What is the Mogollon Monster?
Does Arizona have its bigfoot or Sasquatch? It sure does, and it’s known as the “Mogollon Monster“. The Mogollon Monster is said to be a 7-foot-plus tall bipedal humanoid with inhuman strength, and large eyes that are “wild and red”.
Its body is said to be covered with long black or reddish brown hair, except for the chest, face, hands, and feet. Described as nocturnal, omnivorous, very territorial, and are sometimes violent. The creature walks with wide inhuman strides and leaves behind footprints that can measure up to 22 inches in length.
The Mogollon Monster also can mimic birds, coyotes, and other wildlife, and can emit unusual whistle sounds. In numerous reports, the Mogollon Monster has been said to emit a “blood-curdling” scream described as sounding like a woman in “great distress”.
Witnesses have described hearing eerie, high-pitched screams, howls, or growls in the areas where the creature has been sighted.
Typical behavior that’s been reported is:
- Exploring campsites after dark.
- Building “nests” and other structures out of trees, logs, pine needles, twigs, and leaves.
- Hurl big rocks at people, cars, and boats
- It entertains itself by tossing stones, pine cones, and twigs at people, tents, and cars from locations that are hidden from your view.
- The creature has been known to decapitate deer and other wildlife before consumption.
One unusual thing folks have regularly reported is an “eerie silence” before an encounter. The silence is best described as an unnatural stillness or absence of any sound (almost like time stops) in the woods that often surrounds predatory animals in the vicinity.”
Mogollon Monster Sightings.
The oldest known documented sighting of the Mogollon Monster was reported in a 1903 edition of The Arizona Republican. I.W. Stevens described a creature seen near the Grand Canyon as having “long white hair and matted beard that reached to his knees. It wore no clothing, and upon his talon-like fingers were claws at least two inches long.”
He noted, “a coat of gray hair nearly covered his body, with here and there a spot of dirty skin showing.” Later stating that after he discovered the creature drinking the blood of two cougars, it threatened him with a club, and “screamed the wildest, most unearthly screech“.
Several reports of the Mogollon Monster described it as looking very much like a “troll…” Another early documented sighting was recounted by cryptozoologist Don Davis. During the mid-1940s while he was on a boy scout trip near Payson, AZ. He gives the following account:
“The creature was huge. Its eyes were deep set and hard to see, but they seemed expressionless. His face seemed pretty much devoid of hair, but there seemed to be hair along the sides of his face. His chest, shoulders, and arms were massive, especially the upper arms; easily upwards of 6 inches in diameter, perhaps much, much more.
I could see he was pretty hairy but didn’t observe really how thick the body hair was. The face/head was very square; square sides and squared up the chin, like a box“.
Mogollon Monster Range and Location.
The Mogollon Monster creature ranges from central and eastern Arizona along the Mogollon Rim. One particular active spot is the Spillway Campground at Woods Canyon Lake. Over the years, there have been several encounters in that area. Reported sightings along the Mogollon Rim range from Prescott north to Williams. Southeast to Alpine, then south to Clifton, and northwest back to Prescott.
When I make my run up to Spillway Campground to fish for trout, I’ll be running audio recorders and a infrared camera at night hoping to catch something.
However, sightings and encounters are not exclusive to just the Mogollon Rim country. Encounters happen all over the State of Arizona. Many of these reports, happen in our Sky Island mountain ranges in southern Arizona such as Graham County.
Sky Islands.
So the question is, is there enough habitat to have a native population of Bigfoots? Obviously, the answer is yes! Arizona has what is known as “sky islands”. These sky islands cover parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico.
The 70,000 square mile sky islands are among the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Many of the sky islands are protected as State and National Parks and are popular recreation areas and vacation getaways which leads to encounters between man and the beast.
Arizona’s Sky Island ranges include the Baboquivari Mountains (GigaPan), Whetstone Mountains, Chiricahua Mountains, Huachuca Mountains (GigaPan), Pinaleno Mountains, Santa Catalina Mountains, and Santa Rita Mountains.
Arizona Sky Islands
The tallest of these areas are the Pinaleno Mountains, rising to 10,720 feet above the Gila River near the town of Safford. This is where the desert and forest come together, offering a blend of tropical and temperate climates. The area around Riggs Flat Lake on Mount Graham is a known “hotspot” for bigfoot activity
With elevations ranging from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, these majestic hills emerge from a sea of desert scrub and provide an oasis for an abundance of wildlife. All of this can sustain many kinds of animals, plants, and insects. It also supports riparian habitats with rivers and streams.
The Sky Island Alliance notes that the region supports a diversity exceeding anywhere else in the U.S. Supporting which includes well over half the bird species of North America. This bio-diversity includes over 3,000 different species of plants and 104 species of mammals. Such as 29 different bat species, several species of deer and turkeys, mountain lions, black bears, reptiles, and other raptors.
All of these Sky Islands are capable of supporting a local or migratory Mogollon monster populations.
Low Elevation Areas.
Sasquatches have also been seen below the Mogollon Rim country in southeastern Arizona around the Safford/Mt Graham area. Additional encounters have been reported south in Cochise and Santa Cruz counties, including southwest of the Phoenix metropolitan area as far out as Gila Bend.
This is all low-elevation Sonora Desert. These areas offer lots of mesquite & palo verde trees. Plus scrub brush with saguaro and prickly pear cactus and ocotillo. Low hills and washes dominate the terrain. The Sonora Desert is home to coyotes, bobcats, foxes, tortoises, javelina, rabbits, mule deer, quail, and many kinds of reptiles.
Let’s not forget Arizona’s many farms and ranches. Irrigation has produced many fertile agricultural areas in Arizona. With the irrigation systems, stock ponds, assorted nuts, berries and greens, wildlife, and family pets there is ample food and water to give sustenance to sasquatches. If not a full-time year-round inhabitation, then most certainly Arizona is capable of supporting seasonal migrating troops.
Does the Mogollon Monster exist?
It’s up to you whether you believe it or not. My experience with the big guy was on a deer hunt with a buddy up in Washington State back in 1991. You can listen to it on YouTube. Years later when I returned to Washington State, I believe we had a second encounter on a pit stop down a heavily forested road near Darrington, WA. There were several tree knocks while the wife and I were taking a break from a long drive on the Cascade Loop.
Even my daughter and her mom had an encounter a couple of years ago along the Gila River here in Arizona. They experienced a rock thrown at them, a limb being “snapped” right behind my ex while taking a photograph as well as a vocalization.
And to make things here a bit more interesting, listen to Ryan Trembleys encounter with a two-legged bi-pedal canine. Yes.., Arizona had “dogmen” as well.
Is the Mogollon Monster Dangerous?
The Mogollon Monster is generally not considered to be overtly dangerous to people based on the majority of reported sightings and encounters. Most accounts describe it as elusive and shy, preferring to avoid human contact. However, there are a few factors to consider regarding its potential danger:
- Evasive Nature: The Mogollon Monster is often described as being more interested in avoiding humans than interacting with them. It typically flees when encountered.
- Intimidation Tactics: Some witnesses have reported the creature making loud noises, throwing rocks, or shaking trees. These behaviors are interpreted as attempts to scare off intruders rather than direct aggression.
- No Direct Attacks: There are no widely known or documented cases of the Mogollon Monster having attacked humans. Most encounters end with the creature retreating into the wilderness.
Southwestern Bigfoot Youtube Channels.
If you are interested in knowing more about Arizona’s bigfoot, I recommend watching the YouTube channels below. For each of these sites, the owners have invested a lot of “boots on the ground” time investigating encounters, interviewing witnesses, and having their own experiences.
Arizona.
- Arizona Sasquatch This is an active site with some great videos. Kevin has a unique perspective and experiences with these beings. Well worth looking into.
- JC Johnson J.C. passed away a couple of years ago. He is considered the “Indiana Jones” of the Cryptid world. He focused mainly on the Four Corners region of the American southwest (AZ, UT, CO, and NM) While his channel isn’t being updated, his site had over 4000 visits as of the 1st of May April 2021. That’s a lot of traffic for a fella who’s been gone.
- Bigfoot Research This site was run by Mitch Waite. He passed away in April of 2015. While his site is also inactive, you can still find a lot of videos he posted of his many trips up in the Mogollon Rim country searching for Bigfoot. This site has over 600 videos! Mitch was an incredible researcher. His videos are full of awesome ideas and techniques.
New Mexico.
- New Mexico Shadow Seekers Now this isn’t in Arizona, but is right next door to us in New Mexico. Brenda Harris has been researching the sasquatch phenomenon for several years. She has been featured on a couple of “Finding Bigfoot” episodes as well as a popular guest on many cryptid YouTube channels and podcasts Like Coast to Coast and Sasquatch Chronicles.
- Breaking Discoveries This channel is run by Jesus Payan who you might recognize as “Gonzo” from the TV shows “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” Also a New Mexico channel, Jesus has partnered with J.C. Johnson and Brenda Harris. You will like his channel.
If you had an encounter with any cryptid here in Arizona. Please be sure to tell me about it here in my Cryptid Sighting Form.