THE BEAST OF BOGGY CREEK: The True Story of the Fouke Monster (2 page)

—
Loren Coleman
, director of the International Cryptozoology Museum and author of
Mysterious America
,
Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America
,
The Field Guide to Bigfoot
, and other cryptozoology books.

Introduction

For more than a century, tales of a mysterious ape-like creature lurking in the woods of southern Arkansas have circulated among believers and skeptics alike. The Fouke Monster, as it is called, has become one of those enduring artifacts of backwoods legend, fueled by news reports, movies, internet, and cryptozoological studies until it has earned a solid foothold within American lore. To those who believe to have seen it, it is real; to the skeptical, it is simply a campfire story; to Hollywood, a bankroll; and to those with a love for monsters or local lore, it is a subject worthy of continued research. But regardless of your affiliation, there is something interesting for all in the tale of the Fouke Monster. That’s because it is more than just the simple story of a monster. It is an exploration into primal fears, cultural phenomenon, cryptozoology, and the magic of movies all rolled into one.

Like many, my first exposure to the Fouke Monster (pronounced
Fowk
) came in the form of celluloid cinema with the movie
The Legend of Boggy Creek
, originally released in 1972. This pseudo-documentary directed by Charles B. Pierce gave national attention to the small town of Fouke, Arkansas, whose namesake monster would be propelled into the pantheon of undocumented creatures alongside Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, and others. I was fortunate to catch
The Legend of Boggy Creek
in re-run at an old drive-in as a child. Having grown up near the movie’s real-life setting in Fouke (about three hours drive from my home in Fort Worth, Texas), it hit
very
close to home when I first heard the creature’s scream during the opening sequence. I was familiar with the backwoods of the Texas/Arkansas area—my father was a bowhunter who didn’t mind dragging his young son along on twilight stakeouts to hunt the local game—so it was not a stretch for me to imagine a seven-foot ape-beast lurking just out of sight on those crisp autumn nights. The movie not only scared me, but furthered my love for unexplained creatures and crowned the Fouke Monster as my very own homegrown beastie. [1]

As I grew up, my fascination with the Beast of Boggy Creek graduated from childlike wonder to legitimate scientific speculation, eventually encompassing not only a passion for the “monster” but also an interest in the social frenzy that has surrounded it. To me, the tale represents a microcosm of what makes up the most interesting aspects of world mysteries, social interaction, and old time folktales: the phenomenon of instinctual fear running headfirst into mass media madness.

After being reunited with
The Legend of Boggy Creek
when it was re-released several years ago on DVD, and with the benefit of the internet, I spent time poking around trying to find out more information about the “truth” as referenced in the movie’s tagline: “A True Story.” To my disappointment there was not a comprehensive website, book, or even a magazine article that would tie together the complete and fascinating tale. There were only pieces that could be gathered by a smattering of old news articles, cryptozoological summaries, and regurgitated movie reviews. It seemed the only significant information was to be found in three self-published autobiographies by Fouke local, J.E. “Smokey” Crabtree, who writes of the monster, but only as it pertains to his own life story.

Coming up short in my quest for the complete story, I decided to take matters into my own hands and the idea for this book was born. It was time for the Fouke Monster to receive its own official chronicle. After all, the little-known Lake Worth Monster (of Fort Worth, Texas fame) has its own book, Nessie and Champ have theirs, and even the mongrel Chupacabra has recently come into its own, but time was mostly leaving the Fouke Monster behind.

Even more disturbing, over the years the Fouke Monster’s legend has been passed around in an often incomplete fashion, leaving out relevant information or mixing the true and sensational aspects together as one—not unlike what the seminal movie had done. So my first goal was to gather all the information I could find and attempt to sort fact from fiction. As I did so, I began to realize that the full impact of the monster’s story could not be felt without also exploring the rich history of the area, the cast of characters, and the hidden secrets of the town that shares the burden of notoriety. After all, the tendrils of lasting legends inevitably root deep within the culture from which they are born.

Unlike the ubiquitous tales of Bigfoot, which are not connected to a single town (and in fact span across state lines and even continents), the “monster” of
this
story is forever tied to a particular location in both name and tradition. It is defined not only by its distinct Southern heritage, but by the locals who tell its story. It is therefore not surprising that its description at times reflects the hot, sticky, shadowy Arkansas swamplands from which it has come. Unkempt, rebellious, and malodorous, it seems to have an extra dimension of personality not found in the average, faceless man-like apes that are said to roam the majestic forests elsewhere. For me, it is this connection to the local small town culture and the inhospitable swamps that makes the story of the Fouke Monster interesting well beyond the simple affection for a mysterious creature, and another reason why I have enjoyed writing this book.

I must point out that this book is not an attempt to ultimately prove or disprove the existence of the Fouke Monster (and its kind, since logically there would be more than one). I will leave the considerable burden of proof in the hands of more qualified individuals such as scientists or wildlife biologists. While I have paid close attention to providing accurate and factual details, my main purpose here is to provide an entertaining and comprehensive account of the creature, discuss some of the popular theories, and perhaps along the way throw out an opinion or two based on my observations. But these are just personal opinions, as no doubt you will have some of your own.

So as you follow me through the intriguing tale of this humble cryptid as it rises from the swamp to the big screen and back again, I hope you will enjoy reading as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. Real or not, I will never forget when I first heard those opening words spoken by the narrator of
The Legend of Boggy Creek
as the movie flashed to life on that enormous drive-in screen so many years ago: “I was 7 years old when I first heard him scream. It scared me then and it scares me now.”

Fouke, Arkansas and the surrounding area.

Miller County and the neighboring four-state region.

1. Setting the Stage

The Quiet Before the Storm

The year was 1971. A storm of change and progress was brewing in the skies over America. President Richard M. Nixon and his administration struggled with the inherited burden of the Vietnam War as the age of the flower child was coming to a close. The free love spell had already been broken by the Charles Manson murders and the Kent State massacre the previous year, and soon it would draw its final breath with the mysterious passing of poet rock icon Jim Morrison of The Doors, on July 3, 1971. The Doors newly released single, “Riders on the Storm,” was eerily symbolic of the times with its ominous lyrics, spooky backbeat, and thunderstorm overdubs. Inflation was high, tensions were high, and an air of uncertainty permeated the country as its citizens wondered which direction the tempest would take.

Along with the communist turmoil in Vietnam and the underlying Cold War, the space race was still in full stride with Apollo 14 becoming the third successful lunar landing. At home, families forgot about the world’s problems as they enjoyed the innocence of television shows such as
The Partridge Family
and
The Odd Couple
, or the crime solving work of
McCloud
. Outside the home, Americans flocked to the newly opened Walt Disney World in Florida and crowded into stadiums to cheer the Dallas Cowboys on their way to Super Bowl VI. The motorcycle daredevil, Evil Knievel, thrilled audiences as he set a new world record by jumping 19 cars. The engines of a new decade were revving.

But in a small Arkansas town called Fouke, things were much quieter. While the world raced around in a storm of jet fuel and politics, the people of this town pretty much did what they had always done since it had been founded nearly a century earlier. They worked hard during the week, went to church on Sundays, placed a high importance on family and friends, and enjoyed good Southern cooking whenever they could. Rural life in the early 1970s was not an easy life by any means, but it was a simpler life.

This is not to say that the Vietnam War passed without effect on the town. It did take away several of the local boys and turned them into soldiers. Some even became hometown heroes. And the town’s youth were not completely immune from the temptations of the hippy movement or the trappings of rock music either. It was, after all, a part of normal teenage rebellion. But despite these outside influences, gospel and country were still the order of the day in 1971, keeping the town of 500 residents and the surrounding areas grounded in good ol’ small town Americana. Here, everyone knew their neighbors, shared stories, and pitched in to help out when something needed building or fixing. Whenever time permitted, the men headed off into the surrounding woods to hunt or fish, while the women got together for social clubs or church functions. Even though Fouke was only 15 miles south of the large metropolitan area of Texarkana, it maintained a peaceful seclusion separate from the bustle of the city. To the residents of the time, it was nothing short of country paradise.

That is, until May 3, 1971, changed everything.

That was the day the
Texarkana Gazette
printed the first in a series of hair-raising reports about a monster that allegedly haunted the woods near Fouke. The monster was said to be a large, hairy ape-like creature that walked upright on two legs. It stood nearly seven feet tall, had glowing red eyes, gave off a rank odor, and occasionally let out a horrifying shriek. The description was not unlike that of Sasquatch or Bigfoot, but this creature had a decidedly Southern slant in that it seemed to be leaner, meaner, and hairier. As more reports came in, it was apparent that the
thing
—whatever it was—preferred the proximity of Boggy Creek, a ruddy tributary which snakes up and around Fouke like a long, forked tongue.

The incident in early May, as reported by
Texarkana Gazette
writer Jim Powell, involved a late night attack on the Ford residence located on the north side of Fouke. According to five adult witnesses, a large hairy “monster” stuck his hand through an open window and tried to gain entrance into the home through the back door.

Twenty days later, three people driving along Highway 71 at night witnessed “a large hairy creature” run across the road near the Boggy Creek bridge. In the following weeks, a tall, hair-covered creature with long arms was spotted by three more adults in the area.