In the dead of winter in 1953-54, an unknown creature terrorized a small North Carolina town with a then population of less than 800 residents. For 13 days beginning on December 29, 1953, residents of the tiny town and its immediate surrounds were mortified day after day as each morning they disovered the decapitated remains of their family dogs.

The gruesome discoveries were made in and around the town of Bladenboro, one county removed from the South Carolina border and not far from Interstate 95.
Google Maps [enhanced]
The first discovery was made on Dec. 29th when a resident of nearby Clarkton found his family dog had become the first known to fall prey to the beast. Upon closer examination by authorities, they could not positively determine what life form had caused the ghastly murder. But two nights later a Bladenboro resident's dogs were killed in the same manner by an unidentifiable beast.
Flickr/Via Tsuji
Rumors began to fill the small town as eyewitness accounts began to pour in. Some people swore they saw what could have been an animal that resembled a panther or a bear. But the almost nightly killings continued and the beast remained at large.
Flickr/Snugg LePup

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On January 1st, a Bladenboro farmer reported two of his dogs had been prey to the beast, their bodies nearly fully consumed by the hunger of the unknown creature. Folks became even more vigilant, but their efforts weren't enough to cull the beast.
Flickr/Dianne Lacourciere
By January 3rd, six days into the nightmare surrounding the Bladenboro community, folks had begun to call the entity the Beast of Bladenboro. And by this time an even more shockingly grim discovery was made: an autopsy determined that not a drop of blood remained in the dogs most recently killed. You can imagine what went through the minds of the community.
Flickr/Ryan Fonkert
Some even thought there might be a supernatural being at the root of the violence. The word "vampire" began to circulate, although the theory wasn't widely accepted by most residents.
Flickr/keepingdowntheunderground
In all, dogs, rabbits, goats, cows and hog deaths were attributed to the Beast of Bladenboro in that short span of time. And all the while, residents were frightened to let their children, pets and farm animals go unguarded.
Flickr/Robert McGoldrick
For three consecutive nights, it's reported that anywhere from 500 to 1,000 men searched the nearby woods and swamps for the creature, but to no avail. In the end, although several men claimed to have killed bobcats or cougars or other large animals that could have been to blame, not a single one of them was attributed with being the Beast of Bladenboro. It seems no person in authority was absolutely certain what kind of beastly being was responsible for terrorizing the community. On one sad note, Bladenboro was later callously accused of making the whole thing up to garner publicity for their community.

Had you heard about the Beast of Bladenboro? Now that you have, what are your theories about this heinous turn of events? Feel free to continue the discussion in the comments.

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