The Legend of Bigfoot. T. S. Mart

p.m. and saw a large, hairy creature alongside the road. They passed by, turned around, and came back to the location. The creature was gone, but they heard a high-pitched scream that sounded like a pig or a woman screaming. Then they spotted the creature on the opposite side of the road coming after them. The boys returned to town and told the police what happened. When the state troopers went out later, they found the creature in a field. It let out a deep, guttural roar as it retreated. These incidents were recorded in the police logs, which later came up missing.

      BIGFOOT OF THE DEEP SOUTH

      While this is a picture of a skunk ape, the wood ape is a collective term for unknown apelike creatures in the southern region. Generally, this group of supposed primates is said to be seven to nine feet tall. A variety of colors, they range from dark hair to shaggy grayish-brown hair. They are similar to chimpanzees and orangutans, but Wood Apes are much more hunched than other primates, with no sagittal crest. Reported to be aggressive, they’re often seen in or around swamps and are easily excitable. According to some, this is not necessarily a traditional Bigfoot. It’s also suspected there are different kinds of southern Bigfoot-type creatures. Other commonly known names are Booger, Esti Capcaki (Seminole, meaning “tall man”), Bush Ape, Wild Man, Swamp Devil, Swamp Cabbage Man, and Swampsquatch.

       FOUKE MONSTER

      Hair/Fur: long dark-brown, reddish, or black hair, covering the entire body

      Eyes: brown

      Height: most reports read 7 feet; several others report 4 or 5 feet

      Weight: 300 to 500 pounds

      Body Appearance: chest 3 feet wide

      Facial Features: brown skin, apelike face

      Characteristics: moves quickly, strong odor

      Demeanor: aggressive, known to attack cattle and livestock

      Foot Size: 3 toes; 17 inches long, 7 inches wide

      Vocalization: hissing sound; deep, throaty noise

      Location: Fouke, Arkansas, southeast corner of the state in Miller county, travels along the remote areas of the creeks and swamps

      Tidbit: also known as the Boggy Creek Monster and the subject of the 1972 film by the same name

      Legend: Decades before the movie was made, sightings of the monster occurred along Boggy Creek and the Sulfur River. However, the most legendary sighting was in May 1971, when Elizabeth Ford was asleep in her bed and the creature reached through an open window and grabbed her. She awoke, saw two red eyes, and screamed. The monster fled, and the men in the house ran outside with rifles. An altercation occurred between the creature and Bobby Ford, who was later taken to the hospital. Reports of the incident brought flocks of visitors to the area, giving the economy a boost and creating some excitement in an otherwise sleepy town. After the press moved on and the popularity of the movie dwindled, sightings continued to take place. They continue on to this day, and Fouke, Arkansas, continues to be a popular destination for legend trippers.

       HONEY ISLAND SWAMP MONSTER

      Hair/Fur: long gray hair

      Eyes: yellow or red

      Height: 7 feet

      Weight: 400 pounds

      Body Appearance: broad-chested, lean body

      Facial Features: reports of reptilian features and apelike features

      Characteristics: strong odor

      Demeanor: approaches campsites or humans for food, otherwise passive, seen alone

      Diet: wild boar, goat, rabbit

      Foot Size: 3- or 4-toed with reptile-like claws; up to 10 inches long; heel and arch have ape characteristics

      Vocalization: growling; unusual, frightening animal sound

      Location: roams the backwaters of the Louisiana swamps, particularly Honey Island Swamp, which is approximately twenty miles long and seven miles wide

      Tidbit: also known as the Louisiana Wookie or swamp creature. Legend states a circus train wrecked in the area, and an escaped chimpanzee mated with an alligator to produce this creature.

       THE MOSS MAN

      Hair/Fur: covered in moss or green foliage

      Eyes: amber

      Height: 6.5 to 7 feet

      Weight: 250 pounds

      Body Appearance: human shape

      Facial Features: humanlike

      Demeanor: haunting but not aggressive

      Location: Florida

      Tidbit: first spotted in 1978 on a Florida beach. Some say this creature has the appearance of a ghost, as it often emerges out of the mist. In pop culture, the creature appears in Masters of the Universe.

       SABINE THING

      Hair/Fur: dark gray, reddish brown

      Eyes: brown, humanlike

      Height: 7 or 8 feet

      Body Appearance: upright, bipedal

      Facial Features: humanlike

      Characteristics: seen in the vicinity of food

      Demeanor: leaps and screams as it attacks, passive toward humans

      Diet: omnivore and scavenger Vocalization: growls and whoops

      Location: forested areas near Sabine and the Sulphur River near the Texas/Arkansas border

      Tidbit: may be a relative or variation of the Fouke monster; also known as the Cajun boogeyman

       THE SKUNK APE

      Hair/Fur: dark brown, red, or black long fur

      Eyes: glowing red

      Height: 5 to 6 feet, with reports of creatures up to 7 and 8 feet

      Weight: 300–500 pounds

      Body Appearance: very long hair and arms; walks upright

      Facial Features: orangutan-like

      Characteristics: terrible odor of skunk, rotten eggs, and manure

      Demeanor: often seen alone, will raid campsites for food

      Diet: nestlings, wild hogs, and native berries

      Foot Size: 3 to 4 toes, with one toe extending outward to the side

      Vocalization: growling, whooping

      Location: Florida Everglades

      Tidbit: also known as the Myakka Ape, the Bardin Booger, and other names located in the Skunk Ape description at the beginning of this section. An older variant of this ape reported in the early 1970s is smaller and moved around on all fours.

       Two EGG STUMP JUMPER

      Hair/Fur: long white or gray hair

      Height: less than 5 feet

      Body Appearance: fully covered in hair

      Facial Features: apelike

      Demeanor: often seen running across the road at night; passive; does not approach humans

      Foot Size: about the same as an average human foot