More From OurBigfoot.com
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on July 24th, 2006
As was speculated in my post here on Cryptomundo, it looks like the OurBigfoot.com website is passing off hoaxed and misleading information.
Here is photo taken from the site, from their Bigfoot Footprints page.
This was my grandfather’s first bigfoot footprint captured in plaster from around 1962. It was taken in Coshocton, Ohio near a farm field after reports of deer stashing (killings) had taken place. It was thought at the time, that satanic rituals were the cause of the young deer deaths, but my grandpa thought different. The deer carcasses had been gutted with the intestines lying beside the bodies and the livers removed. This footprint was the only evidence he found.
Too bad this cast is actually a sculpture made by Mike Esordi who runs the Bigfoot Museum and Bigfoot Surplus websites. He relates how this cast that he sculpted came to be on his website.
Shortly after a reported Bigfoot sighting near Oregon Caves I had the opportunity to explore the area. It was during that hike that I came across what appeared to be a large track. Raining hard and being alone, I didn’t stay around long enough. This was my first experience and regretfully the only proof I gathered was a short video (see stills above).
Wishing I had taken a casting of the print started a collection of casts made by others. Mostly from third, forth or fifth generation copies made by so called famous trackers at famous locations. Still having the need of tangible evidence from my finding I sculpted a footprint based on all the evidence I had gathered. The result, a 14.5" x 6" plaster cast. Similar to casts made in Northern California.
OK, I cropped the image and inverted it, so let’s compare them both.
Looks like somebody has been borrowing…
Here is another photo taken from the OurBigfoot site, from their Bigfoot Footprints page.
This plaster bigfoot cast was taken in September, 1977, after a set of tracks were discovered in a second generation forest near Atwood Lake. Only three tracks were extremely visible, and the length measured just over 14.25 inches. The depth was good, so we took a plaster cast which shows distinctive ridge lines on the outer edges. This find was actually by accident and a surprise.
Once again, a photo was taken from Mike Esordi’s site, and used on the OurBigfoot.com site. This time, it was a photo of one of the Patterson casts.
The footprint cast photo below that is shown on the OurBigfoot.com website, and labeled with the date 1994 – Aug, is actually a photo of the Elkins Creek GA cast.
It looks like a filter of some sort has been applied to the original photo of the cast. It is clearly obvious that this is the same cast, even the same photo.
The two photos above are another good comparison. The top photo was taken from Jimmy Chilcutt’s Dermal Ridge Examination Report, and the bottom photo with the label of 8-84 was taken from the OurBigfoot.com site. The bottom photo is clearly a copped version of the top photo. You can even "read" what looks to be "FOOOC", which could be something that Chilcutt labeled, on both photos. You would think that if they were going to Photoshop out the arrows, they would have taken out that little distinguishing detail as well.
Coincidence? I think not.
Taking into consideration the following things:
1) the video from the 1970’s would more than likely have been film, not video;
2) the photos definitely appear to be someone wearing a gorilla suit;
3) these casts touted as originally cast by the DuPlatts and having been shown here to have originated elsewhere;
4) the dermal ridge photo is obviously taken from Chilcutt’s paper, just as the photo of the cast itself;
I think it is safe to say that all of the "evidence" touted on the OurBigfoot.com website is bogus, hoaxed or was borrowed (stolen?).
What is the story behind this website? Is this a website set up to generate revenue from the google ads? It seems that this might be the case.
There is no contact info listed for the website, however, Angels & Ghosts does have contact info. As has been discussed in the previous post regarding this website, it is listed that the site contents are copyright Angels & Ghosts, LLC.
I have sent an email to the contact on Angels & Ghosts. Apparently, it is an email address for Mr. DuPlatt or Duplain, whichever the case may be. If I receive a response, I will post it as an update.
For updates on the real story behind OurBigfoot.com, check out these updates here on Cryptomundo.
New Bigfoot Photos and Videos from Ohio?
Even More From OurBigfoot.c
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The Real Story of OurBigfoot.com?
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
These guys go out and make a fake video, but then do not bother to make fake casts ? What morons !!
I am fiding it a bit humorous that someone old enough to know better – or purported to be – would not understand videos came in the late 1970’s. Doesn’t anybody have a memory anymore?
Finally figured out why the ‘peek-a-boo’ photo bothered me so, the eye highlights were far to bright for the natural sunlight seen in the photo.
At least this one gives me some landscaping ideas. I think I’ll make some fake foot prints for stepping stones in my garden. With some clay for the mold and a fine piece of wire I could even carve dermal ridges.
What the hell is the world coming to and what is the point of creating a hoax. It is tough enough to sort thru the info that we have with out some jerk doing this kind of thing..Indiana Jones he ain’t..
All of these really bad hoaxes just lend more credence to the Patterson-Gimlin film. However, the sculpted cast is actually a piece of artwork and it, and any likeness of it, is a copyrighted work. Someone should tell Mike Esordi that his work is being stolen and used for fraudulent purposes.
The P/G film is the real deal. it is a shame so many try and duplicate it. Just not going to happen unless you get the real Bf.
Nice investigative work Craig. Thanks.
this guy is a fraud and supporting this even more is the fact that nowhere on the sight is there a way to contact the owner and tell him he is.
He must have went to the Biscardi school of bigfoot research
How could anyone think that any of the pictures or video on that site is real ? That is one of the main problems in the Bigfoot world today. People seem scared to say that others pictures or video are fake when it is plain for all to see that they are.
I would like to know what these guys hope to gain from all this. Are they intentionally trying to make all us cryptid curious people look bad? Almost makes you wonder if there isn’t someone(s) out there that is willing to pay someone to make these falsehoods? I wish there was some law about not being allowed to put falsehoods on websites or something. But then who would be the judge of that. Like Biscardi, I hope they really do meet up with the big guy and learn a thing or two of what big foot does when angered.
The only bigfoot footage that I believe is real is the Patterson film, seeing that as a child always made me think that there’s amazing creatures in this world hiding from humanity. You can tell it’s real, it’s too bad people try to imitate and perpetrate though.
OurBigfoot.Com stated..
“This plaster bigfoot cast was taken in September, 1977, after a set of tracks were discovered in a second generation forest near Atwood Lake.”
Craig is correct stating that the cast is the same Patterson cast that can be seen on Mike Esorti’s web site. Back in 2000 Ray Crowe sent me a couple plaster casts from his collection, one cast was a copy from the Patterson film site. I made two silicone molds to produce more casts, one for Ray and one for myself. The cast of the Patterson print that is being shown on the OurBigfoot.Com website was made from my original silicone mold. I let Mike Esorti use that mold for a couple of months to make some copies. I made a request to Mike that he send back the mold so I can produce some plaster casts. Those copies would be donated to Don Keating so he could sell them at his conference this spring. I made six “Patterson” casts and hand carried them to Don’s conference this year where they were sold to offset the cost of the conference. I know for a fact that the cast shown on the OurBigfoot.Com was one from the silicone mold I made. Just like rifle marks on a bullet, the cast has markings from my original mold, which proves the “OurBigfoot.Com” cast was not taken in September of 1977. It would have been easy for anyone to purchase one of the casts from Mike’s site or from Don’s conference. I will be sure to let the wonderful people at OurBigfoot.Com know what I think of their research.
Bank this one for future reference. There has been an unprecedented amount of bigfoot-related hoaxing in regard to hoaxed photographs, hoaxed videos, hoaxed hands, hoaxed hair, hoaxed encounters on expeditions and hoaxed websites through the first half of 2006. Can anyone speculate as to the reason why?
The Blog Nerds strike again!
Pure speculation?
P&T stirred up the pot, and now this is what is boiling to the surface.
I agree with Jeremy_Wells.
Plus the proliferation of sites like You_Tube provides a venue for reaching a mass audience.
I had a feeling the website was a hoax. The way the creature was peeking around the tree, I never seen a sasquatch to peek around a tree like that. The yelling and howling of the sasquatch sounds kind of real because those are the sounds they make. The website is annoying with that sound all of the time.
crypto_randz,
Your comment begs the question of how DOES a sasquatch peek around a tree?
I know, it sounds like a joke set-up.
As far as the sounds playing on the website sounding kind of real, what are you comparing them to?
I’ve been laughin at this website for a long time. Gorilla suits and made up stories are all too easy to spot. I’d like to see what Mr. Esordi has to say about it all.
Well if they’ve profited from increased revenue collection via the commercial links on their site, and if the increase in traffic to the site is as a result of increased interest in the site’s content, and if that content does not rightfully belong to them, then I’d say they’re liable to pay the correct copyright holders for the benefits gained.
Even if no gain was made, they’ve still breached copyright and are liable to prosecution.
Why the increase in hoaxes? I’ll take one guess, since the T.V. show “A Current Affair” paid a large amount of money for the initial showing of the clip the hoaxers have been coming out of the woodwork – literally.
My mama taught me that money is the root of all evil.
Little late to be commenting, but I just came across the post. Yes those photos are definitely from my sites. You would think that they would at least to try and do more than flip the image.
I don’t like the fact that the images were taken off my site to be used this way, but there is not much I can do about it at this point. As of today they have been removed from that site.
Perhaps they got the news from here or one of you let them know. Either way it stopped them. The group here is not going to let hoaxers get away with much. Keep up the good work!