The folklore around the mythical hairy creature thought to be living in the woods is getting a new chapter with a new TV series investigating reported Bigfoot sightings in central Ontario.
Sasquatch University, a new reality TV show investigating Bigfoot sightings, is set to premiere on Wild TV on Monday.
The show, started by Trent University Sasquatch Society founder Ryan Willis, 23, explores alleged Bigfoot sightings in the Simcoe County, Sudbury and Algonquin areas and other parts of the province.
While central Ontario may not be the first place people think of in connection to the superstition around the purported creature, Willis believes there is something out there.
“Before the show, I left a little bit of room for skepticism, but now, after doing this show and having what we believe were some encounters and learning more about Bigfoot, I am a full believer now, 100 per cent,” Willis says.
“I’m really excited for people to see some of the different evidence and witnesses we talked to in the show because I think it’ll really change people’s minds about Bigfoot being here in Ontario.”
Willis, along with his co-host Joel Porter, 20, spend each of their 13 episodes speaking with residents in the area who have reported sightings and also experts in the Sasquatch field.
“Simcoe County was a spot (where) the volume of reports is something that really sort of surprised us as well because we thought there’d be a few, but we actually got a pretty good handful of around, I think it was right around 10, and right from that area over the course of probably the past 60 years or so,” Willis says.
While he admits he could never get the creature fully on camera, Willis does think they came close.
The existence of the big-footed creature believed to be anywhere from six to 15 feet tall has been highly debated for around 200 years, with only footprints of fleeting glimpses of the alleged creature captured.
Britannica defines Sasquatch, also known as Bigfoot, as a legendary, large, hairy, humanlike creature believed by some people to exist in the northwestern United States and Western Canada. It is viewed as the North American counterpart of the Himalayan region’s mythical monster, the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti. To date, none of the purported evidence has been verified, Britannica notes.
While it’s yet to be proven if something could lurking in nearby woods, Willis hopes the show may help people gain a further understanding of Bigfoot.
The show premiers on Monday, Sept. 25, and Willis encourages people to submit tips on the Sasquatch University website.