Bigfoot: Myth or Real Being?

A mythical legend took the world by storm in 1958. Journalist, Andrew Genzoli, of the Humboldt Times received a letter regarding a mysterious finding in northern California. A group of people had come across footprints that were too large to belong to a human but were also not from an animal. The name “Bigfoot” was used in reference to the being that left these mysterious footsteps behind and so the legend was born.

People who swear to have actually seen Bigfoot describe him as an ape-like human creature that is very hairy and walks upright, as humans do. The closest thing to compare him to is our ancestors, the cavemen. After the news Bigfoot started getting a lot of traction worldwide, the mysterious being was portrayed in many films and books and other types of pop culture. But the way Bigfoot was perceived varied as time went on. In the 1970s he was portrayed as a sexual predator in documentaries. But, in the 80s, the portrayal of Bigfoot changed and he was seen as part of the wilderness and nature that we humans need to preserve. The latter makes a lot of sense, as no one has actually come in contact with this being, or at least there isn’t any circumstantial evidence that anyone has. The “spotting” of this mythical creature often comes in rural areas, mainly in the woods or mountain areas.

The best photographic evidence of Bigfoot thus far is from a short film shot by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin in 1967 in Bluff Creek, California. In the image (seen to the left of this article), the mythical being is seen walking through the wilderness. If this is truly an image of Bigfoot, then why have more recent pictures of them not been taken since 1967 with higher quality cameras?

Eyewitness reports are the weakest type of evidence that can be given and that is the most common type of evidence we have in terms of Bigfoot sightings. In a survey conducted in 2007 by Baylor Religion about whether or not Bigfoot is real or just a myth, 16 percent of respondents said that Bigfoot “absolutely” or “probably” is real, 44 percent said that he is “probably not” real, and 40 percent said he is “absolutely not” real.

For all we know, the initial sighting of Bigfoot could have been a hoax and after that people could have hopped onto the idea and dressed up and played with the media themselves to make people believe these beings actually do roam the planet. Even after all of the evidence that has been gathered regarding Bigfoot over the years, no one can say 100 percent if it is fact or myth that these beings are roaming our planet or not. We will have to see if circumstantial evidence arises in the future, but as of now, it is by the popular belief that Bigfoot is only a myth.

Little, B. (2018, July 30). How the Bigfoot Legend Began. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/bigfoot-legend-newspaper

Radford, B. (2012, November 6). Bigfoot: Man-Monster or Myth? Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/24598-bigfoot.html