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Bigfoot is an alleged human or ape-like cryptid in North America. Since the mid-20th century, Bigfoot has become increasingly relevant in popular culture and is the subject of film, television, advertising, music, literature and more. [1]
"Bigfoot" and "Sasquatch" are pop culture terms that have been used in advertising across many different products and services
Bigfoot is a popular film subject that has appeared in numerous genres including horror films, comedy films, animated films, documentary films and more.
Like film and television, Bigfoot is a common subject of literature appearing in a variety of genres.
 | This section includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(July 2021) |
Bigfoot has been featured in a wide variety of television and has been the focus point such as in documentaries and programs depicting the search for the creature, or referenced in many other ways within shows of varying genres and types.
Sasquatched! The Musical is a musical play written and composed by Minnesota native Phil Darg in 2012. It follows the story of a gentle, dignified talking Sasquatch named Arthur, his interactions with the human characters of the surrounding Pacific Northwest area, and the issues revolving around Sasquatch-human relations. The style of the play is humorous, fast-moving, and family-friendly. The play was submitted as an entry to the New York Musical Theatre Festival in September 2012. In February, it was chosen as one of NYMF's Next Link selections and later received an award from the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust. In July 2013, the show was performed as part of NYMF at the Pearl Theatre in New York City. [85]
There are annual Bigfoot-related conventions and festivals, and the creature notably plays a role in Pacific Northwest tourism, such as the annual "Sasquatch Daze" held for several years in Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia and the Oregon "Bigfoot Festival" held in Troutdale, Oregon which draws thousands in attendance from all over. The small town of Remer, Minnesota holds an annual festival called "Bigfoot Days".
Primatologist and Bigfoot researcher John Napier commented on this, stating that "Bigfoot in some quarters of North America has become big business ... It can no longer be considered simply as a natural phenomenon that can be studied with the techniques of a naturalist; the entrepreneurs have moved in and folklore has become fakelore." [86]
In March 2021, as a means to draw tourism, Oklahoma announced it will issue "Bigfoot Tracking Permits" to be sold at certain businesses and will offer a $2.1 million bounty for a Bigfoot captured alive, unharmed, and legally. [87]
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a large, hairy mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Bigfoot is featured in both American and Canadian folklore, and since the mid-20th century has grown into a cultural icon, permeating popular culture and becoming the subject of its own distinct subculture.
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor of folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.
The skunk ape is a large and hairy human-like mythical creature purported to inhabit the forests and swamps in the southeastern United States, most notably in Florida. It is often compared to, synonymous with, or called the "cousin" of Bigfoot, a prominent subject within North American popular culture.
Loren Coleman is an American cryptozoologist, author and television personality who has written over 40 books on a number of topics, including cryptozoology. He is also the President, Founder and leading Director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine. He has a background in social work and has also written on the topic of suicide, particularly the copycat effect.
The Minnesota Iceman is a sideshow exhibit and elaborate hoax that depicts a fake man-like creature frozen in a block of ice. It was displayed at shopping malls, state fairs, and carnivals in the United States and Canada in the 1960s and early 1970s and promoted as the "missing link" between Modern man and Neanderthals. It was sold on eBay in 2013 and put on display in Austin, Texas.
The Hibagon (ヒバゴン) or Hinagon (ヒナゴン) is the Japanese equivalent of the North American Bigfoot or the Himalayan Yeti. Sightings have been reported since the 1970s around Mount Hiba in the Hiroshima Prefecture.
In Arkansas folklore, the Fouke Monster, also known as the Boggy Creek Monster and the Swamp Stalker, is purported to be a humanoid creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, that was allegedly sighted in the rural town of Fouke, Arkansas during the early 1970s. The creature was alleged to have attacked a local family. It has since become a part of Arkansas folklore. Stories of the creature influenced the 1972 docudrama horror film The Legend of Boggy Creek, which became the 11th highest-grossing film of 1972 and is today considered to be a cult classic.
Momo the Monster, also known as the Missouri Monster (Momo), is a purported ape-like creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, that was allegedly sighted by numerous people in rural Louisiana, Missouri in 1971 and 1972. Unlike some other areas with similar reports of cryptids such as the Fouke Monster in Fouke, Arkansas or the Mothman in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Momo did not become a major tourist or economic folklore attraction.
Richard Freeman is a cryptozoologist, author, zoological journalist, and WebTV Presenter. He is also the zoological director of the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ), and co-edits both the journal, Animals & Men and several editions of the annual CFZ Yearbook. Freeman has written, co-written, or edited a number of books, and has contributed widely to both Fortean and zoological magazines, as well as other newspapers and periodicals, including Fortean Times and Paranormal Magazine.
MonsterQuest is an American television series that originally aired from October 31, 2007 to March 24, 2010 on the History Channel channel. Produced by Whitewolf Entertainment, the program deals with the search for various monsters of interest to the cryptozoology subculture and paranormal entities reportedly witnessed around the world. A spin-off show, MysteryQuest, which focuses on unsolved mysteries, premiered on September 16, 2009.
Proof is an American comic book series, published by Image Comics and created by writer Alex Grecian and artist Riley Rossmo. The story concerns John "Proof" Prufrock, a sasquatch, who works for a secret government organization. He hunts cryptids with his partner, Ginger Brown, and seeks clues to his past. The book was influenced by The X-Files and Tarzan.
The Honey Island Swamp Monster, also known as the Cajun Sasquatch and in Cajun French: La Bête Noire, is an ape-like humanoid cryptid creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, purported to inhabit the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. It has become a part of Louisiana folklore, with many swamp tour companies in the area capitalizing on its alleged existence, which is considered unlikely by scientists.
Sam Shearon, also known under the pseudonym and credited / published also as Mister Sam Shearon is a British dark artist born in Liverpool, England. Specialising in horror and science-fiction, his work often includes elements inspired by vintage tales of monsters and madmen, dark futures, post apocalyptic genres including cyberpunk and industrial wastelands and classic literature including H.P.Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and the modern classics Clive Barker's Hellraiser and the Books of Blood all of which he has fully illustrated.
Finding Bigfoot is an American reality television series on Animal Planet that follows a team of four researchers investigating potential evidence for Bigfoot, a human or ape-like mythical creature alleged by some to inhabit the North American wilderness. Despite the team never capturing conclusive evidence for Bigfoot's existence and mixed reviews from critics, the show gained high ratings and was a top earner for Animal Planet. It premiered on May 29, 2011, and the series finale and 100th episode was released on May 27, 2018; one special episode released in 2021.
MonsterTalk is an audio podcast that was originally presented by the Skeptics Society's Skeptic magazine but broke ties in 2019. Since 2019 it has been an independent podcast under the "Monster House, LLC" banner. The show critically examines the science behind cryptozoological creatures, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and werewolves. It is hosted by Blake Smith and Karen Stollznow, and produced by Blake Smith. In 2012, MonsterTalk was awarded the Parsec Award for the "Best Fact Behind the Fiction Podcast".
The Jacko hoax was a Canadian newspaper story about a gorilla supposedly caught near Yale, British Columbia in 1884. The story, titled "What is it?, A strange creature captured above Yale. A British Columbia Gorilla", appeared in the British Columbia newspaper the Daily Colonist on July 4, 1884. The original newspaper article describes "Jacko" as a gorilla and not a Sasquatch. However, the "Jacko" story has been used by Bigfoot advocates as evidence for the existence of Sasquatch. Many books about Bigfoot and cryptids have featured the event and cite the original newspaper article. In 2008 Michael Cremo discussed the story as possible proof for the existence of Sasquatch. The "Jacko" story was featured on the A&E television documentary series Ancient Mysteries about Bigfoot, season 4, episode 18 narrated by Leonard Nimoy. The story was also mentioned on the Bigfoot episode of the television series In Search of..., season 1, episode 5, also narrated by Nimoy. The Jacko story was mentioned in a 1976 documentary called The Mysterious Monsters.
Mountain Monsters is an American cryptozoology-themed reality television series airing on Travel Channel. It originally premiered on June 22, 2013, on Destination America. The series follows the Appalachian Investigators of Mysterious Sightings (A.I.M.S) team, a band of six native West Virginian hunters and trappers, as they research and track unidentified creatures in the Appalachian Mountains. A spinoff series titled Mountain Monsters: By The Fire features extra facts and never-before-seen footage from different episodes of the series.
MetaZoo is a tabletop collectible card game based on cryptozoology, folklore and the paranormal first published by MetaZoo Games LLC. in 2020. MetaZoo centers around creatures known as Beasties who are inspired by cryptids and other figures from mythology and folklore such as Bigfoot, Mothman, Piasa Bird, the Chupacabra and other fearsome critters. The card game is also notable for including a fourth wall mechanic where the real-life surroundings, such as the location of the player, can affect the gameplay and the outcome of the game.
A cryptid town is a colloquial term given to a town which has a close cultural identity with a local cryptid, often with the goal of encouraging tourism. Cryptid towns may have festivals, museums, statues and research organisations dedicated to a given cryptid. Areas called cryptid towns tend to be rural and remote, which correlates with the types of areas cryptids are said to often originate from, which in turn can make them appear economically deprived and reliant on the economy of cryptid tourism. Some places may not necessarily be best known for their folklore or rely on it for tourism, but do still feature it prominently in events and local culture.
