Monsters are Real!

As November draws to a close, I can’t help but to remember Lake Worth Texas’ ‘Goat Man’, which caused quite an uproar during the latter part of 1969. Sadly and ironically researcher Sallie Ann Clarke, author of the classic book – The Lake Worth Monster of Greer Island, Fort Worth Texas, passed away earlier this month. Clarke was an aspiring writer and detective who, like many other residents in Fort Worth had read of the goat man’s exploits, as reported by the local newspaper and reporter (now UFO writer) Jim Marrs. The monster first had been reported by three couples who were parked by the shore of the lake  in early July. They had run into the police department in the middle of the night claiming that, “A scaly, white goat man,” had jumped out of a tree and onto the roof of their car. The following evening, the area was overrun by curiosity seekers and self-proclaimed monster hunters, who were duly rewarded when a hairy, white, manlike creature (presumably Bigfoot), climbed up a cliff overlooking an area known as ‘the Pit’ and thrust a spare tire at a crowd of thirty or so people, causing them to run to their cars and flee. Apparently, there were even some sheriff’s deputies present at the incident, which must rank as one of the most witnessed monster encounters ever. Sallie Ann Clark became a regular among the throng that gathered at the lake for the ensuing months and subsequently penned her now famous book, admittedly mixing in a little fiction to make it more exciting for the readers (something she later regretted after seeing the monster herself). There was even a photograph taken by a business owner named Alan Plaster, which alleged to show the monster, though it was ultimately too out of focus to be conclusive. The last sighting of the beast involved a man named Charles Buchanan, who claimed he was sleeping in the bed of his pickup truck by the lake one November night, when the creature began to drag him to the ground. Thinking quickly, Charles shoved a bag of uneaten chicken into the monster’s mouth. It apparently worked, since the thing lumbered off and dove into the lake, swimming away with the bag of chicken still clenched in its teeth! The events of 1969 were commemorated this past October at the Greer Island Nature Center, at a festival honoring the 40th anniversary of the goat man. For more info about the Lake Worth Monster and recent evidence discovered by investigator Nick Redfern and myself, check out Nick’s excellent book – Memoirs of a Monster Hunter, available at major book retailers.