Where the Bigfoot myth caught 'fire' the most is America. To this day, the Sasquatch believers are mostly living in the United States, with the rest of the world a bit behind on the matter, even though stories and the mystery surrounding the humanoid creature have reached far beyond the small towns where they first began.
So what of the encounter that kick started the whole phenomenon? This one is something that most people are familiar with, the infamous Patterson-Gimlin footage. If that doesn't ring a bell, its description should.
It's 1967. The location is the woods in California, near Orleans. Two friends were horseback riding when they spotted a strange creature. It was hairy, peacefully doing something with its hands, crouched down behind some foliage.
They both halted their horses and observed it, hoping it hadn't spotted them. Patterson was very excited by the sight, but so was his horse. It was alarmed by the creature's presence. Patterson managed to calm his horse after a bit, after which he got off and took out his camera...
"Cover me", he said to Gimlin, as he ran towards the creature, which started moving away from them, into the woods. As he got closer to it, Patterson noticed it's size. He claimed it was around seven feet tall, which is a bit over two meters.
Sputtering, he aimed his camera at the creature, forever cementing the moment in history. In the short video, which is about a minute long, the creature can be seen walking away from them, and at one point, it turns its body sideways and looks directly at the camera.
This moment of basic motion has been the discussion of scientists and many others since it was first shown. Surprisingly, most of the scientists actually say that the footage is not fake. And these aren't self-proclaimed scientists either, but people who are well educated, grounded and do research for a living.
Would these people really risk their reputation and jobs by saying something that ridiculous if they didn't actually believe it? Scientists live and breathe off their ability to be objective, and present information in the most bold and unbiased way possible. If so many of them were willing to call it real, who are we to disagree?
Unsurprisingly, many people did, claiming that the footage is a fake and just a successful publicity stunt. What is shocking though, is that the number of people who say its real are much higher in number, and these people, as I mentioned, are serious scientists and researchers.
But what happened after the famous video ended? After the creature disappeared into the woods? Gimlin, who jumped off his horse the second his friend asked him to cover him, got back on his horse and then followed the creature as it roamed the woods.
After following it for a while, he lost sight of it. While Gimlin followed it, Patterson used what remained of his film to record the creature's footprints. He would have joined his friend, but his horse ran off, probably out of fear.
His friend also wasn't there to cover him anymore, and his rifle was back on his horse. He felt unnerved in that position, scared that the creature's mate might show up.
Luckily for Patterson, nothing of the sort happened. The only thing coming out of the woods to get him was his friend. He told him he lost the creature to the woods and then escorted his friend back to his horse.
After Patterson saddled up himself, they searched for the Bigfoot, using their tracking skills. But their tracking skills couldn't do much when the track led into terrain which made it impossible to tell where the creature went.
So what of the duo after everything was over? Patterson passed away due to cancer in 1972, sticking with his statement that the video was not a hoax, just like Gimlin, who's still alive. He never talked of the encounter much, but has been active on Bigfoot gatherings since the famous incident.
One of the most notable things he said is that before the encounter, he doubted the existence of Sasquatches, and that it completely changed his mind. It's 2016, a different century and to this day nobody has been able to prove the recording is fake.
That is the burning question isn't it? Some people have spent decades researching Bigfoots without calling their existence a hoax. Can it be that these creatures actually exist, that they roam forests all over the world, observing us, without us even knowing how close we are to the mythical creature? But the why of it is what's interesting.
If we assume that Yeti's/Sasquatches/Forest People/Bigfoots really do exist, that opens up a whole new book worth of questions. Why do they exist? Which species are they? Are they more ape or man? How can they keep their existence so secretive, even from people who actively search for them? And, most importantly, what do they want with us?
Are they hostile or friendly? If hungry, would they hunt us? Would they consume our flesh? Would they kill to defend their territory? One thing we know for sure is that a lot of people go missing in the woods, never to be seen again...
This excerpt is from the book "True Bigfoot Stories: Eyewitness Accounts Of Killer Bigfoot Encounters" by Max Mason Hunter. You can purchase it here.
Here Is A Preview Of What's Inside...
- True Bigfoot Stories: Someone or Something? Bigfoot 911 Call
- True Bigfoot Stories: Nevada – Searching for a Yeti
- True Bigfoot Stories: Face to Face with the Beast – The Winnemucca Encounter
- True Bigfoot Stories: Cannibal Giants of the Jarbidge Forest
- True Bigfoot Stories: Entering Bigfoot Territory
- True Bigfoot Stories: Bigfoot Events Surrounding the Cold War Bases of Finland
- Much, much more!
No comments:
Post a Comment