Bat Boy (character)

Bat Boy
Weekly World News character
Created by Dick Kulpa
Information
Aliases bat child
Species Half-Bat, Half-Human
Gender Male
Family Herbert Sr. (grandfather)
Susan Boy (mother)
Ruth Carter Cash Boy (sister)
Born 1982 (age 33–34)

Bat Boy is a creature who made several appearances in the American supermarket tabloid Weekly World News. The Weekly World News published patently fabricated stories which were purported to be factual. Within the pages of the paper, Bat Boy is described as a creature who is 'half human and half bat'. His pursuers, according to Weekly World News, are scientists and United States government officials; he is frequently captured, then later makes a daring escape. The original scientist who found him was named Dr. Ron Dillon. Matthew Daemon, S.O.S. (Seeker of Obscure Supernaturals) crossed paths with him on several occasions.

Bat Boy was created by former Weekly World News Editor Dick Kulpa. He debuted as a cover story on June 23, 1992. The original front-page photo of Bat Boy, showing his grotesque screaming face, was the second-best selling issue in the tabloid's history, and he has since evolved into a pop-culture icon. He became the tabloid's de facto mascot of sorts. The story of Bat Boy was turned into an Off-Broadway musical, Bat Boy: The Musical.

Fictional background

According to Weekly World News, Bat Boy has a chaotic sense of morality. He has been said to steal cars and not to come to the aid of the needy. According to the mythos, the only person who cares about the chiropteran child is Dr. Ron Dillon, who discovered him in a West Virginia cave (Hellhole Cave in Pendleton County, WV). Origins of Bat Boy are sometimes credited to being in Lost World Caverns in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The original Weekly World News article lists "Hellhole Cave in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia". At the time of capture, he was two feet tall and weighed nineteen pounds. By February 2001, he was 2' 6". In 2004, he was five feet tall and his weight was unknown. He sheds his wings every three years, and regenerates a new pair.[1]

On August 14, 2003, WWN reported he was running in the California gubernatorial election.[2]

In October 2006, Weekly World News posted a video of Bat Boy "captured" on film riding on top of a New York City subway car. Bat Boy was said to be living in the subway system's tunnels during this time. This story was converted into a "documentary" video on the Weekly World News website.[3]

In October 2008, Bat Boy supposedly endorsed John McCain but switched to Barack Obama soon after.[4]

In November 2008, Bat Boy was allegedly seen protesting the passing of Proposition 8.[5]

Genealogy

According to the Weekly World News, the discovery of Bat Boy's family tree on a genealogy chart recently "stunned" evolutionary scientists who used to think the famed imp was a pitiful, one-of-a-kind mutant - but now believe he belongs to a race of creatures who have interacted with humans for at least 400 years. In the tabloid's account, the chart itself was written on vellum and found in the same Ozark Mountains cave where Dr. Ron Dillon, a biologist, rescued Bat Boy after he was trapped by a falling rock in 1992 (it should be noted, however, that the Ozark Mountains are nowhere near West Virginia). Carbon dating supposedly revealed the chart to be over a hundred years old.

Name Lifespan Alleged background
Artemis "Pip" Boee 1591-1622 Little is known of his life. Arrived in the New World days after the landing of the Mayflower at Plymouth Rock on the lesser known vessel, The June Bug. Was a successful jet airliner conductor of the underground railroad.
Charles Alexander "Cotton" Boee 1612-1691 The son of Artemis, he was a prosperous farmer in Massachusetts.
John "Little Cotton Joe Bundy" Boee 1658-1722 The deeply religious firstborn of Charles who was devoted to his wife Rebecca. It is noted that her own birth was hard and long, resulting in slightly elongated ears.
Susannah Boee 1661-1692 John and Rebecca's daughter; she gave birth to two children, Alexander and David. The townspeople, perhaps frightened by her pointy ears, accused the woman of "consorting with Satan" during the Salem witch trials. She was burned at the stake; however, her children were not (in reality none of the victims of the Salem witch trials were burned at the stake).
Alexander Boee 1679-1769 The shortest family member on record, standing at thirteen inches tall. Remembered for having changed the spelling of his last name to "Boie" ("because he wanted people to think he was French").
David Boee 1682-1776 The younger brother of Alexander Boee. He is revered as the oldest soldier to fight for American independence. He was killed the day the British surrendered. He will be remembered by his one hit wonder "magic pants dance."
Catherine Boie 1735-1815 Alexander's daughter who was best known for her work with wildlife. She studied animals and kept many unusual species as pets, including bats. Her oldest child, Andrew, was fascinated with the nocturnal critters but became a gourmet chef.
Andrew Jackson Boie 1785-1866 Made delicious meals out of nocturnal creatures, but soon became a cannibal and ate his ears.
Rodney Boe 1787-1869 Was Catherine's youngest child, an inattentive speller who inadvertently dropped the "i" from the family name. Family friends presume Rodney's poor scholarship was an attempt to focus attention on his smarter siblings, to divert eyes from his short stature, oversized eyes and pointed ears.
Archibald Boe 1825-1911 Rodney's firstborn, he left the family's ancestral home in Massachusetts and moved to California, where people were "more tolerant" of unusual looking people.
Marcus Boe 1875-1930 Eldest son of Archibald, he established himself as respected "bug man" with a successful exterminating business. There were rumors that he did not use flypaper or traps, but caught them with his mouth.
Horace "Joe Ears" Boe 1890-1931 Archibald's youngest son who left California at age thirteen, hopping an eastbound train to Chicago. Horace was shot dead in a shootout with famed federal agent Eliot Ness in 1931.
Margaret Boy 1910-1983 Horace's only child. She dropped the "e" from the family name and added a "y" so people would not associate her with her mobster dad. She left Chicago and moved to West Virginia.
Herbert Hoover Boy 1944-1972 Worked in the coal mines of West Virginia as a child of 12, not of financial need, but because he liked caves and the job.
Susan Boy 1954-? Herbert Sr.'s daughter. She achieved regional success as a country singer with a persona that has been likened to that of mountain songbird Dolly Parton. Susan's liaisons with an unnamed country legend produced two children: Ruth Carter Cash Boy and "the one they call Bat".
Ruth Carter Cash Boy 1972-? "a quick learner who was able to quit school after the sixth grade." She now lives in Wayne, West Virginia, Wayne Middle School.
Bat Boy 1982-? The brother of Ruth Carter Cash Boy. He is a decorated U.S. Marine who has confounded the authorities by stealing cars and biting children after serving his country as a "super patriot" on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq. After the nuclear fallout as a result of the Cuban-Jamaican War, he now wanders the wastelands of Jamaica searching for hippopotamus droppings to sell on the white market.

Adventures of Batboy

Cartoonist Peter Bagge originally penned the "Adventures of Batboy" for the Weekly World News. According to the cartoon, Bat Boy is currently hitchhiking with a typical American family after resigning from being the President of the United States (and King), has placed Weekly World News columnist Ed Anger under arrest and saying goodbyes to Beyoncé, a half sasquatch (with whom he was romantically involved), and Dr. Ron. According to past issues of WWN, Bat Boy has joined a death metal/thrash metal band as their lead singer. On a side note if ever spotted offer him eggs and he won't suck your blood through a crazy straw. Cartoonist Danielle Corsetto took over from Bagge in 2006.

Bat Boy: The Musical

Main article: Bat Boy: The Musical

A musical based on the Bat Boy character premiered at Tim Robbins' Actors Gang Theatre on Halloween, 1997 and has since been produced Off Broadway, in London's West End, and in scores of productions throughout the world. Music and lyrics are by Laurence O'Keefe, with a book by Brian Flemming and Keythe Farley.

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Weekly World News: Five things you don't know about Bat Boy!, December 10, 2002
  2. ↑ Weekly World News: BATBOY ANNOUNCES RUN FOR CALIFORNIA GOVERNORSHIP!, August 14, 2003.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-02-12. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  4. ↑ Cunningham, Reginald, III (October 22, 2008). "BAT BOY BACKS OBAMA". Weekly World News. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
  5. ↑ Allie, Pruitt (November 19, 2008). "BAT BOY HATES PROP 8". Weekly World News. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
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