Caroline

6/09/20
Final Project, all stages

Story:

Chapter 1
“She can’t come with us”.
I stared at him, hard, imagining my eyes would turn him to stone. This was what Harry
said every year. I had always been too young to join my older brother and his friend on the
camping trip; they always said when I was 11 I could come. Well, my eleventh birthday passed
last month and I was determined to go camping.
“She’ll get scared”.
“Will not”. I pouted, silenting pleading with my father to let me go on the trip. He turned
to look at me.
“If you go there’s not turning back, you can’t call us in the middle of the night because
there was a bug. We can’t come and get you, and you can’t leave Harry and Will”, he spoke
harshly and I grew angry because of it. I hated being talked down to. It was always me against
the world inside my head.
“I won’t get scared, I’m not a scaredy-cat you know!” I pushed open the screen door and
ran up the wooden stairs into my hiding closet. This was the only place I ever got alone time. No
one knew it existed, and it’s where I come to cry. There aren’t any lights, but by now I know the
shadows well enough that I can maneuver myself into the tight spaced between the boiler room
and the attic stairs. I squeezed my eyes shut and watched the little movies in my eyelids. Then it
got light, I opened my eyes to find my mom peeking her head into the closet. Hmph, I guess my
someone knew it existed.
“They’re leaving now. Dad is just pulling the car around”.
“I’m not going, no one wants me to anyway”.
“Then why did they buy three sleeping bags?” Her question hung in the air for a bit, and
then I scuffled out of my hiding spot and grabbed my bag I had packed, running down the stairs
two steps at a time. I was finally allowed to venture into the deep marshy area where the boys
went camping.

Chapter 2

I shook my head. The car ride was bumpy, and now I have a pit in my stomach. Or
maybe I just have a pit in my stomach because I finally got to go camping and I don’t actually
want to go camping but I want to be considered a “big kid” so I said I wanted to go camping but
now that we’re here I don’t want to go camping and that was definitely a run on sentence in my
head right now. Anyway, we’re here. And dad left.
“Make yourself useful and get some firewood would you” Harry snapped at me, clearly
still angry I made my way into their trip.
I aggressively stood up and stomped out of the cleared grass and into the wooded area.

Chapter 3

I don’t even remember which way I came from. I looked around, panic beginning to set
in. I told myself to relax, that we were hours away from sunset and the forest really wasn’t that
big.
“Harry…do you want sticks or logs?” My voice got more shaky towards the end of the
sentence. I knew I had to be close enough to them that they could hear me, but still I grew
nervous at the unfamiliarity of it all. It all looked the same, no way to decipher which way was
which. Listen for the water I told myself, then follow the river down to the campsite and you’ll
be fine.
“Oh shut up and come back here you’re so useless!”
I blew the hair out of my face and threw the sticks I collected to the ground, but
nonetheless, I was thankful for the sound of Harry's voice. Pretending to be furious, I took off
towards the sound of the movement that seemed just a few hundred yards from me.

Chapter 4

I kept my eyes on the ground, admiring the different ​organisms​1​ symbiosis​2​.​ Last year in
science class, we created these mini fish tanks out of water bottles. It was pretty cool, I liked
releasing the fish best though. Although Charlie told me all those little fish wouldn’t survive in
the Mississippi River and would likely be dead within hours...I’d like to believe otherwise.
It was silent in the woods surrounding our camp site, so I just followed the sound of
rustling leaves that I could only assume was Harry and Will. All the big animals must be in
hibernation​3​, since it’s going to be winter. But it doesn't ever get cold down here in Missouri, just
chilly as Dad likes to say.
I kept walking.

Chapter 5

I froze when I lifted my eyes from the ground. I had just been following sounds, not
looking where I was going. It seems plausible that the only other movement was from the boys.
It was not.
 I was face to face with a large animal. It was on all fours, eating the plants at the base of
the tree. I figured it was just a ​herbivore​4​.
It hadn’t noticed me yet. I told myself to stay calm. This was like one of those nightmares
I got when Dad would tell us about those freaky Bigfoot type monsters. All I had to do was make
my way behind that big stump without it noticing me. Then I could just wait until it moved on to
another plant and make my move towards the campsite.
Easy going, don’t look away. That’s something they teach you in scouts, I think. I never
really got to go to scouts. Aaaaand snap. It was bound to happen. Me stepping on a twig or
branch or something. Let’s just hope the animal didn’t hear it, I hope it’s enjoying the salad.
Well, no such luck. I’m stuck. The animal is now looking directly at me. Ok, time for
survival instincts. Make yourself big, I think that’s what they tell you. Right? All parents say
“the animal is just as scared of you as you are of it”. I don’t really believe that. I mean most
animals could kill me if they wanted. I just figured I could outrun my mother and they’d get to
her first. That’s what I say “I don’t have to outrun the animal, I just have to outrun the slowest
person in our group”.
I am the group. I have to outrun the animal. Or I can listen to the adults and try and scare
it away. I take a step towards the stump and climb on top of it. Making myself as big as possible.
To counter me, the animal gets off all fours and grows on its hind legs. Eight...nine...ten,
maybe eleven feet high. Easily two hundred pounds with that mess of hair covering its face. It
doesn’t even have a neck! Just like shoulders into a pumpkin shaped head.
And now I realize that adults are always wrong and I must resort to what I say and run.
Fast. I jump off the stump and crash into the poison ivy. Unfazed I start running towards the
sound of the river, screaming.

Chapter 6

Ok, honestly, it’s a little unfair that the ​predator​5​ is always faster than the ​prey​6​. I am
running as fast as my little legs can move, but this animal is just continually gaining ground on
me because of the length of his legs. Like they really should give the little guy some advantage
here.
Now I am lost. Everything looks the same to me. Every ​abiotic​7​ aspect of this forest is
identical. I have nowhere else to run. I’m just getting myself deeper into the forest. And this
stupid hair ball is still chasing me.
I take a look behind me to see how close he is and *​smack​*. I fall right to the ground
after that tree comes out of literally nowhere and crashes into me.
Then everything go blacks.

Chapter 7
 I wake up and I’m in this dark cave, with something warm running down the side of my
face.
I taste the blood before I even feel the pain. I must be in shock or something. I try and sit
up but my head is throbbing so hard I just fall back down.
Once my eyes are adjusted to the darkness, I see something moving in the shadows. I try
and make out what it is, but it just seems like a heap of weeds...but moving? Then it goes black
again.

Chapter 8

Again I wake, but this time with a searing pain in my left thigh. I can’t even bring my
head to look at what’s happening.
When I finally gain the strength to look, I nearly scream. Whatever this monster is, he’s
eating out of my body. Flesh and all. God I wish this poison ivy would like to kill him or
something. A real ​parasitism​8​ relationship we got going on here. Guess these guys a ​carnivore​9​,
or like an ​omnivore​10​? I don't know science was hard for me last year. And this monster biting
off my leg isn’t helping, and none of these facts are helping me save my life.
Then I blackout.

Chapter 9

The next time I wake up, it’s darker than before. Must be nighttime.
I had heard rumors about the Momo monster. But I always assumed it was the older kids
pulling my legs. It had been almost 40 years since they last spotted the thing, and even then it
wasn’t confirmed.
But now, staring at this...this...thing sleeping in front of me, I believe it. This must be the
Momo monster. It was supposed to originate in Missouri. But in Kansas? It must’ve ​migrated​11
and became an ​invasive species​12​ becoming a ​scavenger​13​ type animal. I MEAN IT WAS
DEFINITELY INVASIVE TO ME. I look down at my thigh. And it’s gone.
Somehow, I think of myself as brave for not freaking out right now. And then I think that
well, what’s worse: screaming for help and waking this creature for breakfast, or waiting it out
and hoping Harry and Will come find me before morning. Obviously, I can’t run away, but the
shock is keeping the pain out of mind.
I lay my head back, wishing for death.

Vocabulary List:
1. Organism: any living thing
2. Symbiosis: Relationship in which two species live closely together
3. Hibernation: A period of inactivity
 4. Herbivore: Plant eating organism
5. Predator: An animal that hunts and kills other animals for food
6. Prey: Animal hunted or caught for food
7. Abiotic: Nonliving, physical features of the environment, including air, water, sunlight,
soil, temperature, and climate.
8. Parasitism: Symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is
harmed
9. Carnivore: Meat eating organism
10. Omnivore: Both plant and meat eating organism
11. Migration: The periodic passage of animals from one region to another for feeding or
breeding
12. Invasive species: Plants and animals that have migrated to areas where they did not
originate; often displace native species by outcompeting them for resources
13. Scavenger: Any animal that feeds on refuse and other decaying organic matter
14. Threatened species: A species that could become endangered in the near future

Write Up:

I really enjoyed this project because it allowed us to get involved with what we learning.
I found myself really engaging with the topic; instead of just listing information I had read, I had
to understand the different concepts in order to incorporate them into my story. I also really
enjoyed the writing part my project, I found it fun and entertaining. I think that probably my
story wasn’t as gruesome as I could have made it out to be, but I still maintained a storyline that
was interesting and intriguing. First I did all the research. I read about the nature of the animal,
it’s habitat, the research surrounding it, and eventually got into stories about its sightings. I found
myself scouring the internet for more and more information, and really getting into the stories
behind it. The most difficult part was creating the story. I knew it couldn’t be very long, so after I
had written nearly 6 chapters and hadn’t even mentioned the Momo monster I knew I had to shift
gears. I still found myself struggling with then cutting out the earlier information, as I was most
proud of the narrative I had created for this story. Overall, although the story takes a while to get
the main conflict, it shows a different side to science, one that I really enjoyed writing.
Pokémon Card:
Bibliography:

Works Cited

Anderson, D. (2019, September 19). Hunters Search for a Deadly Creature in Exclusive Clip
from MOMO: THE MISSOURI MONSTER. Retrieved from
https://dailydead.com/hunters-search-for-a-deadly-creature-in-exclusive-clip-from-momo
-the-missouri-monster/
This is the article/video that gave me the inspiration for the horror of the story. It really gave me
ideas of how to make it as gruesome as possible. It talked about the aggression that came from
the Momo monster and allowed me to see the possibilities of making the story more detailed and
vividly gross.

Banias, M. (2019, September 30). The Missouri Monster 'Momo' Is the Cryptid Time Forgot.
Retrieved June 01, 2020, from
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evja34/the-missouri-monster-momo-is-the-cryptid-ti
me-forgot
This article gave a different approach to the classic tale. It gave an interview with a living
eye-witness account, but also gives comparison notes. It describes not only Momo in contrast to
the Mothman of West Virginia, but also compares the tales from the original sightings in the
1970s to more modern stories. It provides insight into the town of Louisiana, Missouri, where the
original outbreak ensued, and how they deal with it now. If I choose to set my story in the
modern day, it will allow me to use these details to my advantage in how I choose to describe the
town.

Castile, R. (2004). Momo Stalks the Midwest. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from
http://www.stateofhorror.com/momo.html
This source gave a brief overview of the history and description of the physical appearance of the
Momo. It also included information about different research activities related to Momo. But what
was most helpful, was the source’s stories about encounters with Momo. The article describes
eyewitness accounts from six different people, complete with details like the shape of the
creature, how it interacted with humans, how it walked, and it’s seemingly fearlessness. The
article will definitely allow me to relay a sincere and realistic story in my own writings.

Ecology. (2017, January 31). Retrieved June 03, 2020, from

https://biologydictionary.net/category/ecology/
This source gave me helpful vocabulary words for me to include in my story telling. Since it was
required to include twelve vocabulary words, I used mainly ecological terms that fit in well with
my story. Although some terms might seem out of place in the mind of an eleven year old, it still
gets the point across that I was hoping for.

Films, L. (2019, June 21). MOMO: The Missouri Monster trailer - video dailymotion. Retrieved
June 01, 2020, from https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7bmunv
This was about the closest thing I could get to watching the real movie about the Momo monster.
It introduced me to visuals that will allow me to write a realistic description of the monster. And
it also included real interviews with the people from the small town of Louisiana, Missouri.
Some of the interviews were interesting, especially one about a young girl who admitted to
planting hair and footprints in the dirt to trick the officers, which leads me to contemplation
about the existence of this animal.

Hall, J. (2004). The Cryptid Zoo: Momo. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from
http://www.newanimal.org/momo.htm
This gave a basic introduction to the Momo monster. It allowed me to get a sense of the history
of the creature as well as the fear that was brought about by it. The most important thing this
article did was differentiate the Momo monster from the Bigfoot monster. It gave details about
the physicality and nature of this monster in comparison to Bigfoot, and made it clear that this
aggressor was the more dangerous one, meaning writing a horror story about it would come easy.

Kerman, B. (2011, December 06). The Return of Momo the Monster. Retrieved June 01, 2020,
from https://www.stlmag.com/The-Return-of-Momo-the-Monster/
This article gave me most of the same stuff that the other articles did. It described the further
research that came out of the Momo and different stories surrounding the creature. But it also
introduced me to the low-budget film ​Momo: The Missouri Monster t​ hat was created out of these
stories. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the movie to watch it, but this article gave me a
rundown of the plot line and an interview with the producer. The movie is similar in sense to
what I’m trying to write, although it is about an Elvis inspired hunter so not exactly my plans-it’s
more comedic while I am attempting to write a horror genre.

KHQA Newsdesk. (2015, August 13). Beastly anniversary for local legend 'Momo the Monster'.
Retrieved June 01, 2020, from
https://khqa.com/news/local/beastly-anniversary-for-local-legend-momo-the-monster
It’s hard to find a lot of really good ‘reputable sources’ about the Momo monster. But this article,
although it didn’t really provide too much more information, other than what I had already read
about, it did provide links to other sources that were interesting to check out, which made it
useful. It gave me live interviews with real eyewitnesses and students made documentaries about
the search for Momo.
Matthew Ratkowski, Austin Myers, Brett Ellis, Nick Buenger, Tom-Sam Reel, Brian Reller
(2008, May 16). Momo Documentary. Retrieved June 01, 2020 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGn0LMvVt-A&feature=youtu.be
This was another really fascinating piece of evidence. It was a student made documentary from
Louisiana, Missouri that interviewed the townspeople. It revealed the monster was in fact ‘made
up’ and talked about how the creature became such a huge phenomenon and how it impacted,
and still impacts, the town. It was really interesting to watch, and definitely gave me a sense of
what the town was like and gave me more insight into the reality behind the monster.

Price-Williams, B. (2019, December 07). The Legend Behind This Mythical Creature In
Missouri Will Leave You Puzzled. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/missouri/legend-of-momo-mo/
This article reviews stories from outside the famous ones in Louisiana, Missouri. Which means
the sightings weren’t some made up tale to gain publicity for the creature. The article revealed
pictures and accounts of the monster from up and down the Missouri River, which gave me a
more designated area to write my story. It allowed to me understand the habitat and climate that
the creature lived in.

Reitenbach, A. (2018, December 26). Monsters in the Heartland: Big Muddy and Momo.
Retrieved June 01, 2020, from
http://www.heartlandweekend.com/monsters-in-the-heartland-big-muddy-momo/
This article was in relation to the “Big Muddy Monster” in Illinois. It compares the two creatures
and describes the difference between them, including physical descriptions and the nature of
their presence. The comparison allows me to further qualify the Momo in my story. It allows me
to be more descriptive with what it is and how it acts, and separate it from other stories of
monsters in the same areas.

Stage, W. (2020). The Missouri Momo. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from
http://www.bigfootencounters.com/creatures/momo.htm
This source was most helpful in giving a detailed recount of the physical description of the beast.
It gave the measurements, like height and weight, as well as a very vivid description of the
stench it carried. I was able to get a realistic picture of what the figure looked like. This was also
the first article to give a counterargument of what the creature could be. It describes the
possibility that the ‘hairy man’ could be a homeless man, or a ‘hippie’ running through the
forest.
Weiser-Alexander, K. (2020). Momo-The Missouri Monster. Retrieved from
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/momo-monster/
This article really gave me an idea for the history and physicality of the monster. It allowed me
to picture the monster in my head and really abled me to describe the monster in vivid detail. It
also provided background information that I needed to set the scene for the storyline, including
the habitat and nature of the animal.

West Budd, D. (2016, June 14). The Legend of Momo, the Missouri Monster. Retrieved from
https://y101radio.com/the-legend-of-momo-the-missouri-monster/
This article allowed me to envision the storyline. It provided new stories that I hadn’t read yet,
and also gave information about research that was done about the animal. It talked with
professional cryptologists and discussed their hesitations with the reality of the animal, but algo
gave insight into the truth behind stories, including information about the footprint and hair
collected that wasn’t previously open to the public.

Wilks, E. (2019, July 20). 1972: Mo Mo the Monster becomes the talk of the town. Retrieved
June 01, 2020, from
https://www.stltoday.com/news/archives/1972-mo-mo-the-monster-becomes-the-talk-of-t
he-town/article_ec718a48-3c97-5898-b6e0-f2516f579ad0.html
This was probably the most interesting article I read. It is a direct article from the newspaper
published in Missouri in 1972 when the Momo was first sighted. It describes the rumors
throughout the town, quotes from the witnesses, the reaction of the officials, and ideas about
what the Momo could actually be. This article will probably serve as the best piece of research
for my story, as it really takes me back to what was happening in the town during the sightings
and allows me to understand what the feeling among townspeople was during the summer of the
sightings.

Wood, G. (2019, September 20). The Facts, Fictions and Truth of Momo: The Missouri Monster.
Retrieved from
https://25yearsl
This article examined different stories and conspiracies surrounding the monster and put them to
rest. It gives a good summary of the movie that was also made about the Momo monster, and
really allowed me to see the Momo in a new light, meaning that I was able to come to a
conclusion about the ‘realness’ of the monster. You’ll have to read the story and see my
thoughts!

New citations:

Anderson, D. (2019, September 19). Hunters Search for a Deadly Creature in Exclusive Clip
 from MOMO: THE MISSOURI MONSTER. Retrieved from
https://dailydead.com/hunters-search-for-a-deadly-creature-in-exclusive-clip-from-momo
-the-missouri-monster/
This is the article/video that gave me the inspiration for the horror of the story. It really gave me
ideas of how to make it as gruesome as possible. It talked about the aggression that came from
the Momo monster and allowed me to see the possibilities of making the story more detailed and
vividly gross.

Ecology. (2017, January 31). Retrieved June 03, 2020, from

https://biologydictionary.net/category/ecology/
This source gave me helpful vocabulary words for me to include in my story telling. Since it was
required to include twelve vocabulary words, I used mainly ecological terms that fit in well with
my story. Although some terms might seem out of place in the mind of an eleven year old, it still
gets the point across that I was hoping for.

Weiser-Alexander, K. (2020). Momo-The Missouri Monster. Retrieved from

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/momo-monster/
This article really gave me an idea for the history and physicality of the monster. It allowed me
to picture the monster in my head and really abled me to describe the monster in vivid detail. It
also provided background information that I needed to set the scene for the storyline, including
the habitat and nature of the animal.

West Budd, D. (2016, June 14). The Legend of Momo, the Missouri Monster. Retrieved from
https://y101radio.com/the-legend-of-momo-the-missouri-monster/
This article allowed me to envision the storyline. It provided new stories that I hadn’t read yet,
and also gave information about research that was done about the animal. It talked with
professional cryptologists and discussed their hesitations with the reality of the animal, but algo
gave insight into the truth behind stories, including information about the footprint and hair
collected that wasn’t previously open to the public.

Wood, G. (2019, September 20). The Facts, Fictions and Truth of Momo: The Missouri Monster.
Retrieved from
https://25yearslatersite.com/2019/09/20/the-facts-fictions-and-truth-of-momo-the-missou
ri-monster/
This article examined different stories and conspiracies surrounding the monster and put them to
rest. It gives a good summary of the movie that was also made about the Momo monster, and
really allowed me to see the Momo in a new light, meaning that I was able to come to a
conclusion about the ‘realness’ of the monster. You’ll have to read the story and see my
thoughts!