Saturday, October 30, 2004

FAMOUS SNAPPERS

Man's history is rife with legends. Many center around mysterious creatures that reside in the depths. Apart from the myriad legends of sea monsters, there abound the legends of lake monsters. None is more frightening than that of the giant snapping turtle. American lore and legend is rich with stories of these overgrown killing machines.

One such legend is of Oscar, THE BEAST OF BUSCO. Oscar terrorized a small Indiana town in 1949. A massive hunt for the giant snapper turned up nothing. Oscar was presumed dead or to have moved from the area. His memory is still celebrated with an annual festival. Below is the town's logo.



The legend of OLD BOB haunted Laguna Lake in Fullerton, California for over fifty years. Old Bob proved to be more than a legend when he turned up in maintenance workers nets. The capture of the legendary giant alligator snapping turtle gained national attention. Below is a photo of Bob trapped in his captors' net.



A lesser known legend is of a beast from the hills of Tennessee. Simply known as SNAPPER, this viscous, possibly mutated, snapping turtle is thought to have claimed several lives. Whenever someone goes missing in or around Ulanawa Lake, it is chalked up to SNAPPER. The creature has never been captured, but many have claimed to have seen it. Several fishermen even claim to have reeled Snapper in, only to cut the line out of sheer terror! Below is the only known photograph of the creature, peering out from under a rocky lake bank. The photo was developed from film in a blood encrusted camera found by the lakeshore. It was the last shot taken.



This Halloween will mark the release of the first 'film' to pay homage to the Beast of Ulanawa Lake. The Z-Grade, no budget, truly independent SNAPPER DVD is loosely based on the creature's final rampage and an eyewitness account of its supposed demise. The DVD contains two short features - SNAPPER and SNAPPER REVENGE. It also contains a special bonus feature - SNAPPER IN THE RAW, an unedited look at the footage that became SNAPPER.

If the eyewitness account is true, then SNAPPER met his end in a brother's act of revenge. If not, then the signs posted at Ulanawa Lake still merit their warning of BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU FISH FOR.

The SNAPPER DVD will be available through this site starting October 31st, 2004. It will be available for purchase via PayPal.