Find Bigfoot in Pennsylvania
It's as good a place to look as any. Do your part and join the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Camping Adventure September 6 – 7, 2024!
Words by: Bernie O’Connor - bernieoandufos@gmail.com
Artwork by: Christy
OUCH!
My neck hurts from staring up at the sky from all that UFO Tourism I’ve been doing lately. Perhaps it’s time for a break from looking up and time to begin looking around, maybe for...Bigfoot, or if you prefer…Sasquatch?
I can think of no better place to begin my search for everybody’s favorite cryptid, than the upcoming Pennsylvania Bigfoot Camping Adventure (BCA). This event is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society (PBS) and is an outreach program to help the public better understand the Bigfoot phenomenon. Wanting to learn more about the BCA, I contacted Eric Altman, Director of the PBS. Eric is a field investigator and researcher with over 23 years experience researching Bigfoot and other paranormal phenomena. He took a quick break from his field research to speak to the readers of The Observer.
Bernie: Hi Eric, thank you for speaking with me today. Before we dive into the BCA, please tell our readers more about the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society.
Eric Altman: Sure Bernie, I’d be happy to. The PBS is an all volunteer research, investigation and no-kill organization. The group was founded in 1998 by Steve Anderson and Henry Benton. Our membership consists of 50 to 75 individuals with many diverse skill sets, experiences and occupations. It consists of current and ex-law enforcement, military, scientists, private investigators, paramedics, first responders, hunters, fishermen, hikers, and people who have a love of the outdoors. We keep in touch via email and Zoom meetings almost on a daily basis, monitoring any reported Bigfoot activity in the area. When a report does come in, we alert an investigator who is closest to the witness. The investigator then contacts the witness and follows up with an in-person interview, if possible. It all depends on the cooperation of the eyewitness. Thanks to our membership and their dedication, PBS is well positioned to investigate this Keystone State Phenomenon.
B: Whose idea was to hold a Bigfoot Camping Adventure? How long have you been conducting them? And how successful are they?
EA: Originally, our earlier conferences were for Bigfoot researchers only. We’d invite researchers from Ohio and other neighboring states to come in, and the group as a whole would exchange ideas, sighting reports and research techniques in general. These ran from 2000 to 2011. In 2016, I came up with the camping adventure idea and we opened it up to the public. I knew there were a lot of Bigfoot enthusiasts out there and interest in the subject was growing, with TV shows and YouTube videos. So, I wanted to give these folks a chance to learn about Bigfoot or Sasquatch, from expert guest speakers. I wanted attendees to learn from hands-on workshops the proper way to discover and preserve important evidence. The big attraction however, is to go on an actual Bigfoot search night hike. BCA is also a great family bonding experience as we get a lot of kids who are very interested in Bigfoot. Our first event had 300 people, 500 in 2016, 700 in 2019. We continue to get more and more attendees each year.
B: What are the night hikes exploring Chestnut Ridge like? They sound exciting. Is there really a possibility of encountering a Bigfoot?
EA: The hikes are for people who want to experience what it is like to go into the deep forest, at night, looking for evidence and signs of Bigfoot. The hike leaders are some of the presenters, along with volunteers who are expert hikers. The leaders provide various equipment such as night vision gear and thermal FLIR cameras that detect body heat. The participants are allowed use of this state of the art equipment while on the hike. It’s a true immersive experience. We can’t guarantee a sighting or an encounter with a Bigfoot, but the area we are taking the participants to has a long history of sightings and footprint discoveries.
B: During any of the past BCA events, have you experienced any, what you believed to be, actual Bigfoot activity? Vocalizations, knocks, footprints, encounters?
EA: On a night hike in 2017, one attendee claimed he had a sighting. Wood knocks were heard during the 2017 BCA and a possible footprint, which we made a cast of, was found just outside the campground on Sunday of the 2019 BCA.
B: How much Bigfoot activity is there in Fayette County, PA and how long has it been going on? Can you share with our readers an unusual encounter that took place in the area?
EA: Bigfoot activity in Fayette County dates all the way back to 1932. Since then, many sightings have occurred over the years and new reports are always coming in. One of the more interesting sightings took place on September 7th 2011 when a law enforcement officer had a night time sighting at a wind turbine farm construction site. He was sitting in his car guarding the area when he observed a tall dark colored hair covered creature observing him from behind a light pole. The officer watched the creature for a few moments before it disappeared back into the darkness. Following that incident, there was a rash of sightings and occurrences that happened at the same construction site for several months. These included unusual sounds and multiple sightings of large shadowy figures seen lurking around the grounds late at night. These creatures seem to be attracted to areas with power sources on them.
B: For a short, two-day event, you have assembled an impressive who’s-who of Bigfoot/Sasquatch researchers as presenters. How did you manage to get them all together for such an intensive weekend? And being it’s for charity, are they all contributing their time?
EA: Fortunately, I am friends and colleagues with all of them. Most, if not all, are donating their time. Ticket sales cover the travel, lodging and meal expenses of the speakers, workshop presenters and special guests such as Ken Gerhard from the History Channel, and Willy Mcoullian and Jeff Headlee from Mountain Monsters. The other speakers and workshop presenters are all donating their time. Any proceeds raised after covering our expenses will be donated to the charities.
B: Speaking of charities, have you always worked with the same two charities, One Voice, One Community and Fayette Friends of Animals? And how successful is the event in terms of fund raising for these organizations?
EA: This is our first year working with One Voice, One Community, it is an organization recommended by Benner’s Meadow Run RV Campground, where our event is being held. We have worked with Fayette Friends of Animals along with other past charity organizations in the past. We have raised $9,000.00 during our past three events and the funds were equally divided among the charities of that particular year.
B: You’re featuring two workshop presentations during the weekend instructing and allowing attendees to have a hands-on learning experience from two seasoned veteran Bigfoot researchers Bryan Bowen and David Wickham. What can attendees expect to learn in these special classes?
EA: Bryan’s class will consist of sharing learned field techniques and how to apply them to research. David’s workshop will be on how to properly document footprint discoveries and cast tracks.
B: Several of your guest speakers have linked Bigfoot to other Fortean phenomena. Stan Gordon, UFOs. Jay Bachochin, mysterious glowing balls of light. Have you experienced any such phenomena in your field investigations of Bigfoot?
EA: Yes, I’ve seen lights on multiple occasions throughout the years and in various forested regions of Pennsylvania while out in the field researching Bigfoot. I’ve seen red, blue, blue green and white balls of light and flashes of light when I go out in the forest proactively searching for Bigfoot evidence. These strange lights only appear at night. My latest sighting of these mysterious lights was back in March of 2023 in Fayette County. They appeared while I was being filmed for a documentary for YouTube called “Sasquatch Unearthed: The Ridge” that focuses on the Chestnut Ridge in Southwestern PA. It was produced by Small Town Monsters. The Director and film crew wanted to go to an area where there had been recent Bigfoot sightings. So we took them to a very remote area on the Ridge where, at the time, there were several reported sightings of Bigfoot. Earlier in the evening, in this same area, there was a high pitch scream and several wood knocks, which is typical Bigfoot activity. While we were filming at this location, we encountered strange light anomalies several different times. But, unfortunately, no Bigfoot creatures were sighted during the filming. Personally, I do not think the two phenomena, strange lights and Bigfoot are related.
B: How do you, with what you know about Bigfoot, deal with skeptics? One of your guest speakers, Kenny Biddle is a skeptic and writes for The Skeptical Inquirer. How does he get along with the Bigfoot community?
EA: I respect and encourage skepticism. It helps to keep me grounded and try to find truthful answers rather than ones based upon personal bias. Kenny is a good friend. He contributes very well to the field and asks rational, objective questions. He is not rude or disrespectful and wants to see scientific proof when it comes to the study.
B: Within recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of reports of Dogmen, “Werewolves” and the fearsome, snout-nosed Gugwe. How are these other cryptids influencing the Bigfoot research community? Are they causing you to change your methodology of gathering reports and processing them?
EA: I try to keep other cryptid reports separate from my study of Bigfoot. Some of these Cryptids get blended in together which can muddy the waters and take away focus from each individual Animal and its study.
B: What made you take up investigating Bigfoot as opposed to other phenomena, such as UFOs?
EA: I’ve always been a fan of monster movies from a very young age. I saw two films about monsters in the late 70's that turned me onto Bigfoot. Those films were Legend of Boggy Creek and Creature from Black Lake. Both were about a hairy man-like creature terrorizing residents of small towns in Fouke, Arkansas and Oil City, Louisiana. They fascinated me and from there, I began to look further into the Bigfoot phenomenon. I found multiple books at our public library on various paranormal subjects, UFOs, and cryptids. I was more drawn to Bigfoot than anything else, although other Fortean subjects do fascinate me as well. Also, growing up right here in Greensburg, you can’t not hear about Bigfoot.
B: Now the really tough question Eric, from your first hand research experiences, do you subscribe to any one pet theory as to what, in reality, Bigfoot may be?
EA: I lean towards Bigfoot being an undiscovered North American Primate, however I remain open minded to other possibilities. At this point in time, I do not know with any certainty what a Bigfoot is.
B: How can people get in touch with you regarding the PBS and the BCA?
EA: The best way is through our websites: for the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society.
As for the BCA, the best way to learn about all our speakers, workshop presentations, special celebrity guests, vendors, night hikes, Sasquatch Scareyoke/music, food trucks, accommodations and more, visit our site: Bigfoot Camping Adventure.
B: Eric, thank you for telling our readers all about BCA. I hope a good number of them take advantage of this one-of-a-kind event and head on down to Fayette county come September. Good luck with the event, and as they say, “Keep on Squatching!”
EA: Thank you Bernie, you know I will.
*Here’s some recent Bigfoot news from Chestnut Ridge (6/26/24).
