My Obsession With Sasquatch: The Origen

If you know me, you know I like Bigfoot stuff. Books, shirts, stickers, figures, magnets, and of course so many YouTube videos. I watch every TV show or movie about the topic, no matter how terribly corny it is. I fall asleep to the Sasquatch Chronicles or Bigfoot Outlaws podcast. I even have a screaming Sasquatch tattoo.

It's probably my favorite topic; the thing that interests me the most. Something that has intrigued me since I was a child. 

I've had this obsession for as long as I can remember. For real, one of my first memories is of my uncle telling me about the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. I also remember that scaring me a lot - my 6 year old mind thought he lived in my tiny suburban back yard, out back by the pool. Then we moved to a more heavily wooded lot in the next town over - if he lived in West Haven, you better believe he lived in Milford. The woods were so small, but as a kid they seemed huge - limitless possibilities for what could be hiding in there.

I remember watching Harry and the Hendersons - the drawing of the "scary version" of Bigfoot gave me nightmares. I thought that one was outside my back door for sure.

Beyond that film, there was another Disney movie from the mid 80s that scared the fuck out of me. I remember we had a VHS tape of the recording from the Disney channel. It was just labeled "Bigfoot Disney" - I was never able to find it as an adult, but someone finally put in on Youtube last year. 

I also remember getting many books about Sasquatch from the Milford Library. I distinctly remember being home alone, reading them, and thinking Bigfoot was looking in my windows. I was maybe 10 or 11 at the time. I loved watching anything Bigfoot related on TV too - they were few and far between, but I was glued to the TV when they were on. 

I know my interest waned a bit during high school and college - I wasn't scared of them anymore once I was in my early teens - I still thought they was real, but was now old enough to know they were not in suburban Connecticut. I can definitely remember still watching TV specials when they were on though. The "In Search Of" type of things on Discovery or History. 

I started thinking about them more once I moved out to Colorado in 2007. The mountains in my backyard made it seem much more plausible. The vast wilderness expanses. So much space for something to hide. I remember looking at the BFRO site for a sighting map back then, looking for the spots they've been seen in Colorado. 

I went on a road trip of the west in 2010, and stopped at a place called The Legend of Bigfoot in Northern California. Totally impromptu; saw it and turned around to check it out.  

Lots of souvenirs available. I picked up Thom Powell's book The Locals there. I read it camping on that trip, and it intrigued me all over again. It was my first Bigfoot book. I remember thinking the writing was a bit... uh, poor - but the topics and stories were amazing. It got me into it again for sure. 

I'm going to end this "Origen" blog here, and pick it up later with a more thorough write up of The Locals.