10 monsters you'll only find in New Orleans

[fleur-de-lisa]

http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2017/10/caution_new_orleans_monsters.html#incart_river_home_pop

The Ugly Monster: In the 1950s Godzilla began a never-ending campaign to destroy Tokyo. In the 1970s the LAS siding company’s advertising campaign unleashed the Ugly Monster, a spider-like creature bent on gnawing New Orleans into sawdust one clapboard at a time. The Ugly Monster appeared in a series of charmingly low-rent TV commercials.

Loup Garu: The world has its werewolves, but we have the Loup Garu. Over the years the Loup Garu has discovered that preying on innocent City Park pedestrians is too much trouble. These days he just orders the steak-frites at Cafe Degas ... very rare, of course.

Lord Belial: Satan has tempted and tormented humankind from the beginning. Lord Belial, the head devil at the House of Shock Halloween attraction, has been trying to stamp out goodness in Jefferson Parish during October for three decades. But goodness keeps bouncing back like crabgrass and cockroaches.

Honey Island Swamp Monster: Other wildernesses have Big Foot, Louisiana has the Honey Island Swamp Monster, which is what you call a hominid cryptid (but not to his face). Considering the decline of coastal wetlands, the Honey Island Swamp Monster is considering moving to Gentilly, or Mid-City, or someplace else that floods regularly.

French Quarter Ghost: Ghosts occur across the globe, of course. But there’s no place as crowded with wandering spirits as the French Quarter, where ghosts are as thick as the pigeons in Jackson Square. When an Uber driver stops for no apparent reason in the middle of Burgundy Street, he was probably braking for a ghost. Those people you thought were covered in powdered sugar at Café Du Monde are really ghosts. In the French Quarter, ghosts are like Amazon.com; they’re a growth industry.

The Vampire Lestat: The world has Dracula, but we have Lestat. During the 1980s, Anne Rice’s alluring undead hero caused a generation of wistful fans to wander the streets at night, hoping to feel the sting of those seductive fangs.

The Tulane Mummies: The world had Boris Karloff wrapped in gauze. But Tulane University has two real ancient Egyptian mummies in a special storage room. Some say the mummies slip out at night for a couple of beers at Snake and Jake's ... where they go completely unnoticed.

Morgus the Magnificent: The world has Dr. Frankenstein, but we have our own mad scientist: Morgus. Mary Shelley’s novel was an example of Gothic literature that focused society’s anxieties over the burgeoning scientific age. The Morgus television vignettes were unburdened by any such pretensions ... that's why we love him so.

The Axeman: London had its Jack the Ripper and 100 years ago New Orleans had its Axeman, a grisly serial killer who remains unidentified to this day. To make matters weirder, the Axeman pledged to have mercy on possible victims, if they were listening to that new-fangled jazz music. No lie.

Here’s part of a letter from the murderer to the newspaper: “I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing.”

Zombie: We had 'em way before they were fashionable. - I guess this refers to the alcholic beverage? Or maybe the drunks wandering the Quarter at 3:00 am?

[geardaddy]

1. Cool! Thanks for sharing!

[Solly Mack]

2. Sweet

[TexasProgresive]

3. Back in the 50s Morgus the Magnificent was our weather monster.

He had a skull with the top removed. In it was a sponge that he would check the humidity. He would check his weather vein. That's all I remember, but it made the weather report interesting and funny to kids. Good to know Morgus is still haunting the Crescent City.

[TexasProgresive]

4. Axeman

I recently read The Axeman's Jazz by Julie Smith. It was a lot of fun. A serial killer was portraying him/herself as the Axeman returned.