The Legend of Bigfoot

Commonly referred to as Sasquatch in North American folklore, Bigfoot is purported to be an ape-like creature that inhabits the forests of many regions in America and Canada, whose existence is based on anecdotal sightings, disputed videos, audio recordings, photographs and casts of oversized footprints.

Cryptozoology

While some of these encounters are clearly hoaxes, other sightings have been compelling enough to create a fringe group of pseudoscientists known as cryptozoologists, who continue to search for the elusive creature. Folklorists trace the figure of Bigfoot to a combination of factors and sources, including the folklore surrounding Europe’s Wild Man of the Woods figure, who first appears in art and literature of the Middle Ages.

In North America, the legend of Bigfoot was first perpetuated among Native Americans and loggers, and while some sightings appear convincingly real, the majority of mainstream scientists have historically discounted the existence of such a creature, proclaiming the man-like beast to be little more than a myth created by an odd blending of folklore, misidentification and flat out hoax.

Other creatures of relatively similar descriptions are alleged to inhabit various regions of North America and the rest of the world, including the Skunk Ape of Florida, the Abominable Snowman or Yeti in Asia and the Australian Yowie, which, like Bigfoot, are each deeply engrained in the folkloric cultures of their given regions.

Bigfoot Sights and Naming Rights

According to data collected by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, sightings predominantly occur in the Pacific Northwest, including Northern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, with over 4,600 professed sightings in their database as of 2019.

Over the years, Bigfoot has been given local names across the United States, including the Grassman of Ohio, the Boggy Creek Monster of Arkansas, the Wood Booger of Virginia, the Momo of Missouri and the Big Muddy Monster of southern Illinois, making Bigfoot the most widely-named yet little seen legends in the history of North America.