Week 2 Storytelling: The Man-Eaters of Lake Thunderbird

(Rakshasi from warriorsofmyth.wikia.com)

"Beware ye who dare fish here at night, for there be..." he began before he was interrupted.

"PaPa, why do you always talk funny when you tell a story," his grandson questioned in between bites of an overly toasted marshmallow.

"Because it's my story. Now shush and listen," the grandfather said. "Now as I was saying, beware ye who fish here after dark for there be man-eaters in these depths." 

The campfire crackled as the grandfather began his tale. 

Do you know why noodling after dark in this part of the lake is dangerous? No, no it's not because you might run into an ill-tempered water moccasin or snappin' turtles. It's because of the man-eaters. Now, man-eaters aren't big flatheads, they're creatures that look like us. They look like men and women but they aren't. Listen to me, if you see a face lurking in the shadows and they ask you for help. You run. They are not human. They lurk in the murky shallows waiting for noodlers like you and me. They'll ask you for help or directions. But, listen to me boy, do not answer just run. It happened to your Uncle Billy way before you were born. Your daddy won't talk about it to this day. 

One night they were out camping by the lake just like we are tonight. Your daddy, Uncle Billy, and their buddies. They were older than you are now, teenagers. Drinking warm Miller Lite and chunking their empty cans into the water. Now your daddy didn't like cluttering up the lake like that so he went in after the cans. Your Uncle Billy didn't give a hoot and made a game out of trying to hit your daddy with his cans. But soon he got tired of his littering game and said he was going fishin'. Your daddy was more cautious than Billy and said he'd rather not fish in the dark. He didn't like the idea of not being able to see. You can't see through the muddy water in this lake anyway but its worse after dark. You can't see around you either. 

(Lake Thunderbird at sunset from visitnorman.com)

Billy being Billy didn't give a hoot that his brother was afraid and went wading into the water, his buddies hootin' and hollerin' behind him. Soon he was shoulder deep by a pile of rocks thrusting his hand into a hole. He had too many Miller Lites in him by them to worry about angry water moccasins. While he was poking around in that hole, wiggling his fingers trying to catch a flathead's attention, something caught his. On the bank in a clump of trees, far enough away from the fire to be filled with creepy shadows, he saw a girl. 

She was standing barefoot in the red clay in cut-off shorts and a dirty white t-shirt. She beckoned for your Uncle Billy to come to her.

"Whats beckoned, PaPa?"

Beckoned - it means she waved her hand in a way that meant "come here." Anyway, she waved him over and he went. He waded through the water mesmerized. Your daddy and their friends called out to him asking where he was going but he wouldn't answer. You see, he was the only one who could see her. Later your daddy told the police it looked like he was being pulled by an invisible rope. No matter how loud they called for him he just kept moving toward the trees. 

I won't tell you the details your daddy and I know because you're too young. But you better take this seriously anyway. Your daddy ran after his brother but by the time he reached the clump of trees he was already gone. Your daddy found the Marlboro hat he had been wearing laying in the mud. They searched all night for Billy but by sunrise, they still couldn't find him. They came home and told me and your MaMa and we called the authorities. 

We formed search parties and divers searched the lake. But no one could find any sign of your Uncle Billy. As time moved on people started to make up stories that he ran off but me and your daddy knew better. We started talkin' to people who lived out by the lake and they told us about the man-eaters. The authorities call them folk-tales but we know better. Bones wash up on the shore of the lake - human bones - that look like they've been chewed on by human teeth. No animals made those marks. 

You see, these man-eaters look like you and me but they're monsters. They lure partiers, campers, hikers, and fisherman to their deaths. They call out for help and then grab the unsuspecting person who answers their call. Once they grab you they drag you down to the bottom of the lake and feast on your flesh!

A log on the campfire cracked as the grandfather's story reached a climax making his grandson jump with fright. 

"Ha, boy, I'm just fooling. Your daddy is an only child. You don't have an Uncle Billy," he said clapping his grandson on the back. He got up to stoke the fire when he heard a female voice coming from the direction of the water.

"Excuse me, boys, could you help me? I seem to be lost." 

Author's Note: I read the story "Goblin City" and decided to use it for this week's storytelling. It tells the story of sailors who are rescued by women when their ship sinks. The women turn out to be man-eating shapeshifters called Rakshasis. These "goblins" convince the sailors to marry them and once they are finished pretending to be their wives they lock them in a prison until they are ready to eat them. One night the captain of the sailors wakes up and his new wife is gone. She and the other "goblins" had gone to the prison to eat a few of the imprisoned men. When she returns home he pretends to be asleep and witnesses her munching on a piece of flesh as she sings a rhyme about man-eating. In the morning he manages to tell the rest of the sailors. Some do not believe him and say it was a dream, others believe him. The believers and the captain are rescued by a flying horse sent by a kind fairy while the non-believers were eaten the very same day. 

I decided to have some fun with this one and set my story in Oklahoma at Lake Thunderbird. I took the concept of man-eaters that look like humans and ran with it. I thought it would make a good folktale/campfire story type thing so that is what I did. Note: Noodling - also known as hillbilly handfishing - for those who might not know is a type of fishing that involves sticking your hand in a hole where catfish may reside and wrestling them out of the water after they clamp down around your hand/arm. No poles or nets, just hands. 

(Personal Photo of my cousin Ben with a catfish he caught noodling)

Bibliography: "Goblin City" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse.