Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Book Review: Bigfoot In New Jersey by W.R. Matts

Really good perspective on sightings from the Garden State

This is the second in what appears to be a series of books focusing on reports from all 50 states of Hairy Hominids (or Hominoids, if you prefer) and it is a good one. Reports go all the way back to 1894 where a club-wielding Wildman was terrorizing local residents of Morris County, and Matts highlights 68 reports, ending as recently as 2008. A lot of the incidents are pretty typical of the pattern of reports in other states-something large and hairy walking or running across the road. Not all of Jersey has reports, but a good chunk of the state does, especially in the northern part. One very famous incident is the Sites incident of Sussex County, May 1977, where a family experienced a series of sightings and encounters in their backyard, including having a creature rip their barn door off its hinges and having their rabbits slaughtered. The Pine Barrens seems to be a popular spot for sightings, even though it is the home of another legendary creature, the Jersey Devil. Matts writes in the final chapters of experiences he has had in High Point State Park and in Wharton State Forest in the Pine Barrens.  Matts also describes the tools of the trade. This is a really excellent book on a state typically not known for activity of this kind, and the second in a series which I know will be greatly appreciated by all Sasquatch researchers and enthusiasts. I give this one a solid 8 1/2 out of 10.

No comments: