The Monster of Boggy Creek

The Boggy Creek Monster is also known as the Fouke Monster and the Swamp Stalker.  It lives near the town of Fouke, Arkansas, and became famous in 1971 when it attacked the home of Bobby and Elizabeth Ford on the night of May 1.  The Fords fired several shots at it and believed they had hit it.  However, no blood was found.

The monster is said to stand seven feet tall and weigh over 250 pounds.  After the attack on the Ford home, it began to attract a lot of attention.  Little Rock radio station KAAY posted a $1,090 bounty on the creature which really became famous in 1973.  This was when the Fords’ encounter with it was turned into a documentary-style horror film called “The Legend of Boggy Creek”.

The movie was so successful that two sequels were made: “Return to Boggy Creek” and “Boggy Creek II: the Legend Continues”.  In 1991, the creature was seen jumping from a bridge, and 40 sightings of it were made in 1997.  The monster was reported in a dry creek bed five miles south of Fouke in 1998.  The first time the Boggy Creek Monster was sighted was in the late 1860s. 

At that time, the creature was said to have plagued two families living outside Fouke.  That was when the legend began which the town has turned to its economic advantage.  Near Boggy Creek, there is a gift shop that sells monster souvenirs.  However, the Boggy Creek Monster is not the only creature that inhabits Arkansas.

Outside Newport, another monster supposedly lurks in the White River.  Witnesses describe the White River Monster as snake like and about 30 feet long with a spiny background.  Nicknamed Whitey, the creature has been sighted in the White River for over 150 years.  The Quapaw Indians were the first to report the monster and the story was passed down from generation to generation. 

One biologist believes Whitey was actually a lost elephant seal that had migrated from its ocean habitat.  No one has seen the monster for several years.  Most of the local people, however, believe that it is still alive.  Others think Whitey died when the river became too shallow.