OK, I know it's past Halloween, but I'm still in the "spooky" mood and with that: here's 20 of the most famous American (and Canadian) cryptids.
1. Bigfoot
Bigfoot is perhaps the most iconic cryptid in the US. He is often described as a 2.5 meter tall bipedal ape reported to be mostly nocturnal; haunting the night with his waling call. He is most often sighted in the Pacific North-West. In fact, Some of the most compelling evidence is the Patterson film and the Skookum cast, both found in Washington State. Similar legends are known by the Natives of the region who refer to him as the "Sasquatch". Many people believe that Bigfoot is a surviving population of Gigantopithecus and many similar creatures are reported to live elsewhere in the US and Canada.
-Similar Creatures
-Beaman
-Wildman of Navidad
-Urayuli
-Tsul 'Kalu
-Skunk Ape
-Skookum
-Pukwudgie
-Pope Lick Monster
-Ozark Howler
-Old Yellow Top
-Momo the Monster
-Mogollon Monster
-Minnesota Iceman
-Grassman
-Fouke Monster
2. Champ
The Lake Champlain Monster or "Champ" is one of many lake monsters found worldwide that fit the general description of a plesiosaur. The creature was first sighted in 1609 by Samuel de Champlain (hence the name of the lake and the monster) and there was a flurry of sightings in 1819. One of the best pieces evidence came in 1977 when it was supposedly photographed by Sandra Mansi (pictured above).
One of the most common theories about it is that it's a living plesiosaur but other people claim it's a basilosaurus. Many similar animals have been sighted in lakes across the country that fit the general description of a plesiosaur. However there is some variation in the descriptions. For example, the Altamaha River Monster is described as only having front flippers instead of all four and others are described as being more serpentine. Some explanations fort the sightings include them being misidentified seals or sturgeons.
-Altamaha-ha
-Turtle Lake Monster
-Tahoe Tessie
-Sharlie
-Ogopogo
-Mussie
-Memphre
-Manipogo
3. Jersey Devil
The Jersey Devil is one of the more supernatural cryptids. Its description closely fits that of a demon with hooves, claws, horns and bat wings. According to legend, in 1735, Mother Leeds was giving birth to her 13th child and in the pain of labor, she cried out "let it be the devil". The child was then born and transformed into a demon before flying out the chimney. A flury of sightings in 1909 even caused schools to shut down. The Jersey Devil is said to haunt the pine barrens and some explanations include it being a misidentified hammerhead bat that was unknowingly introduced.
Similar Creatures
-Lake Worth Monster
-Goatman
-Pope Lick Monster
4. Dover Demon
The Dover demon is a very mysterious creature that has been only sighted twice: April 21st and 22nd 1977 near Dover Massachusetts. The description is very puzzling. It's a quadreped with a large head, tiny body, glowing red eyes, white coloration and very long limbs and fingers. Some believe the creature to have supernatural origins while others believe that it is an alien. Some have speculated that it was a misidentified moose calf.
5. Lizard-Man of Scape Ore Swamp
The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp is a humanoid reptile sighted from Scape Ore Swamp in South Carolina. It was first sighted by Christopher Davis in 1988 and it was described as being 7 feet tall. Most often it is described as being green but sometimes it's said to be brown and sometimes is described as having a tail but other times not.
Similar Creatures
-Thetis Lake Monster
-Loveland Frog
6. Flatwoods Monster
The flat-woods monster is another of those cryptids that doesn't seem to have an Earthly origin. It was only sighted once on the night of September 12th 1952. A meteor streaked across the sky that night and a group of people rushed over to the supposed landing sight. What they saw in the night was a 7 foot tall monster with glowing red eyes and a spade shaped head. Below the head it was said to have a dress like bottom and claw like hands. It was also purported to emit an ominous hissing sound. Terrified they ran away and the monster hasn't been seen since. Many believe it to be an alien.
7. Mothman
Mothman is a legendary being reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register dated November 16, 1966, titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird ... Creature ... Something". The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the country. On November 12, 1966, five men who were digging a grave at a cemetery near Clendenin, West Virginia, claimed to see a man-like figure fly low from the trees over their heads.
This is often identified as the first known sighting of what became known as the Mothman. It has been described as a large bird-like creature with no head and two glowing red eyes in the center of its chest. It was nocturnal in nature and said to be as large as a man. The sightings ended when the Silver Bridge collapsed and it was said that this was the Mothmans' Grand finale. Some explanations include it being a misidentified owl.
8. Beast of Bray Road
The Beast of Bray Road (or the Bray Road Beast) is a cryptid, or cryptozoological creature first reported in 1936 on a rural road outside of Elkhorn, Wisconsin. It is described as being werewolf like by the witnesses in the following ways: as a bear-like creature, as a hairy biped resembling Bigfoot, and as an unusually large (2–4 feet tall on all fours, 7 feet tall standing up) intelligent wolf-like creature apt to walk on its hind legs and weighing 400-700 pounds. It also said that its fur is a brown gray color resembling a dog or bear. But unlike other werewolves, it can't transform into a human.
Similar Creratures
-Michigan Dogman
-Garou
9. Eastern Cougar
The Eastern Cougar was once a real animal, but in the 1800s, it was extirpated from it's native habitat by farmers who considered it to be a pest. But since then sightings of cougars have persisted in the Eastern US. However, unlike the historical accounts, many describe the animals as having black fur. Melanism (or being almost entirely black) is known to occur in leopards and jaguars, but has never been observed in a cougar.
-Appalachian Black Panther
-Wampus Cat
10. Chupacabra
The chupacabra or chupacabras (Spanish for "goat-sucker"; from "chupar", "to suck", and "cabra", "goat") is a legendary creature in the folklore of parts of the Americas, with its first purported sightings reported in Puerto Rico. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. However there is a report of a sighting from Arizona in 1955. Descriptions vary but many say that it is bidepal, possess red eyes, has quills on its back, sharp fangs and a long hollow tongue to suck the blood of its victims. Some believe it to be a genetically engineered creature from a top secret government project.
11. Waheela
The waheela is a wolf-like cryptid reported from Nahanni Valley in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It has also been reported in areas of Michigan and Alaska. The waheela is similar to the shunka warakin, but inhabits a far more northern habitat. It is also similar to Amarok, a giant wolf from Inuit mythology. It is reported to travel in groups of two or three, and not in large packs as modern wolves do. Some speculate that it is a surviving population of Dire Wolf, Borophagine or Amphicyonid.
-Amarok
-Shunka Warakin
-Hodag
-Elmendorf Beast
12. Wendigo
In Algonquian folklore, the wendigo or windigo is a cannibal monster or evil spirit native to the northern forests of the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes Region of both the United States and Manitoba. The wendigo may appear as a monster with some characteristics of a human, or as a spirit who has possessed a human being and made them become monstrous. It is historically associated with cannibalism, murder, insatiable greed, and the cultural taboos against such behaviours.
The legend lends its name to the disputed modern medical term Wendigo psychosis, which is considered by psychiatrists to be a form of culture-bound syndrome with symptoms such as an intense craving for human flesh and a fear of becoming a cannibal. In some Indigenous communities, environmental destruction and insatiable greed are also seen as a manifestation of Wendigo Psychosis.
13. Thunderbird
The thunderbird is a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength and said to bring thunderstorms. However, many people have claimed to see the birds in real life. They are much larger than any flying animal surviving today with 18 foot wingspans. Some believe them to be living teratorns, giant condor like birds that lived up until only 10,000 years ago. The most common explanation for them is being misidentified living birds of prey.
14. Ghost Deer
The ghost deer is supposedly an animal, or cryptid, that lives in the canyons of Mount Eddy in northern California. According to legend, when shot at, bullets will fly right through the deer, or miss it. The "animal" also seems to appear and disappear with no traces of it. Attempts have been made to track its prints, only to find that they simply "end" at one point.
15. Hoop Snake
The hoop snake is a legendary creature of the United States, Canada, and Australia. It appears in the Pecos Bill stories; although his description of hoop snakes is the one with which people are most familiar, stories of the creature predate those fictional tales considerably. According to folklore, the distinguishing feature of a hoop snake is that it can grasp its tail in its jaws and roll after its prey like a wheel.
16. Jackalope
The Jackalope is a chimeric cryptid that has been described as having the body of a rabbit but the antlers of a deer and has been reported in the Western US since the time of the first European Settlers in the region. Some explanations include that is is a rabbit infected with the Shope Papilloma Virus that can cause horn like worts to grow on the skin of the victim.
17. Ivory Billed Woodpecker
The Ivory Billed Woodpecker is unlike the other cryptids in that we know it existed at one point. It was widespread in the southern US in the 1700s-1800s but when development began, the virgin swamps it depended on was decimated by development and by 1900 it was rare and by the 1920s it was speculated to be extinct. In 1935 Arthur Allen wondered into the Lousiana swamp and found and for the first time (and possibly the last) filmed and recorded it. In 1997, the Ivory billed was declared extinct but it may have been filmed in Arkansas in 2004 but there have been no sightings since. It's continued existence remains a mystery.
18. Honey Island Swamp Monster
The Honey Island Swamp Monster is one of the more mysterious cryptids. Some claim it to be a variety of Bigfoot but others say it is more lizard like. It's said to be covered in either hair or swamp vegetation. And unlike big-foot which has a human like foot, the Swamp Monster is said to have only three toes on each foot; one large center one and two opposable ones on each side of the foot and having similarly 3 fingers on each hand. It was first sighted in 1963.
19. Bear Lake Monster
The bear lake monster is a large lake monster that has been reported in Bear Lake of the Western US. It was first sighted in the 19th century like Mormon Settlers. The Bear Lake Monster is described as being around 50 feet long but unlike other lake monsters who are said to be plesiosaur like, the Bear Lake Monster is said to resemble a large aquatic lizard and it can come onto land. Some believe that it is a early diverging Mosasaur.
Similar Creatures
-Trinity Alps Giant Salamander
-Milton Lizard
-Igopogo
20. Cadborosaurus
Cadborosaurus or "Caddy" is a sea serpent that is said to live in the Pacific Northwest. MAny have speculated as to what it might be. Some have proposed that it's a remnant population of an extinct animal such as basilosaurus. It's said to move via vertical undulations of it's body and to possess a horse like head; supporting the notion that it's an undiscovered marine mammal. Many carcasses have washed up on the shore and have been claimed to be "Caddy", one of the most famous being the Effingham Carcass of 1947.
Similar Creatures
-Gloucaster Sea Monster
-Chessie
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