Lyle Blackburn - Beyond Boggy Creek: In Search of the Southern Sasquatch

An Original Publication of ANOMALIST BOOKS

Beyond Boggy Creek: In Search of the Southern Sasquatch

Copyright 2017 by Lyle Blackburn

ISBN: 978-1-938398-72-8

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

Cover artwork by Claudio Bergamin

Illustrations by artists as credited

Photos courtesy of individual photographers as credited

Book design by Seale Studios

For more information about the author, visit: www.lyleblackburn.com

For information about the publisher, go to AnomalistBooks.com, or write to: Anomalist Books, 5150 Broadway #108, San Antonio, TX 78209

In memory of J.E. Smokey Crabtree

CONTENTS

PREFACE

This book contains actual accounts by real people based on personal interviews, newspaper archives, and other documented sources.

With the increasing number of research groups and individuals who collect and report sightings of ape-like creatures, it would be impossible to present each and every account for an area as large as the southern United States. As such, it is important to note that the accounts presented here were selected on the basis of credibility, location, dates, and the amount of information available. Any omissionsoutside of those deemed uncredible or unsubstantiatedare based purely on the constraints of this book and the efficiency with which to tell an engaging story. For additional reports in these areas, please consult the various Bigfoot research organizations and dedicated individuals who publish on the World Wide Web. It is a mystery shared by all.

INTRODUCTION

It was sometime in the mid-1970s. My parents decided to attend a double-feature at a local drive-in theater. I was young at the time, and judging from past experience, they knew I would fall asleep in the backseat mid-way through the first film, thus allowing my parents to enjoy a night of entertainment without spending money on a sitter.

The films my parents liked bored me anyway, so I didnt mind getting cozy in the backseat with a blanket, a pillow, and perhaps a few comic books to save me from the melodrama of Robert Redford or some such 1970s movie star. However, that particular night held more promise since the bill included a horror movie. And not just any horror movie, but one based on allegedly true events that happened close by in Arkansas.

Being an avid fan of horror films and movie monsters, I sat through the previews until the feature finally flickered to life on the huge outdoor screen. My parents were a bit apprehensive about the subject matter, but the movie was rated G, so whats the worst thing that could happen? A few nightmares? Perhaps a life-time obsession?

As the opening sequence began to paint a serene, cinematic picture of a southern Arkansas bayou, I found myself curiously captivated. It was somewhat familiar territory since I had camped in Arkansas plenty of times, but the swamp setting was something new to me. The lush, watery landscape seemed more remote and dangerous. It was a place of mystery unlike I had ever seen.

The sequence continued as it showed local wildlife swimming and flying about the bayou, only occasionally hinting at anything spooky through the use of ominous soundtrack notes. I was beginning to think Id been duped into watching a nature documentary. But that changed when the metallic shell of the drive-in speaker rattled with the bone-chilling cry of an unseen creature deep in the woods. I quickly crawled over the seat and nestled in between my parents. Forget sleeping in the backseat, this was something I had to see!

The feature was The Legend of Boggy Creek, a low-budget indie film that effectively dramatized stories of a Sasquatch-like creature said to exist near the small town of Fouke in southwest Arkansas. The movie had become so successful after its release in 1972, it went on to play for many years in theaters, drive-ins, and later on television. I was but one of thousandsperhaps millionswho saw the movie during its run. Little did I know the impact it would make on my life.

As you may be aware, the circumstances surrounding the movie inspired me to write my first book, The Beast of Boggy Creek (which is by no means required to understand and enjoy this pseudo-sequel youre reading now). When I first began researching the subject, it was little more than a personal crusade to find out the true story behind The Legend of Boggy Creek and the creature known as the Fouke Monster on which it was based. I had been involved in Bigfoot research for several years at that point and was aware the movie had inspired many of my fellow colleagues in that particular pursuit. However, I had no idea how many other people remembered this cinematic gem.

It wasnt until Anomalist Books published my book, The Beast of Boggy Creek, in 2012 that I came to understand the tremendous impact the movie had on the general populous. As I began to appear at book signings and was invited to speak at various conferences and conventions around the country, countless people began approaching me to relay their own fond memories of the film. They would invariably say something along the lines of that movie scared the hell out of me when I was a kid. The statement would often be followed by a brief story about where they saw it or what they did afterwards, such as dress up as the Fouke Monster for Halloween or, better yet, take a trip to Fouke to look for the creature. But not all were funny childhood memories. People also told me of their own startling encounters with a creature around Fouke and in other locations.

The more I considered peoples interest in the subject and the additional stories, the more I began to realize the importance of providing a larger picture of similar cases and incidents that have been reported throughout the South. While Boggy Creek may arguably be ground zero for the Southern Sasquatch, this innocuous waterway is only the tip of a much broader mystery; one that spills into the surrounding states and beyond.

That being said, an investigation of this scope is not an easy one. Whereas to thoroughly document a cryptid case in a small areasuch as that of the Fouke Monster or the Bishopville Lizard Man (the subject of my second book)already requires exhaustive research, the Southern Sasquatch case is one that involves many more people and covers a far greater area through many types of rugged terrain. But the importance of establishing an overall, accurate history of man-ape encounters in the South is essential to the examination of beings such as the Fouke Monster on the whole. Given the number of southern states that have documented sightings, footprints, and other evidence, its logical to conclude that the alleged creatures know no boundaries. The same ones that haunt the banks of Boggy Creek could just as easily follow its muddy waters up the nearby the Sulphur River into Texas. It could likewise travel from the Sulphur to the Red River, taking it down into Louisiana, then by wood and swamp to Mississippi and Alabama. And what about the Skunk Ape reported in Florida and the Bigfoot of Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Oklahoma? How do these creature reports compare with each other? How many types of suspected habitat are there? Is there one or are there many possible species?

These are just some of the questions we must consider as we go beyond Boggy Creek to the wilds of the southern U.S. where indeed a host of hairy, man-like creatures have been reported for centuries. Ive traveled the woods and waterways, battled mosquitoes and chiggers, delved into countless news articles, and talked directly to eyewitnesses and other researchers in order to document one of the Souths most enduring mysteries. So sit back and relax as I guide you along a shadowy trail in search of the Southern Sasquatch.