Archived Feature:
The Lake Worth Monster
Beginning in July of 1969, when the rest of the world was spellbound by man's first attempt at a landing on the moon, the citizens of Fort Worth were locked in their own local drama. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that some sort of 'monster' had been sighted at nearby Lake Worth. The creature was variously described as a man-goat, ape-man, and even as a bobcat. Feats ascribed to him that summer included picking up and hurling an automobile tire and rim hundreds of feet at terrified witnesses.
Sallie Ann Clarke, a Fort Worth resident, began tracking the stories and conducted hundreds of interviews. The product of all of her research was a book, The Lake Worth Monster, which to this day local libraries refuse to allow people to check out for fear of its not being returned.
Sightings of the Lake Worth Monster subsided after a few weeks, and no one has ever satisfactorily explained most of the occurrences reported by citizens.
Reproduced here is the cover of Sallie Ann Clarke's book chronicling the time when the Fort Worth area was gripped with monster fever.
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