The Bigfoot Question: To Kill or Not to Kill? | Lisa A. Shiel

I have a lot of respect for Lisa Shiel but, while I understand her points, I disagree with much of what she says: The Bigfoot Question: To Kill or Not to Kill? | Lisa A. Shiel.

However, I do agree with her that her following point does get down to the issue of Kill/No Kill (or No Kill/No Capture, ...):

However we feel about killing a Bigfoot, we must accept this indisputable fact. Crying and moaning, or yelling and swearing, about it won’t change the reality. The kill/no-kill debate centers around the wrong question. Rather than arguing, often with great rancor, about whether it’s acceptable to kill a Bigfoot, we ought to drill down to the core of the matter. The kill/no-kill debate obscures the real issue. I suggest a different tactic. Wipe away the mud slung by folks on both sides of the debate. Take a good, hard look at the core of the issue. Then ask yourself one question.

Do you want to prove Bigfoot is real?

On the other hand, her question seems obvious. Why else would someone consider killing (or capturing) a Sasquatch, unless it was to prove its existence to the world? 

I don't want to prove Bigfoot exists. Since I haven't seen one I can't say with certainty it does exist. If I were to see one, I don't have to prove that experience to anyone. Believe me or don't, I don't care. And I'm not willing to sacrifice its life to satisfy the curiosity of others.

UFO Magazine - UFO Magazine Blog - Water Gods: UFOs, Bigfoot,�Fairies

UFO Magazine - UFO Magazine Blog - Water Gods: UFOs, Bigfoot, and Fairies

Lisa Shiel has an intriguing post on Bigfoot as paranormal creature, and a fairy at that. A theory I've also pondered at an article I wrote awhile back for Binnall of America:  Fairies, Bigfoot, and Hauntings.

From Lisa's post at UFO Magazine:
UFO Magazine - UFO Magazine Blog - Water Gods: UFOs, Bigfoot, and Fairies:

Bigfoot have exhibited some very un-apelike behavior, much of it concerning water. Apes don't swim. But Bigfoot have been seen swimming in lakes and rivers. They wade out into rivers to steal fishermen's nets full of fish. They like the water. UFOs have been seen going into or coming out of water. Some witnesses have watched UFOs suck the water out of lakes. They like the water too.

And what about fairies?

Free Short Story From Lisa Shiel: A Trace of Bigfoot | Lisa A. Shiel

A nice treat from author Lisa Shiel: Free Short Story: A Trace of Bigfoot | Lisa A. Shiel

“That’s where it started,” Johansson said. He waved an unsteady hand at the region where the shadows of the trees swallowed the road. “It was no bear or nothing like that. I couldn’t see it real clear but I’m sure. I think it was…”

Read the story to find out! (can you guess?)

Lisa Shiel: The Bigfoot-UFO Connection: A Hypothesis

Researcher, author Lisa Shiel on the Bigfoot-UFO issue on her site Backyard Phenomena. There is also Parts II and III.

On Blogsquatcher: All in our minds?

The Blogsquatcher has an interesting post: Giving the "It's all in yer mind" theory some ammo You know how uber skeptics like to say, in complete seriousness, that Bigfoot is simply all in our minds? Blogsquatcher thinks it's ridiculous too, but he takes this idea in a different direction, even while acknowledging he isn't exactly in agreement with it. He is however, willing to explore the idea and put it out there, which I appreciate;too many BF as well as UFO writers don't like to stray too far from their comfort zones.

Blogsquatcher discusses Jung, archtypes; quotes from a Daily Grail review of Benny Shannon's The Anitpodes of the Mind and asks some intriguing questions,and asks if we might share a knowing of "half man half animal" even within our minds. The use of consciousness shifting drugs takes explorers, or psychonauts into these realms, but more specifically, shared imagery regardless of culture.

If Bigfoot is a paranormal creature and not just a big hairy ape, maybe a fairy or damion, as Patrick Harpur (Damonic Reality) or Lisa Shiel (Backyard Bigfoot) suggest, it's possible we can access a place where Bigfoot resides; a place where our minds are able to travel to, aided by substances such as ayahuasca.

I'm not sure what to think of this either, but it is very interesting, and, like the subject of UFOs and encounters with that phenomena while having ingested psychotropic drugs, it isn't all just a case of simple hallucinations and general tripping. Work done by Hancock, McKenna, Lily, Lear, Pinchbeck, tell us that it isn't that simplistic.

Related items:

Feeling a Lack of Control? Bigfoot Can Help

Fairies, Bigfoot, and Hauntings

Read about the McMinnville UFO gossip and more!

Lisa Shiel, Glowing Orbs, Is Bigfoot a Fairy?

Bigfoot researcher Lisa Shiel has a new look for her blog Backyard Phenomena, which I like. The previous look was fine, but I like this better. I don't know if Lisa had always had this up on her blog, but I just noticed: "exploring the paranormal universe with Lisa A. Shiel" which is a nice touch.

Lisa's recent post is Fairy Lights and Glowing Orbs, once again asking the question, do these share a relationship with Bigfoot? Is Bigfoot a fairy, even? Something Shiel discusses, and I've wondered as well, as I wrote about for my Trickster's Realm column for Tim Binnall's Binnall of America site:

Fairies, Bigfoot and Hauntings (May 22nd, 2006)

I’m still making my way through the very excellent book Daimonic Reality, by Patrick Harpur. (Usually I’m reading at least five books at the same time, so it takes me awhile.) Harpur discusses “paranormal Bigfoot” and suggests that the so-called ‘paranormal Bigfoot’ (a whole other topic unto itself; one I’ve been fascinated with for a long time) is a fairy.

‘Fairy’ for lack of a better term. Unlike the image many of us may have of fairies -- that they’re diminutive, and sweet, pretty girly colors with transparent wings and delicate forms -- fairies come in all sizes and shapes. They are sometimes friendly, sometimes mischievous, sometimes dangerous. They are fickle, easily offended. They need to be treated with some dignity and care, respect and distance. Traditional folklore tells us that leaving food out for fairies is important. Harpur describes a family who had Sasquatch-like encounters on their property; the being seemed to hang around the place, took the food offered, at times seemed playful. But when humans got too close, expected too much, and didn’t leave food out, it was gone forever.

The behavior of fairies can mimic hauntings. What we might assume is a haunted house, and its apparitions and actions seem like those of ghosts or spirits, are not ghosts (impressions of the once living humans, or interactive deceased) but fairies.

Sometimes these “fairies” attach themselves to a specific individual or family. This is what got my attention in particular; I have a close friend who, along with many members (mostly on the female side) have experiences with ghosts and hauntings, as well as UFO events. Many family members, who are scattered all over in different states, have elaborate stories of paranormal, ghost like encounters. Ghosts seem to follow them I, along with everyone else in the family, assumed these things were due to ghosts. I myself have seen and heard many “ghostly” type things connected to this family.

But I always wondered at the sheer number of hauntings in this family. It seemed to be very unusual; all theses people, regardless of where they lived, have ‘ghost issues.’ There often was so much activity; and the interactions between whatever entity is in this house (or, entities) seemed too intense for just a ghost. Reading Harpur’s suggestion that it is entities that are not human, that are in fact, fairies of some type, attaching themselves to a family is intriguing. It’s an interesting road I hadn’t explored.

Both in the cases of ‘paranormal Bigfoot’ and some hauntings, this idea of a fairy entity as the cause for the manifestations seems to fit. Both topics -- Bigfoot and hauntings -- are huge, of course, and deserve their own focus. There’s much more to what Harpur says in his book about this overall. I’ve only touched upon an idea about what might be occurring in with my friend, and her family, as well as the Bigfoot idea.

One more fascinating thread to explore in the land of the weird!

Somewhere in the South . . .

Another e-mail, with photos, of orbs and Bigfoot, comes my way . . .

I received an e-mail yesterday from someone who shared their photos with me, and gave me permission to post them on my blog. (This is not the same person as here.)

This person wants his/her identity and location kept private.
As far as the location goes, it’s somewhere in the south eastern United States. (Which by the way, is the same part of the country the previous person who contacted me is from, though a different state.)

ORBS
I’ll call this person “Pat” -- this is what “Pat” wrote about the land he/she lives on:

I "found out" this year, that I don't have a "haunted farm" as I had thought.. it is merely Bigfoot living here.... and a lot of orbs, day and night ones.

The orbs often accompany what Pat believes to be a Bigfoot, or even a "family" of Bigfoot:

These come complete with "Bigfoot sounds" as accompaniment, when they are around.
Bigfoot researchers have been out to the property.

Some of the things witnessed by Pat: tree knocking, responding back and forth with knocking, the orbs, footprints, and some telepathic communication, but Pat didn’t share specific details.



BIGFOOT
Like a few others that I’ve known who’ve encountered Sasquatch or Bigfoot or “Big Hairy Monsters,” Pat doesn’t like to call Bigfoot “Bigfoot,” preferring to call them family.

RESEARCHERS
Not surprisingly, many Bigfoot researchers gave Pat a hard time when it came to the orbs and telepathy, etc., though not all have. A few have told Pat they believe there is “something paranormal” happening.

There’s some interesting and disturbing things about Bigfoot research among some investigators that pat has experienced, but unless I get permission from this person I can’t post it. I will say though that it is too bad there are some (like a few well known so-called UFO researchers, that are actually embraced by many in the field) Bigfoot investigators who think not only ignoring, bu mocking, the weirder elements of encounters, throwing their weight around, and tromping through the woods and private property creating nothing but noise -- and sometimes with the intent to shoot -- is not Bigfoot research.

PHOTOS
This first photo looks suspicious to me. Almost fake. I’m not suggesting “Pat” is hoaxing or lying, I’m just sharing my initial response to this photo.

The other photos seem typical of orbs, and the orange orb is particularly interesting. “Pat” asked me if the orange orb is like the one I saw, and I have to say, yes and no. Yes as to color, but no as to size and “structure.” The orb I saw appeared to be a solid craft or machine of some kind, lit from within. And there was no Bigfoot phenomena associated with it. A different “animal” altogether.

Sali Sheppard-Wolford, who wrote of her encounters with a Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest in Valley of the Skookum, mentions orange orbs that appear to have a connection with Bigfoot.

Author Lisa Shiel of course is all about orbs and Bigfoot. (Read her Backyard Bigfoot, and see her blog Backyard Phenomena

THE STRANGER SIDE OF BIGFOOT
So thank you “Pat,” for your comments and photos, and for previous people who’ve contacted me with their stories and images.

I’ve gone from complete disbelieve in an orb/UFO/telepathic/Bigfoot relationship, to acceptance that these things happen. The witnesses are not to be mocked, and the data needs to included, not discarded.

Beyond that, I can’t say why it is, but my own research proves that there is a relationship with these anomalous events.

New From Lisa Shiel

Lisa Shiel used to have the blog Bigfoot Quest. She's now reformed it to Backyard Phenomena. Shiel still focuses on Bigfoot, but the new blog isn't confined to just Bigfoot.

Cuta and paste if link doesn't work: http://backyardphenomena.blogspot.com/

Lisa Shiel: The Invisible World, Part 1

Bigfoot, fairies and the paranormal, linked more than we might think . . .

Lisa Shiel has another great post on her Bigfoot Quest blog. This time, she writes:
All paranormal phenomena are connected.
I think so too, as do many others. Read more of her thoughts on

The Invisible World, Part One.

Patrick Harpur, in his book Damien Reality, writes about this very kind of thing. It’s a book I recommend to anyone who’s interested in this area.

Lisa Shiel: Native American Fairy Lore

The Native American May-may-gway-shi.

Lisa Shiel has a new book coming out next fall: Strange Michigan. It’s on the list!

In her blog entry Native American Fairy Lore, and in her new book, Lisa references the May-may-gway-shi, as type of fairy entity:
It seems that the Algonquian Indians have legends of the May-may-gway-shi, the North American equivalent of the fairy. The Algonquian legends associate the May-may-gway-shi with ancient red-ocher rock art from the Pre-Columbian era. The Burnt Bluff pictographs fall within that era. Some legends say the fairies created the rock art.

The Burnt Bluff pictographs depict humanoid figures with barrel chests, wide shoulders, and almost no neck. The pictographs resemble similar figures found in ancient rock art from the Four Corners region of the U.S. The figures all resemble Bigfoot far more than humans.

A Little Bit of Bigfoot Synchronicity

I’m reading Peter Gutilla’s Bigfoot Files, which I’m enjoying very much. Last night I read the chapter The Lemon Grove Hoax. Very interesting case. (Of course, aren’t they all?) I don’t know if Gutilla set it up intentionally or not, but the way the chapter started out, combined with the “set-up” of the title, had me assuming at first it was a case of hoaxing. Well, not so fast . . .

I go to read what’s become one of my favorite bigfoot blogs (others being Lisa Shiel’s Bigfoot Quest, for one) The Blogsquatcher, and see this: Hoaxes and the Hoaxing Hoaxers Who Hoax Them: Culpeper. Sadly, in Blogsquatcher’s case, it seems like a case of someone behaving badly.

More Fairy-Bigfoot Thoughts

From Lisa Shiel. (Bigfoot Quest.) I like her thoughts on the idea of Bigfoot as Fairy. Thinking of Bigfoot as a fairy; explains a lot of the anomalous happenings surrounding many a Bigfoot encounter, as well as the elusive nature of Bigfoot.

Poll Results: Bigfoot-UFO Connection

The results of Lisa Shiel's (book: Backyard Bigfoot and Bigfoot Quest blog) poll on a Bigfoot - UFO connection are in. Interesting results.
Bigfoot Quest

Seeing Bigfoot From Space?

I was going to title this "Bigfoot From Space" then I realized that'd give the wrong impression. This time I'm not talking about the idea of Bigfoot coming from space, but seeing Bigfoot from space, as well as other cryptids.

Benjamin Radford is an arch skeptic. He’s one of the standards that appears on UFO, Bigfoot and other Fortean documentaries; like Michael Shermer and Joe Nickell, Radford appears on these programs to offer us their reasons on why bigfoot, or UFOs, or abductions, etc. don’t exist.

Radford’s recent article for Live Science: Satellite Searches Could Spot Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, offers the suggestion that satellites could prove these creatures existence.

He acknowledge the difficulty of finding a Bigfoot in “heavily wooded areas” but comments that:

While satellites would be of limited use in heavily wooded areas, Bigfoot creatures have been reported in many places with relatively little forest, including Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and Arizona. A single 12-foot Bigfoot may or may not be hard to spot, but a family of them would be easier to find

He then makes a weird turn on the logic train:

Of course, if such searches are done and still reveal no solid proof of the monsters' existence, few minds will be changed. Diehard believers can always claim that all the monstrous beasts somehow hid undetected or are masters at camouflage. Or the searchers didn't look long enough or in the right places. It only takes one live or dead Bigfoot or lake monster to forever prove that they exist, but no amount of failed searches will ever prove they don't.

Well, if a satellite search doesn’t turn up a Sasquatch -- “twelve foot” tall or not -- that doesn’t prove anything. It’s only data: a search was done by satellites, nothing found. The conclusion that “there is no Bigfoot” is merely interpretation of that data. An assumption that none exists. It isn't proof it doesn't exist.

I recall seeing footage of some kind of giant snake (anacondas?) on some documentary af few years ago. They were filmed from the air, and these things were huge. There they were; on film, and even so, denial of exactly what they were, how big they “really” were, and so on, continued. Pretty amazing stuff, this footage, and yet it slowly sank from the cultural milieu. Now if you bring up “giant anaconda’s” you’re treated like a kook. (We also have film footage of Big Cats and there's still debate on that.)

So, if we spend the money on satellite searches for Bigfoot and other cryptids, and we do get images of these creatures then what?

Will further argument about their existence cease? Will all the thousands of witnesses be vindicated? Will the pathological skeptics and debunkers apologize to those they’ve insulted, and worse, once it’s shown there “really is” a Bigfoot?

I’m not against any kind of satellite search for these creatures. I just don’t care. For those that have seen them, they have the proof. For others, like myself who’ve never seen a cryptid, that’s okay. I’m fine with it. I tend to think they exist, but if it’s somehow proven they don’t (and how can that ever be proven?) okay. And if it’s proven they do, I’ll have mixed emotions.

On the one hand, it’ll be nice to know, and everyone can relax. But it will also lead to all kinds of issues about protection of the species and its environment. We’ll also have questions and controversies surrounding the new question: “Okay, we know it exists, but just what exactly is it? Which leads to the possibility of killing one for study, something I am absolutely against.

I find it a little topsy turvy that an industrial strength skeptic like Radford would urge satellite searches for Bigfoot and other cryptids. On the one hand, he dismisses such “beliefs” with typical scofftoid aplomb. On the other, he considers using high technology to search for the things. What does he want to do with such knowledge if one of these cryptids is found? Would he be okay with further study, including expeditions to kill one?

I think those skeptics who dismiss the possible reality of Bigfoot and other creatures, yet suggest ways to look for the things (like the use of satellites and so on) need to take another step forward and tell us what they think they'll do with such knowledge, er, "proof" if one is ever found. It'd be interesting to know where they stand on such issues. Do they support a kill policy? Work towards protection of habitats? That's a good question for all concerened, skeptic or not.

Thanks to Lisa Shiel of Bigfoot Quest and Nick Redfern, There’s Something in the Woods. Lisa has a poll right now about science searching for Bigfoot.

POLL on Bigfoot Quest

Lisa Shiel of Bigfoot Quest has a poll about a UFO/Bigfoot connection. Cast your vote!

Bigfoot, Shapeshiting, Etc., etc.

My recent piece: When Entities Collide on UFO Digest, on BF, shapeshifting, faery, etc.

"Another Synchronicity for Bigfoot and UFOs"

Lisa Shiel's Bigfoot Quest blog has:"http://bigfootquest.blogspot.com/2007/08/another-synchronicity-for-bigfoot-and.html">Another Synchronicity for Bigfoot and UFOs

Lisa Shiel: Bigfoot and UFOs: Parts Two and Three

Whoever pilots the UFOs enjoys toying with us. The trickster element of UFOs has been well documented. A similar type of trickster element exists within the Bigfoot phenomenon. ~ Lisa Shiel

Lisa’s posted Parts Two and Three of her series The Bigfoot-UFO Connection: An Explanation. In
Part Two, Lisa discusses the “Prime Directive” -- intent of aliens (or us, if were we the visiting entities) in relation to involvement with other beings.In Part Three,Shiel discusses the Trickster element in both UFO events and Bigfoot phenomena.

Lisa Shiel: The Bigfoot-UFO Connection; An Explanation

Lisa Shiel has some interesting thoughts on the UFO-Bigfoot connection on her blog Bigfoot Quest. This is Part I; check her blog for the arrival of Part II .

Two things I liked about her item: 1), the comparison she makes seems so damn obvious, and yet it's escaped many, including myself. 2) She acknowledges that we don't know; we can only offer our own thoughts based on data.

Lisa Shiel, of Bigfoot Quest blog and author of Backyard Bigfoot, has a good post on “Top 5 Best and Worst Ways to Hunt for Bigfoot.” As Lisa says, you don’t need a big expedition to look for Bigfoot:

If you want to look for Bigfoot, you need no expedition. You need no Bigfoot researcher to guide you. You need only your brain, your eyes, your ears, and your common sense.

Watching a lot of Bigfoot documentaries, with lots of people making all kinds of noise with all kinds of equipment seems self defeating, to me. Similar to ghost hunting; all those ghost hunters who insist on bringing in tons of equipment. Personally, I don’t think this is the way to go about finding Bigfoot, regardless if you think Bigfoot is more than merely “flesh and blood” or not. Anyway, good advice Lisa!