I’ve always liked Bigfoot.
Maybe it was triggered as a child when I watched the Six Million Dollar Man fight the big shaggy beast, eventually ripping his arm off.
Maybe it was because in the 1980s Union and Logan counties were a hotbed of reported Bigfoot sightings. National media attention blanketed the area as five sighting were reported over a two-week period in June, all within a five-mile radius near the border of the two counties. The descriptions of the creature were very similar — a 7-foot tall harry creature that walked with bent knees and its palms facing forward. Now that’s a story that will catch the attention of a chubby kid of 8.
Now make no mistake, I don’t believe it exists. I simply like the lore. I like the idea of the big old ape creature that is apparently the hide-and-seek world champion. I like that he creeps around farmland and wooded areas, paying no mind to the nightlife and eateries of the big cities. In the Midwest, he is one of those legends that roll through time, the way every county has a version of “Crybaby Bridge.”
His midwestern roots are why I prefer Bigfoot lore to that of his cousin, the less famous Yeti. Give me a good Sasquatch tale any day over those of the Abominable Snowman.
But there are far more than two such hairy creatures alleged to be walking the earth. In fact, there are several versions of Bigfoot-like creatures in the United States alone. The unsubstantiated animals are often categorized under cryptozoology, called cryptids for short. These animals often exist only in campfire tales and rumor, such as the Chupacabra or Loch Ness Monster. (Fun fact – there are several legends of Americanized forms of Nessie, including Bessie on Lake Erie, Tessie on Lake Tahoe, Chessie near the Chesapeake Bay area, and Champ on Lake Champlain.)
Aside from numerous international relatives, Bigfoot has numerous stateside cousins
The Boggy Creek Monster, also called the Fouke Monster or Swamp Stalker, was reported numerous times from 1971-74 in Arkansas. The tall ape-like creature is said to have large read eyes and was alleged to have attacked a family in Fouke, Arkansas.
Also, in the early 70s came reports of a similar creature in Louisiana that has red or yellow eyes and shaggy gray hair. This guy also has the most nicknames of any cryptid. He goes by the Honey Island Swamp Monster, Cajun Sasquatch, the Thing, Rougarou and the Louisiana Wookie.
Florida is never a state to miss a crazy yarn and delivered the Skunk Ape, so named for its unpleasant odor. I find this title silly however, because if you read up on Squatch-ish legends you will find that almost all of them carry a report of an ungodly odor. The Skunk Ape, reported as far back as the early 1800s, has also been spotted in Georgia and Alabama. It is said to be shorter than Bigfoot and its fur is said to be more rust colored.
There is also the Arizona Bigfoot, also known as the Mogollon Monster because it was reported to dwell on the Mogollon Rim of the state. The creature is said to emit a terrible, high-pitch scream and has been known to hurl rocks from positions of concealment.
In 1978 in Minerva, Ohio, and then again at Salt Fork Creek State Park in Guernsey County in 2020, a bigfoot variant known as the Ohio Grassman was found. He shares most of the same characteristics of any other Sasquatch, but gets his name from the small living structures it builds out of tall grass.
And this brings me to my reason for writing this column. I recently found out about another Bigfoot creature that has my favorite name of all time – the Woodbooger.
In the mid-Appalachian Mountains there are rumors of a slightly smaller, but more violent creature. It got its name because it is said to carry off young children into the woods. It is the boogey man of the woods – or Woodbooger.
The city of Norton, Virginia, has embraced the Woodbooger, naming the city a sanctuary for it and hosting a Woodbooger Festival. The city uses the Woodbooger in its marketing and has even had a large Woodbooger statue created.
I simply love the name. It’s intoxicating to say. It’s also a fun story to tell children. You tell any kid under 8 about the Virginia Woodbooger and they will be captivated.
I truly don’t know why I have such an interest in Bigfoot and similar cryptids. Perhaps I feel some type of kinship with a big, hairy animal that prefers the dark and values his alone time.
-Chad Williamson is the managing editor at the Journal-Tribune.