After a decade of experiences with a family of Sasquatch in Northern Ontario, investigator Mike Paterson is looking forward to seeing his research published in book form.
Invisible Giant: A True Story of Sasquatch Contact is his autobiographical contribution to the Sasquatch conversation in Canada. It details the parts of his life dedicated to researching Canada’s most elusive cryptid.
“It’s very detailed about Sasquatch, who they are, what they are, what they’re capable of and why they haven’t been found,” he said during an April phone conversation. “It answers a lot of questions that people have had over the decades.”
Paterson said he has been having run-ins with Sasquatch since he was 10 years old, when he allegedly witnessed one while staying in Denbigh, Ont., about 60 kilometres east of Bancroft. In 2008, he had his first vocal encounter, but the bulk of his experiences happened in 2013.
“You really don’t get to learn until you’ve made contact,” he said. “When you make contact, that’s when the real stuff happens.”
One Sasquatch he has interacted with is named Nef, whom he became acquainted with through indirect contact. Nef has not shown himself to Paterson, but Dwayne, the owner of the property Paterson investigates, has reportedly made visual contact.
“They’ve been around him his whole life,” Paterson said. “Everything has a time and a place and they’re very much like us in ways.”
There have also been incidents where cans of beer and Dwayne’s cigarettes allegedly went missing. Paterson laughed about it, but said it is one of the details included in Invisible Giant.
“It’s very limited what I’ve learned from anybody else because I’m the kind of guy that wants to learn from firsthand experience,” he said.
Paterson describes himself as a skeptic who prefers hands-on investigation.
“I’ve got to experience it firsthand before I believe it. That’s who I am. This journey has been very telling, very informative,” he said. “It’s come to the point where it’s time to get this book done and share this stuff.”
Paterson took the winter off and focused on finishing the manuscript. He had been working on the book since 2015. Life events put the project on hold for 15 months, but once he was settled again, he returned to the writing process.
The book was released on April 10 and is available through Amazon. Those looking to follow Paterson’s investigations in Muskoka can do so through his YouTube channel, Sasquatch Ontario.
He hopes readers will come away with a better understanding of both him and what he describes as the human side of Sasquatch.
“Folks just need to keep an open mind,” he said. “We’re at a precipice right now in our history. There are big truths being exposed … and the way it’s unfolding, it’s funny.”