My Encounter with Bigfoot

I was a child when I was first introduced to the existence of the creature that is called "Bigfoot" - through the old docu-drama, Legend of Boggy Creek. The idea that a massive, bidpedal primate was living in  America both fascinated and terrified me.  For weeks afterwards, I had nightmares about being carried off by a Sasquatch; despite the fact that I lived in metro Atlanta.

I spent the next decade or so hoping that the beast was real, but not really believing that it was. I saw the Patterson film, along with a dozen shows both proving and disproving its authenticity. Through it all, I remained a hopeful skeptic. The accounts of eye-witnesses (many of which were very compelling) continued to roll in and I kept an ear open for any definitive proof.

It was an unexpected encounter with the elusive creature, while in graduate school, that pushed me toward a belief in Bigfoot. No, I am not one of those who have seen the creature with my own eyes.  Instead, my encounter came in the form of a 170-year-old letter.  Not as awe-inspiring as an actual physical sighting, I admit; but for an archaeologist, this type of documentary support is fascinating.

The letter, dated April 16, 1840, is from Elkanah Walker, the first missionary to the Spokane Indians of Washington. In it, he tells of a visit to the natives in the Cascade Mountains.  They warn him about a race of giants who inhabit a nearby snow-covered mountain and who "hunt and do all their work by night." Walker writes that their footprints are about a foot and a half long.  The Indians complain to him that the giants frequently come into their camp at night and steal their salmon; eating them raw.  The people know when they are near because of the smell, "which is most intolerable."

Though many have asserted that the Bigfoot phenomenon was created largely from the Patterson film and the sensationalism that the media produced following its release, but historical accounts continue to surface that disprove this assertion.  From this letter, we can see that reports of this creature have been around for nearly 200 years in North America. This letter, like many of the eye-witness reports, is from a highly reputable source who have nothing to gain (and probably much to lose) from their connection to Bigfoot.

Of course, this letter, is not enough to prove the existence of Sasquatch.  However, it is one more drop in the tidal wave of forensic and eye-witness evidence that is pouring in about this creature.  While there are many who will not believe until one of these hapless beasts are caught or killed; the sheer volume of evidence that supports the existence of Bigfoot is enough to give the most die-hard skeptic pause.

My Search for the Unearthly

For thousands of years, mankind has been interested in the unearthly things that are an inescapable part of our earthly existence.  We have feared those things that "go bump in the night;" while, at the same time, maintaining a fascination with all that is paranormal.   As a child, I experienced a series of unearthly events that forever changed the way that I looked at the world.

I grew up under the shadow of that mystery and acquired an insatiable desire to learn more about that part of our world that is termed "supernatural" or "paranormal".  An archaeologist by day, I spent my spare time doing another kind of digging: digging through historic documents, verifying eye-witness accounts, and separating the facts from the fraudulent.

As a scientist, I tend to approach a paranormal subject from an analytical way.  Yet as a person who has actually experienced the paranormal, I realize that there are things that exist which are outside our present understanding of science.

This blog will look at some of the things that I have uncovered while digging for the truth. I hope that you will join me each Thursday as I investigate a topic or event that can only be described as "unearthly."