little.

I note modern professional’s evaluation that the foot could not have been faked. In this case, I point to Dr. Grover Krantz, who inadvertently legitimized Marx’s stunt for decades to come. Krantz, always a bit too personally passionate about the topic, penciled in the bone structure of the crippled foot by his lonesome. When Marx began his outline for the fake crippled foot-stamp I imagine him reading through the same anatomy textbooks as Krantz likely did one year later, completing the charade. It is not impossible to fake a footprint like this. In fact, more questions should have risen after observation that it was actually the crippled foot that received more weight in the steps. Despite his story, Marx needed that feature to stand out no matter what.

The time was perfect. He manipulated the desperation of men like Rene Dahinden to enhance belief in ‘the Cripple’ and corral even more Bigfooters. The Patterson/Gimlin film fever entranced the nation. Marx, perhaps over-confidently, assumed he could achieve the same celebrity. He most likely believed that the creature in the 1967 footage was a fake and he could pull off something much more interesting.

If his story didn’t sloppily face-plant, Marx probably would have achieved his goals. He definitely had enough creative plot points to satisfy the public for years to come: the crippled foot, the train accident, the piss in the snow, the dumpster looting, and a very unique suit. Unfortunately for Mr. Marx, he simply waded too far. By the time Peter Byrne began a series of very practical inquiries, Marx was too far out: drowning in his own remarkable fantasy. — AJ

Sources:

¹ “Bigfoot Compendium” Orgoneresearch.com
² Meldrum, Jeff, Dr. “Evaluation of Alleged Sasquatch Footprints and Their Inferred Functional Morphology.”www2.isu.edu/. Idaho State University, n.d. Web.
³ Hunter, Don, and Rene Dahinden. Sasquatch. N.p.: Mass Market Paperback, 1975. Print.
⁴ Sasquatchalliance. “Ivan Marx Sasquatch Footage.” YouTube. YouTube, 20 June 2008. Web.
⁵ Critical Evidence. By Liz Pollock. Perf. Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Dr. David Howe. 2009. Monsterquest: Season 3, Episode 19. Web.
⁶ Byrne, Peter. “The Hoaxed Ivan Marx Footage, as Told by Peter Byrne…” Bigfootencounters.com. N.p., Sept. 2003. Web.

The post ‘Recasting’ the Infamous Cripplefoot Tracks of 1969 appeared first on Bigfoot Base.