What exactly inhabits Mill Creek? The mysterious Mill Creek Monster has sparked considerable curiosity among area residents and travelers alike.
From the depths of Mill Creek, a pair of eyes glows through the nighttime hours. Drivers along the Parkway and passengers on the Commuter Rail catch glimpses of a strange silhouette. Even dedicated power walkers near Cronin Rink have found themselves distracted by the creature’s serpentine movements. Photographic documentation has confirmed what many suspected: the Mill Creek Monster is indeed real.
Over the past month, neighbors, commuters and residents have experienced genuine bewilderment upon spotting what looks like an unusual animal in Mill Creek near the Commuter Rail bridge. The Record has fielded numerous frantic calls from locals seeking answers about the mysterious beast. Many others passing by—whether driving or riding the rails—have undoubtedly reacted with similar astonishment, though perhaps with less urgency.
Until recently, the Mill Creek Monster’s true identity remained a mystery. This week, the full story emerged.
Bobby McKenna, a resident of Slade’s Mill adjacent to the Creek, created the 7-foot-long wooden dragon-like creature—and he’s now receiving considerable attention for it. “I’ve seen lots of people pulling into the parking lot that I don’t know to take pictures of it,” he said. “A lot of people walk on the Parkway and they all stop to look out at it. I’m sure people at the Commuter Rail have had quite surprise seeing it as they go by. That’s what I expected though. I put it by the Commuter Rail tracks so the people on the trains would have something interesting to look at.”
Whether viewed as spontaneous public art or something entirely different, McKenna explained that this aspiration dated back to childhood. Growing up by the ocean in Beachmont, he developed a fascination with tales of sea monsters and deep-sea leviathans. “When I was a kid, I always read the books by Edward Rowe Snow about the sea serpent and also books about the Loch Ness Monster,” he said. “I had seen something like this on Martha’s Vineyard 20 years ago and always said I wanted to build something like it to get everyone’s attention. I got the idea to do it here one night when I was sitting outside and watching the fog roll in over the Forbes Plant. It looked spooky and I thought it would be a cool place to put something up. This year, on Halloween, my friends pushed me to do it and I did.”
The element of surprise clearly appealed to McKenna. Rather than positioning his creation in daylight, he rowed out under cover of darkness and anchored it to the creek bed, intending to astound residents at first light. “I didn’t want people to see me out there in the middle of the day doing this,” he said. “That would take all the fun out of it.”
Plywood and leather constitute the monster’s primary materials. Two platforms anchored in the mud support a plywood cutout positioned just above the waterline. By connecting these platforms with swiveling joints, McKenna engineered the creature to appear to slither through water when wind moves it. “It does do this sidewinding thing in the wind,” he said.
For nighttime atmosphere, McKenna installed a pair of solar-powered lights functioning as eyes that glow ominously after dark.
One remaining question persists: what should this creature be named? “The obvious choice is Millie, but I don’t know if I want it to be referred to as a girl, so another choice is Millhouse,” said McKenna. “I kind of just like the Mill Creek Monster.”