Writing alumnus John O’Connor ’03 has published The Secret History of Bigfoot: Field Notes on a North American Monster (Sourcebooks, 2024). The nonfiction book is a heartfelt exploration of a cornerstone of American folklore, unpacking why we believe in the things that we do, what that says about us, and how it shapes our world.
The project started years ago first as a screenplay, but soon became part of his first book. As part of his research, O’Connor attended Bigfoot conventions and went on four “expeditions,” two of them organized by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, where he camped out in the woods looking and listening for evidence of Bigfoot. He didn’t find Bigfoot, but he ended up with more questions than he had at the beginning–especially about Bigfoot’s myth and its meaning.
“There are two realms of thinking,” O’Connor’ recently said to Columbia Magazine. “Folks who call themselves 'flesh-and-blooders' believe that Bigfoot is an undiscovered giant hominid that has somehow escaped detection in the American wilds. Those often described as 'woo-ers' believe that Bigfoot is magical or paranormal and can disappear through wormholes. There’s a lot of gray area and overlap between those two beliefs.”
The book has been praised for its exploration of the power of wilderness and myth to the human psyche. “A buoyant, wide-ranging book... O’Connor proves to be a nimble writer," said Bill Heavey in The Wall Street Journal, "Believe what you will about its existence, but there's no doubting our culture's fascination with the creature." Virginia Heffernan from The New York Times praised the book's originality: "O’Connor is affable in the extreme, and funny, and in Bigfoot he has found an object of desire that unites in real intimacy conservationists who long for wilderness and seekers who long for transcendence.”
John O’Connor is a journalist and regular contributor to the New York Times Travel Section and other publications. He teaches travel writing and lives with his family in Cambridge, MA.
