Friday, August 30, 1974

Stalks Cornfields – Horrors! A Monster

By Dave Schneidman
Chicago Tribune

Good grief! Could it be that the infamous Murphysboro Monster had turned into a corn-eating suburbanite?

Perhaps so, according to witnesses who swear they saw a monster grunting thru a cornfield at Coon Road and Thunderbird Trail, Carol Stream, chomping on corncobs.

The monster stands about 6 feet, 7 inches tall, has glowing eyes the size of softballs, is covered with hair, has a fuzzy head, and judging from its tracks, has four toes. Oh, yes, despite its lumbering gait, it’s a pretty fast runner.

At least that’s how Bob Calusinski, 23, of 554 W. Cochise Pl, Carol Stream, described it. Calusinski said he heard heavy breathing from the monster Monday, was struck by the monster’s paw Tuesday, and saw the monster Wednesday.

Calusinski said he was “fooling around with some friends” in a cornfield Monday when he first heard the breathing. He went back Tuesday with some friends to investigate. Calusinski said he and his friends got tired of just sitting around in the dark and started throwing corn at one another. This apparently, made the monster irate, because it hit Calusinski on the the shoulder with its hairy paw. Calusinski ran out of the cornfield.

On Wednesday night Calusinski returned and the monster, perhaps remembering him, started after him. That’s when Calusinski said he saw it.

“I’ll never forget it as long as I live,” Calusinski said. “It was terrifying, seeing that thing come after me. I got out of there and reported the whole matter to the police.”

The police investigated and told Calusinski, “Keep up the good work, stay out of cornfields, and don’t let the monster catch you.”

The Carol Stream police may chuckle, but perhaps the people in Murphysboro, Jackson County, would take a different view. A monster similar in description has been plaguing them for the last several years. The only difference is the Murphysboro monster eats tree bark, not corn.