Lore and Legend

Sure:

Cryptozoology A to Z - A wonderful book for those that are just starting to learn about Cryptozoology to people like me that prefer short blurbs per creature rather than chapters and chapters on the same thing. This book has just enough info on each cryptid that it reports on.

Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter - This is the book Josh Gates wrote about his time filming the TV show Destination Truth. Not an informational book like the first recommendation but it is a fantastic read.

Investigating the Unexplained - Ivan T Sanderson is always a must read at least once. Not only is this book investigating things like cryptids, but many other mysteries that have plagued Earth. 

The Beasts That Hide From Man - Another reference-type book like the first reccomendation. It’s a good read, and keeps the attention of people like me that have no attention span.

Monster Hunt: The Guide to Cryptozoology - Another reference-type book complete with a beautiful cover that is like faux-lizard skin and lovely images inside.

Globsters - A personal interest to me, this book dives into the subject of Globsters. Of course, most Globsters are whale blubber, decaying basking sharks, etc, but this book introduced me to a number of unknown Globsters that I had never heard of. 

Top 5 States For Bigfoot Sightings

1) Washington The state of Washington has 622 sightings reported. It borders British Columbia which has the highest amount of sightings in Canada.

2) California Home of the Patterson-Gimlin film that brought Sasquatch into public attention, California has 433 reported sightings. Most people look to California when they think of a place for Bigfoot to call home.

3) Florida The Florida Skunk Ape calls this diverse state home. Florida is full of cities, beaches, and dense forest and swamps perfect to hide a large ape from the public’s eye. The state of Florida has 309 reported sightings.

4) Illinois Probably the most surprising state to have Bigfoot sightings, most people don’t think much of Illinois outside of Chicago. Yet this state has 275 reported sightings.

5) Ohio The Ohio Grassman calls this forested state home with 266 reported sightings. Salt Fork State Park is said to be a hotspot for Sasquatch activity, with a section of the park even called “Bigfoot Ridge.” It’s rumored that this area is a Sasquatch breeding ground.

A strange and terrifying cryptid known as a Dingonek or “Jungle Walrus” has become the subject of several terrifying reports across the African continent.

Reported at over 15 feet in length, and capable of killing humans, reptiles and large mammals that invade its wetland habitat, the creature is described as having a squarish head with horns attached to a long, scale covered body, and a poison bearing tail. The sheer strangeness of the creature points to its potential existence as a relative of the Pangolin, which is a much smaller yet scale covered mammal related to anteaters.

In addition to eyewitness accounts, cave paintings in South Africa show a bizarre creature resembling a Dingonek.

[Video] 2 Bigfoots Caught on Tape 2013

Bradford, Pennsylvania. Two bigfoots were discovered in the Kinzua State Park when 57 year old John…

Quick Cryptid Snippet: The Yokyn

During the 1960’s and 1970’s in Australia, a strange type of dog-like creature that had never been seen before, was being seen by multiple people from all over. Witnesses claimed that the “dog” appeared to be half the size of a dingo, had multi-colored fur (patches of brown, red, gray, and white) like that of an African Wild Dog, a thick muscular body, and claws that appeared to be much too big for its paws. The legs were slightly stubby and the face was relatively long and took on a pointed appearance. The tail looked to be quite long and stiff and was covered in shaggy, multi-colored hair.

Many people believe that what witnesses were seeing was actually a new sub-species of wild Dingo. Proponents of this theory believe that common dingoes had simply been mating with a species of multi-colored domesticated dog (such as a shepherd or cattle dog), which resulted in the new and striking creature. The offspring could have taken on either of the dominant color traits of its parents as well as the key identifying features of each breed. But, this is not the only theory as to what the Yokyn truly was.

There are others who believe that the Yokyn was actually a new sub-species of surviving mainland Thylacine which, over time, had evolved a new multi-colored coat as well as longer and shaggier hair. While this theory would be incredible if it was true, it is more than likely not. An evolutionary appearance jump such as this (hair, muscular definition, size) would have taken more than just a few years to become prominent (we are talking decades upon decades upon decades, so on and so on). Although the claims of the creature having stubby legs, a pointed face, and a long straight tail, do bring to mind images of a Thylacine, albeit one that looks strikingly different than its long thought to be extinct cousin.

Sightings of the Yokyn have dwindled significantly over the years, but every once in a while, strange looking wild dogs are still spotted in the vast Australian outback.

Cryptid Profile: Bray Road Beast / Wisconsin Werewolf

The state of Wisconsin is no stranger to “werewolf” sightings and encounters. Although it seems impossible, a number of bizarre encounters in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s leaves us pondering the very idea of Dog-men. There had already been encounters with what some believed were werewolves in Wisconsin in 1936, 1964 and 1972 respectively, but there had been nothing like the reports that came out of the area near Delavan, starting in 1989.

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #1 Year: 1936  Location: Jefferson County, Wisconsin Mark Schackelman was driving along Highway 18 just outside of Jefferson, Wisconsin when he noticed something digging in a field off the side of the road. The site was a location where a Native American burial ground was believed to be. When Schackelman slowed down to get a better look, the “man” turned around and faced him. It turns out that it was a hairy creature that stood on two legs, which Schackelman described as looking like a mix between an ape and a dog. The creature had the general shape of a large man, with opposable thumbs and everything. 

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #2 Year: 1964  Location: Jefferson County, Wisconsin Dennis Fewless was driving along Highway 89 around midnight when he saw a figure running across the road. When his headlights caught sight of the creature, it was eerily similar to a werewolf seen in 1936, just a couple of miles away. Large and muscular, stood around seven feet tall, covered in dark brown hair, with a dog-like face. Fewless saw the creature run across the road, jump over a barbed-wire fence, and disappear into a corn field.

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #3 Year: 1972  Location: Jefferson County, Wisconsin A woman (name unreported) called 911 when she heard someone trying to break into her rural home in the middle of the night. Upon further investigation, it appeared that it was not a person, but a large animal that had tried to get in. A few weeks later the creature returned and again tried to forcefully enter the house. This time the woman saw the creature. She described it as around eight feet tall, covered in dark brown hair, and it stood on two legs. It had long arms with hands that had long, sharp claws on them. When the creature couldn’t get inside the house, it went out to the woman’s barn and attacked a horse. The horse was alive, but had a deep cut across its back. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources investigated, finding a foot print that was said to be over a foot long. 

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #4 Year: 1989  Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin The town of Elkhorn, about an hour south of Jefferson County, had its own reports of the Wisconsin Werewolf. The first werewolf sighting occurred in 1989, though it wasn’t reported until another sighting was reported 10 years later. A woman named Lorianne Endrizzi had seen a large figure on the side of the road. As she got close she realized that it was not a person but a tall beast, covered in gray/brown hair, with a dog-like face featuring fangs, pointed ears, and glowing yellow eyes.

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #5 Year: 1989  Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin A dairy farmer named Scott Bray owned a cattle pasture near his family’s namesake street, Bray Road. He reported seeing a dog, larger and taller than a German Shepherd, in his pasture one night. The creature was muscular and heavy, covered in gray/brown hair with pointed ears. Bray was able to find footprints, larger than any known dog or wolf, in the pasture the next day.

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #6 Year: 1989  Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin Russell Gest saw a large, dog-like creature in Elkhorn close to the time of the previous two reported encounters. He described the creature in a very similar way to the other reports, stating that it stood on its hind legs and began to slowly approach him before he ran away.

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #7 Year: 1990  Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin An 11-year old girl named Heather Bowey saw what she thought was a large dog stand up on its hind legs and run away. She lived near Bray Road, which would become part of the famous nickname for this werewolf.

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #8 Year: 1992  Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin Tammy Bray, the wife of Scott Bray, was driving back to her home on Bray Road when she saw the creature. She also described a tall, broad shouldered, and muscular beast covered in dark brown hair. The dog-like face and glowing yellow eyes match the previous descriptions of the Wisconsin werewolf, though at this point, the other sightings had still not been widely reported.

Wisconsin Werewolf Sighting #9 Year: 1999  Location: Elkhorn, Wisconsin This is the sighting that first got everyone talking. It was the night of Halloween 1999, and an 18-year old woman named Doristine Gipson was driving along, you guessed it, Bray Road, when her car suddenly jerked as if she had hit something. She got out of the car and walked back along the road, straining to see. Then she caught sight of what she had hit. A huge, dark, hairy figure began rushing toward her. Gipson ran back into her car and began to drive away. The beast reportedly jumped up onto the trunk of the car, but due to the wetness of the rain-covered car, it could not hold on and fell to the ground. Gipson said she drove back to the location that same night with a young trick-or-treater, and they both saw a large figure laying on the side of the road. They didn’t stay long. Gipson reported the sighting the next day, which is what brought the other witnesses to share their tales. At this point, no one was sure what the creature was, so they dubbed it “The Bray Road Beast”. 

Below is a list of animals once thought not to exist and not officially recognized by mainstream scientists, biologists, and zoologists. Through persistence, patience and focus, determined researchers were able to prove without a doubt that these creatures do exist and have to be recognized officially by the scientific community.

- Northern White Rhino - Hawaiian Monk Seal - Goliath Frog - Mekong Giant Catfish - Congo Peacock - Melon-headed Whale - Megamouth Shark - Platypus - Okapi - Giant squid/Colossal squid - Coelacanth - Komodo Dragon - Devil Bird (the spot bellied eagle owl) - Cuvier’s Beaked Whale - Dingiso (tree kangaroo) - Hoan Kiem Turtle - Mountain Gorilla - Kangaroo - Oarfish - Giant Panda - Kipunji - Australian Snubfin Dolphin - Northern Sierra Madre Forest Monitor Lizard - Saola - King Cheetah - Thylacine (was thought to not exist before its original discovery and is thought to not exist once again)

These animals prove that the contribution cryptozoologists make to the scientific community should be taken seriously and not pushed aside as a pseudoscience.

Mothman - 

A cryptid and urban legend from the Point Pleasant area of West Virginia, sightings of the Mothman were widespread 1960s, with at least 100 people claiming to have seen the creature. He is often described as a large humanoid creature with glowing red eyes, grey skin and ten foot wings that fold against its back when it is not in flight. It is incapable of speech and makes a noise similar to the sound of a woman screaming. Some believe that it is an alien from another planet, or that it is simply some kind of yet to be discovered animal.  

The first sighting of the Mothman occurred on November the 12th, 1966, when five men who were digging a grave in a cemetery saw a man shaped figure flew over their heads from nearby trees. A few days later two young couples told police that a large flying man with wings followed their car while they were driving. The flying creature continued to chase them, even when they reached speeds of 100 mph, but it disappeared when they reached the city limits. As the days went on dozens of other people started reporting similar sightings and one man even claimed that his dog disappeared after chasing the Mothman from his farm.