Bookish About Boggy Creek

Fouke, Arkansas

When I was nine years old, my family went to the movies to see a film entitled Boggy Creek 2: And The Legend Continues… which was actually the third film in the Legend of Boggy Creek series. There aren’t many people that consider this particular film to be great, but for young me, it was golden. I became determined to find Bigfoot and since this particular version of the beast lived just a few hours north of me, it became the focal point of my mission.

Well, I’m north of forty years now and while I never became the great Sasquatch hunter of my dreams, I still love the beast in all of its incarnations. The Fouke Monster is my favorite simply because it’s (possibly) the closest version of the creature in my vicinity.

I became familiar with Lyle Blackburn‘s work a few years ago when I started seeing him pop up in documentaries and as a guest at different conventions. While I have yet to meet him (primarily because I’ve always been unable to attend any conventions that he has appeared at), I’ve become a fan of his work. This book, The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster, is an excellent resource for those interested in the Fouke Monster.

Blackburn’s style of writing is extremely personable. At times it’s as if he’s simply having a conversation with the reader. He takes a look at the history of the creature and its supposed appearances prior to the Bigfoot craze of the 1970’s and continues through with sightings up to the publication of his book.

He also gives the reader a look at the history of the community of Fouke and the surrounding areas. He then weaves the history of sightings and interactions with the beast over the years into that history.

A large portion of the book deals with the Charles B. Pierce film that brought the world to Fouke’s doorstep, The Legend of Boggy Creek. Blackburn describes the process of Pierce as he created the film, how it affected the community and many of its citizens that starred in the movie, and how it influenced other movies that came after it.

Blackburn also spends a lot of time giving an in depth look at selected sightings of the beast. From the credibility of the witnesses to evidence uncovered, Blackburn reveals the good and bad of possible legitimate interactions with the creature and some potential hoaxes.

Blackburn takes us through Fouke today and how the beast still influences it. From Smokey Crabtree’s books to the Monster Mart (which I’ve visited and you should, too), we get a glimpse of just how much of a unique hold this creature has on this otherwise sleepy rural town in southwest Arkansas.

The book also contains a timeline of events as they happened in “The Legend of Boggy Creek” and Blackburn lets the reader know just how much artistic liberty Pierce took with some of them. He also provides an excellent timeline of sightings of the beast over the years.

This book was fun and informative. It’s especially interesting if you, like me, grew up with the old films and lived either in the Fouke area or nearby in Texas or Louisiana.

I plan on reading more of Lyle Blackburn’s work, and be sure to check out his band, Ghoultown, as well.

As always, thanks for reading. If you are interested in Bigfoot or any other cryptids, let me know in the comments section. Also, I’m always eager to hear stories about such creatures, so if you know any good tales or had an encounter yourself, comment below or send me a private message.

This post is a modified version of a review that I recently posted on Amazon.