June 5, 2008

Beasts of Bladenboro & Bolivia Revisited

Beast of Bladenboro

A drawing of the Beast of Bladenboro by Gary Longordo ~ Click on the image to enlarge it.

“MonsterQuest” on Wednesday, June 4, 2008, dealt with the cryptid most often known as the “Beast of Bladenboro,” in its “Vampire Beast” episode. It updated the story with the reports from the fall of 2007, when residents of Bolivia, North Carolina, started losing pets and farm animals to an unknown creature.

Upcoming repeats of the program will occur on History (nee, the History Channel), to wit:
“Vampire Beast” – Sunday June 15 05:00 PM Eastern
“Vampire Beast” – Wednesday June 18 08:00 PM Eastern
“Vampire Beast” – Thursday June 19 12:00 AM Eastern

beast head

Recent and past sightings of the “Beast of Bladenboro,” usually described it as a Mystery Cat, Phantom Panther, Black Panther, or Cryptid Felid, have been discussed in past postings at Cryptomundo, here, here, and here. Two items on the closely related “Beast of Bolivia” are to be found here and here.

bolivia track

The Beast of Bolivia track compared to a human hand.

beast logo

Okay, “MonsterQuest” has brought recognition to the local creatures. Now what will the North Carolina towns do with it?

With all the excitement of the “MonsterQuest” shoot and the planned History broadcast, the town of Bladenboro staged a festival in 2007. The 2nd Annual Beastfest `08 will occur on October 25, 2008, in Bladenboro, North Carolina.

Here is the local development group’s explanation for their cryptid’s local festival:

beastoverview

BeastFestBy Hiram Hester

The legend goes back to 1954 when a series of vampire-like killings of pets and livestock set the town on edge. The dead animals were found with their jaws broken, their heads crushed, and their bodies drained of blood.

The mystery threw the town in a panic and drew attention from across the nation. Many theories about what the beast was, (or wasn’t), added to the anxiety of these unexplainable occurrences. And on top of it all, hunters came from near and far in an effort to kill the dreaded beast.

As the days passed many became weary over the growing hysteria and both Mayor and Police Chief sought to squash the madness before someone was shot by an anxious “beast hunter”.

The entire episode lasted about two weeks but before the terror subsided, the story became legend, and the legend continues today.

From time to time, a story will appear in a newspaper about the beast, complete with interviews of locals who recalled the dread.

The beast now enjoys global celebrity status thanks to the World Wide Web. That’s right-if you do a web search you’ll find an abundance of information about the Beast of Bladenboro.

boroboosters

The caption to this photograph reads, “We had to do something and we had to call it something.”

This is a photograph of a recent meeting of the ‘BoroBoosters, who seem to be trying to come up with ideas on how to stimulate more interest in the town via their local Beast.

Perhaps the time is ripe for the townspeople to get a bit more energized about their cryptid and their BeastFest!

How about some speakers? Cryptofiction author D. L. Tanner is NC local and probably available for a cryptozoo talk, or perhaps get some out-of-state presenters.

Perhaps a BeastFest parade? Take some lessons from Point Pleasant.

How about offering a million dollars for “a verifiable photograph” of the Beast of Bladenboro? It worked for Bushnell.

Right now, the only message from the ‘BoroBoosters: Vendors have until October 15th to apply for tables at the BeastFest.

Come on, people. Cryptozoology is exciting, arousing, and stimulating.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

Filed under Alien Big Cats, Breaking News, Cryptid Canids, Cryptomundo Exclusive, Cryptotourism, CryptoZoo News, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Eyewitness Accounts, Footprint Evidence, Mystery Cats, Swamp Monsters, Television