The White River Monster
A creature as big as a railway wagon was said to rise from an Arkansas river, and the state made a refuge for it.
What was reported
In July 1937 Bramblett Bateman, who owned land along the White River near Newport, said he'd seen a huge grey creature rising in the river. Others came forward, and a diver was sent down to look, without success. In 1971 a new run of sightings described an animal with peeling grey skin and something like a horn, and large tracks on a sandbar.
The creature was nicknamed Whitey, and in 1973 the Arkansas legislature created the White River Monster Refuge along part of the river, making it illegal to harm it there.
Explanations offered
The most popular theory is a stray elephant seal, which has a large, wrinkled snout and can travel up rivers, though one this far inland would be extraordinary. Others suggest large fish, or floating debris.
- When
- July 1937
- Where
- White River, near Newport, Arkansas, USA
- Witnesses
- A landowner, fishermen and townspeople
- Status
- Unconfirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.