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This episode of Terrifying and True is brought to you
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by Boggy Creek. The series, free to watch on TWOB,
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follow the exploits of Roger and Sarah, two researchers of
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the American Yetti Project, as they investigate Bigfoot and try
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to find proof positive of the legendary monster. But what
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other mysteries will they uncover in the mysterious backwoods of
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Boggie Creek. Starring Eric Roberts of The Dark Knight, Brink
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Stephens of Slumber Party Massacre, Mike Kolinsky of Haunted House
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and Solarty Row, and Joni Durian of Babysitter Massacre, Bigfoot
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just might be the least of their worries as they
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encounter cursed scarecrows, serial killers, witches, dangerous bank robbers, and
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ruthless poachers, among many others. So check it out today,
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free to stream on TWOB. Boggie Creek the series executive
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produced by fred Olin Ray and directed by Henry Kuto. Hey,
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that's me. If you live in North America, I guarantee
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you've heard at least some stories about Bigfoot, the Skunkie,
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the Yettie, or Sasquatch. But back in the turn of
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the century, a small town in Arkansas became the unsuspecting
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capital of all things Bigfoot. And we're going to talk
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all about it tonight.
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What you were about to be based on witness accounts, testimonies,
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and public record, this is terrifying and treat.
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Treat for me. The legend of the falc Monster has
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not only gripped me due to the terror of the
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idea of a Bigfoot on the attack, but because it
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was featured in a film called The Legend of Boggie Creek.
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Not only was that film very scary, but it became
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very legendary in the world I live in every day.
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You see as a film producer and director and one
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who works independently, the Legend of Boggy Creek is a
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testament how if you have a good story, you can
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sell a film regardless of its technical limitations. People came
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out in droves to see this homegrown horror all about Bigfoot,
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and we're still talking about it to this day. So
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let's take a dive into the possibly true story of
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the Foulk Monster after this. Stories of the famous sasquatch
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more commonly known as Bigfoot, have existed for as long
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as oral folklore has, they are stories that everyone knows,
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regardless of country of origin and language spoken. The sasquatch
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has remained an enduring part of popular culture and is
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arguably responsible for the field of cryptozoology, a scientific study
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of animals considered to be mythical or of folklore. Many
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different creatures of this kind of common species have been
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reported over the years, such as the Honey Island swamp Monster, Momo,
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the Monster, and the skunk Ape, to name just a few,
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let alone the Yetti, the Abominable Snowman, and many more. However,
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save for the original story of Bigfoot, no sasquatch legend
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has been in the public eye more than that of
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our topic tonight, Beginning, like most as a local legend
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before rising to a mainstay of regional folklore and then
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national fascination. This legend could perhaps go back as far
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as the early nineteen hundreds, but it wasn't until the
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early nineteen seventies that the legend picked up more steam
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due to various reports and eventually a hit independent film
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that became a staple of drive in theaters across America.
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This is the story of a mysterious creature that roamed
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the lands of rural Arkansas. It is the story of
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the Fouk Monster. In Arkansas. At the time after World
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War II, those returning from war were settling down and
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starting families. For many in the state and the country,
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it was a transition back to a normal life. But
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world history obviously would go on to show there were
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challenges ahead, and while those residing in Arkansas saw would
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be affected like the rest of the country, they had
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their own problem about to flare up. Prior to the
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twentieth century, several alleged sightings in the general area of Falc,
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Arkansas related to the large hairy creature circulated in an
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eighteen fifty one report in the Memphis Inquirer and an
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eighteen fifty six report in the Caddo Gazette. Various accounts
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in later years described it as being a large, bipedal
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creature covered in long, dark hair. It was estimated to
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be about seven feet tall with a weight of between
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two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds. Later reports
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claimed that it was far larger than that, with one
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witness describing it as ten feet tall with an estimated
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weight of over eight hundred pounds. Some accounts described the
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falc Monster as running swiftly with a galloping gait and
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swinging its arms in a fashion similar to any. Reports
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also describe it as having a terrible odour, the odour
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being described as a combination of a skunk and a
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wet dog, and as having bright red eyes about the
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size of silver dollars. A variety of tracks and claw
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marks have been discovered which are claimed to belong to
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the creature. One set of footprints reportedly measured seventeen inches
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in length and seven inches wide, while another appeared to
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show feet that only possessed three toes. Local residents claim
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that this creature had roamed the area since nineteen sixty four,
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but those sightings had not been reported. Local folklore also
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holds that the creature can be further traced back to
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sightings in nineteen forty six. Most early sightings were allegedly
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in the region of Jonesville, which led to the creature
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being known as the Jonesville Monster during this period. In
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nineteen fifty five, the creature was allegedly spotted by a
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fourteen year old boy, who described it as having reddish
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brown hair, sniffing the air and not reacting when it
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was first fired upon with bird shot. Investigator Joe Nichol
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observed that the description was consistent with a misidentified black bear.
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Another local story takes place in the spring of nineteen
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sixty six. A call went out to police to investigate
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the death of an elderly farmer. The man's body was
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found in his barn with crushing injuries to the chest
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and the man's arms ripped from their sockets, his legs
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supposedly having been ripped off as well. A pitchfork was
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found nearby, stained with blood. It had been buried into
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the creature. The many interviews of the locals provided stories
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of so many close bigfoot sight There were supposedly families
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of Sasquatches in the area. Law enforcement agencies involved decided
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not to mention bigfoot as the cause of death and
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blamed the bull in the barn, despite the bull being
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locked up in its stall and not a drop of
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blood on its body. A writer named Philip Steele would
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include this occurrence in his book Ozark Tales and Superstitions.
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The incident occurred just off of Highway three h three,
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heading north from Highway four twelve. That area is close
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to the Madison, Washington County line. It was now nineteen
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seventy one, and this creature was about to become the
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thing of legend. On May second, nineteen seventy one, Bobby
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and Elizabeth Ford were at home when they were attacked.
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According to Elizabeth Ford, the creature, which she initially thought
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was a bear, reached through a screen window night while
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she was sleeping on her couch. It was chased away
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by her husband and his brother Don. During the alleged encounter,
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the Fords fired several gunshots at the creature and believed
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that they had hit it, though no traces of blood
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were found. An extensive search of the area failed to
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locate the creature, but three toed footprints were found close
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to the house, as well as scratch marks on the
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porch and damaged to a window as well as the
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house is sighting, the Fords would state that while they
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had heard something moving around outside late at night several
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nights prior, having lived in the house for less than
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a week, they had never encountered the creature before. Jim Powell,
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then a reporter for the Texarkana Gazette and the Texarkana
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Daily News, and Dave Hall, then director of Texarkana radio
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station KTFS went to Ford's place and found a terrified
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family moving out of the home it owned for less
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than a week. Powell wrote an article that appeared in
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the newspaper outlining the family's alleged sighting and attack. The
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next day, both the Texarcana Gazette and the Texarkana Daily
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published the same follow up story. It contained the first
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reference to the name Fouk Monster. The Associated Press and
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United Press International Wire Services transmitted the article to newspapers
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across the nation. Then, on May twenty third, nineteen seventy one,
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the monster was spotted once more. D. C. Woods Junior,
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Wilma Woods, and missus R. H. Saidgas reported seeing an
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ape like creature crossing US Highway Seventy one. More sightings
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were made over the following months by local residents and
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tourists who found additional footprints. The best known footprints were
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found in a soybean field belonging to local filling station
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owner Scott Keith. They were scrutineded by game warden Carl Gallion,
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who was unable to confirm their authenticity. Like the Ford prints,
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they appeared to indicate that the creature had only three toes.
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These incidents began to attract substantial interest. After news spread
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about the sidings, the Little Rock, Arkansas radio station kaa
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Y posted a one thousand ninety dollars bounty on the
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creature roughly eight thousand, five hundred dollars when adjusted for
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inflation to twenty twenty four. Several attempts were made to
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track the creature using dogs, but they were unable to
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follow its scent. When hunters began to take interest in
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the FOUK monster, Miller County Sheriff Leslie Greer was forced
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to put a temporary no guns policy in place in
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order to preserve public safety. In nineteen seventy one, three
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people were fined fifty nine dollars each for quote filing
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a fraudulent monster report. By late nineteen seventy four, interest
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had waned in sightings all but stopped, only to begin
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again in March of nineteen seventy eight, when tracks were
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reportedly found by two brothers prospecting in Russellville, Arkansas. There
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were also sightings in nearby Center Ridge. On June twenty
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sixth of that same year, a sighting was reported and
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cross At, Arkansas. During this period, the creature was blamed
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for missing livestock and attacks on several dogs. Since the
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initial cluster of sightings during the nineteen seventies, there have
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been sporadic reports of the creature. In nineteen ninety one,
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the creature was reportedly seen jumping from a bridge. There
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were forty reported sightings in nineteen ninety seven, and in
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nineteen ninety eight, the creature was reportedly sighted in a
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dry creek bed five miles south of Foul. One month
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after the Ford sighting, Southern State College now known as
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Southern Arkansas University, archaeologist Frank Scombach determined that quote there
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is a ninety nine percent chance the tracts are a hoax.
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According to Scomboch, the tracts could not be from a
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species of ape, as claimed by witnesses, because they were
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from a three toed creature, whereas all primates, including hominids,
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have five toes. In addition to the number of toes,
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Scomboch cited several other anomalies as part of his conclusion
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the region had no history of primate activity, ruling out
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the possibility of the creature being the remnants of an
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indigenous species. All apes are completely diurnal or in Layman's
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terms most active during daylight, as the Falc Monster was
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reported to be nocturnal or of the night. By nineteen
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eighty six, the mayor of Falc, Virgil Roberts, and former
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Miller County Sheriff Leslie Greer, were of the u opinion
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that the alleged Falc Monster tracks were man made. Greer's
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working colleague at that time, Chief Deputy H. L. Phillips,
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said that he had not taken calls regarding the monster
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in years. He does not believe the creature exists, stating quote,
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I don't believe in it, but I'd say you don't
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argue with people who say they've seen it. Many were
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respectable and responsible folks. The Skeptoid podcast concluded quote, so
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in total, every last shred of evidence that the Fuc
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Monster exists at all is anecdotal. Not a single piece
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is testable. The Fuc Monster fits very poorly with the
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model of a living animal, but fits very well with
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a local legend. Like many monstrous folklore, the story of
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the Falc Monster traveled quickly by word of mouth and
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the printed press while the sightings were first happening. While
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Falc Monster is the name that is stuck. Other names
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the creature is Gone By include the swamp Stalker and,
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perhaps most famously of all, the Boggy Creek Monster. The latter,
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in particular, is what helped the story gain national fame
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in nineteen seventy two, when filmmaker Charles B. Pierce created
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the docu drama horror film The Legend of Boggie Creek.
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The film takes inspiration from mostly the Encounter of the Fords,
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but does also include other parts of the legend and
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various encounters. Reportedly made for one hundred and sixty thousand
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dollars or roughly one point two million dollars in twenty
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twenty four, the Legend of Boggie Creek earned a reported
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total of twenty million dollars at the box office, which,
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when adjusted for inflation to twenty twenty four money, is
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a staggering one hundred and fifty five million, four hundred
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and fifty four thousand, eight hundred and fourteen dollars and
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eighty one cents as of this recording, making the Legend
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of Boggie Creek at its time the most successful independent
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film in the world. Pierce would later go on to
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make several other regional Texarkana based films such as The
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Town That Dreaded, Sundown, The Evictors, and the only official
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sequel to the first film in Boggy Creek two, and
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the Legend Continues. However, since the release of the first film,
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several unofficial sequels and spinoffs have been produced. These include
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nineteen seventy seven's Returned to Boggy Creek, twenty ten's Boggy Creek,
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The Legend Is True, twenty eleven's The Legacy of Boggy Creek,
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twenty sixteen's Boggie Creek Monster, and on television in twenty nineteen,
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Boggy Creek the Series, which by the way, is worth noting,
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was directed by Yours Truly and you can find it
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streaming for free on two BTV. Beginning in two thousand
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and third teen, the falc Monster Festival previously called the
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Boggy Creek Festival, has been an annual event dedicated to discussions, presentations,
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and lore related to the creature and other similar monsters.
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Proceeds benefit the Fouk School District, with over three thousand