In the 1960s in a small Southern town, high school student Clay Jennings Desmond and his friend were “out frogging at the sandpits” when Clay decided to scare his pal. The Creature from the Sandpits was born, its reputation spread across the land. Sixty years later, the monster still lives in the heart, minds, and nightmares of the locals. From Narratively:
As a small group gathered around my car, I said in a loud, quavering voice, “We were out frogging at the sandpits and we kept hearing something stalking us.” The equally soaked Scottie, now quieter and calmer in these safer environs, picked up the story as though we had rehearsed it.
Pointing at me, he said: “He heard something big in the bush while we were frog hunting. It sounded really big. I mean, like huge. When he turned his five-cell flashlight on it, oh my God!” He let out a theatrical gasp, his hand going to his throat. Limitations aside, he was a masterful performer with an audience.
I picked up the improv tale. “When I heard a stick snap, I knew it had to be something pretty large, real near us. I focused the light in that direction and saw this thing.”
“What thing?” asked the chorus of boys and girls outside the car. Our group of rapt listeners was quickly growing.
Scottie added inspired embellishments. “It was about seven feet tall,” he said with elaborate hand gestures, “had the face of a man, but covered with fur. It had big reddish eyes. It growled and snapped its fangs at us.”
“The Teenage Prank That’s Lasted 60 Years” (Narratively)