Ozark Howler

As I drove up and down the Ozark Mountains with a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel of my RV, hairpin turn after hairpin turn, I couldn’t help but wonder if the Ozark Howler was lurking somewhere in those woods. I had just spent several days in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri, and now I had crossed over into Arkansas. I knew I was deep in the Howler’s territory and wondered if it was out there somewhere. It has been spotted as far as Oklahoma and Texas.

According to legend, the Ozark Howler is shaped like a bear and it is about the same size as a bear. It has a long, shaggy coat usually black in color. Some say the monster sports a set of horns and glowing red eyes. It lets out a cry that has been described as cross between a wolf howl and an elk bugle. Some even say a hyena’s laugh is mixed with the howl. Pretty weird, huh? 

Thinking of the strange cry of the Howler, which some say is a bad omen, the first thing that comes to my mind are the Irish banshee legends. And I might be on the right track. The glowing red eyes and dreaded howl have reminded others of “hell hounds” in British folklore. Are we dealing with Old World legends that made their way into America as those of European ancestry pushed west?

According to some, legends of the Ozark Howler stretch back to the 1800s and Daniel Boone even had an encounter with the beast. Others think it is nothing more than a hoax. Then there are those who point to the misidentification of known animals such as mountain lions, bears, and wild boars and attribute the eerie scream of the beast to bobcats, foxes, and fishers.

I don’t know what to make of the Howler, but I would probably lean toward it being a mountain lion. But then again, maybe there is something out there with red eyes screaming like a banshee in the dead of night…

If you would like to read more about my travels and the legends of the fascinating places I visit, check out my Detours Into the Paranormal series.

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