Bigfoot believers undeterred by hoaxes

ATLANTA, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- Bigfoot experts in Georgia and across the United States said recent Sasquatch hoaxes have not quelled the nation's fascination with the mythical beast.

The experts said the recent exposure of an alleged Bigfoot corpse in Georgia as a Halloween costume filled with roadkill is unlikely to stop believers in the half-man, half-ape from seeking out proof of the creature's existence, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday.

"Our myths and stories are so populated by the part-man, part-animal, and Bigfoot represents that. It attracts and repels at the same time," said Bradd Shore, director of Georgia's Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life.

Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at New York's Syracuse University, said recent fascination with Bigfoot could be a side-effect of the shrinking world.

"In this MapQuested, GPS nation of ours, that there could be something like this out there in the woods is fascinating," he said.

Matt Moneymaker, president of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Office in Southern California, said people might be surprised by the number of Bigfoot believers.

"We had a million hits the day of their announcement," he said, adding that he is convinced "legitimate remains" will eventually surface.