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Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures

Bigfoot

by Jennifer Lyon, Meredith Eliassen

Country/Culture: United States, Canada

THE LEGEND

Bigfoot, the legendary apelike creature, is perhaps the most iconic figure in American folklore. Known by various names, including Sasquatch, Skunk Ape, and Fouke Monster, this elusive giant has captured the imagination of millions and inspired countless stories, sightings, and debates. While commonly associated with the dense forests of the Pacific Northwest, tales of Bigfoot-like creatures appear across the United States, with regional differences in behavior and appearance tied to their geography.

Towering over 8-feet tall and covered head-to-toe in thick hair, Bigfoot is often portrayed as a mysterious and primal guardian of the wilderness. Cryptozoologists—those who study legendary creatures—have long speculated that Bigfoot might be an undiscovered species of ape, but skeptics attribute sightings to misidentified bears, other wildlife, or animals afflicted with mange. Despite these explanations, the legend persists, fueled by eyewitness accounts, blurry photographs, and abduction narratives that add an air of danger to Bigfoot’s mythos.

AI-created image of Bigfoot by Carlstak,

CSMFCreatures_p0348_0001.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia.

Whether viewed as a cryptozoological enigma or a cultural phenomenon, Bigfoot remains a symbol of humanity’s fascination with the unknown, straddling the line between folklore and the tantalizing possibility of discovery.

The Fouke and Skunk Man have similar yet slightly varying descriptions to that of Bigfoot. The Skunk Ape, first spotted in Florida in 1942, is described to have reddish to dark brown shaggy hair. This creature is said to range anywhere between 5- to 7-feet tall being a smaller version of his more well-known counterpart (Bigfoot). Locals say that there is a strong odor reminiscent of rotten eggs present when the Skunk Ape is around.

The Fouke Monster, or the Boggy Creek Monster as some call it, is said to have first been spotted in Fouke, Arkansas in 1834. This creature stands about 7- to 8-feet tall and is covered in hair (similar to that of Bigfoot). As recently as 1970, there were more than forty cases of people spotting the Boggy Creek monster and more sightings of that creature thereafter. Because of all these various sightings of these ape creatures, it has fostered debate among folklorists and scientists striving to determine whether it exists or is merely the product of misidentification or hoaxes. Scholars accept Bigfoot as a folkloric character or the mythological archetype of “the wildman,” a figure that exists on the outskirts of civilization and is present in many cultural traditions.

SIGNIFICANCE

The description of Bigfoot is quite similar to that of Gigantopithecus, a genus of large ape that originated in China millions of years ago and most likely became extinct about one hundred thousand years ago due to their inability to adapt. Bigfoot believers say that Gigantopithecus could have crossed the Bering land bridge into North America and continued to survive, although most scientists say this is highly unlikely. Scientists and many Bigfoot enthusiasts agree that recent sightings are misidentifications or publicity stunts. Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton claimed to have found the body of a deceased Bigfoot in the woods of northern Georgia in 2008. After posting a video of the creature on YouTube, the men received a $50,000 check from SearchingforBigfoot.com and enjoyed major coverage in the news media. However, the frozen corpse was examined and found to be a fake; the head was hollow and the feet were made of rubber.

The possible existence of a creature like Bigfoot, and those like it, have caused many people to not only believe in their existence but also to create places to research such a phenomenon. Working-class men in the early twentieth century perpetuated the story of Bigfoot, causing many to embark on extended searches for the hominid and open locations dedicated to locating these creatures. There are some people who have taken to writing books on these topics. Even though there is so much attention dedicated to the existence of these creatures, scientists of the twenty-first century have found insufficient evidence to support the existence of Bigfoot as most photographs and other evidence obtained by hobbyists or self-styled cryptozoologists have been debunked.

This center spread of the biweekly newspaper Helix (June 1968), published by Walt Crowley, features an article on the history of Sasquatch.

CSMFCreatures_p0349_0001.jpg

Seattle Public Library, via Wikimedia. [Public domain.]

“Wildmen” stories date back to the book of Genesis and the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. Modern depictions of Bigfoot in North America were first gathered by Protestant missionary Reverend Elkanah Walker (1805–1877), who recorded the tales of giant “men stealers” from the Tshimakain people who lived in the region of what is now Spokane, Washington. John W. Burns, an American teaching on the Chehalis Indian Reserve in British Columbia, also gathered stories of a local “wildman” who abducted women. He translated and consolidated these First Nation legends into the archetypal stories of Sasquatch for newspapers during the 1920s. A First Nation family, George and Jeannie Chapman of Ruby Creek, British Columbia, reported a Sasquatch sighting near their family home in 1941.

Another notable case involved the discovery of a set of large footprints around a bulldozer in Bluff Creek, California in 1958. Jerry Crew discovered the footprint and had a friend make a plaster cast of this big foot. The photograph was taken and published in the Humboldt Times. The picture of a large footprint gave the creature its now popular name Bigfoot. From there, the legend gained a newfound traction once again causing a new spread via mass media into popular culture. Later it was revealed that this picture was the first Bigfoot hoax, but it spawned a phenomenon in popular culture that has extended internationally. The Yeti, or the abominable snowman, is said to be a Sasquatch-like figure who inhabits the Himalayan Mountains near Tibet and Nepal.

Belief in Bigfoot has fostered continuing hoaxes, launched television series, and prompted vibrant debates between anthropologists, folklorists, journalists, showmen, First Nation cultural experts, and big-game hunters. The truth of creatures like Bigfoot, Fouke Monster, Sasquatch, and Skunk Ape existing is still unclear, but one thing that is clear is the community that has been birthed from the unlikely existence of these wildman creatures.

Further Reading

1 

Bayanov, Dimitri. Bigfoot: To Kill or to Film? The Problem of Proof. Pyramid, 2001.

2 

Bendix, Regina. In Search of Authenticity: The Formation of Folklore Studies. U of Wisconsin P, 1997.

3 

Blackburn, Lyle. The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster. Anomalist Books, 2013.

4 

Buhs, Joshua Blu. “Camping with Bigfoot: Sasquatch and the Varieties of Middle-Class Resistance to Consumer Culture in Late Twentieth Century North America.” Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 46, no. 1, 2013, pp. 38–58.

5 

Daegling, David J. Bigfoot Exposed: An Anthropologist Examines America’s Enduring Legend. Rowman, 2004.

6 

Furek, Maxim W. The Lost Tribes of Bigfoot. Hangar 1 Publishing, 2024.

7 

Kirtley, Bacil F. “Unknown Hominids and New World Legends.” Western Folklore, vol. 23, 1964, pp. 77–90.

8 

Rasmus, S. Michelle. “Repatriating Words: Local Knowledge in a Global Context.” American Indian Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 2, 2002, pp. 286–307.

9 

Robson, David. “Are There Any Human-Like Species Left?” New Scientist, vol. 213, no. 2857, 2012, p. 42.

10 

Talcott, Anthony. “Florida ‘Skunk Ape’ Reported across the State. Here’s Where It’s Been Sighted.” WKMG, WKMG News 6 & ClickOrlando, 4 May 2024, clickorlando.com/features/2024/05/03/florida-skunk-ape-reported-across-the-state-heres-where-its-been-sighted.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Lyon, Jennifer, and Meredith Eliassen. "Bigfoot." Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures, edited by Laura Nicosia & James F. Nicosia, Salem Press, 2025. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=CSMFCreatures_0147.
APA 7th
Lyon, J., & Eliassen, M. (2025). Bigfoot. In L. Nicosia & J. F. Nicosia (Eds.), Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Lyon, Jennifer and Eliassen, Meredith. "Bigfoot." Edited by Laura Nicosia & James F. Nicosia. Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2025. Accessed December 07, 2025. online.salempress.com.