&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Biblical killer Cain lives? Mormon folklore says Adam and Eve's outcast son may be Bigfoot")
Bigfoot, a large, hairy, human-like creature that is the stuff of legends and believed to live in the forests of North America, finds a mention in a story told by some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons. According to it, the first person to have killed someone mentioned in the Bible is none other than Bigfoot, who was cursed to roam around for eternity. The Bible says that Cain, the eldest son of Adam and Eve, killed his brother Abel because he was jealous of him. He believed that God favoured Abel's offering of animal sacrifices over Cain's offering of crops. The Mormon legend claims that Cain and Bigfoot are the same person. However, there is neither any proof of Bigfoot, nor of the legend that states the creature is Cain.
The story originated in 1835, when Mormon leader David W. Patten said he met a "dark, hairy figure" who told him that he was an outcast who wandered the forests. He was later identified as Cain, who some believe is still roaming the jungles in North America. Some Mormon folklore suggests that Bigfoot, or Cain's existence, is linked to evil and sin. But again, it is only believed by a small group. This urban legend is not part of official Mormon teachings either. Cain is believed to have been washed away in Noah's flood. Yet, it has managed to float around for years, especially after reports of Bigfoot sightings in the 1980s. There has never been any confirmation of Bigfoot, yet the creature continues to be on the minds of everyone. Even in 2025, several people have reported seeing a strange beast, similar to Bigfoot.
Bigfoot sightings in the US
The Journal of Mormon History carries a peer-reviewed, academic paper on the story. Written by Matthew Bowman, a historian and scholar of American religious history, it talks about how Cain and Bigfoot came to be associated with each other. The paper states that this theory gained prominence in the 1980s when people in South Weber, Utah, said they saw "Bigfoot". Bowman added that Bigfoot was how people explained seeing strange things moving in the forest. Cain is also portrayed as a hairy beast, seemingly because of is a symbol of evil. The physical appearance of both creatures matches in the tales. The Daily Mail carried an account of a person on Reddit, who said that he was an "ex-Mormon", that the urban legend was not an open matter of discussion, and was "only discussed in hushed tones and never in front of non-members."
