Exploring American Monsters: Arizona
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on April 23rd, 2015
From Mysterious Universe:
The last of the contiguous states to join the Union (Valentine’s Day 1912), Arizona is known for its deserts, high heat, and the mile-deep Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. But Arizona isn’t just desert and canyons; the northern part of the state is filled with mountains, ski resorts, forests, and monsters.
Mogollon Monster
The Mogollon Rim is an almost 2,000-foot escarpment that runs through the central part of Arizona. Covered in Ponderosa Pine forests, it’s the perfect hiding place for the Mogollon Monster.
First reported in The Arizona Republican in 1903, I.W. Stevens encountered the bipedal Mogollon Monster close to the Grand Canyon; it was drinking the blood of mountain lions. This human-looking creature with long white hair and beard that “reached to his knees,” sported two-inch claws on its fingers. When the monster noticed Stevens it threatened him with a club.
Throughout the years the Mogollon Monster has been described as black, gray, or white, square headed or round, but all reports are of a tall hair-covered being on two legs with a human-like hairless face. Although many people have equated the monster to Bigfoot, one hiker claims the monster is a troll. When hiking the Mogollon Rim Canyon Point Sinkhole Trail, the hiker saw the creature on its knees drinking water from a pool making “noises like a pig.” The “troll” had long bluish-gray hair, and a human-like face “full of bumps.” When it saw her, the troll stood on two legs, and ran away. This sounds much more like the club-wielding bloodsucker from 1903 than a Bigfoot.
Read about the other monsters from Arizona like dragons, werewolves and giants here.
See also:
Exploring American Monsters: Alaska
Exploring American Monsters: Alabama
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
