The Legend of the Coon-Bear

Disclaimer: Those with a heart condition should not read this blog.

Some say that the Coon-Bear is just a myth, an urban legend told around the campfire in mid-America to scare young boys. "Don't stray too far or the Coon-Bear might get ya..." Others claim it was invented to promote the carrying of firearms at all times. And some yahoo's up in Wisconsin think it is a government experiment gone terribly wrong. But the truth is much more disturbing. Few people have seen the Coon-Bear and lived to tell the tale. And none forget. This is there story.

Our story begins as every good scary campfire stories should, with a couple of young (good looking) guys packing up the car to go camping. You see there were four friends that had been separated after college. Two of them known as "The Brothers Hughes" because... they were brothers... and their last name was Hughes, lived near Indianapolis. Tyler and Adam were true blue and inseparable. Tyler was creative guy and what he lacked for in hair, he made up with personality. Adam who didn't inherit the Hughes receding hairline was a sharp looking kid who was one of those guys everyone liked because when he was in the room you never knew what was going to happen next.

The Brothers Hughes were driving north to the shores of the Great Lakes to meet up with there friends Nick and Lucas. Tyler had convinced them all to get together and record a podcast at a campsite near the Indiana Dunes. The four friends hadn't been united since college and they were looking forward to getting away for a little while. They had no idea what they might encounter. As Tyler and Adam pulled into the campground they were greeted by a rather sickly looking man running the gate and an elderly security guard strait out of a scooby-doo cartoon. As the gate man pushed his round glasses up on his nose he said in a shrill voice, "Yes, I believe your friends are expecting you at campsite 104." The security guard had a look on his face like he almost swallowed his own tongue, and had Tyler or Adam seen that look they might have understood better what followed.

Nick and Lucas had the tent set up by the time the brothers got to campsite 104. Nick and Lucas lived and worked in the Chicago-land area and just buzzed right over to the beach. Nick and Lucas were the Ying and Yang of their professions. Lucas was sarcastic and dry, the kind of guy that isn't afraid of anything but people that cry. Nick enjoyed dialoguing with anyone about anything (hence the cellphone attached to his head) and really had a soft spot in his heart for hurting people. The reunion of the four was heartfelt and exciting. In no time at all the four had prepared the campsite, acquired food, and were set up for a memorable night.

They recorded their podcast that evening. They laughed hard and talked about life. To this day you can hear their recording by downloading it. If you listen, you can almost hear how much fun they were having. But in the background there is another sound...

After they had eaten a hardy meal and sat around the campfire long into the night, they put all their garbage in one heavy duty bag and tied it to the table outside their tent. All the rest of the food was packed away... well almost all of it.

Just as they were closing their eyes in the tent. The four boys heard what would later be described as a something that sounded like a man wearing boots dragging a shovel. It was one of those sounds that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and make you question your bravery. After what seemed like an eternity of fear, three of the four made preparations to investigate. Nick went back to his childhood assurances as he grabbed two flashlights. Adam did what he does best and started "dual welding" two hatchets. Lucas left with nothing else looked ridiculous in his union suit and boots clutching a yellow whiffleball bat. The three went to investigate. Tyler stayed. Whether he was too scared, or too tired know one ever found out.

The camp was still. Nothing was disturbed, but the bag of trash was gone. Not rummaged through, not opened, just ripped clean off the table it was tied too. And there... six feet into the tree line was the bag. Bait on the hook. Adam lumber off to get it with the swagger and sigh that accompanies a man who has been woken up and wants to return to his warm bed as soon as possible. He was two feet from the bag and reaching when his friends shouted. "Adam no!" Adam quickly recoiled and faster than a rattlesnake he was back out of the forest. Just peaking over the bag of trash was the head of a raccoon. But it was no coon. The 40 gallon trash bag barely hid the body of this creature. No one had told the boys about the Coon Bear, but if they had been told, they would have let the giant bandit keep the bag.

The three began shouting, shining light, and making advances toward the beast. The Coon Bear was unafraid but began to climb the nearest tree. It lumbered up the tree ready to pounce. Adam warily approached with his hatchets and grabbed the trash. The Coon Bear came down the tree matching Adam step by step as he backed away. The creature stood on its hind legs and glared at Adam as Adam locked the trash in the trunk of the car. It never broke its stare with Adam until all three of the boys were in the tent. It's funny how we believe a thin layer of nylon and a zipper will protect us and makes us feel safe.

It seemed like the boys had only shut their eyes for five minutes when the tent began to shake. They heard the child-like chatter of raccoons. A lot of them. It seemed to come from everywhere. There was a bag of jerky that didn't make it into the trash. We would like to think that was what the raccoons began to fight over, but that didn't explain why the tent was surrounded. Then the snarls came. Then the assault on the tent. The animals were possessed. They would wrestle and slam up against the tent. The snarls got worse and worse until... silence.

...

The boys arose with the sun... and Nick's alarm that sounded three times. Exhausted, but intact Tyler, Nick, and Lucas began to recap the night with phrases like "No, you were scared!" and "Can you believe that?!" "What did you think Adam?...Adam?" Adam was gone. His sleeping bag was not rummaged through and not torn... Adam was just gone. He was not in the tent. He was not by the fire. He was not at campsite 104.

When the park ranger got to site 104 it was deserted. The camp had been packed up and boys had left. No ones knows what happened after that. Their story is not told. It is assumed they returned to their lives, but I doubt they could forget that night. To this day you can listen to their podcast and hear their carefree banter. But some still say that if you listen closely you can still hear the child-like chatter coming from the woods.

Some still say you can hear the Coon Bear.