Peers - The Scientific Community and Bigfoot Researchers - by Marie Simone Van Speybroeck

- by Marie Simone Van Speybroeck

November 10

Recently I had occasion to talk with some of my peers about the work amateur researchers conduct in the field of cryptozoological study. After speaking with several experts in the field of zoology. I noted that the same responses were prevailing among all of them.

There is a notable apprehension in the scientific community to accept data provided by amateur researchers in the field of cryptozoological study. Understanding that the cryptozoological and zoological study should follow the same rigorous guidelines is one of the key reasons for the disdain of science for the topic. 

So let’s see if I can try to explain how an amateur researcher can gain the respect of the professionals.

To fully understand the in-cognizance of the sciences in regards to cryptozoology one must understand the meaning of the word, (Cryptozoology). 

Cryptozoology is a pseudoscientific approach to the discovery unknown or legendary creatures many of whom are considered to be of folklore. It is a study in the undiscovered and is often conducted with out the disciplines and skills of a zoological team. The title of cryptozoologist is more often then not, a self bestowed credential. Though it is accepted by the public as legitimate the word describes a multitude of different disciplines. 

To understand this one must look at the field of zoology. Zoology is the study of animals. It is a multi disciplined field. A zoological team is comprised of several individuals whom are all expert in different disciplines. A typical team consists of a wildlife biologist, wildlife behaviorist, a veterinarian and a veterinary pathologist and a botanist as primary members, secondary or support persons would be a local guide and a animal tracker. For one individual to master each of these disciplines it would take a lifetime of vigorous study resulting in several degrees for a single individual. Not an impossible thing but a highly unlikely situation. 

So the first mistake made by many laymen researchers is to introduce themselves as cryptozoologists a word that describes multiple disciplines of which most laymen researchers simply do not possess. 

Credibility is dictated by the qualifications and credentials of the individual. So simply introducing oneself as a amateur researcher is far more credible then using the self aggrandized title of cryptozoologist. 

Credibility also demands solid repeatable performance witnessed by more then one individual and proven scientific technical methodology be used in all aspects of your research.

Literally 1000s of items of evidence are destroyed by contamination or improper retrieval, storage handling of evidence. 

Photographic evidence that is unclear such as blobsquatches. Should not even be submitted to the body of evidence. Researchers whom post photographic evidence and say “ can you see it?” expecting the viewer to find some fuzzy dark mass in a picture and convince them selves that it is indeed a picture of the creature in retrospect. Diminishes the researchers credibility. 

Researchers should never work alone. Teams of two are a minimum, teams of 4 or 6 are by far more credible. Every team should have one skeptic as a member of the team. This prevents enthusiastic researchers from committing (Boboizums) (named after Bobo, James Fay) a comedic term assigned to researchers whom are guilty of seeing and hearing a cryptid at every snap of a twig. Or fallen tree. So before you say that’s a squatch. Make sure it really is a Sasquatch. 

These things will all improve the credibility of the researchers. 


If you would like more help in research techniques please comment and I will do my best to help.

Get your fat ass out in the woods!!

Wow, I seem to hear that a lot from people who get offended when I disagree with their "evidence" as not being the ground breaking "bigfoot evidence" that they want people to follow in line with.

Remember the burden of proof post from the other day, if not, you should go read it.  I'm not ever going to be a sheeple and believe people have great insight into Bigfoot, or the best evidence ever that makes the PGF look amateurish.  Back in May of this year, I found this post on Facebook.

The person who posted it, basically was saying that he knew the female Bigfoot made owl calls, and that he was feeding them in his barn.   And I need to point out, "HE SURE ISN'T IN THE WOODS" himself at this point.

So I did a screen capture and posted this in Bigfoot Hoaxers Exposed 2.0 along with my comments below.

 Yeah, maybe I should have not been so strong with my comments, but, that is how I am, I call it like I see it these days.

Well he asked to join the Bigfoot Hoaxers Exposed 2.0 Facebook group, and I allowed him in, I don't deny anyone from the group unless they have been found to hoax, then I deny them entry.  Now the Bigfoot Hoaxers Exposed 2.0 is a good group to go find out who has been caught hoaxing, who is suspected of hoaxing and even those who have just been outright the worst type of researchers in the Bigfoot community.  The reasons are always posted via screen captures to back up what is said about someone hoaxing or just being a bad person in the community.

Now so far I haven't mentioned the name of the person, and I won't, but here is his response to what was posted about his comments, despite the fact that everyone else had posted maps showing Barred owls and their range easily covered most of the United States.

Wow!!  Just flat come out swinging, with no intention of trying to prove me wrong, just the same old "GET YOU FAT WORTHLESS ASS OUT THERE" comment that seems to pop up when you question anyone's evidence or claims.  

And then he wants to claim I am making up stories or hoaxing a flipped off a 4 wheeler.  Or even the fact that I don't know anything about the subject of Bigfoot.

Just a really big "Awesome WOW!!!" is the first thing out of my mouth.

Let's look at some facts.

I have been doing research since 1991, in which I made my first trip down to Fouke, Arkansas to look for the Boggy Creek Monster.  Before that, I was interested in Bigfoot due to an incident that occurred in Adair County, Oklahoma back in 1977 just a few miles from my house.

In my lifetime, I have spent more than 4,000 times in the woods, in which I have had 26 encounters with what I suspected was Bigfoot, or actually seen the creature itself.  Not to mention multiple rock throwings, vocalizations, and other incidents to add to that count.  That figures out to .006 percent of the time I have been in the woods, I have had an encounter.

In 2016 alone, I have accumulated 42 days in the woods, looking for Bigfoot.  And there is still two months left of the year, and I expect to be out there another 14 days before the end of the year.

Now when I say in the woods, I don't mean camping in a state park or campground, I mean 10 miles back into the wilderness that only a 4 wheeler can get me to.  Why a 4 wheeler?  Because about 4 years ago, I was in an accident that broke my ankle, so hiking into the woods at night is hard for me to do without breaking my ankle all over again.  

I have several fellow MABRC researchers who have gone back into the wilderness with me, and we all knew, that if anything happened, it would be morning before we would come back out.  There was not much way of finding our way back in the dark, even with a GPS.

What did we do when we got there?  Simple, sometimes we would build a small fire to stay warm with, but most times, we took our folding camp chairs, set them up, and sat out all night in the dark waiting for something to happen.

Usually the only protection we had was bear spray.

I do have a lot of friends in the Bigfoot Community that has to do their research in state or federal parks because that is the only areas that they have around them to research in, and I understand that.  But I have a deep affinity to having to camp in a park or campground.  I want to go into the deeper areas where there is hardly any human activity to disrupt the research.

Here is what some of the areas look like that I go into.  Some of these pics were this last spring before the leaves came out.

The locations shown above are roughly 6 miles into a valley where we conduct a lot of research at, and to hike in at night is nearly impossible for even someone without a broken ankle to hike into.  That is why we use 4 wheelers to carry people and equipment into the valley.  And at night, sometimes we have to get to a person quickly and they sometimes are several miles away.

BUT NO!!!  I don't get into the woods according to this person, who thinks I am a keyboard commando, yet by his own admission, he doesn't go out into the woods, he stays apparently on his farm and only goes as far as his barn.

Now for the 4 wheeler incident.  Again, WOW!!!, this dude wants to talk about this, so let's talk about it.  An incident occurred last year during the 2015 Oklahoma Bigfoot Symposium at the valley that the MABRC researchers camp at during the Symposium.  A team comprising members from MABRC, BFRO, TBRG and a few independent researchers were going to set up a listening post at the entrance to the valley.  One thing we have found is that if you run into the valley on 4 wheelers and then come back out, the local Bigfoot seem to follow you out, as if to make sure you actually leave the valley.

To accomplish this, I mounted up on a 4 wheeler and was going to ride up about a third of the way up the valley and then turn around and come back out.  Now I admit, I broke the MABRC rules myself by going alone, but I didn't think much of it since I have been in the valley numerous times by myself.

Fate would have it differently, as I roared up through the valley, I turned a corner in the trail and lo and behold I seen two brownish-black Bigfoot carrying a young calf (For the city folks, a calf isn't just a little bity thing, a calf to country folks is any young cow, and they can get up to 600 pounds.  The one I saw being carried was in the 500 to 600 pound range) down the trail.  

Suddenly, the back of my 4 wheeler goes up in the air and nearly throws me over the handlebars.  As I look over my shoulder, I see a massive shoulder of black hair.  The 4 wheeler dropped, and to this day, I do not know how I turned around on that trail, but I did and roared out of the valley.  All I could think was that the Bigfoot that picked me up was running up behind me, so I was giving the 4 wheeler everything I had.  I crossed the creek coming out of the valley and ran directly into the listening post.  

From what I was told by those guys, I was nearly in shock, my 4 wheeler was smoking from being so hot.  After I regained my composure and told them what had happened, they looked at the back of my 4 wheeler, and this is what was found.

The (1) and (2) dots show where the fingerprints and handprint where something grabbed the back bumper of the 4 wheeler.

(1) shows how the bumper was bent outwards, (2) shows the bottom part bent outward and 3 shows the dried handprint the next day.

(1) to (2) shows the weld on the bumper was broken from the pressure of the bumper being picked up.

The next day at the Symposium, the caretaker for the cattle herd near the valley entrance came in and talked with me, when I told him what had happened, he told me that he had a calf missing that morning.  I didn't have a video camera at the time, but I have been trying to contact him so I can get him on video restating that.  

Now, all this is, is a story until I can get corroborating evidence, that being the caretaker saying he indeed was missing a calf that morning before he came to the Symposium.  Granted, this really doesn't prove that this encounter happened.  Nothing short of having a camera mounted to my head and recording the entire time I am in the valley will help to back that up.  Guess what though, I now will not go anywhere out of camp unless I have a gopro strapped to my head.  Lesson learned.

Finally, the fact that I don't know anything about Bigfoot.  First off, there is no one that is an expert on Bigfoot, and the only thing we know for sure, is that they live in the woods.  Second, I believe that I have more knowledge than most new people coming into the Bigfoot Community.  I've been doing this since 1991, have accumulated lots of evidence, and continue going in the woods.  I've worked long and hard on the MABRC Forums to post the combined information of everything Bigfoot-related on it, in one easy to research location.  I do know that the University of Oklahoma back in 2008 credited me with setting the model for Bigfoot Research on the Internet.  And finally, not to take anything away from Henry Mays, who has been given the title of the Bigfoot Encyclopedia, who can remember dates way better than I ever could.   I have shown that I have the memory of an elephant when it comes to information related to research and hoaxes, as well as the Community history.

So when someone who researches from their barn has the nerve to criticize me for not "Getting my worthless fat ass out there" it really just makes me wonder why anyone thinks I'm not out there.  Just because I don't post garbage "evidence" on Facebook like they do, doesn't mean I have evidence to present.  I just prefer to do it on the MABRC Forums.

I have said it numerous times, and will say it numerous times more, if you expect anyone to take you serious in Bigfoot research, you better do your homework.  Learn the history of the Bigfoot Community, learn who is who, because the person you blast may be someone who has been at this a hell of a lot longer than you have, have tried all the ideas you are claiming is your idea you just came up with, and know a lot more than you ever will know.

Basically, don't have your head up your ass.

And that is one of the reasons that this blog exists, to help people not only learn tactics, procedures and policies to use in the field of research, but also to teach them who the right people are to listen to.

There is also those who claim I bash all Bigfooters, and talk highly of myself.  I don't try to talk down to anyone until they show a case of the dumbass, then I have to say something.  I seldom talk highly of myself until someone attacks my background in the Bigfoot Community.  Just because they don't want to take the time to learn the history, it's not my fault that they sound so stupid or crazy when they make wild claims without anything to back them up.  I have also worked with tons of evidence sent to me, and used a lot of software to analyze this evidence.  Because of that, I was able to write books showing others how to do this.  So I think I do have some knowledge these days.

Enough ranting for this blog, but for those who will no doubt be upset about this blog post, all I can say, is do your homework, stop expecting everyone else to do it for you.

Never give up!! Never surrender!!!

I try not to post anything on this blog to make it into a political blog, as in the Bigfoot Community, there seems to never be a shortage of politics.  But every once in a while, something happens that just boggles the mind so bad, the it eats away at you like the plague until you say something.

Ryan Reading, yes, that Ryan Reading.  He is like the squirrel above, he just never gives up.  To Ryan, the entire Bigfoot community is like a rattlesnake, always ready to strike at him and in his mind, he is the great crusader who must take on the whole community.

Ryan has tried to make comments on this blog, and each time, I have to shake my head why he would think anyone would let him rant and rave on their blogs.  Recently, Ryan has tried multiple gofundme projects, from paying his fines, to buying a thermal, to now, his quest to fund a field trip and gift cards for the 6th graders at the school in his town.

So Ryan wants $15,000 to fund all this for the kids at his local school.  Yet he directs this solely at the Bigfoot community instead of his local community where the local populace should be more interested in taking care of their own community.  When the Bigfoot Community balks at the whole idea because Ryan is associated with it, he resorts to name calling and bashing of the Bigfoot Community as a whole.  Here are just a few examples of the many that exist out there.

There is more, but we have to keep this post short.  The issue is, Ryan has attacked everyone and tried to portray himself as the victim throughout.  Ryan even admits that he posted this in 88 Bigfoot Sites but never mentions posting his gofundme on non-Bigfoot sites, yet wants to bash Bigfooters because they don't trust the person running the gofundme project to fund these kids.

Todd Neiss, a person I have tons of respect for said it best.  "Bridges burned."

Todd asked questions, and did take offense when Ryan called the entire Bigfoot Community a lot of bad things because they didn't jump on his band wagon on the gofundme project.  Ryan in kind, blasted Todd, finally Todd could take no more of the stupidity that Ryan was throwing out there, including using foul language as if that was the only words he knew.

Ryan then goes and begins posting bible verses on his page as if he is trying to make himself look good to everyone.

Like this will endear him to anyone???  And then, he posts this.

Yeah Ryan, you sure do have the Bigfoot Community by the tail, too bad you are such a small nuisance.  Maybe if the entire community would just ignore you, you would get tired and leave us all alone.  But I'm sure you will rant and rave in your next 45 minute to an hour video about how the Bigfoot Community is so against you.  Maybe it's because we are so tired of your attacking everyone, and making videos that just ramble on and on and heaven forbid, on.

Most people have tried pointing out to you that what you are trying to do best suits your local community, and as such, those who do not live in your area have their own children in their own communities to worry about.  Also, you have zero credibility to be spearheading any fundraiser, and if this was truly a fundraiser for a school, it should be done by the school, not by you.

To hammer away at the Bigfoot Community for not contributing to your gofundme is so laughable, that you are now the biggest joke in the community.  No one is trying to hold you down, you just have burned every bridge you have come to and you have no one to blame but yourself.  

But what really blew my mind of what is going on is this.......

You try to take credit for donations that was made to the school in question that came from National organizations.  What the crap???  You take the cake boy, you had nothing to do with those supplies being donated, but you want the credit for it???

For anyone wanting to donate to this gofundme project that Ryan is behind, do yourself a favor, donate the money to your OWN public school system.  Or better yet, go down to your local Angel tree this Christmas and help out by buying Christmas presents for a needy child there.  Help out in your own community, let Dunkirk take care of their's.  And for those who will no doubt attack this blog for saying what is on the minds of many in the community, go ahead and contribute your money, it's your business and your right to do what you want with your money, but don't attack those of us who are more concerned with the kids in our own communities. 

More Predators than in the woods

Edited to add a comment by Bruce Kelley at bottom.

An opinion blog post by D.W. "Darkwing" Lee

We're not talking about this Predator

Or these type predators.

I've been around the Online Bigfoot Community since the early days of the Internet, and I have seen plenty of people come and go.  I am an avid supporter of what Steve Hyde once wrote about "Six things a new Bigfoot researcher should think about", and one of those things is that you will meet all sorts of people in the community.  Steve is right 1000%, you meet all types, from sheeple, to woo, to flesh and blood, and especially the predators.

What the F*ck, D.W.?  Predators?  Predators are only in the woods many say.  Well, normally I would agree with you, but today we are going to talk about the predators that are in the Bigfoot Community.  

Over the years, I have encountered a great many predators in the Bigfoot Community, and sad to say, most are still a part of this community, still preying on the sheeple as if it was nothing more than a game to them.  But with the advent of Facebook, these predators have increased in number.

Some range as trolls in the numerous online Bigfoot forums/Facebook groups, silently watching for those that they can prey on.  It may take them months or even years, but they begin building a profile on their prey, knowing everything they can.

Others are self-aggrandizing (The act or practice of enhancing or exaggerating one's own importance, power, or reputation.elf-aggrandizing), who try to establish a personality cult and use this to get their prey to fall in line with what they say.   

Some of those who self-aggrandize may point out, that because of this blog, I may be guilty of that.  Maybe folks, but I am just putting this information out there, what you do with it, is your own business, I just hope that it saves someone from being preyed upon.

I will also admit, that I have found myself preyed upon by these same predators that I'm talking about, and if someone assumes that my post is about them, if they are affected by them, then they are obviously guilty of being a predator. 

Most predators have their own agendas that they try to force you into believing in, and most of the time, the prey gets involved in "group think" social issues.  Where others in the group are doing it, saying it, believing it, and eventually you begin to do the same, all along the lines of "group think or peer pressure".  Watch the following video to see how this works, it was a social experiment that truly shows how online predators can get you to follow their rhetoric.  They will have others go along with their views, eventually luring others into following blindly.

The girl in the video not only fell into line with what was going on, she actually carried it over to another group of people who were not even in on the experiment.   This is what happens to most Facebook groups for those who are what many predators consider "sheeple" those who do not have the capacity for independent though when confronted by others.  They simply fall in line.  And in effect, they become puppets who the predator can pull their strings.

Now I know I have used "sheeple" to describe those in the community who fall prey to these predators, I thought long and hard how to label these folks, and in the end, I used the most common known word for people who are easily led.  

A certain professional in the mental health profession has really cranked up his predatory skills, perhaps relying on his training in the profession to exploit the mindset that a predator looks for.  The group thinking in the group he runs, is almost overpowering once you get in.  And anyone who has a different opinion or way of thinking, either conforms to the group think, or gets bounced and unmercifully attacked.  Once again, the way is to exploit the "sheeple" of the community.

A new entry into the Bigfoot Community as a predator has come from a man who supposedly runs a wilderness adventure guide service, who came onto the scene of Bigfooting little over a year ago.  Many groups allowed him in at first, and saw a large number of posts that were little more than advertisement for his guide service.  I then suspect he realized the potential for more customers by appealing to the Bigfoot Community in hopes of luring more people to go on his guided tours of the woods.

It didn't take long before many of the old timers saw through his exploits, and called him on his so-called evidence that was easily debunked by those who took the time to examine it.  Once called out on his poor evidence, he would attack anyone who question him, and sought hard to make them look like the bad guys for daring to question his evidence.

As an admin for the State Bigfoot groups on Facebook, I removed him from them, I didn't want to give him an avenue to lure more prey to his lair.  While many have condemned me for it, right or wrong, I did it to protect people from being lured into something that could be dangerous.

Others have sought to become celebrities in the Community by posting thousands of "purported" Bigfoot photos, or that they are having a habituation situation at their house.  I have personally had run-ins with both kinds.  The "purported" Bigfoot photos show nothing that could ever be considered substantial as proof, yet they begin to build up a following of people who want so bad to either be a part of something related to Bigfoot, or falls into the group think from others who have suffered the same fate.  Remember the girl in the video above? 

Now let's talk about habituations.  I, for various reasons, don't believe in about 90% of the habituation stories that have accumulated over the years.  For all the activity some people claim to have happened, this is not one little dab of evidence ever produced to back up any of these claims.

Back about 10 years ago, Driveroperator and myself was introduced to a lady who was claiming to have Bigfoot on her property by perhaps one of the largest predators in the Bigfoot Community.  This predator claimed that this woman had the next biggest thing going on in Bigfooting.   So DO and I arrived at the lady's house and realized as soon as we got there, that this was not on the up and up.

You see, the lady lived on 4 acres of land, it was 1 acre wide, by 4 acres long, completed overgrown with underbrush and piled up with junk.  On all 4 sides of her property were half million dollar homes with well-manicured lawns, and it was all situated on a peninsula that was used as a recreational area for the lake that was just a 1/4 mile from the property itself.

The lady told us that she had up to a dozen Bigfoot continually going through her yard, using the underbrush as cover.  DO and I begin crawling through the underbrush looking for trails where they could have been going through out, even though our doubts about her claims were foremost on our minds.  The only game trails we found were small game, rabbits, possums, raccoons, etc. but to satisfy the predator that had gotten us involved in this mess, DO put out three trailcams for a 60 day time period.   After 60 days, guess what?  Absolutely nothing.  He had covered the area pretty well with his cameras and anything crossing the property would have been caught on the camera.

What sealed the deal though on the lady's claims being false, was that she had told me that her neighbor (on the side of her property where she claimed the Bigfoot were coming through on) had built a brushpile on his side of his fence, and would be seen out there going to it in his ghillie suit.

 I traveled over there during the day to talk to the neighbor, unknown to the lady or the predator, and what I found out sealed it for me.  The neighbor admitted that he was trying to scare the lady into selling her property by making her think she had monsters crossing on her land.  Him and the other land owners around her wanted her to sell out and move away so they could clean up the property since it devalued their own property.  Exactly where the lady said she would see the Bigfoot at, was underbrush about 5 foot wide, the neighbor would walk back and forth in hopes she saw him and thought it was a monster.

Here is an aerial view of the property, I don't think I am revealing the location because it's just of the area around the property, nothing hopefully revealing.  (1) is the lady's house.  (2) is the neighbor with the ghillie suit, (3) is the narrow strip of vegetation between their houses. (4)(5)(6) is where the trail cams were set up.  

Well he succeeded at making her think that.  Once I found this out, I told DO, and he retrieved his cameras and despite the predator screaming at the top of his lungs that we needed to devote all of our resources to this habituation investigation, we walked away.  The predator then proceeded to make this lady into a habituation superstar, even convincing her that she knew everything about habituation, getting her invited to other locations by people who thought they might have habituations going on.  But the one thing always remained steadfast in what this lady would say, was that it always resembled the predator's own agenda, never veering away from it. 

Now there are also trolls in the Bigfoot Community, some have been around so long that their narcissism is well known to those who have been around for a while.  One individual seems to revile in the fact someone gets upset with their attacks, and will then go around proclaiming themselves as the victim to anyone that will listen.  

And to always back himself up, he has created numerous sock puppets that will suddenly show up and help in his attack.  I once found myself having to clean up numerous sock puppets he had created on the MABRC forums, including one where he claimed to be a Alma (Siberian Bigfoot) researcher from Russia, and had started a thread on the forums about his on-going research, for what reason?  I still haven't figured out why.  It was only after checking IP addresses that I was able to figure out that is was this predator/troll who had created the account.

As more and more people come into the Bigfoot Community, they are not aware of the past history of many of these predators, and once they are preyed upon, and become a part of the "group think", they do not listen to those old timers who are trying to warn them about the history of the person they are following.  A certain radio show has amassed an almost cult-like following, in which if someone says something the least bit negative about the show or the hosts, a multitude of the followers come down upon them like a stampede of cattle in the Old West.

Folks, I'm not trying to influence anyone with this post, what I am saying is that before you follow anyone, you should seriously do some research about the person, watch what happens whenever someone says something against the person's own beliefs and how they react.  Don't allow yourself to fall in the group think category and be considered a "sheeple".

If you want to be a part of the Bigfoot Community, fantastic, the more people we have out looking for Bigfoot, the more likely we are to solve the mystery to the world, however, if you just want to follow the first person that comes along, you should really do your research on them first.   Here are some things to watch out for.  Self-promotion, if they are continuously promoting themselves as a great researcher or that they find something every time they go out, then you should be very leery of them.  If they seem to continuously attack people for disagreeing with them, then chances are, they are a predator.  If they have a lot of people hanging on every word that they say, then they have found a sizeable enough following to help them prey on others.

Now, if the person is desperately trying to obtain celebrity status, trying to be on every radio show, TV show or even posting a lot of videos on YouTube where they give their respective opinions that usually degrade someone else, then I would hope that you have enough sense to not follow them.

Some will say, "D.W., you have a blog and post it everywhere, does that make you someone trying to obtain celebrity status?"  My answer is no, I'm posting information out there for everyone to read, I don't expect anyone to follow the protocols and procedures I post here, they are posted here to give someone an idea or two of how to create their own protocols and procedures to use in their research.  The techniques I discuss, come from years of trying in Bigfoot research from myself and others, and while we may have had some success or failure in these techniques, I put them out there to show folks what has been tried in the past.  I simply hope to be able to put information out there that others can use either to their advantage or disadvantage.  

As this blog post has gone long enough, just remember folks, to do your research on a person before blindly following them, and as the great Ray Crowe would say, "Keep your skepticals on" be skeptical of everything, because that in the end, is what makes a Bigfoot Researcher even better.  And again, if you think this post was about you, then go ahead and think that, because more than likely, if you have to think it's you, then you probably are a predator.


 Comment by Bruce Kelley from Facebook:  Unfortunately, though, it is my belief that there is a "two-way street" aspect to all this. There seems to be an ever-increasing number of people out there that absolutely have no interest in truth, facts or reality. They come into bigfooting with a pre-established belief system that leans toward the paranormal or supernatural. They look for others to give them validation and to support them in their beliefs. Many of them, if not most, want a leader or "messiah" to be the flag-bearer for their beliefs. A great number of them, IMO, are emotionally needy and need to be a part of something - anything. These "predators" are getting an ever-growing audience among these individuals. The psychologist, you mentioned, IMO, knows how to recognize this type of individual and may even target them. The situation becomes even worse when these "followers" become "enablers", constantly stroking and feeding the egos of these "predators".