The Boggy Creek Monster is a territorial cryptic being roaming the sulfur flats of
Texarkana Arkansas. The creature has never proven to exist but has numerous accounts predating
in the early 1900’s. Though the being has never been proven to exist the locals believe in the
monster, and many encounters unexplainable phenomena. According to the article “Fouke
Monster” by Amy Thompson, Sightings were reported before the “Legend of Boggy Creek”
(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068837/), the movie describing the Ford family’s encounter with
the creature, causing more sightings to be reported from locals and tourists alike after its release.
Stories between hunters in the region vary, yet they all give about the same interactions
with the creature. According to the article “The Fouke Monster” by Jim Powell, The Monster
was around seven feet tall, while having a chest three feet across. Tracks were also discovered
believed to belong to the creature shown to have three toes instead of the traditional five. This
differentiated the Monster of Boggy Creek from its look like the Sasquatch. Another
distinguishing feature is the creature’s red eyes. Elizabeth Ford stated, “The creature's eyes
looked like coals of a fire…Real red.”. Bobby Ford, Elizabeth’s husband, ran after the creature shooting it seven times before it ran into the woods. There were no signs of blood from the
creature. When Bobby returned to the house, he was climbing the front steps when the creature
attacked him from behind as stated in “The Boggy Creek Monster” by B., Dunning. The news of
the attack spread bringing The Boggy Creek Monster to headlines in the area. This caused the
locals to have an uptick in sightings in the area. Grabbing the attention of local movie producers.
This uptick in public interest in this creature caught the attention of a beginner filmmaker.
He went on to create “The Legend of Boggy Creek” Filling drive-in theatres all around to get a
glimpse of the Ford family’s supposed encounter. The movie made 22 million in revenue and
grabbed the attention and imagination of millions. This brought what the locals would say as
unwanted attention to Fouke. Though some of the locals used this to their advantage, according
to “The Legend of Boggy Creek” by Nbj914. The locals opened shops and museums to profit
from the creature’s existence. These shops were run by locals who believe they have had
encounters with the creature themselves as demonstrated by “Searching for The Boggy Creek
Monster” by Austin Gelder.
Works Cited
“Image of The Boggy Creek Monster.” Artist Depiction. Midwest Weirdfest. Retrieved 11 Oct.
2024, https://www.midwestweirdfest.com/boggy-creekmonster/
mnf55z55kfndfanqhxcigen9dx39gv.
Dunning, B. "The Boggy Creek Monster." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, 4 Mar 2014. Web.
27, Oct 2024. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4404.
Powell Jim, "The Fouke Monster: A look at how the media recorded the reports of the 1971
alleged sighting of a large creature in rural Miller County, Ark." Texarkana Gazette.
archived from the original on 3 August 2003, retrieved October 30th, 2024.
Thompson, Amy M. “Fouke Monster.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 31 Oct. 2024.
https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-monster-2212/.
Nbj914, “The Legend of Boggy Creek.” Edited by SemiruralYeti, valerielea1980, northwoods63,
Obscurities, Martain, and delmonstro. Atlas Obsura, posted 12 October 2012.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/boggy-creek-monster.
Gelder, Austin. “Searching for the Boggy Creek Monster.” Arkansas Blog, 6 Oct. 2021.
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2021/10/06/searching-for-the-boggy-creek-monster,
retrieved 31 Oct. 2024.
Further references
Dunning, B. "The Boggy Creek Monster." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, 4 Mar 2014. Web.
27, Oct 2024. https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4404.
The article described Elizabeth Ford’s chilling encounter with the Boggy Creek Monster while
resting in her Arkansas home. The article describes the terrifying encounters that the two
newlywed couples had experienced.
Powell Jim, "The Fouke Monster: A look at how the media recorded the reports of the 1971
alleged sighting of a large creature in rural Miller County, Ark." Texarkana Gazette.
archived from the original on 3 August 2003, retrieved October 30th, 2024.
This article is a newspaper describing the accounts of the attacks on residents and their exact
recounts. The paper stated the locals’ offering rewards for whoever could hunt down the monster.
Thompson, Amy M. “Fouke Monster.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas, 31 Oct. 2024.
https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-monster-2212/.
This article goes into detail on similar attacks on locals as the Ford family, involving sightings by
locals and deaths believed to have been caused by the creature. This article involves the sheriff’s
point of view on the situation and his personal beliefs on the monster based on the state of the
victims.
Nbj914, “The Legend of Boggy Creek.” Edited by SemiruralYeti, valerielea1980, northwoods63,
Obscurities, Martain, and delmonstro. Atlas Obsura, posted 12 October 2012.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/boggy-creek-monster.
This article states the sightings prior to the Ford family’s attacks and the local use to popularize
the monster for profit. The purpose is to inform the reader of the local effects and the further
history of The Boggy Creek Monster.
Gelder, Austin. “Searching for the Boggy Creek Monster.” Arkansas Blog, 6 Oct. 2021.
https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2021/10/06/searching-for-the-boggy-creek-monster,
retrieved 31 Oct. 2024.
This article goes into detail of the hands-on accounts of locals that are skeptical though their
accounts reforged their perspectives. This article details the hunt for the monster in early
September, a man with his son turn to locals after no luck and inspect the evidence from the
locals.
“Image of The Boggy Creek Monster.” Artist Depiction. Midwest Weirdfest. Retrieved 11 Oct.
2024, https://www.midwestweirdfest.com/boggy-creekmonster/
mnf55z55kfndfanqhxcigen9dx39gv.
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