Mogollon Monster: Arizona’s Wild Man of the Rocks Hunt Continues

Arizona’s Mogollon Rim is a place of rugged beauty, including but not limited to towering cliffs, dense forests, and endless trails for those brave enough to explore them. But among the pines, something else may be lurking. For over a century, whispers of a towering, hair-covered beast have echoed through the canyons. Some call it a myth, others claim to have seen it with their own eyes. But one thing’s for sure, the Mogollon Monster isn’t a story that fades quietly into the trees.

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Ingvald Walter “I.W.” Stevens’ Love for Nature 

Ingvald Walter Stevens, or I.W. for short, was no stranger to the great outdoors. Spending hours upon hours in the wilderness, observing wildlife in their natural habitat, had always been one of his favorite pastimes.

In fact, I.W. would later purchase a 400-acre island in 1932 in what is now known as Stevens Island in Voyageurs National Park. Spending his days out in nature was where he found the greatest solitude, much preferring it over spending time in the city.

So, of course, he was well accustomed to and greatly respected wildlife. However, no matter his reverence for nature, nothing could have prepared him for the seemingly unnatural creature he laid eyes on in 1901. According to I.W., he would later recount this wild sight as “the strangest adventure of his life.”

Exploring the Grand Canyon

One day, while having business matters to take care of in the northwestern part of Arizona, I.W. found himself at the lower end of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River. While there, he decided to explore a bit of the Canyon. After a few days of settling in, he hopped aboard his skiff and rowed as far as the water would take him. After hauling his boat on the sandy shore, he walked along the rock walls. 

At first, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. However, upon further investigation, I.W. noticed the imprint of bare feet in the sand. Thinking he had been the only person in the area, he decided to walk down the stream to see if he could see who else was out exploring. There, he found a few more tracks, but still no sign of any human being. 

Not thinking too much of it, I.W. decided to camp in the area for the next few days. However, what I.W. found on the third day in the Grand Canyon was unlike anything he had ever seen or heard. 

On the third day, I.W. noticed the head of a man sitting on what looked like the edge of the cliff above his campsite. Curious at the look of him, I.W. got in his boat and began to row closer to where this man was sitting. Eventually, I.W. started climbing up the rocks to reach the top of the cliff. But as he slowly approached the strange-looking man, about fifty yards away, I.W. was intrigued by his strange features. 

According to I.W., the man had “long white hair and a matted beard that reached to his knees… He wore no clothing, and upon his talon-like fingers were claws at least two inches long. A coat of gray hair nearly covered his body, with here and there a spot of dirty skin showing.” He thought, “I have found the wild man of the rocks.” 

Grand Canyon Wild Man 

But I.W. didn’t know that both he and the strange-looking man across from him were not alone. Just as he had gotten a good look at the person before him, a rather large animal on the prowl had loosened a rock that began rolling down the cliff. As the rock started tumbling down, I.W. and the strange man immediately locked eyes. It was there that I.W. really noticed his facial features. 

As I.W. would later describe the encounter, “Horrors! What a face- it was seared and burned brown by the sun, with fiery green eyes. With a wild whoop and a leap, he was up over rocks and cliffs like a mountain sheep for about 75 yards. Then, he stopped. He was armed with a queer-shaped club, large enough to fell an ox. Brandishing the bludgeon, he shrieked and chattered for a moment, then started toward me, roaring and still flourishing his weapon.”

However, I.W. shared that “when the creature was within about 15 yards ahead of him, he raised his rifle to fire, thinking to cripple the man. But as he glanced along the barrel, he heard a growl above them and braced himself for the shock.”

That’s when he realized he and the man before him had been hunted down by a mother cougar. Without a second thought, he aimed his gun at the cougar and pressed the trigger. When the smoke cleared, he noticed the cougar lying exactly where the wild man had initially stood. However, the strange man was nowhere in sight. 

After all this commotion, I.W. ran back down to his boat and quickly fled the area. As he shoved the boat off and drifted toward camp, he looked back and noticed the wild man hovering over the slain cougar and her cubs. 

But what followed stayed with I.W. forever. In a scene so bizarre and feral, he would later share, the man “stood a moment gazing on the carcasses, then got down on hands and knees and drank the warm blood as it flowed from the death wounds. The sight sickened me.”

There, I.W. stood up in his boat and yelled. As the figure sprang to his feet, he took a long look at him and fled from the ledge, grabbing his club and screaming the wildest, most unearthly scream he had ever heard. Then he turned and sprang up the craggy wall of the Canyon. 

When asked what he thought of the being and the strange situation, I.W. later stated, “Tradition records that years ago, hostile Indians captured three men, bound them to logs far up the Canyon, and cast them adrift upon the swollen river. It may be that this wild creature is one of those unfortunate men who, by chance, freed himself and escaped death but was made insane by his awful experience.”

Arizona Pioneer, Sam Spade

For over a century, hikers, campers, and locals alike have continued to report sightings of a massive, hair-covered beast roaming the Mogollon Rim—a rugged, pine-covered mountain range stretching across Arizona. While it’s known by many a name, most call it the Mogollon Monster. 

What’s more, this early 1900s encounter may not even be the first one. While I.W. Stevens’ account remains one of the most bizarre and well-documented, whispers of a hair-covered wild man in Arizona’s backcountry date several years before. 

Legend has it that Sam Spade had his own chilling encounter with what many believe to be the same creature.

A well-respected pioneer, Sam Spade had spent years exploring the untamed wilderness of Arizona. But in the late 1800s, while traveling along the remote trails of the Mogollon Rim, he experienced something that would shake him to his core.

According to Spade, he had been riding his horse through a densely wooded canyon when he noticed something unusual—a prominent figure crouched near a creek, seemingly drinking from the water. At first, he thought it might be a bear. But as he got closer, his gut told him something wasn’t right.

The creature was too tall, too human-like. It had long, matted hair covering its body, and when it turned its head to look at him, Spade was met with a pair of piercing, unnatural red eyes.

Then—before he could react—it stood up to its full height, towering over him at nearly eight feet tall.

Spade described the moment as pure terror. The creature let out a low, guttural growl, sending his horse into a panic. Without hesitation, he yanked the reins, turned his horse around, and bolted in the opposite direction.

He swore that as he fled, he could hear heavy footsteps pounding behind him, keeping pace with his horse for several yards before suddenly stopping. When he finally worked up the courage to glance back, the creature was gone, swallowed by the trees.

Calling a Spade a Spade

As with many cryptid tales, though, the details of this story shift depending on who tells it. Some sources refer to this early Arizona pioneer as Sam Spade, while others call him William or Bill Spade. Now, I can see where Bill derives from William, as it’s a common nickname, but if these names weren’t confusing enough, the stories themselves take on different variations depending on the source.

That’s the thing about cryptid lore—sometimes, a story is repeated so many times that it transforms, picking up new details, embellishments, and even entirely new characters along the way. Whether these stories are passed down through firsthand accounts, historical documents, or just good old-fashioned campfire tales, the validity of the claims often depends on where you’re getting them.

While researching the Mogollon Monster, I found an article on Wikipedia that spins the story into something even darker.

According to this version, Sam Spade was building a log cabin on land near what is now Camp Geronimo in northern Arizona when the creature attacked him.

But the terror didn’t stop there.

Years later, Spade’s son, Bill Spade, and his soon-to-be wife allegedly met a tragic fate at the hands of the monster, killed on their wedding day.

It’s the kind of story that sounds like something straight out of a horror film—a monstrous entity lurking in the Arizona wilderness, watching, waiting, and striking at just the right moment. 

So, what do we make of this story? Are these legends woven from truth, or is this just another case of a tale growing taller with time? Sure, we can check our sources. Of course, many people question the validity of Wikipedia sources, as anyone can edit them in real time. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some form of truth hidden within the text. 

One thing is for sure, though: the Mogollon Monster’s legend didn’t die with the Spades or Stevens. If these encounters aren’t enough to make you think twice about venturing into Arizona’s backcountry, a few Boy Scout legends just might.

Boy Scouts Legends of the Mogollon Monster

For decades, campers at Camp Geronimo have swapped stories about strange sightings, eerie noises, and unexplained encounters in the Mogollon wilderness.

According to a popular version of the story told by Boy Scouts, legend has it that a Native American chief underwent a magic ritual to grant himself heightened strength and fighting abilities. His sole purpose? Revenge. A rival warrior had overthrown him, taking control of the tribe—and worse, stealing his wife.

But the ritual didn’t go as planned.

Instead of gaining the power to reclaim his tribe, the chief was cursed, his very body twisting and changing until he became a monstrous beast, mindless with fury. And in a final act of uncontrollable rage, he massacred his entire tribe. Some say his spirit never left the land, that his rage still lingers in the forests near Camp Geronimo. 

If that location sounds familiar, it should. It’s the very same area where William Spade was said to have settled years later. And if local legends are to be believed, it wasn’t long before he, too, encountered the beast.

And the land that Spade supposedly claimed all those years ago? Today, it’s Spade Ranch, now part of Camp Geronimo, where Boy Scouts continue to tell these stories, year after year.

Boy Scout Turned Cryptozoologist

But this isn’t the only Boy Scout legend surrounding the Mogollon Monster. One of the most well-known encounters comes from the late Don Davis, a former Scout whose experience eventually led him into the world of cryptozoology.

In the mid-1940s, during a Boy Scout camping trip near Payson, Arizona, Don Davis, just 13 years old at the time, had a terrifying brush with something he would never forget.

Late one night, he was awakened by rustling noises moving through the campsite. At first, he assumed it was just another Scout until he noticed a massive, looming figure standing over his sleeping bag.

Frozen with fear, Davis got his first good look at the creature. In his words: “The creature was huge. Its eyes were deep set and hard to see, but they seemed expressionless. His face seemed pretty much devoid of hair, but there seemed to be hair along the sides of his face. His chest, shoulders, and arms were massive, especially the upper arms, easily upwards of 6 inches in diameter, perhaps much, much more. I could see he was pretty hairy, but didn’t observe really how thick the body hair was. The face and head were very square, with square sides and squared-up chin, like a box.”

Too afraid to move, Don yanked his sleeping bag over his head and lay there, heart pounding, until the presence eventually retreated into the forest.

That moment changed everything for Davis. 

This terrifying childhood encounter eventually led him to become a lifelong researcher and Cryptozoologist. 

But if Davis’s sighting proved anything, it’s that the Mogollon Monster isn’t just some old frontier myth. Reports didn’t stop with pioneers, Boy Scouts, or mid-century explorers. 

In fact, some of the most unnerving encounters have happened in recent years, proving that whatever lurks in the Arizona wilderness never truly disappeared. One such encounter occurred in 2014 when a 28-year-old lone female hiker on the Canyon Point Trail came face to face with something she could never explain.

Modern-Day Mogollon Monster Encounter 

It was late afternoon when she stopped near a creek to rest after a long day’s hike. That’s when she saw something strange. Not too far ahead, kneeling at the water’s edge, she noticed a large, humanoid figure. At first, she thought it was just a forest animal, with its long, dark hair covering its body.

But while reaching into her bag for her camera, the creature stopped drinking and looked in her direction. Locking eyes with the best, her breath caught in her throat.

At first, she was frightened by the creature’s looks, as its face was unlike anything she had ever seen. Later, she described it as a “troll-looking creature” with its body “covered in long hair and a bald face with a thick nose, small lips, and deep-set reddish-brown eyes.” 

When she tried to shoo it off by waving her arm, the creature rose to its full height on its hind legs, broke into a run, and bolted toward the Canyon.

Of course, she was shaken by what she had just witnessed. But as it disappeared into the Canyon, she, too, hurried back to the safety of her car. Although she never got the chance to take a photo, the creature’s image was forever burned into her memory.

Later, she attempted to find logical explanations for the strange creature. 

Had it been a spooked black bear? A trick of the light from the scorching Arizona sun? Or maybe, just maybe, it was something that wasn’t supposed to be there at all.

No matter how many possibilities she considered, though, none of them quite fit. Because whatever she saw that day seemed to be watching her, too.

Is the Mogollon Monster Fact, Folklore, or Fraud? 

So, where does the Mogollon Monster fall on a scale of Fact, Folklore, or Fraud? 

Fraud – 5% 

I’ll admit—I always have a bit of skepticism. It’s just how my brain works. 

While I couldn’t find any well-known hoaxes tied to the Mogollon Monster, I can’t ignore the possibility of exaggeration. 

Sometimes, a strange shadow, an odd noise, or even a hungry, upright-standing black bear can set our imaginations running wild. And let’s be honest; if you’re alone in the Arizona wilderness and see something move you weren’t expecting, your mind often fills in the blanks. 

That said, I also don’t believe this legend was necessarily created with deception in mind, so I don’t rate it very high on the fraud scale. 

For Folklore – 40%

The Boy Scout legends alone push this one deep into folklore territory. Spooky campfire tales are practically a rite of passage, and stories about monsters lurking in the woods? Even better. Which reminds me of another similar story from the Boy Scouts. 

In Florida, Boy Scouts have reported sightings of the Skunk Ape, a hairy creature said to lurk in the Everglades. Like the Mogollon Monster, the Skunk Ape has long been part of campfire stories, passed down through generations of Scouts who claim to have seen something they can’t quite explain. Both are similar bigfoot-type creatures lurking about from different ends of the United States, which, in my opinion, are some of the best types of folklore stories. 

Which leads to Fact – 55%

This is where I lean the most. I’ve been to Arizona—I’ve seen the Grand Canyon. I’ve hiked through the red rock landscapes of Sedona. And I know firsthand just how vast, rugged, and untouched parts of the desert truly are. If something strange were lurking out there, it wouldn’t be hard for it to remain undetected.

Here’s the thing: its sightings aren’t just a thing of the past. From pioneers in the early 1900s to Boy Scout troops to hikers in recent years, people have continued to report encounters with something they can’t explain. Are they all mistaken? Maybe. 

But with so many reports spanning decades, locations, and witnesses, it makes you wonder: Could the Mogollon Monster be a yet-undiscovered type of Bigfoot, an ancient “man of the rocks” with some truth behind it, or something else entirely?

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