Monster Story

Halloween is on the way and the Southern Illinoisian marks the occasion with a scary tale from the southern part of the state:

MURPHYSBORO - There are two dates from 1973 in Murphysboro that still leave some haunted - or at least curious.

The two police reports dated June 25 and June 26 relate the sighting of an unknown creature.

It was in those two evenings that reports came in of a loud, tall, white-haired creature caked with mud being spotted in the woods on the outskirts of town near the Big Muddy River.

It was later dubbed the Big Muddy Monster because of its indefinable features and mysterious presence. It set off a media frenzy after the initial reports on those two days, said former patrolman and retired Murphysboro police chief Ron Manwaring.

[snip]

There are only two cases that remain unsolved in Murphysboro, Manwaring said, but after 32 years the case on the Big Muddy Monster still remains open.

"It's an unsolved case because I can't tell you what it was," he said.

Having retired three years ago and having not seen the Big Muddy Monster police reports in years, Manwaring is still able to recount those haunting evenings as if they had happened just yesterday.

Oooo, scary stuff..read on. Boo!