Wednesday, February 29, 2012

On the Trail of Bigfoot




By Candy Korman, excerpted from her blog, Candy's Monsters
The Internet is a great place to do research. You can find out that your blind date lied to you about the business he ‘owns.’ You can double-check the side effects of a new medication your doctor has prescribed. You can even find a good price on airline tickets.
You can also drive yourself crazy. You can self-diagnose/misdiagnose; discover that ghostwriters are routinely hired by content mills to write college papers for money; and you can get lost on the trail of BIGFOOT.
The Internet is full of shaky videos, sketches and first person reports of sightings of the big, hairy humanoid monster, also known as Sasquatch.
Is Bigfoot a holdover from an early human — an out-of-time, throwback to another branch of human evolution? Is there a tribe living on the outskirts of the ‘civilized’ world?
With all the great science fiction devoted to time travel and alternative histories, this one is fun to think about. These almost, but not quite, homo sapiens could cross into our world through some distortion in the time space continuum. I like this theory for fiction, but I’m not going to join the Bigfoot hunters in a hopeless attempt to find proof.
There are other great Bigfoot back-stories.
My personal best is, that the tales of Bigfoot started with an overreaction to a hermit in the woods. This loner — maybe even a writer — happened to be spotted on a bad hair day. Living in the woods, with shaggy hair and a heavy beard, he could have worn a coat and boots made of animal skins. The stories rolled from there.
A clever storyteller, my Bigfoot heard the rumors about his ‘monster’ persona when he was in town buying supplies or knocking back a few drinks at the tavern. He then fed the legend with doctored bear prints. He may have even whispered in a fellow drinker's ear that he’d seen the beast in the forest. It would have been a great way to scare off the casual hikers.
And then, like many good stories, those rumors grew into a monstrous legend.
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Read more monstrous stories at Candy's Monsters, Literary Novellas Inspired by Classic Tales of Horror. And read an excerpt of Candy's book, The Mary Shelley Game, available for Kindle at Amazon.
Then, come back and post your own monstrous, first-person story in the comments to be featured on My Embellished Life.

6 comments:

  1. There's a rumor about an island on Lake George in NY being infested with rattlesnakes. Of course, no one ever goes to that island. Could it be that a wise camper from long ago started it just to have this beautiful spot all to himself? Maybe, but I'm not going to be the one to prove the rumor false--an island infested with rattlesnakes--Yikes!

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    1. Wow.. that's a great way to enjoy a private island!

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  2. Peggy, your vignette reads like the teaser for a short story. I REALLY want you to check out the island and find out if the rumor or your own idea is the truth! Or at least, I'd love to hear your embellished tale of what that experience might end up being!! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  3. So glad to be a part of this Embellished Life!

    All good writing starts from reality and then goes on a journey. Even my monster series starts from something in my life and flies from there.

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  4. The mystique that surrounds Bigfoot is fascinating. I enjoyed your story.

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  5. Thanks! I'm so glad to hear that folks enjoy my musings and monster meditations.

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