Camp Monsters

Bring a flashlight.  Or a headlamp, if you have one.  Bring a sweater, no matter what the weather is like outside.  The further we go, the cooler and darker it will get.  Bring boots too, the higher the better.  The walls and ceilings drip and ooze, the floors are wet with muck.  Down there, under the city.  Down in that... wilderness?  Well, it may be uncultivated and inhospitable, but it certainly is inhabited.  What inhabits it depends on how deep you go.  In this episode we’ll go as deep as we can.  Deeper than perhaps we should.

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You’re out swimming when you feel a pinch on your leg. Is it a harmless fish or something a bit more sinister? Meet this week’s Camp Monster… The Letiche. A creature that lurks in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana. 

Season sponsor:

• YETI

Season artwork by Tyler Grobowsky. 

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In this episode we’re going out right to the very edge of the firelight, watching and listening.  We’ll go out where others swear they’ve seen something, heard something … something ancient, large, and threatening. Something from those dark old times when someone around the fire always had to stay awake, to keep watch.  

It’s your turn.  So stay awake.  Keep your eyes open.  Stare into the night and listen for what you think you might have heard out there … in the darkness.

Series sponsor:

• Yeti 

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If you’re looking for a beautiful sunset, go to the Mogollon Rim in Arizona.  They call it the Rim because that’s what it is: the rim of the giant Colorado plateau, where it drops off into the pine forest lowlands below.  Most of the Rim is National Forest, so you can drive or hike or bike or even ride horseback to countless viewpoints where you can watch the descending sun turn everything a glowing red. 

But you know this episode isn’t about beautiful sunsets.  It’s about what has sometimes been seen along the Mogollon Rim after sunset. When it gets dark out. When the shadows start to lengthen and take on shapes ...

People call it the Mogollon Monster, a Bigfoot like creature sneaking around in the wilderness out there.  But those who have seen it, they don’t like to describe it at all.  Because describing it takes them back out into the dark desert night, into an all-surrounding darkness ... a darkness that suddenly reaches out to grab them.

Season sponsor:

• Yeti

Series artwork by Tyler Grobowsky. 

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You've probably heard the fairy tale about the troll under the bridge, but have you heard of the creature at Owl Creek? This monster is rumored to haunt an abandoned train track in the Kentucky wilderness. 

Series sponsor:

• Yeti

Artwork by Tyler Grobowsky. 

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There are certain places around the country where you can never feel sure. The central coast of California is one of those places — a desolate, rugged, beautiful area where there have long been whispers about something haunting the cliffs. An outline, a figure, watching you from above. A creature you can’t identify… but know you don’t want to meet.

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This season we'll go to the coast of the Carolinas and the cliff edges of California. From underground creatures lurking beneath New York City to a monster that sneaks up on you while you're fast asleep... it's a lineup you won't forget. Gather 'round the fire for the newest season of the Camp Monsters podcast, coming to your ears September 9th. 

This season's monster artwork was done by the talented Tyler Grobowsky. You can find his work on Instagram at @g_r_o_b_o. 

Season sponsor:

• Yeti 

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We’re very excited to announce that YETI, known for their ridiculously strong and durable coolers, bottles, bags, chairs, and other much-needed outdoor gear, is this season’s sponsor.  

To welcome YETI to our campfire, we naturally asked if they’d heard of any monsters prowling around their hometown of Austin, Texas.  They told us this story of a close encounter with a creature you’ve probably heard rumors about.  A nocturnal monster known to pick off livestock in a very vampiric way.  Do we believe the story?  Well, listen for yourself: do you?  

Learn more about YETI. 

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This month we are traveling to Europe, to tell the story of a creature that has haunted that continent for centuries.  Nowadays it is the stuff of legend, the kind of thing you see on old coats-of-arms or hear about in the colorful tales of local folklore.  But the further you go into the more remote, forgotten corners of the European countryside, the darker and more forceful the folklore gets. The harsher the stories, the starker the warnings.  Until the history of this most deadly of creatures begins to seem more immediate than history should be.  And you begin to wonder whether there is some fatal truth to the old tales… some hidden secret, surviving from times long past.

Sources:

• Smithsonian Magazine
• Fandom
• Wikipedia 

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Summer is right around the corner which means it’s time for campfires, s’mores and spooky tales. Even if it’s just in your own backyard, there’s something very special about gathering around the fire to tell stories late into the night. 

And while our second season of Camp Monsters is still a couple of months away, we figured now was a good time to re-share the episode that started it all — The Batsquatch. This creature, born out of the explosion of Mt. Saint Helens 40 years ago, was known to roam the area called the dead zone.  

Gather round and kick off your summer with season one of Camp Monsters. There are eight episodes that’ll keep you entertained long into the night with our new season coming to your ears in early September. You can find all of season one anywhere you listen to podcasts or at rei.com/camp-monsters. 

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