They sure do grow 'em big in Texas...

More Fortean than horror, but still...

AP - Updated: 8:17 p.m. ET Oct. 15, 2005 JEFFERSON, Texas - Next to a lifelike replica of a giant ape head, the believers milled around tables Saturday covered with casts of large footprints, books about nature’s mysteries and T-shirts proclaiming “Bigfoot: Often Imitated, Never Invalidated.” While they can have a sense of humor about it, the search for the legendary Sasquatch is no joke for many of the nearly 400 people who came here to discuss the latest sightings and tracking techniques at the Texas Bigfoot Conference.

The sponsors of the conference, the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, may be found here; their brief history of Bigfoot sightings in Texas (predominantly in the Eastern Pine Belt) is here:

There has been a long history of sightings in the state of Texas. One of the first in the history books is the strange case of the "The Wild Woman Of The Navidad". This is a story that was recounted in the Legends of Texas published by the Texas Folklore Society in 1924. The creature was described as covered in short brown hair and was very fast. She eluded capture because the horses were so afraid of the strange creature that they could not be urged within reach of the lasso. These events occurred in 1837 in the Texas settlements of the lower Navidad. Mysterious barefoot tracks were seen frequently in the area. There are Native American legends dating back hundreds of years that describe tribes of giants that were hair-covered and lived in the woods.