Was Montauk Monster a film hoax? -- Newsday.com

Was Montauk Monster a film hoax? -- Newsday.com:

"Like a relentless stalker in a cheesy horror movie, the Montauk Monster keeps popping up for one last scare.
So when will the curtain finally drop on this Long Island thriller? Judging by the buzz, not very soon.
The latest, according to the East Hampton Star: The monster has been stolen from the backyard of Eric Olsen, a Montauk real estate agent who said he had taken the corpse from Ditch Plains Beach, where it was 'discovered' July 12.
That day, three Montauk friends -- Jenna Hewitt, 26, Rachel Goldberg, 29, and Courtney Fruin -- snapped a picture of the creature, which fanned the flames of a story that has become bigger and more complicated ever since.

Olsen and the three friends maintain that the monster is real.

But some claim there could be a shady backstory to the whole deal. Media blog Gawker has reported the theory that Goldberg is the sister of indie filmmaker Darren Goldberg. It says someone connected to the film might have planted a monster prop on the beach as part of a viral marketing ploy to promote his new flick, "Splinterheads."