Image
this: You’re out in a heavily forested area. Maybe you are here to try and take
advantage of the ample fish and game that can be found in this place, or maybe
you will spend hours, if not days, silently wondering the trails and backwoods
with nothing more than a good pair of comfortable walking boots. Either way,
you are here for one reason above all else, you love nature and all its
majesty.
Then
suddenly, and without warning the mood shifts. The hairs stand up in the back
of neck and cold shiver runs down your spin. Something is wrong, very wrong.
From seemingly behind every tree, out of every shadow, you feel the horrible
unmistakable feeling of great peering eyes watching over you. The most
horrendous stench over powers you, as you whole body becomes weak and limp.
Where is these sensation coming from? What’s going on? This has never happened
before. Yet, you know for certain there is something amiss.
Out
of the corner of your eye, you spot it. Leering from the dense cover a massive
beast stands watching you. Terror grips every nerve in your body. You have no
idea what this thing is, or maybe you do, but that’s no comfort at all, in fact
that makes it far worse. For what you see is what you mind has told you all
your life, can’t be or shouldn’t be, but it is. Then as suddenly as it appeared
the hairy ghost evaporates into the foliage leaving only a dumbstruck and
petrified you to remain sulking in your own trepidation.
If
this sounds like it could happen to anyone or anywhere nature still holds court
in great demand, that’s because you are right. All across the entire United
States, thousands of people have lived this very nightmare and every year more
and more stories such as this emerge from every corner of the vast country. But, have you have ever wondered which States
have the most reported encounters with such brutes? Well, you’re in luck,
because that is why I’m here. In the following article I will be covering the
Top Ten US States that have the most documented alleged encounters with large
unknown hairy hominids often called Bigfoot or Sasquatch. For each of these
states I will give the current number of documented sightings, as of the time
of writing, a brief history of sightings in that State, a general description
of each area of said state with the most reported sightings, and some famous
specific sightings from that particular State.
Before
we begin, I would like to disclose how I obtained the numbers for this article.
The total numbers are the current, as of writing this September, 2019, from the
BFRO website. This is the largest single database of Bigfoot sightings
collected in one place on the internet. Now this certainly does not mean these
are all the reported sightings throughout historical record, such a fete would
surely be impossible, and the site lists mainly sightings reported to them by
people wishing to reach out and share their experiences, yet many reports are
also of well documented cases as well as links to reputable local and national
news publications, mostly for the historical accounts. As such, the complete numbers
of these such stories are going to be incomplete and somewhat off.
For
example, currently Alaska, only has 22 reported sightings in their database. If
you know anything about supposed Bigfoot reports from Alaska, you’d think that
number was surprisingly low, and you’d be right. There are several close range
sightings and stories I have read about, some of which I have previously
covered in past articles, that don’t appear to be in their records. However, when
you look at the full list of each State by numbers breakdown, as I have, and
compare them with “known” or frequently talked about Bigfoot hot spots, these
numbers tend to match very well with long and detailed history of written
Sasquatch reports with only minor fluctuation in spots.
It
is impossible to ever know exactly how many supposed sightings have occurred,
as many just probably have not and will not ever be reported. Legendary Bigfoot
researcher Peter Byrne once estimated for every single logged report in an
area, there might be up to three or four more in the same vicinity, yet they go
uncatalogued for fear of ridicule and the stigma of disbelief the general
public has for such stories. There for,
the purpose of this list, I believe that the numbers, more than not, sync up
with the decades of reported sightings in various written publications.
With
all that said let us begin our brief overview of the Top Ten US States with the
most frequently reported cases of alleged Bigfoot/Sasquatch reported sightings.
10. Georgia. Total Number 132
We
begin our tour of the Top Ten States, with a stay over in the first of the
Southern States on our list, Georgia. The Eastern and Southern portions of the
State is the area with by far the most accounts. The Western portions of
Georgia are dominated by the Appalachian Mountain Range, which does boast a
fair number of sightings, but nothing like the more traditionally viewed
‘Southern’ portions.
The
Okefenokee Swamp is the largest Black Water swamp in the North America. The Creek People who were the
original inhabitants of the area have a folk legend of a group of young Braves
from their village who while venturing deep into the murky black swamp found an
island deep within the center in which several beautiful maidens lived. The
maidens provided them with food and shelter and helped the Braves with
directions on how to get back out of the swamp but would not go with them and
urge them to leave as quick as they could for their husbands who were not
present at the time world race of giant bruits who were violent and hostile
towards strangers.
In 1829, the water level of the swamp was on usually low in the
summer time allowing intrepid explores to venture further and then they had
ever gone before. It was there that a series of enormous tracks human like in
appearance but measuring 18 inches long and 9 inches wide were found two
people, a man and boy, in the middle of the swamp. The stride described by the
original finders of the tracks was from heel to toe just over 6 feet in length.
A party of nine armed men set out in order to find the track’s maker. John
Ostean was one of the men in the gathered party, the only man whose name seems
to have been recorded for posterity.
According to the story the men were gathered around a campfire
after having found more fresh tracks. Unfortunately for the party a few of them
accidentally discharged some of their rifle shots the sound of which seemingly
scaring this “man mountain” as they described it, from it’s hidden lair when
emerged from the darkness and attacked the hunting party. Within just a matter
of a few moments the beast had decapitated five of these hunters and was
certainly going to kill the others as well, but the surviving for men were able
to pump seven shots from their high-powered rifle into the creature finally
felling it. It’ll lay on the ground wallowing in agony and roaring defiantly
for several moments until finally going still.
After the beast laid dead they measured it from the top of its
head to the bottom of its feet as being 13 feet tall the men quickly left the
corpse of this giant creature as well as the remains of their dearly departed
friends out of fear of possible retaliation from other such beasts they
believed to be in the area. The story remained and obscure footnote for the
longest time until it was discovered in the microfilm archives until it was
found by an investigator named Richard Day of the Western Sun and General
Advertiser in Indiana. The story was published in their local newspaper and
quickly spread across the country gaining attention from others.
Cherokee people called them Tsulkalu which means the slant-eyed
people. James Wafford, a western Cherokee native wrote in the 1800’s about a
story his grandmother had always told him that before she was born a group of
these slant eyed people had actually come in to the Cherokee people’s village
and stayed and lived among them for an extended length of time.
While
this story is certainly gripping and freighting in every aspect of the word, I
do feel this and similar such reports should always be viewed with a very
skeptical eye, more so than most contemporary reports. In its favor it does
mention by name a specific individual whom supposedly lived this nightmare,
John Ostean, that is more than can be said for many outlandish stories whose
main point of reference is just unnamed man. Yet bear in mind, that at the time
of this article’s writing, 1829, newspapers all across the country where loaded
with either highly embellished stories
or just outright hoaxes of a fantastical nature in order to garner more buys
and to out show local and national competition. However, the legacy of Sasquatches
in Georgia have long out lived this one heart pounding piece of historical
journalism.
More
recent sightings have occurred, including in 1979, outside of Fort Gordon,
Georgia, where a hair covered 10-10 ½ tall biped was encountered. Tracks seen
in the area where later measured as being a mind blowing 9 inches long, but 22
inches wide! Reports from the Peach State still find their way into local and
occasionally nation news programs to this day, and if you think the previous
stories where a something the next nine states are about to ramp up the numbers
in ways that might shock and amaze you. The ride has just started.
9. Missouri. Total Number 149
Missouri
is one of, if not the most overlooked State in the entire USA. For most people
living outside it, and even for many within its boundaries, there just doesn’t
seem to be anything there. No major cities, except St. Louis, no flashy
landmarks or structures, and no distinct natural habitats that immediately
conjure to the mind, “yep that’s Missouri country alright!” Had you asked me
which of the States had the most Bigfoot sightings without looking at any hard
numbers or data, I would have gotten many on this list correct, but Missouri
would not be among them at all. Yet
maybe that would be a near perfect place to remain undetected if you so wished
to do so.
Despite
this Missouri has not only a wealth of reports to this day, but one of the more
(in) famous of all 20th century flaps of continued sightings the
sightings of a hairy fiend seen mostly in and around Louisiana, Missouri. I’m
talking of course of the story of Momo, short for the Missouri Monster.
It
began in July, 1971, when Joan Mills and Mary Ryan spotted a creature looking
“half-man and half-ape” on a rural portion of Highway 79, north of town. Then
on July, 11, 1972 at 3:30 p.m. local time, eight year old Terry Harrison and
his five year old Wally where playing in the yard when they began to scream.
Their older sister Doris, looked out the bathroom window to see standing under
a tree a six to seven foot tall black and hairy “man” who wasn’t quite man or
beast. The hair cover was some great no facial features or even a neck could be
distinguished. Most unsettling of all, was the fact this thing seemed to be
flecked with blood and held a dead dog under its arm. It retreated into the
woods still walking erect and carrying the dead poach away with it.
That
same afternoon, only a block away, Mrs. Clarence Lee heard loud growling and
trashing sounds coming from the woods nearby, she described them as being
utterly terrible in nature. Three days later Edger Harrison heard loud growling
and sighted two “fireball” lights coming from the exact same area the boys and
Doris had seen the thing with the dead dog. He also reported just the most fowl
and unpleasant odor ever from the area.
Over the next few weeks more citizens, including Harrison again, would
smell the sour horse and garbage smell several more times. The neighborhood
dogs became more and more excited whenever such smells and noises would start
up, some dogs in the area would eventually go missing, never to be found. In
addition, two separate sets of humanlike tracks where found in and around the
same area as the frequent smells as noises, and a few brief visual sightings of
a similar thing to what Doris described was spotted by various other townsfolk
as well.
More
recent reports come from the southernmost portions of the state to this day. It
seems this State that so many never even give a passing thought to, might in
fact, hold the key to unlocking one of the biggest and longest standing
mysterious of the natural world. And how fitting would that be, how fitting
indeed.
8.
Michigan. Total Number 219
The
Folklore Archives from the Indiana University Library makes mention of two
striking early 20th century incidents. One in 1937, in Saginaw,
Michigan, a fisherman claimed a manlike monster the Saginaw River bank, lean
upon a tree, then return to the river. As a result, the man in question
suffered a nervous breakdown. The Saginaw area would see more sightings in the
coming decades such as the one reported by two young campers in the Saginaw Bay
area in the summer of 1973. Then in 1951, in Charlotte, Michigan, a large two
legged gorilla like beast was seen some 6 to 7 times in a swamp west of town.
The locals have since redubbed the area Gorilla Swamp, in honor of the less
than welcomed local resident.
Starting
in 1962 in Cass County a large hairy beast with a huge bulk and shoulders with
no neck was seen predominantly in the Sister Lakes area, with its’ favorite
haunt being a large strawberry plantation. Over the next two years the fields
migrant workers, the farm’s owners, and various locals living in and around the
area all reported sightings. The local papers were quick to label it the
Monster of Sister Lakes. In May, 1964, the workers having been scared out of
their wits up and abandoned the farm refusing to work there any longer.
The
rest of that early summer saw new employee Gordon Brown, and his brother spot a
nine foot tall creature in their headlights on June, 9, they described as a
cross between a bear and gorilla. Two days later Patsy and Gail Clayton, along
with Joyce Smith, all three year olds, watched as a monster crossed a road in
Silver Creek Township. The experience frightened poor Joyce so much she fainted
and had to be revived. During the remainder of the summer the farms owners John
and Elevelyn Utrup continued to have regular reported sightings. John claims to
have been “chased” into the house one night by the monster which was described
as nine foot tall and possibly weighing some 500 pounds. Police also reported
finding bare humanlike foot prints on the farm measuring some six inches across
the ball of the foot.
Then,
on the night of August, 13, 1965 Christine Van Acker and her mother, Ruth
Owens, where headed home when a large hair covered thing crossed the road
directly in front of them in Monroe, Michigan. Christine panicked and put on
the breaks. Suddenly, the dark hair covered ‘monster’ reached its arm into the
open driver’s side window. It struck Christine in the face, slamming her head
into the door post. The women filed a police report and images of her blackened
and bruised face where published along with the story in the local paper. The
story soon went national bringing her story to reads all across America, and
eventually became a worldwide scoop. Christine drew a sketch of her attacker.
Interestingly enough, that drawing bore and almost identical resemblance to the
Momo Monster was covered earlier from another of the top ten states, Missouri.
To
this day, multiple reports are filed every year, usually in the Upper Peninsula.
Oscoda, Delta, and Marquette counties have amongst the highest density of
reports on record. Do you believe the Wolverine State should consider changing its name to reflect the
potential home of another large hairy woodland critter?
7. Texas. Total Number 240
When
the name Texas comes to mind, most both living in the USA and outside of it,
will conjure up images of the Old West. Dry dust desert covered in cactuses and
tumbleweeds. Where nary a drop of water can be found to quench your dying
thirst nor can a single tree provide sanctuary from the hateful sun. Well,
while some parts of Texas are exactly like that, the Eastern Third of the Lone
Star State, is more in tuned with its neighbors Louisiana and Arkansas than the
land of Outlaws and Cowboys. Most of it is covered in thick bayou swamps and
wet woodlands teaming with alligators, deer, bear, and other large fauna a
plenty. That is where the overwhelming majority of alleged Bigfoot sightings
are reported from, and there are a lot of stories, almost as many as there are
stars hanging in the quiet Texas night.
Historically
there have been several specific hotspots where such creatures have been
observed. One such place is around Lake Worth in Texas where starting in the
1960’s (and really ramping up in 1969), there came reports of what has since
been named The Goatman.
The
Fort Worth Police Department had numerous reports in June and July of that
year, but nothing could prepare them for what they would see and experience on
July, 10, of that year. That is when six people reported that they were
attacked by a large and whitish colored man-ape near Greer Island out at Lake
Worth. One witness, John Reichart claimed the thing came from behind a tree and
tried to grab his wife! It also left an 18 inch long scratch on the side of his
car. A posy of men, both lawmen and civilians, returned to the original area.
Then the same huge beast emerged from atop a nearby ridge, leapt from it, and
threw a car tire some 500 feet at them! Shots were fired and everyone ran for
their cars. A small blood trail was seen and followed, but no corpse was ever
found. A photo was taken by local store owner Allen Plaster. The famous picture
shows a large human shaped white figure, yet the picture is too grainy to
conclusively make any definitive statements regarding the figure presented in
it.
In
the 1840’s, stories began to surface of what would be coined as The Wild Woman
of the Navidad. A series of sightings of wild and unkempt naked humanlike
creature reported in Eastern Texas. From Eastern Texas beginning in the 1960’s
would come another famous resident beast sighted around Caddo Lake which,
unsurprisingly, would be named the Caddo Critter. A fictional version of these stories inspired
the low budget 1970’s film The Creature
from Black Lake.
Many
expeditions by national and international teams of investigators have been
conducted with greater frequency in the last several decades. These include episodes of television shows
such as Finding Bigfoot and Animal X. Texas even hosts an annual
Bigfoot convention where researchers and enthusiasts alike meet every year to
discuss new sightings and developments in research, theories, and topics as
well as bonding over a shared common interest in this bizarre phenomena.
It
would seem that the Lone Star State is home to more than just cattle ranches
and prairie dogs. It might just be one of the best locations for those brave
adventurers who seek to discover wither this phantom of the woods really lurks
in dark swamps hidden from view by the wilted hanging willows and creeping
Cyprus trees of the East Texas bottom lands.
6.
Oregon. Total Number 250
Oregon
makes up the middle State in the trio of Pacific Northwest States in America.
So it would seem like most middle children, it tends to by most to be the most
overlooked and ignored portion of the unquestioned Bigfoot capital of the
world. Yet don’t sleep on her yet, she still has one of the most respectable
history of sightings there are, even if Big Brothers Washington State and
California tend to hog most of the attention.
Along
the Banks of the Columbia River, several historical artifacts created by First
Nations Tribes have been found. These include wicker baskets with a looming
hulk of a beast exactly like the creature still reported in the vicinity to
this day. In addition, several millennia old stone carvings have been found
here, some of which are an undeniable double for the image of a large ape such
as a gorilla or chimpanzee. How the natives of this region had the knowledge of
what an ape’s face looks like thousands of years before the likes of zoos,
textbooks, and the internet is still a mystery in need of resolution.
As
early as 1810 large fourteen plus inch human shaped photo prints where being
discovered by fur trappers in the Rockies Mountain areas that extend into the
state. From there the rest of the 19th century would see newspaper
articles and stories written about track finds, mysterious screams in the
night, and often brief face to face encounters with large creatures that defied
all rational wisdom. While there are many stories from across the region, the
Western Coastal area is the main focus of both historical and current
sightings.
In
the early part of the 20th century, local researcher Jack Woodruff,
reported finding massive manlike prints on the beach of the Coquile River near
his home in Myrtle Point, Oregon. He also claims two different people had
re-laid finding similar tracks in fresh autumn snow in the Craggie Mountains in
both 1924 and the 1930’s. Sightings have continued with both an increase in
frequency and close range over the decades. One such report from June, 2018, in
Vernonia, when a woman watch from her bathroom window as a Sasquatch walked
from the woods across her yard and back into the forest on the opposite side.
Oregon
may not have as many reports as its sibling states, but that is no small
comfort to the hundreds, if not thousands of people who have had their world
views permanently changed by having a chance encounter with the Wildman of the
woods.
5.
Ohio. Total Number 290
January,
20, 1869. A carriage containing a man and his adult daughter are heading from
Gallipolis in South Easter Ohio. Suddenly, a wild man leaps from the dense wood
line and goes for the Father. He pulled him from the carriage and a violent
struggle ensued. The creature bite and stretched him with such anger you would
believe the vendetta personal. The Daughter summoning up her courage picked up
a large rock that threw it at the attacker striking him where his ear should
be. The beast abandoned his attack and retreated off into the nearby scrub.
Ohio
much like various other regions across the USA has seen fit to give the
Bigfoot/Wild Man character its own regional name, The Grass Mann. The Eastern
third of Ohio, where there is plenty of farm land, mountains, deep hollows,
wetlands, and forests. The area is so rich with Sasquatch reports that a large
portion of this area has been dubbed The Sasquatch Triangle by researchers. The
epicenter of the Triangle is Salt Fork State Park. It is the largest state park
in Ohio with more than 25,000 combined acers of undeveloped land. More Bigfoot
reports come from this massive acreage of preserved forests than anywhere else
in the state, and when you’re the number five highest rated state for such
reports in the country, that is saying something.
The
Buckeye State, however, is famous amongst the Bigfoot community not just for
the plethora of sightings, but also the varied kinds of physical evidence to
analyze in the Bigfoot puzzle. In 1995 huge hollow structures made of woven
grass where found resembling what many have deduced to be possible nesting or
housing structures. The structure was made just like making a giant wicker
basket. These such things have been found elsewhere in America, but seem to be
found with a surprising frequency in Ohio. Another piece of evidence is a small
bit of film recorded cryptid researcher in August of 1992.
However,
the most important piece of evidence is what has been dubbed the Ohio Howl, an
audio recording of what is believed to be the best piece of audio evidence ever
for the existence of Bigfoot. Recorded by Matt Moneymaker in autumn 1994, in
Columbina, Ohio, near the Ohio River. The 30 plus second of audio is what is
referred to as the Moaning Howl. This piece of evidence was analyzed by audio
recording experts at the University of Texas A&M. They concluded that the
sound was of an organic nature, but did not belong to any know animal in the
extensive database. What makes this audio so remarkable is the fact that
similar sounds, different in pitch and volume) have not only been heard by
dozens of eyewitnesses, but recorded in other states such as Mississippi,
Kentucky, and California. It seems that right near the center of the country,
it might just be one of the best places to catch a glimpse of an amazing
American Mystery.
4. Illinois. Total Number 298
Illinois,
is the other State on our list that surprised me as to how many alleged
sightings are reported here, and it would definitely not made my top ten had
you asked me before showing me the numbers. Yet here we are. As it turns out, the Prairie State, has a
storied legacy with wild men and menacing gorillas, all names used to described
these beasts before the term Bigfoot became common. Starting in 1894 and
continuing to this day people here believe their forests and hills might hold a
large furry secret just waiting to be uncovered.
A
July, 1929, newspaper report from Daily
News, out of Middlesboro, Kentucky, claims that residents in the small
farming community of Elizabeth, Illinois, barricade themselves inside their
homes and posies of gun touting angry men search high and low for a huge simian
like beast spotted in the nearby woods. They searched high and low, but no such
simian was found.
From
the sparsely populated Southern part of the State, comes Illinois most famous
cryptid creature, The Big Muddy Monster. Murphysboro, Illinois provides the
setting. A terrified young couple provide the players. Monday, June, 25, 1973,
Randy Needham and Judy Johnson are alone enjoying each other’s company on a
deserted boat ramp area overlooking the Big Muddy River. Young lovers often
come here to be alone with their partners, but after tonight few would ever do
so again. The siren stillness of the night was shattered by a horrible inhuman
scream. The couple looks over to see a seven foot whitish beast, a horrible
parody of both man and beast, coming out of the darkness right towards them. His
body splattered with thick patches of mud, still making his foreboding screams
at them. Quickly they started up the car and fled. They filed a police report
right away, and while the officers were skeptical, they couldn’t help but
notice how sincere and terrified they appeared. They decided to check out the
area.
They
returned to exact spot where they discovered huge manlike footprints in the
mud. More deputies were summoned to see for themselves. Then, form the black
night, the same screams came again followed by the sound of something large on
two feet heading in their direction. No one was brave enough to stay and
everyman present fled for their cars. The next night several independent
eyewitnesses in different, yet nearby locations, also reported terrifying
run-ins with the same creature. Over the course of the summer more sightings,
tracks, and screams where heard. Hunting parties of men formed, but each outing
was unfruitful in securing their quarry.
While
the Big Muddy Beast hasn’t been seen around Murphysboro for some time,
residents all over Southern Illinois still report sightings and hear screams in
the night from large unknown monsters, who are more mysterious than anything
most could possibly imagine.
3. Florida: Sightings Number, 325
On
July, 21, 1997, Ochopee Fire Chief Vince Doerr was driving down an isolated
backwoods road, thick South Florida brush and swamps surrounding him on all
sides, the mosquito cover in the air thick a blanket, the summer time humidity
100 percent. This was no place or time for anyone to be moving around at all
outdoors, let alone in a huge full body fur suit. But, that’s exactly what Mr.
Doerr believed he saw at first, cross the road in front of his car mere feet in
front of him on that oppressive summer afternoon. He stop the vehicle, got out,
and watched as the upright figure continued to make its way out of sight into
the palmetto plants. He shouted in an attempt to get the creature’s attention.
It was moving at a fast paced walk, not running. When he called to it, the
animal turned slightly, but still keep chugging forward at its own pace. He
happened to have his camera with him at the time and managed to take a single
picture of the creature as it first turned to face him, before it melted in the
tree line. The photo shows a large brown upright thing crossing into the trees,
yet due to the distance, no facial features or conclusive evidence can be
deduced from the single frame. All you can tell is the animal is big, hairy,
and erect. This is just one of the many encounters locals and tourists alike
had with such a creature in such a short period of time. Mr. Doerr returned to
his car and continued his way back to the firs station where he told the others
there of his bizarre encounter.
That
whole summer, but especially early to mid-July, there were numerous such
encounters at close range with similar looking beasts. This particular time
span is still vividly remembered by the local investigators as no such time
before or since, had produced so many close range sightings over such a short
period of time. Some blame the unusually hot and humid summer of 97. Others
point to the explosion in the mosquito population that year driving all manners
of wildlife out of the deepest, most remote sheltered spaces within the swamps.
Regardless, the summer of 97 was the most active time for what has been
collectively dubbed the Skunk (Swamp) Ape in Southern Florida.
Three
days prior on July, 18, 1997, a bus load of English Tourists where on a
sightseeing expiation with the Everglades Day Safari tour group. Dow Rowland
was the group’s bus driver and lead guide. While the bus had slowed down to get
a better view of the nearby gators, two young boys in the group began to shout
and point out the other side of the bus. They kept saying over and over again
one word, “Bigfoot!” Everyone turned and saw what Mr. Rowland latter described
as a huge gorilla standing just outside the tree line on the opposite side.
After a mere three seconds or so, the creature retreated into the woods. After
calming everyone down, himself included, Mr. Rowland drove over to where they
had seen it go in and parked the bus. He exited and made his way towards the
trees when the creature emerged about 50 yard ahead of him cross out halfway
into the road, then turn about facer and vanish back into the trees. He
searched for another minute or so, but with a bus load of frightened tourists
and the mosquito cover being so thick you could barely see threw at points, he
returned to the vehicle and they made their way down the road.
For
hundreds of years prior to the White Europeans arrived, both the Miccosukee
(also spelled Miskauki) and Seminole tribes had stories about, Shaawanoki, which means tall hairy man.
The legends state they are race of giants that live deep in the swamps, usually
on high natural islands. The elders say they have always existed there and are
to be respected and left alone. Newspapers from the early 20th century
make numerous reports of “wild men” over the decades, but it wasn’t until the
1970’s where reports began to flood in from all over the state, especially
South Florida. It is also here the first usage of the term Skunk Apes appear
and the name has stuck ever since.
Then
in late 2000, the Sarasota Police department received an anonymous letter along
with two photos addressed to the department’s animal control unit. The letter
stated to be from an elderly woman living near the edge of Myakka State Park.
It said that in late September early October something had been coming onto her
porch at night to steal apples left outside. After two nights of this, she
waited to see if the culprit would return. On the third night she waited up for
whoever or whatever was robbing their produce. She heard a noise and went out
to see what was going on. She heard something in the brush line and took two
photos in rapid succession of each other. The creature, startled by her
presence and the camera flash, which she said was about seven foot tall, stood
up and retreated back into the woods on two legs making a whooping sound. She told her husband what she had seen and
they both latter viewed the developed photos. They were unsure of what the
thing was, with her husband suggesting it was an escaped orangutan. Her letter
stated she was mailing these pictures along with her story in, because she was
concerned for her visiting grandchildren and other residents as if this thing
was bold enough to come onto people’s porches for food who knows what else it
may do or how close it may get to people. These now (in)famous Myakka photos
have divided the Bigfoot community, some believe they are real, while some
believe they are proof that this is proof such creatures exists.
For
many, Florida is the ultimate destination in life. A place idolized for the
nurturing climate and perceived easy living. It is no wonder it is a true
American pastiche that when a person(s) reach the age of retirement it is time
to pack your bags and head down as far south as possible. And while I would
never try and discourage anyone from pursuing their desired goals in life, I
would like to offer these small words to try and keep stored away in the back
of your mind. It’s possible, just possible that the swamps you choose to spend
your golden years may have more than what conventional wisdom says lives down
there. So please just keep that in mind. And also, try and remember to bring
your produce inside your home. It might just attract unwanted visitors.
2. California: Sightings Number, 441
And
now we come to the top two spots, and if you know anything about Bigfoot lore
than the last two spots on the list should be no great surprise to you. The
only mystery is in which order they fall. Well at number two, we have the birth
place of the modern Bigfoot phenomena, California, Northern California to be
more precise.
Starting
here and running all the way up the West Coast of the Continent into Canada and
back into the USA via Alaska, the environment becomes what is essentially a
temperate rainforest. Heavy rain fall provides the genies for hundreds of
thousands of still remote mountains covered in thick forests, rivers, canyons,
and lakes. It is needless to say that ever since white Europeans have inhabited
this land there have been reports of wild men. Dating back to late 1800’s
newspaper after newspaper chronicled stories of these wild men of the woods,
not to mention the numerous tribes of Native Americans who almost universally
have stories or physical depictions in the form of wood masks, carvings, and
cave paintings of large beasts not quite human, but not quite animal.
Of
course you can’t tell the story of Bigfoot in California without mentioning the
Bluff Creek Tracks and the Patterson Film. Since they are almost second nature
to us at this point I will summarize them very briefly. In 1958 construction
crews in and around Bluff Creek, began to find large man-like prints at their
sites as well as having the camps vandalized with large 300 pound oil drums
effortlessly tossed around. Tracks where made, local papers ran the story,
which where intern picked up by national and international publications. The
most significant detail, the article labels the night prowler as Bigfoot, and
well from there on out, that’s the name adopted by the public at large for the
beast.
And
of course, on October, 20, 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin where out near
Willow Creek, California, when they filmed what many are convinced is
undeniable proof that this world is inhabited by a as of yet undocumented
primate species. To this days the town
near which it was filmed, Willow Creek, is marked by many as the Bigfoot
capital of the world. Every year on Labor Day Weekend the hold the Bigfoot Days
Parade. Hotels, restaurants, visitor centers, bookstores, and even the
buildings of town are covered in Bigfoot murals, images, and works of art all
depicting the big man. The People here have embraced the Sasquatch like no
others. Sightings are still reported here on a semi-regular bias, as does the
rest of Northern California. 2019 alone has already seen more than two dozen
new contemporary reported sightings.
As
reports continue to come in, some believe it is only a matter of time, until a
brand new large mammal will have to be added to official guidebooks of Northern
California wildlife. That being said, even in a place as rich and historic as
this, it cannot even compare with the number on spot on our list.
1. Washington. Total Number 668
By
far and away this is the State with the most Bigfoot sightings in the USA. It
has more than double the number three state, Florida, and has almost or in most
cases, triple plus the amount of reports from states 4-10.
Reverend Elkanah Walker spent nine years living with the
indigenous Spokane Tribe in Washington. In his memoirs Nine Years with the
Spokane Indians, he writes of a race of giants they called Stick Men. Without
publishing his writings word for word, here is the just of it. He writes that
these Stick Men inhabit the top of a nearby mountain. They leave tracks a foot
and a half long, and have a terrible smell. They will come during the night and
steal fish from the native’s nest. Throughout Washington there are even
landmarks named after the local native names for these creatures, such as
Skookum Meadows which is named after the Skookum, which means mountain devils,
they too share all the physical and behavioral as the Stick Men.
Washington State has been home to many famous incidents in
Bigfoot lore. Those include The Cripple Foot tracks from Bossburg, the
(in)famous Skookum body cast, and the Ape Canyon attack incident in which a
group of minors where attacked by a group of rock throwing ape men. The
most compelling piece of physical evidence to ever come out of Washington State
was the famous Paul Freeman film from 1994. Freeman was a forest service
patrolman in Washington states who had had allegedly found tracks and had near
sightings of Bigfoot in the past in 1994 he found a set of tracks leading to
and back from a small creek in The blue Mountains he retrieved some plaster
cast as well as a video camera in order to document his fine. While doing so he
heard movement often the distance followed the trail of footprints and the
sounds when a large hair covered creature walked by bipedal across an open
clearing several hundred yards away. He followed the creature and was
able to capture not only images of that one but have a second and possibly
third young child Bigfoot in the film as well. This particular piece of film
has been regarded as one of the best pieces of video footage ever to support
the existence of Sasquatch rivaled only by the famous Patterson Gimlin film of
1967.
So
there you have it. The Top Ten States with the most recorded encounters with
the alleged cryptid beast known as Bigfoot/Sasquatch. I sincerely hope you’ve
enjoyed this brief overlook of these states and their legacy of these kind of
stories. I also hope it has encouraged you to take a look at your own states,
counties, and communities and see if they have any weird or bizarre stories
worth telling. After all the world is a strange place, and what would it be without
some equally strange stories to go around?
Sources:
·
Arment,
Chad. The Historical Bigfoot: Early Reports of Wild Men, Hairy Giants, and
Wandering Gorillas in North America. Landisville, PA: Coachwhip
Publications, 2006. Print.
·
Coleman, Loren, and Patrick Huyghe. The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti,
and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide. New York: Avon, 1999. Print.
·
Coleman, Loren. Bigfoot!: the True Story of Apes in America. New
York: Paraview Pocket, 2003.
·
Coleman, Loren Hall, and Mark A. True Giants: Is Gigantopithicus Still
Alive? San Antonio, TX: Anomalist, 2010. Print.
·
Gerhard,
Ken, and Nick Redfern. Monsters of Texas. Bideford [England: CFZ, 2010.
Print.
·
Green, John. Sasquatch: the Apes among Us.
Saanichton, B.C.: Hancock House, 1978. Print.
·
Meldrum, Jeff. Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science. New York: Forge,
2006. Print.
·
Powell,
Thom. The Locals: A Contemporary Investigation of the Bigfoot/sasquatch
Phenomenon. Surrey, B.C.: Hancock House, 2003. Print.
·
Gibbons, William J. Missionaries and Monsters. Landisville, PA:
Coachwhip Publications, 2006. Print.
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