Bigfoot hunters were perhaps the most surprising group

Friday, October 29, 2010

Bigfoot hunters were perhaps the most surprising group

Discovery Magazine has an article that tries to determine what makes "paranormalist" tick. Yes, according to them all Bigfooters are "paranormalist". Some are, but it may be inaccurate to blanket all Bigfooters with this notion.

Although they cover Ufologist, Ghost hunters and the rest below we reprinted the stuff about Bigfoot.

SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS GETTING MORE COMMON
Believers range from free-spirited types to high-powered businessmen. Some were drifters; others were brain surgeons.

By Emily Sohn
Fri Oct 29, 2010 07:00 AM ET
(Discovery News) -- To understand what drives some people to truly believe, two sociologists visited psychic fairs, spent nights in haunted houses, trekked with Bigfoot hunters, sat in on support groups for people who had been abducted by aliens, and conducted two nationwide surveys....

...The numbers also showed that different types of paranormal entities appeal to different demographics. Women, for instance, are most likely to believe they live in haunted houses. College graduates are most likely to have out-of-body experiences. Unmarried white men are most likely to believe in UFOs.

Bigfoot hunters were perhaps the most surprising group, Bader said. They defied all stereotypes of paranormal pursuers who wear flowing clothes and commune with spirits.

Instead, they were very serious, extremely conventional and often highly professional. In fact, their beliefs contradicted their lifestyles so much that many of them were plagued by anxiety, which drove them even further to stick to their beliefs.

"Their friends and family consider them kooky," Bader said. "Everyone is saying they're nuts. So, they have a real aggressive style and seriousness of purpose. They want to prove everyone wrong."

For one hunter, the search began one day when he was out in the woods and, he swears, he saw Bigfoot cross his path.

"Imagine the stress that would put on your life," Bader said. "You consider yourself a normal, smart guy, and you think you just saw a giant monkey walk in front of you. Now, you have to fit that into your life."