Monsters are Real!

Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the famous Patterson Bigfoot footage that was filmed at Bluff Creek, California on October 2oth, 1967. Perhaps one of the most recognized film clips in history, it has sparked decades of controversy about whether or not a tall, hairy, humanlike creature could actually exist in North America. Ex rodeo cowboy and Bigfoot enthusiast Roger Patterson and his friend, horse handler Bob Gimlin, were riding along the creek searching for giant, manlike tracks, because they had heard that some had been found in the area a week prior. According to Gimlin, who I’ve had the great honor of meeting twice, the men suddenly rode up on a gigantic, hair covered being that resembled an ape, walking on its hind legs. When Patterson’s mount began to act panicky, Roger jumped from the saddle and drew his small movie camera. As he stumbled toward the retreating creature, Patterson was able to capture it on film for a minute or so. Gimlin dismounted as well and had a rifle at the ready, but had decided not to shoot at the animal unless they were threatened. The two men got the distinct impression that it wouldn’t be wise to follow the brutish monster, which appeared to be a female (based on her pendulous breasts). They did make plaster casts of several footprints that she left behind. Sadly, Patterson died just a couple of years after the film was shot. Reaction to the film at the time was widely skeptical. Most scientists that watched it were in disbelief at what they were seeing, many thinking that it was a man in a costume due to its upright posture. Dr. John Napier, a primate expert at the Smithsonian Institute acknowledged that there was a chance that the footage was genuine and if so, it was one of the most important discoveries in the history of anthropology. Canadian Bigfoot researcher René Dahinden flew to Russia in the early 1970s following Patterson’s death, in order to garner scientific opinions there. The film was subsequently studied at length by scholars Dmitri Bayanov and Igor Bourtsev, as well as a biomechanics expert named Dr. Dmitri Donskoy. All of them concluded that the subject in the film was genuine and displayed a gait that was definitely non-human and yet completely natural. Other scientists who were convinced of its authenticity include the late Dr. Grover Krantz of Washington State University, who agreed that the creature in the film illustrated a bent-knee walk and anatomy that were befitting of a massive hominid with re-designed leverage. Most recently, primate anthropologist Dr. Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University has mad some strong statements in support of its authencticity. Strangely, the one surprising critic of the film is the father of cryptozoology, the late Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans, who felt that it was a fake. Many claims have come forward that the footage was hoaxed by Patterson, but thus far no one has been able to produce the costume. One important thing to point out is that costume technology in 1967 didn’t include muscles and the type of realistic hair flow that the Bigfoot creature in the footage possessed. Even modern attempts to recreate the film, have looked fake in my opinion. Interestingly enough, recreations of ‘Patty’ portray her as having a very human looking face. The bottom line is that the Patterson Bigfoot looks exactly what thousands of eyewitnesses have reported all over the world for decades. To many cryptozoologists, it is the holy grail of photographic evidence. But, the fact that it is still controversial 42 years later, illustrates how difficult it will be to prove Bigfoot exists without an actual physical specimen.

Ken Gerhard was born on Friday, October 13th, 1967 in Lansing, Michigan – exactly one week before the Patterson Bigfoot footage was filmed in California. His parents were Canadian immigrants. While Ken’s father worked as a forestry professor, his mother a travel agent, mesmerized him with tales of a strange being known as the Mothman. Growing up as a boy in Minnesota, Ken watched a Tv special about Bigfoot and was enthralled. Soon after, he visited an exhibit at the state fair, which featured a frozen man-like creature known as the Minnesota Iceman. He started to read everything he could on the subject of real monsters. At age nine, Ken’s family traveled to South America where they camped along the Amazon, hiked the Andes and cruised the Galapagos. He quickly developed a passion for both animals and natural mysteries. His mother subsequently arranged trips to Australia and Switzerland, where Ken was intrigued by stories of legendary creatures like the bunyip and tatzelwurm. By age fifteen, he attempted his first research at Scotland’s Loch Ness, questioning the locals about Nessie while he patrolled the shores of the lake with a camera. Following a successful music career which spanned fifteen years, Gerhard began doing extensive field work with some of the top Bigfoot researchers in Texas. Traveling across North America, he investigated weird creatures like Wisconsin’s Beast of Bray Road and Ohio’s Loveland Frog. In 2004, Ken led an expedition to the mountains of Belize, in order to search for mystery hominids known as the Dwendi and Sisemite, returning there in 2006. Later that same year, he was featured in the Travel Channel Tv series Legend Hunters. During 2007, Ken’s book – Big Bird! Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters was published. It summarized his years of research into reports of gigantic, birdlike creatures over south Texas. He subsequently appeared on the first season of the series Monster Quest (History Channel), to discuss thunderbirds. In season two, Gerhard was featured in the Monster Quest episode dealing with the mysterious Chupacabra. In 2009, he appeared in an episode about flying humanoids over Mexico, titled Terror From the Sky. Recently, Ken was featured in the two-hour History Channel special, The Real Wolfman, as well as the National Geographic special Paranatural – Chupacabra.

Ken Gerhard is a noted cryptozoologist and field researcher for the Centre for Fortean Zoology and Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization, as well as a fellow of the Pangea Institute and a consultant for several paranormal groups. He has investigated reports of monsters and mysterious creatures all over the world including man beasts, lake monsters, the Chupacabra, winged monsters and even werewolves. In addition to appearing on television, Ken has appeared on numerous, radio and Internet broadcasts. His credits include appearances on Eyewitness News, Coast to Coast Radio and Ireland’s Newstalk Radio, as well as being featured in major books, DVDs and in articles by the Associated Press, Tampa Tribune and Amarillo Edge. Ken is author of the books Big Bird! Modern Sightings of Flying Monsters and Monsters are Real! and has contributed to publications including Animals and Men, The Journal of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club and Bigfoot Times. He has lectured at the Southern Crypto Conference, Texas Ghost Conference, GhostTech Con, VAPRCon, MUFON meetings and has exhibited at paranormal events all over the United States. Ken has traveled around the world to twenty-six different countries and has visited forty-three of the states. An avid adventurer, he has visited many ancient and mysterious sites, from Machu Pichu to Stonehenge.