We’ve all heard stories of the bipedal ape-man that roams the mountainous regions of North America. He’s been the highlight of numerous campfire stories, movies, and even some TV shows. Some call him Sasquatch; others know him as Bigfoot. 

There are few clear photographs, and no Bigfoot bones have ever been reportedly found. Science remains undecided on whether he is a fact or fiction. Now while you may be a non-believer, I ask that you look at the evidence and consider changing your mind. 

Bigfoot has supposedly been spotted in every state [except Hawaii], and according to Live Science, he has more than 10,000 eyewitness accounts in the past 50 years, often made by people of unimpeachable character. These accounts describe him as 8-10 feet tall, powerfully built, and covered in thick black hair. While you may still believe that he is a myth, can you confidently say that out of all of the thousands of stories, all of them are lies? Are we really meant to believe that none of them are true?  Even if you think he isn’t alive today, are you confident that he has never existed? 

Bigfoot’s existence goes beyond recorded history, so no one knows exactly when he was first spotted. North American settlers began reporting sightings of Bigfoot in the late 1800, and; some even presented proof of his large footprints. Since then, grainy photos and poor-quality videos have been added to the mystery. More recently, he has been reported stalking men in the woods and occasionally scaring lumberjacks, campers, and hikers of the Northwest region. 

But Bigfoot stories aren’t a trend of the past. On September 1st, three visitors to the Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina Lowcountry reported witnessing something resembling Bigfoot retreat into the brush from the road as they were leaving a

lighthouse. Unable to take a photo, they reported the sighting to park staff and the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. For those who don’t know, the BFRO is the oldest and largest organization of its kind, composed of dedicated scientists exploring the Bigfoot mystery.

Bigfoot isn’t new news, and he continues to be sighted, making it more evident that he is more than just a campfire story. 

In fact, one of his claimed eyewitnesses is actually a student at LFA. Charles Kuhns ’23 recalled his story like this. He was “away camping, and I couldn’t fall asleep, so I decided to grab some water. We left our backpacks outside our tent next to a tree, and when I went to grab my pack, I heard some splashing down by the river. When I shined my flashlight toward the noise, I saw him. He was about 50 feet away, and although it was dark out, I knew I saw bigfoot.” This all went down when he was in 8th grade, on a school trip in the Minnesota Outback.

As the star of several books, movies, and shows, Bigfoot has had millions of dollars dedicated to his existence. The simple fact that he has such loyal believers and stories to back them up makes him real in one way or another. Actually… he may be closer than some of us would like to believe.