Louis T. Stone

Louis Timothy Stone (1875 – March 13, 1933), also known as Lou Stone, was an American journalist who fabricated stories about the flora and fauna surrounding his town of Winsted, Connecticut, thus earning himself the name of the Winsted Liar. The most notorious story attributed to him concerned the sighting of a 'wild man' in the woods near 'Winsted', although research by Michael T. Shoemaker and Gary Mangiacopra suggests that Stone was not actually responsible for this story.[1]

Biography

Stone was born in 1875 in Winsted, Connecticut, where he spent his whole life. At the age of thirteen, he began working as a printer's devil at the Winsted Evening Citizen, later becoming a reporter for the same newspaper.[2]

In 1895, Stone fabricated what became his most famous story, when he claimed that there had been sightings of a 'wild man' in the woods near Winsted.[3] In this colorful telling the Wild Man "wears no clothes, his eyes swim in red fire and he's a good rifle shot."[4]He continued to create weekly reports, mostly about unusual flora and fauna around Winsted, which were reprinted in many newspapers. In tribute to his work, a billboard in Winsted announced:

Winsted, founded in 1779, has been put on the map by the ingenious and queer stories that emanate from this town and which are printed all over the country, thanks to L.T. Stone.[2]

Death

Stone died on March 13, 1933, and the residents of Winsted named a bridge in honor of him.[2]

Notable hoaxes

Some of the stories invented by Stone include:

  • A hen that rode into Winsted on a train and laid an egg to pay the fare[5]
  • A tree that grew baked apples[2]
  • A cow that was locked in an ice house and produced ice cream for two weeks after its release[2]
  • A farmer who lost his watch and found it seven years later in the stomach of one of his cows, where it had been kept wound by the cow's stomach muscles[2]

References
  1. Arment, Chad (2002). The Historical Bigfoot. Landisville, PA: Coachwhip Publications. p. 111. ISBN 9781930585300.
  2. "Lou Stone, the Winsted Liar". Museum of Hoaxes. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  3. Patrick, Mike (May 19, 2015). "Stone was known, endearingly, as the 'Winsted Liar'". Republican American. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  4. "New York Herald". Fake News. Trinity College. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  5. Mott, Frank Luther (1942). "Facetious news writing, 1833-1883". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 29 (1): 46–47. doi:10.2307/1896462. JSTOR 1896462.
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