Cryptid Crossword

(source)

In 2003 in their book The Field Guide to Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe attempt to create a new, fourteen part classification system for for aquatic cryptids.

(source) (Williamson Daily News, Nov 18, 1966)  (Gettysburg Times, Dec 1, 1966)

I’m really under the weather which meant that I didn’t post yesterday, so apologies for that. To make it up to you, here are two newspaper articles about Mothman, from 1966 (photo is not from 1966).

I’ve wanted to write about Mothman since I started this blog, because the stories that I’ve read, the recaps of sightings and the descriptions have always peaked my interest. But in researching for this bit I couldn’t find a lot that had sources or credible information, except for Wikipedia (who knew?). If anything the information I could find just managed to confuse me. Every second article had differing information, and differing stories from the same people. So anything I write here that isn’t quoted or sourced is my own knowledge and I don’t claim that any of it is absolute fact. 

Here is as much as I know. In 1966 in Point Pleasant, West Virginia there were at least 100 reported sightings of what we know as ‘Mothman’, a large humanoid shape with a wing span of 10 feet and glowing red eyes. Several sightings of the creature took place near or around the ‘TNT area’, a WWII munitions testing plant. The creature reportedly followed cars, chased people, and, as you can see in the article above, was blamed for the disappearance of a dog. 'Mothman’ was also linked to the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which was found to have a single link, eye bar 330, defect, which tragically resulted in the deaths of 46 people. 

The thing I found most intriguing about the reports were that it didn’t appear to be afraid of humans, if anything it would actively seek out people, watching them and following them. Linda Scarberry, saying,

“It seems like it doesn’t want to hurt you. It just wants to communicate with you.”

Another piece of this puzzle is that during the time span of the Mothman sightings, there was increased activity and reports from people of 'Men in Black’. Strange people lurking around the area, asking those in the town questions, not about Mothman but about UFOs. Apparently these men had a habit of making those they questioned feel uneasy and uncomfortable. 

Ahool: Have you ever traveled overseas, and if so, where did you go?

Champ: Is there something you’re looking forward to?

Chupacabra: What’s your favourite food?

Dover Demon: Do you believe in aliens?

Flatwoods Monster: What does your favourite outfit consist of?

Fur- bearing trout: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?

Jackalope: What’s your favourite alcoholic (or non) drink?

Jersey Devil: If you had three wishes, what would they be?

Kelpie: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

Kraken: If you could have any superpower what would you want to have?

Loch Ness Monster: Where is your favourite river/lake/pool/beach?

Lusca: What country do you want to travel to?

Mermaid: Who is your celebrity crush?

Mokele-Mbembe: What’s your favourite book?

Mothman: Who are you most comfortable around?

Ningen: What’s the last movie you watched?

Ogopogo: What band can’t you get enough of at the moment?

Ropen: One little known fact about yourself?

Sasquatch: Where is your number one camping destination?

Skunk-ape: What TV shows are you watching right now?

Thunderbird: What is your biggest fear?

Thylacine: What’s one thing on your bucket list?

Wendigo: Do you believe in good and bad luck?

This cryptid is going to be a little bit different than the others I’ve written about. The main reason being this one has been solved! Though I typically write about the unknown and the unanswered I do find this tale very interesting!

Stick around for the frightening tale of the Folly Beach Monster! 

Probably the most famous image of a Sasquatch comes from the Patterson/Gimlin footage. Shot in 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin were in Northern California searching on horseback for evidence of the existence of Sasquatches when they caught sight of a large, dark haired figure (starting at around 2:47).

So was it a hoax, or was it real? Well, in 2002 a costume designer named Philip Morris came forward to say that in 1967, Patterson came to him with great interest in his gorilla suits, asking questions pertaining to alterations and eventually bought one. Then in 2004 another man came forward, Bob Heironimus, and claimed that he had been paid $1,000 by Patterson to wear the suit and appear in the film. Several of Heironimus’ family members also corroborated this, after seeing a gorilla suit in the boot of his car.

The costume designer Morris is quoted as saying “The Bigfoot researchers say that no human can walk that way in the film. Oh, yes they can! When you’re wearing long clown’s feet, you can’t place the ball of your foot down first. You have to put your foot down flat. Otherwise, you’ll stumble. Another thing, when you put on the gorilla head, you can only turn your head maybe a quarter of the way. And to look behind you, you’ve got to turn your head and your shoulders and your hips. Plus, the shoulder pads in the suit are in the way of the jaw. That’s why the Bigfoot turns and looks the way he does in the film. He has to twist his entire upper body.”

But plenty of experts say that the body movements in this video are genuine, and cannot be replicated by man. Dr. Dmitri D Donskoy, chief of the chair of bio mechanics at the USSR central Institute of Physical culture in Moscow said this of the film “All of these factors together allow us to evaluate the gait of the creature of the footage as a natural movement without any signs of the artfulness that one would see in an imitation. At the same time, with all of the diversity of locomotion illustrated by the creature of the footage, its gait as seen is absolutely non-typical of man.”

(source)