Garden Detective

South America's Creepy Argentinian Gnome. left, bears a striking resemblance to the Travelocity gnome, which was similar to the one at the center of my own garden mystery.

A couple of years ago, a garden gnome mysteriously showed up in my iris bed. None of my friends claimed responsibility, and so he rested among the flowers until disappearing a week later, as mysteriously as he had appeared. It was quite creepy, to say the least.

I had forgotten about that incident, which I had assumed was a neighborhood hoax, until reading about the Creepy Gnome that's terrorizing a town in Argentina.

Several residents of General Gueme have reported seeing the creature stalking the streets at night, wearing a pointed hat and walking sideways like a crab, leaving the locals holed up in their homes for fear of coming face to face with it, the UK newspaper The Sun has reported.

A few local teenagers hanging out at night caught images of the monster on a cell phone camera. Check it out:

If you ask me, my gnome story is more interesting -- and more credible.