Favorite Cryptid ?

[David1967]

With the popularity of cryptids such as Bigfoot and dogman and such on TV and internet, do you think there is anything to these reports and do you have a favorite?

 

[Eddi]

With the popularity of cryptids such as Bigfoot and dogman and such on TV and internet, do you think there is anything to these reports and do you have a favorite?

I like the Loch Ness Monster

I've been to Loch Ness but didn't see it

 

[David1967]

I like the Loch Ness Monster

I've been to Loch Ness but didn't see it

Nessie is probably the next most popular cryptid next to the Yeti, or Bigfoot. That's neat that you've actually been to Loch Ness.

 

[Soandso]

I always thought the slapu or "stick indians" were interesting

The Stick Indians — Astonishing Legends

The Northwest Indian tribes, particularly the Salish, have a tale of a particularly malevolent and dangerous being that dwells deep in the forests of the Northwest. They are known primarily as Stick Indians. Physically, their description changes from tribe to tribe. Many legends acknowledge that the

astonishinglegends.com

The giant octopus that lives under the narrows bridge is a favorite - though I'm not sure how cryptid it is since the largest octopuses in the world do exist in the area

Kraken the Case Behind One of Tacoma’s Most Popular Local Legends - GRIT CITY MAGAZINE

Washington State has no shortage of octopus myths. The well known Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus haunts our canopies from coast to mountain top, but it’s Tacoma that is home to the real King of the North.

gritcitymag.com

Mothman is also a classic

An Ode to a Hometown Creature: Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia

The creature has risen from local appearances to the national stage as a leader in the cryptid revival of the last twenty years.

folklife.si.edu

 

[exchemist]

With the popularity of cryptids such as Bigfoot and dogman and such on TV and internet, do you think there is anything to these reports and do you have a favorite?

No of course not. All these things tell us more about human psychology (fear of nature, yearning for mystery, love of hoaxes etc) than about anything in nature. My current favourite is the spate of "big cat" sightings we get reported in the British newspapers every summer, when parliament is in recess and news stories are thin. What I love about these is the accompanying pictures of what are fairly clearly domestic cats, shot from low angle through grass, with fuzzy background objects that make them look bigger, e.g. this one from the Birmingham Mail:

I suppose it is just possible there may be an escaped puma or so, but it seems unlikely as there is never any tangible evidence (paw prints, faeces, fur samples etc) that could make identification possible.

Another one I quite like is le dahu, a francophone beast said to inhabit mountainous regions of France and Switzerland: Dahu - Wikipedia. (We used to stay in a hotel called Le Dahu when we went skiing in Morzine.)

 

[ChristineM]

do you think there is anything to these reports

No
Though

At uni in Sterling a couple of friends and i did a short road trip up to Inverness then across the country alongside loch Ness. Didn't see Nessie but we had great fun pretending shadows, bits of floating wood, ripples in the water etc became the beasty, you know what students are like

do you have a favorite?

Not really any monsters in this part of the world (around Perigueux France) we do have Petassou instead. An evil wizard who is blamed for just about any misdeed from foul smells, explosions, theft etc.

In March the local schools have an event, "The Judgement of Petassou". They make an effigy, parade him around the village (or town), hold a meeting where local folk songs and dances are performed before Petassou is judged and found guilty then burned at the stake to joy and cheering. (Nice friendly children we have here)

 

[David1967]

No
Though

At uni in Sterling a couple of friends and i did a short road trip up to Inverness then across the country alongside loch Ness. Didn't see Nessie but we had great fun pretending shadows, bits of floating wood, ripples in the water etc became the beasty, you know what students are like




Not really any monsters in this part of the world (around Perigueux France) we do have Petassou instead. An evil wizard who is blamed for just about any misdeed from foul smells, explosions, theft etc.

In March the local schools have an event, "The Judgement of Petassou". They make an effigy, parade him around the village (or town), hold a meeting where local folk songs and dances are performed before Petassou is judged and found guilty then burned at the stake to joy and cheering. (Nice friendly children we have here)

View attachment 84135

That's interesting about the fabled evil wizard. I have a good friend that grew up in Ireland. He said whe he was a child, Banshees were the things that scared him. He said that every time a cat yowled at night it was said it was a banshee.

 

[Gargovic Malkav]

What I love about these is the accompanying pictures of what are fairly clearly domestic cats, shot from low angle through grass, with fuzzy background objects that make them look bigger, e.g. this one from the Birmingham Mail:

That's not grass, it's a forest!