University of Florida Study: Bigfoot Myth Persists Because It Depicts Humans' Wild Side.

Byline: University of Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Dec. 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- There's plenty to debunk about the Bigfoot myth, but people may not listen because they have a love-hate relationship with the gigantic hairy monster, says a University of Florida researcher.

"People express a reverence for the grandeur of the animal and derive meaning from Bigfoot because it represents where we came from," said UF anthropologist David Daegling. "I think Bigfoot depicts the wild and uncultured side of who we are, a side we are both attracted to and repulsed by."

Bigfoot has captured the popular imagination with tantalizing clues and alleged sightings since 1958, when mysterious giant footprints were found in the northern California wilderness and documented on the front page of a local newspaper in 1958. In his new book "Bigfoot Exposed: An Anthropologist Examines America's Enduring Legend," published this month by Altamira Press, Daegling examines some of the most celebrated Bigfoot claims regarding the number, size and frequency of footprints found deep in the forest, hair samples that defy description and famous film footage that some people hold up as the strongest proof of the creature's existence.

"The problem historically has been that investigators have been too quick to believe in Bigfoot rather than be critical about the evidence from the start," Daegling said.

Michael Dennett, scientific and technical consultant to Skeptical Inquirer, a magazine that tells what the scientific community knows about paranormal claims, said in his 20 years researching Bigfoot, Daegling's work is the "best book I've seen, way above anything previously available."

"In truth, many of the issues are far more complex than might seem, yet this book cuts through the fog to reveal the real as well as the unreal parts of the story," Dennett said.