CRYPTID COMMUNITY
Ruth Thigpen of Tyler, Texas carefully treads through a trail in the woods of western Kentucky on Oct. 2. “People come from all over the country to go on these expeditions,” said Charlie Raymond, founder of the Bigfoot Research Organization of Kentucky, “there is a huge community of Bigfooters and trips like this are about the research, but also about the social event.”
The search for Bigfoot in the hills of western Kentucky.
Telling tales around a campfire on a cool autumn night typically connotes exaggerated horror stories or folktales spoken in hushed voices with s’mores in hand. For those on the Bigfoot Research Organization of Kentucky’s autumn expedition, the tales told around the campfire were not of fiction, but of first-hand experiences with the long illusive cryptid often reported to make home in the hills of western Kentucky.
Charlie Raymond leads the morning meeting on Oct. 3, covering the events that expeditioners had encountered the previous night on their hikes.
Expeditioners peer out across a creek to see if there are any Bigfoot tracks in the dried mudbanks.
“We foster our community through comradery, education, and experience.”
Ron Leatherman of Albion, Indiana displays his Bigfoot hunting gear on Oct. 3. “I always bring a lot of gear with me on these expeditions,” said Leatherman, “you never know when you are going to need something, always best to be prepared.”
“I founded the BFRO in 1997, and I have been at this for about thirty years,” said Charlie Raymond.
“Between the witnesses sharing their testimony, and going out and having experiences where the Bigfoot are interacting with you, stuff like that keeps me excited and enthusiastic in wanting to prove their existence.” said Raymond.
The most common ways of communicating with the Bigfoot are through knocking thick pieces of wood or baseball bats against trees, or by making various “whooping” sounds. “The folks here with the BFRO take it seriously,” said Mike Holt, “when I first came, I was expecting to see people running around and hollering in the woods, but it’s nothing like that. They really value the scientific value of what they’ve got going on here.”
“The excitement that I see from new people keeps me young,” said Raymond, “I think the Bigfoot really like interacting with new people.”
Emily Harris from Lexington was in attendance on her first Bigfoot expedition, “I came on this trip because my sisters came last year and would not stop talking about how much fun they had,” said Harris, “for the majority of the time that my sisters have been into Bigfooting I just laughed it off, thinking like, what in the hell sort of person would believe in that.”
Harris explains that a few summers ago she had gone with her sisters to the Wildman Days Bigfoot Street Festival in Lawrenceburg, and upon listening to the several hours worth of presentations from Bigfoot researchers, she became hooked.
“One of the most compelling things is a lot of the people who have first-hand experience are afraid to come forward with it, because they are scared it may impact their credibility in their personal lives,” said Harris, “it’s not just people wanting fame or glory, because Bigfoot hunting is not the way to find it.”
“There are a lot of really well-educated people and a wide array of people from all walks of life, as well as the integrity that Charlie puts into the research, there is a commitment to making sure that the research is done with skepticism in mind.” said Harris.
Harris further explained that the BFRO is not only a group based in scientific research, but also where like-minded people can come together.
“Several social events I would have normally gone to have been canceled this year because of the pandemic, so it feels like a treat to be out here with everybody, the amount of hours that I have spent socializing over Zoom these past months makes this expedition more refreshing.” Harris and her two sisters had planned on attending the BFRO expedition that was scheduled for April, but had to opt for the fall expedition due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
“The pandemic changed a few things for us, but for the most part everything is operating as close to normal as it can,” said Raymond. The campsite had stations for hand sanitizer and free masks, and expeditioners were encouraged to respect social distancing protocols.
“You're not confined indoors. So it kind of helps limit the risk when you're outdoors, split apart and we use hand sanitizers to try and keep everything safe,” said Raymond.
According to Raymond, there are many other Bigfoot research groups that are also resuming their expeditions despite the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
“I want to protect [the Bigfoot]. I want to protect your environment. So if I can find a way to protect them and their environment, that's a huge goal. But also, I love being outside in those trees, hiking, so even when you don't experience anything it's still relaxing and rewarding just to be out in the woods. I enjoy it and I'll do it, probably until I die.”
Jill Holt and Javier Villafana enjoy a lunch break after a day hike on Oct. 2. “This is my first ever Bigfoot expedition, I flew out from southern California because I have heard so many great things about this expedition and Charlie,” said Villafana, “I made sure that my family told everyone back home that I came out East for a hiking trip, I just don’t think most of them would really understand.”
Bruce Tandy relaxes during the daily meeting on Oct. 3. “These night expeditions can last until 3 a.m. or later, depending on the amount of activity that a group is experiencing,” said Raymond, “there’s plenty of time during the day for resting before we all go back out and do it again the next night.”
Raymond instructs his expedition group on protocol and a general plan for the night on Oct. 1. “We have to be very methodical with how we take notes, we make sure to radio in before we make any sort of knock or call, on the chance that other groups hear us and mistake those noises we make for actual Bigfoot interactions,” said Raymond.
“ Some people think Bigfoot is a physical manifestation, a flesh and blood creature, but some think it is an other-dimensional being, something a little harder to explain. ”
Charlie Raymond uses his custom bat to knock against a tree as a way of communicating with the Bigfoot suspected to be in the area. “The tree knocks are how Bigfoot communicate to one another,” Raymond said, “sometimes, if you make a knock, the Bigfoot will think they are knocking back and communicating with other Bigfoot.”