Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #10

[Illustration based on eyewitness accounts.]

In the past eight years over one hundred confirmed reports of a strange "Pig Beast" have been collected by authorities in the wooded town of Barre, Vermont. Often spotted by hikers or campers, many respectable and reliable witnesses claim to have caught a glimpse of a pig-like creature, usually during the quiet, dimly lit hours of dawn and dusk. Never reported as a nuisance or threat, the sight of a six-foot pig faced humanoid is still an unsettling shock to those lucky (or unlucky) enough to spot it.

The creature, although terrifying in appearance, is by all accounts shy and docile, and flits away into the woods before witnesses are able to regain their composure enough to pursue it.

Previous amateur expeditions have so far produced no concrete evidence of the Pig Beast's existence, but a new expedition by the famous monster-hunter Dr. Wilhelm Schneider is planned for the spring of 2010.

Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #9 (right on time)

Montana is known for it's Rocky Mountain majesty, it's pristine wilderness, it's harsh winters, and it's abundant wildlife. Hunters, explorers and trappers have been braving the woods and mountains for decades in search of Earth's bounty; others seek solitude and a simpler life; while others still search for the legendary "Twin Peak," a two-headed mountain goat rumored to hold dominion over the wilds of western Montana.

Although mountain goats typically have a lifespan of less than twenty years, sightings of Twin Peak have been reported for more than a century. Could there be a whole new species breeding and thriving deep in the wilderness, or is Twin Peak merely the figment of a crazed mountain man's mind?

[Illustration based on multiple eyewitness accounts.]

Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #8 (a day late)

Basque country holds many wonders; a beautiful landscape, fascinating culture, centuries old traditions, and unique folk stories and legends. One folk story warns of a headless goat that roams the countryside seeking shepherds who have fallen asleep or otherwise mis-tended their flock. This haunted goat is said to scare the shepherd into such a state of confusion, shock and terror that he immediately slips into incurable madness.

[Illustration based on Basque folk legend.]

Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #7

[Artist sketch based on eyewitness account.]

The Great White North holds many mysteries. One of the most unusual involves a large spider-like being reported in a letter to one Miss Abigail McCarthy of Boston Massachusetts sent by a man named John Campbell in the Fall of 1896.

The letter reads like a typical cordial correspondence of the times, but one line stands out above the rest:

"...began normal enough...was alighted upon by the strangest of beings...creature out of the most dire and forgotten nightmares...walking like a man but possessing limbs and features like that of an insect..."

Seven feet tall with six full limbs and multiple eyes glowing fiercely in the dark, this creature was not given a name by it's gold seeking discoverer, but the description does closely match the child god Chokko-Amba of Inuit legend.

Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #6

[Illustration of "The Treacham" based on eyewitness accounts.]

Completely lacking rear appendages, the strange creature dubbed "The Treacham" pulls itself along the ground with powerful claw-tipped paws at the end of sinewy front arms. Rumored to be capable of moving just as swiftly in water, most reports find this creature dragging itself along dry land, waiting for an unsuspecting goat, small cow, or even a human being who may have stumbled unknowingly into its domain.

Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #5

For over a century a creature known only as "The Gromb" has haunted those who would wander out into the rocky sun-baked areas of Western Nevada naive enough to think that the harsh elements were the worst of their fears.

Early silver miners told a tale of a bear-sized beast with fangs as long as pick-axes and paws the size of wagon wheels hiding among the shadowed crevasses and natural rock caves that jutted the bleak landscape.

Most assume the stories were concocted to keep would-be claim jumpers and other competition away from the promise of silver and other valuable minerals, but others believe the stories hold some ancient truth, and that the spirit of a long forgotten Indian totem haunts the land seeking retribution for the sins of western settlers.[Artist Sketch of "The Gromb" based on several eyewitness accounts.]

Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #4

[Artist sketch of "Squishy" based on several eyewitness accounts.]

Often appearing on cloudless mist-shrouded nights, "Squishy" has been haunting the wheat fields of Hutchinson Kansas since the mid 1950s. Often explained away by officials as "swamp gas" emitted from nearby marshes, sightings of the glowing apparition are often accompanied by unexplained electromagnetic phenomenon and have also been known to coincide with reports of crop circles and similar otherworldly signs.

Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #3

Sailors have spun yarns about mermaids, ghost ships, haunted fog, and assorted sea monsters since the day after we ourselves crawled out of the primordial ocean and turned right around in an attempt to conquer the sea that birthed us.

One such mythic creature, sung in fisherman song and legend for thousands of years, is the ghost crab; a crustacean with claws of human skulls said to be those of men who did not heed the ghost crab's warnings.

Indonesian legend holds that ghost crabs are minions of the demon Noka-ai', and fishermen believe the mere sight of a ghost crab portends certain death if they do not cast off their nets and return immediately to shore. Even then, safety is not guaranteed and the demon Noka-ai' may still take umbrage upon the vessel and sailors that received the demonic warning.



[Illustration of the ghost crab based on ancient legend.]

Halloween Countdown 2009: Monster #2

Known as "Ducktopus" to residents living near seaside Oso Flaco Lake, this strange creature was first mentioned in the Spring 1974 issue of Strange but Really Real Science magazine.

Further reports have been sparse, lending most in the really really real scientific community to posit that the creature was not a monster and, barring a complete fabrication of the story, was in fact an ordinary octopus eating or resting on top of a dead seagull, duck or other local water fowl.


[Artist Sketch of "Ducktopus" based on eyewitness account]

Halloween 2009: Monster #1

Reports of a 6' leech-like creature with long claws and eyes below it's gaping maw began quietly with a one line article in The Heber Springs Tribune Issue 6 Volume 64, March 11th 1926.

Sightings became more frequent as the early century progressed, with at least three a month by the mid nineteen-forties.

Not ironically, these reports also coincided with an ever increasing tourist boon for nearby Greer Lake.

"He done got a mouth on his forehead, an big 'ol glowin' eyes!" Reported Hick Heber, a local restaurateur, in a 1936 sighting. "I thunk I was dunfer."

Later dubbed "Mouthy McGee" by an entrepreneurial local named Rick Heber, "'ol Mouthy" began appearing on billboards, T-Shirts, and even as the mascot for nearby Heber Elementary School.


[Artist Sketch of "Mouthy McGee" based on several eyewitness accounts]

Greer Lake dried up for a few years in the late sixties, and so did the tourist trade. The lake has returned, but the tourists never did.

The last reported sighting of Mouthy McGee was over twenty years ago.

"It's a beautiful lake and a wonderful town," says Nick Heber, current resident. "We'd like to leave "Mouthy" in the past where he belongs. He's dunfer."