Folklore | Cryptid |
---|---|
First attested | 1971 |
Other name(s) | Momo, Momo the Missouri Monster |
Country | United States |
Region | Missouri, Illinois |
Part of a series on the |
Paranormal |
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Momo the Monster, also known as the Missouri Monster (Momo), is a purported ape-like creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, that was allegedly sighted by numerous people in rural Louisiana, Missouri in 1971 and 1972. [1] Unlike some other areas with similar reports of cryptids such as the Fouke Monster in Fouke, Arkansas or the Mothman in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Momo did not become a major tourist or economic folklore attraction. [2]
Alleged witnesses describe the creature as a large, bipedal humanoid, with a pumpkin sized head, about 7 ft (2.1 m) tall, covered in dark hair that emits a putrid odor. [3]
The most well known alleged sighting occurred on July 11, 1972, when two young boys were playing in the backyard on the rural outskirts of Louisiana, Missouri. Their older sister, Doris, was in the kitchen when she heard her brother's screaming. When she looked out of the window, she observed a massive, dark haired, man-like creature holding what appeared to be a deceased dog. She described it as having a "pumpkin-shaped head", and large glowing orange eyes. [4]
Many alleged sightings occurred that year, most notably was local fire department chief and member of the city council, Richard Allan Murray, who reported driving along a creek bed when he saw a massive upright creature in his vehicle's headlights. As a result of these reported encounters, a 20 person posse was formed to hunt the creature but nothing was ever found. [5]
In 2019, a docudrama horror film entitled Momo: The Missouri Monster, was released and features a dramatization of the events of 1972. The film's cast includes Cliff Barackman and James "Bobo" Fay, best known for their appearances as Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) members on the Animal Planet series Finding Bigfoot . [6]
American theme park Six Flags St. Louis had a ride that operated from 1973 until 1994 named after the creature. [7]
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a large and hairy human-like mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Bigfoot is featured in both American and Canadian folklore, and since the mid-20th century has grown into a cultural icon, permeating popular culture and becoming the subject of its own distinct subculture.
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor of folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.
The skunk ape is a large and hairy human-like mythical creature purported to inhabit the forests and swamps in the southeastern United States, most notably in Florida. It is often compared to, synonymous with, or called the "cousin" of Bigfoot, a prominent subject within North American popular culture.
The Minnesota Iceman is a sideshow exhibit and elaborate hoax that depicts a fake man-like creature frozen in a block of ice. It was displayed at shopping malls, state fairs, and carnivals in the United States and Canada in the 1960s and early 1970s and promoted as the "missing link" between man and Neanderthals. It was sold on eBay in 2013 and put on display in Austin, Texas.
In the folklore of Lee County, South Carolina, the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp is an entity said to inhabit the swampland of the region. First mentioned in the late 1980s, the purported sightings and damage attributed to the creature yielded a significant amount of newspaper, radio and television publicity.
The Barmanou is allegedly a bipedal humanoid primate cryptid that inhabits the mountainous region of northern Pakistan. Shepherds living in the mountains have reported sightings.
The Legend of Boggy Creek is a docudrama horror film about the "Fouke Monster," a Bigfoot-type creature reportedly seen in and around Fouke, Arkansas, since the 1940s. The film combines staged interviews with local residents who claim to have encountered the creature, along with reenactments of these encounters. Director and producer Charles B. Pierce, an advertising salesman, secured funding from a local trucking company and hired local high school students to help complete the film. Made on a budget of $160,000, the film was released theatrically on August 8, 1972. In 2019, a remastered version premiered after Pamula Pierce Barcelou, Pierce's daughter, acquired the rights to the film.
In Arkansas folklore, the Fouke Monster, also known as the Boggy Creek Monster and the Swamp Stalker, is purported to be an ape-like creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, that was allegedly sighted in the rural town of Fouke, Arkansas during the early 1970s. The creature was alleged to have attacked a local family. It has since become a part of Arkansas folklore. It has also influenced local culture in Fouke, with some businesses capitalizing on the local lore. Stories of the creature influenced the 1972 docudrama horror film The Legend of Boggy Creek, which became the 11th highest-grossing film of 1972 and is today considered to be a cult classic.
Bigfoot is an alleged human or ape-like cryptid in North America. Since the mid-20th century, Bigfoot has become increasingly relevant in popular culture and is the subject of film, television, advertising, music, literature and more.
The Honey Island Swamp Monster, also known as the Cajun Sasquatch and in Cajun French: La Bête Noire, is an ape-like humanoid cryptid creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, purported to inhabit the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. It has become a part of Louisiana folklore, with many swamp tour companies in the area capitalizing on its alleged existence, which is considered unlikely by scientists.
In Philippine folklore, the Amomongo is a creature described as a hairy, man-sized ape with long nails. The name is probably derived from the Hiligaynon word amó, which translates "ape" or "monkey". Residents of La Castellana in Negros Occidental view the Amomongo as a violent, wild creature that lives in caves near the foot of the volcanic Mount Kanlaon. Amomongo is featured in a local folktale called "Amomongo and Iput-Iput," or "The Ape and the Firefly." The name Amomongo has also been translated to mean the word "gorilla," though this is not a native animal to the region.
The Mogollon Monster, also known as the Arizona Bigfoot, is an ape-like creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, reported to dwell in central and eastern Arizona along the Mogollon Rim.
Lyle Blackburn is an American musician and author. Blackburn has authored four books and either narrated or produced several documentary films related to cryptids, and has been a speaker at multiple cryptozoology and Bigfoot-related conventions.
Seth Breedlove is an American filmmaker and founder of the Wadsworth, Ohio-based production company Small Town Monsters. Under the Small Town Monsters banner, Breedlove has directed over a dozen documentary films and miniseries related to cryptids and cryptozoology, including Minerva Monster (2015), Boggy Creek Monster (2016), The Mothman of Point Pleasant (2017), and The Mothman Legacy (2020).
Minerva Monster is a 2015 American documentary film written and directed by Seth Breedlove, about the purported sightings of an alleged Bigfoot-like creature around the town of Minerva, in Paris Township, Stark County, Ohio, in 1978. The first in a series of cryptid-related documentaries produced by Breedlove's production company Small Town Monsters, the film features interviews with law enforcement, media officials, and supposed witnesses of the titular creature.
Boggy Creek Monster is a 2016 American documentary film about the Fouke Monster, a purported ape-like creature allegedly sighted in Fouke, Arkansas, in the early 1970s. Directed and co-produced by Seth Breedlove, it is Breedlove's third documentary film under the banner of his production company Small Town Monsters. It features narration and music by co-producers Lyle Blackburn and Brandon Dalo, respectively.