The Mogollon Monster is a Bigfoot or ape-like creature that allegedly lives in central and eastern Arizona along the Mogollon Rim.
Description
The Mogollon Monster is reported to be a bipedal humanoid from 6–8 feet tall with large eyes. Its body is said to be covered with long black or dark brown hair, with the exclusion of the face. Reports claim it has a strong and pungent odor like that of a decaying fish.
Behavior
Stories say the creature is shy and nocturnal. The monster is generally reported to explore campsites after dark, emit unusual whistle sounds, and hurl stones from locations that are hidden from view.
Place
Monster sightings occured along the Mogollon Rim range from Prescott, AZ north to Williams, AZ, east to Springerville, AZ, south to Hannagan Meadow, Arizona, and west back to Prescott. Most sightings center around the city of Payson, AZ.
History of sightings
The oldest known documented sighting of the Mogollon Monster was reported in a 1903 addition of The Arizona Republican, today called The Arizona Republic. In it, I.W. Stevens described a creature seen near the Grand Canyon as having "long white hair and matted beard that reached to his knees." He later stated that after he discovered the creature drinking the blood of two cougars, that it had just beaten with a club, it let out an "unearthly screech".
Don Davis, a cryptozoology investigator who died in 2002, said he saw the monster during a Boy Scout camping trip near Payson in 1944 or 1945. Here is part of his account:
"The creature was huge. Its eyes were deep set and hard to see, but they seemed expressionless. His face seemed pretty much devoid of hair, but there seemed to be hair along the sides of his face. His chest, shoulders, and arms were massive, especially the upper arms; easily upwards of 6 inches in diameter, perhaps much, much more. I could see he was pretty hairy, but didn't observe really how thick the body hair was. The face/head was very square; square sides and squared up chin, like a box."
The Mogollon Monster has since become a popular campfire story.