American Monsters: The History of America’s Most Persistent Urban Tales about Strange Birds, Serpents and Wolfmen

by Charles River Editors

And then there are the monsters no serious person was expected to believe in, made up to entertain the folks around the campfire or to scare children into good behavior. One of the most frightening of these was an old tale from the state of Missouri known as Raw Head and Bloody Bones. This was a particularly nasty spirit that slunk around homes in the Ozarks in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The story originated in England and was brought to America by the early settlers, which allowed it to linger for a time in the rough hills and forested valleys of the Ozark Mountains in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. It would hide in the closet or in the drain pipe, and if a kid was brave or stupid enough to peek inside at the right time, they might catch a glimpse of a dark creature crouching there, looking back with its face dripping in blood.