The Fouke Monster is Passionate about the Environment
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on November 7th, 2007
Monster of a Message: Fouke Legend Resurfaces to Help Keep Arkansas Beautiful
You don’t have to be a “big star” to step up big for a beautiful Arkansas.
This was the message of a television spot recently released by the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission. During the commercial, a local celebrity makes a rare public appearance to speak out about litter in the state. The Fouke monster, of “The Legend of Boggy Creek” fame, plays the lead role in the tongue-in-cheek spot.
Though some might not be familiar with the character, he is the basis of one of the most famous legends in the state, something of a Southern Sasquatch.
The report of a “big-foot-type monster” terrorizing a rural home outside of Fouke spawned the documentary-style film by South Arkansas native Charles Pierce in the early 1970s. The film assured a place in folklore history for the Bigfoot look-a-like, which has allegedly been seen in and around Fouke since the 1940s. The low budget, campy movie earned cult status and the familiarity of this tale and the regular resurgence in the media of yeti, Bigfoot, and caveman-like characters keep the legend alive.
The Commission had a specific goal in mind when casting the legend as its lead.
“As always, we try to educate citizens to the negative consequences of littering,” said Robert Phelps, executive director of the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission. “We consider littering ‘monstrous acts’ committed by ordinary people and thought it would be interesting to present littering by ‘civilized’ people from the monster’s viewpoint. In this way he could speak for those who suffer from the abuse of roadside and wilderness littering but can’t speak for themselves.”
According to Phelps, one member of the agency who worked on the project had gone to college with a man from Fouke, who could have easily been confused with the monster. He added that the man was unavailable for the spot, so they opted to go with a commercial actor.
The spot has been running on a variety of stations including CNN, Discovery, Sci-Fi and ESPN. They are also broadcast on stations across the state.
The Fouke legend continued to spread beyond the original film via two sequels featuring the 7-foot-tall, ape-like creature that supposedly haunts the swampy Sulphur River bottoms of Miller County, south of Texarkana. The creature was allegedly last seen near the junction of the Sulphur and Red rivers. If you decide to head to the town, there is a gift shop near the Creek that stocks T-shirts and monster memorabilia. So even if you don’t end up spotting the legend for yourself, you don’t have to leave empty-handed.Zoie Clift, travel writer
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
That’s how I feel, except for the fact I don’t live in Arkansas.
very informative new article about the fouke monster. i realy like the above video clip as well. thanks bill green
great video clip
Now that is very kool. Kinda reminds me of that old commercial with the Indian guy & his horse. When he sees all the litter in the forest and in the creeks. Remember that one? That commercial always brought tears to my eyes just like it did his. This is very well thought out commercial. Might even help people think twice about pitching that burger wrapper out the window.
Ok, that was an awesome commercial. I really enjoyed the little growl he does.
Hello, I’m new here!
The book ENCOUNTERS by photographer Matt Hoyle has photos of two of Fouke’s residents. My favorite one was of Karen, who heard the monster when she was a young girl. By the way Hoyle photgraphed her, you could tell she was still shaken up by it.
its been awhile but has there been any possible sightings of the fouke monster in boggy creek or sulpher river bottoms . i figure with winter here now it force the creatures to look for various food resources to store for harsh cold months. thanks bill green
I spent many years in the woods, hills and swamps of Arkansas. I had some close encounters with copperheads, coyotes, fox, I seen bobcat, black bear and I don’t care what the Arkansas game and fish comm. said I saw a mountain lion one morning going to my deer stand (they say we don’t have any) but guys I ain’t seen no big foot. I would like to think there is a large yet unknown mammal running loose in the wild, but most of the photos are fuzzy at best. I don’t think I would shoot one if I saw it but it will take a dead body on a examination table before anyone takes this thing serious.