Legend of Boggy Creek. Fouke Monster. Smokey Crabtree.

Familiar names and a movie almost everyone here remembers to some degree. I just wondered what folks personal feelings were on the story. Real events? A wild tale? Just wondering. Well that and I want to push my post count to 1500 to see if the magical thread fairy appears or something cool like that happens.

I would tend to think the story is nothing more than that, a story. I think If I watched the movie again and looked into it further my mind can be changed. For those who know quite a bit about the circumstances, could you fill in us folks who are on the fence with this one?

Thanks for those who have more knowledge on this or could point us in the right direction.

Damn, no thread fairy. Oh well, I still hope to glean some valuable knowledge from any responses it may gather.

Gettin' closer...

The movie is loosly based on actual events surrounding Smokey Crabtree and his family in Fouke Arkansas. Smokey has said in many interviews that the movie is very inaccurate in many details. His book, Smokey and the Fouke monster is must reading if you are interested in the subject.

I think the original sighting of the monster was by Smokey's son and I tend to think it is a very reliable sighting.

I agree. I'm not saying that everything written in the film was exactly what happened, but I honestly believe that most of this story is the real deal. JMO

I will have to what the DVD again now...You have me thinking!!!

I, too, think it was a real story that the movie was loosely built around.

I love the line from the opening of the movie...........*I was 7 years old when I first heard him scream....It scared me then, and it scares me now...*

I think the Crabtree book would be worth reading, to compare his version of what happened with the movie....

The "Boggy Creek Monster" movie was loosely based on sightings of the "Fouke Monster" around Fouke, Arkansas south of Texarkana. How close to the alleged sightings the movie is, I have no idea. I do remember at the time of the sightings the media - especially radio - was having a field day reporting "sightings" all over the southern half of the state. It was almost like the annual Christmas tracking of Santa Claus, except instead of north to south it was west to east across south Arkansas. I seem to remember the furthest east FM was "sighted" was around Pine Bluf in south central Arkansas. Maybe some of the other Arkie natives old enough to have been around back then have a more accurate recollection than I do.

I do know that some friends and I were out frog hunting at the height of the sightings and had been listening to the reports while driving from one spot to another getting that combination of comic disbelief and uncertain willies when we walked through a small patch of woods to reach a pond to hunt. While walking through something (probably a screech owl or some such) screamed pretty cllose by to us. It was funny, without saying anything or planning it, we all got back to back with .22 pistols pulled and backed out of the woods like that. If someone had been fool enough to jump out and holler "BOO!" he would have been shot before we would have realized he was human.

All this after talking about what badasses we would be if FM were real and showed up around us!!

I think it's mostly true, some of it is probably exagerrated (sp?) love the movie though, it's just hilarious at times lol so glad I got it on DVD

Just happened to play the DVD this morning before the family woke up.
I don't know what to think. I enjoyed it more this time as I didn't see it when it came out (1975). And, when I got the DVD last October at Walmart, I wasn't too impressed. But since then, I've heard Smokey Crabtree on Bigfoot Central and glanced at a copy of his book that a friend had. He seems very sincere and I would wonder where one can get his books? anyone have that info?

Will definitely watch it again and look forward to what others have to say about it.

Man! Only Bigfoot could get away with this stuff..
Can you imagine a monster who just stands in the shadows and occasionaqlly bangs on a wall..or sticks his arm through a window causing such a reign of terror?
He did not even physically hurt anyone!
The only casuality was a kitten....who died from 'fright'..not a mark on it!

Bigfoot could have been invented by Alfred Hitchcock....

It must have been Charles B Pierce that thought up the cat frightened to death thing.....nobody says that ever happened.

Here is the link for Smokey's books. You should buy them as they are very good and Smokey will sign them for you if you ask him nicely.

http://www.smokeyandthefoukemonster.com/

I have one older VHS documentary on the Fouke story, (alot of coverage of the *lion skeleton* that was found) and I believe that Smokey says he never saw the Fouke Monster.......

Smokey has said he has never seen the creature. I hope someday Smokey runs into one and they toss back a few cold ones...

I feel the same too.

I went to Fouke when I was 13 with my grandparents, and the residents weren't too cooperative about talking about their local creature. However, there was a huge billboard at the northern end of town which advertised Smokey Crabtree's first book, "Smokey and the Fouke monster" (which I got a signed copy of several years ago; I definitely want his second book, "Too close to the mirror").

Thanks for the link, Geno!

Got a lead on his books from someone else, too. thank you!

I got to say one thing about "Boggy Creek", it sure seemed to be mentioned by most of the folks at the symposium as THE thing that got them very interested in Bigfoot, besides the Patterson/Gimlin footage.