The Ozark Howler: Missouri’s Other Monster

Something stalks unsuspecting campers in the Ozark Mountains. Its screech can frighten people to death or curse them. Read more about the Ozark Howler after the jump.

Ozark Howler Description

Descriptions have changed over the years. At first, the Howler has been described like a grizzly bear. Descriptions from 21st century describe a monster more like a giant bobcat with horns. In the 1950s, a series of encounters with a goat-like creature with a bear-wolf face made news. No one has captured the beast on film, at least, a credible photo or video to say for sure.

Today, it’s described as “A cat-like, dark-furred night-stalker with a signature shriek; reports vary from ‘big cat’ to ‘horned devil-cat.’”

Here are its characteristics:

• Stands between 3-feet and 6-feet at the shoulder
• Heavy-set belly
• Stocky legs
• Glowing red eyes
• Razor-sharp claws
• Large, lion-sized teeth
• Dog-like snout
• Cat-like movement and agility
• Thick, black or dark gray fur
• Long tail with fluffy tip
• Ram-like horns (not consistently reported)
• Shrieking howl

The most obvious characteristic is the cryptid’s howl, which sounds more like a shriek. It’s described as a cross between a wolf howl and an elk bugle (listen in Evidence section).

Habitat + Range

If the Ozark Howler is a flesh-and-blood predator, the Ozarks are almost custom-built to hide it. You’ve got big stretches of oak-hickory forest, mixed in places with pine, plus lots of broken terrain where you can vanish fast. Ridgetops, steep hollows, and rough side slopes create natural “rooms” of cover, and it only takes a few steps off-trail to disappear into timber and shadow.

The other piece is the Ozarks’ karst landscape. This region is packed with caves, sinkholes, springs, and underground drainage. In Ozark National Scenic Riverways alone, the National Park Service notes 300+ caves inside park boundaries. That matters for a case file because caves and rock shelters are the kind of den sites that stay cool, stay hidden, and are hard to casually “prove” from a distance. Even if the Howler never lives deep underground, the edges of karst country offer plenty of pockets for bedding, retreat routes, and places to stash from humans and dogs.

Then there are the open, rocky glades and “barrens” that show up on thin soils across parts of the plateau. Those openings create travel corridors and vantage points between thicker forest blocks. If you wanted to build a realistic habitat model for the Howler, you could frame it as a creature that hunts the forested hollows and creek bottoms at night, then beds close to rock, cedar breaks, or cave-adjacent terrain during the day. That also helps explain why people hear it more than they see it, since sound can spill out of a hollow while the animal stays tucked into cover.

Howler Evidence

Howler Shriek Synthesized File

For the audio file (above), I used an elk bugle and wolf howl to generate an approximation of the Howler’s shriek. As for visual evidence …

Evidence is sparse. An image taken on trail cam shows what could be a cougar. Some footprints have been reported on Travel Channel TV shows, but they turned out to be bobcat prints. Then, there’s the shriek captured as the most common evidence.

In this video, a family’s trail cam caught what they claim is the Ozark Howler, but scientists say it looks more like a cougar (mountain lion).

Howler Sightings + Encounters

Early American explorer, Daniel Boone, might have referenced to a strange beast in 1810. Local lore says Boone shot and killed one in 1816, but that’s likely an urban legend.

Every year, a witness comes forward about an encounter with the creature. It wasn’t until the 1950s that record keeping started in earnest. There are been hundreds of Howler encounters reported since 1810. 2015 appears to be the most active year in the last decade. Also, the monster only appears at night, so there’s likely a high degree of misidentifications.

Date	Place	Evidence type	What we have	Credibility	Notes
Pre-1900s (folklore baseline)	Ozarks (AR/MO/OK)	Folklore	Long-running “ghosts & monsters” tradition; Howler descriptions vary widely.	Folklore	Use as background, not “evidence.”
1990s	Online forums	Hoax / amplification claim	Post notes a hoax surfaced in the 1990s; “University of Arkansas student planted reports.”	Medium (needs a strong primary cite)
2005–2010	Boston Mountains, Crawford County, AR	Trail-cam images	Family set trail cams; images shared with Fort Smith TV “appeared to show a big cat similar to a cougar.”	Medium	Strong “big cat present” energy, weak “Howler confirmed.”
May 2011	Newton County, AR	Sighting report	Listed as a “recent sighting/encounter.”	Unknown
Oct 2014	Pump Station Road, Benton County, AR	Sighting report	Listed as a “recent sighting/encounter.”	Unknown
Sept 2015	Lake of the Ozarks, MO	Sighting report	Listed as a “recent sighting/encounter.”	Unknown
Dec 2015	Devil’s Den State Park (Yellow Rock Trail), AR	Photos (contested)	Viewer-submitted photos; Arkansas Game & Fish said no documented Howler sightings in their area; station expressed doubt.	Low–Medium
(No date given)	(Unspecified)	Tracks (Expedition X)	Post says footprints were reported on Travel Channel shows but turned out to be bobcat prints.	Low	Good “debunk”
(No date given)	(Unspecified)	Audio	Post says the shriek is the most common evidence.	Medium
July 2018	Rollo, MO	Sighting report	Listed as a “recent sighting/encounter.”	Unknown
July 2020	Ginger Blue, MO	Sighting report	Listed as a “recent sighting/encounter.”	Unknown
Dec 2022	Falcon, MO	Sighting report	Listed as a “recent sighting/encounter.”	Unknown

Possible Misidentifications With Animals

Biologists tend to believe the Ozark Howler has a natural explanation. It could be any of the following animals found in the Ozarks:

1. Cougar (though rare, cougars have been seen in the Ozarks)
2. Bobcat (a more likely explanation. Bobcats can produce a black variation)
3. Black bear (a common predator in the Ozarks)
4. Red wolf (a small wolf that’s easily confused with a coyote. Not seen in the Ozarks in decades, but it may have returned)

Now, none of these animals has a shriek quite like the Howler. A hoax surfaced in the 1990s during the chupacabra craze, and it appears parts of the Howler story had been amplified online by many different aliases.

What Should You Do If You Encounter An Ozark Howler

This beast seems more shy than anything. No one has been injured or killed by the beast. I don’t think you have much to worry about. If you do encounter one, then this may be a chance for more research. Grab your phone and record its movement and howl. Don’t pursue it into the woods. You’re more likely to hurt yourself than the monster.

To capture evidence, use this equipment:

1. Audio recorder (sound evidence will help identify the source)
2. Low-light or infrared camcorder (to see in the dark)
3. Thermal camera (at night, the Howler’s heat signature will help you track it)
4. Yard stick (or something similar to measure its scale if caught on camera)
5. Trail cams (set up a grid along a known Howler path. Make sure it has infrared for night pics)
6. Log book (to record locations, weather conditions, date and time)

Sources

Editors (Nov. 19, 2022 – last update). Ozark Howler, Wikipedia.org, retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozark_Howler

Editors (Jan. 8, 2023 – access date). Ozark Howler, Cryptid Wiki, retrieved from: https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Ozark_Howler

Editors (Jan. 8, 2023 – access date). Do you believe in the Ozark Howler?, Unlock The Ozarks, retrieved from: https://www.unlocktheozarks.org/stories/folklore-legends-and-myths/ozark-howler/

Dale Cox (July 17, 2017). The Ozark Howler, ExploreSouthernHistory.com, retrieved from: https://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ozarkhowler.html

Discovery+ (May 1, 2022). The Ozark Howler, Expedition X (TV Show), Season 5 Episode 2, retrieved from: https://www.discovery.com/shows/expedition-x/3/the-ozark-howler

Wes Johnson (Dec. 15, 2015). Do you believe in the Ozark Howler?, Springfield News-Leader (Springfield, MO), retrieved from: https://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/outdoors/2015/12/15/johnson-do-you-believe-ozark-howler/77357078/

Travel Channel (May 29, 2019). The Ozark Howler, In Search Of Monsters (TV Series), Season 1 Episode 7, retrieved from: https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/in-search-of-monsters

Darcie Nadel (July 31, 2022). The Ozark Howler: Actual Cryptid or Elaborate Hoax?, Exemplore.com, retrieved from: https://exemplore.com/cryptids/The-Ozark-Howler-Mythical-Beast-or-Elaborate-Hoax

The Speakeasy (August 16, 2019). The Ozark Howler, The Speakeasy YouTube Channel, retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al_lCbTOqDw

Jeff (Nov. 17, 2022). Cryptid Casefile: The Ozark Howler, Strangeology.com, retrieved from: https://www.strangeology.com/post/cryptid-casefile-the-ozark-howler

Jason Offut (March 2019). Chasing American Monsters, Llewellyn Publishing.

J.W. Ocker (October 2022). The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters, Quirk Books.

Journey To The Other Side (Jan. 2, 2021). The Ozark Howler, Journey To The Other Side YouTube Channel, retrieved from: https://youtu.be/IWtW1Sa3IvA?t=85

New Era Mysteries & Conspiracies (Jan. 21, 2012). Legends of the Ozarks, Travel Channel Documentary, retrieved from: https://youtu.be/7MjdgJA3dQg?t=1605

Jordan Heath (June 28, 2022). The Ozark Howler, Paranormality Magazine, retrieved from: https://paranormalitymag.com/the-ozark-howler/

Jennifer Jacobs (Aug. 27, 2018). Entry #015: Ozark Howler, LittleGiantMonsters.com, retrieved from: https://www.littlegiantmonsters.com/mias-field-notes/2018/8/27/entry-015-ozark-howler

Michael A. Baird sculpture (first image in slideshow) – artist rendition, no date.

Staff writer (2019). Ozark Howler, Endangered Wolf Center, retrieved from: https://www.endangeredwolfcenter.org/ozarkhowler/