Freaky Friday Files: Exploring The World Of Cryptids

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Hi friends! For this edition of Freaky Friday Files, I thought we could take a look at some of the world's cryptids. According to Wikipedia, cryptids refer to "animals or other beings whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology, the study of cryptids, is a pseudoscience claiming that such beings may exist somewhere in the wild; it has been widely critiqued by scientists." I am a bit of a sceptic when it comes to things like cryptids, as I always like to look for the most likely/most simple explanation of what was going on at the time (Occam's Razor), but that doesn't mean we can't explore some examples of cryptids in our world.

Have you ever seen a cryptid? Do you believe in cryptids?

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Exploring The World Of Cryptids

Bigfoot/Sasquatch

Bigfoot (or Sasquatch from Sasq'ets - the Salish name meaning "Wild Man") refers to a large, hairy mythical humanoid-like figure that inhabits forests in North America, specifically the Pacific Northwest. It looks like a giant ape that walks on 2 legs (bipedal) and is said to be anywhere between 6 and 15 feet tall. Bigfoot leaves behind footprints that are HUGE, usually measuring 24 inches long. There has never been any scientific proof of Bigfoot existing, but there have been some hoaxes. It's also possible that Bigfoot could just be giant bears or apes that have escaped captivity (or my favourite explanation - a man in a suit!)

Yeti

To me, the Yeti is kinda similar to Bigfoot, just in a different geographical location. According to Wikipedia, the "Yeti" is commonly "referred to as the Abominable Snowman in Western popular culture". Yeti "is a large, hairy, mythical humanoid creature said to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia." The Yeti is often traced to Sherpa folklore and has often been misidentified as a yak or a bear. There have been many "alleged" sightings on Mount Everest - but damn, people are being deprived up there, so that's not that surprising (maybe third man syndrome is possible here?) Third man syndrome might make for a good Freaky Friday Files edition.

Bunyip (Australia)

I wanted to include this one as it's from Aboriginal culture, and I think that's more important than ever right now. The Bunyip is from South-Eastern Australia in Victoria and has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba peoples. It's a creature that lurks in swamps, rivers, and other waterholes (it's amphibious and has never been sighted on land). Bunyip loosely translates to "devil" or "evil spirit". However, it's possible that the word may have referred to a "great man" in the past. The first written instance of the bunyip was in a Sydney newspaper, the Sydney Gazette, in 1812, when journalist James Ives referred to a "bahnyip" as a cause of terror. The bunyip legend may have been used to warn children about the dangers of deep inland waters.

Yowie (Australia)

Woo, another Australian one! And this one is fun because you used to be able to get chocolate Yowies in Aus/NZ - kinda similar to a Kinder Surprise. I think the Yowie is the Australian version of Bigfoot. It is a creature that is described as "bipedal, hairy, and ape-like" that stands upright between "2.1m (6 ft 11 in) and 3.6 m (12 ft)." Yowie's footprints are often inconsistent, and it's likely that the creatures have different numbers of toes. A Yowie has a wide and flat nose, and behavioural descriptions of the creature vary. Some people say the Yowie is timid & reclusive, whilst other reports suggest a Yowie is violent or aggressive.

The Yowie is a creature that is said to live in the Australian outback. It's unclear when the first ever reference to the Yowie was, but it was documented among the Gamilaroi peoples by Rev. William Ridley in Kámilarói and Other Australian Languages as "Yō-wī" and described as a "spirit that roams the earth at night". There have also been many reported sightings in NSW, NT, ACT, and Queensland from 1997 - 2014.

Goatman (US & NZ)

I think the Goatman is in a few different places around the world, but the main ones I know about are the US and NZ. The Goatman is a "creature resembling a goat-human hybrid often credited with canine deaths and purported to take refuge in the woods of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States." In some variations of this legend, the Goatman may have been a scientist called Dr Stephen Fletcher, who worked at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center who was conducting an experiment on goats that backfired. Dr Fletcher ends up mutating into half man, half goat and attacks cars.

In regard to Goatman in New Zealand, he can be described as a "horned humanoid with cloven hooves and a human torso" or "more than beast, carrying an axe through the woods like a forgotten hermit". Basically, part man, part goat that roams New Zealand. I actually have a kiwi friend whose band is called Beware the Goatman, so make sure you check them out. Lyttleton may be a hot spot for the Kiwi Goatman.

Loch Ness Monster (Scotland)

Ahh, the Loch Ness Monster, aka Nessie. We ALL know this one has been proven to be a hoax - the photographer came out and said it was a hoax, but yet people still believe that Nessie (and other sea serpents) are out there. Nessie is a mythical creature from Scottish folklore that inhabits Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. Nessie is a "large, long-necked" creature that has "one or more humps" shown from the water. The newspaper The Courier published George Spicer's alleged sighting of Nessie in August 1933, but we now know this was a hoax.

I find it fascinating that people are still convinced Nessie is real. I can't remember the programme I was watching, but it came up on traditional TV, and all these people in the Scottish Highlands were convinced that they had seen Nessie. I think this reflects more of a broader cultural/psychological impact that cryptids have on people, i.e., we have a desire for mystery - it's more exciting than just the "simple" answer; random objects in water are more interesting if they look like something else, and it may just be the pareidolia effect at play in combination with tourism stories keeping the legend alive for their own benefit. I also discussed the Cadborosaurus from Victoria, BC, Canada, in my "The Ultimate Travel Guide to Victoria, BC" if you wanna learn about another sea serpent legend and to me, that one is more convincing than Nessie.

The Vermont Monster (Champ)

I believe the Vermont Monster refers to the cryptid known as "Champ". In American folklore, Champ is a lake monster that lives in Lake Champlain (a 201 km long body of fresh water) which is shared by Vermont, New York, and Quebec. There have allegedly been over 300+ sightings of Champ since the 1800s. Champ is described as "a large, serpentlike creature with a long body and a dark back" that moves through the water. Indigenous traditions say that serpent beings are associated with the lake and inform an important part of the cultural landscape. Interestingly, there are many people on Reddit who are convinced that they have seen Champ. Check it out "here".

Mothman

I've written about the Mothman cryptid before in my Freaky Friday Files post about the "Appalachian Mountains", and yes, I still think it's a funny creature. I said the following - it has been updated for grammar: '''Mothman is a type of "humanoid" figure that was reportedly seen between the years of 1966 and 1967 in the Point Pleasant Area, West Virginia. Gravediggers (I assume people who dig graves for the bodies to go into) reported/claimed to see a man with wings take off from a tree and fly above them. And only three days later, two couples driving together near an abandoned WWII plant claimed to see a large man with 10-foot-tall wings and glowing red eyes. The two couples attempted to flee the scene because of how scared they were, speeding all the way back into the city (where they said the creature had followed them). Because of how scared they were, the people went straight to the police, where the creature was then reported in newspapers as "Mothman". Apparently, there were a lot more eyewitness accounts too (but I'm still not buying it tbh). To make matters worse (or increase the belief in the myth), in 1967, Silver Bridge (a bridge that connected Point Pleasant to Gallipolis, Ohio) collapsed. The bridge had so much rush-hour traffic on it, and unfortunately, 46 people passed away. Some people had claimed to see Mothman before the collapse, but in scientific fashion, we can explain this one as the bridge had a fracture, and you can read more on the Wiki page about the tragedy "here".

I also really liked the revived Netflix episode of Unsolved Mysteries that explored Mothman - the people in the episode were so convinced that they had seen him.

El Chupacabra

According to Wikipedia, the chupacabra "is a legendary creature, or cryptid, in the folklore parts of the Americas. It is said to prey on livestock, particularly goats, although reports also attribute attacks to sheep, chickens and other domesticated animals". It is likened to vampirism, as the creature k*lls its victims by puncturing the neck and consuming their blood. The name comes from the Spanish words "cabra" - i.e., goat and "chupar" i.e., to suck. This cryptid is also in an episode of The X-Files (S4, E11). The creature has been described as a bipedal monster that is 5 feet tall, with sharp spines, glowing red eyes, and stands like a kangaroo.

Jersey Devil

In Philadelphia and South Jersey folklore in the USA, the Jersey Devil (sometimes known as the Leeds Devil) is a cryptid that inhabits the New Jersey Pine Barrens forest. The creature is described as a flying biped with hooves. The creature moves quickly and emits a blood-curdling, high-pitched scream.

One origin of the Jersey Devil story refers to Mother Leeds and her 13th child. Some articles say that in the year 1735, there was a woman called Leeds who had 12 children. After finding out she was pregnant for a 13th time, Leeds cursed the child in frustration, saying, "Let the child be the devil!" The child was born normally but then grew a tail, wings, and claws and flew to the Pine Barrens forest. Some people say the child turned into a creature with hooves, bat wings, and a goat's head.

Dover Demon

The Dover Demon refers to a cryptid that was "allegedly" sighted between the 21st and 22nd of April, 1977, in the town of Dover, Massachusetts (near Boston). It was described as a creature that was around 3 or 4 feet tall with a head that kinda resembled a watermelon, but it had no facial features except glowing eyes without eyelids. The creature was peach coloured with long, lanky limbs and didn't have any hair on its body.

The alleged sightings are as follows:

21st April, 1977, 10:30 PM - A 17-year-old boy called Bill Bartlett claimed to see the creature crouching on a rock on Farm Street.
21st April, 1977, 12 AM - 15-year-old John Baxter saw a similar creature to what Bill had seen walking on all fours on Miller Hill Road.
22nd April, 1977 - A girl named Abby Brabham (who was also 15) and one of her friends saw this creature on Springdale Avenue.

All three teenagers provided drawings of the creature they saw. However, authorities were convinced that it was some sort of hoax or that all three teenagers saw some sort of moose calf or a snowy owl.

Possible Explanations of Cryptids

Ah, now we get to the fun analysis part of this blog! What are some possible explanations as to why people think they've seen cryptids?

Mistaken identity - A person may see an animal and mistake it for something else.
Animals with mange/other health issues can often look very unhealthy and, again, resemble something else.
Hoaxes - I feel like this one is self-explanatory. People are definitely participating in hoaxes to mess with others all the time.
Folklore tales - These tales are often created as a "warning" of lurking danger in the shadows, even if it's not specifically the cryptid.
Susceptibility/hallucinations - This is kinda similar to when people go on a ghost tour and other people around them "see" stuff; it makes the other person more susceptible to something happening. Therefore, the more someone talks about a cryptid or hears about one, the more likely another person is to become susceptible and start believing. I also think it's possible that there are hallucinations people have without even realising it, so that's another possible explanation in my opinion.
Pareidolia - You know when you look up at the clouds, and they look like something that isn't a cloud? That's called pareidolia. A person tends to perceive meaning in things and make connections with things that don't link together at all. Crazy how our brains work.
Animals that scientists haven't discovered yet - we are constantly learning about new creatures, especially in the ocean, so it's possible that people seeing a cryptid have seen an animal that just hasn't been discovered yet.
Media Feedback Loops - it is possible that there's a correlation between a person consuming frequent media about paranormal/cryptids that increases a person's belief that the creatures exist.