Monsteropolis: Legends Anomalies Monsters

The crew recently got back from a week long shoot in Vermont, and now that the dust has settled it's time to talk all about it! email - [email protected]

Small Town Monsters was honored to be included in the 2025 Ohio Bigfoot Conference, and Mark, Seth and Heather finally found the time to sit down and talk all about it. A little behind the scenes, a little history, and a whole lot of laughs. Email - [email protected]

From the World Turtle to the Beast of Busco, join Seth, Heather and Aaron for a deep dive on all things giant turtles. Email - [email protected] SHOW NOTES: Monsteropolis - Turtle Town NEWS - We got a DISTRIBUTOR for Lost Contact lined up. Hey! This means you kids get to see it soon, along with some other stuff (right? Am I remembering this right?) that’s not presently available (is this wrong?). (At time of air) - Ape Canyon is screening at the Kiggins Theatre in just a few days! (5/22) Heartland, Archives, Decoded, Appalachian, BTT all be going on. Finale for Paranormal Horizons! Head to Youtube. Go there now, you can do that while you listen. Hit that subscribe button. They’ll all call you Subscribe-o — Monsteropolis: Turtle Town. A sub neighborhood of Monsteropolis, like Ape Street, Octopus Alley and Thunderbird Boulevard. Let’s do these the whole show instead of the show. Bigfoot Borough. Turtle Town is a quaint little (big) neighborhood. And it’s gotta be big, because it’s full of real big turtles. Not Ninja Turtle big, those guys were big but like size of a bus big, eat your house big, ride across the ocean on their backs if you forged an unbreakable bond with them by saving their home land from a dragon big, stuff like that. TURTLES are REPTILES. They live in the WATER, but they breathe AIR. They have SHELLS. What a WEIRD ANIMAL. If you think about it, turtles are almost like their own cryptid already. Not as weird as the Platypus but still pretty weird. I mean. Shells? Some of them live to be super old too, like 100 years or so. Intrinsic weirdness aside, there are a lot of legends and cryptid encounters associated with turtles. THE WORLD TURTLE - Present in a lot of mythologies. Basically the idea is that the WHOLE WORLD sits on top of the back of a giant turtle. Turtle world. Turtle Planet. The oldest version we know about seems to come from Hindu mythology. The god Vishnu appears in the avatar of a giant turtle named Kurma, which had a mountain on its back. It also popped up, seemingly independently in First Nations lore, such as the Iroquois and Lenape, who portray it as a giant sea turtle. It’s cool to think of ancient societies observing the world around them and going, “Oh yeah, all this is on a turtle.” If you think about how they would have observed turtles in the wild, you know, algae and stuff growing on their backs, they kind of look like little models of earth. Historians and scholars also talk about themes that would likely have been in play, such as longevity and continuation, which were important to some of the First Nations tribes and really have been important to human societies for most of history. People would have noticed that turtles lived a long time and also kind of represent security and strength. That’s cool. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/world-turtle-cosmic-discworld THE BEAST OF BUSCO - A big old turtle legend from Indiana. Local to Churubusco, Whitley County, Indiana, also referred to by the nickname Turtle Town, which I did not know when I tentatively named this episode. According to one online source, the nickname originally stems from ‘Little Turtle,’ the name of a sagamore (chief) of the Miami tribe, but it’s later become associated with the giant turtle sighting at Fulk Lake. First sighting is said to come from 1898 by a guy named Oscar Fulk who spotted it on a large lake on his property. Like, really large, 7 acres apparently. FIFTY YEARS went by. Then in 1948, two men named Ora Blue (that’s a name right there) and Charley Wilson were fishing on the same lake, when they reported seeing a similar creature - just a huge, huge turtle, which they described as looking like a snapping turtle with huge spiky shell “the size of a dinner table,” and now all I can think about is Bowser from Mario Bros. Gale Harris, who owned the property at the time of the second sighting, got really into the whole thing, and launched multiple expeditions to try and capture it, including one wherein he drained the 7 acre lake. They tried nets and damming streams and all kinds of stuff. They never found the turtle and it nearly bankrupted him. The local media picked it up a few months after the Blue/Wilson encounter, and it became another Cryptozoological staple. Thrill seekers, monster hunters and now internet weirdos (like us!) became fascinated with the story, and it hangs around in the new millennium. Turtle Brother is supposed to be around 500 pounds. Adult male alligator snapping turtles (the ones we know for sure exist) can hit over 200 pounds, so maybe Busco Boy was just a really really big turtle, but you gotta wonder how he got that big. By the same token, alligator snapping turtles aren’t supposed to live in Indiana, so if it were one of those, it would represent its own anomalous encounter on par with Phantom Big Cats and other out-of-place animals. Some natural historians don’t think they ever lived there at all, though specimens have been seen as close

We're tackling a particularly weird case today while Mark takes a much deserved vacation. Seth, Heather and guest host Aaron dive into the 1973 case of Sam the Sandown Clown, one of the most bizarre monsters... well, ever. Email - [email protected] SHOW NOTES: BUFORA Journal Report - 1978 Monsteropolis Sam the Sandown Space Ghost Clown INTRO We told you Seth was coming back. Ha! But there’s a catch! Mark is on vacation. I know, total rip off. I’m sorry. Some other guy is here to fill the mic. Announcements? Ohio Bigfoot Conference Dawn of The Dogman is filmed! Thank you Backers. Ogopogo Discount code - 10% off the book, movie or cup until 5/15. No mail this week Today we’re talking about a case that is usually discussed in UFO circles, but we’ve picked it because it has a very, very weird monster. And really, the incident itself doesn’t have any ACTUAL UFO sightings - just some nearby ones that add to the mystery. Get ready. We’re going to the UK today. All the way, all the way over there. It’s May 1973, Tuesday at around 4 PM, the Isle of Wite, near Lake Common, adjacent to the town of Sandown. Two wee children, around age seven. Their names have not been publicly disclosed apparently, even all these darn years later. Can’t say I blame them though, and you’re about to find out why. They are usually referred to in retellings as “Fay” and “Unnamed boy” SUDDENLY, they heard a HORRIBLE WAILING NOISE which they described as sounding like an ambulance. Being wee curious children they investigated, following the sound into the woods. Why’s there an ambulance in the woods? That’s a good question. There’s not. The wee children found themselves near a little bridge running over a little stream, very idyllic except for the wailing, when SUDDENLY A WEIRD GUY WAS THERE. About seven feet tall and dressed like a clown. Triangle shaped eyes. Three toes and three fingers. Appeared to be made of WOOD. Like, wooden planks for arms. Also wooden antennae poking out from either side of it’s head. Red hair that fell to the forehead, and circular marks on his cheeks, even a little bob on top of the hat. And when we say “dressed like a clown” we’re talking green tunic, white breeches, conical yellow yat. Like something straight out of Rankin & Bass, but like, wrong. Also, seven feet tall. You know what? Here’s a picture. I just love this dude so much He kind of trips and splashes in the water, and he’s holding this book. Like a regular book. And he drops the thing, right in the water, sort of playing out this whole cartoonish thing, like you hear the music from the animated movie based on this in your head and it’s like “womp WOMP womp WOMP womp womp WOMP WOMP wompy wompy WOMP WOMP WOMP” Then it picks up the book, jumps up on the riverbank and starts like, DANCING AROUND like it’s on the moon or something, lifting it’s legs up super high, doing a fancy jig I guess. THEN it turned and ran off towards a small metal hut, which had apparently been there the whole time, and dashed inside. What? This isn’t normal? Seems very normal to me. And the kids are scared, I mean, you know, they’re not having a great time. This isn’t what they signed up for. But then the tall weird dude comes back, and he’s holding a microphone, and the wailing sound picks back up and the kids are like, nah dude, and they book it. But then the wailing sound stops, and the weird clown man TALKED. “Hello. Are you still there?” And the kids can hear him, even though he’s “fifty meters” away. Did I mention the microphone? He’s talking into the microphone. So they stop and turn back and clown brother takes the book back out, the one he dropped earlier. He scribbled a bunch of stuff in the book and showed it to the kids, but was apparently just a bunch of random words out of order. Then he starts pointing, one word at time, repeating the same sequence over and over again. And the message said, “I AM ALL COLORS SAM. HELLO AND I AM ALL COLORS SAM.” Would anyone like to play the part of “kids” for this sequence, I’m down to play Clown, I can also just make scifi noises in the background if you guys wanna do it KIDS - “Are you a man” CLOWN - “No” KIDS - “Are you human” CLOWN - “No” KIDS - “Are you a ghost” CLOWN - “Not really, but I am in an odd sort of way” KIDS - “What are you” CLOWN - “You know” Sam also explained that there are others like him on earth, but that they fear human beings. He stated that if he were attacked by humans, he wouldn’t fight back. This is around when they realized the creature could talk without the microphone, but the voice was distorted and the lips didn’t really move, like someone trying to use a ventriloquist dummy. Then he just turns around and walks towards the hut, and invites the kids to follow him inside. Alright like we’re all parents, so obviously there are some concerns here. It’s not looking good. And it’s gonna get weirder but not like, in a bad way, so, it’s cool. It’s cool. I’ve been playing a lot of Stardew

You may have heard of Tom Slick, the man who financed many early expeditions in search of Sasquatch both the in US and internationally. But did you know he was also a scientist, military man, inventor, philanthropist, and much more? Learn the strange, fascinating and tragically short history of Thomas Baker Slick Jr. with Heather Moser, Mark Matzke and guest host Aaron Deese. Email - [email protected] SHOW NOTES Monsteropolis: Tom Slick Welcome back, you lawless knaves. READER MAIL - got at least one - HERE IT IS, from our friend Christine! — Hi Guys, First of all, congratulations on the success of your 10th anniversary Kickstarter! I can't wait to see your new films, especially The Siege of Ape Canyon and The Kinderhook Creature. I listened with interest to the Monsteropolis episode where you described the changing nature of the appearance of the Wendigo in popular culture from an emaciated human being to one with antlers and a stag's skull. In the fall last year I became aware of the legend of the Leshy of pagan Slavic culture through an excellent YA novel called "Where the Dark Stands Still" by Polish writer A.B. Poranek. When I googled the Leshy I was astounded to see images of what I recognised as the Wendigo. So this got me thinking - is there a Slavic influence at play here too? Perhaps this is something you could look in to! I am really looking forward to the book and film regarding the Wendigo which I understand may come out next year. I have been fascinated by the Wendigo since reading Algernon Blackwood's novella and there is one passage in particular that always sticks in my mind: "And soon after he slept, the change of wind he had divined stirred gently the reflection of the stars within the lake. Rising among the far ridges of the country beyond Fifty Island Water, it came from the direction in which he had stared, and it passed over the sleeping camp with a faint and sighing murmur through the tops of the big trees that was almost too delicate to be audible. With it, down the desert paths of night, though too faint, too high even for the Indian’s hair-like nerves, there passed a curious, thin odor, strangely disquieting, an odor of something that seemed unfamiliar—utterly unknown." Christine (your biggest Scottish fan who lives in Germany 😄) —- Today we’re gonna talk about a special guy. A real, real special guy. We’re also going to talk about the history of Sasquatch research in the US, and by extension, the world, and how we might not be where we are without this very special guy. Thomas Baker Slick, Jr. was born on May 16th, 1916, so this episode will air just under a month before his 109th birthday (right? 109?). Not to be confused with his father, Thomas Baker Slick Sr, who was born in 1883. This can get confusing if you go looking into it and weren’t aware of that. He was from Oklahoma, but moved to San Antonio, Texas pretty much as soon as he could. Tom inherited a vast fortune at a very young age when his father passed away in August of 1930 - age 46. Remember that number, it’ll be important later. Unlike the common perception many of us have when we hear the word “millionaire,” Tom Slick didn’t retire to the hamptons and spend his days playing croquet, using words like, “indubitably” and attending the Kentucky Derby. Those are just things I’m assuming millionaires do. Instead, he spent the remainder of his life pouring all of his energy - and tremendous financial resources - into a number of scientific and industrial pursuits. He helped to invent the “lift slab” method of construction, which is still used to this day. It sped up the construction process of large buildings and made it a lot safer. Starts with concrete foundations and then uses hydraulic lifts to put pieces into place. He also financed a TON of scientific research. You could argue it was kind of his main thing, but he had a lot of things. He founded the Mind Science Institute, which studied the human mind (wow imagine that), INCLUDING Psychic Phenomena. Yep, it’s getting paranormal now! You were like, “why are we talking about the history of lift-slab construction?”, haha! I know. Just wait there’s more. They still exist today, and in fact most of the organizations Slick founded are still in operation at one capacity or another, though some have merged or are now nested under other groups. He founded the Texas Biomedical Institute and the Southwest Research Institute, which are also both still in operation in San Antonio to this day. Southwest Research does RND for private contractors and the government, and no one is allowed on the facility grounds without a good reason to be there. They’ve been on the History Channel! Modern Marvels, Season 8/Episode 8 “bulletproof,” showing experimental non-lethal weaponry sound stuff, goo stuff, etc.) They also have a test course for self driving cars you can see from the road. Barbed wire, security check points, cameras, the works. I drive past it all the time.

Mark, Heather and guest host Aaron Deese (Seth will be back soon, we promise) take a trip around the world in search of the International Bigfoot. Sasquatch legends are all over the world - like, really, all over the world - and some of them may be new to you. Back the 2025 Kickstarter Campaign Email - [email protected]

Monsteropolis takes a trip to ancient Greece to meet some of the most well known monsters of all time. Did you know Heather is a professor? You will after today! Featuring guest host Aaron Deese. Back the 2025 Kickstarter Campaign Theoi Greek Mythology Email - [email protected]

As the 2025 Kickstarter draws to a close (there's still time to back!) we're looking ahead at one of the major projects we have coming this year - Dawn of The Dogman. But not that, because it's not out yet! Instead Mark, Heather and Seth are talking about the some of the other Monsters of Michigan. Back the 2025 Kickstarter Campaign email [email protected] BONUS: Aaron's Unedited Producer Notes: Monsteropolis Monsters of Michigan WELCOME BACK KICKSTARTER is still running. Last episode before the campaign ends. To keep the excitement going we’re talking about one of our upcoming projects - DAWN OF THE DOGMAN, but not THAT, because that’s what the movie is, and you can’t see it yet. Instead we’re looking at the OTHER Monsters of Michigan. At least a few of them. There might be more. Wendigo – cannibalistic humanoid monster. Strong association with winter and extreme cold. Comes from native legends. Has gained a lot of popularity in the modern era, frequently placed alongside other cryptids, but very much its own Native legend. Comes from the Algonquin language/dialect spoken by tribes like Ojibwe, Kree and Saulteaux. You can kill a Wendigo by putting hot tallow down its throat, which melts its icy heart and kills it. Otherwise they’re pretty much invincible. At least in some legends. Like a lot of native lore/older legends, as the Wendigo has become more popular it’s been adapted as a storytelling motif. A lot of horror/narrative podcasts use it as the “monster of the week,” the video game Until Dawn features the Wendigo as it’s primary antagonist (the special edition or secret ending bonus or whatever for that game has Chad Lewis in it talking about the Wendigo) Loup Garou - You’ll have to wait for Dawn of The Dogman. Dogman and Loup Garou aren’t exactly the same thing (Rougarou also) and if we wanted to we could get in the weeds and pinpoint differences between what we consider the modern “Dogman” phenomenon and the Loup Garoux vis a vis the term’s roots in France but nah, we savin’ that. Sasquatch - The BFRO lists 225 sightings for Michigan, and those are just the ones that made the cut. I don’t really know what else to say about this. Michigan is big and cold and there’s woods, so like, Bigfoot can hide there. Hey, here’s a cool Class A report from the BFRO! Spring of 1999, near Copemish/Thompsonville “I was walking in the woods down a two track by Thompsonville in the early spring morning. On these early morning walks I often scare up deer and occationally a bear so when I heard the noises of something running in the woods I expected to see some such animal. Instead I saw what looked to me like a large man dressed in white running at an incredible speed. He was about 50 yards away and I tracked him for some distance. I was amazed at how he ran so fast through the dense undergrowth. He had to have long legs to be able to traverse the fallen trees and swampy areas. The next day I was walking in that same area and discovered tracks that confirmed to me it was not a man I had seen. They were quite large - about 18 inches or so. I could only see three toe prints thought there may have been more that didnt inprint and what may have been claws or long toenails that left a mark. The distance between them was about three of my strides long.” Pressie - five bucks you already know what this is. That’s right baby, a WATER MONSTER, ERRBODY got a water monster these days. ERRBODY also be stealing Nessie’s alliteration. What happened to originality. Just kidding, no really though I don’t like this trend, kind of glad it’s died off, anyway PRESSIE is, Supposed to be whale tailed and horse headed and have whiskers. Sort of sounds like a big manatee. It hangs out in Lake Superior. Lots of water there, plenty of places to hide. Very good monster place. Is Pressie a manatee? Must investigate. Probably not. It’s supposed to be 75 feet long. First spotted in 1894! Wow. From there it jumps to 1977 with a few sightings in between, and conjecture over rumors of sightings in “the 1990s” Named for Presque Isle River where it has frequently been seen. Nain Rouge - bon nuit, The Red Dwarf AKA Red Man AKA Little Red Man. I did a House of Monsters on this guy. He’s a favorite. Said to be a harbinger of bad luck and ill fortune Shows up before something bad happens Ya’ll know Detroit be real french? City was founded by Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in the 1700s. ONE DAY this guy is on a stroll with his wife, when suddenly a TINY RED MAN jumps out of the bushes. Antoine yelled at the tiny man and hit him with his cane, after which he was CURSED. He eventually lost his fortune and died in poverty. The Nain has been blamed for a number of tragedies over the years, though whether he’s supposed to be causing them or is just showing up to give people a warning seems to be a matter of interpretation. 1763 - The Battle of Bloody Run - 60 british soldiers are massacred by Native inhabitants (OH BUT OF COURSE this had nothing to

Last time we discussed the last ten years of Small Town Monsters - this week we dive into the road ahead and highlight all the ongoing and upcoming projects we're bringing to you RIGHT NOW. Back the 2025 Kickstarter Campaign Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

We're celebrating 10 years of Small Town Monsters, and this week Seth, Heather and Mark look back on the long road that lead to today. Join us as we kick off the 2025 Kickstarter and reflect on a decade of Monsters! Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

Buckeye Bigfoot is midway through its first season with exciting things on the horizon. Seth, Mark and Heather sit down to discuss the show so far, the inspiration for the series, and share some behind the scenes while having an in depth discussion on the Sasquatch of Ohio. Follow the 2025 Kickstarter Campaign Watch Sasquatch Unearthed: Buckeye Bigfoot Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

Youkoso mina-san! Seth is back, and joins Heather and Mark to dive into all things Yokai - beings from Japanese folklore with a wide, frightening variety of shapes, temperaments and behaviors. Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

Monsteropolis is back with a very special episode as Yule Tide Ghost Stories returns! Featuring three classic and spooky tales from the turn of the 20th century. Enjoy! The Yule Lads by Johannes Kotlum, read by Heather Moser Between the Lights by EF Benson, read by Aaron Deese The Dream Child by LM Montgomery, read by Mark Matzke Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

It's Christmastime, and that means monsters. Wait, monsters at Christmas? What do you mean? And where's Seth? Featuring Frau Perchta, The Yule Lads, Krampus, the Yule Cat and even the ghostly horse, Mari Lywd. Hosted by Mark Matzke, Heather Moser and guest co-host Aaron Deese. Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

Ronald L. Murphy Jr., author, researcher and long-time STM collaborator joins Seth, Heather and Mark to discuss his latest book - Lights in The Mist, available from Small Town Monsters publishing. Order Lights in The Mist Watch Phantom Lights on Youtube Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

Everybody knows Bigfoot is weird... but do you know HOW weird? This week Mark, Heather and Seth dive into some of the weirdest bigfoot theories, stories and rumors. Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

Mark, Heather and Seth are hot on the heels of some of the most interesting Appalachian monsters. Featuring The Apple Devil, Not Deer, Raven Mocker and more! Question, comment or suggestion? Email [email protected]

On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Ancients was filmed in 2024 in the Smoky Mountains of Appalachia. Mark, Seth and Heather reunite to reflect on the shoot, talk behind the scenes and dive deep into the latest installment in the On the Trail saga. Watch The Ancients on Amazon Prime Email [email protected]

Monsteropolis returns! Join Heather, Seth and Mark as they try to remember what they've been doing for the last two years. From producing several new films to launching a publishing company, we've been real, real busy. Come get caught up, and welcome back to Monsteropolis! Email [email protected]

Follow this link for ways you can help those impacted by Hurricane Helene. Hey Monsteropolis fans! Still waiting for new episodes of your favorite cryptozoology podcast? Well, good news - you might not have to wait much longer. Monsterpolis may be back before you know it, but in the meantime, check out one of our other podcasts - The Lore You Know, hosted by Mosteropolis Cohost Heather Moser, and be sure to visit smalltownmonsters.com to find out about all the other monstrous projects we have in the works.