Kayak only cache! This is the fourteenth cache of the "Monster Mash Trail" series that are scattered along the scenic Pocomoke River that begins in Snow Hill, MD. The Monster Mash Trail is compiled of various monsters from movies and "real" monsters. Local legends dictates that the Pocomoke Forest, which this river runs through, is extremely haunted and has a plethora of history and lore so we thought this type of theme would be perfect! This is a small, water-tight container. Please BYOP! Happy Hunting!
About the monster: “Gamera” was the Daiei Motion Picture Company’s answer to Toho Studio’s great success with “Godzilla”, premiering shortly after in 1965 during Japan’s grand monster movie era of the 60’s. Gamera has gained just as much fame as Godzilla, and even claimed some fans in the U.S. during the 70’s when Gameras’ films were shown on Saturday afternoon matinees. In the 1990’s, all of Gameras’ movies would début again on “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and various monster-themed TV specials.
Gamera is a giant, flying turtle-like creature with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth and tusks that stick out from his lower jaw. Unlike ordinary turtles, Gamera walks on his two back legs and in his first three films he occasionally walked on all fours. Gamera also exhibits an ability to manipulate objects with its forefeet. Gamera’s appearance is very similar to two prehistoric turtles who also had teeth, something present day turtles lack. His shell is very strong and resilient; missiles and bullets simply bounce off, and most of Gamera’s more famous enemies had a terrible time trying to penetrate his shell. There is only one instance of Gamera’s shell ever being penetrated. The monster Guiron, named after the guillotine, hammered at the same spot over and over until he was able to cut through. Throughout the many movies starring Gamera, he has different, amazing abilities however in all of the films his only real weakness has always been the cold, and considering his reptilian origins this would make perfect sense.
There are three versions of Gamera’s origin story; one from the Shōwa era, another from the Heisei series, and the last from third film in the series. During the Shōwa era, Gamera was a prehistoric tortoise who could breathe fire and fed off of a petroleum based material which was what gave him the ability to fly by way of tucking his back legs into his shell and propelling himself with rockets. In the original film, American fighter jets intercept U.S.S.R. bombers carrying atomic bombs in the arctic and after the Soviet pilots attempt to leave, the American fighters launch an attack causing a bomber to crash. As a result of the crash, the atomic bomb inside the downed bomber explodes and releases a giant turtle from suspended animation in ice. In the Heisei series, Gamera is portrayed more as a hero, gaining the title “Guardian of the Universe” and was bio-engineered by Atlantis to defeat the terrible “Gyaos”, an ancient creature capable of killing off all human-kind. In the third film, there are a few scenes that link Gamera to an Asian folklore about a giant turtle who was the “Guardian of the North” who had separate rival monsters in the East, West, and South.
Turtles are a very common sight on the Pocomoke River as the humid, swampy environment is perfect for them. Perhaps this is where Gamera has retired after so many monster battles all those years ago.