Oklahoma

1Oklahoma Octopus Told story

Water monster · Lake Thunderbird, Lake Tenkiller and Oologah Lake · first reported 2007

The Oklahoma Octopus is said to lurk in three of the state's reservoirs, Lake Thunderbird, Lake Tenkiller and Oologah Lake, pulling swimmers under with its arms. Some describe it as big as a Jeep with copper-colored skin. It is a young legend. KGOU traced the earliest mention to Scott Francis's 2007 Monster Spotter's Guide to North America. A 2009 episode of Animal Planet's Lost Tapes dramatized an attack, cryptid wikis picked it up, and musician Michael Hosty started a Facebook page for it in 2011. Educators at the Oklahoma Aquarium point out the basic problem: octopuses are saltwater animals and cannot survive in fresh water. Fans enjoy it as a modern campfire tale.

• 2007-2011On the record The creature first shows up in a 2007 monster field guide, gains a big audience through a 2009 Lost Tapes episode, and spreads further through a 2011 Facebook page. Folklorist David Puglia told KGOU this TV-to-wiki path is typical of new cryptids. Source: kgou.org

Visiting: Lake Thunderbird State Park near Norman; Tenkiller State Park.

2Green Hill Monster On the record

Ape-like · Green Hill Road, southeast of Talihina, Le Flore County · first reported October 1971

In October 1971, around homecoming week, Talihina High School football players went out to Green Hill Road, about five miles southeast of town, after rumors of a creature. One big lineman said something grabbed him from behind in the dark. Another player swept a spotlight and said he saw a large hairy animal standing on two legs about twenty feet away. The next day students said they found three deer with broken necks and torn bodies but no bullet wounds. Highway patrol and county officers made a short night search and reported nothing. The Green Hill Monster is now remembered as the start of southeast Oklahoma's Bigfoot lore that later fed the Honobia festival.

• October 1971On the record Several football players and at least one teacher gathered at a barn on Green Hill Road. One player reported being seized from behind; another spotlighted an upright hairy figure. Officers searched briefly that night. Source: todayinfortsmith.com
• October 1971Told story Students said they found three deer killed with broken necks and torn-open bellies, with no gunshot wounds. Source: todayinfortsmith.com

3Spooklight (Devil's Promenade) On the record

Lights · E 50 Road (Spooklight Road) near Quapaw, Ottawa County, on the Missouri line · first reported 1936 in print · also called Hornet Spooklight, Joplin Spook Light, Tri-State Spook Light

On a gravel road along the Oklahoma-Missouri line, people have parked for generations to watch a glowing ball bob down the road and fade. Local lore ties it to a lantern-carrying ghost or lost lovers. The earliest print account found is a January 1936 Kansas City Star article by A.B. MacDonald. A small Spooklight Museum with a coin telescope once stood at the end of the road. Investigators have repeatedly matched the light to car headlights on Route 66 seen from higher ground along E 50, with demonstrations in 1946, 1955, 1965 and 2015. Robert Gannon's 1965 telescope work reportedly split the glow into paired headlights. Many visitors still find the show eerie.

• Jan 1936On the record A.B. MacDonald writes up the light for the Kansas City Star, the first known newspaper account. Source: en.wikipedia.org
• 1965On the record Robert Gannon used a telescope from the viewing area and reported resolving the light into pairs of car headlights on the highway to the west. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: E 50 Road (Spooklight Road) east of Quapaw; view from the road at night, private land on both sides.

4Shaman's Portal of Beaver Dunes Told story

Lights · Beaver Dunes Park, Beaver County (Panhandle) · first reported legend set in 1541 · also called Shaman's Portal

The sand dunes north of Beaver in the Oklahoma Panhandle carry a reputation as a disappearing place. Legend says Coronado's expedition lost three men here in flashes of green light, and later stories talk of eerie green glows moving over the dunes at night, vanishings and a UFO crash. Writers call the area the Shaman's Portal and compare it to the Bermuda Triangle. The Coronado detail is repeated on Wikipedia and in many articles, but no one has produced the journal passage. Skeptics note the story looks like modern legend-building around a lonely, wind-shaped landscape. Today it is a popular off-road vehicle park.

• 1541 (legend)Told story Retellings claim Coronado's journal records three men vanishing into green flashes while crossing the dunes. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: Beaver Dunes Park, a city-run park popular for off-road riding.

5Deer Woman Told story

Humanoid · Told among many nations, including tribes in Oklahoma · first reported traditional · also called Deer Lady

Deer Woman is a figure from living Indigenous traditions, told among many nations including Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Choctaw, Ponca, Otoe, Osage and Pawnee, several of whom live in Oklahoma today. She is usually described as a beautiful woman with deer hooves, or as a deer, who appears at gatherings. In many tellings she punishes men who behave badly, especially those who prey on women. Recent retellings connect her to the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. She reached a wide audience as Deer Lady in the FX series Reservation Dogs, set in Oklahoma. Many Native people treat these stories as their own to tell; this entry stays with what is publicly shared.

• modernTold story Retellings and the TV series Reservation Dogs present her as a protector who hunts predators, a shift from older warning tales. Source: en.wikipedia.org

6Bigfoot in the Kiamichi Mountains Investigated report

Ape-like · Honobia, Le Flore / Pushmataha counties · first reported 2000 (Honobia) · also called Siege at Honobia

Southeast Oklahoma's Kiamichi Mountains are a Bigfoot hot spot. A string of 2000 nighttime visits to rural homes, known as the Siege at Honobia, led locals to start the Honobia Bigfoot Festival and Conference in 2005. See the main Bigfoot dossier.

Full story: Bigfoot →

Visiting: Honobia Bigfoot Festival & Conference, early October, Kiamichi Mountains Christian Mission on Hwy 144.

7Thunderbird Told story

Winged · Oklahoma and the Great Plains · first reported traditional

The Thunderbird is a sacred storm being in many Plains traditions. Kiowa artist Woody Big Bow designed the Thunderbird insignia of Oklahoma's 45th Infantry Division. See the main Thunderbird dossier.

Full story: Thunderbird →