Cryptid Fascination

Deep in the forests of England and Scotland, Folklore and Urban Legend speak of Large, Puma-Like Cats that roam the countryside.

Generally believed to be escaped zoo animals or exotic pets, these "phantom cats" have actually been caught alive on multiple occasions. For example, in 1980, a live Puma was caught in Inverness-shire, Scotland.

In 1983, Eric Ley, a farmer from South Molton, England, claimed to have had lost as many as 100 sheep at the hands (paws? Teeth?) of a large cat over the span of three months. Royal snipers were sent out into the surrounding area to hunt down this big cat.

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quick aside, please just read this excerpt from the wikipedia article

Despite extensive media coverage and both professional and amateur hunting for the creature, which in one unfortunate case saw a cryptozoologist have to be rescued after spending two nights stuck in his own trap...

That is infinitely hilarious to me and Idk why fsdkljdfs

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No significant evidence has ever come from this case either proving or disproving the existence of this "Beast of Exmoor", as it's come to be called.

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"[the cat was] as big as a middle-sized Spaniel dog..."

-William Cobbett, quoting the experience of a young boy he had met (1760s)

Alleged Puma sighting in England captured via Drone.

Hello everyone! Firstly, I just wanted to thank you for your support on my last post! I apologize for my absence, got a bit too busy to post, but I'm hoping that two posts today will make up for that!

Secondly! A disclaimer:

This cryptid has been disproved and is nothing more than a tourist trap. That said, it's very personal to me and I wanted to talk about it. The next post today will be about a genuine/non-disproven cryptid!

TW///// Dead Animals, Taxidermy, Pictures of dead Animals (Mummified, non-graphic)

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Okay! Time to discuss our friend Jake the Alligator man!

Jake The Alligator man is a "Cryptid" and tourist trap located in Long Beach, WA, in Marsh's Free Museum. Jake is a half-monkey, half-baby alligator mummy that was sewn together at the waist to give off the appearance of a half-man, half-gator mummy. He was acquired from an antique store in 1967 for $750. I could not find any evidence of where he was from originally, but considering his relation to other tourist traps like the "Fiji Mermaid" (future post?), it's likely Jake came from some sort of travelling circus.

His story (lore? Background?), coming from the Tabloid Weekly World News, is that he was a "Half-human, half-alligator discovered in Florida swamp". Jake has been a very lucrative and successful attraction that calling him a "tourist trap" feels disrespectful, even if technically true.

All-In-All, Jake the Alligator Man holds a special place in the hearts of many Pacific Northwest Residents (Including yours truly), and despite his dubious origins, He will always be our alligator-man-monkey-thing.

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Jake The Alligator Man! That seam job is... A for effort guys.

Today's Cryptid (and the first featured on this blog!) holds a special place in my heart, as it's from my home state of Washington!

First reported in the 1980's in the Saint Helens region of Washington, the batsquatch is reported as a flying, werewolf-like creature. It's reported as being roughly the size of a large man, with huge, sprawling bat-like wings that can span up to 50 feet!

One report from a man in 2011 goes as follows:

"I saw something flying in the sky. It had bat wings, blue fur and had a face similar to eyes glowing red. It was about 9 feet tall at the least, after I watched it just flew away."

-- 'Pheonix Tieraz'

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The batsquatch is also the Mascot of the Batsquatch Pale Ale from the Pacific Northwest!

There are only a handful of sightings of the Batsquatch, leading to many questioning the validity of the Batsquatch's existence.

The Batsquatch is one of only four cryptids in Washington!

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