Bigfoot in Wisconsin?

Legends of huge, furry beings have been reported for centuries across many parts of the world. In the Himalayas, natives speak of the Yeti, a white wooly creature who inhabits the mountainous peaks. In Australia, tales persist of the Yowie, a large, monkey-like beast that roams the Outback. And in North America, witnesses speak of the Sasquatch or Bigfoot, generally seen as a reclusive, hairy giant that frequents forests and swamps.

Film footage, plaster foot-casts, audio recordings, and bent or damaged trees have all fueled the Bigfoot Legend. Among the most controversial is the 1967 Patterson Film (see topmost image) which some say is a lumbering, female Sasquatch strolling through Northern California. Bigfoot conventions have been known to drawn hundreds of people, often ready to share their own insights or accounts.

KATU-TV2 in Portland, OR depicted one Bigfoot hoax.

But there are also skeptics galore. Many scientists, zoologists, and general nay-sayers have dismissed sightings of Bigfoot as hoaxes or overactive imaginations. Some practical jokers have come clean about special footwear or costumes used to stage bogus footage. Believers counter that while a few hoaxes have occured, there hasn't been enough to fully discount centuries of sightings across the world.

Yet for all the debate over its existence, Bigfoot has been frequently spotted in TV, movies, books, and other forms of popular culture. Whether or not the creatures' existence is absolutely proven, many people seem to enjoy the idea of a dark, mysterious denizen roaming the deep forests -- not to mention caverns of one's imagination.

Bigfoot has crossed into pop culture with its own action figure.