Sasquatch Meets the Marshmallows
Posted by: Loren Coleman on October 25th, 2007
As Cryptomundo readers know, there is an increase at this time of year in the newspapers and on the local broadcasts of “spooky” news items. On television cable, this translates into more features on weird subjects. Cryptozoology gets thrown into this Halloween mix, perhaps unfortunately. Bigfoot walks across your television screen, again and again. Sasquatch meets the marshmallows, it seems.
This year, with the 40th anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin footage, the Halloween Bigfoot/Sasquatch effect has been more than usual. Several nights have been devoted to wall-to-wall replays of old Bigfoot specials and programs. Many of us are very familiar with the repeats and some of your Cryptomundo bloggers even appear in a few of these programs. (It’s nice to stay young this way, I guess, if one likes the editing.)
I thought I’d pass along the following article from Oklahoma, shared with me by Tulsa Bigfoot researcher Matt Knapp. It overviews one editor’s reaction to a couple television documentaries he saw this week. (Later today, I’m pass on more Halloween 2008 television news.)
Remember, the opinions expressed in this review of these recent screenings are solely those of the following author and do not necessarily (but might) reflect that of Cryptomundo and this blogger.
A Tennessee grandfather teaches “Fox” to cook marshmallows over fire; click to increase size of image.
I was going to let the Bigfoot thing alone for awhile. But two programs were on television last night [October 23, 2007] at the same time that gave me more amusement than the comedy channel.
These Bigfoot stories came from Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma and the Pacific Northwest. “They’re everywhere! They’re everywhere!”
My biggest laughter comes from the mountains of East Tennessee. This particular Bigfoot is a friendly sort, and one mountain woman claims to have been raised alongside a family of Bigfoot. She described (Channel 77 on my cable) how one came knocking on her door and asked to borrow some garlic. This Bigfoot spoke English. She said she thought the garlic was to help keep away ticks. She said he said “thank you” in a very deep voice. But I’m thinking it might have been the baritone singer for the Oak Ridge Boys, and her natural cures for arthritis were kicking in.
Then she went on to describe how she had watched this family of Bigfoot chase down a deer and butcher it. This commentary had a Bigfoot specialist from Russia on hand to compare notes with her. He re-enacted how the Bigfoot caught and killed the deer. Very fittingly, the Russian’s name was Igor.
Given the vernacular of this account, I’m surprised this Bigfoot didn’t also play the banjo.
This woman said she realized that a lot of people doubted her, especially when she said this Bigfoot spoke English. Of course my wife asked me what would I expect an American Bigfoot to speak … French?
Well, this mountain woman is right about the doubt. I was cutting her some slack because of the ointments she probably uses, but that ended when she said Bigfoot asked to borrow some garlic. And anyway, I would think it was for cholesterol, not ticks.
Then down in the Everglades (Channel 82) these fellows were searching for the “Skunk Ape.” This apparently is Bigfoot’s third cousin.
The boys looking for the “Skunk Ape” in Florida say they want to verify the creature’s existence so they can help protect its environment. Such a noble cause.
But in Texas, the Bigfoot hunters are taking a different approach. Their spokesman said he wanted to kill a Bigfoot so he could prove to the world that they exist. And then he would seek to preserve its habitat. So instead of cameras, they — including at least one woman — go into the bush with pump shotguns. Good thing they are not hunting for one in Tennessee. I would guess that a Bigfoot that can speak English and borrow garlic can also return fire.
Then up in Oklahoma, Bigfoot searchers were gathering at a place called “Monster Central.” Now get this, Monster Central is only 60 acres. That’s about the size of a small amusement park — all pun intended. Now if this creature can be stealth in that small of an area, the U.S. military should be studying its techniques. But then it could be that 60 acres is all that is owned by the guy promoting monsters. Ya think?
I have a suggestion for these people. Pool all the money you are spending on beer and marshmallows for these outings and rent some thermal imaging equipment. Surely in a 60-acre patch, you can apply this technology to your advantage. We have guys who can find a golf ball in 60 acres of rough with just two beers.
One real scientist was interviewed in this entire comedy routine. He managed to keep a straight face long enough to say that there is no scientific data to support any of these claims. I think the reason he kept from rolling in the floor laughing was because no one specifically asked him about the English-speaking Bigfoot that asked to borrow some garlic.
My offer still stands, $50 for anyone who can prove Bigfoot. Better hurry, you know the value of the dollar.by Dwain Walden, The Moultrie Observer, 24 October 2007.
Photographic recreation of Janice pulling out hair from Fox’s hand when giving him some garlic, March 2004. This montage was made using a photograph of Janice in the same dress and position as then. After the first attempt of drawing this meeting, Janice corrected it several times until it achieved similarity to how she remembered it. Click on photo to make it larger.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
That woman has had one too many of those Beers i think! Asking for garlic???? There are some right nutters out there man!
Morning Craig,
Thanks for a great laugh from Dwain. His sense of humor is wonderful.
I’ve exchanged emails several times with Mary
Green and I’ve taken some pictures for her in the past of hair she had found. This hair was later verified by Dr. Fahrenbach.
Mary is quite dedicated to the species and I’ve almost always found her to be forward and interesting. You can decide for yourself to believe or not believe the evidence she’s found, her encounters and her reports.
On the other hand Janice’s reported encounter if analyzed from a scientific view would be impossible. However, I’m not prepared to tell her it was nonsense. To many strange things happen in this world that aren’t yet understood by our current science.
This will change as our knowledge increases and more questions will be asked.
In the meantime everyone please keep an open mind and laugh at times along with the rest of us.
Humor is infectious and I love a good laugh even when it’s on me. My best,
Airforce47
The authors of all blogs are noted at the top of all postings, slightly to the left. This blog was written by Loren Coleman. I am on the record with what I think of the Carter-Coy tales. 🙂
It must get really lonely in that part of Tennessee. I remember seeing that particular episode and every time I see it I laugh.
hey loren & craig wow this definetly a very informative new article about bigfoot indeed. i realy like the bigfoot artwork photos posted above here. very interesting. good afternoon bill green 🙂
Hilarious! I don’t know how the one scientist was able to keep a straight face, because it would have been hard for me to do it. Thanks for the laugh! 🙂
I’m all for laughs and I always make the audience laugh when I do a talk but where do you get off using a blog to ridicule someone who has seriously submitted their undeniably incredible story. If humor is the goal and bigfoot is the topic, poking fun at one’s own self is the only appropriate outlet. Why not make jokes about a guy who fills his living room with statues of merbiengs and aliens and calls it an international creepto-museum.
Despite her serious writings Janice Coy has been ridiculed by those who misrepresent and mischaracterize her as an ignorant hillbilly. You don’t have to accept her accounts, but shame on you guys for republishing this kind of bigoted put-down an calling it humor. You are doing the subject and your reputation a great disservice.
Kindness to all,
thom powell
Thom_powell- That’s actually a very good point. Whether we choose to believe her story or not, it is probably not the most tasteful or professional thing to do to laugh at her. You are very right. I myself was not so much laughing at Janice Coy so much as some of the other things and the way the article was written. But I shouldn’t have poked fun at her. As to Loren putting it up, I won’t speak for him but he did expressly said that the article was not necessarily the opinion of Cryptomundo. I don’t see anything wrong with putting a story like this up as it pertains to a side of cryptozoology some might not have known about otherwise. As to the appropriateness of it, we are not children here, we can think for ourselves. I say we can make our own opinions on it without having others decide for us what we should or shouldn’t be able to see. The fact is someone DID write this and it pertains to cryptozoology. In my opinion, the bloggers are not saying that this is how we should think, they are just showing us that it is there. I agree it is wrong to maliciously laugh at it, but whether it is put up for scrutiny or not shouldn’t be for anyone to decide for the rest. I feel people can come to their own conclusions and opinions on the matter.
I don’t think the carter farm story is real, way too many things taht are most likely imaginary. Sure, i believe Bigfoot are more intellegent than what most give them credit for…… but asking for garlic is a tad too much.
Those-who-are-able can view this blog without emotionality.
Those-who-can would also realize that the subject of documentaries, the time of year, and the comixture of these two factors were the topics under discussion.
Those-who-wish may observe humor from the Oklahoma editor’s pen that teaches us about his craft and his view of the documentaries, as a representative of the debunking media.
But we also have to admit an encounter talking about a Sasquatch speaking English does allow itself to take the full force of ridicule in the solar plexus.
Sometimes people are too close to their own material to take the time to view it from outside their own point of view.
I certainly do not feel it is necessary to make fun of people in documentaries on here, and did put my disclaimer there to alert people to the editor’s posting article being vastly different than any usual approach at Cryptomundo found within the context of written blogs. Those that think my posting of this article is ridicule, I submit, are very sensitive to any critical thinking about certain kinds of “contactee” encounters.
It is obvious a few people can’t get out of the way of themselves when presented with the opportunity via the media.
Disclaimers do not excuse ridicule.
thom p.
Thom and All,
What Thom sees as ridicule I see as humor either deliberate or not. I feel no need to apologize to anyone and the idea of an English speaking BF on the surface is hilarious.
However, remember we don’t know the exact extent of the species intelligence and we suspect and have reason to believe they may have a limited language of their own as several species do.
It’s highly improbable that one or more of them has learned to speak a human language but given the limited knowledge we have of them it can’t be conclusively ruled out.
Some day we may have that answer but in the meantime old Sasquatch is going to continue to provide the public with a host of humorous situations.
I’ll laugh, shake my head and then go on researching as time and money allow. My best,
airforce47
Well, I laughed when I read this. But the story in itself is so farfetched and weird that it actually appeals to my taste for fortean anomalies.
As a younger man I liked my Bigfoot to be nothing more than an unknown primate, and my flying saucers to be nothimg more but space ships from another planet, but now than I’m older I do not recoil from those high-strangeness cases that tend to dismiss our preconceived theories of what a Sasquatch is or what it could be capable of. Like those stories that mix the sightings of big hairy hominids with the sighting of strange lights and UFOs, and that tend to piss both the mainstream cryptozoological community and the “nuts & bolts” ufologists.
I don’t say I believe them outright, but I find them interesting anwyay. They seem to play with our paradigms of the perception of reality, and we shouldn’t be afraid to do that.
But with caution, of course.
Hi Larry (airforce74),
I wasn’t going to go there but since you brought it up, that is the other problem with this particular blog entry: even if one doesn’t care about Janice’s feelings (as I do), there is the distinct possibility that she is correct and they DO understand English and can communicate with us if so inclined.
I use to laugh at such notions but I don’t anymore. I have accumulated much information, however unverifiable, that suggest that communication rarely but truly does occur. I won’t waste time trying to convince readers of this. I do predict that someday this thinking will completely change, though most of us will be dead before it happens. That’s the way change occurs in science. The old ideas die along with the people who hold these views, and the new thinking gradually takes it’s place. Meanwhile, all I can say, is don’t laugh at Jan Coy.
“(S)he who laughs last, laughs best.”
Best to all,
thom p.
I just wanted to clarify one of the items that Dwain Walden was expounding on in the above article referenced by Loren.
The “bigfoot hunters” in Texas are NOT the TBRC. At least not the ones that Dwain Walden claims are seeking to kill a Bigfoot to prove they exist.
The show he is referencing is the new series on the Travel Channel, Legend Hunters. The episode he is talking about is subtitled “Bigfoot Hunters.”
While the director of the series did attend and film interviews at the 2005 Texas Bigfoot Conference, I am not sure if he used any of that footage.
Since I’ve never interviewed Janice Carter myself (in fact, was denied access to her despite the fact that my research FOC– USES primarily on those who claim to be LTWs – long term witnesses), I don’t feel that I can comment on her particular story.
However, I agree with you, Thom. Researchers gripe and moan about how witnesses are reluctant to come forward with their stories and often put out a call to witnesses to share and “not be afraid”. Yet many witnesses, particularly LTWs, ARE ridiculed when they do share the details of their encounters.
Having worked specifically with LTWs for going on 18 years now, I can tell you that MANY of them have shared details privately with me that they don’t dare share with the general public… and this includes mainstream research.
However, there is more than enough correlation between these stories, many that I gathered BEFORE the days of the internet, before similar stories were even published, to indicate that at least SOME of these witnesses are very likely relating similar events that have basis in fact. And the things that are happening might just teach us a thing or two about the nature of these creatures.
It’s a catch-22. Many of my witnesses refuse to allow me to publish their stories due to the ridicule factor. Many of them have TRIED to share details on public forums and have come away from there with a disdain and mistrust for researchers and their particular brand of “selective open-mindedness”. The cruelty I’ve witnessed on message boards towards these people, under the guise of “skeptical inquiry”, is shameful.
All things equal, who would YOU rather play twenty questions with? Someone who saw a bigfoot cross the road? Or someone who claims more intimate, ongoing encounters? What can you hope to learn from the first witness? What a Sasquatch looks like crossing a road? I think we have a pretty good handle on that by now.
Again, I’ll refrain from commenting on the Jan Coy saga specifically. But bear in mind that not all LTWs are equal, and some of them share information that you really might want to hear… if you give them half a chance. 🙂
And finally, kudos to Thom Powell for having the insight to investigate these LTW situations, rather than avoiding them as most researchers have done. Bravo, Thom! You da man!
Thanks, Cryptomundo guys, for allowing me the soapbox for a moment. 🙂
Best,
Autumn Williams
Oregonbigfoot.com
“And finally, kudos to Thom Powell for having the insight to investigate these LTW situations, rather than avoiding them as most researchers have done.”
This is a global statement that must be challenged.
If you look at the history of long-term witness situations, most serious researchers have NOT avoided them.
The Ostman case for 1924, for example, is a well-known incident of extended contact that has been a foundation account – investigated by John Green, Rene Dahinden, Ivan Sanderson, and dozens of other “researchers.” My book has other examples. Even the Bay Area Group during the 1960s had several, and Archie Buckley and Warren Thompson were very open about having this level of contact and maintaining high investigative standards. The Williams family events and the Powell files are taken seriously by most people.
But a division must be made between those and the true circumstances of the Carter-Coy events, which rightfully can be placed in the “Bigfoot contactee” file. I point to the on-site investigations (over at cryptozoology.com) of my brother, Jerry, for some very telling data.
My apologies, Loren. I should have said “…many researchers that *I* have encountered over the years”. I remember 10 years ago, trying to bring up the subject of LTWs on a popular forum, only to be pooh-poohed by practically everyone on the forum, including those who were considered to be prominent, serious researchers. It was very frustrating, and still is today when I encounter similar bias against anything that might be ruled as “habituation”.
I for one think it would be kool to have a family of Big Ones come and go as they please on my property. And if one asked for some garlic, well I hope I’d have it for ’em. Wouldn’t want to upset ’em. Fact I’d go buy some if I didn’t have it. Just think about it. Talking to a BigFoot, how kool would that be.
Hey everybody, I just wanted to say that I believe that the Carter-Coy bigfoot experience could be real. Living in Tennessee for 17 years has brought me to the conclusion that the bigfoot creatures could be in very wooded areas, or areas with caves. I have not seen them myself, but there is numerous sightings and stories around this state.