Bigfoot in New Jersey

W.R. Matts about Bigfoot in New Jersey..

What can you tell us about the 1894 Wildman with a club aka Bigfoot sighting in New Jersey?

WR Matts:  Information on this sighting from January of 1894 is very minimal in details. A small group of people claimed to have witnessed a Wildman carrying a club traveling through a wooded area in Dover, New Jersey. This is the oldest documented account of a sighting in New Jersey. From this early story, I can assume, and it is just a guess, that the ‘club’ the creature reportedly was carrying was thrown into the story for affect. Not to say Bigfoot wasn’t carrying anything, the creature may very well have been carrying a large stick or branch.

In your book ‘Bigfoot in New Jersey, ‘ you go into all these sightings regarding Bigfoot encounters. What do you think Bigfoot is exactly?

WR Matts: My opinion as to what Bigfoot may be, is that it is possibly a living creature evolved from Gigantopithecus, but more complex and intelligent. Bigfoot are apparently capable of communicating with each other and able to sustain its existence for thousands of years. What undoubtedly is an endangered species, has the intelligence to survive in the wild with minimal detection by human beings. Perhaps it is indeed the missing link that has been spoken of for decades now. It also may just be a very large primate that has yet to be discovered. Remember, Gorillas weren’t discovered until the latter part of the 19th century, and within the last decade or so, a few new species of primates were discovered. I had spoken to a professor of Anthropology a few years back as to what his thoughts were about the existence of Sasquatch. He expressed doubt and actually laughed at the idea. But rest assured that if I had one in my possession, he would be the first person banging on my door to have a look, I’m sure of that.

Could you go into what drove you to study Bigfoot and your wildlife background?

WR Matts: I would have to say that what had the most impact on me as far as where my interest in Bigfoot began, came at the early age of around 9. Somehow during an evening of watching television, an episode of ‘ In Search of … ‘ came on one night hosted by Leonard Nimoy. The topic of this episode was Bigfoot. I saw the famous Patterson-Gimlin film footage of October 1967 of a female Bigfoot and was immediately interested in the subject, and have been until this present day. My wildlife background comes from many, many days spent in the woods hunting, camping, fishing, and exploring. The interest in Bigfoot was certainly right up my alley. I’ve always loved being outdoors in wooded land, learning about forestry and all the living things that they contain.

What is an interesting encounter story you can share from your book with us regarding Bigfoot?

WR Matts: One of the interesting encounter stories took place in 1977 at a farm residence in Wantage, New Jersey. The Sites family had the rare experience of being visited more than once by Bigfoot. On the first night, the creature tore off barn doors from its hinges and killed several rabbits. Then the family was visited again a night later, and with several family members laying in wait, Bigfoot appeared for an encore and was met with a barrage of gunfire. A member of the group stated that the Bigfoot had to have been hit, yet no blood was found after the creature retreated into the hillside. Because of this reaction on the second night Bigfoot appeared, it failed to ever return to the property.

5.    Can you go into how Bigfoot can avoid call blasting and camera traps?
 
WR Matts: Many researchers claim to have had positive results from call blasting, which are recordings of alleged Bigfoot sounds that are amplified and played out in areas of investigation. On occasion, researchers say they have received return calls to these. My personal opinion is that Bigfoot can distinguish a live call from an electronic one, though I cannot fully explain how they can interpret them. This is just speculation on my part. As far as camera traps are concerned, and I’ve used them countless times, thousands have been placed in the wild over the years and no good results have been produced to support their existence to science. I will say though that in recent years some camera trap photos out of the Adirondack Mountains in Pennsylvania, are an object of intrigue to me. Some people see them as an adolescent Bigfoot and I am in agreement. One theory out there is that perhaps the Bigfoot are capable of seeing the infrared from the camera traps. Another theory suggests, and this should be given serious consideration, is that Bigfoot avoid camera traps because just possibly they simply see them being placed.

Would you go into your personal encounter with Bigfoot? Was it frightening?

WR Matts: My personal experience of encountering Bigfoot took place in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The experience wasn’t frightening for me at all, it was exciting and riveting. The visual encounter was seen through the use of night vision monoculars. A couple of my nephews and me were spending a weekend of relaxation, not even a trip to investigate as normal, when the second day of our trip brought some surprises. As evening came upon the day, the three of us were sitting around the campfire when we began to hear something moving around the perimeter of our campsite. Close enough to hear twigs breaking yet far enough away to remain out of sight. The movement across the underbrush told me that, whatever it was, it was heavier than any of the normal wildlife in the Pine Barrens I’ve always been familiar with. After a few minutes the circling ceased. Several minutes later a rock came crashing down onto our picnic table on the site. There were no other people present in the area at the time. An hour or so later a large mass behind a tree around 50 yards away appeared. It was there only for a couple minutes but long enough to be noticed by all of us through the night vision. The figure had generously spaced eyes upon a large body mass, slowly rocking back and forth behind the tree. In hindsight, I regret not moving directly towards the creature. When morning came we went over to the tree where it stood and got a measurement of where the eyes were seen, adding a few inches to appropriate where the top of the head would be, and found that what we had seen stood at a height of 7-1/2’ to 8’ tall.

Why do you think Bigfoot seeks contact from others? It seems like it would be dangerous for them.

WR Matts: Bigfoot certainly DO NOT seek contact from others. They get themselves seen by people because sometimes they need to cross roads and wander through people’s properties in their travels, being seen on occasion. The Bigfoot gets itself exposed to people by what most living creatures possess, and that is curiosity. In the course of just simply checking something out, Bigfoot recklessly expose themselves.

What else would you like to impart with us about Bigfoot and do you have any future books you are working on or links you’d like to share? Thanks.

WR Matts: As far as Bigfoot being recognized by science as existing and being a living breathing creature, time will bring that forth. Thousands of these creatures have been seen through the years. As far as my plans are concerned, I have an interest in writing books about Bigfoot in other States, in particular New York and Pennsylvania which are close to home. I like to keep an open mind to all possibilities. With all the reports of sightings, footprints, and irregular sounds, it astonishes me how the scientific community is not pursuing the subject. The recognition of Bigfoot living amongst us would certainly be the discovery of our times. One of the things I am frequently asked, as well as other researchers, is why no remains have ever been found. Unfortunately I do not have a definitive answer but I know there are many living things that we know for sure exist that leave no remains to be found, having died of natural causes, Bears being one of them. Bigfoot are much more intelligent than most people would be willing to give them credit for and perhaps one thing to give thought to would be that maybe, like we humans, they bury their dead. I like to think that someday all of our questions will be answered.    

Bigfoot in New Jersey by WR Matts can be purchased at http://www.idyllarbor.com/