In the early 1900s, reports of animals - primarily dogs - being killed by an unknown creature around Suffolk and Norfolk were attributed to a nebulous Great Dismal Swamp Monster. The first wave took place in 1902, with stories originating in Suffolk. The Times printed a story that ran one day earlier in the local paper of a strange creature that has been attacking people and dogs around Nansemond in February of 1902: The Strange Monster That Eats Dogs in Nansemond. (Special Dispatch to The Times.) The strange Dismal Swamp monster, which one day this week killed seven of Ed. Smith's dogs, ate two of them, and later attacked Mr. Smith, himself, has been seen again. Mr. Smith lives about twelve miles from Suffolk. Last night L. Frank Ames, a merchant, who lives near Bennett's Creek, saw the same thing and suffered from its ravages. Hearing a strange noise, Mr. Ames went out with a pistol. He thought at first it was a strange dog. When he learned it was the much-sought monster Mr....
Forgotten history fished from the river of forgetfulness