New Book looks into 10 Southern Ghost & Monster Stories

I'm please to announce the release of my latest book, The Ghost of Bellamy Bridge.

This volume investigates 10 of the best known ghost and monster stories from Jackson County, Florida, through the eyes of a historian. After repeating the legends, the book delves into the real histories behind each of these tales and comes up with some fascinating results!

The book is available for order at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/bellamybook.

The story featured in the book title is the tragic story of Elizabeth Ann Croom Bellamy, a young woman who died during antebellum times. Elizabeth has connections to both Florida and North Carolina and her dead sparked what may be Florida's best known ghost story. Her restless spirit is said to haunt Bellamy Bridge, a historic steel-frame bridge that spans the Chipola River north of the city of Marianna.

A fascinating tale that originated during the antebellum era, the real truth behind the legend is even more intriguing than the legend itself.

Other stories include tales from Marianna, Greenwood, Graceville, Sneads, Parramore, Cottondale and even Two Egg!

100% of the cover price of this volume is being donated to help fund the Bellamy Bridge Heritage Trail, a new public historic site on Highway 162 near Marianna that is being constructed without the expenditure of a single extra tax dollar.

Thank you in advance for your support of this project and I hope you enjoy the book!

Bigfoot Attack in the Okefenokee in 1829?

Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia

It is a little known fact that one of the earliest written accounts of the creature we now call Bigfoot or Sasquatch actually originated from Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp, not from the Pacific Northwest.

The 1829 newspaper report tells of how giant footprints were found in the swamp, where Indian legend held a race of giants lived. After explorers found the footprints, a party of hunters worked its way into the Okefenokee hoping to find the man or animal responsible for the tracks. They got more than they bargained for, when the 13-foot tall creature charged their camp. A fierce battle ensued in which both men and the monster were killed.

Thick Growth in the Okefenokee Swamp

Is the story true?

That's an interesting question and one that is impossible to answer. The tale was widely reported in U.S. newspapers in February of 1829 and the correspondent emphasized that people living on the margins of the swamp in Ware County, Georgia, swore to its truth.

I've just added a new page on the 1829 incident to the main site at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. It includes numerous quotes from the original report on the Okefenokee Bigfoot Attack as well as detail on the legends of mysterious creatures in the swamp.

Please click here to access the story page: www.exploresouthernhistory.com/okefenokeebigfoot.

The Wild Man - 19th Century Bigfoot Sightings in Arkansas

Swamps of Eastern Arkansas

It might be a common perception that the first recorded sightings of the gigantic, hair-covered creature known as Bigfoot took place in the Pacific Northwest, but this is not true.

As hunters and settlers pushed deeper into the wooded frontiers of the early South, they often came into a contact with a monster that they usually called the "Wild Man of the Woods." Mirroring modern-day accounts by eyewitnesses who say they have seen Bigfoot, the 19th century reports indicate the Wild Man was a gigantic, hair-covered creature with unusually large feet.

Some of the most compelling written accounts originated in Arkansas in the 1840s, although these same reports indicated the monster had been seen there as early as 1834. In 1846, however, a newspaper story spread across the nation reporting a sighting near Crowley's Ridge west of Memphis. The monster's track, it was said, "measures 22 inches, his toes are as long as a common man's fingers, and in height and make, he is double the usual size."

Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas

The description of the footprints clearly is almost identical with modern accounts and is one of the earliest recorded descriptions of a Bigfoot's tracks.

The sightings in Arkansas continued to be covered by the nation's newspapers until the eve of the Civil War when, of course, other news took priority. By the time the war ended, the Arkansas Wild Man had almost been forgotten, although the term "Arkansas Wild Man" continued to be used to describe rowdier residents of the Natural State.

There are, of course, Bigfoot sightings in Arkansas to this day and the southwest corner of the state is famed for its Fouke Monster (immortalized in the low budget film "The Legend of Boggy Creek"). But the historical 19th century accounts survive as some of the earliest accounts of the mysterious creature and as such are a unique part of the history of the Natural State.

To read a full account, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/arwildman.

Monster Sighting near Two Egg, Florida!!

Strange Footprint found at Monster Sighting Location

There are some strange doings in the swamps about 7 miles from "downtown" Two Egg, Florida!
The latest in a string of eyewitnesses has come forward to report that she spotted the Two Egg - Parramore Monster, known affectionately as the Stump Jumper, during the first week of June. A check of the area around the sighting, which took place about in a swampy area, revealed physical evidence supporting her claims in the form of strange footprints.

The unusual prints appear to have three toes, one large "big" toe and two smaller ones. They were found leading from a swampy area across a plowed fire lane and into an overgrown area of planted pines.

The latest sighting matches previous descriptions of the monster, which is said to be hairy and around 5 or 6 feet tall. It is usually described as being brown or gray in color and is said to run at a remarkable speed. Because it has only been seen at night, usually in the beam of car headlights, most in the area believe it to be nocturnal. It is often described as a "mini-Bigfoot," although one eyewitness reported that the creature had a long raccoon-like tail.

What it could be is not known, but it has been spotted in and around a swampy area about 7 miles northeast of Two Egg and one mile north of a small crossroads called Parramore. The area is in Jackson County, about an hour northwest of Tallahassee.

To learn more about the new sighting, please visit www.twoeggfla.com/monster2.  You can learn more about the quaint little community of Two Egg by visiting http://www.twoeggfla.com/.