Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Chapter 78.75: There Be Monsters

Douse the lights, cue the creepy music, and sit next to your honey because the monsters are out in force!

At least that's what the Washington Post says. And no, they're not talking about Democrats or Republicans. It's not even hephalumps or woozles. Rather, the hoaxers are out in force. In addition to the recently exposed hoax of Bigfoot "sightings" in Georgia, there have been slightly less easily explained findings of what some folks believe are el chupacabra (YouTube video of CNN report) and the newly minted Montauk Monster.

I'm open-minded enough to believe that there are cryptozoological creatures that will turn out to be real. I enjoy watching Destination Truth on Sci-Fi as Josh Gates and his crew travel the world in search of living mythological creatures. And I think it's possible that a large ape-like hominid is living in the Pacific Northwest. (Perhaps the relative lack of Bigfoot scat supports my hypothesis that they were the first to create Pooper Scoopers.)

But I strongly suspect that until incontrovertible proof of life is discovered — like a swimming coelecanth — we will never be rid of monster stories like these. They're fun, they're silly, and in the end they may even do some good for small towns.

If nothing else, it's kept the summer interesting.

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