Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Sasquatch Triangle Tonight...
Don is having what he calls Ladies' Night, with guests Bobbie Short and Diane Stocking, at 9:00 EST/8:00 Central at the link to the right. As always, we do encourage you to please tune in and support great research.
Review: Monsterquest 11-07-07
This show focused on the Canadian Sasquatch, more particularly a series of strange attacks on a cabin at Snow Grove Lake in Ontario, Canada, 250 miles north of Ottawa which have occurred for several years. The inhabitants of that cabin set out a screwboard which something stepped on and left a large bloody footprint of some sort which left blood and tissue which was scraped off the screws and the board by visiting Dr. Jeff Meldrum and Dr. Curt Nelson from the University of Minnesota. Several people who have used the cabin are also interviewed about their experiences (no actual sightings, but some encounters with something destroying the cabin from the outside and in). Video of the aftermath of one attack is shown and examined by bear expert Dr. Lynn Rogers, who does not believe it was done by a bear. Thomas Steenburg is also interviewed about his research and impressions of different sightings in the Great White North. John Green is brought in to discuss the Albert Ostman story, which is re-enacted for the first time in ANY documentary that I am aware of, with narration from a recording of Ostman overlaying the re-enactment. Close to the end, the DNA tests are done on the blood and tissue samples by several DNA scientists including Dr. Nelson and some very interesting results are found. All in all, it was one of the better programs on the subject of hairy bipeds I have seen in quite a while, and so far this series gets a 4.8 out of 5 stars. Next Wednesday night Monsterquest examines the elusive Giant Squid, at 10:00 EST/9:00 Central on the History Channel. Check your local listings for time and channel.
hey henry & researchers i just finished watching the new documentary
called hunt the dogman dvd directed by john johnson. it very
interesting informative suspenceful it has you at edge your seat. alot
eyewittnesses testimonys & other strange accurances etc i give this
new documentary dvd A+++. you can get this documentary at grendfilms
website. thanks bill green :)
called hunt the dogman dvd directed by john johnson. it very
interesting informative suspenceful it has you at edge your seat. alot
eyewittnesses testimonys & other strange accurances etc i give this
new documentary dvd A+++. you can get this documentary at grendfilms
website. thanks bill green :)
The Fouke Monster is Passionate about the Environment
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on November 7th, 2007
The report of a “big-foot-type monster” terrorizing a rural home outside of Fouke spawned the documentary-style film by South Arkansas native Charles Pierce in the early 1970s. The film assured a place in folklore history for the Bigfoot look-a-like, which has allegedly been seen in and around Fouke since the 1940s. The low budget, campy movie earned cult status and the familiarity of this tale and the regular resurgence in the media of yeti, Bigfoot, and caveman-like characters keep the legend alive.
Investigate Further: The Fouke Monster is Passionate about the Environment »
Anthropoidipes ameriborealis">Anthropoidipes ameriborealis
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 7th, 2007
Jeff Meldrum, Ph. D., Idaho State University, proposes a new moniker to be used in talking about the tracks for Bigfoot / Sasquatch. Complete downable paper here. Others have proposed names for the species directly; here’s a review and link.
Investigate Further: Anthropoidipes ameriborealis” by Loren Coleman">Anthropoidipes ameriborealis »
First Live Sightings of Shepherd’s Ziphiid
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 7th, 2007
The time has come to pay attention to a few remarkable new marine species discoveries. Here’s a quick review. Plus marine biologist Robert Pitman shares details on the first-ever sightings of living Shepherd’s beaked whales.
Investigate Further: First Live Sightings of Shepherd’s Ziphiid »
Bigfoot Burrito: Not A Myth
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on November 7th, 2007
It’s commercial features two young men looking for “Bigfoot Burrito” out in the woods. At the end, a “Big Burrito” mimicking Bigfoot is spotted. The commercial closes with Chipotle’s logo and a slogan that reads, “Our Big Burritos Aren’t a Myth.”
Investigate Further: Bigfoot Burrito: Not A Myth »
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Monsterquest Tonight...
Sasquatch Attack - Does Canada have its own Bigfoot? Owners of a fly-in fishing cabin report attacks by an unknown creature. Can DNA tests on blood and tissue from the alleged beast reveal its true identity? The test results will surprise you. The best evidence available will be examined, from pictures and video, to hair and bones. Scientists will be brought in to tell viewers what the evidence reveals. Discover the truth behind these beasts and take a scientific look at legendary creatures around the world.
Wednesday November 7th at 10PM
Check your local listings for times and channel.
New Species of Tropical Pacific Beaked Whale?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 6th, 2007
The latest edition of Marine Mammal Science carries an article about a likely new species of Mesoplodon.
Investigate Further: New Species of Tropical Pacific Beaked Whale? »
Dwarf Killer Whale Discovered in Antarctica
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 6th, 2007
New findings confirm the presence of at least one markedly smaller ecotype, a probable new species, of killer whale occurring in the Southern Ocean. Complete paper downloadable here.
Investigate Further: Dwarf Killer Whale Discovered in Antarctica »
Suttons, Flatwoods & Oompah-Loompahs
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 6th, 2007
Images and laughter sometimes are worth a thousand words. Photos.
Investigate Further: Suttons, Flatwoods & Oompah-Loompahs »
The Flatwoods Monster Decoded
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 6th, 2007
A peek at how academics are viewing “an ultimate postmodern novel/anti-novel, the Gray Barker archive: a hodge podge of correspondences, newsletters, sci-fi stories, photographs, alien seeds, amateur metaphysical musings, [and] folklore.”
Lots of photos.
Investigate Further: The Flatwoods Monster Decoded »
Editorial: Last Word on the Jacobs Photos
About two weeks ago, I wrote an editorial about the Jacobs photos from Pennsylvania which show some kind of object which appears to some to be a primate, although some have said it is a sick bear with mange. The latter is the direction I lean in, but it seems like these photos inspired a lot of debate not only within the Bigfoot community, but also in all the major news outlets, including the AP, Yahoo! News, Fox News, MSNBC (Keith Olbermann even made it his number-1 story last Monday night, talking to Bob Kiviat, producer of World's Greatest Hoaxes: Secrets Finally Revealed about the photos) and CNN. Our local newspaper on Halloween last week even put the AP story
in the paper (conveniently on the back page). My point is, why so much hullabaloo over some questionable photos which most Bigfooters and Mr. Jacobs himself are not calling Sasquatch photos to begin with? Why do we have to spend so much time on these trivial photos which will not prove anything one way or the other when we could be out looking for fresh evidence and absolute proof that there are hairy bipeds out there? The only place where these photos are being absolutely called Sasquatch is in a certain well-known organization which already put its foot in its mouth once with a video which turned out to be a hoax, and they are doing it again with these photos before checking out all the facts and taking measurements to approximate exactly how big the tree is in comparison to whatever is captured in the two images. I say that like the Patterson/Gimlin Movie, we put these photos behind us because they will never prove one way or the other that Sasquatch exists, and move on to other more tangible forms of evidence, something which will prove once and for all there are hairy bipeds instead of wasting blog space (or airwave space) rehashing this old story.
in the paper (conveniently on the back page). My point is, why so much hullabaloo over some questionable photos which most Bigfooters and Mr. Jacobs himself are not calling Sasquatch photos to begin with? Why do we have to spend so much time on these trivial photos which will not prove anything one way or the other when we could be out looking for fresh evidence and absolute proof that there are hairy bipeds out there? The only place where these photos are being absolutely called Sasquatch is in a certain well-known organization which already put its foot in its mouth once with a video which turned out to be a hoax, and they are doing it again with these photos before checking out all the facts and taking measurements to approximate exactly how big the tree is in comparison to whatever is captured in the two images. I say that like the Patterson/Gimlin Movie, we put these photos behind us because they will never prove one way or the other that Sasquatch exists, and move on to other more tangible forms of evidence, something which will prove once and for all there are hairy bipeds instead of wasting blog space (or airwave space) rehashing this old story.
Review: Squatch Detective Radio 11-05-07
This was a wonderful show, with Billy Willard and Tom Lancaster telling of experiences they had on the Paris trip, including where apparently something grabbed Billy's leg through his tent and also mimicked him snoring!!! Tom and Billy also told of other happenings on that expedition, including hearing footfalls of what sounded like something heavy and bipedal. They did not find definitive tracks close to their tent, but they found what appeared to be scuff marks and impressions, but not definitive tracks. It was a wonderful show, and Steve was on briefly from the road to give a status report. Again, for next week, there is no defined guest, but I contacted Billy and said I would be glad to do it if they could not find someone. That will be next Monday at 9:00 EST/8:00 Central at the link to the right. As always, we encourage you to please tune in and support great research.
Blog posts from Daniel Perez
eBay, Item #290177441054
Currently on the auction block is a four for one package and the auction runs through November 9th. Item # 290177441054. Worth having a look.
Friday, November 02, 2007
New Book On Bigfoot
This according to George Eberhart: "I hear that University of Chicago Press will be publishing a Bigfoot book next year in the Fall. It’s called Bigfoot, and is written by Joshua Blue Buhs.
All I could find quickly online about him is:
Joshua Blu Buhs is an independent scholar living in California. He received his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania's History and Sociology of Science Department in 2001. The Fire Ant Wars was his first book. Currently, he is working on a cultural history of the legendary sasquatch. He is married and has a daughter."
Thanks to George for this information.
Dr. Jeff Meldrum's Technical Paper On Tracks
Dr. Jeff Meldrum has produced an excellent monograph published by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bullentin, 42, 2007. Definitely worth reading. Dr. Meldrum can be e-mailed at: jeff.meldrum@gmail.com
Monday, November 05, 2007
Anomalous Stories
Bona fide Bigfoot, Bear or Suspect Sasquatch Herald Sun
From Australia, home of the Yowie, comes this take on the Rick Jacobs Bigfoot photos from Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania. With photos. Also, Jacobs Bear Superimposition and MSNBC Video on Jacobs' Creature.
Cryptomundo Stories
Cryptid: Code Beyond Cryptozoology
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 5th, 2007
The just-ended Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts conference conveyed the not-so-coded message that cryptozoology’s jargon is exploding beyond the boundaries of the field. This is an invitation to thought on things “wet,” “dry” and someplace in-between. Photos.
Investigate Further: Cryptid: Code Beyond Cryptozoology »
Daniel Perez: On The Trail Of Bigfoot
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on November 5th, 2007
Riverside (CA) resident Daniel Perez says he believes there may be more than 100,000 of the Bigfoot creatures in North America today but concedes that any such figure is a “guesstimate” at best.
Investigate Further: Daniel Perez: On The Trail Of Bigfoot »
Mangy Comedic Relief
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 5th, 2007
This seems to be rather typical of how this story is being treated on local news stations. Video.
Investigate Further: Mangy Comedic Relief »
Jacobs Bear Superimposition
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 5th, 2007
Using a little handy software, things become clearer.
Investigate Further: Jacobs Bear Superimposition »
Jacobs Mischief Continues
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 4th, 2007
This media flap beats to the drum of a different kind of absurdity. Photos.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Updated, revised Sasquatch Experience Schedule for November '07-Februuary '08*
November 11-Listener's Pick: Thomas Steenburg, Ron Morehead, Bill Miller or Melissa Hovey
November 18-Open-Mic
November 25-Holiday Break
December 2-Tom Yamarone
December 9-Todd Partain
December 16-Loren Coleman
December 23 and 30-Holiday Break
January 6-Year In Review
January 13-Scott Herriott
January 20-David Murphy
January 27-Kathy and Bob Strain
February 3-Michael Rugg
February 10-Open-Mic
February 17-Ron Schaffner
February 24-Steve Kulls and Billy Willard
*Schedule is subject to change due to unavailability of guests or last-minute schedule changes
November 18-Open-Mic
November 25-Holiday Break
December 2-Tom Yamarone
December 9-Todd Partain
December 16-Loren Coleman
December 23 and 30-Holiday Break
January 6-Year In Review
January 13-Scott Herriott
January 20-David Murphy
January 27-Kathy and Bob Strain
February 3-Michael Rugg
February 10-Open-Mic
February 17-Ron Schaffner
February 24-Steve Kulls and Billy Willard
*Schedule is subject to change due to unavailability of guests or last-minute schedule changes
Squatch Detective Radio Tonight...
Not sure who Steve and Billy's guest will be, but Steve is on the road, so it should be a most interesting program, which begins at 9:00 EST/8:00 Central and can be found at the link to the right. As always, we encourage you to please tune in and support great research.
Review: The Sasquatch Experience 11-04-07
I would call this a good, but not great show, with our guest Don Keating discussing his research into the Sasquatch in Ohio, as well as his videos which he took of different entities which others (except himself) are calling videos of a white Sasquatch. Indy also called in and gave us a good word and was very cordial and friendly to us. We had a bit of a problem in the chatroom with some roustabout trying to interrupt the proceedings, especially when we brought up the Jacobs photos and the fact that the BFRO did not do the most basic investigations into them. Plus there were technical issues on my end which plagued us almost all night long, but we got through it and everything worked out fairly well. Our next program will have what we are calling a Listener's Choice, with the choices of Thomas Steenburg, Ron Morehead, Bill Miller or Melissa Hovey as our guest next week (go to http://sasquatchexperience.blogspot.com to vote, there will be a poll there for people to vote) at the usual time of 9:00 EST/8:00 Central at the link to the right (and we will do our best to make the next show better than this week). As always, we want to encourage you to please tune in and support great research.
Anomalous Stories
Expect the Unexpected in Florida's 'Wildlife' Daytona Beach News Journal
Reviewing Michael Newton's new book Florida's Unexpected Wildlife: Exotic Species, Living Fossils and Mythical Beasts in the Sunshine State. Also, Riverside Man on the Trail of Bigfoot and Chequesset Cougar?
Cryptomundo Stories
Heuvelmans Bio Takes Grand Prix
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 4th, 2007
The worlds of cryptozoology and historical biographies congratulate Jean-Jacques Barloy for this well-deserved honor.
Investigate Further: Heuvelmans Bio Takes Grand Prix »
Darren’s Toys
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 4th, 2007
Fulltime palaeontologist and parttime cryptozoologist Darren Naish collects toys. His hundreds of toy animals deserve lots of photographs and some attention to his favorites.
Investigate Further: Darren’s Toys »
Rock-Throwing Sasquatch?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 3rd, 2007
This is a brief video about the MonsterQuest crew’s discovery and filming of rock-throwing incidents in Snelgrove, Ontario.
Investigate Further: Rock-Throwing Sasquatch? »
Sasquatch Experience Tonight...
Sean, James and I will host Ohio Researcher Don Keating tonight at 9:00 EST/8:00 Central at the link to the right. As always, we do encourage you to please tune in and support great research.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Monsterquest this Wednesday night...
Sasquatch Attack - Does Canada have its own Bigfoot? Owners of a fly-in fishing cabin report attacks by an unknown creature. Can DNA tests on blood and tissue from the alleged beast reveal its true identity? The test results will surprise you. The best evidence available will be examined, from pictures and video, to hair and bones. Scientists will be brought in to tell viewers what the evidence reveals. Discover the truth behind these beasts and take a scientific look at legendary creatures around the world.
Wednesday November 7th at 10PM
Wednesday November 7th at 10PM
Features of the Monsterquest site
If you go to the new Monsterquest website, you will see features there, such as the Evidence Locker, which has several online video clips of upcoming shows; another feature is the Monsterpedia, which has animations of several cryptids and information on each; there is also a page on Cryptozoology and its definitions; there are also two pages of the full episode guide and the full schedule. Plus there is a discussion forum to talk about the show with other viewers. The website can be found Here
Anomalous Stories
Big Pig-Like Beast Discovered LiveScience
A new species of peccary, a pig-like animal, has been described by Dutch biologist Marc van Roosmalen after observations in the basin of the Rio Aripuana, a southeastern section of the Amazon region of Brazil. With photos.
Cryptomundo Stories
Men in Cryptozoology: Irv Kornfield
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 3rd, 2007
While a self-described skeptic, this Maine scientist deserves recognition of the pivotal role he serves within cryptozoology, during this age of DNA analysis for every physical sample found. Photos.
Investigate Further: Men in Cryptozoology: Irv Kornfield »
Review: Beyond The Edge Radio 11-02-07
This was a great show, with Cincinnati, Ohio Fortean researcher Ron Schaffner discussing his research into such things as the Loveland Frog, Bigfoot and other hominids, giant Owls, the Jacobs photos, UFOs and other Anomalous and Cryptozoological happenings. The show actually started out with Scott Hackenslash who discussed some of the latest DVD horror releases. Ron was the guest for about 90 minutes, then Sean brought Bill Green on (who arrived to listen to the show about an hour late, shame shame!!! LOL) who asked his usual questions about new Sasquatch activity and also gave an opinion on the Jacobs photos. God bless Bill, SQuatchMEDIA wouldn't be the same without him. Anyway, it was a great show, full of great information. The next program will have paranormal investigator Patty Wilson next Friday at 9:00 EST/8:00 Central at the link to the right. By the way, all Beyond The Edge Radio shows are 2 hours every Friday night, and Sean and Eric are doing an EXCELLENT job so far. As always, we encourage you to please tune in and support great research.
First Sea Serpent Sighting: A Detective Story
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 3rd, 2007
What is the story behind Assyrian King Sargon’s first ever sighting of a marine cryptid, just published in The Anomalist 13? What other discoveries were made during the solution of this cryptozoological mystery?
Investigate Further: First Sea Serpent Sighting: A Detective Story »
Friday, November 02, 2007
Blog posts from Daniel Perez
Coverage of the 40th Anniversary of the P-G Film
Road to Bluff Creek
With the faithful on the Sasquatch stations of the cross
Story and photo
by Steven Streufert
Conference presenter Daniel Perez critiques the professional skeptics at Fortean Times magazine.
“Roger and Bob rode out that day/Their lives changed in every way/So did ours ’cause we got to see/A living Bigfoot, walking tall and free,” sang Tom Yamarone, belting out the verses of one of his Bigfoot folk-historical ballads.
Yamarone’s lyrics rang true inside the Willow Creek VFW Hall a couple of weekends ago, where 50 or so members of the Sasquatch community gathered to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the fabled “Patterson-Gimlin film.” The film, shot by the “Roger and Bob” of Yamarone’s song, is the most solid Bigfoot evidence ever presented. (See “Bigfoot Trapped By Norcal Fanatic!” Oct. 18.)
Believers from near and far made the pilgrimage on Oct. 20 — first to Willow Creek, and then out to the remote site where the film was shot, there to pay their respects to the historic event and to share the latest research.
A shimmer of possibility filled the VFW Hall. Bigfooting, it seems, is as much about the community of ’Squatchers as it is about the Giant Hairy Ape itself.Something had changed these folks who, despite otherwise ordinary lives, were ready to pursue to the ends of the Earth a creature most consider a phantasm. Curiosity and the spirit of rational inquiry were readily apparent, noted in thorough documentation covering the walls. Noting no sign of lunacy, it occurred to me that the crazy ones were the journalists sitting in their barren offices cranking out the same old dismissals.
Daniel Perez, authority on logistics of the making of the Patterson-Gimlin film, argued that the subject could not have been faked. That muscle mass moving with each huge stride, the height and inhuman proportions — could that have been produced with padding and fake fur? The strides through the film site of a 6’4” man reveal his tiny homo sapiens form beside a creature that could smash him with one stomp. (“If the suit doesn’t fit, he must exist.”)
No one has been able to replicate the film, even with a $75,000 BBC budget. Perez presented a 16mm Kodak Cine-100 home movie camera, the model that Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin used. I felt its awkward bulk and saw the creature on the projection screen through its tiny, dim viewfinder. How anything was captured by this camera with its tiny 16 mm cartridge is miracle enough.
Legendary Al Hodgson, for decades the operator of the general store, also spoke. He was a contact not only for the Patterson-Gimlin film but also the 1958 activity in the area, when tractor driver Jerry Crew brought giant footprint casts down from the Bluff Creek road construction zone and made front page news in the Times-Standard and papers globally. This was the birth of “Bigfoot” as a media phenomenon. Presenting the recent North Coast Journal with its cover’s tabloid parody, Hodgson said: “You may have seen this — don’t like it.” Chuckles and groans emerged. Bigfoot was not a joke to this crowd.
Hodgson presented tales told to him by locals, without even a hint of the tall tale in the telling from this 83-year-old church-going business and family man. Of one of his informants, Al said, “He is not lying — know him too well.” Hodgson saw sightings as ordinary. The Sasquatch is a consistently documented though elusive primate, the origin of old frontier tales and centuries-old Native cultural representations. Without seeking it out, people see it, hear its howls and vocalizations, find footprints or feel its wild, cunning eyes gazing from hillsides that could hide just about anything.
Cliff Barackman spoke lovingly of his “foot fetish,” with evidence that footprints found in 1958 appear to have been made by the same individual in the 1967 film (as confirmed by Idaho State anatomist and physical anthropologist Jeff Meldrum). Scott McClean traced the history of newspaper reporting going back to the 1840s, predating the birth of hoaxer claimants like Bluff Creek road contractor Ray Wallace by nearly a century. David Murphy outlined the biography of Roger Patterson — author, filmmaker, cowboy, acrobat and inventor. Humboldt’s James “Bobo” Fay completed the round with tales of early 1940s Bluff Creek bigfooter Irwin Supple. The event concluded with a convivial champagne toast to Roger and Bob. Then plans for a convoy into the mysterious hills to the north were made.
The miles upon miles of real wilderness in the Six Rivers National Forest, accessed by hellish boulder-strewn and mud-laden dirt roads to the middle of nowhere, embody the wild mystery. The high-speed night trip led by Bobo, who seems to treat these mountains like his local neighborhood, was a soul-wrenching experience in itself. My little VW started bottom-grinding in thick snow at about 4,000 feet. After two hours of nasty tree-dodging, slippery hell, we crossed the 1958 bridge and entered Louse Camp, down on Bluff Creek. This was a place of history, where the 1959-1962 Pacific Northwest Expedition had set up digs. Bustling with activity and a roaring campfire, a keg of Bluff Creek Ale (note the Bigfoot on the label) was already tapped. A call-blasting speaker system and high-tech thermal imaging gear was out.
Later I walked with Bobo down the road illuminated by the white thermal viewer’s glow as we sought forms in the dark. His group had seen Sasquatch activity in the last few months just a few yards away. With sentries staked out in turns on the hillside, the campfire devolved into folk songs and Bigfoot tales. I was up until 4 a.m. discussing the paranormal and psychic aspects of the phenomenon, multi-dimensionality and string theory with sometime paranormalist author and field researcher Thom Powell. A schoolteacher and logical man, he brought up Occam’s Razor — the idea that the simplest answer is often the best one. Actually, the existence of a Bigfoot creature explains it all with more facility than hoaxing or hallucination.
The next day, descending about 2,000 near-vertical feet to the creek below, we made our way to the film site. Soon we found ourselves gazing upon what looked like footprints only 30 yards from our vehicles. Stunned, I immediately felt the energy of conversion starting to overcome me. One print in shallow moss and mud measured 22 inches. Toe shapes were visible. Preceding this in a patch of moss was another browned and deadened area, foot-shaped. The step between them was six feet, about double that of the average human.
Researcher Scott McClean calmly got out his ruler and measured the particulars, took a quick photo, and moved on. I stood stunned. Could it be real? It’s inconclusive, he said; a “blobsquatch,” is all. That’s just squatch-on-the-brain, he said. What we need is real, provable evidence.
With the Weekly World News defunct, can Bigfoot at last roam freely into our unbiased awareness? There is more evidence for Sasquatch, tangible and scientific, than there is for God, the Devil, reincarnation or the soul. One doesn’t catch fleeting glimpses of Babe the Blue Ox. Sasquatchers are in search of the last mystery of the wild American land, the living embodiment of the fact that humans are not the central meaning of the earth, nor in complete knowledge or domination of it.
Asking about my angle on this story, McClean said, “Just don’t use that word, ‘believe.’” It is not, he said, a matter of faith, but of fact — it is out there. Hoaxes and hallucinations do occur, but the time has come for us to consider that perhaps there is more to the natural world than dreamed of in our philosophies. These guys are living it.
Full disclosure — Steven Streufert is the owner of Willow Creek’s Bigfoot Books.
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NEWS-bigfoot-exposed.jpgEureka, California Times-Standard Article
Willow Creek honors legendary Bigfoot filmmakers with 40th Anniversary Celebration
Beti Trauth/For the Times-Standard
Article Launched: 10/18/2007 04:27:25 AM PDT
Amazing reality or cleverly manipulated fiction? That's been the paradoxical question posed over the past 40 years since a grainy, black and white 16 mm film captured the startling image of what appeared to be a towering man/ape creature lumbering through the woods of Bluff Creek in Northern California.
Christened “Bigfoot” in honor of the enormous footprints discovered in the area of the film's visual record of the extraordinary sighting, the two men on the site that historic day north of Willow Creek back in 1967 startled the world with their documented discovery.
Armed with both their film and plaster casts made from the huge footprints, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin make global headlines and started a controversy that continues to this day: Does a species of Bigfoots actually exist in the remote, wooded and mountainous areas where the 60-second film was made? Or, as skeptics decry, has it all been an elaborate hoax?
No matter what anyone's personal opinion may be concerning the truth of the matter, the subject has spawned thousands of words of pro and con theories. There have been countless expeditions into the elusive creatures' perceived territory to try and prove they are not mythological,
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but flesh, fur and blood.
Other filmmakers have tried to recreate a similar “image” (using a really big man in an “ape suit” to simulate what they insist the Patterson-Gimlin Film did); but they have always failed to do so.
The way that Bigfoot moved and walked in the original -- including the long strides that left those deep imprints of feet in the forest floor -- has never been physically explained, much less disproved on celluloid.
As a matter of fact, similar, fleeting sightings in various places, have been going on for years. In the Asian Himalayas, he's known as Yeti; but in the mountains of Canadian British Colombia, the name is Sasquatch.
In Willow Creek at 10 a.m. Saturday, the community will affectionately welcome both the essence of Bigfoot and his loyal affectionados at the 40th anniversary celebration of the Patterson-Gimlin film.
The program will feature a series of presentations and discussions by a variety of knowledgeable guest speakers, with archival displays, personal testimonials and even some Bigfoot-inspired songs -- all based on what could be described as the most famous piece of wildlife footage ever taken.
According to enthusiasts, due to the improved technology now available, the film as been able to be analyzed “to show extraordinary detail and compelling features that leave little doubt regarding the authenticity of the creature in those frames.”
The celebration's organizer, Bay Area resident Tom Yamorone, said it was the co-idea of himself and Joyce Kearney.
”We met at The Bigfoot Discovery Museum in Felton (near Santa Cruz) that opened about three years ago -- with displays of artifacts, footprint casts, and a gigantic skull recreation by Dr. Grover Franz.”
Yamorone and Kearney -- along with most of the Californians speaking at the Willow Creek event -- are members of what could be called a Bigfoot Believers Club (formed by the museum), who stay in touch with fellow believers throughout the world.
They do so, Yamorone explained, because now there's even more evidence on which to base their collective beliefs.
Within the group there are a number of people who have actually seen the creatures -- or experienced and possibly recorded -- the sounds of their voices (or found physical evidence of their activities).”
Others, like Yamorone, have simply become fascinated with the ongoing, unanswered mystery that is Bigfoot.
”Growing up in Los Angeles, I was always interested in the topic because my family often came up to Humboldt to camp in the redwoods.”
But, it wasn't until 2000 when he was visiting Willow Creek and saw the footprint cast collection -- “which I considered good, solid evidence” -- that he became a true believer.
”Once I saw the casts -- especially after having spent so much time up in these forests and experiencing things I couldn't explain -- I suddenly realized that these creatures could actually exist.”
He became even more certain after seeing an early thought-provoking television documentary on the famous film, as well as a more recent 20 minute segment exploring the possibility on the History Channel.
Moreover, there have been current books written by respected science-based authors that further validate Krantz's theories. One by Idaho State University's Dr. Jeff Meldrum is titled “Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science.”
The bok basically outlines “what we know about these creatures, and other of what we call the bipedal hominids (any of the early forms of man, whose descents may include the upright ape).” Every evolutionary possibility continues to be hotly debated within different scientific camps.
According to Yamarone, Meldrum's book “tends to conclude that the behaviors witnessed by people who have seen Sasquatch, falls within those of the great apes -- although those evolutionary elements are always hotly debated.”
Yet another book based on similar research findings was published by a respected wildlife biologist from British Colombia, John Bindernagel, titled “Sasquatch: America's Great Ape.”
Based on thousands of documented sightings by trusted observers, he studied and carefully compared the behavior of man and ape. The biologist then came to a similar conclusion as that reached by Meldrum.
Whenever there are new sightings reported by individuals, there are a number of separate Bigfoot-related organizations (such as The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization of which Yamarone is a member), who follow up these reports and do their own field investigations.
So, there are hundreds of interested groups out there ready to verify these incidents as true, or not. However, someone who has encountered creatures that he believes to be a community living in the wilds of Klamath, will share first-hand accounts of those experiences at the 40th Anniversary Celebration.
He's James “Bobo” Fay, a Southern California native (now living in Arcata) who was initially intrigued by the film during his high school days, “came up to Humboldt with my buddies 20 years ago on a Bigfoot hunt,” and subsequently became a field researcher.
Often accompanied by Grizzly Creek forest ranger, Robert Leiterman, the pair have spent the past four or five years (at least twice a year) on Bigfoot scouting expeditions throughout the Klamath River area, up into the Trinity Alps, and deep into Redwood National Park.
That has included “making special calls, knocking on trees, and blasting out audios of what we believe are Bigfoot recordings to see if we can get a live response.” He says he's sure “there's definitely a population of them around the Klamath River up there in those drainages.
”I've heard them when they come around, and they'll do certain things (like knock on trees, or snap them off); and they'll make a definite primate sound -- kind of like a chimp or a howler monkey making a whooping sound. (We recorded some of these.)
”I've also gotten eye-witness accounts from lots of different people -- such as loggers and hunters -- but mostly from the Indians who live here with their families.” He said, that tribe members know them not as imaginary spirits, but as real creatures who have co-existed there in the wilderness for years.
Interestingly enough, it was Fay himself who made the most recent 2007 Sasquatch sighting in the field. On the evening of May 22 during a camping trip with five other field researchers in Six Rivers National Park near Orleans, Fay said he was walking by the confluence of Bluff and Notice Creeks and saw the 6-foot figure of “one of the smaller ones” hurriedly cross the road, go down the steep wooded embankment and disappear into the dark below.
Although Fay wasn't able to capture visual proof of his encounter on film this time around, he feels he's previously caught enough glimpses of creatures who fit the original film demographic to believe an ever-elusive Bigfoot is exactly what he saw.
Fay said that he thinks that in the next few years, it will be “a real slap in the face of the main stream media who have just made light of it and mocked it all of this time. Because it's actual -- it's a certainty -- and, I've seen it. I've seen it.” And, he's more than ready to tell the audience about his experiences on Saturday.
Keynote speaker, Daniel Perez (author and publisher of Bigfoot Times and “Bigfoot at Bluff Creek”), will kick off the event at 10 a.m. by tracing the effects of the honored film since it was first given coverage 40 years ago in the pages of the Eureka Time-Standard.
In a rare conversation and interview with Gimlin not long ago for his Bigfoot-oriented paper, Perez said that the surviving, feisty 76-year-old filmmaker “couldn't believe that 40 years has gone by, and no one (else) has produced a film of similar quality -- much less captured one of these things.”
And, Perez said Gimlin was actually “beside himself and amazed--in the sense that nothing has ever been resolved. He said he kind of figured that after that film was shot, that sooner or later (within a couple of years) someone would 'get one'--and it just never happened.” Well, not yet. But with persistent folks like Fay out there searching, who knows?
Other featured participants at the celebration include David Murphy, who is currently researching and writing a Patterson biography, and Scott McClean, who will share archival research from his book “Big New Prints.”
Cliff Barackman will also display and discuss footprint casts from the film site and Bluff Creek area; and organizer, Yamarone, will add to the festivivities by performing a musical tribute to Patterson and Gimlin.
So, come to Willow Creek and make your own decision about the reality of Bigfoot as you join the 40th anniversary celebration of the Bigfoot film that keeps making history. Believe it!
Reservations are required for lunch; and seating is limited. Although walk-ups are welcome, call (415) 420-7583 to ensure seats are available before making the drive.
Beti Trauth is a professional actor/director/singer who has been covering the arts in Humboldt County as a freelance photo journalist since 1986. Contact her at northernlights@times-standard.com
If you go:
What: The 40th anniversary celebration of Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin filming Bigfoot
Where: The VFW hall in Willow Creek
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Oct. 20
How Much: $25 admission fee includes a barbecue lunch
Cryptomundo/Anomalous Headlines
Giant Peccary Discovery
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 2nd, 2007
Yep, another large animal has been found. The research has been published on the giant peccary and so it is in the news again.
Investigate Further: Giant Peccary Discovery »
Sasquatch Smackdown: Tara Hauki vs Jon-Erik Beckjord
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 2nd, 2007
Something is happening on the fringes of Bigfootry that might boil over into public media exposure, jail time or a court confrontation. Here are highlights of the two sides to the story.
Investigate Further: Sasquatch Smackdown: Tara Hauki vs Jon-Erik Beckjord »
Attempt to Photo WV “African Lion”
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 2nd, 2007
If West Virginia’s roaring maned mystery cat is caught on videotape, officials plan to set a bear trap for the animal. Maybe the officials will catch that mangy bear wandering in from Pennsylvania?
Investigate Further: Attempt to Photo WV “African Lion” »
Animal Communicator Research Skeptiko
It's Not "Chupacabra," Just a Coyote CBS News
Reports from Texas State University show the animal Phyllis Canion found August 31 near her home in Cuero, TX, thought to be a "chupacabras," is actually a coyote. The bodies of three of the creatures were found near Canion's home. With photo. Also, Road to Bluff Creek, Sasquatch: Best Evidence and Is It Bigfoot or Just a Mangy Bear?
Beyond The Edge Radio Tonight...
Sean and Eric will host Ohio investigator Ron Schaffner to discuss Ohio Cryptids. The show starts at 9:00 EST/8:00 Central and can be found at the link to the right. As always, we encourage you to please tune in and support great research.
Review: Sasquatch Triangle 11-01-07
This was a pretty great show, with myself and Sean Forker being the guests in sort of a roundtable/Open-Mic show in which we discussed the ending of the International Bigfoot Society (at least the newsletter and meetings), as well as the Jacobs photos (which even made my local newspaper the other day) and the controversial nature of them. This basically dominated the conversation for about a half-hour, and then we moved on to discussion of the possible return of Bigfoot Central to Artist First.com, amongst other subjects. It was a great show, full of interesting information, laughs and fun. Next Thursday, Don will have what he calls Ladies' Night, with Bobbie Short and Diane Stocking. The show starts at the usual time of 9:00 EST/8:00 Central and can be found at the link to the right, and as always, we do encourage you to please tune in and support great research.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Anomalous Stories
More information is forthcoming in the saga of Pennsylvania hunter Rick Jacobs' photo of what the Bigfoot Research Organization (BFRO) has called a "juvenile Sasquatch." Now comes word the photos that have been released are actually outtakes from a video. WARNING: The video link at this site could be infected with a computer virus! Also, Scott Marlowe Will Guest on Shadows in the Dark to Discuss Bigfoot, Crowe's Bigfoot Newsletter Has Died and It's a Daggone Bigfoot Conspiracy Is What It Is...
Loren Coleman on the Mothman Cosimo Blog
Loren Coleman, cryptozoologist and author of many books, including Mothman and Other Curious Encounters, says Mothman is still up to his old terrifying tricks and ties the mysterious entity to the Minnesota and China bridge collapses in recent months. Coleman's Mothman: Evil Incarnate is due out next year. Also, Yahoo Picks Cryptomundo.
Cryptomundo Stories
Crowe’s Bigfoot Newsletter Has Died
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 1st, 2007
Ray Crowe is officially discontinuing his monthy meetings, and his long-time Bigfoot newsletter, The Track Record. But did it die long ago?
Investigate Further: Crowe’s Bigfoot Newsletter Has Died »
Yahoo Picks Cryptomundo
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 1st, 2007
Yahoo pointed their magic wand in our direction and then requested an interview too. Here’s the exchange, for your easy access here. Photos added for your enjoyment.
Investigate Further: Yahoo Picks Cryptomundo »
Your Thoughts On MonsterQuest?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 1st, 2007
Their first program was on last night, Halloween, but I missed it. I was on Brad Steiger’s Halloween radio special at the exact time of broadcast. What’s your review of it?
Investigate Further: Your Thoughts On MonsterQuest? »
Mothman on Halloween
Posted by: Loren Coleman on October 31st, 2007
Something wicked this way flaps, so late. It may not wait, for 2008.
Investigate Further: Mothman on Halloween »
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