SOBRE ESTE EPISÓDIO
THE NEW MONSTERS: THE LOVELAND FROGMAN
Episode Three: The Monster Loveland Kept
By the summer of 2016, hunting monsters had changed. Armed with smartphones and Pokémon Go, two teenagers wandered near Ohio's Little Miami River and reportedly encountered something that wasn't supposed to be part of the game. Their footage was ambiguous, but the name attached to it was unmistakable: the Loveland Frogman.
The alleged sighting resurrected a legend stretching back decades—mysterious humanoid figures beside an Ohio road in 1955, police encounters in 1972, and the wonderfully bizarre story of a frog-like creature carrying a wand that produced sparks. But the renewed attention also brought former Loveland police officer Mark Mathews back into the story. Mathews had encountered and shot the animal associated with the legend in 1972, and his explanation was considerably less supernatural: according to him, it was a large, tailless iguana, probably an escaped or abandoned exotic pet.
That should have killed the legend.
Instead, Loveland kept the Frogman.
In the conclusion of our three-part investigation, we explore what happens when a monster outlives the eyewitnesses who created it. From the arrival of the internet and the 2016 Pokémon Go encounter to the transformation of regional cryptids into hometown mascots, merchandise and cultural identities, the Frogman reveals something important about the way modern folklore survives. Evidence may weaken a legend, but once enough people inherit the story, evidence isn't the only thing keeping it alive.
We also bring The New Monsters full circle, from alligators beneath Manhattan and the Bunny Man of Northern Virginia to the strange amphibious resident of the Little Miami River. Cameras, smartphones and instant communication were supposed to make monsters obsolete. Instead, technology gave folklore a distribution system.
Maybe the Loveland Frogman really was an iguana.
If so, the iguana lost.
The monster survived.
LISTEN, FOLLOW & REVIEW
Listen to The Devil Within wherever you get your podcasts, and make sure you're following the show so you never miss a new episode. If you enjoy the series, please leave us a five-star rating and review—it remains one of the best ways to help new listeners discover the show.
WATCH & SUBSCRIBE
Watch The Devil Within and more from the Evio Creative network on the Evio Creative YouTube channel. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you know whenever a new episode drops.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Follow @thedevilwithinpod for clips, stories, archival material and more from The Devil Within.
Have a strange story, unexplained encounter, case or legend you think we should investigate? Send it to info@eviocreative.com.
The Devil Within is written and hosted by Branden Morgan and produced by Evio Creative.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
