A recent poll found an interesting blend of belief and skepticism among the general public when it comes to the ABCs: Aliens, Bigfoot, and Chupacabra. In a YouGov poll of 1,114 American adults, when asked “How likely do you think it is that each of the following beings exist?” about aliens, Bigfoot, and the chupacabra, more than half of those polled, 56%, said that aliens definitely or probably exist, while 31% expressed doubt, saying they definitely or probably do not; only 14% said they weren’t sure.
Extraterrestrials are one thing, but (presumably) terrestrial cryptids didn’t fare quite so well. 28% said that Bigfoot definitely or probably exist, while 60% expressed doubt, saying they definitely or probably do not; only 12% said they weren’t sure. And as for my favorite vampire, the chupacabra, 16% said they definitely or probably exist, while 60% expressed doubt, saying they definitely or probably do not, and 24% said they weren’t sure.
It’s interesting that, statistically, most people don’t believe in the two monsters, suggesting that while many may find popular television shows such as Finding Bigfoot entertaining, viewership of such shows doesn’t necessarily imply personal endorsement. Just as someone might sport a Bigfoot bumper sticker or TV shirt, that doesn’t mean they think it really exists (the same is of course true for aliens, chupacabra, Mothman, or any pop culture cryptid). For more on Pop Culture cryptids, see Sharon Hill’s excellent Pop Cryptid Spectator blog.
The data on Bigfoot belief has remained stable over the past five years or so. A YouGov poll from 2021 asked “Do you think Bigfoot, the ape-like creature also known as Sasquatch, is real or fake”? (As an aside, I winced a bit at the use of the word fake—which has unfortunate connotations of fraud—but that’s the question asked.) About one in four (24%) said it’s probably or definitely real, while 59% said it’s probably or definitely fake, with 18% expressing agnosticism. These match the most recent poll within the margin of error.
The same question the following year yielded similar results: 57% said that aliens definitely or probably exist, while 25% expressed doubt, saying they definitely or probably do not; only 19% said they weren’t sure. 31% said that Bigfoot definitely or probably exist, while 52% expressed doubt, saying they definitely or probably do not; and 19% said they weren’t sure. And as for the chupacabra, 18% said they definitely or probably exist, while 51% expressed doubt, saying they definitely or probably do not, and 30% said they weren’t sure.
With the upcoming release of the documentary film Capturing Bigfoot—said to conclusively debunk the iconic 1967 footage taken in Bluff Creek, California, by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin—it will be interesting to see whether popular belief in Bigfoot declines following its wide release. There is no correspondingly central pillar of belied in either aliens or chupacabras, so either way they will likely remain unchanged. People believe because they want to believe, not necessarily because they have seen compelling evidence.