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| Artistic depiction of the Ozark Howler (Source: Pinterest) |
Growing up in various parts of the world I have realized that
every culture and region has their own local legends. In Europe it was all about dwarfs and
fairies, in Illinois it was about the snipe.
Upon arriving in Missouri I was shocked to learn about Momo (the local
version of Bigfoot)
and later the Ozark Howler. This latter mythical
creature is the topic of today’s blog post, which will address what the Ozark Howler
reportedly is, its origins, and most likely explanation for the legend’s creation.
The Ozark Howler is a mythical creature that resides in the
Ozark highlands of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas. It is described by locals (which refers to
individuals who have lived in the region for generations, the descendants of Scottish,
English, and Irish immigrants) as a large feline like creature that has an
inhuman, unidentifiable screech, thick fur, stocky build, horns, glowing eyes
that are red in color, and a short and ringed tail. It is a nocturnal creature that in early legends
could reportedly lead to the death of the individual who encountered it, meaning
it was either a death omen or a bad luck creature that killed those unfortunate
enough to meet up with it.
Many claim that the Ozark Howler is most likely a
misidentified panther, lynx, bobcat, or black bear. These are likely explanations since there is
no reputable evidence that demonstrates such a creature exists. Despite this there are several individuals,
particularly in the Ozarks, who affirm that the Ozark Howler is real and
actively seek evidence to support their claims.
The origins of this legend are murky. There is strong evidence to suggest that the
legend was a cross over from myths that exist in the United Kingdom. It is believed that were brought over by the English,
Irish, and Scottish immigrants who originally settled the Ozark Highlands. This connection is made because of the
parallels between the Ozark Howler and Cu Sith, which is a mythical creature
described as a large black dog with glowing eyes that is also a death omen. The creatures’ descriptions and relationship
with death are too similar to ignore. Another
explanation for the Ozark Howler legend is that it is derived from American
Indian legends about large cats. Unfortunately,
no substantive evidence of such legends could be found.
Another explanation for the Ozark Howler legend is that it
was created as a means of dealing with unfamiliar creatures in a foreign
land. The Ozark Howler legend has been
passed down through generations of “locals”, which as described above are the
descendants of European immigrants.
These individuals came to the area with very little information about
the area or local wildlife. The descriptions
of the Ozark Howler match those of various local animals, including panthers
and other local, large felines, black bears, and even elk. The latter comes up as the creature’s howl is
compared to the bellow of an elk. The newly
arrived immigrants may have been scared and made up the legend as a means of
coping with the unknown but very real creatures they encountered. This has already happened previously with the
origins of the Bigfoot
legends. Coupled with the Cu Sith
legend it appears that the Ozark Howler legend is a combination of a reaction
to unknown lands and already known cultural knowledge, which was used to
rationalize their fears and experiences.
Works Cited
Admin. Ozark Howler Information. 18 December
2018. Electronic. 31 July 2019.
Driscoll, Shawn. Ozark Howler. 2019.
Electronic. 31 July 2019.
No Author. The Ozark Howler: Quintessential
American Form of a European Plague Beast. No Date. Electronic. 31 July
2019.
Uptegrove, Sam. UPTEGROVE: Ozark howler: Myth,
hoax or reality? 29 April 2015. Electronic. 31 July 2019.
13 comments:
Various parts of the world? Where all have you lived? I will admit I think Fairies would be kind of cool to come across. This is my first time hearing of the Ozark Howler and I'm from Missouri, I also have family in Arkansas and they've never mentioned this myth. I've also lived there for a school year and never heard of it. The way you described it seems like it almost could be a bobcat. This was a pretty interesting article.
-Kyla Thomas
Personally, I dont believe in things like this. Iv'e lived in Illinois all my life and never heard of "the snipe". I think its because of My family not wanting to introduce me and my siblings to the negative myths out there that would scare us. I visited the Ozarks for the first time this summer. I can honestly say I wouldnt have went If I was told about the Ozark Howler(Knowing theres crazy animals everywhwere). In all honesty, I look at this exactly how I look at bigfoot(One Big Story).
-Jasmine Busby
The funny thing is that as I read the description, the first thing I thought of was a lynx or puma! Its interesting that there are so many common names for the same animal. Through my bio classes I learned that that's one of the things that binomial nomenclature solves. It would have been cool to have been able to genetically sample these howlers. The other thing I find interesting is that the name itself. I wonder whether this was a reference to the snarl of the animal itself, another prey animal or the terrified unsispecting discoverer. I think the development of common names might also be able to tell you about the way a culture thinks, though I imagine that would be hard to study.
Tori Spencer, SA202
I'm surprised that Missouri has a local legend. I thought "local legends" were only in fairy tales or cultural stories, I didn't know that people in the U.S. actually believed in them. In Sierra Leone, we have a local legend that we call "debul. -Malalia Siafa-Bangura
I have lived in Missouri for about 5-6 years and I have never heard of the ozark howler. I find it interesting that different parts of the world have their own myths about monsters or creatures in their area.
As a have sadly never heard of the Snipe or the Ozark Howler, I love to learn about legends and myths. I also love the people that try their hardest to prove it to be true. I personally think it was a lynx or maybe a mountain lion that was misidentified, but it's always fun to believe in local legends.
- Chyann Taylor
This topic hits very close to home for me, as I am located roughly thirty miles south of Rolla, MO. A lot of people believe highway thirty-two, the road between Rolla and Salem, to be a hub of mysterious encounters. People believe this statement so much that there is actually a research group of locals who try to locate people that have these encounters and have them tell their stories to do further research. The research is done in hope of raising awareness and one day maybe encountering these mythical creatures themselves.
Dr. Boston
With me living in Missouri my entire life I never heard of this local legend. It very much interest me how people claim to see this creature but it is yet still in different parts of the world.The legend of Bigfoot might have gotten me as a kid but the Ozark Howler not so much.
Thank you,
Lavonza Marshall
Dr. Boston I had also never heard of the Ozark Howler before heading this blog post. I found it very interesting that it's in Missouri. I think it is really interesting that everyone has their own description of what this creatures look like, and not all of them are exactly the same. I also think it was really cool that this idea was brought over from a different country being the United Kingdom. In my home town we have a myth of the legend of Dark Hollow and it is just like this, everyone has different stories and ideas about what it is. Overall very interesting.
Jessica Salmons
This post was pretty cool Dr. Boston. I find myths to be interesting but sometimes they can be hard to believe. The Ozark Howler seems to be pretty real based off of it's body description. Now the death part I don't know if I can believe that part of the myth. While technology is a very essential part of our daily lives I hope we soon get a picture of this Ozark Howler!
I've only lived in Missouri for 10 months, so I haven't heard of The Ozark Howler. However, I think you made an excellent point about the settlers being scared of the unknown and channeling what was unfamiliar to them with fear, creating this mystical creature. I have a phobia of spiders, so when I see one, big or small, I run and give the most horrific description I can think of. My husband know's I'm scared of spiders and does not believe that the spider was as big as my child and as hairy as a cat, but he does know that it was a spider and I'm exaggerating because I'm scared. That is what I would like believe happened in this case as well.
I love how myths are just word of mouth based upon assumption, with no evidence (lol). But hearing/ reading about legends allow for us to see some insight to our history of our place we call home. I appreciate reading about the The Ozark Howler and its likelihood to be a panther.
-Kennedy Thompson
Myths are a huge deal here in America their are many ideas to research and learn about. I spent some time in Fort Leonard Wood and never heard of the Ozark Howler. Very interesting people and landscape. The Howler has to be a popular myth here in Missouri. Scaring away many people assuming to run into a wild scary looking creature like this. Awesome blog!
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