Proctor Valley Monster
{{Short description|Folkloric Creature of San Diego County}}
{{Infobox mythical creature|Country=United States|Region=San Diego County|Habitat=Proctor Valley|name=Proctor Valley Monster}}
The Proctor Valley Monster is a cryptid reputed to live in Proctor Valley, California. Sightings tend to link the monster to the Proctor Valley Road, a dirt road that connects the community of Jamul in the northeast to the Eastlake neighborhood of Chula Vista in the southwest.{{Cite web |date=2023-11-01 |title=Proctor Valley Road: The history behind the ghost stories |url=https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/san-diego-news/proctor-valley-road-the-history-behind-the-ghost-stories |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV }}
Description
The cryptid's appearance is still debated by locals. Accounts vary, but two of the most agreed-upon versions of the creature are of a tall, hairy, Bigfoot-type, or a "disarranged cow" bovine type.{{Cite web |title=What is the story behind the Proctor Valley Monster? |url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2001/mar/08/what-story-behind-proctor-valley-monster/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |work=San Diego Reader }} The nearby Bonita Museum & Cultural Center claims to have an unknown humanoid footprint of a creature on display. Many locals attribute this as concrete evidence of the cryptid's existence.{{Cite web |last=Schulte |first=Richard |date=2022-10-17 |title=Evidence in Bonita of the Proctor Valley Monster? |url=https://coolsandiegosights.com/2022/10/17/evidence-in-bonita-of-the-proctor-valley-monster/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=Cool San Diego Sights! }}
In popular culture
The Proctor Valley Monster has inspired a comic book series produced by Boom! Studios titled "Proctor Valley Road" in which the cryptid is blamed for the disappearances of a group of students participating in a Ghost Tour of the road.{{Cite web |title=Proctor Valley Road |url=https://www.boom-studios.com/series/proctor-valley-road/ |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=BOOM! Studios }}
The Bonita Museum & Cultural Center has hosted Film Festivals dedicated to celebrating the Proctor Valley Monster.{{Cite web |title=Proctor Valley Monster Film & Zine fest JULY 22–23 |url=https://bonitahistoricalsociety.org/event/proctor-valley-monster-film-zine-fest-july-22-23/ |access-date=2023-12-24 }}