Momo the Monster

Momo is the name of a local legend, similar to the Bigfoot, which is reported to live in Missouri. The name Momo is short for 'Missouri Monster' and it is reported to have a large, pumpkin-shaped head, with a furry body, and hair covering the eyes. First reported in 1971, near Louisiana, Missouri by Joan Mills and Mary Ryan, Momo was first reported up and down the Mississippi River with later sightings documented further west by travel of water ways. It is supposedly a large, 7 ft (2.1 m) tall, hairy, black, manlike creature that emits a terrible odor. Some suggest it was a rogue American Indian. Following sightings in 1972 beginning at 3:30 pm July 11, first reported by Terry, Wiley, and Doris Harrison, and lasting for about 2 weeks, tracks were found and submitted to Lawrence Curtis, director of the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. He deemed the tracks to be that of an unknown primate species.^[1]

Reported sightings

• 1971 - A pack of picnickers reported that Momo came out of the surrounding woods.
• 1972, July 11 - Tuesday - Allen Street, Louisiana, Missouri: Terry Harrison, 8, Walley Harrison, 5, and Doris Harrison, 15, see a 6–7 foot tall hairy creature holding a bloody dead dog beside a tree in their yard.
• 1972, July 14 - Friday - Richard Bliss, Edgar Harrison, Police Officer Ruffin hear growls and screams, upon investigating local law enforcement found unidentifiable hair fibers.^[2][3]
• 1972, July 20 - Thursday - Several witnesses at 10:00 pm near Marzolf Hill smell the stench of the creature, described as "rotting flesh" and "foul stagnant water".
• 1972, July 21 - Friday - The creature is seen again on River Road by Ellis Minor, 63. The creature was 20 feet away when Minor shined a flashlight across it. He described it as having dark black hair down to its chest. No eyes could be seen. The creature whirled around and ran away.
• 1972, July 22, Saturday - Two plaster casts are made of the monster's tracks and black hair was gathered by Heyden Hewes and Daniel Garcia which were sent to zoologist Ivan Sanderson.
• 1972, August 3 - Bill and Betty Suddarth hear a high-pitched howl from the front yard of their house located northwest of town in early morning. Tracks are seen in the rain-soaked earth. Plaster casts are taken by Clyde Penrod. The tracks appeared abruptly in the center of the garden and then ended without going anywhere. The plaster casts were displayed at Penrod's Auto Parts at Fifth and Georgia Streets in Louisiana, Missouri.

References

General

• Loren Coleman (2007) [2001]. Mysterious America: The Ultimate Guide to the Nation's Weirdest Wonders, Strangest Spots, and Creepiest Creatures. Paraview Pocket Books. pp. 191–98. ISBN 978-1-4165-2736-7. 
• Coleman, Loren & Patrick Huyghe (2006). The Field Guide to Bigfoot, Yeti, and Other Mystery Primates Worldwide. pp. 50–51. ISBN 0-380-80263-5. 
• Coleman, Loren (2003). Bigfoot!: The True Story of Apes in America. Paraview Pocket Books. pp. 130–35. ISBN 0-7434-6975-5. 
• Moran, Mark & Scheurman, Mark. Weird U.S. Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-7607-5043-2. 
• Place, Marian (1978). Bigfoot All Over the Country. Dodd, Mead. pp. 130–32. ISBN 0-396-07610-6. 
• Zullo, Allan. The Ten Creepiest Creatures In America. Troll Publishing. ISBN 0-8167-4288-X. 
• Crowe, Richard (1972). Monster in Missouri. Fate Magazine, December 1972. Clark Publishing Company. pp. 58–66. 

Specific

External links

• momo monster movie - Website about the upcoming movie based on the Momo Monster.
• Show-Me Sasquatch - Detailed folklore information from the Missouri Folklore Society.
• State of Horror: Mysterious Monster Sighted in County
• Bigfoot Encounters Homepage: Missouri Momo - Article on Momo from the Jul 22-28, 1998 issue of the Riverfront Times.
• The Cryptid Zoo: Momo