Episode 16 - Let's Talk to Bigfoot

I love Bigfoot. Let's talk about him. Let's talk LIKE him - WHOOP! Let's talk about him talking. 

Songs for today’s episode:

• Bigfoot by Autumn Orange
• Woods by Bon Iver
• Bigfoot by Mt. Joy
• Somebody’s Watching Me performed by SaxSquatch - that’s right, a guy in a costume who plays saxophone. 
• Ratamahatta by Sepultura
• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Sources:

https://www.southernstylesweettees.com/blog/june-7-1

https://strangeandtwisted.com/blogs/stories/bigfoot-the-primal-forest-guardian-or-just-a-tall-tale

https://bigfootbase.com/bigfoot-evidence/sounds/sierra-sounds

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patterson%E2%80%93Gimlin_film

https://www.pararational.com/other-names-for-bigfoot/

https://www.bigfootmap.com/

https://mapsquatch.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Sounds

https://bigfootbase.com/bigfoot-evidence/sounds/sierra-sounds

Sound mixing performed by Brother Jay from The Rule of Scary podcast - check that out if you’re a horror movie fan! And hey! Thank you for listening to my stories. Keep it weird out there.  

To find song recommendations for this podcast, check out the Spotify Professional Weird playlist

• https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5jIkaamOZlCwtd2peUk9lF?si=0238d524a374492d

Email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

Transcript

And here we are, a few weeks into 2026. If you listened to the last episode, we learned of a few traditions that people practice at the turn of the year, believing it will bring a happy incoming year. Welp. Uh… I don’t know what to tell you. It didn’t work. I’m feeling like the Gavil Goat is pretty symbolic. Anyhoo - for the sake of a little mental health break in this episode we’re going to steer away from some of the content that can get… murdery…. and finally - yes, FINALLY, get into some of those topics that the opening song has teased you about for months now. 

This is episode 16 - Let’s Talk to Bigfoot

I have loved Bigfoot since I was a kid. Absolutely fascinated. As a kid growing up with 50 acres of woods and fields around me and in a rural area, the thought of something in the woods had my attention. And there were stories I heard as a kid - nothing like Bigfoot. But there was a legend that a black panther prowled the woods around the river. Even my mom had a story of seeing a black panther as a teenager, and I’ll definitely need to share that one with you in a future episode. Our area supposedly didn’t have mountain lions at the time, but people would talk about hearing and seeing those as well, though the conservation department denied it. As game cameras became a thing, and maybe migration patterns shifted, it was proved that the area does, in fact, have the occasional mountain lion coming through. Maybe they were out there in the woods. Because I’m here to tell you - animals can be elusive when they want to be. I grew up there for 18 years and had never seen a bobcat or fox while living there, though they populate the area. Even seeing a coyote  was rare, even though hearing them at night is a common thing. So the little kid in me, and even this adult, bears a hope that Bigfoot is real. Blending in, minding his own business, dodging messy humanity. Just a hairy, stinky, loner going about his business. When that famous Bigfoot photo was captured - you know the one - mid-stride, head turned to look at the camera - it was 1967. It’s called the Patterson-Gimlin shot and was shot in Northern California. We’ll talk a bit more about that, but in those days it was a bit inconvenient to be snapping photos in the woods. Listen kids - it was a matter of equipment and film and correct lighting and focus. There was a limited number of shots you could take, and snapping something in motion in conditions that would make for a well-lit and focused subject were tough. There are cameras now strapped to trees, triggered by motion, no need to even have a person out there. And everyone has a camera in their pocket now. One that auto-adjusts for focus and lighting conditions. You can snap away as many photos as your phone storage allows. Which is a lot. So it’s hard to have hope for Bigfoot in fast media world. But with the development of fast media, it means we are capturing more than images now. We have recorded sounds. Bigfoot makes noise. Hearing some of these noises has reignited my Sasquatch excitement and a nice Bigfoot “whoop” is our rating scale for today’s stories. 1 out of 5 whoops. And just really quick, before we jump into these stories, I wanted to give a shout out to a dedicated listener who is celebrating a birthday when this episode is released. Wishing you the happiest of birthdays, George! Listeners, wherever you are, whenever you are listening, can I get a quick Bigfoot whoop for George? WHOOOP! 

Okay, here we go. We’re going to start with the Patterson-Gimlin film that I mentioned, because that’s probably the most circulated and well-known image of the big guy. It’s actually not a photo, but frame 352 from a motion picture taken in Northern California and near the Six Rivers National Forest. One of the filmmakers, Roger Patterson, passed away from cancer only 5 years after the footage was captured, and insisted to the end that it was not a hoax. His partner Bob Gimlin, mostly stayed clear of talking publicly about it, but when he did he also insisted that what they caught on film was the real thing. They were out there to hopefully capture footage of Bigfoot, after Patterson had read about Bigfoot in an article and then heard reports of recent tracks in the area. As he connected with other early Bigfoot enthusiasts, he started going into the woods and had found fresh tracks himself. He was thrilled, but saw it as a challenge to find someway to prove the tracks that had been showing up weren’t a prank. He leaned all the way in, buying equipment, setting up a foundation, investing his time and money into the effort and self-publishing a book. Then in 1967 he started pursuing a new project - he was making a pseudo-documentary about an incident from folklore in the area - a story centered around men running into “apemen” in a canyon which took on the name Ape Canyon because of this event. The film Patterson wanted to make told the story of an old minor and a Native American tracker leading cowboys on a hunt for a Bigfoot creature. The story would be told through actors portraying these men, recalling their experience through flashbacks. This required a 3-day shoot, and yes, a Bigfoot costume for the scenes that reflected back to the creature being tracked. And that brings us to the day. Patterson and Gimlin headed out with horses to scout a location for the film. The location they visited made sense - Patterson was familiar with the area because it was known for sitings. He knew the people living in the area, or who were also coming into the area to hunt for Bigfoot. While some of these hunters were willing to prove the creature’s existence by shooting and killing it, Patterson disagreed. His partner Gimlin didn’t believe the creatures existed at all. And then it happened. They came up on a huge uprooted tree in the creek bed, and it was among what’s called a “crow’s nest” - which is a large area of logs jammed up from flooding. As they were navigating their way around it, they came upon the creature about 25 feet away. Gimlin, the non-believer, said he was in a state of shock, temporarily unable to comprehend what he was seeing. They estimated the height between 6-7 ft. And, it should be noted, they remarked that it had quote - prominent breasts - unquote. Upon seeing the creature, Patterson’s horse reared, and he struggled for a bit to get the horse under control and dismount. He pulled his camera from the saddlebag and planned to film while running at the creature. He yelled for Gimlin to “cover him” meaning, I guess, get your gun out in case this thing wants to kill me. That’s my guess. Gimlin rode his horse quickly across the creek and pulled his rifle, although did not point it at the creature. They later started calling this creature Patty, so we’ll use that as well. As soon as Patty saw them, she’d already started walking away and put some distance between herself and Patterson with his camera. I have to pause a minute to say, this puts that image into a different light for me. I picture myself, a few weeks ago as the wind kept blowing all the recycling bins over on trash day. It was about 6 am and I was attempting to keep the neighborhood from becoming a dumpster by going from yard to yard, collecting the trash, resetting the bins, trying to angle them in a way that I hoped would keep them from being blown over again. The wind was fierce. I was in my PJs and slippers - a quick run outside having turned into more than I bargained for. Now a woman on a mission. And cussing as another bin blew over. I imagine if I’d looked up to find some guy running at me with a camera, I would have also switched to a fast paced business walk back to my house, maybe throwing an FU look across my shoulder at the interruption. And that glance from Patty - Patterson later called it one of “contempt and disgust” and he described it this way quote “you know how it is when the umpire tells you ‘one more word and you’re out of the game.” That’s the way it felt.” Unquote. It was at that moment that he had taken a knee to get a steadier shot. They said Patty looked back at him 3 times as she moved away behind a grove of trees. Gimlin had gotten off his horse, but at this time remounted and rode after it. Patterson, feeling a bit caught out with only his camera and seeing the guy with the gun riding away, called him back. (Boy, that look she gave him really did the trick, am I right?”) The other horses had run away, so the men spent time gathering them back and getting a second roll of film to capture Patty’s tracks until they lost the trail in heavy undergrowth. They returned to their campsite to get plaster casting supplies and then came back to get casts of the foot prints. They rushed back after that to get the film processed and see what they had been able to capture. Patterson started contacting friends and the media, while also working with Gimlin to return to the site, although rain and mudslides caused issues. Over the following days, other hunters worked to return to the site and were able to find some footprints in the area. 
 
 So is it real? Most of the objection is around slight discrepanancies in the men’s stories related to the timeline and sequence of events. Some say this proves their lying. Others say if you were going to perform an elaborate hoax, wouldn’t you get your stories straight? Maybe this is what happens when you have two guys looking for a good filming location and  suddenly find themselves interrupting a large creature going about her business, with her prominent, hairy breasts, and mean mugging them and she huffs away. 

Patterson believed the scientific community would take an interest in the film, but very few were even interested in viewing it. And in the weeks after, he was dogged in his search, returning to the area with the camera. He ended up keeping the rented camera beyond its return date and even had an arrest warrant out for him because of it, but eventually returned it in working order and the charges were dropped. I think another telling detail of his fascination is that he nearly spent all of his money before his death pursuing proof, including following up claims from a US airman in Thailand claiming to know there was a Sasquatch being held in a Buddhist monastery. After trips out there to try and retrieve this creature, it was determined to be a hoax. Maybe another sad note is that before his death, he and Gimlin agreed they should have tried to shoot and kill the creature they saw, knowing that a body instead of film would have been accepted proof and kept them from the scrutiny they faced. And the scrutiny covered a lot of ground - the speed with which the film was shot, questions about how it was developed so quickly, the blur, shake and graininess of the footage, and even the hairy prominent breasts. Zoologists noted that humans and chimpanzees don’t have hairy breasts, so the fact that Patty did means this isn’t an authentic creature, but a costume. Others say that isn’t conclusive proof that it’s a fake. Even a researcher for Nike shoes, who studies movement in humans, watched the film and stated there were rather inhuman movements. I think one of my favorite moments from the analysis is that they called the manner of walking a “compliant gait,” which I first read as a “complaint gait.” A misread on my part, but now a part of my permanent vocabulary when I see that famous frame of Patty, clearly fed up and walking out. 5 out of 5 whoops!

I mentioned that in that last story there was a tale from 1924 that earned Ape Canyon its name. In short, that story was about the cowboys encountering large, apelike animals, and shooting at them, watching one that was struck fall off into the canyon. Then later that night their cabin was bombarded by thrown rocks. But the legend of Bigfoot actually goes back much further and spreads wider than Northern California. Every state has a unique name for the creature, as sightings and tales came up before people living there had learned the term Bigfoot. Florida has the Skunk Ape, a creature that hangs out in the Everglades. Illinois has the Big Muddy Monster. Iowa, my favorite, called theirs the Woodbooger. And different Native America tribes also had unique names for what they encountered. I won’t mangle their language here (I’m still feeling bad about those horrible attempts I made from the last episode - sorry Iceland). But I will tell you what the translation is. The Zuni called him the Cannibal Demon. The Kwakiutl Tribe called him the Big Big Hairy Figure with Eyes Sunk Deep in the Head. The Hopi tribe took a simpler approach with Big Hairy Man. And the Lakota and Ogala tribes called him Brother Who Comes Back Before the Next Very Big Winter. Many center around the creatures being giants, or of the woods. Folklorists find similar stories in other countries. There are tales of European wild men, hairy humanoids, Yetis in colder regions. Even Australia has the Yowie. If these things aren’t true, what are people seeing? Where do the stories come from? Some note that bears seen through foliage, especially if they are walking upright due to injury to a front paw, could result in some stories. Others suggest people who have privately owned apes, who were either released by owners, or who escaped, could be living in areas where the environment could support them. Even humans have been identified as Bigfoot, either by total accident, or because they are dressed and walking around in furry clothing. Others suggest there are feral humans, finding a way to exist in the wilderness. When Jane Goodall (RIP, Jane) was asked about Bigfoot by NPR, she said quote - Well, now you will be amazed when I tell you that I’m sure that they exist.... Well, I’m a romantic, so I always wanted them to exist…. Of course, the big, the big criticism of all this is Where is the body? You know, why isn’t there a body? I can’t answer that, and maybe they don’t exist, but I want them to.” Me too, Jane. Me too. 4 out of 5 whoops. 

While we’re talking about what areas Bigfoot sightings occur, you might be wondering how often this happens in your area. Or maybe you have a sighting and want to report it! Well first of all, send me that story at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com! But then you can utilize some fancy technology to learn about or report sightings in your area. You can go to bigfootmap.com and select from 2 different maps - their classic map and a new version. These are also available as apps in the iPhone AppStore and in Google Play. No, they’re not a sponsor. This is just an overlap of two of my interests - Bigfoot and maps. And if you are with me here, there’s another map at mapsquatch.com where you can check out the location of Bigfoot sightings BUT ALSO the locations of Dogman and UFO sightings, haunted places, famous graves, and offbeat attractions. So start planning that next vacation or road trip! 3 out of 5 whoops. 

And now, let’s look at what Bigfoot has to say. That leads us to the Sierra Sounds. We’re back in the Sierra Mountain region in California and it’s 1971. The location was a remote deer-camp, between 8-10 mile from the nearest road. Before smaller all-terrain vehicles were in use, your choice was to get to the location by foot or horse. A group of friends would make annual trips to the area to reconnect with each other and nature and disconnect from the hustle and bustle of their day-to-day lives. Over time, they noticed disturbances around the campsite. Given that a year may go by without them having been there, some of the disruption of what they had built at the site was blamed on weather, or curious animals. It was a stretch of the imagination, but maybe someone else had come across their small site, a well-guarded secret location and in the middle of nowhere, and chose to tear stuff up. But as they established the site for their comfort and use over time, the destruction became harder to explain. And then there were things that happened during the stay - noise in the surrounding woods during the night. Knocking against trees, whoops coming from different directions, with sounds they couldn’t associate to animals they were familiar with. This activity increased to the point of harassment in the night, even causing the men, who had typically slept under the stars, to create a small shelter only large enough for them to retreat to, standing, in case of emergency. Then in 1971 Ron Morehead, a church board administrator, learned that his friend, who was also on the church board, had returned late from a camping trip in the Sierras. Yes, he’d been at THAT campsite and the sounds around them had kept them up and properly intimidated. But this man wanted an answer for what had gone on up there and asked Ron to help him. Ron enlisted the help of a few people to help them collect evidence and that group included Alan Berry, a Sacramento journalist, who was joining in order to confirm his belief that this was all some kind of prank or hoax that was being played on the hunters. The first trip they took was peaceful and disappointing. The second trip… let’s say they didn’t get a lot of sleep. Noises started so they turned on the audio recording and captured what is now called the Sierra Sounds. On the tape you can hear the two men chatting to each other at times. But in the distance you can hear loud whacking sounds, like branches smacked into trees. There are hoots and howls that sound like something an animal would make, or a person, and you can pick up that it’s coming from different directions and distances. Multiple sources of sound. One of the men starts to return the calls back and gets answers. At times there are sounds, like muttering, that seem like a language. This style of sound has been called “samurai chatter” in the Bigfoot enthusiast world because of the similarity to dialogue in old school Japanese samurai films. A little bit of an obscure reference here, but it reminds me more of the time the band Sepultura recorded with a Native Brazilian tribe. Anyway, the interaction in the Sierra recordings is wild. Retired US Navy cryptographic linguist Scott Nelson said the recordings are definitely a language and claimed it was not human in origin and could not have been faked. When Alan Berry died in 2012 and the source of the sounds was still not determined, Morehead said Berry still wanted it to be a hoax. Not to disappoint the Bigfoot fans, but because he thought quote - “It would have made the story even more interesting if he could have discovered how anyone could have pulled this off.” 5 out of 5 whoops. 

If Bigfoot is talking, what’s he saying? The chatter has been recording and reported by others in different areas. But still…. Disputed as a hoax by many. Maybe Bigfoot isn’t a thing in the woods. Maybe Bigfoot lives in our hearts. Some Bigfooty part of us that has had ENOUGH. Who wants to be away from the news and the noise. Who wants peace. And, if unable to have that peace, is gonna smash some rocks and snap some trees and scare the trouble away. There will be peace, dammit. Bigfoot demands it. 

As always, thank you for listening to my weird stories. For fun between episodes, follow me on Instagram, under professionalweirdopodcast. If you are enjoying the podcast and would like to support it, please make sure you hit that follow button. And a recommendation to others is always appreciated. You can also email me at professionalweirdopodcast@gmail.com

Songs I recommend with today’s episode can be found on the Spotify playlist I made to accompany this podcast. For each episode I’ve done or will do, I’ve pulled together a few songs. The ones for this episode are:

Bigfoot by Autumn Orange

Woods by Bon Iver

Bigfoot by Mt. Joy

Somebody’s Watching Me performed by SaxSquatch - that’s right, a guy in a costume who plays saxophone. 

And Ratamahatta by Sepultura

I’ll list these, along with the link to the playlist, in the show notes. 

I almost forgot! My quick message for the robots - You don’t have my permission to use any of this content to store, or train, or develop machine learning or AI tools. To do that, you’d need my prior written permission, which is likely to just be a surly letter telling you no anyway. I’ve seen Terminator, and I don’t trust you.