12 Southern monsters that would make amazing Halloween costumes
Halloween will be here before we know it. But if you wait until the last minute, you’ll wind up at the mega-mart buying a sad satiny costume in a plastic bag. The only scary thing will be how much it costs.
Friends, now is the time to start planning. It’s time to get creative and make a costume that will curl the toes of all who have the misfortune to cross your trick-or-treating path. And if you need a little inspiration, here are some legendary Southern monsters that will scare the bejeesus out of the bravest among us.
The rougarou, also referred to as the loup-garou, is a werewolf-like creature from Cajun and Acadian traditions. This half man/half wolf prowls the Louisiana swamps and sugarcane fields in search of blood…and misbehaving children. With red eyes, fangs and fur, you’ll have your friends shaking and shivering with your “Rouga-BOO!”
Arkansas Wild Man
The first reports of this hominid appeared in the early 1800s. Reportedly much larger than a man and covered in brown, shaggy hair, this beast was said to have turned on a man who was stalking it, mortally wounding him and taking off with his horse. But don’t be elusive like the real Bigfoot and Sasquatch, because you’ll be the best sighting at the Halloween party.
St. Augustine Monster
In 1896, two young boys came across a gigantic carcass that had washed up on the beach. Multiple scientists examined tissue samples and photos of this creature over the next hundred years, and, at one point, determined that it was the remains of a gigantic cephalopod that would have had tentacles 75-100 feet long. Ultimately, this theory was dispelled, but the myth lives on. Help keep it ALIIIVVVEEE, when you dress like this ominous octopus.
A mythical sculpture in front of Skunk Ape Research Center Headquarters sign.
(Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Often described as “ape-like,” this monster is Bigfoot’s smaller, much stinkier cousin from Florida. Covered head to toe in hair ranging in color from dark red to black, the scariest thing about this varmint is its horrible, putrid smell that is much like…well…a skunk! But on the scariest night of the year, there ain’t no party like a putrid party ‘cause a putrid party don’t stop!
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Beast of Bladenboro
Residents living in Bladenboro, North Carolina in the mid-'50s feared this elusive creature that was said to be shiny black, 5 feet long and almost 2 feet high. It was known to kill small animals and pets with its one-inch long claws. Some folks described seeing something like a panther, while others compared it to a wolf or small bear. But all agreed that they were terrified. And all you’ll see is a bunch of scaredy cats too when you become the Beast.
The Yazoo Witch
In 1884, a local sheriff was investigating reports of fishermen lured from the Yazoo River and tortured by a woman who lived on its banks in the wood. Upon finding several skeletons, the lawman pursued the woman through the woods where she became entrapped in quicksand. As she sank to her death she vowed revenge on Yazoo City and its residents saying she would burn it to the ground. Twenty years later – to the day – a fire with flames that were described as otherworldly and driven by mysterious winds burned down much of the city. When the fire was put out, the townspeople went to the witch’s grave in Glenwood Cemetery to find that the chains that bound it had been broken. To this day, every chain placed on her grave is inexplicably broken. Dressed as this woodland witch, you’ll have a frightfully good time!
Read more: The scariest urban legends in each Southern state
This well-known poltergeist haunted the family of John Bell Sr. who lived in northwest Tennessee in the early 1800s. Known to both inflict harm and show affection as well as move objects and do some spot-on impersonations, this witchy woman became an attraction that drew the curious from miles around to ask it questions. Ultimately John Sr.’s death was attributed to the witch who allegedly interrupted his funeral by regaling mourners with drinking songs. This fearless phantom costume will have you creepin’ it real all night long!
Read more: Are you brave enough to tour the Bell Witch cave?
The Legend of The Bunny Man | Easter Scary Story
The Bunny Man
This fiend has a funny name but is a seriously scary soul. In 1970s Fairfax County, Virginia there were multiple accounts of people being threatened by a man dressed in a bunny costume who wielded an ax. No one knows what happened to this very unhoppy fellow, but legend has it his ghost still haunts the area each year on Halloween. And all I can think of is a grown-up, bloody Ralphie from A Christmas Story, and that’s pretty dang terrifying!
"The Legend of the Mothman" statue by Bob Roach graces the streets of Point Pleasant on June 7, 2013 in Point Pleasant, W.V.
(Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)
A cryptid described as a very large man-bird with glowing red eyes and a ten-foot wingspan was spotted by several people in Point Pleasant, West Virginia from late 1966 until late 1967. The Mothman was even blamed for the tragic collapse of a bridge that resulted in the deaths of 46 people because several eye-witnesses reported seeing it flying around at the time of the accident. Is it an alien? A mysterious new species? A government experiment gone wrong? Whatever it is, it’s now a legend. And you can be one too!
For nearly 300 years there have been reports of a sea monster inhabiting the marshes and streams at the mouth of the Altamaha River near Darien, Georgia. Part snake, part gator, part seal with maybe some eel-like elements, this leviathan has been said to be anywhere from 10 to 70 feet in length. Dark gray on its back with a whitish-yellow underbelly, this serpent has been scaring sailors silly for decades. Tis the season to slither!
Rawhead and Bloody Bones
Two parts of the same monster? Maybe. One is a skull stripped of its flesh and the other is a headless skeleton. But either way, many a Southern granny has used the legend of Rawhead and Bloody Bones, which originated in England, to keep rambunctious children in line. And if the mention of the name didn’t do the trick, there’s always the nursery rhyme which you can recite to your friends for a ghoulishly good time:
Rawhead and Bloody Bones
Steals naughty children from their homes.
Takes them to his dirty den
And they are never seen again!