History Literature / TheMonsterOfPartridgeCreek

* TheSavageIndian: Downplayed, but still present, with much of the ValuesDissonance you'd expect from a story written in 1908. The native Klayakuk tribe aren't depicted as dangerous or threatening, but they are frequently referred to as "savage", and Father Lavagneux jokes that when he dies, they'll bury him in a coffin made of twigs.

* WeirdWest: A CanadianWestern variant. Its premise of rugged frontiersmen encountering something that, by all rights, should not exist fits in very well with this genre. The story is sometimes compared to the earlier ''The Monster of Lake [=LaMetrie=]'', another story in which a thought-to-be-extinct-animal turns up on the North American frontier - in that case, an ''Elasmosaurus'' living in a Wyoming lake.

* {{Whateversaurus}}: Averted in the original French text, which specifically identifies the monster as a ''Ceratosaurus''. However, for some strange reason, the English translation only ever refers to it as a "Dinosaurus".

* {{Whateversaurus}}: Averted in the original French text, which correctly identifies the monster as a ''Ceratosaurus''. However, for some strange reason, the English translation only ever refers to it as a "Dinosaurus".

* WeirdWest: A CanadianWestern variant. Its premise of rugged frontiersmen encountering something that, by all rights, should not exist fits in very well with this genre. The story is sometimes compared to the earlier ''The Monster of Lake [=LaMetrie=]'', another story in which a thought-to-be-extinct-animal turns up on the North American frontier - in that case, an ''Elasmosaurus'' living in a Wyoming lake.

''The Monster of Partridge Creek'' is significant in several ways. It was one of the first works of fiction to center around LivingDinosaurs (being published four years before Creator/SirArthurConanDoyle's more famous ''Literature/TheLostWorld'') [[note]]Extinct animals had already turned up alive and well in the earlier ''Literature/JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth'' and the below-mentioned ''Monster of Lake [=LaMetrie=], but not actual dinosaurs[[/note]]. It was also the first work of any kind to depict "feathered" dinosaurs, something that would not happen again for decades.

* AdaptationSpeciesChange: In the French version of the story, Father Lavagneux identifies the monster as "le cératosaure du cercle arctique", while in ''The Strand'''s English translation, the creature is only ever identified as the nonspecific (and nonsensical) "dinosaurus of the Arctic Circle". Downplayed, however, in that the horn on its nose still clearly marks it as some kind of ''Ceratosaurus'' if you know your dinosaurs, and across this page it is referred to as such.

* LightningBruiser: Despite the creature's size, it moves "with surprising agility, with movements resembling those of a kangaroo". Again, Dupuy was ahead of time on this, as dinosaurs are now known to be active and agile creatures, although that concept was pushed aside in the timespan between the 1930s and 1970s.
* LivingDinosaurs: The Monster, obviously.

* SwampMonster: The monster seems to make its lair in a marshy region around some natural sulphur springs, which ensure that the place stays humid and swampy even during the cold Yukon winter. Justified, since these springs - referred to as "moose-licks" - naturally attract the monster's prey.
* WeirdWest: A CanadianWestern variant. Its premise of rugged frontiersmen encountering something that, by all rights, should not exist fits in very well with this genre. The story is sometimes compared to the earlier ''The Monster of Lake [=LaMetrie=]'', another story in which a thought-to-be-extinct-animal turns up on the North American frontier - in that case, an Elasmosaur living in a Wyoming lake.

* LightningBruiser: Despite the creature's size, it moves "with surprising agility, with movements resembling those of a kangaroo".

* GoofyFeatheredDinosaur: An UnbuiltTrope; this was the first feathered dinosaur in fiction, but it's not goofy at all. Dupuy was [[AccidentallyCorrectZoology ahead of the curve on this]], as we now know there were indeed a few big meat-eating dinosaurs in cold climates that grew shaggy coats to keep warm, most notably the ''Yutyrannus''. The ''Ceratosaurus'' itself, however, is not believed to be among them, but a lot could change in 145 million years.

''The Monster of Partridge Creek'' is significant in several ways. It was one of the first works of fiction to center around LivingDinosaurs (being published four years before Creator/SirArthurConanDoyle's more famous ''Literature/TheLostWorld''). It was also the first work of any kind to depict "feathered" dinosaurs, something that would not happen again for decades.

* GoofyFeatheredDinosaur: An UnbuiltTrope; this was the first feathered dinosaur in fiction, but it's not goofy at all. Dupuy was [[AccidentallyCorrectZoology ahead of the curve on this]], as we now know there were indeed a few big meat-eating dinosaurs in cold climates that grew shaggy coats to keep warm, most notably the ''Yutyrannus''. The ''Ceratosaurus'' itself, however, is not believed to be among them, but a lot can change in 145 million years.

* TheSavageIndian: Downplayed, but still present, with all the ValuesDissonance you'd expect from a story written in 1908. The native Klayakuk tribe aren't depicted as dangerous or threatening, but they are frequently referred to as "savage", and Father Lavagneux jokes that when he dies, they'll bury him in a coffin made of twigs.
* SwampMonster: The monster seems to make its lair in a marshy region around a few natural sulphur springs, which ensure that the place stays humid and swampy even during the cold Yukon winter. Justified, since these springs - referred to as "moose-licks" - naturally attract the monster's prey.
* WeirdWest: While it doesn't take place in the American West, but in the Yukon, it ticks a lot of the boxes. Its premise of rugged frontiersmen encountering something that, by all rights, should not exist fits in very well with this genre. The story is sometimes compared to the earlier ''The Monster of Lake [=LaMetrie=]'', which is probably the first story in which a prehistoric animal - in this case, an ''Elasmosaurus'' - turns up alive and well on the North American frontier - in this case, a lake in the mountains of Wyoming.

* StockDinosaurs: The Monster is identified (in the French version, anyway) as a ''Ceratosaurus'', which while not as commonly seen in fiction today, was a stock dinosaur at the time. In fact, it may be the first dinosaur ever depicted in a live-action movie, via Creator/DWGriffith's silent film ''Brute Force'', which came out in 1914, only a few years after this story was published.

* AdaptationSpeciesChange: In the French version of the story, Father Lavagneux identifies the monster as "le cératosaure du cercle arctique", while in ''The Strand'''s English translation, the creature is only ever identified as the nonspecific (and nonsensical) "dinosaurus of the Arctic Circle". Downplayed, however, in that the horn on its nose still clearly marks it as a ''Ceratosaurus'' if you know your dinosaurs, and across this page it is referred to as such.
* AnimalsNotToScale: The Monster is described as 50 feet long, much too big to be a ''Ceratosaurus''.
* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: The Monster doesn't look much like a ''Ceratosaurus'', the species it's supposed to be. In addition to being much too big, we now know that real ceratosaurs were scaly rather than feathered. The Monster also drags its tail, which we now know dinosaurs didn't do.
* BadassPreacher: Father Pierre Lavagneux, one of the main characters, is a rugged and outdoorsy Jesuit missionary.

* StockDinosaurs: The Monster is identified (in the French version, anyway) as a ''Ceratosaurus'', which while not as commonly seen in fiction today, was a stock dinosaur at the time.

* AdaptationSpeciesChange: In the French version of the story, Father Lavagneux identifies the monster as "le cératosaure du cercle arctique", while in ''The Strand'''s English translation, the creature is only ever identified as the nonspecific "dinosaurus of the Arctic Circle". Downplayed, however, in that the horn on its nose still clearly marks it as a ''Ceratosaurus'' if you know your dinosaurs, and across this p.

The monster itself is 50 feet long, and resembles a two-legged predatory dinosaur with a horn on its nose, with a body covered in what seems to be black fur or feathers. When the characters return to civilization with their story, they are ridiculed and mocked for it, and mockingly compared to Creator/EdgarAllanPoe.

The monster itself is 50 feet long, and resembles a two-legged predatory dinosaur with a horn on its nose, except for the fact that its body is covered in what seems to be black fur or feathers. When the characters return to civilization with their story, they are ridiculed and mocked for it, and mockingly compared to Creator/EdgarAllanPoe.

* StockDinosaurs: The Monster is identified as a ''Ceratosaurus'', which while not as commonly seen in fiction today, was a stock dinosaur at the time.
* WeirdWest: While it didn't take place in the American West, but in the Yukon, it ticks a lot of the boxes. Its premise of rugged frontiersmen encountering something that, by all rights, should not exist fits in very well with this genre.

* GoofyFeatheredDinosaur: An UnbuiltTrope; this was the first feathered dinosaur in fiction, but it's not goofy at all. Dupuy was [[AccidentallyCorrectZoology ahead of the curve on this]], as we now know there were indeed a few big meat-eating dinosaurs in cold climates that grew shaggy coats to keep warm, most notably the ''Yutyrannus''. The ''Ceratosaurus'' itself, however, is not believed to be among them.

* PrehistoricMonster: Right there in the title.

''The Monster of Partridge Creek'', by George Dupuy, was a science-fiction short story published in the French magazine ''Je sais Tout'' in 1908. An English translation was published in ''The Strand'' later that same year. It is considered one of the earliest entries in the WeirdWest genre, centering as it does on a group of hunters in the Yukon who encounter a living dinosaur. The hunters (one of whom is [[DirectLineToTheAuthor Dupuy himself]]) are about to shoot a moose, when it runs away, scared off by the titular monster, which they manage to observe for ten minutes.

The monster itself is 50 feet long, and resembles a two-legged predatory dinosaur with a horn on its nose, except for the fact that its body is covered in what seems to be black fur or feathers. When the characters return to civilization with their story, they are ridiculed and mocked for it.

''The Monster of Partridge Creek'' was a science-fiction short story published in the French magazine ''Je sais Tout'' in 1908. It is considered one of the earliest entries in the WeirdWest genre, centering as it does on a group of hunters in the Yukon who encounter a living dinosaur. The hunters (one of whom is [[DirectLineToTheAuthor the author himself]]) are about to shoot a moose, when it runs away, scared off by the titular monster, which they manage to observe for ten minutes.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: The Monster doesn't look much like a ''Ceratosaurus'', the species it's supposed to be. In addition to being much too big, we now know that real ceratosaurs were scaly rather than feathered. The Monster also drags its tail, which we now know dinosaurs didn't do.
* DirectLineToTheAuthor: The whole thing is told as though it were a true story, which has led to more than a few people mistaking it for one.
* FeatheredFiend: The Monster, of course.
* GoofyFeatheredDinosaur: An UnbuiltTrope; this was the first feathered dinosaur in fiction, but it's not goofy at all.

* OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious: A weird example. The short story itself was published as fiction, but that hasn't stopped the Partridge Creek Monster from being included in many listings of "real" cryptids, even though no one ever claimed to have seen it in real life.

* StockDinosaurs: The Monster is identified as a ''Ceratosaurus'', which while not commonly seen in fiction today, was a stock dinosaur at the time.

''The Monster of Partridge Creek'' was a science-fiction short story (though the genre as we know it hadn't been named yet) published in the French magazine ''Je sais Tout'' in 1908. It is considered one of the earliest entries in the WeirdWest genre, centering as it does on a group of hunters in the Yukon who encounter a living dinosaur. The hunters (one of whom is [[DirectLineToTheAuthor the author himself]]) are about to shoot a moose, when it runs away, scared off by the titular monster, which they manage to observe for ten minutes.

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: The Monster doesn't look much like a ''Ceratosaurus'', the species it's supposed to be. In addition to being much too big, we now know that real ceratosaurs were scaly rather than feathered.

* DirectLineToTheAuthor: The whole thing is told as though it were a true story, which has led to more than a few people, especially cryptozoologists, mistaking it for one.

''The Monster of Partridge Creek'' is significant in several ways. It was one of the first works of fiction to center around LivingDinosaurs (being published four years before Creator/SirArthurConanDoyle's more famous ''Literature/TheLostWorld''. It was also the first work of any kind to depict "feathered" dinosaurs, something that would not happen again for decades.

''The Monster Of Partridge Creek'' contains the following tropes:

* Stock Dinosaurs: The Monster is identified as a ''Ceratosaurus'', which while not commonly seen in fiction today, was a stock dinosaur at the time.

* OlderThanTheyThink: See above. The first story involving a feathered dinosaur, published in 1908.