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How my 'Sandpit monster' became an urban myth

As teenagers in the 1950s, Ron Gollobin and a friend invented an encounter with a monstrous creature – but they could never have guessed how far their story would travel.

Ron Gollobin is a former investigative reporter from the US, who has won multiple Emmy Awards for his work focussing largely on organised crime. Growing up in North Carolina, Ron would often take himself off to the surrounding swamps on the hunt for frogs and other wild creatures. It was late one night in 1959, in an area known locally as the Sandpits, that Ron and his friend became spooked by a sound in the brush, which sent them running for their lives. Ron didn’t see what had made the sound but soon began embellishing the story. Before he knew it, he'd invented 'the Sandpit creature', a local legend that spread further than he could ever have imagined. You can read this and other stories by Ron on Narratively.com

This story has been edited since first broadcast to make a clarification.

British-Nigerian actor and director Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was raised by a white family in an area where racism was a huge problem. As a teenager, he joined a skinhead gang that had tormented him for protection. He spoke to Outlook’s Emily Webb in 2019. If you need support following anything you've heard in this interview you can find resources at Befrienders.org.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707

(Photo: Ron Gollobin pretending to be bitten by a snake. Credit: Ron Gollobin)

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