Honoring the Man in Black

Tomorrow marks 78 years since the birth of Johnny Cash. His final album, American VI: Ain't No Grave, came out this past Tuesday, more than six years after the iconic musician passed away. Johnny Cash's relatives and the record company that released the final album are encouraging fans to celebrate his birthday by wearing all black on Friday. They are running a Facebook event for that day with free prizes being awarded to some of those who post photos of themselves wearing black.

During the 1970s, Johnny Cash made his tendency toward wearing black clothing into a trademark, releasing the album Man in Black. In the title song from the album, Cash explains why he wore black so often.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.

Considering how much of my own wardrobe is black, it is likely that I would have been wearing all black tomorrow anyhow. So, I will honor Johnny Cash's birthday instead by choosing the birthplace of Johnny Cash and his hometown as the Dark Destinations for this week.

Visit Kingsland, Arkansas, the birthplace of Johnny Cash.

Or

Visit Dyess, Arkansas, his hometown.


-Tom G

The Haunting of Malco Theatre

The Malco Theatre is a celebrated landmark in the tourist city of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Although the current building dates back only to 1935, the Central Avenue location has hosted theatrical venues since the 1880s. Previous incarnations were torn down for one reason or another (one after it was gutted by fire), but perhaps something was left behind. In addition to reports of paranormal activity, the Malco Theatre is home to a rather unusual tale. From 1996 until very recently, the theater was also host to Maxwell Blade's Theatre of Magic and while researching the venue's history, he reportedly stumbled across an interesting legend.

The date was August 28, 1888 and a German magician was performing at an early incarnation of the theater when he asked a woman in the audience to join him on stage to assist with his final illusion. The woman was Clara B. Sutherland and a red silk sheet was placed over her. When the magician pulled it away, she had vanished - a fairly normal routine. What was not normal was that when the magician ordered the woman to reappear, she didn't. According to the legend, the woman had simply vanished and could not be summoned back despite the magician's best efforts. She was never seen again. While some might dismiss the tale as being just part of Maxwell Blade's former act, there are several who believe that there is a connection between it and the reports of an apparition of a woman that has been spotted in the venue's basement.

Read more about the Malco Theatre at Dark Destinations.

-Casey H.

The Basin Park Hotel of Eureka Springs

Although often overshadowed by its often better known sister-hotel, Crescent Hotel (see Crescent Hotel & Spa), the Basin Park Hotel offers more stories for ghost enthusiasts to explore in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The hotel opened on this date in 1905 and at one-time hosted unsavory Chicago mobsters because of the hotel's owners outright ignoring of city laws that banned alcohol and slot machines. Today, the site plays host to ghost tours that explore not only the hotel itself, but downtown Eureka Springs. Like the Crescent, multiple spirits are said the haunt the halls of Basin Park Hotel and guests and staff alike still report strange encounters to this day.

Read the history and stories of the Basin Park Hotel.

-Casey H.

The Active Month of the Haunted Highway

Stories of haunted highways and phantom hitchhikers are known around the world. While there are variations to the tales depending on the locale, there are often similarities. The story of Highway 365 in Arkansas is no exception with the familiar tale of concerned drivers stopping to give a ride to a teenage girl; often wearing a torn and bloodied prom dress. After following the directions to her house, the driver arrives to find that the girl has mysteriously disappeared from the backseat of the car.

Interestingly, this particular account is tied to an accident that is said to occurred in the 1950s where a young woman and her date die in a car accident on the way to their prom. The tie to the prom might explain why this particular girl is often said to be most often cited in the month of June on or around a bridge on Highway 365 (formerly known as Highway 65).

This tale is also tied to Dark Destinations interestingly enough. You may or may not have noticed our unofficial logo (or one of the many variations) of the dark road. The road is none other than Highway 365 that was taken when else, but in the month of June 2007. Sadly, the hitchhiker did not make an appearance that night, but one never knows if and when she might be popping up this year.

Read more about the vanishing hitchhiker of Highway 365 in Arkansas.

-Casey H.

A Rather Unusual Obelisk

Those that take a leisurely stroll through the Little Rock Arsenal in Little Rock, Arkansas might stumble across a very odd dedication. Some distance behind the famed Tower Building in the park area stands an obelisk that was erected on this date in 1927 by the Arkansas Medical Society. The white obelisk commemorates the first human dissection in the state of Arkansas, which apparently was done on the very spot the obelisk now stands in 1874. A human dissection obelisk is but one of the intriguing stories of the Little Rock Arsenal. It is also well known as the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur, hosted first the Confederate Army and later, the Union Army (who incarcerated the "Boy Hero of the Confederacy" here before his execution), in the midst of the Civil War, and is believed to be haunted by guests and staff alike to this day.

Read more about the Little Rock Arsenal.

On a completely unrelated note, today is also the anniversary of a fictional milestone as well. On May 12, 1984, a T-800 cyborg assassin arrived from the future with the intent of executing a waitress by the name of Sarah Connor. Fortunately for her, a human resistance fighter named Kyle Reese was also sent back who successfully thwarted the machine's plans. Ironically, 25 years later, the character of Sarah Connor is facing a "termination" of a different sort as executives at the Fox Network debate bringing the television show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, back for another season despite struggling ratings.

-Casey H.

The Town that Dreaded Sundown

In 1972, director Charles B. Pierce made a splash with the surprise success of the low budget film, The Legend of Boggy Creek. The movie was presented in a docudrama format and detailed the legend of the so-called Fouke Monster in Boggy Creek just outside Fouke, Arkansas (see Boggy Creek, Arkansas). Pierce lived nearby in Texarkana, Texas and had formerly worked as an advertising salesman before his venture into filmmaking. The Legend of Boggy Creek grossed around $20 million and its gritty documentary-style approach unnerved theatergoers in drive-ins around the country.

In early-1977, Pierce would again return to the docudrama format for the horror film, The Town that Dreaded Sundown. Like The Legend of Boggy Creek, the new film played off another local legend in the area - The Moonlight Murders. The story dated back to early-1946 when the so-called Phantom Killer tormented the city of Texarkana, Texas over a period of a couple months. It started on February 22 with an attack that left two young adults injured but alive. Over the next two months (see March 24 and April 14), four more people were killed at the hands of the unknown assailant and police were desperate for leads. The Phantom Killer struck one more time (this time just across the border in Arkansas) on May 3 that left one victim dead and another in serious condition. The killer was never caught.

The events of 1946 were framed as a pseudo-documentary for The Town that Dreaded Sundown and followed a Texas Ranger as he attempted to crack the case. Much like the realness of The Legend of Boggy Creek caught viewers off-guard, the docudrama approach (complete with a narrator) chilled viewers across the world for Pierce's take on the infamous murders of Texarkana. Today, The Town that Dreaded Sundown is considered a minor cult classic.

-Casey H.

The Haunted Tombstones of Mount Holly Cemetery

Tucked away in the heart of Little Rock, Arkansas is a 20-acre cemetery that has often been called the "Westminster Abbey of Arkansas." The cemetery was established on this day in 1843 and is now the home to countless historical individuals that played a major role either on the state or the federal level - giving it that distinguished nickname. Mount Hope Cemetery holds no less than six U.S. Senators, 10 Governors, four Confederate Generals, 14 State Supreme Court Justices, 21 Mayors of Little Rock, and the Arkansas Boy Martyr of the Confederacy - David Owen Dodd.

The cemetery is gaining a reputation for an entirely different reason as well. Visitors to the grounds have reported a wide range of strange activity. If you believe the stories, various tombstones have mysteriously shown up on the lawns of neighboring houses in the middle of the night. Who or what moved them is a matter of speculation. Of course, if you couple it with the reports of those very statues and tombs startling a guest to the grounds by slightly moving, one has to wonder. Other reports include apparitions in period clothing and the echoing calls of a flute playing when no one else is around. Tricks of the mind or is something far stranger going on in Mount Holly Cemetery?

Look into the stories of Mount Holly Cemetery.

-Casey H.

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.

A "Monster" Protected by the Government

In Northeast Arkansas, portions of the White River near Jacksonport and Newport have been designated as a refuge for something that even science has yet to identify. Following a flurry of sightings of the creature known as "Whitey" (short for the more menacing title of "The White River Monster"), interested onlookers flocked to the White River and some had less than noble intentions. Fearing that someone would get hurt, or local wildlife might be mistaken for the creature, the Arkansas State Legislature designated the area as the "White River Monster Refuge" in February of 1973. With the designation came the protection. The new law states that it is, "unlawful to kill, molest, trample or harm the White River Monster while in its native refuge."

The state protection of an animal that might or might not exist is not as uncommon as one might think. The state of Vermont has placed "Champ" of Lake Champlain on the Endangered Species List. Skamania County of Washington passed an ordinance to protect any "Bigfoot" creatures within the county lines, which was further revised to declare the entire county as a "Sasquatch Refuge." In 2005, Swedish officials around Lake Storsjön had to lift their protection of their resident lake monster, the famed "Storsjöodjuret," after it was found out that the current law could not enforce the designated protection, as there was no proof of the animal's existence.

The sightings of Whitey reportedly date back to the 1800s, with flurries of reports coming in during the late-1930s and again in the 1970s. Reports have waned since, but some believe it is only a matter of time before it is seen again as it appears to follow a pattern where it emerges every 30 to 40 years. If so, the White River Monster could be reemerging any day now.

Read more on the White River Monster of Arkansas.

-Casey H.