The Talegate Podcast

Dashboard Chats - Spook Hill and the Lake Clinch Monster

October 17, 2020 Harrison the Florida Man & Aaron the Cheesehead Season 1 Episode 4
The Talegate Podcast
Dashboard Chats - Spook Hill and the Lake Clinch Monster
Show Notes Transcript

Polk County is home to lake monsters, haunted hills, meth maniacs, and Harrison the Florida Man (not sure which is scarier). Join us as we investigate the Lake Clinch Monster and drive upon a gravity hill said to be haunted by a rivaling Indian Chief and Ghost Gator!

The Lake Clinch Monster is a Nessy-like sea serpent once said to lurk beneath the dark waters of Lake Clinch in Frostproof, Florida. Though there have been no sightings in recent times, it still makes you wonder what creature or act of nature could give rise to such an urban legend.

Spook Hill in Lake Wales, FL, is a gravity hill and popular free tourist attraction adjacent to Spook Hill Elementary (with Casper the Friendly Ghost as their Mascot). A gravity hill is a natural phenomenon occurring all across the glove where the eye perceives the impression of a neutral car moving up hill. Spook Hill specifically attributes this to an Indian legend where a chief and giant alligator were locked in moral combat until both man and beast fell. Their spirits are said to haunt this very spot. Skeptical? Venture down to Polk County and try it for yourself.

Check out more on these topics by listening to The Talegate Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or any other fine podcast directories; and please rate, review, and subscribe. OR simply follow the link our user-friendly website at www.thetalegatepodcast.com! Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram @thetalegatepodcast and write us with your own stories at TheTalegatePodcast@gmail.com. 

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THE TALEGATE PODCAST
EP 2: Polk County 


FLORIDA MAN: Howdy folks, and welcome to Dashboard Chats!


CHEESEHEAD: These mini-episodes are recorded from our dashboard on the drive between our main interviews to discuss the tales and urban legends that aren’t quite fit for the mic.


FM: That’s right! Ain’t every topic ripe for interviewin’ but that don’t make them any less interesting. With that, I’m Harrison, the Florida Man. 


CH: And I’m Aaron, the Cheesehead. Today we come to you from the Polk Parkway, a smooth, clear deviation from Interstate-4 where the traffic might not take a toll on yah, but the booths sure do!


FM: I like the Parkway’s relative lack of traffic, but I miss the boiled peanut and gator-jerky tailgate venders you find off the backroads.


CH: I think the idea of boiled peanuts is somehow even stranger than the gator jerky. What do boiled peanuts even taste like?


FM: When you boil them, they taste almost like red beans. Nothin’ like you’d expect, but a whole lot of goodness. And, honestly, gator jerky kinda just tastes like most other jerky, more or less. Little gamier.


CH: Gotta take your word on that one. Now, Polk County is a pretty special place, er no?


FM: That’s right, it’s Meth Capital of Florida.


CH: I mean, because you were born here.


FM: That’s also right! I was born and raised nearby in Winter Haven, Florida. 


CH: Polk County seems a nice, quiet place to grow up. It’s the exact line between suburban and rural. Quaint, one might say.


FM: Ain’t nothing quaint about it. You know, we got a good deal of our own spooky stories here.


CH: Yah, you mentioned there have been several Skunk Ape sightings.


FM: There’s a lot more activity out here than Skunky, for damn sure. Whole lot more dangerous than him, too.


CH: Like what? 


FM: How’s a lake monster for starters?


CH: Like Loch Ness and Champ? 


FM: Author and historian, Michael Newton wrote the book Florida’s Unexpected Wildlife. In his research, he found that there are over 222 lakes and rivers housing supposed cryptids in the U.S. alone. Ten of them are here in the state of Florida. One of them is in a town right here in Polk County.


CH: Ah gosh. I don’t know what’s scarier: Polk County’s bigfoot and sea monsters or their meth heads.


FM: The Methheads. Definitely. 


CH: Yah, I figured.


FM: Polk County’s comprised of 30 or so towns. Winter Haven, where I’m from, with 50 or more lakes--ironically a good deal more lakes than our neighboring town of Lakeland. So seeing giant gators, birds, and snakes ain’t exactly a rare sight. But there is one lake further out, in a town called Frostproof. Lake Clinch.


CH: My booty-hole is clinched just thinking about it!


FM: Within Lake Clinch, there’s--what?


CH: I didn’t say anything.


FM: Did you just say...eh, whatever. Within Lake Clinch, there’s said to swim a prehistoric beast of monstrous size. Allegedly, natives even told tales of this creature.


CH: What’s the creature said to look like?


FM: Long neck, dog-like head, a rounded back, and flippers.


CH: So in other words exactly like Nessie and Champ. 


FM: Yep yep. They all resemble the aquatic reptiles, plesiosaurs. Now, this isn’t the most far fetched creature to be found in Florida, as the state was submerged during the time of dinosaurs and was therefore teeming with aquatic reptiles like the long-necked plesiosaurs and even megalodon. 


CH: How would they get in the lakes though?


FM: Good question.


CH: Also, aren’t plesiosaurs saltwater exclusives?


FM: Most likely, yea. 


CH: So the Lake Clinch Monster is probably not real then?


FM: I mean, Granny’s crystal ain’t leading us to Clinch so... if there were a lake monster, they’re probably long gone now.


CH: Monsters are cool, but do you know of anything...spooky?


FM: How’s ‘bout Spook Hill?


CH: Polk County has a hill literally named, “Spook?”


FM: Yea, and an Elementary School sitting right on top it.


CH: What was there mascots? Ghosts, haha?


FM: Actually, yea. Their mascot is a ghost. Casper the Friendly Ghost, to be exact.


CH: You’re kidding!


FM: I’m not.


CH: That’s got to be the coolest mascot ever.


FM: You mean friendliest mascot ever.


CH: Let me guess, the school is said to be haunted.


FM: Good guess. But no. I mean, school might be haunted but that ain’t how it got its name. Right next to Spook Hill Elementary School there is an incline called


CH: “Spook Hill?” 


FM: Bingo. At the foot of the hill there is a sign that reads:


CH: Wait, so let me get this straight. You park your car facing down the decline of the hill, put it in neutral, and a ghost pushes your car backwards?


FM: Yep.


CH: Uphill?


FM: Yep yep. And Spook Hill is more than just a local legend. In 2019, it found it’s place in the National Register of Historic Places. 


CH: Impressive.


FM: And in the 90’s a written piece on Spook Hill splashed the front page of Wall Street journal.


CH: Most Impressive.


FM: But again, Granny’s crystal ain’t lead us towards no Spook Hill, so there’s gotta be a better explanation than angry alligator ghosts.


CH: I dunno, maybe these gator ghosts are seeking revenge for all that gator jerky you Floridians consume.


FM: Hah, wouldn’t doubt it.


CH: But in all seriousness, it sounds like Spook Hill is a “Gravity Hill.” That’s the term for a specific optical illusion where you appear to be rolling against gravity, but are doing the opposite in actuality. This phenomenon haunts hills all over the world!


FM: That makes a lot more sense but the ghost gator sounds cooler.


CH: It does indeed. Speaking of cooler, our beer cooler is dry. We should pull over and replenish so we’re ready to roll for our next interview?

 

FM: Probably a good call. Uh, thanks folks for joining us for Dashboard Chats. We’ll try to do one each week between Talegate interviews so be sure to stay tuned.


CH: Furthermore, we’d love to answer any questions you might have regarding the topics we’ve discussed or stories you may have of your own.


FM: Just email us at Thetalegatepodcast@gmail.com and check us out on Instagram @thetalegatepodcast for photos, cast info, updates and more.


CH: See you later, Talegaters!


FM: TaleGhostgators.


[Ghost gator growl; vehicle swerve]