There is a considerable body of data containing “supernatural” elements in Bigfoot encounters. These reports include not only the Sasquatch sighting, but other anomalous events: telepathy, orbs of light, UFOs, non-human entities in close proximity to Sasquatch, dematerialization of Bigfoot, stick signs (communication via arrangement of sticks, rocks, etc.), braiding manes of horses, strange glowing red or orange eyes, a strong sense of disorientation reported by the witness, long term interactions with Sasquatch over years, a sense of dizziness, headaches, a sense of anxiety or fear, hearing disembodied voices - often warnings to leave the area - hearing loud footsteps close by but seeing nothing, etc.

Data Dumping

These go beyond just the sighting of an unusual creature. Many don’t report these stranger elements to Bigfoot researchers, and many Bigfoot researchers don’t report these stranger elements. They reject them outright.

Aside from the “kill vs. no kill” controversy in Bigfoot studies, this area --- paranormal, or supernatural Bigfoot -- is rich in debate. Few want to touch this one. The division is so great that many on-line Bigfoot forums are clear that they will boot you off if you bring up the topic. They don’t want to hear it, know about it, think about it, or discuss it.

Many Bigfoot researchers admit to either ignoring reports that contain these stranger elements, or excluding them altogether. This “data dumping” is a mistake, in my view. Fortunately there are others who believe that including all of the information within Bigfoot reports is imperative. Lisa Shiel, Nick Redfern, and Autumn Williams are some of the researchers who agree that it is important to include the weirder parts of the story.

Terminology

Well known Fortean cryptozoologist Loren Coleman is open to discussions of supernatural Bigfoot, but he does not agree there is anything to it. As he wrote in an e-mail to me, he and others have studied the phenomena, but concluded there is “no there there.” Coleman uses the phrase “Bigfoot Contactees” to describe those who’ve had these kinds of experiences. The choice of term is too bad; it’s trivializing. It puts the experiencer firmly into the kook bin.

Autumn Williams doesn’t know what to make of these stories (despite her mother’s experiences related in Valley of the Skookum) but she firmly believes that it is important to treat these stories with respect and honesty. Williams believes the faeries need to be included in the data. She calls witnesses with on going relationships with Sasquatch “Long Term Witnesses” or LTWs.

Autumn Williams on Weird Bigfoot LTWs and “Paranormal” Bigfoot Loren Coleman and others call people with anomalous Bigfoot interactions “Bigfoot contactees.” That’s certainly condescending, and puts the whole thing into a George Adamski category. Which means, for most, a “we don’t have to give it any serious consideration since it’s too silly” vibe, and we’re done with such nonsense. (And don't be so quick to dismiss Adamski either. See Colin Bennett's Looking for Orthon.)

As readers of the OrangeOrb know, I am partial to the so-called “paranormal” Bigfoot idea. I’m not sure about using the word “paranormal” but the point is, I consider Bigfoot to be, as Lisa Shiel (author of Backyard Bigfoot) recently told me, “not just a big ape” but something much more. There’s a lot more going on here, like it or not, and it’s clear most Bigfoot researchers don’t like it.

On her site, Autumn writes about her thoughts on the those long term witnesses -- LTWs -- who’ve had ongoing contact with Bigfoot.

Now, on to the "stranger" side of these reports. What I found by interviewing LTWs is that many of them report other anomalies along with their Bigfoot encounters. Little lights in the trees. Underground rumblings. Lights in the sky. Gift exchanges (they leave food or items out for the creatures and receive natural items in return, sometimes displayed in a patterned formation). There are others, as well, that I won't go into here. What these witnesses describe is rather moot. The FACT that they are describing additional phenomena leads one to take a certain approach to these reports.

Nor do I BELIEVE any one particular thing about the Bigfoot phenomenon. I've discussed this here before... BIGFOOT IS WHATEVER IT IS. It might be a garden-variety great ape, an animal, relatively stupid and unintelligent. It might be some sort of pre-human ancestor, gallivanting along on its own branch of our family tree. It might be something weirder than that. It might be smarter than us. The point is, I don't KNOW... and neither do you. But if you really want to know WHAT it is, at this early stage in the game you really have to allow yourself to keep an open mind and examine ALL of the evidence.

Remember I said earlier that many researchers avoid certain aspects of Bigfoot research because it doesn't fit in with what they BELIEVE bigfoot to be? We differ in that respect. I don't CARE what Bigfoot is and I don't presume to know... I only hope to understand it in my lifetime.

Autumn makes it clear: she does not accept as a “belief” that these things are true. But there is enough anecdotal evidence to begin honestly looking into these reports and not reject them because they don’t fit into a preconceived notion of what Bigfoot is.

It’s a great piece and I encourage anyone interested in Bigfoot (and that includes self-identified Bigfoot researchers who, we assume, only want the truth) to read it.

There is a considerable body of data containing “supernatural” elements in Bigfoot encounters. These reports include not only the Sasquatch sighting, but other anomalous events: telepathy, orbs of light, UFOs, non-human entities in close proximity to Sasquatch, dematerialization of Bigfoot, stick signs (communication via arrangement of sticks, rocks, etc.), braiding manes of horses, strange glowing red or orange eyes, a strong sense of disorientation reported by the witness, long term interactions with Sasquatch over years, a sense of dizziness, headaches, a sense of anxiety or fear, hearing disembodied voices - often warnings to leave the area - hearing loud footsteps close by but seeing nothing, etc.

Data Dumping

These go beyond just the sighting of an unusual creature. Many don’t report these stranger elements to Bigfoot researchers, and many Bigfoot researchers don’t report these stranger elements. They reject them outright.

Aside from the “kill vs. no kill” controversy in Bigfoot studies, this area --- paranormal, or supernatural Bigfoot -- is rich in debate. Few want to touch this one. The division is so great that many on-line Bigfoot forums are clear that they will boot you off if you bring up the topic. They don’t want to hear it, know about it, think about it, or discuss it.

Many Bigfoot researchers admit to either ignoring reports that contain these stranger elements, or excluding them altogether. This “data dumping” is a mistake, in my view. Fortunately there are others who believe that including all of the information within Bigfoot reports is imperative. Lisa Shiel, Nick Redfern, and Autumn Williams are some of the researchers who agree that it is important to include the weirder parts of the story.

Terminology

Well known Fortean cryptozoologist Loren Coleman is open to discussions of supernatural Bigfoot, but he does not agree there is anything to it. As he wrote in an e-mail to me, he and others have studied the phenomena, but concluded there is “no there there.” Coleman uses the phrase “Bigfoot Contactees” to describe those who’ve had these kinds of experiences. The choice of term is too bad; it’s trivializing. It puts the experiencer firmly into the kook bin.

Autumn Williams doesn’t know what to make of these stories (despite her mother’s experiences related in Valley of the Skookum) but she firmly believes that it is important to treat these stories with respect and honesty. Williams believes the faeries need to be included in the data. She calls witnesses with on going relationships with Sasquatch “Long Term Witnesses” or LTWs.

Books About “Supernatural” Bigfoot

Books That Reference a Bigfoot/UFO Relationship

Bigfoot Files: Peter Guittilla

UFOs Over California, Preston Dennett (p 10 has a brief story about Native Americans caring for Bigfoot in a cave.)

On-Line Bigfoot researcher Autumn Williams (who lives in Oregon) has a nice piece on the anomalous data concerning Bigfoot:

Bigfoot Articles by Regan Lee