We are a small team of dedicated archivists, amateur naturalists, and people who have spent an unreasonable amount of time in the woods. This is our life's work. We are fine.
The Vintage Bigfoot Archive was founded on a single principle: every photograph deserves to be taken seriously, regardless of its resolution. We collect, catalog, and preserve photographic evidence of Bigfoot sightings from across North America — not because we are certain he exists, but because we are not certain he doesn't.
Our methodology is rigorous in spirit, if not always in practice. Each submission is reviewed by at least two members of our team, assigned a blur rating, and evaluated for credibility using a proprietary scale we developed over several camping trips and one very long winter.
"We do not claim to have proof. We claim to have a very large collection of photographs that are difficult to explain."
— The Archive, Official Position Statement, 1974
Official Archive Statement
What We Believe
Every blurry photograph is a data point.
He is out there. Probably in the Pacific Northwest.
Eyewitness accounts deserve documentation, not ridicule.
The truth is somewhere in the tree line.
By the Numbers
Of events that may or may not be related to Bigfoot.
A construction worker in Humboldt County, California discovers enormous footprints near his worksite. The press coins the term "Bigfoot." Our founder, then age 11, clips the newspaper article and tapes it to his bedroom wall. It is still there.
Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin capture 59 seconds of 16mm footage near Bluff Creek. The subject glances back at the camera with what witnesses describe as "mild annoyance." The Archive considers this our founding document.
Operating out of a converted garage in Eugene, Oregon, the Vintage Bigfoot Archive begins formally cataloging sightings. The first filing system is a shoebox. The second is a larger shoebox.
All 847 physical case files are transferred to a computer. The process takes four months. Three files are lost. We do not discuss the three files.
Vintagebigfoot.com goes live. The homepage features a MIDI file of "In the Hall of the Mountain King." It is removed after two weeks following numerous complaints.
The archive continues to grow. Our team has expanded to six people, two of whom have seen something they cannot explain. We are not at liberty to say which two.
None of us have formal training in cryptozoology. There is no formal training in cryptozoology.
Robert Haskell
Founder & Chief Archivist
Robert has been documenting Bigfoot sightings since 1974. He has personally visited 23 alleged sighting locations. He has not seen Bigfoot. He remains undeterred.
Margaret Lund
Head of Photographic Analysis
Margaret spent 18 years as a darkroom technician before joining the Archive. She developed our blur rating system and insists a 9.5 is "the sweet spot." We do not question this.
Dale Kowalski
Field Correspondent, Pacific Northwest
Dale lives in a cabin outside of Olympia, Washington. He submits approximately four reports per month. His credibility rating is Moderate. He is aware of this.
Sandra Pruitt
Witness Liaison & Records Manager
Sandra handles all incoming submissions and witness follow-up. She is the most skeptical member of our team, which we consider a feature, not a bug.
All submissions are accepted without judgment. We have received photographs of bears, stumps, shadows, a man in a gorilla suit (he knew), and at least one photograph that remains genuinely unexplained.
Each submission is reviewed by two archivists independently. Credibility ratings are assigned based on witness history, photographic quality (inversely), and the overall feeling of the report.
Accepted cases are assigned a case number, cataloged by region and year, and added to the permanent record. Nothing is ever deleted. The archive is forever.
The archive grows one blurry photograph at a time. If you have evidence, we want it. No judgment. No follow-up questions about the gorilla suit.