The Legend of the Missouri Beast Known as the Ozark Howler
This is a Missouri legend that dates back over 200 years. It's a beast known as the Ozark Howler and the stories that locals tell vary but all point to something dark and loud hiding in the Missouri Ozarks.
It's hard to pin down when the beginning of the Ozark Howler urban legend began. The first stories date back to 1811 and 1812. Unlock the Ozarks verifies this is a beast that has been passed down through many Missouri generations. They say that the howler has been described as having the size of a bear, but with antlers and a howl that sounds like a combination of a wolf howl and elk bugle. Oh, and it's loud. Very very loud.
When you hear someone pass along the version of the Ozark Howler they were told by their father or grandfather, you'll hear a common theme. This person was told about a presence in the woods where you always felt like you were being watched. They claim that when the howler screams all other wildlife suddenly becomes quiet so that's the only sound you hear.
This tale was told on a Reddit thread many years ago with details of what they experienced:
I bent over and began walking through the cedars and my mind said, 'there it is, turn around'. I looked left, to the east and near a thick patch cedars was a freshly killed deer. The thing behind it was huge and black. Crouched on all fours like some kind of big cat, but with big yellow eyes, bigger than I've ever seen, and a thick shaggy mane that flowed from just behind its head to the middle of its back. It wasn't lion, or cougar, or bear.
Unlock the Ozarks shared that the Ozark Howler is also known by the names Devil Cat and Black Howler in reports made between 2005 and 2010.
Over the years, some have tried to fake pictures of the beast, but that doesn't make the stories any less real especially for those that have heard the screams of the Ozark Howler.