By Tim Binnall
A Bigfoot museum in California is sadly set to close its doors after being a beloved roadside attraction for two decades. According to a local media report, the Bigfoot Discovery Museum in the community of Felton was the brainchild of Michael Rugg, who created the cryptozoological collection in 2004. Housed in a small shed on his property, the quirky museum boasts an array of Bigfoot-related materials from plaster casts and books to newspaper clippings and Sasquatch movie memorabilia.
A popular destination for fans of high strangeness, the site will soon be no more as Rugg recently decided to put the land up for sale. Having weathered the pandemic thanks to a crowdfunding effort, Rugg indicated that he decided to move on from the museum due to the property's high mortgage and ongoing health issues. Reflecting on shutting down the site after twenty years, he mournfully mused that "it's a real bummer. It's going to be a shock to suddenly have to go somewhere else."
As for what will become of his collection, Rugg expressed hope that fellow Bigfoot museum curator Cliff Barackman might take it off his hands, though as of now the fate of the materials is uncertain. Fortunately for those who may wish to visit Rugg's museum before it's gone for good, there remains a brief window of opportunity as he intends to keep the site open on its four-day schedule of Friday to Monday until someone purchases the property. "When the sale happens," he said, "that's when I'll close."