Is the Monkey Man Real?

August 30, 2008

The post on the Hoboken Monkey Man is gathering more and more comments the older it gets. It seems to be time to revisit this phemonenon and share with you some of the new comments in case you're not following it.

First of all, Slezak felt the post should have a picture and he provided this one with the note, "The monkey man story needs a picture...half man half ape...and he's got blue eyes. HUMM ??? (Ol' Blue Eyes). He must be from Hoboken."

But with all the controversy, and having decided the whole story was not only a hoax but the hoax of a hoax, that is, somebody made up a story that had never even existed and said it happened in Hoboken. Are you following me here?

Then I got this comment from Jack D: "I was born and raised in Hoboken and I can unequivically tell you that there is, or at least was, something to the Hoboken Monkeyman myth.

"It was October of about 1981. My girlfriend and I were in my car on River Road, (what is now called Sinatra Drive), when something moving in the trees caught my eye. I looked up through the windshield and there it was. A monkey-like creature, dangling from a tree, grunting at us. Its hair was long and matted and it wore animal skins. It really appeared to be a Neanderthal man. I was shocked. I jumped from my car and yelled something threatening. The damn thing grunted at me, jumped from the tree and moved off into the woods. That was the only time I ever saw or heard of the Monkeyman."

I had to admit I was somewhat taken aback by this eyewitness account. I responded:

"Maybe this was some scary old homeless dude, or a drugged-out hippie left over from the 60s, or a monkey that made its way to Hoboken from some distant New Jersey circus. But Jack saw something, and he doesn't claim it abducted him and took him to a space ship to perform scientific experiments.

I don't think we've heard the last of this."

I followed this up by the rather rude observation that Jack and his girlfriend might have been doing something a little risky in a parked car on River Road in 1981, suggesting there might have been alcohol or controlled substances involved

slezak came back with:

"Seeing is believing...Jack D. seen 'im, that's proof enough for me. Altho where he saw him is in question. ? The woods on River Road adjoins STEVENS CAMPUS, the same place I saw the half buried statues from the old HAUNTED CASTLE. STEVENS had a secret passageway to SIBYLS CAVE. As a boy I had been in both places...spooky places back in the 50s, I must say.

"Parking on River Road with a girl, just enjoying the view of Manhattan (Yah right) was not a good idea. That's where the cops slept."

He digresses to suggest where parking might be safer: "Under the viaduct was not a good idea either...by the old 7-Up factory was the best place to park in them days. (not to get off the subject)."

Seriously, folks. Slezak has this to suggest as the reality of the creature: "The monkey man (I THINK) lived in a Stevens campus dorm, a fraternity prank gone wrong...OR WAS IT??? You decide."