THE BIGFOOT ‘CORPSE’ THAT FOOLED NOBODY: Exposing the 2025 New York State Fair Scam

A performance artist posing as a cryptozoologist tried to charge $9.31 admission to view his fake Bigfoot corpse at the New York State Fair — until part of his photo evidence proved him to be a hoaxer.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
I'm Darren Marler and this is a Weird Darkness bonus byte.
The email arrived in July twenty twenty five, sent to
researchers across the cryptozoological community. Charles Snake Stuart claimed he'd
found something extraordinary in the Adirondack Mountains, the complete intact
body of a bigfoot. The creature measured eight feet tall,

(00:29):
covered in thick brown hair, with facial features that blended
human and ape characteristics. Stuart even had DNA evidence linking
the specimen to Neanderthals. For nine dollars and thirty one cents,
anyone could view this monumental biological discovery at the New
York State Fair. According to Stuart's account, his team discovered

(00:51):
the body on October first, twenty twenty four, deep in
the Adirondacks. They nicknamed the Creature Deck after its location.
The corpse showed no signs of trauma or injury. It
simply lay there in the wilderness, mysteriously deceased but remarkably preserved.
Stuart described himself as a veteran cryptozoologist from Saranac Lake

(01:13):
who had spent twelve years developing a revolutionary stealth hunting method.
His press release painted him as an intrepid explorer who
once survived the rattlesnake bite himself with no outside help.
The body itself presented some peculiar details in the photographs
that Stuart circulated. The creature lay flat against the forest floor,

(01:34):
surrounded by what he claimed were scat samples. The thick
brown hair covered most of the body, though certain anatomical
features remained conspicuously absent. No visible genitilia appeared in any image,
despite camera angles that should have captured such details. The
body looked oddly deflated, lacking the dimensional quality of muscle

(01:56):
and bone structure that even a decomposing corpse would. Stuart's
team supposedly conducted DNA testing at Cornell University, revealing what
he called the missing link in human evolution. The genetic
profile showed direct connections to both modern humans and Neanderthals,
a branch on the evolutionary tree that had somehow remained

(02:18):
hidden until this moment. The press release breathlessly declared this
would demolish conventional wisdom and change everything humanity understood about
life on Earth. When cryptozoology researcher Steve Culls received the email,
something felt immediately wrong. The phone number Stuart provided traced

(02:38):
back to a Google Voice account, not a standard cell
phone or landline. When Culls attempted to arrange an interview
for his podcast, the response came from the business center
of a Delta hotel in Utica owned by Marriott Corporation.
Stuart wasn't writing from Saranac Lake at all, but from
a hotel computer in a business district with no resident

(03:00):
housing nearby. The website to Bigfoot Remains dot com had
only been registered on May twelfth, twenty twenty five, seven
months after the supposed October twenty twenty four discovery. The
administrative contact listed something called Satellite Art Show, based in
New York City. The metadata on one photograph did confirm

(03:21):
in October first, twenty twenty four, timestamp at approximately seven
in the evening, but digital timestamps prove nothing about authenticity.
Culls kept digging. The Satellite Art Shows founder and director
turned out to be Brian Andrew Whitley, an artist with
a documented history in the cryptozoology world, though not the

(03:41):
kind that Stuart's press release suggested. Brian Andrew Whitley's Wikipedia
page revealed the truth from twenty twelve to twenty fourteen,
Whitley had repeatedly filmed himself in Bigfoot costumes, submitting the
footage to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization as genuine Sightings.
Experts debunked every submission, but Whitley used their responses to

(04:06):
refine his performances. His most polished hoax went viral. Before
he stopped the charade, someone had shot at him while
he wore his costume in upstate New York. The connection
became undeniable when researchers compared photographs. The man standing next
to the Bigfoot corpse had distinctive tattoos on his arms

(04:26):
bat designs that matched exactly with images of Whitley from
art magazines. Charles Snake Stewart was actually Brian Andrew Whitley
performance artist. When confronted with this evidence, Whitley never responded
directly to interview requests. He only sent back links to
purchase state fare tickets no refunds. The website specified the

(04:49):
corpse itself revealed numerous problems beyond the missing genitalia. Real
decomposition follows predictable patterns that Whitley's creation ignored entirely. When
something dies in the wilderness. The body first bloats as
gases build up inside. These gases emit powerful odors that
attract insects. Within hours, the insects target soft tissues first, eyes, mouth,

(05:14):
genital areas. Predators arrive next, usually starting with the softest
accessible flesh. As decomposition progresses, the body deflates, leaving a dark,
viscous puddle of fluids that can spread several feet from
the corpse. The smell becomes overwhelming enough that people often
detect it from significant distances. Yet Whitley's photographs showed none

(05:37):
of this. No insect activity, no predation marks, no fluid seepage,
no scattered bones. The body lay pristine on the forest floor,
like a deflated costume carefully arranged for the camera. The
lack of skeletal structure proved particularly damning. Even through thick hair,

(05:57):
ribs should create visible contours in a corpse, knee caps
and elbows should maintain their shape, but dak appeared uniformly flat,
more like fabric ban flesh. When researchers enhanced the images,
they couldn't identify a single bone pressing against the supposed skin.
Whitt least twenty twenty five exhibition wasn't the first time

(06:20):
someone tried selling tickets to view a bigfoot corpse. The
tradition stretches back decades, each iteration following similar patterns. The
perpetrator claims an accidental discovery or successful hunt. They provide
just enough photographic evidence to generate interest, but never allow
scientific examination. Tickets go on sale, the media might briefly

(06:43):
cover the story. Eventually someone exposes the fraud, but by
then the perpetrator has collected their money and moved on.
In Minnesota, Iceman towards state fairs in the nineteen sixties
and seventies, frozen in a block of cloudy ice that
conveniently obscured crucial details. Viewers paid to peer through the
murky ice at what appeared to be an ape like

(07:04):
humanoid with a traumatic head wound. The ice created an
aura of preservation while preventing any real examination. At least.
That hoax included the showmanship of a freezer truck and
the theatrical element of peering through ice crystals. Rick Dyer's
twenty twelve hoax followed a more modern approach. He claimed

(07:24):
to have shot a bigfoot near San Antonio, Texas. Releasing
photographs and eventually touring with what he insisted was the
preserved body. He named his creature and charged admission for viewings,
maintaining the charade until a former colleague revealed the truth.
Dyer had commissioned a custom latex and camel hair costume
from a special effects company. Each hoax damages legitimate research efforts.

(07:49):
Scientists already skeptical of cryptozoology become even less willing to
investigate reports. Witnesses with genuine encounters hesitate to come forward,
fearing association with obvious frauds. The cycle perpetuates itself. Hoaxers creates, spectacles,
Skeptics point two hoaxes as evidence, the entire field lacks merit,

(08:10):
and serious researchers struggle for credibility. Whitley operates in the
nebulous space between art and deception. His previous Bigfoot performances
explicitly explored the intersection of belief and evidence, using cryptozoology
experts responses as part of the artwork itself, he documented
their debunking process, studying how they identified fake footage and

(08:34):
what convinced or failed to convince them. The satellite art
show Whitley's organization specializes in guerrilla exhibitions and conceptual performances
that blur realities boundaries. From this perspective, the Bigfoot Corpse
represents another iteration of this ongoing exploration, though one that
crosses ethical lines by soliciting money under false pretenses. The

(08:58):
State fair venue adds another layer of American carnival tradition.
Side shows have always promised impossible wonders, mermaids, wolf boys,
impossible creatures preserved in jars. P T. Barnum built an
empire on elaborate hoaxes presented as educational exhibitions. The Bigfoot
Corpse fits perfectly into this legacy, complete with its nine

(09:21):
dollars admission price and bold claims of scientific revolution. Yet
the email campaign targeted serious researchers, not art critics or
carnival enthusiasts. Whitley presented his creation as genuine discovery, complete
with fabricated credentials and false scientific claims. The DNA evidence
from Cornell University never existed. The twelve years of stealth

(09:45):
hunting never happened. Charles Snake Stuart was pure fiction, down
to his survival of a rattlesnake bite through mysterious self treatment.
The cryptozoology community responded to Stuart's announcement with predictable de
Some researchers immediately recognized the hallmarks of a hoax, the
deflated appearance, the convenient lack of scientific access, the ticket sales.

(10:10):
Others wanted to believe, arguing that dismissing every claim without
investigation showed closed mindedness. Online forums erupted with debates about
the photographs. Some pointed out the absence of decomposition signs,
others noted the suspicious timing of the website registration. A
few defenders suggested Stuart might be protecting his discovery from

(10:32):
government interference or scientific establishments that would suppress the truth.
Steve Culls and his podcast co host Chris Bennett dissected
the hoax during their July twenty third, twenty twenty five broadcast,
Walking their audience through each red flag. They discussed the
Google voice number, the hotel ip address, the connection to

(10:53):
satellite art show. When they revealed Whitley's identity through the
matching tattoos, the chat erupted with recogniz Several viewers remembered
his previous hoaxes. The conversation shifted to a broader discussion
about why bigfoot bonnies never surface despite centuries of sightings.
Culls theorizes that bonnies have been found but go unreported,

(11:16):
compeering it to the stigma of reporting as sighting. Someone
hitting a bigfoot with their car might simply drive away
rather than face ridicule. Someone finding bones might not recognize them,
or might choose to avoid the chaos that would follow
any announcement. Bennett raised the practical challenges of extracting a
massive corpse from a wilderness area. An eight foot bigfoot

(11:37):
would weigh hundreds of pounds, impossible for a single person
to move without equipment. By the time somewhat returned with help,
scavengers might have scattered the remains. Natural decomposition in forest
environments happens rapidly within weeks. Insects and predators can reduce
a large corpse to scattered bones. Every hoax like Whitley's

(11:59):
creates ripples through the cryptozoology community. Serious researchers spend time
and resources investigating false claims instead of pursuing legitimate leads.
Media outlets cover the sensational hoax, then use its exposure
to dismiss the entire field. Public perception shifts further toward
viewing all bigfoot research as delusional or fraudulent. Witnesses with

(12:23):
genuine encounters become even more reluctant to share their experiences.
Many researchers know credible people hunters, law enforcement officers, military
veterans who describe encounters they can't explain. These witnesses often
experience lasting psychological effects pobia's, PTSD like symptoms social stigma.

(12:46):
When performance artists present obvious hoaxes as real discoveries, it
trivializes these genuine experiences. The financial motive makes the deception
particularly galling. Nine dollars and thirty one cents might seem
modest compared to some admission prices, but multiplied across hundreds
or thousands of state fair visitors, it represents significant profit

(13:10):
from a deliberate fraud. The no refunds policy ensures Whitley
keeps the money, regardless of when visitors realize the truth.
Some researchers attempted to appeal to Whitley's artistic sensibilities. They
explained how his performance aren't hurt real people with real experiences.
They described the decades of serious scientific inquiry his hoax undermined.

(13:33):
They asked him to reframe the exhibition as acknowledged art
rather than claimed reality. Whitley never responded to these appeals,
continuing to promote ticket sales through his Charles Stewart persona
despite the obvious fraud of Whitley's corpse. The broader question remains,
why don't bigfoot bodies turn up? If these creatures exist,

(13:56):
they must die. Their remains should occasionally surface, especially as
human development encroaches further into wilderness areas. The explanation might
lie in the rapid decomposition of remains in forest environments.
A thought experiment with elephants proves instructive. Despite their massive
size and substantial populations, finding elephant bones in the wild

(14:19):
remains remarkably rare. Elephants display unusual behavior around their dead,
sometimes moving bones or covering them with vegetation. They show
signs of mourning, staying near deceased herd members and returning
to touch their bones years later. Forest scavengers work with
extraordinary efficiency. Turkey vultures can strip a deer carcass within days.

(14:45):
Insects consume soft tissue within hours of death. Rodents gnaw
bones for calcium, scattering fragments across wide areas. Weather accelerates
the process, rain washes away smaller remains, freeze, saw signkeles,
crack bones apart. Acidic forest soils dissolve calcium over time.

(15:05):
The smell of decomposition might actually prevent discovery. The overwhelming
stench of a large corpse can be detected from distances
that would cause most hikers to change direction rather than investigate.
By the time the smell dissipates enough for someone to approach,
scavengers have likely scattered whatever remains. Cultural practices could play

(15:26):
a role. If Bigfoot creatures possess intelligence approaching human levels,
some researchers theorize they might move their dead, though probably
not burying them. Burial actually preserves remains by protecting them
from scavengers and weather. If Bigfoot regularly buried their dead,
construction projects would occasionally uncover their bones, just as they

(15:47):
uncover human archaeological sites. The New York State Fair is
scheduled to proceed as advertised from August twentieth to September one,
twenty twenty five. Whether Whitley's exhibition actually will appear remains unclear.
State Fair officials didn't respond to inquiries about the Bigfoot
Remains Booth. The website has stayed active to this day,

(16:10):
still accepting ticket purchases with its prominent no refunds declaration.
Whitley returned to his regular artistic practice, presumably developing new
performance pieces that blur reality and fiction. The cryptozoology community
moved on to other claims, other sightings, other possible evidence.
Charles Snake Stuart disappeared as suddenly as he appeared, existing

(16:35):
now only in archived emails and cached websites. The photographs
of Dak joined the vast archive of poxed Bigfoot evidence,
another cautionary tale for researchers to reference when the next
body surfaces. Because another body will surface, someone else will
claim to a found definitive proof, will charge admission to

(16:56):
view it, will present elaborate backstories and fabricated evidends. The
cycle continues because the mystery persists as long as credible
witnesses report encounters they can't explain, as long as indigenous
traditions describe hair covered giants in the forests, as long
as footprints appear in places they shouldn't exist, people will

(17:18):
search for proof and where legitimate researchers seek answers, hoaxers
will always follow, ready to profit from the human desire
to believe in something beyond the ordinary world. The forest
keeps its secrets, bodies decompose, bones scatter, and somewhere in
the Adirondacks, Brian Andrew Whitley might be planning his next performance,

(17:41):
adjusting his costume, preparing another elaborate fiction to present as truth.
The only certainty is that when the next Bigfoot body appears,
researchers like Steve Coles will be ready to investigate, to
dig beneath the surface claims to separate the hoaxes from
whatever truth might actually be out there waiting in the wilderness.

(18:04):
If you'd like to read the story for yourself, I've
placed a link to the article in the episode description,
and you can find more stories of the paranormal, true crime, strange,
and more in my blog at Weirddarkness dot com. Slash
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