Read Online THE BEAST OF BOGGY CREEK: The True Story of the Fouke Monster by Lyle Blackburn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lyle Blackburn
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absolutely erect and walked slowly toward them like man… not slouching like an ape.”
As the creature moved across the field toward the wagon, it continued to howl, all the while motioning angrily at them with its long arms. By now the family was in a state of panic and shock. Seeing no other choice, the father reached for his rifle and fired once in the animal’s direction. The shot presumably missed the creature, but the crack of the rifle was enough to send it running back into the woods.
The father then enlisted enough cooperation from the mules to get the wagon back to the house, where the family promptly jumped out and scrambled for the safety of their home. Once inside, they barricaded the doors and spent the rest of the night in a state of restless sleep, wondering just what it was that they had seen. The following day and a few days thereafter, the men of the family, along with a few neighbors, scoured the woods near the pasture searching for any signs of blood, fur, or tracks, but nothing was ever found. The family never saw the mysterious creature again.
Back in the vicinity of Fouke, a handful of smaller communities such as Jonesville, Fairland, Fort Lynn, Lizarlope, Corinth, and others managed to outlive Boggytown and maintain a small-but-steady population of residents in the countryside. Accounts of the mystery monster during this time are hard to come by, but I did learn of one more which occurred around 1932. The story was told to me by John Attaway, a current Fouke resident. It involved a friend of his by the name of Ace Coker, who was living with his sister in a house near Fort Lynn, three miles due south of the old Boggytown site. As the story goes, he was sitting on the porch one day, while his sister was hanging fresh laundry on the clothesline. At some point he got up to go back inside the house. As he opened the screen door, he tilted up his hat, and there standing near the porch was a large, hairy man-like animal. It had apparently been able to slip up to the porch without making a sound and was now eyeing him curiously. Startled, Coker hurried into the house before looking back again. When he turned around, the thing had already moved out by the fence on their property, and from there it slipped out of sight.
There may have been other encounters in the first half of the 1900s, but since many people kept these types of things quiet and there was no media coverage, many tales have probably been lost. Attaway said that Coker did not like sharing his story, so presumably even this was not known about beyond a small circle of friends.
A group of happy citizens in front of the Fouke post office circa 1921.
(Courtesy of the Miller County Historical Society)
It would be several decades before stories of a monster began to register on any significant scale with the locals. But as the destruction of wildlife habitat continued in the wake of the lumber boom, it was only a matter of time before the creature emerged to haunt the growing number of intruders.
Workers during early construction of Highway 71 in 1928.
(Courtesy of the Miller County Historical Society)
3. Jonesville Monster
The Haunting Begins
The Fouke Monster did not start out as the Fouke Monster. Well, that is to say it did start out as a “monster” and still is one (as far as we know), but in the process of its rise from the swamps to greater fame, a renaming took place. It actually began its cryptid life as the “Jonesville Monster,” named in reference to a small community located about six miles southwest of Fouke.
If anyone thinks the area around Fouke where Boggy Creek crosses the highway is spooky at night, then just take a drive down the backroads of Jonesville late one evening. This is a true monster’s paradise where the trees bend threateningly toward the road, and the brush is so thick it can hide even the largest of predators that may be lurking only a few feet away.
Jonesville was founded in the
As the creature moved across the field toward the wagon, it continued to howl, all the while motioning angrily at them with its long arms. By now the family was in a state of panic and shock. Seeing no other choice, the father reached for his rifle and fired once in the animal’s direction. The shot presumably missed the creature, but the crack of the rifle was enough to send it running back into the woods.
The father then enlisted enough cooperation from the mules to get the wagon back to the house, where the family promptly jumped out and scrambled for the safety of their home. Once inside, they barricaded the doors and spent the rest of the night in a state of restless sleep, wondering just what it was that they had seen. The following day and a few days thereafter, the men of the family, along with a few neighbors, scoured the woods near the pasture searching for any signs of blood, fur, or tracks, but nothing was ever found. The family never saw the mysterious creature again.
Back in the vicinity of Fouke, a handful of smaller communities such as Jonesville, Fairland, Fort Lynn, Lizarlope, Corinth, and others managed to outlive Boggytown and maintain a small-but-steady population of residents in the countryside. Accounts of the mystery monster during this time are hard to come by, but I did learn of one more which occurred around 1932. The story was told to me by John Attaway, a current Fouke resident. It involved a friend of his by the name of Ace Coker, who was living with his sister in a house near Fort Lynn, three miles due south of the old Boggytown site. As the story goes, he was sitting on the porch one day, while his sister was hanging fresh laundry on the clothesline. At some point he got up to go back inside the house. As he opened the screen door, he tilted up his hat, and there standing near the porch was a large, hairy man-like animal. It had apparently been able to slip up to the porch without making a sound and was now eyeing him curiously. Startled, Coker hurried into the house before looking back again. When he turned around, the thing had already moved out by the fence on their property, and from there it slipped out of sight.
There may have been other encounters in the first half of the 1900s, but since many people kept these types of things quiet and there was no media coverage, many tales have probably been lost. Attaway said that Coker did not like sharing his story, so presumably even this was not known about beyond a small circle of friends.
A group of happy citizens in front of the Fouke post office circa 1921.
(Courtesy of the Miller County Historical Society)
It would be several decades before stories of a monster began to register on any significant scale with the locals. But as the destruction of wildlife habitat continued in the wake of the lumber boom, it was only a matter of time before the creature emerged to haunt the growing number of intruders.
Workers during early construction of Highway 71 in 1928.
(Courtesy of the Miller County Historical Society)
3. Jonesville Monster
The Haunting Begins
The Fouke Monster did not start out as the Fouke Monster. Well, that is to say it did start out as a “monster” and still is one (as far as we know), but in the process of its rise from the swamps to greater fame, a renaming took place. It actually began its cryptid life as the “Jonesville Monster,” named in reference to a small community located about six miles southwest of Fouke.
If anyone thinks the area around Fouke where Boggy Creek crosses the highway is spooky at night, then just take a drive down the backroads of Jonesville late one evening. This is a true monster’s paradise where the trees bend threateningly toward the road, and the brush is so thick it can hide even the largest of predators that may be lurking only a few feet away.
Jonesville was founded in the
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