Track in snow near Poopanelly Creek Clackamas County, Oregon

>> Editor's Note:

There's great things afoot in December's newsletter! (pun intended) Be sure to check out the exclusive interview with Dave Venghaus, producer of the the HILARIOUS new Bigfoot movie, "They Call Him Sasquatch".

Speaking of feet, let's look at why this elusive creature is known the world over as "Bigfoot". Surely, everything on a several hundred pound creature is large. Why not "Biglegs" or "Bigface"... or even "Bigbuttocks?"

Certainly it has to do with the giant tracks left behind which are certainly much more common than giant face or derrière prints. <grin> But seriously... who coined the term and how?

It all started back in 1958, when bulldozer operator Jerry Crew was working on a logging operation north of Weitchpec, CA. A local newspaper carried a photograph of Crew holding a plaster cast of a 16" track. The story hit the AP wire and with the quote "Bigfoot, as the Bluff Creek people call the creature, apparently travels only at night", modern-day "Bigfoot" was born.

It's easy to forget that there are other less-sensational names for this creature - names that date back centuries and lend credence to a growing body of historical evidence. Many Native American tribes- all across the country, not just in the Pacific Northwest - have a name for these creatures in their native tongue. Think about that... they actually gave a name to the same species of creature that thousands of people report seeing today. Early Native Americans didn't have CNN or the National Enquirer to help them spread sensationalistic news about "monsters", but they did name and revere ALL wildlife. And while many Native languages, despite proximity, are as different from each other as German is to Mandarin Chinese, the descriptive names given to the "hairy ones" tend to follow along the same lines: Devil, Creek Devil, Wildman, Cannibal Woman, Stick Indian, Ridge Runner... all names descriptive of the fearful behaviors of these giant forest inhabitants.

The legend lives.

Autumn Williams
Oregonbigfoot.com
Your comments are always welcome.

Click thumbnails to enlarge

>> "They Call Him Sasquatch" (DVD only $11.69 at Amazon.com!) is David Venghaus' directorial debut. It's a hysterically funny, tongue-in-cheek look at Bigfoot research and the people who devote their lives to the search for a mysterious creature. Venghaus' humor is silly and delightful - much like a movie-length Saturday Night Live skit.

I had a difficult time deciding which was my favorite character... there's a couple of old-timers who constantly harangue each other over their differing beliefs, the two hunters who captured the creature on film (my sides were SPLITTING over their antics), voluptuous, vacuous Bella and her nerdy husband, the psychic Sasquatch caller from Ohio (my jaw dropped when I heard how much her calls sounded like mine!), Buzz Schrott, the wild-eyed mountain man who can't say anything quietly... the list goes on, but my favorite has to be Neal McDonough as Ned Dryer, the gorgeously petulant, overly-charismatic news anchor who's thrust into the woods with the entire group. His voice-activated cell-phone gag in the beginning of the movie had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe.

Having been on many expeditions and filmed a television series about Bigfoot, I was taken by the hysterical REALITY of this little gem... more reality here, in many cases, than on the set of a "reality" TV show! <grin> It really captures the often-chaotic interactions between researchers from different walks of life who bring their beliefs to the field in an attempt to research together. I screened the movie once, then twice, then a third time and laughed harder each time. This movie is DEFINITELY one of my favorites of all time and is sure to become a cult classic in the research world.

I interviewed the man behind the magic, David Venghaus, to find out just what kind of a wonderfully warped person could come up with such a funny movie...

Autumn: Let's talk about your background in the filmmaking industry...

David: I started working in television after college on "The Cosby Show" in New York. I loved working on that show, not only because of it being the number one show at the time, but I had an opportunity to watch and work with one of the greatest entertainers and comedians in the world, Bill Cosby. I worked as a Production Assistant for two years before leaving to work in movies. I worked in New York in films as a P.A. such as Martin Scorcese's "The Age of Innocence," Robert DeNiro's "A Bronx Tale," Oliver Stone's "JFK" and many more films. I then was accepted into the Director's Guild of America where I've worked as an Assistant Director on great films like "Forrest Gump", "Natural Born Killers", "The Other Sister", and most recently with Steven Spielberg on "A.I.", "Minority Report", "Catch Me if You Can" and "The Terminal." I decided that directing was my path which lead me to "They Call Him Sasquatch."

Autumn: What made you decide to do a movie about Bigfoot... or, Bigfoot researchers, rather?

David: I was on the internet one day and came upon your website, Oregonbigfoot.com. I began reading some of the information and stories and became fascinated with the entire passion for the Sasquatch. I became most interested in those people who spend their time in search of the unknown. One of our greatest abilities has always been to be adventurers. We want to understand and connect with the unknown and the mysterious. We all have that in us but only some have the courage to reach out and explore. I've always loved the concept of the Bigfoot. I'm embarrassed but humored to tell you that it started on "The Six Million Dollar Man" when he came on the Sasquatch. I decided to use that in the movie itself. I think that all of us like to enjoy ourselves and laugh with each other. I wanted to find the humor in the search for something bigger than us.

David: I was afraid that I could offend some when I began this venture, but I consistently kept in mind that I wanted the humor to be real and human, not humor that made fun or offended. I wanted the audience to leave laughing, but laughing by recognizing a little something in the characters that is each of us. I wanted to make sure I allowed for the realm of possibilities to always remain. I do not want or ever want to belittle the passion of others in their quests. There is a big difference between laughing with someone and laughing at someone. I wanted us all to laugh together.

Autumn: What kind of research did you do prior to filming?

David: The research I did was actually quite extensive. I began reading every piece of material on the Sasquatch that I could find. I met with parties that attended expeditions and I constantly kept up to date with the popular websites on the Bigfoot, including your own.

Autumn: Did the cast members have any knowledge of the subject prior to filming?

David: I made packets of information that I distributed to each actor and had them do the same. I wanted the audience to believe that these people were as passionate as those who really do dedicate parts of their lives in the search. I wanted the actors to do as much research as possible. I was proud that each took the time and read the materials. We spent hours talking about the concepts and information we gathered. They wanted to get into these lives a little more.

Autumn: What about those two crazy hunters? Where on earth did you find those guys? They're hilarious!

David: My Hunters! I can't begin to tell you how much we all enjoyed those two. Jeff Phelps and E. Sean Griffin played these two better than I could ever have imagined. I was introduced to Jeff through my producer, Eddie Hunt. Eddie had asked me to read Jeff for one of the parts. My first thought was...too good looking. Jeff is very handsome, and I thought that would play against him. Then he started. He was brilliant. His timing was dead on. I had him reading with another young actor who was to play the other hunter. This actor was and is unbelievably talented, but this is where I realized that at times it has nothing to do with talent but it's the chemistry that makes it work. It wasn't working and Jeff and I knew it. He asked me to come to a comedy show that he did with his friend E. Sean. I went and was thrown by the small crowd of three in the place. I couldn't believe it. I thought I made another mistake. And then they started. They had me in complete stitches. I found my hunters. At one point I decided to write the screenplay instead of having the actors improvise the whole movie. Both Jeff and E. Sean looked up at me after reading the script and mentioned there was no dialogue for them. I told them there was just no way I would ever be able to write as funny as they could be. I was absolutely correct. They were terrific. I blew most of the takes because they had me laughing so hard. My sound man still won't talk to me.

Autumn: Where did you get the costume?

David: The Bigfoot costume was designed by a great FX designer by the name of Douglas White. We were introduced to him through an associate of mine and he was kind enough to give us a great deal on the suit. His suit was used in many other commercials, television and films.

Autumn: Who played Bigfoot in the movie?

David: Who played Bigfoot? That's a movie in itself. We were up in the mountains shooting in Big Bear, California. We had scheduled to shoot Bigfoot over two days. The guy we had coming up called at the last minute and canceled on us. I didn't have a large enough guy with us to fit the costume. My producer, Mike Dieveney went on a search of Big Bear for a new actor. And he found one. He ran into the nicest guy in the world, Randy, in a coffee shop. We hired the almost 7 foot tall man on the spot. He was great. The funniest moment with Randy was the final scene. It was the last day of shooting and we were running out of time. I had an entire scene to shoot. The crew was finishing up lunch and I called for them all to come up and work. I then heard over one of the radios that Bigfoot was missing. I then heard that Randy, in full costume, decided to drive down the mountain to go to Burger King and scare his friends. I couldn't believe it. There we were with no Bigfoot. Well, Randy showed up and I think made a pit stop. Let's say he did a little smoking... He was a riot. I had a stoned Bigfoot on my hands. Thank God all he had to do was growl and look menacing. I kept hearing him laugh when all of the other actors were in their underwear. I did the sound later.

Autumn: What’s your most memorable moment while shooting the film?

David: The most memorable moment for me would have to be the campfire night. We all had been shooting like crazy and it was night time. We were sitting around the camp fire and I knew I had to say something. It was September the 11th, 2002. The year anniversary. Some of the actors and crew had lost good friends that day. We had a short and moving tribute in our own way. A great friend of mine, Dominic Kay, who was six years old, sang the most incredible song. The entire cast and crew were in tears. After it was done, Chuck McCann looked up and said in his brilliant way, "Oh great, now we have to be funny!" We all cracked up. Chuck and Warren, our great veterans of the group, had the greatest attitude and most loving attention to us all.

Autumn: What are you working on now?

David: Currently, I am working as an Assistant Director on the two sequels to "Pirates of the Caribbean" for Disney. I am also planning my next directing job, "Oklahoma Skies" which I also wrote. I hope to be shooting this coming year.

Autumn: Any plans for a sequel?

David: I would love to do a sequel and you know, I bet I will. The last day of shooting no one wanted it to end. At one point the actors came up and said, "Let's start shooting the sequel now." I wish I could have. I now leave it to the community of those people who are explorers to give my inspiration in the quest for the Sasquatch. Good luck to you all.

Thanks, Dave... We'll need it! <grin>

You can get your own copy of "They Call Him Sasquatch" from Amazon.com
Visit Echelonent.com for more information

>>Added Zack Hamilton photo on photo gallery page
>>Added new pictures to Peter Oberdorf and Scott Davis pages in the Art Gallery
>>20 new reports published

FEATURED REPORT - Oregonbigfoot.com case file # 00712:
Multnomah county, OR
Date: summer 1986
Nearest town: It was at Multnomah Falls
Nearest road: I-84
Conditions: clear
Time: night 1:00-2:00 am
Location: The exact location was the lower parking lot at Multnomah Falls on I-84. We were parked toward the west end of the lot facing the Columbia River.

My husband, myself and our 11 month old baby were spending the weekend at the Oregon coast. We stayed one night and on the second day decided to just watch the sunset and head back home to Hood River after we ate dinner. It was pretty late by the time we reached Multnomah Falls exit and my husband needed to take a break from driving to get some fresh air. We pulled into the parking lot and there were no other cars at all. We parked our vehicle at the west end of the lower parking lot. Our baby was sleeping in the back seat and he and I got out of the vehicle to stretch our legs and get some air. It was a pleasantly warm evening and very clear out.

Just a few minutes had passed when all of a sudden we heard noise coming from the east end of the lot. We both looked and saw a very large, tall creature coming out of the tunnel where during the day people are walking in and out of constantly. It had to duck down to come through and seemed a bit irritated to have to do so. It came out of the tunnel and stood up tall pivoting to the west and headed our direction. During this entire ordeal, my husband (now ex) and I never spoke a word! Our voices fell silent as we both watched this thing head our way. As it came closer my mind tried to decide what it was. It clearly was not a human, too tall to be that. It was not a bear, as it's arms were long and actually hung to around it's knees at a full stand. It was not a gorilla as it walked like a human and was too big to be a gorilla. Process of elimination led me to the only logical conclusion. It was Bigfoot. Without a doubt.

It was dead silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Wouldn't rational people jump into their vehicle (where their precious child was sleeping)and take the hell off? Well, to this day, I can't explain the fact that we both seemed frozen on our feet and could not move or speak. At this time I recall there was NO FEAR. Absolutely none. Anyway, it approached and as it walked by us (about 20 feet from where we stood) it stopped for just a moment, acknowledged us by turning it's head to look and made a sound(?) and a slightly irritated wave of it's right arm. It then quickly lost interest and continued on it's way heading west in the parking lot. We watched in silence as this huge and obviously dark and hairy creature walked up to a cement wall, firmly planted it's hands on the wall and oh so quickly swept it's feet and legs right on through as it vanished into the dense forest beyond. Then it was gone. This entire incident lasted only minutes I am sure, but living it seemed to be in slow motion. Once the creature hopped the wall my husband and I FINALLY looked at each other wide eyed. All that he said at that moment was "let's get the hell out of here" as we got into our vehicle and took off. It wasn't until this moment that I felt physical fear. I began to tremble uncontrollably. My heart was racing at what we had just witnessed. We drove still in silence for a few minutes and then it seemed that we both at the same moment said to each other "did you see what I just saw?" It was as if we had to confirm it with the other because it was so unbelievable. Yes, we had indeed both seen the same thing, thank God! No one would believe this story. He believed me, and I believed him. He also told me that he had no fear until it was gone, just like me. Not once did we feel threatened by it (though it seemed a bit irritated by something)or did we fear for our sleeping baby in the back seat. Figure that one out! That's my story. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for giving me a chance to share it.

>> Clue to "Gorilla Men" found, may be lost Race of Giants - July 16, 1924

Clallam Indians tell of Eight-Foot Seeahtiks Who Killed Game by Hypnotism - Existence Kept Secret by Other Tribes.

Hoquiam, Washington -- "Mountain Devils discovered at Mount St. Helens near Kelso, are none other than the Seeahtik Tribe," said Jorg Totsgi, Clallam Tribe Editor of The Real American, an Indian national weekly publication in an interview here today.

"Seeahtik" is a Clallam pronunciation. All other tribes pronounce it: "Seeahtkoh."

The Indians of the Northwest have kept the existence of the Seeahtiks a secret. Partly because they know no white man would believe them and the Indian, known for his honesty and truthfulness, does not like to be called a liar, and partly because the northwestern Indian is ashamed of the Seeahtik Tribe, said Totsgi.

"The "Mountain devils" or 'gorillas' who bombarded the prospectors' shack on Mount St. Helens in 1924, according to the description of the miners, are none other than the Seeahtik Tribe with whom every Indian in the Northwest is familiar," said Totsgi.

Were thought to be extinct...

The Seeahtiks were last heard of by the Clallam Indians about 15 years ago, (approx 1899 - 1909) and it was believed by the present day Indians, that they had become extinct. The Seeahtik Tribe also make their home in the heart of the wilderness on Vancouver Island. on the Olympic Range, in particular Mt. St. Helens.

"As described by the Clallam Indians, the Seeahtiks are seven to eight feet tall. They have hairy bodies like the bear. They are great hypnotists, and kill their game by stunning them with hypnotic power. They also have a gift of ventriloquism, throwing their voices at great distances and can imitate any bird in the Northwest. They have a very keen sense of humor," Totsgi added.

"In the past generations they stole many Indian women and Indian babies. They lived entirely in the mountain, coming down to the shores only when they wanted a change of diet. The Quinaults claim they generally came once a year to the Quinault River, about fall. The Clallams say they favored the river area near Brinnon on Hood Canal. After having their fill of fresh salmon, they stole dried salmon from the Indian women.

"The Seeahtik Tribe are harmless if left alone. The Clallam Tribe, however, at one time several generations ago, killed a young man of the Seeahtik Tribe to their everlasting sorrow, for they killed off a whole branch of the Clallam Tribe but one, and he was merely left to tell the tale to the other Clallams up-Sound. The Clallam Indians believed that the Seeahtik Tribe had become extinct.

It is fifteen years since their tracks were last seen and recognized at the Brinnon River. Prior to that time, many Clallam Indians have met and talked with men of this strange tribe for the Seeahtiks talk the strange tongue of the Clallams, which is said to have originated from the bear tongue.

The Quinault Indians, however, claim that Fred Pope of the Quinault Tribe and George Hyasman of the Satsop Tribe were fishing about fifteen miles up the Quinault River in the month of September four years ago (1920) when they were visited by the Seeahtiks. The two Indians had caught a lot of steelhead trout, [sic] which they left in their canoe, and the Seeahtiks stole these.

Henry Napoleon of the Clallam Tribe is the only Indian who was ever invited to the home of the Seeahtik Tribe. It was while Napoleon was visiting relatives on the British Columbia coast about thirty years ago, [that would have made the year roughly 1895] that he met a Seeahtik while hunting. The giant Indian then invited him to their home, which is in the very heart of the wilderness on Vancouver Island. Napolean claims they live in a large cave. He was treated with every courtesy and told some of their secrets. He claims that the giant Indians made themselves invisible by strange medicine that they rub over their bodies and that they were able to cause great fear by hypnotic power and had the gift of ventriloquism, to mimic the owl and throw their voices.

Some Indians claim that during the process of evolution when the Indian was changing from animal to man, the Seeahtik did not fully absorb the tamanaweis or soul-power, and thus he became an anomaly in the process of evolution.

The Indians of the Northwest are of the belief that the "mountain devils" found at Mount St. Helens are the Seeahtik Indians and it is generally their custom to frighten persons who have displeased them by throwing rocks at them.

From the files of Bobbie Short, 1995
http://www.n2.net/prey/bigfoot/legends/seeahtik.htm
BigfootEncounters.com
reprinted with permission
© The Seattle Times, July 16, 1924

>> Just the facts, Ma'am...

As a researcher, I've recognized the importance of being able to distinguish between FACT and INTERPRETATION, especially when it comes to anecdotal evidence such as eyewitness accounts. It is a witnesses' job to tell what happened. It is up to me to separate the facts from the witnesses' subjective interpretation of those facts.

For instance: I'm called to the scene of ongoing activity in a rural area. Because the eyewitnesses are experiencing activity around their home on a regular basis, they are excitable and may attribute anything out of the ordinary to the ongoing phenomenon they believe they are experiencing, whether it's related or not. This is very common and doesn't necessarily damage the credibility of the witness... it's simply human nature. I approach the situation knowing this and am careful to listen for fact vs. interpretation while taking notes.

I inquire about recent activity: "Tell me what's been happening lately."

The witness relates: "Well, a bigfoot hit the house last night." (interpretation of events)

"Did anyone see the creature? Were there tracks left behind?" I ask.

"No, there were three loud thumps on the wall at about 3:00 A.M." (statement of fact)

Often, it's possible to get a witness to state "just the facts" with a little careful questioning, as above. A clear, objective investigation mandates getting the most accurate information I can. While thumps on the house may or may not be attributable to a Bigfoot creature, they will be added to the list of potential signs of activity. Later, when reviewing the entire case, the "primary signs" (such as clear sightings, anomalous recorded vocalizations, obvious tracks found and documented, etc.) are separated from the "secondary signs" (broken branches/trees, thumps on the house, indefinite impressions, sounds that may or may not be attributable to other known wildlife, etc.). While these secondary signs in and of themselves do not validate the presence of a creature, they can help establish a pattern of activity. An ongoing scenario with several incidences of primary sign and multiple secondary signs is likely a good location to focus my time and attention. Starting with clear data, however, is crucial - and that means separating the fact from the potentially fictional interpretation.

Autumn Williams
December, 2004