Sather

Any field of research that relies on eyewitness testimony and circumstantial evidence will incite plenty of argument among researchers. The study of Bigfoot-type creatures is no different. I'd speculate that Bigfoot research has encouraged more bickering than most any other branch of paranormal research. So what topics get everybody's tempers boiling?

5. Sexism

Women's liberation was supposed to free women. Yet, today, women still endure the spiteful, juvenile behavior of some men. Bigfoot research has proven no different: how many women Bigfoot researchers (or cryptozoologists) can you name? And if you dare to discuss the issue, better duck! Mud slinging will ensue.

4. Belief

Bigfoot researchers have taken fear of belief to befuddling extremes. Many proudly proclaim they have no theories; others extol the virtues of "nonbelief." They say say they don't believe anything about Bigfoot, and they don't "believe" witnesses. They fear the word belief so much they must place it in quotes, as if handling it with thick gloves to avoid contaminating themselves.

3. The Word Paranormal

Bigfoot is not paranormal! Bigfoot is not paranormal! This chant echoes through most email discussion lists, online forums, and other discussion venues devoted to Bigfoot. Yet, by its very existence, Bigfoot is paranormal. The arguments will never end, however; simply uttering the word paranormal in the presence of Bigfoot researchers can trigger an attack so vicious it makes killer bees look tame.

2. Repeat witnesses

Everybody knows you can see Bigfoot only once, and only in a chance encounter while out backpacking or hunting. Witnesses who claim to have had ongoing encounters with hairy hominids often become objects of ridicule and disdain. Only one issue can rile Bigfooters more than repeat witnesses...

1. UFOs & high strangeness

Witnesses who see Bigfoots in conjunction with UFOs or who have missing time after seeing Bigfoots might think the worst has passed once their strange encounter ends. If they report the sighting to the average Bigfoot researcher, however, they may suffer a rude shock. Many researchers won't consider a sighting that involves high strangeness. They might toss out the report and forget it, or they might treat the witness with contempt. Nothingand I do mean nothinginstigates more arguments than the issue of Bigfoot and high strangeness.

Lisa A. Shiel is the author of Backyard Bigfoot: The True Story of Stick Signs, UFOs, & the Sasquatch, a ForeWord Magazine 2006 Book of the Year finalist. Critics have praised Backyard Bigfoot, saying [it] is as informative as it is entertaining (Midwest Book Review), [it is] one of the best types of investigative reporting I've seen (Reader Views), and you may agree or not with her conclusions but you will be entertained by the discussions (The Mining Journal, Marquette).

2007 Lisa A. Shiel

As a recognized Bigfoot expert, Lisa has been interviewed by big-city newspapers, drive-time talk radio hosts, local and national magazines, and TV reporters. In 2005, she founded the Michigan Upper Peninsula Bigfoot Organization (MUPBO) to explore all aspects of the Bigfoot phenomenon, from sightings to evolution to UFOs. Lisa has a master's degree in Library Science. She currently pens a blog, Bigfoot Quest, as a companion to the MUPBO site.