Encounter Atlas

Creature index / Dogmen and beasts

Ozark Howler

Also called Ozark Black Howler, Howler, Ozark Mountain Howler

A bear-sized, horned black cat with a howl that shakes the hollows.

The Ozark Howler is a large, dark, shaggy animal said to roam the hills of the Ozarks. Descriptions vary: some say it is bear-shaped, others say it is cat-like with horns on its head, and almost all mention glowing eyes and a terrible howl that mixes a wolf's call with a laugh or an elk's bugle.

In 2014 an emergency call to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission reported a bear-sized, grey, fast-running animal on a road near Springdale. A year later a TV station received photos claimed to show the Howler, which the commission dismissed as fake.

What witnesses report

  • A deep, eerie howl or laughing call
  • Glowing red or yellow eyes
  • Shaggy black or grey fur
  • Horns or tufted ears on the head

Famous cases

  1. 2014Wildlife emergency call near Springdale
    Benton County, Arkansas
  2. 2015Photo hoax sent to TV station
    Arkansas

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Related

Wampus cataka Wampus, Whistling wampusAn Appalachian monster cat with glowing eyes, sometimes said to have six legs.Hodagaka Rhinelander Hodag, Hodag of WisconsinWisconsin's grinning, horned, spiny-backed beast of the logging camps.Fouke Monsteraka Boggy Creek Monster, Southern SasquatchThe hairy creature of Boggy Creek, Arkansas, made famous by a 1972 drive-in hit.