It was THE story at the surf shops and at Colleoden Hotel, said Trish O'Gara. "It's pretty cool and everybody is talking about it," she said. "Every year it's something. Last year it was the weird clouds that were forming and this year they have the monster."
Despite the local pride, there still was much debate over just what the monster was.
Was the Montauk Monster a hoax along the lines of the short-lived legend of the sea serpent living in a local Montauk pond circa 2003?
Or a real, dead thingamabob?
"I wouldn't be surprised if it were real and I wouldn't be surprised if it were fake," said Leda Ross, 54, who was sitting with her husband in O'Murphy's Pub. "What do you think?"
"I think I'll have another drink," said Mike Ross, 61.
Down from the bar a bit, Barry Ryan, 22, of Cork, Ireland, said he saw the monster on television and it reminded him of the hippogriff of Harry Potter lore.
Sitting next to him, his cousin, Kevin Foley, 30, said the monster prompted his decision to move back to Ireland.
"I've had enough of this place," he said. "And I'm afraid of the monster."
For the real scoop, Foley suggested a visit to Shagwong restaurant.
"Ask for Peter," he said. "He can tell you some things."
But it was quickly discovered that there was no scoop to be had from Peter Hewitt, whose daughter took the photos that spawned the speculation. And the things Hewitt did say were mostly an unprintable variation of "no comment."
He did say that reports that his daughter was holding out to the highest bidder to make some cash were "nonsense."
Moving right along, then.
A local who wanted to remain anonymous (we are dealing with monsters here) and who was seen in the vicinity of Mr. John's Pancake House said she has seen the monster on people's phones. And she knows people who saw it on Ditch Plains and other people who saw it at the person's house that they took it to.
"It's only about the size of a cat," she said, taking the monster right out of this Montauk mystery.
Can you take us to it so we can gaze upon its beaked visage, no matter that it is a stinking corpse? Maybe take a few DNA tests?
"Now it's decomposed and it's just skull and bones.
"Hopefully we don't find another one," she said.
