Artist's rendering of the Loveland frog
The so-called "frog" was more likely a large, tailless iguana

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]

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]

Legends

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.[4] 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.[5]

Loveland police reports

On 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.[4]

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. Matthews speculated the iguana had been someone's pet that "either got loose or was released when it grew too large".[1] According to Matthews, 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".[4][1] Mathews also recounted the frogman story in 2016 again on WCPO-TV.

In fiction

James Renner's science fiction/mystery novel The Man From Primrose Lane features a version of the Loveland frog.[6]

In May 2014, the Loveland frog legend was made into a musical, titled Hot Damn! It's the Loveland Frog!.[7] The musical premiered at the Art Academy of Cincinnati during the 2014 Cincinnati Fringe Festival.[8]

Commemorations

In 2023, the Loveland frog became the city's mascot. The frog, dressed as a "frog prince", debuted at the city's second annual Hearts Afire Weekend celebration and appears at other city events.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Legatte, Jim (5 August 2016). "Officer who shot 'Loveland Frogman' in 1972 says story is a hoax". WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, Cincinnati. WCPO.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  2. ↑ "Bigfoot, Grassman, Frogman". Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  3. ↑ "Gadsden Times". Gadsden Times. Associated Press. October 18, 1985. p. 1. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Binkowski, Brooke (5 August 2016). "'Loveland Frogman' Spotted Again?". Snopes. Snopes.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  5. ↑ Haupt, Ryan (30 June 2015). "Skeptoid #473: The Loveland Frog". Skeptoid. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  6. ↑ Weiner, Michelle (7 March 2012). "'Man From Primrose Lane' a crazy, imaginative tale". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Lee, Marika (May 22, 2014). "'Loveland Frogman gets own musical". cincinnati.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Weirdly Beloved Local Monster Legend Takes the Stage in New Bluegrass Musical". Behind the Curtain Cincinnati. 2014-05-14. Archived from the original on 2020-12-01. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  9. ↑ City Manager's Weekly Report (Report). City of Loveland, Ohio. February 17, 2023. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
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