The Legend of Boggy Creek Lives On

Last Sunday, I posted an entry on the White River Monster that is said to lurk in the waters of northwest Arkansas. For today, let's move to the southwest corner of the state to explore an entirely different creature said to lurk in the woods near Boggy Creek. On this week's episode of the History series, MonsterQuest, they explored the legends of the so-called Boggy Creek Monster (also known as the Fouke Monster) and tried to track down evidence of its existence. They were unsuccessful, but they were not the first nor will they be the last to try.

In the world of horror films, the Boggy Creek Monster was immortalized in the 1972-docudrama, The Legend of Boggy Creek, by filmmaker Charles B. Pierce. The film was a dramatization of events (with a few additions for dramatic effect) that reportedly played out only a year before around the small town of Fouke, Arkansas. The film was released to drive-in theaters around the nation and became something of a cult-classic - its stark semi-documentary style eliciting nightmares from unsuspecting moviegoers. It would go on to spawn a few sequels and Pierce would again use the docudrama approach for another film based around different local events (we'll be visiting that one next month).

If MonsterQuest is correct, the Boggy Creek Monster is more often sighted far to the north these days, but that is not to say that it hasn't left an impression on the town of Fouke. The well known Boggy Creek Monster life-sized stand (see photo above) is located in the center of town and remains a popular tourist stop for those that want to take photos with their face giving the beast an identity. It is located directly next to Peavy's Monster Mart, which offers a sampling of t-shirts, magnets, and other assorted goods associated with their local cryptid (see Peavy's Monster Mart. Just up the road is Smokey's Two-Books Bookstore and Museum, which is run by acclaimed Smokey Crabtree, who appeared in the film and has gone on to write books about his life in the area, the Fouke Monster, and the real-life horror story that was the making of The Legend of Boggy Creek (see Smokey's Two-Books Bookstore and Museum). The creature reportedly may have moved on, but its legend is still firmly implanted in Fouke and nearby Boggy Creek.

See what lurks in Boggy Creek.

-Casey H.