Living with Bigfoot

Watch Dr. Matthew Johnson talk about his experiences with Bigfoot in the video at the bottom of this story

A revolution in Bigfoot research is happening in our backyard.

Dr. Matthew Johnson, or Dr. J as he is known in the Bigfoot community, has searched for a Bigfoot for the past 15 years. It started when he and his wife had a close encounter with one in Southern Oregon during a hike.

“Everyone has a hobby. People like to quilt and like to golf,” Johnson said. “Mine is getting out in the mountains with the fresh air and looking for the Big Hairy Guy.”

During the hike, Johnson and his wife were both overcome by a pungent and terrible odor. He went off the trail to investigate and says he caught a glimpse of a Sasquatch just as it was running off.

Washington has more reported sightings of Bigfoot than any other state in the country, and Pierce County has more than any other county in our state.

But, Johnson isn’t your typical Bigfoot hunter. He has practiced as a psychologist for more than 30 years. He works at Western State Hospital in Lakewood.

“I work with two different client populations. One is to help restore individuals to competency so they can stand trial, and the other one is to work with the ‘not guilty by reason of insanity,'” he said.

Johnson doesn’t hide his interest in Bigfoot. During his first interview at Western State he said the topic came up as they were chatting about hobbies. His employer had no issue with what he chooses to do in his free time.

Johnson’s home in Puyallup backs to a huge swath of forest he calls the “Washington Habituation Area.” He uses parabolic microphones to record what he believes is a family of Relic Hominids that lives there year round. He also leaves bowls of food for the playful, nocturnal creatures in a bid to gain their trust.

After years of experimenting, he’s come to the conclusion that Bigfoot prefer foods high in carbohydrates like breads and candies, things they can’t find in their natural habitat. He often leaves food such as sandwiches. On one occasion he left a circle of candy corn.

“And they’ll take those ten candy corn and turn them into two lines of five the next morning. Tell me what animal out there’s gonna do that?”

Johnson goes about once a month to a spot he calls the “Southern Oregon Habituation Area.” He’s used to the doubts of skeptics, so he often brings guests to help validate his claims.

During one such visit, he said a fellow Bigfoot enthusiast claimed to have felt one of the “forest people” in the tent with him at night. But, he said he was too afraid to open his eyes. The next morning, Johnson went back to listen to the night’s recordings; it sounded like a young, female Sasquatch. And he shared the reason his friend couldn’t open his eyes to look at her.

“At three in the morning, twenty-two degrees outside, that’s a kid. That’s a girl. And we nicknamed her Chatty Kathy,” Johnson said. “He’s scared to death. You would be scared to death if I took you out there. Everyone I take out there is scared to death.”

Johnson has taken plaster casts of what look like massive footprints. He’s swabbed what seems to be saliva off the gifting bowls and he’s gathered bits of what may be hair from the Bigfoot areas.

But, the evidence doesn’t always bring the results he expects. In one instance the hair turned out to be from his dog. A month later the hair tested at a lab in Australia came back as part human, part unknown, according to Johnson.

“The problem they’re running into with DNA collections around the USA and the world is it’s always coming back part human. The other part is they have no idea. There’s no DNA record for what that might be,” Johnson said.

When he first became interested in searching for Sasquatch, Johnson said he would hang trail cameras and scour the forest to get video of the creatures. After 10 years, he came away with very little to show for his work.

Now, he’s switching tactics. Johnson said he uses a system of habituation first developed by chimp researcher, and fellow Bigfoot believer, Jane Goodall.

“Rather than chasing them through the forest, she just chilled and hung out. And after time, with predictable patterns, she became trustworthy. And they came in closer and closer and closer until contact. That’s the problem with a lot of Bigfooting today,” Johnson said. “They’re not willing to admit that they’re not getting a lot of pictures because the trail cams act as Squatch repellant.”

Johnson said it doesn’t have to be that way. Later this month, at the Habituation Research Conference on Bainbridge Island, he plans to pass on what he’s learned.

People from all over North America who have been having success with this new research technique will be sharing information on how to do night sits and set up habituation areas, Johnson said.

“Because if there’s more of us out there doing it, then we’ll accelerate our discovery of the species.”

That’s really just the first step.

Johnson said we also need to get the government to admit that Bigfoot exists. He is convinced there is an active cover up that’s been going on for decades, if not longer. It’s like the elephant in the room, Johnson said. The government might not be able to deny the existence of Sasquatch forever, but they’ll put off dealing with the issue as long as possible. He said it would have financial, social and religious implications.

“They’re not a species, they’re a forest people. How do we deal with this? Do we give them a reservation? Do we make their kids go to school? Do we give them social security numbers?”

You can see more of Johnson’s Bigfoot pictures and hear his recordings. Then, decide for yourself.