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Bigfoot Rears Its Ugly Face

by Brian Dunning, Feb 11 2010
A frame from the video in question.

A frame from the video in question.

I am in receipt of a new alleged Bigfoot video, the YouTube version of which is hereinafter appended. A fellow emailed it to me with the request that I help him “get it into the right hands”, because, you know, routing Bigfoot videos to the appropriate cryptozoologist is what I’m all about.

These are actually kind of fun to get. At a first glance, there’s nothing in there that’s inconsistent with a guy in a suit. If a guy had a suit like this and his homey filmed him in it, this is exactly what you’d expect the video to look like. By Occam’s Razor, this is a guy in a suit; because the other possibility requires the introduction of the assumption that an unknown species of great ape roams about. But I hate to stop there; that’s too easy.

First let’s see where and when the video was made: Just north of Greenhorn, Oregon in October of 2009. That appears consistent with the foliage seen in the video, about the right season judging by the leaves, and I probably wouldn’t expect to see any snow on the ground. John E Walker is what’s on the YouTube page, but that’s not the name he emailed me with; and though the Scotch Whiskey reference calls attention to itself, there are people with that name. He says is that it was shot on a JVC Everio GZ-HD7 3CCD camcorder, which is a real model of camera. The picture looks pretty good, so probably a 3CCD, but that’s about all I can guess. I didn’t find anything in the mechanical details of the video to prove or disprove its authenticity.

So that doesn’t leave us much to go on. Maybe it is a Bigfoot. Maybe it’s a guy in a suit, one that flares out bellbottom style, like my own cheap-ass gorilla suit does. Maybe it’s an autonomous robot in a suit. Maybe it’s a Bigfoot in a Bigfoot suit. Maybe it’s an example of high-end composite work combined with low-end 3D modeling, all rendered on Renderman.

The fact is that we can’t really know or conclude much of anything about this video, and the million others like it. We can’t prove it’s a fake any more than we can prove it’s a real Bigfoot. What it is is crappy evidence. It’s not testable. It’s fun, and it’s interesting, but its value as evidence is zero. Its value as an anecdote is that it suggests a direction for research. So to all who feel motivated: Grab your 3CCD cameras and head on up to Greenhorn, Oregon. A bellbottomed Bigfoot might be waiting for you.

67 Responses to “Bigfoot Rears Its Ugly Face”

  1. MadScientist says:

    What a cheap suit – there’s not even a mask! Well, that or it’s a Bigfoot mask with a remarkably human nose – in fact a caucasian nose.

  2. George says:

    Isn’t one of the signs of nonsense the unwillingness to release the “rest of the video” without further contact or money? If I discovered something like this, I’d make sure everybody knows the full story; think about it, homo georgius!

  3. Come on, I am sure to Mrs. Bigfoot his face is perfectly handsome.

  4. Letodan says:

    Wow… He followed the creature for 4 min 26 sec… What happened at 4 min 27 sec?!?! The creature just vanished? The guy just stopped following it? But then, he would have still seen the creature and therefore, been able to continue to film it while the creature was leaving? 4 min 26 sec… Now that’s precision! If it would ever happened to me… I would be able to say… a few min… maybe about 5 or 10 min… but 4 min 26 sec… Wow!! And why is he recording the ground while walking when he suddenly sees the creature… If I go in the forest with a camera, at least, I film the trees or something? And seeing a big ape like that, I would tend to just stay there… not start running at it in a second… I would be wayyy too scared!!

    Smell fishy doesn’t it?

  5. Michael Kimble says:

    That is a “Planet of the Apes” mask. I use to have one just like that.

  6. CW says:

    The Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster theories are probably the most ridiculous of the paranormal/supernatural spectrum. You have to have less than zero knowledge of basic biology to believe in Bigfoot or Nessie. Anyways, this Bigfoot doesn’t even move or look like the Patterson film Bigfoot – the legs bending, arms swinging, etc. If you are a Patterson film advocate, you have to discredit this video here, don’t you?

    • CW says:

      And if Bigfoot does exist, I truly hope we find video footage of it running toward the camera operator – and mauling him or her to death. At least then I wouldn’t get this notion of Bigfoot being a pansy.

    • MadScientist says:

      Claims of Nessie and Bigfoot are not paranormal or supernatural – they are merely claims that a certain type of animal is out there. Now a claim about a magic unicorn would be supernatural, but bigfoot is just plain old crackpotzoology.

  7. Durnett says:

    “Maybe it’s a Bigfoot in a Bigfoot suit.”

    That explains it! That is why it is so hard to find any species of bigfoot. They are all wearing bad bigfoot costumes!

    …and using Port-a-potties.

  8. Sara says:

    OK. Is me or does it sort of strike you as odd?
    a. I manage to film big foot…And all I show the world is a 45 second clip the shows mostly a shot of the ground while I run…If I am going to just show a clip, why not show a 45 second clip of, you know, big foot.
    b. I happen to ALREADY be filming an empty woodland path when big foot fortuitously walks across it. What do you suppose the odds of that are?
    c. I am big foot. I am so shy that no one can find evidence of me. Which suggests an effort to stay hidden. But one day in October, I am in such a hurry that I cross a well defined human path without checking to see if anyone happens to be about. I mean come on…Here’s John standing several yards away, clearly visible but Big Foot just steps out….
    d. Is me or does big foots face look EXACTLY like a planet of the apes mask?

  9. Lone Wolf says:

    If bigfoots are so shy and elusive why did this one not run away from a human? If there is a species of human like great ape in north america, they are clearly smart enough to stay away from us except this one. You’d think as soon as it noticed the human it would have ran not just glanced over.

    If there are bigfoots out there, you probably wouldn’t want to find one because they would probably all be ninjas and if you ever see a ninja, you about die.
    They have to be ninjas. How else do you explain their ability to stay so hidden?

  10. Shakespeare says:

    Clearly fake–the Planet of the Apes mask gives him away. Besides, the man in the suit (sorry, but that’s all it is) walks across a well-traveled path (as Sara pointed out), glances over at the guy, and then just takes a leisurely stroll, peeking back coyly like he wants the guy to follow him into the brush.

    Follow a bear that way, especially one with a cub, and see what happens…

  11. Shakespeare – Have you ever encountered a bear? I have, 3 times, once within 2 feet. That is exactly how they behave. Bears don’t give a crap that you’re there. They do simply walk away, and not with any particular urgency.

    • Richard Smith says:

      So… Bears don’t give a crap, in the woods?

    • rustle says:

      The only time I encountered a bear in was in Alleghany County, NY. I came over the edge of the top of a gully and the black bear was at the bottom, about 10 paces down from me. After one look over his shoulder, he went up the other side like his ass was on fire. Of course, I’m kinda tall and the light was dim so maybe he mistook me for Bigfoot. Or more likely it was because he didn’t like the smell of human urine.

    • MadScientist says:

      Black bear or brown bear? Either way, I’m always paranoid about spooking a mama bear or a bear having a bad hair day; otherwise I just do my best to spot them and keep away. If I did see one I certainly wouldn’t chase it to see if it would run (which you can bet on most of the time) or not.

  12. Jim Shaver says:

    That’s a good point, Brian. It could be a bear in a Bigfoot suit.

  13. Clearly, Cornelius and a small band of escapees have recently arrived back on earth. Dr. Zaius is probably lurking about somewhere. They appear to have been hiding out in the woods for some time. Perhaps they are trying to recruit the bigfoots in their eventually overthrow of humanity.

  14. Bevans says:

    Its behavior is pretty unusual. It’s just sauntering by, as if it doesn’t give a damn that there’s a big noisy mostly-hairless biped wrapped in weird coverings chasing it with a shiny thing in its hands. For an animal that’s supposedly very secretive and said to hide from humans, you’d think it would be more anxious to actually…hide from humans.

    It’s as if two (or more) people decided to make their own version of the Patterson-Gimlin film, and wanted to have THEIR bigfoot move exactly like the one in the PG film. Honestly, it looks like a remake.

  15. steelsheen11b says:

    HA! that was hilarious thank you for posting it, that “proof” was so ridiculous I can’t believe the creator tried to slip it by. On the other hand the epically misguided on the web are probably losing it right now and screaming “SEE I TOLD YOU!”

  16. Gareth says:

    What strikes me as odd is the complete inability for the cameraman to keep the camera pointing in the right direction while he moves.

    For my shame, I was involved in the whole “paranormal investigation” game (albeit with a highly sceptical group, so it’s not as bad as it sounds!) for about 3 years back in the mid 2000s. I did a lot of filming with a handheld camera, and moving about (even at reasonably high speed) while keeping the camera UP was no problem whatsoever.

    It’s the same problem that all “evidence” of this type seems to have – it’s filmed by a complete incompetent. Either that, or the cameraman is deliberately avoiding showing the subject in detail – for some strange reason…

  17. Mark says:

    The bell-bottoms were a dead giveaway. This ofcourse is Elvis in a Bigfoot suit.

  18. rustle says:

    Made me think of a joke about a hunter and a Bigfoot that ends with, “You’re not coming out here for the hunting anymore, are you?”

  19. I’m sure this will probably set someone off but…doesn’t it look uncannily like Michael Jackson? Maybe it’s a Bubbles Jackson hybrid. Well, he did love that monkey.

  20. Bill says:

    I think it’s a Bigfoot in a gorilla suit.

  21. PaulRugg says:

    You guys are all wrong. I know exactly what it is. It is not bigfoot. It is exactly what they were looking for in Dover PA a few years ago.

    THAT is a picture of Creationism dressed up in a cheap suit.

    WHAT…? No one ever said it *wasn’t* a gorilla suit…

  22. Dave says:

    I think that is Dr. Zaius actually

  23. Skepacabra says:

    I’ve seen that guy before. Didn’t William Shatner shoot him off the wing of the plane?

  24. Seth says:

    Does johnwalkervideo realize that he was filming IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE?!

  25. godlizard says:

    OK, I swear on the Noodly Appendages of my deity of choice, that if this asshat makes a crapload of cash from this lame-ass stunt, I will abandon my ethics and take up being a professional dumbquat for a living.

    No, not really. But seriously — “if you want to see this get into the right hands, …” rofl.

  26. Laih says:

    Oh! It’s Professor Bobo! Man, I thought he had gotten a job at a zoo. Did Pearl Forrester or Brain Guy break him out or something?

  27. Skepticism is all well and good and, in fact, necessary when investigating the claims of cryptozoological and paranormal researchers. But it is not the same as having a closed mind which so many of those who post here seem to confuse it with. As far as “Nessie” is concerned I agree that whatever people have been claiming to see since 6 AD (or, since July 22, 1933—if you need more modern witness reports) it is probably not a plesiosaur or anything close to it. That still doesn’t tell us what it IS. As for “Bigfoot.” sightings of creatures like this have been recorded ever since the July 3, 1880 appeared in the Daily Colonist (formerly the British Colonist, currently the Victoria Times-Colonist published in Vancouver, BC) about “Jacko” the half-man half-ape. This story has been debunked by cryptozoological researchers themselves (notably Loren Coleman—who accepts the POSSIBILITY of cryptozoological creatures but is SKEPTICAL when it comes to reports—though he has been fooled once or twice). But flatly denying the possibility that there may yet be a remnant of an unknown cousin of man dwelling in some of the less visited portions of the world seems to me to be as silly as accepting every story one hears.

    • Ike says:

      The ONLY way this debate will be ended once & for all is if a serious expedition of 12 months was done in an area where there is a higher than average chance of crossing paths with one. however to set the bar so high that not even a live creature would be proof enough is nuts.

      This reminds me of an episode of Lassie. This kid & Lassie was walking along when he spotted a lion in the field. Well he ran home & got his grandfather. When they got back to the spot what did they see? A COW. later the kid sees the lion again goes & gets his grandfather. Again they see a cow. By this time the Grandfather being older & wiser Knows for a FACT there can NOT be a lion anywhere near them.

      Well the Lion finds its way to the house & jumps in the window. Long story short As the Circus truck is leaving the Mom & Grandfather arrive home. When asked the kid simply tells them what they want to hear. The Circus folks came buy to get the cow who jumped through the window & trashed the house.

      The Grandfather represents all Skeptics who think they know far more than they do & regardless of how many Circus trucks are around they will always see cows.

      It does not matter if a hunter who has been doing so for 40 years sees a Bigfoot.to the Skeptic this hunter can’t tell what a Bear looks like. It does not matter to them if someone
      like a Cop or Forest Service worker sees one they too can only be trusted if they see a crime even then not so much.

      No we are to simply accept something as true from a few folks who believe something to be or not be true. Opinion over Fact
      Atheism over science.

      • Scott says:

        You don’t need a 12-month expedition. You need a body. Testable evidence. And, really, can you blame people for doubting the existence of bigfoot? As the saying goes, be open-minded, but no so open-minded that your brains fall out. The field’s best evidence is 40+ years old and multiple people have come forward admitting they were a part of Patterson’s hoax. I’m a fan of cryptozoology, ufology and the paranormal as fiction, but until there’s any evidence that can be tested in multiple, impartial labs, that’s exactly what it will remain: fiction.

  28. Robo Sapien says:

    This “Bigfoot” is clearly a minion of Xenu, the insidious galactic overlord of Scientology doctrine.

    • stargazer9915 says:

      Or, more likely, Xenu himself, wearing a disguise and monitoring the pheaton’s(?) activity.

      • Robo Sapien says:

        That is a good assertion, as Xenu has been hiding from creditors for (according to OT-III) 45 billion years. Evidently he racked up quite a debt buying all the nuclear bombs required to blow up all those billions of unsavory people in the galaxy.

  29. Caroline says:

    mmmm hmmmm–click where it says ‘see full footage’.

  30. Sara says:

    Cassandra,
    I might have missed it, did someone flatly deny cryptozoology? there was a great deal of good humored fun made of this particular film. This film is an obvious fake. I don’t see the harm in enjoying the debunk. Or in being pissed off at this person for trying to scam people.
    While I think there is very little chance that there are these oddball creatures in the world, personally I would love it if someone came in with real evidence. I love all things new and wonderful.

  31. Chris says:

    You have to click on the “See the FULL FOOTAGE” button in the video to see the real proof.

  32. Kenn says:

    What’s the plural of Bigfoot?

  33. SicPreFix says:

    Bigfoots.

    Unless, of course, they’re yours. In which case it would be big feet … or bigfeet … or….

    I know: A zoo.

  34. Max says:

    If that’s Bigfoot then I’m Hannah Montana.

  35. We need to be a little more politically correct. The term “Big Foot” could be considered offensive to these big, hairy bastards. How do we know that their foot size isn’t actually normal amongst other Big Feet?

    I prefer the term adopted by BF researchers. Forest People. Unless of course they’re offended with the term “people”. In which case, let’s just refer to them as “Dudes in gorilla suits.”

  36. Cedric says:

    I may be wrong, but weren’t bigfoot and the loch ness monster and their ilk admitted hoaxes?

    • No, bigfoot has never come forward to admit he’s a hoax. I assume he gets kickbacks from tShirt sales so he’s in no hurry to put an end to his money spinning scheme. Nessy, on the other hand, has a drinking problem which is a result of the stress of being stalked by every idiot with an inflatable boat and a video camera. So she won’t be admitting she’s a hoax until she gets out of therapy.

      Fame has it’s price I guess.

  37. Mike The Bike says:

    New Rule — Never trust a video which purports to show something never seen before in the history of the world and yet shows nothing but the ground for over 90% of its running length.

  38. doofus says:

    Big hint: it admits to being taken in October. Isn’t that Halloween?

  39. Dr. Dim says:

    Maybe someone has mentioned this in the long thread here, I haven’t checked closely enough. But, I wonder why the mask of the suit in the reveal is different from the mask in the original video.

    Simplest answer would be two masks. Still I wonder…

  40. Barry Allen says:

    What this shows is that Bigfoot is such an important social phenomena that lunatics of all stripes will try to make the phenomena “real” for themselves. Indigenous people don’t want to see sasquatch-see Henry Sharp’s book, The Transformation of Bigfoot, a fascinating treatment of the concept. http://tinyurl.com/yjh73zc Jeff Meldrum has collected evidence and analyzed it according to his area of expertise, primate locomotion, and found some interesting things.
    Only European Americans are so compelled by the bigfoot notion that they either believe uncritically, devote scientific scrutiny to the available evidence (e.g. Sharp and Meldrum), or bemoan, belittle, battle and ultimately attempt fraud. Who is a bigger schmuck, the person who accepts the possibility that something is out there or the person who so desperately wants to show how smart they are goes to great effort and expense to fake it?

    • Ike says:

      There couldn’t have been that much expense in the making of this clip. Considering this guys comment I don’t give a F**k what Jane Goodall says. Really? A REAL Scientist who has spent 45 years IN THE FIELD studying primates has less credibility than some kid still thinking of what he’s going to do with his life. Well when this kid has done the work THEN I will listen to his “opinion”

  41. amber says:

    BIG FOOT IS NOT REAL STOP SAYING THIS JUNK HE AIN’T REAL

  42. Jesus Christ says:

    The film that Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin made in 1967 of Bigfoot was real. The creature they filmed was half man and half gorilla. If you don’t believe that humans and primates can reproduce hybrids, then watch this video.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHVFE02NTgU

  43. Bigfoot says:

    hey! that’s not me. damn fakers always go for the gorilla suite.

    • Ben says:

      I guess they don’t call you Big Hands, so maybe you’re better at typing than I thought. Or do you dictate your messages? In any case, I assume you must mean gorilla suit, because the gorilla suite is a luxury hotel built for gorillas. I stayed there once. The beds are just nests, and the free breakfast is bananas. I don’t recommend it, but maybe you’d like it.

  44. Bill England says:

    Hey gang. Maybe the tip-off at the end of this vid, the signoff spells out the director? John E Walker
    Maybe this is a pun for this guys favorite booze?

  45. buck says:

    Planet of the apes kit! Good costume the fur is not right more like my Halloween my mom made me. They forgot to airbrush the mask to match the skin tone around the eyes. Ape hair lays like the hair on our heads if uncombed and unwashed not like a yaks. Ya I’m throwing the bullshit flag.

  46. Matt says:

    Why do they always fake the videos of bigfoot going left to right. I know pgf is a staple of bigfoot video, try something new like right to left.

  47. Scott the Aussie says:

    Show me the body. Are you saying, that in a country where guns are as common as, well a very common thing, someone hasn’t walked around a corner and blown the big guy away?? You can kill off the Passenger Pigeon, surely you can bag one of these?? Or failing that, some hair would be OK for DNA analysis – how about that??

    Show me the body! I once took part in a podcast where my subject was The Yowie – the “aussie Bigfoot” and apparently just about the same level of evidence. None.

  48. Batman says:

    That is a person in a suit! Where’s the facial movement? The muscle movement? I’m currently in college, majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife Management. I have also spent a lot of my life outside camping and observing wildlife. Even in a fur-covered animal like a bear or moose, I can see muscle and facial movement. I can’t say if Bigfoot is real or not, but what I can say is that is plainly a guy in a suit.