In Ohio folklore, the Loveland frog (also known as the Loveland frogman or Loveland Lizard) is a legendary humanoid frog described as standing roughly 4 feet (1.2 m) tall, allegedly spotted in Loveland, Ohio. In 1972, the Loveland frog legend gained renewed attention when a Loveland police officer reported to a colleague that he had seen an animal consistent with descriptions of the frogman. After a reported sighting in 2016, the second officer called a news station to report that he had shot and killed the same creature some weeks after the 1972 incident and had identified it as a large iguana that was missing its tail.[1][2]
Artist's rendering of the supposed "Loveland Frog"
The so-called "frog" was more likely a large, tailless iguana
University of Cincinnatifolklore professor Edgar Slotkin compared the Loveland frog to Paul Bunyan, saying that stories about it have been passed down for "several decades" and that sighting reports seem to come in predictable cycles.[3]
In May 2014, the Loveland frog legend was made into a musical, titled Hot Damn! It's the Loveland Frog!.[4]
According to various legends, the creature was first sighted by a businessman or a traveling salesman driving along an unnamed road late at night in 1955, with some versions of the story specifying the month of May. In one story, the driver was heading out of the Branch Hill neighborhood when he spotted three figures stood erect on their hind legs along the side of the road, each 3 to 4 feet (0.91 to 1.22 m) in height, with leathery skin and frog faces.[5] In other versions of the story, the creatures were spotted under or over a poorly lit bridge, and one held a wand over its head that fired a spray of sparks.[6]
Loveland police reports
On March 3, 1972, at 1:00am, Loveland police officer Ray Shockey was driving on Riverside Drive near the Totes boot factory and the Little Miami River when an unidentified animal scurried across the road in front of his vehicle. The animal was fully illuminated in his vehicle's headlights, and he described it as 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) long and about 50 to 75 pounds (25 to 35 kg), with leathery skin. He reported spotting the animal "crouched like a frog" before it momentarily stood erect to climb over the guardrail and back down towards the river.[5]
Two weeks after the incident, a second Loveland police officer, Mark Matthews, reported seeing an unidentified animal crouched along the road in the same vicinity as Shockey's sighting. Matthews shot the animal, recovered the body, and put it in his trunk to show officer Shockey. According to Matthews, it was "a large iguana about 3 or 3.5 feet [0.9 or 1.1 m] long", and he didn't immediately recognize it because it was missing its tail. Mathews speculated the iguana had been someone's pet that "either got loose or was released when it grew too large".[1] According to Mathews, Shockey was shown the dead iguana and confirmed it was the animal he had seen two weeks previously. Matthews recounted the incident to an author of a book about urban legends, but says the author "omitted the part that confirmed that the creature was an iguana rather than a Frogman".[5][1] Mathews also recounted the frogman story in 2016 again on WCPO channel 9.
Popular culture
In August 2016, local Cincinnati TV stations reported that "a night of fun turned into a chilling tale of horror" when two teenagers playing Pokémon Go between Loveland Madeira Road and Lake Isabella claimed to see a giant frog near the lake on August 3 that "stood up and walked on its hind legs".[7][8] It was later revealed to be a local student from Archbishop Moeller High School in a homemade frog costume.[9]
In fiction
James Renner's science fiction/mystery novel The Man From Primrose Lane features a version of the Loveland frog.[10]
References
^ abcLegatte, Jim (5 August 2016). "Officer who shot 'Loveland Frogman' in 1972 says story is a hoax". WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, Cincinnati. WCPO.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
^Haupt, Ryan (30 June 2015). "Skeptoid #473: The Loveland Frog". Skeptoid. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
^Shubel, Lisa (4 August 2016). "Local legend: Does the Loveland Frogman live on?". Fox19. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
^Legatte, Jim (August 2016) Know the legend of the Loveland Frogman? This man claims he spotted it WCPO-TV, Cincinnati
^"The Loveland Frogman Is Back!!! Beware". The Moeller Crusader.
^Weiner, Michelle (7 March 2012). "'Man From Primrose Lane' a crazy, imaginative tale". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
December 28, 2022
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In Ohio folklore the Loveland frog also known as the Loveland frogman or Loveland Lizard is a legendary humanoid frog described as standing roughly 4 feet 1 2 m tall allegedly spotted in Loveland Ohio In 1972 the Loveland frog legend gained renewed attention when a Loveland police officer reported to a colleague that he had seen an animal consistent with descriptions of the frogman After a reported sighting in 2016 the second officer called a news station to report that he had shot and killed the same creature some weeks after the 1972 incident and had identified it as a large iguana that was missing its tail 1 2 Artist s rendering of the supposed Loveland Frog The so called frog was more likely a large tailless iguana University of Cincinnati folklore professor Edgar Slotkin compared the Loveland frog to Paul Bunyan saying that stories about it have been passed down for several decades and that sighting reports seem to come in predictable cycles 3 In May 2014 the Loveland frog legend was made into a musical titled Hot Damn It s the Loveland Frog 4 Contents 1 Legends 2 Loveland police reports 3 Popular culture 4 In fiction 5 ReferencesLegends EditAccording to various legends the creature was first sighted by a businessman or a traveling salesman driving along an unnamed road late at night in 1955 with some versions of the story specifying the month of May In one story the driver was heading out of the Branch Hill neighborhood when he spotted three figures stood erect on their hind legs along the side of the road each 3 to 4 feet 0 91 to 1 22 m in height with leathery skin and frog faces 5 In other versions of the story the creatures were spotted under or over a poorly lit bridge and one held a wand over its head that fired a spray of sparks 6 Loveland police reports EditOn March 3 1972 at 1 00 am Loveland police officer Ray Shockey was driving on Riverside Drive near the Totes boot factory and the Little Miami River when an unidentified animal scurried across the road in front of his vehicle The animal was fully illuminated in his vehicle s headlights and he described it as 3 to 4 feet 0 9 to 1 2 m long and about 50 to 75 pounds 25 to 35 kg with leathery skin He reported spotting the animal crouched like a frog before it momentarily stood erect to climb over the guardrail and back down towards the river 5 Two weeks after the incident a second Loveland police officer Mark Matthews reported seeing an unidentified animal crouched along the road in the same vicinity as Shockey s sighting Matthews shot the animal recovered the body and put it in his trunk to show officer Shockey According to Matthews it was a large iguana about 3 or 3 5 feet 0 9 or 1 1 m long and he didn t immediately recognize it because it was missing its tail Mathews speculated the iguana had been someone s pet that either got loose or was released when it grew too large 1 According to Mathews Shockey was shown the dead iguana and confirmed it was the animal he had seen two weeks previously Matthews recounted the incident to an author of a book about urban legends but says the author omitted the part that confirmed that the creature was an iguana rather than a Frogman 5 1 Mathews also recounted the frogman story in 2016 again on WCPO channel 9 Popular culture EditIn August 2016 local Cincinnati TV stations reported that a night of fun turned into a chilling tale of horror when two teenagers playing Pokemon Go between Loveland Madeira Road and Lake Isabella claimed to see a giant frog near the lake on August 3 that stood up and walked on its hind legs 7 8 It was later revealed to be a local student from Archbishop Moeller High School in a homemade frog costume 9 In fiction EditJames Renner s science fiction mystery novel The Man From Primrose Lane features a version of the Loveland frog 10 References Edit a b c Legatte Jim 5 August 2016 Officer who shot Loveland Frogman in 1972 says story is a hoax WCPO TV Cincinnati Cincinnati WCPO com Retrieved 20 November 2017 Bigfoot Grassman Frogman Retrieved 2020 07 27 Loveland Frog Gadsden Times Associated Press October 18 1985 p 1 Retrieved 14 March 2014 Lee Marika May 22 2014 Loveland Frogman gets own musical cincinnati com Retrieved 12 July 2014 a b c Binkowski Brooke Loveland Frogman Spotted Again Snopes Snopes com Retrieved 20 November 2017 Haupt Ryan 30 June 2015 Skeptoid 473 The Loveland Frog Skeptoid Retrieved 22 June 2017 Shubel Lisa 4 August 2016 Local legend Does the Loveland Frogman live on Fox19 Retrieved 6 August 2016 Legatte Jim August 2016 Know the legend of the Loveland Frogman This man claims he spotted it WCPO TV Cincinnati The Loveland Frogman Is Back Beware The Moeller Crusader Weiner Michelle 7 March 2012 Man From Primrose Lane a crazy imaginative tale The San Diego Union Tribune Retrieved 10 April 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Loveland frog amp oldid 1125969625, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
