Mimicry is a common tool in nature, be it for ambushing prey or hiding from predators. Many species out there find ways to blend into their background or copy the look of a more dangerous creature. Some of them can be mundane, looking like dried leaves or a patch of moss. Others, however, can get pretty wild. Strange colors, odd structures and the alteration of one's anatomy to the extreme. In most cases, you can understand what they were going for and how this helps. For the rumptifusel, folks are still puzzling about what they were trying to mimic. Or at least what their ruse was before man came to this land.
The rumptifusel is a boneless, flat creature that bears thick fur and a familiar shape. They slither across the ground to move, though sometimes the wind can be strong enough to let them glide a distance if they jump. Rumptifusel are on the hunt for ideal places to lie in wait, as they are ambush hunters. Their tactic is...a bit odd, as they don't exactly blend in that well with their environment. They look like a runaway pelt, or more specifically, they look like a fancy fur coat. Sleeves, collar and everything.
Yet, the appearance doesn't seem to cause them any issues. They will hang themselves from branches, drape themselves over stumps or even latch onto tree trunks, then simply wait for prey. When an animal or human gets too close, the rumptifusel will pounce from its perch and envelope them in a smothering embrace. Hooked claws on their "arms" and "teeth" on their head are meant to snag their victims and prevent them from slipping away. When they got a good grip, the rumptifusel will wrap its whole furry body around prey, practically smothering them in a fuzzy cocoon. What their prisoner will soon realize is that the rumptifusel is not hairy on both sides, as its underbelly is actually fleshy and covered in countless pores. From here, potent digestive enzyme leaks out, which rapidly breaks down flesh and bone. The embrace will hold victims tight, as the acid eats them away bit by bit and the thirsty pores slurp up the slurry. As the prey is digested, the rumptifusel will constrict its body harder and harder, so that it can squeeze out every last drop. By the time the meal is done, all that will remain is a slimy compact pellet of hair and cloth, which the creature discards.
While their method of hunting and consuming prey is nothing short of horrific, it still bears the question: why do they look like a fur coat? A random pelt of fur may be one thing, but its shape is far too specific for it to be a coincidence. Some believed the form evolved when they came in contact with man, but native tales claim the rumptifusel always looked like this. Hard to believe it would be able to change so fast that these stories and arts wouldn't see the original form. Some indeed think it just happened to turn out this way, and that the rumptifusel was going for an animal pelt look. They do happen to have a strong funk to them, which makes people believe they originally were disguising themselves as a carcass so that they could pounce on scavengers. This smell, however, is due to the gooey remains of previous prey that is still clinging to them, so it isn't a purposeful secretion. Regardless, it sure seems to work for them! After all, "El Cuero" looks like a blanket of cow skin and it still succeeds in catching prey. This is why some academics believe these two species are related.
Regardless of the "hows" and "whys," the rumptifusel certainly earned itself a place in folklore and culture. Natives of the region treated them like symbols of greed, where fools blinded by an easy prize would be lured to their doom. Though a sharp eye and thoughtful mind could easily see through this ruse, the creature was rarely actually hunted and used as fur. In their culture, this icon of greed and deception was a thing of bad luck, and thus no one wished to drape themselves in it. Tales would speak of fellows who would slay them with arrows and turn them into real coats. However, whenever they wore these garments, they would not be satiated by anything in life. No food would be enough for their bellies, no treasure satisfactory. They would hoard everything they could to fill this empty void, until their sinful coat came back to life and devoured them. It was a real fear, then and now, that any coat made from rumptifusel may not be dead enough for one's liking.
When colonists came over and the land started changing, more folk fell to these deceptive creatures. But eventually they too grew wise and learned how to deal with them. Arrows, spears and other ranged weapons could fell these beasts before they had the chance to pounce, and the strangers to these lands were not so wary about the prizes it brought. Rumptifusel coats became all the rage, as here was a species that made an entire garment with only one specimen. Like many fur bearing species, their populations took a dive when the fur trade was in full swing. Many areas were depleted of these creatures, only those deep in the woods or too far from civilization being spared. Thankfully, the fad would come to an end before the species was wiped out, though logging of their homes was still an issue. However, the rumptifusel would survive through these hard times, and continue to be a presence in these lands.
Their appearance has filled man with curiosity and fear since the very first time. On one hand, you have this wonderful pelt that is free for the taking if you know how to safely dispatch one. On the other, failing to properly handle one or falling for their ruse means an incredibly horrific end. Their voracious appetite and hunting method is what caused rumptifusel farming to fail. Folks figured it was the easiest way to make fur coats, as just raise a living version of one! It also helped that no one had any compassion for this man-eater, nor was their appearance cute or charming enough for marketing, thus animal groups raised no fuss about this practice. What they found, though, was that they demanded too much meat and would inevitably grow stunted in captivity. Rumors also claim one or two farmers perished when their harvest wasn't as dead as they thought.
Their appearance and gluttony has certainly earned them a spot in many tales. Edgar Allan Poe had his detective Dupin deduce that a rumptifusel hidden in a coat closet was the reason two wealthy women vanished, leaving behind tufts of strange hair and two odd pellets. Writers quickly took native beliefs of this creature and ran with it, as they too used them as symbols of greed. The rumptifusel would either be the stand in for the wealthy devouring the poor or have them be the gruesome fate the rich would face. So often was the species used in tales of horror, that brief panics would arise throughout time where folk would believe an outbreak of these monsters was occurring. One particular case came to be when a mother retrieving the laundry from the clothesline was attacked and eaten by one that had hung itself amongst the drying garments. This led to folk thinking all clotheslines were rigged and that the species had learned a new tactic to hunt man. After many headlines, angry mobs and lots of dead rumptifusel, it was eventually found to have been a freak accident. No rumptifusel was daring enough to get that close to civilization, as they had better times eating ignorant hikers or roadkill. However, others would get ideas from these accidents and tall tales.
Since rumptifusel melt down prey to nothing but a useless nugget, their potential for murder was obvious. The stories played with the idea, but it wasn't until a famous actor used this tactic to kill his wife that the fear became real. He had drugged a rumptifusel out in the wild and then sealed it in her closet while she was away. He then setup a situation where he was miles away when she opened the closet to retrieve a coat, only to be devoured by the startled creature. Though he disposed of the meager remains upon return and filed a missing persons report to look like a concerned husband, the hairs left behind in the closet proved his guilt. This of course led to some folk trying to imitate his method, or at least claiming to. Who knows how many got eaten in their attempts. Some even said that the mafia learned how deploy rumptifusel to take out targets or vanish bodies. This belief became even more popular after the release of the movie "Goodfellas," in which a female character is sent to a shady store to pick out coats. Though she catches wise to the plan to murder her and flees, soft sounds heard in the dark building suggests a rumptifusel was left in wait there. At that point, the rumptifusel started showing up all over. Their coats came back in style, they were featured in a few movies and even got the chance to be a hero once in a while. After all, who could resist the cool look of a character with a living coat that he could sic on his enemies?
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For Folklore Thursday, I decided to make a collage of my favorite types of mythical monsters: the Fearsome Critters! They're cryptids that were recorded by American lumberjacks during the 1930s. I also added Mothman, since he fits in with the rest of them.
Side note: While making this I thought about how the individual artwork pieces look like character art for fighting games, and then I thought about a fighting game where you play as cryptids. Too much KoF on my mind I guess.
#MythicMay Day 19 #rumptifusel . Rumptifusel is a cryptid from the Northern America. It's described as a long, furry creature that can coil itself around trees. Lumberjacks would mistake it for a coat and try to wear it but end up being devoured by the beast. . I based my interpretation of the rumptifusel on the wolverine. It's a beast that has been hated throrought the history for killing livestock. It's an adept climber and one of its tactics is to drop onto its prey - even prey much larger than itself. . According to the folk belief the wolverine is a powerful but cruel and gluttonous creature. It's said to be able to eat a huge amount and then squeeze itself empty so that it can keep eating. If one wears wolverine skin they can eat as much as they want and those who sleep in wolverine skins will feel insatiable hunger. . . . . #sketch #sketchbook #drawing #pencildrawing#pencilart #traditionaldrawing #traditionalartist#traditionalart #dailydrawing #dailyart #instart#instartist #artistsoninstagram #smltart #authenticpad #mythology#mythicalcreatures #creatureart #creaturedesign#myth https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx4yLSVp3hH/?igshid=18ztzqvnoob9x
#Rumptifusel #VillosusSumptuosus #Villosus #Sumptuosus #Rumtifusel Rumptifusel Variations: Villosus sumptuosus (Tryon), Rumtifusel (Tryon) There is a common misconception that “owl pellets” are left behind by owls. This belief, spread by highfalutin scientists, is a load of hooey. Any lumberjack can tell you that those pellets are wadded-up clumps of clothing, the only remains of unfortunate greenhorns who approached a Rumptifusel. Rumptifusels are big, vicious animals covered in a fine pelt not unlike mink. They are flat and very flexible and not too fast. Much like the anglerfish and the alligator snapping turtle, the rumptifusel lures prey within reach by appealing to greed. A rumptifusel catches its prey by draping its thin body over a stump or log in plain sight, looking for all the world like an abandoned expensive fur coat. When a greedy tenderfoot approaches for a better look, the rumptifusel – moving with deceptive speed – engulfs its victim. The underside of the critter is lined with tiny sucking pores, and its prey is thoroughly drained off its bones. References Brown, C. E. (1935) Paul Bunyan Natural History. Madison, Wisconsin. Tryon, H. H. (1939) Fearsome Critters. The Idlewild Press, Cornwall, NY. https://www.instagram.com/p/BwX2DFEFoQo/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=198bh5y5fifa3
The Rumtifusel is a bizarre fearsome critter which resembles a fur coat. To lure in victims, it will drape itself over a tree stump or wrap around a trunk. When a greedy lumberjack tries to take the coat or put it on, the Rumtifusel will envelop and devour them.
The Rumtifusel is large, strong and ferocious, but also very slow, hence why it must use disguise and subterfuge to lure in its victims.
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#Rumptifusel From the folklore of the North American lumberjacks, this was an aggressive creature covered in dense fur. It was long and thin and would sleep with its body wound round a trunk of a tree. This made it looks like a fur coat attached to a tree. When a lumberjack tried to lift what they thought was a coat, the Rumptifusel would awake and consume him.
