From Washoe and Paiute Tribes tales to Jacques Cousteau, the legend of what lives in the deep Lake Tahoe waters is part of California history. The fishermen claimed they heard a "zipping" sound and saw a glowing object hovering above the ground. It is a large man-like figure with "10-foot . These creatures are fast and agile. Some accounts give it flowering boughs for antlers. That color was added later by the national media. It likely had its origins with one Daniel Leeds of 18th-century New Jersey. Nov. 24, 1966 (Oct. 23, 2014). (Oct. 16, 2014) http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/lost-tapes/creatures/wendigo.htm, Bigfoot Encounters. As soon as the news broke, hundreds of people suddenly claimed they, too, had spotted the Jersey Devil [source: The New Jersey Historical Society]. The legend casts him as a general bogeyman of Mexico. The creature is described variously as resembling a hairless bear, sometimes with spikes on its back, or a hairless dog-like animal. In terms of Cajun folklore, the Rougarou may be the most popular. He is short and wears a thick belt and heavy boots. But the handsome husband grew bored and turned to other women and ignored Maria. "A perfect shower of stones" greeted one man's attempt to strike up conversation; apparently, the Wildman prefers the company of women, whom he has tried on occasion to carry away. In 1932, the mummified remains of a fully grown adult, who was roughly 65 years old, was discovered in Wyoming. This myth says that in the 1700s, a woman in New Jersey's Pine Barrens area had 13 children, the last of whom was a devil who flew out the chimney and disappeared shortly after birth. Read More Champ, Nessie, & Ogopogo Symbolism & Meaning The Mothman is a strange flying creature that came to terrorise the people in West Virginia from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. So those wondering how a horse-sized, shark-toothed octopus came to live in Lakes Thunderbird, Oolagah, and Tenkiller all of which are human-made and thus can't fall back on historic legend to excuse their mutant population should be reassured that the Okie Octopussy probably crash-landed there in its spaceship. Here, we rounded up some mythical creatures that bring good luck in the ancient Chinese culture. He is the Wild Man of the Woods, the Keeper of Drowned Souls, and children are taught to be wary of him, writes Cheryl Shearar in Understanding Northwest Coast Art: A Guide to Crests, Beings and Symbols. La Llorona means "the weeping woman." (Oct. 15, 2014) http://news.discovery.com/animals/mysterious-blue-dog-in-texas-claimed-to-be-chupacabra-130829.htm, Regal, Brian. (Oct. 13, 2014) http://www.literacynet.org/lp/hperspectives/llorona.html, History. The animals were pulled under the water by the beast, allowing MacDougall and his group to escape. America is no exception to the horror story genre. However, sightings of the beast since and even decades before Stevens' hoax are a good reason to stay vigilant. See. Some say it can jump into the treetops with ease, while others grant it feathery wings that along with to fly without making a sound, much like an owl. Early settlers told tales of a demonic, bird-like creature with a metallic beak filled with teeth. "And, to that end, horror stories take on a specific significance and importance because they function metaphorically the horror stories that are the best are often metaphors for other issues that affect our lives on both cultural and personal levels.". Instead, they were strong, fierce, and brutally warlike. In 2000, an anonymous letter accompanied several photographs purporting to show an ape in Myakka City, Florida. "Mothman." "Here is an excellent opportunity for some company to bust Barnum on a dicker for the monster, if they can only catch one," wrote Joseph C. Rich in 1868 as a lake-monster craze gripped Rich County. This short, hairy vampire preyed on intoxicated bar-dwellers in New York City during the 1800s. "In the Northwest, the hirsute hominid, who dates to American Indian lore as Sasquatch, is a minor industry." Many of these animals are just legends or myths made up to scare little children. Reports of 'The White Thang' describe a creature standing eight feet tall, covered in thick white hair. No matter: All monikers refer to a giant, hairy, ape-man who supposedly has been wandering around North America for at least a century. Legendary monsters "exist," if only in legend, all over the world. The writer of the letter seemed to think this was an escaped orangutan, but no missing ape was reported. He's the world's first mythical creature spawned on the Internet, and there's no question as to whether or not he really exists. She was a beautiful girl who would only deign to marry the most handsome man. The following 66 pages are in this category, out of 66 total. Loogaroo are demons that haunt the West Indies, particularly Haiti, Grenada, and the Dominican Republic. The 'Loch Ness Monster' of Alaska, Caddy the Tizheruk resurfaced in 2009 in grainy video footage shot by a fisherman who was, by all accounts, lucky not to be snatched from the deck by a notoriously snappy sea-monster. Wendigo, The Mythical Creature, The Legend and Its Origin - Mythologian Reddit. This list may not reflect recent changes. The Loch Ness Monster gets all the attention, but according to Native American myths and folklore, there are strange, unidentified sea serpents living in some of the larger lakes of North America, too. It also had three teeth, and a white star on its forehead. Those who claim to have seen them describe them as more than seven feet tall and covered in grayish hair. But who knew there were so many other monsters out there? The Dover Demon is described as having rosy orange skin and a large head on a small, stick-like body. Back to Native American mythological figures Back to Native American mythology (Oct. 13, 2014) http://www.livescience.com/24598-bigfoot.html, Radford, Benjamin. Often called the Southernmost Bigfoot, the Florida Skunk Ape is described as a large, hairy ape-man that gives off a horrendous smell and roams around the state of Florida. Sure, until you find out it's AS BIG AS A CHAIR and RUNS LIKE A MAN and has a MAGIC WAND. According to him, the monster had a head like a seahorse and eyes the color of a peeled onion. This tragic figure dressed in white wails along riverbanks, mainly in the Southwest U.S., mourning her two young sons who she killed. But while the true explanation for the existence of horned rabbits (those horns are actually cancerous tumors) may be scientifically satisfying, it still doesn't account for the fact that these terrifying but tragic creatures can apparently sing along with human songs. There are also Witiko, similar cannibalistic creatures in cultures of Northern Canada tribes. Image by Gustav. The stories surrounding Yenaldlooshi are pretty gnarly: theyre always up to evil shenanigans and breaking Navajo taboos. All of her fingers and toes were gone, leaving hoof-like stumps on her hands and feet. The man in the hat returned and serenaded her each night, making it impossible for her to sleep, and whenever her parents would try to feed her, shed find the food contaminated with dirt. Instead, it makes its presence known via eerie wailing, awful cries and rampaging sounds throughout the forests of the Pine Barrens area. Witness reports of Tizheruk describe a giant sea serpent, 15 feet long with a flipper. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The Piasa Bird was a Native American dragon, similar to a Manticore or Chimera in Persian and Greek mythology, depicted by an ancient mural on the cliff sides of the Mississippi River. The black Hodag was, and is the largest of the several Hodag species. It swings its arms like a monkey and smells like a wet dog combined with a skunk. Wikimedia. There is a fringe theory, however, that claims the entity known as Skinwalkers is somehow able to use the DNA of animal hides or human hair to manipulate its own DNA into copying it. He described it as three to four feet tall, about 60 pounds, with a face like a frog or lizard. Creepiest of all, it's half-cat, half-woman. It has supernatural powers but is not dangerous. One of the only mythical creatures to have a shade of eye shadow named after it. If you came here looking to get your X-Files on, you're sure to have found an unexplained phenomenon or two in our mythical creature bestiary. It smells awful, like skunk spray and wet dog. 5. A farmer saw a beast resembling a cat carry his dog off. Category:Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America, Legends and tales of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Category:American_legendary_creatures&oldid=1076025965, This page was last edited on 9 March 2022, at 00:35. The N-dam-keno-wet is the Algonquin version of the mermaid myth. Perhaps there really was a race of fierce dwarves roaming the Old West. The same witness, then, can be forgiven for backing down from an attempt to hit the monster in the face with a boat hook. Another tale says the Wendigo, also called Windigo, isn't a creature, but instead is a cannibalistic spirit that possesses people. Maria walked the riverside in her white gown, crying for her sons, until she died of starvation on the river bank. "The noise opened up again, as though Satan and a regiment of imps were coming forth for battle," wrote a reporter for the Des Moines Daily News after the area's resident man-shaped bat escaped into a mine shaft. "Donkey Lady tales travel around area." Image by Cathy Wilkins. White Owl Woman stirs up thick, fast-moving white clouds that blow a piercing wind.. The Chimera. That's almost more intriguing than the beast himself. For fictional creatures of the United States created with sardonic intent, see Category:Fearsome critters. The story of the Wendigo comes from Native American folklore and is linked with cannibalism. Still other historians view stories of the Wendigo and Wechuge through an allegorical lens: to them, tales of the Wendigo and Wechuge caution against excess greed and desire. Lurking in remote areas ofArkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas, this creature is said to be about the size of a bear. Michigan - The Michigan Dogman Angus Reid Global. They are sometimes said to be invisible, but not in all depictions. The Piasa Bird was a mythological man-eating dragon that lived along the bluffs of the Mississippi River. This legendary ghost of New Mexico was once a beautiful woman named Maria. Suddenly, he remembered the warnings and stories from local Native Americans, cutting loose several of his horses. Descriptions of the monster are inconsistent; sometimes it is said to be a hairy bipedal creature, while other accounts describe a ghostlike figure. The most bizarre thing about the earlier sighting is that one of the creatures waved a wand that emitted sparks! That said it has 2.2 million acre area of swampland to roam in, giving it plenty of room to hide out from nosy investigators. This monster sucks blood from innocent victims, which is given to the devil in exchange for magical powers. "Mysterious Texas 'Blue Dog' Claimed to be Chupacabra." It's ash-gray and gives off a disturbing odor of decay and decomposition. These dudes can be human or nonhuman, and whatever their powers are typically involves cannibalism to some degree. Another version of the tale says she lives under an old stone bridge crossing Elm Creek in south San Antonio. The Piasa Bird was a mythical creature that allegedly lived in the steep cliffs along the Mississippi River, according to Native American myths. Also called Altie, this creature inhabits small streams and abandoned rice fields in southeastern Georgia. How many of these 10 monsters have you heard of and do you believe in? Not fun. The N-dam-keno-wet, as the stories go, lurks in lakes, rivers, and streams and accosts young women and girls when they remove their clothing to bathe. Unlike the Sasquatch, however, the Bakwas was a ghostly creature that passed back and forth between the human world and the ghostly world. These bears were a bit larger than your typical bear but were also hairless and had oversized heads. This mythical creature was revered as sacred. Legend has it that the pooka have used their shape-shifting powers to change into cats, rabbits, horses, ravens, goats, goblins, and even humans. It could be that the Skinwalkers are nothing more than mangy dogs or coyotes, or that cougar or bear attacks are responsible. In the 1960s, an actor named Fred Stevens dressed up as this hairy monster to frighten passing road users, apparently to provide a juicy ongoing story for a newspaper editor friend. Similarly, Flathead Lake just across the international border in Montana also supposedly has the same sort of sea monster. The Mogollon Monster is described as bipedal and covered with long black or reddish-brown hair, apart from on his face, hands, feet and chest. Generally on the prowl in northeastern Tennessee, the creature has also been spotted in eastern Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and, intriguingly, at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. The Mothman is not only one of North America's most well-known creatures, it's also one of the greatest examples of cryptids and zooforms firmly lodged in the "flying humanoid" category. Another tale says a Cherokee warrior went on the hunt for a beast that was terrorizing his tribe. The Rougarou. ", "Space goblins" was the explanation for the little silvery-green men who tormented the inhabitants of the Sutton farmhouse at Kelly one UFO-filled August night in 1955. A wannabe world traveler, Karen spends her days writing and her nights researching cheap flights to far-off places. Witnesses who got a good look at Shunka Warak'in described it as being nearly black, with high shoulders and a back that sloped downward much like a hyena. Early sightings described them as silver with "a greenish silver glow.". Some believe that the legend got conflated with a real-life eccentric old lady named Doc Anderson who was known as the Donkey Lady because she lived in shack by a road and took care of donkeys. According to some anthropologists, they may also have been used as a warning against resorting to cannibalism during the harsh winter months. Your intuition may be very good, leading you to alternative cures or treatments and healthier lifestyle habits. Iowa residents claimed to see a half-human, half-winged animala few even tried shooting it to no avail. The Native American or Indian peoples of North America do not share a single, unified body of mythology. Sightings of this 80-foot-long serpent known as Tahoe Tessie continue to this day. The legend in Guatemala tells of him always wearing a black hat, while he victimizes young women. Dragon - Giant, flying, fire-breathing lizards who often guard treasure. They are constantly prowling the forests where they live, looking for hapless humans to devour. They discovered one of them, young Mercy Brown, was perfectly preserved. According to legends, the Piasa Bird feasted on human flesh, but not fresh flesh. 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