An Introduction to Modern Skepticism
By Eric McMillan

III: Famous fabulous creatures

A whole area of skeptical research concerns the claims of cryptozoologists. "Crypto" means hidden or secret and "zoology" refers to the study of animals, so cryptozoology is the study of secret animals — creatures as yet unknown to science.

The most popular "secret animal" may be Bigfoot, or Sasquatch as a similar being is called in Canada. It may be related to the legendary yeti or Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas, according to cryptozoologists.

The most commonly produced evidence of Bigfoot's existence is the famous Patterson film, taken October 20, 1967 at Bluff Creek, Washington. Two men were on a search for Big Foot and, lo and behold, the creature supposedly walked right across a clearing in front of them. They managed to get it on film, of which the picture at the left is one frame. 

At right is a blow-up, which has been studied intensely by both believers and skeptics.

Critics say there is nothing to indicate this is anything other than a man in a monkey suit. Supporters claim the figure walks differently from a man, to which scientists respond that it also walks differently from what would be expected from a creature of that physiology — more like a man trying to walk like another creature.

In short, the photographic evidence is inconclusive. And given the easiness with which this kind of photo can be faked, we must remain skeptical. 

Moreover, as with UFOs, not a single shred of compelling physical evidence has ever been found. A colony of Bigfoot has supposedly lived in vast areas of the woodlands of the American northwest and Canadian west for centuries, and yet a verifiable sample of a body, hair, blood, teeth or fingernail has never been found. At the same time, numerous hoaxes in which people have created phony Bigfoot footprints have been uncovered.

The situation is different with the mysterious creature known as Nessie. The photograph (left) that kicked off the craze for the supposed monster in Loch Ness, Scotland, was taken in 1934.

Judging by this photo or the enlargement (right), how big would you say this animal — often theorized to be a surviving dinosaur — is?

Well, we know exactly how big it is: fourteen inches. We know this because in 1994, one of the people involved in taking the original picture admitted it was a trick. The "monster" was created by attaching an artificial head to a toy submarine which was just over a foot long. The interview with the hoaxer was reported in Skeptical Inquirer, the magazine of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.

Other evidence collected by scientists and skeptics over the years have exposed other photos as faked or misread. The claims that a huge monster exists in Loch Ness have also been debunked by research showing that such a creature could not survive on the food available in the loch; even less could a substantial colony of such creatures — necessary for the survival of individual creatures over the centuries — be supported. Furthermore, the lack of any credible physical evidence of a creature or a colony of creatures after six decades of intensive searching by numerous expeditions would seem to make Nessie's existence unlikely

Next: the Roswell cover-up and the Bermuda Triangle mystery solved