The Lake Worth Monster
by Frank Brooks
Posted: 12:05 July 17, 2007
 Many critics will say that there is 'no such thing' as a monster,
though they would have a difficult time trying to convince residents
and former police officers of Lake Worth, Texas. The summer of 1969
brought a sense of love and peace for many in the nation, but for John
Reichart and his wife there is only a sense of fear and wonder. The
Reicharts were one of three couples who happened to be parked at Lake
Worth on a warm July night when they received what could only be
considered terrifying.
According to Reichart, a fur and scale covered creatured leapt from a
tree and onto one of the vehicles around midnight. A creature that
appeared to be part man and part goat was said to have made an attempt
to grab Reichart's wife, though all three couples managed to speed off
before the beast could do any harm. The couples made their way to the
Fort Worth police station and did their best to describe what had
occurred. Four patrol cars were dispatched to the scene.
Upon reaching Lake Worth, no evidence was found other than a nearly
two-foot long scratch running down the side of Reichart's vehicle,
presumed to have been made by the terrible beast. Other than the
unexplained scratch, no trace of any monster had been found.
In what might be described as unusual, the Fort Worth police actually
took the story seriously. Partly because the three couples seemed
genuinely terrified and partly because there had been earlier reports
of a strange beast sighted around Lake Worth, a case was opened and
actively investigated. While they turned up no evidence, The Fort
Worth police concluded that either someone had been dressed up to
resemble an ape or other monster, or someone had thrown a dummy or
some sort of hide onto the vehicle. Whichever it was, the police noted
that while a perhaps dangerous hoax, it was a hoax indeed.
The July 10, 1969 edition of the Fort Worth Star Telegram recounted
the incident under the headline of "Fishy Man-goat Terrifies Couples
Parked at Lake Worth,", which sparked a wave of excitement and fear
over the possibility of such a creature's existence.
And almost as if the monster had been reading the paper and wanted to
show off for the public, reports began filtering in after midnight on
July 11, the very next day. The creature was said to have been seen
crossing the road around the Lake Worth Nature Center. Local resident
Jack Harris happened to see the creature and twice tried to photograph
it. His camera's flash failed the first time. He made a second try at
capturing the thing on film, and was once again unsuccessful.
The mysterious being ran around as dozens of people began to show up.
The police arrived, worried that the article in the Fort Worth Star
Telegram would cause many people to show up armed, which could
ultimately prove dangerous.
Just as people had began to form a posse to perhaps go after the
creature, the monster suddenly hurled a spare tire with a rim in the
direction of the onlookers. For only a moment, everyone stood in awe
at the sight of an unknown beast throwing a tire over 500 feet. As the
realization that the tire was coming fast and hard right toward them,
frightened citizens and policemen fled the area as the monster ran out
of sight.
The next article to appear in the Fort Worth Star Telegram held the
caption "Police, Residents Observe But Can't Identify 'Monster,' "
which accurately described the physical accounts of eyewitnesses. At
over seven feet tall, and weighing around 300 pounds with possible
whiteish gray hair, the huge creature that walked like a man certainly
didn't fit the description of any known man or animal in the area. If
the first article sparked interest, this second story of the monster
lit a fire of terror and curiosity.
Over the next few months, the monster was spotted by nearly a hundred
witnesses, some of which fired shots at the creature and followed a
trail of blood and 16-inch footprints to the edge of Lake Worth where
they disappeared into the water. For four months, the creature roamed
about, jumping on cars, snapping tree limbs, and causing chaos in
general. Some blamed the unexplained beast for dead sheep in the area.
In late 1969, local resident Sallie May Greer published a book about
the monster entitled "The Lake Worth Monster of Greer Island, Ft.
Worth, Texas". She spent months soliciting reports about the creature
from other residents. In 1978, a reported "photo" of the Lake Worth
Monster began circulating, though it has never been proved as a
conclusive picture of the best.
Over the years, many have attempted to explain just what the people of
Fort Worth saw in the summer of 1969. Some have written it off as a
bobcat, or possibly a large ape, while other believe it to be a hoax
entirely. However for most of the eyewitnesses, it's a story of
frenzied fear of a mysterious monster that roamed the Lake Worth area.
And though sightings of the creature haven't been reported since 1969,
save one lone encounter in late 1977, the citizens of Fort Worth live
with the knowledge that the monster existed, but the fear that it may
someday come back."
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Worth_monster
http://www.texasbigfoot.com/Fate1092.html
http://www.subversiveelement.com/LakeWorthMonster.html
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