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August 2014 Discussion Post: Cryptozoology Chat



Estimated reading time — < 1 minute

This month’s topic was suggested by Mockingbird and ties in with the August 2014 Book Club post (this month’s selected reading is The Mothman Prophecies by John A. Keel) quite nicely, I think!

General Cryptozoology Chatter is the name of the game this month. For example, what are your favorite cryptids? Which beings and creatures in the realm of cryptozoology do you find the most interesting? Do you believe in any cryptids? Have you ever tried to hunt them yourself?

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of cryptozoology, here are some introductory links:
Cryptozoology @ Wikipedia
Cryptid @ Wikipedia
List of Cryptids @ Wikipedia

If you’d like to go a bit more in-depth into the world of cryptids, of course the most obvious suggestion is to partake in the August book club post. However, I’ve also rounded up some websites that should be both enjoyable and useful when it comes to this discussion:
Cryptozoology.com
Cryptozoology News
/r/Cryptozoology
/r/bigfoot
The Cryptid Zoo
Cryptid Wiki
Cryptozoology category @ Unexplained Mysteries

Videos:
The Mothman Prophecies @ Amazon Instant Video
Cryptozoology YouTube Video Collection
Cryptozoology Museum @ Travel Channel

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Podcasts:
MonsterTalk

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As you can see, cryptids seem to inspire a particularly active online community. I’m sure that I’ve missed many, many, many sites – if you’d like your website/podcast/whatever to be featured here (obviously, it must be cryptid-related), please comment with a link.

Everybody play nice and have fun!

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20 thoughts on “August 2014 Discussion Post: Cryptozoology Chat”

  1. I think that the thought of Surapods (Brontosaurus’s) Still being alive. African tribes talk of large, long necked, two headed reptile roaming the Nile in winter.

  2. I’ve always thought skin walkers were very creepy. There’s a certain mystery about the indian traditions and rituals that makes it such an unknown thing.

  3. Ali:
    Eh… Some cryptids are full of shit, often mistaken for common animals or objects.
    I’m a bit skeptical though, unless you show me some hard evidence as in photos, video/audio recordings, or artifacts.
    -I’m guessing mermaids are considered ‘cryptic’…?
    I saw a documentary lately on Animal Planet called Mermaids: The Body Found and all of the evidence they had was astounding. They had found strange bone fragments, recorded sounds underwater, and showed terrifying footage from a navy base, and a video caught on a teen boy’s camera phone. They had even created the ‘Sea Ape Theory’: At the dawn of time, a few of our ancestors fled to the ocean instead of staying on land, adapted over many years, and became aquatic humans. But hey, it might be all a hoax.
    That’s a short version of my opinion.

    I saw that as well, but it wasn’t real. It was confirmed that all the scientists were just actors and the cell phone footage wasn’t real as well, I don’t think camera phones even exististed in the 90’s.

  4. I believe that there are cryptids out there somewhere but that if they are found just leave them alone.

    My favorite cryptid is the draken, almost nothing is none about them.I am one of the couple hundred that know much about them.

  5. This is interesting to me, because I would love to be able to dismiss the idea of cryptids, I also know that we don’t know everything that is out there. There are still plenty of unexplored places that something can hide (especially in the ocean), and some of these stories have been around so long, maybe there is something to them.

  6. A lot of people have fallen for the mermaid mockumentary (and the dragon one too). I like that kind of fiction as much as anybody but there’s a difference between suspension of disbelief and actually fooling people because you don’t label your media clearly enough.

    Cryptozoology has been an on-again off-again hobby of mine for maybe ten years now. There is a LOT of hearsay, false rumors and just plain bad science surrounding the really popular cryptids. People exaggerate things, mis-quote the original descriptions, and downplay real science because it’s inconvenient for their own pet opinions; I would say that biased authors are even more of a problem than unreliable witnesses.

    I don’t really have a favorite cryptid, because I’m more interested in similarities between reports of cryptids and legendary creatures from different parts of the world.

  7. XD I didn’t watch the full documentary, so I never saw the disclaimer. I was still a bit freaked out, though. Wow… I feel so stupid. Thanks for the explanation :)

  8. Camelghost:
    A bit off topic, but in the movie Sphere (no plot spoilers incoming, and I do highly recommend watching it) it just shows how little we know, and how badly we are equipped to explore / delve into this unknown world. (Another movie I would recommend is The Abyss). Both these just show that the ocean is truly a very hostile terrain for us, but is habitable to many other animals / creatures.

    The movie was OK, but the book is GREAT. You won’t often go wrong with the late, great Michael Crichton.

  9. Well I am not personally a huge fan of cryptids, but the one thing I find plausible about this genre is sea creatures. considering the fact that we have explored less than 5% of the oceans, and their could be many hidden monsters in the deep blue.

    A bit off topic, but in the movie Sphere (no plot spoilers incoming, and I do highly recommend watching it) it just shows how little we know, and how badly we are equipped to explore / delve into this unknown world. (Another movie I would recommend is The Abyss). Both these just show that the ocean is truly a very hostile terrain for us, but is habitable to many other animals / creatures.

  10. I have two favourites the Michigan Dogman (beast of bray road) wich is a little bit lesser known cryptid but a very interesting one and Bigfoot.

    I don’t know how many hours I have watched documentaries about the two creatures but it’s a few.

    The interesting thing about the Dogman is that there is not any footage of the creature, there is the Gable film but it is a hoax. Most of the evidence is photographic, and many witnesses that have seen the creature av taken lie detector tests wich most of them have passed or they have been respectable people (for one instance a cop when there had been a very strange attack on a cabin with clawmarks over 2 metres height and some very extensive damage. All of this was reported by a cop, also they found very big canine tracks on ther site).

    The bigfoot has a very famous film, the Patterson Gimlin film, wich I beleive is real. There have been very extensive analysing on the film and there was one in particular on national geographic where they explained every tiny bit of detail wich made them think the film was real. And I believed them, but there is not only the proof that make me believe in the film. I just get this very irry feeling whenever I watch it, as if you can feel the creature stare into you.

    Then there is those I don’t believe in at all for example The Loveland Frogmen, but you should never say never, as there was a Police Officer who reported seeing the creature. Interesting.

    I love mysteries!

  11. I tend to be a skeptic, most cryptozoology is nonsense. Mistaken identity, hoaxes and the like. My beliefs however do not make me disinterested in the subject. Human imagination tends to fill in the blanks of what the eyes cant see, and many of the monsters and animals you see can be a look into others imagination.

    When I was young, my family like to camp in New Jersey. We even have a little lake house in the middle of nowhere Jersey. The nights were filled with darkness, no street lights and tall trees everywhere. I was well aware of the Jersey devil, the cursed 13th child, often keeping me up many nights as a child.

  12. This is weird, but I swear it really happened. I was at grad school in Montgomery, AL when the fictionalized movie based on “The Mothman Prophecies” was in theaters. I’ve always had a fascination with the paranormal, though tempered with a healthy dose of skepticism, so naturally I went to see the movie. It was not great, but it did prompt me to go find the book and read it. I was fascinated. I was in the process of obtaining a MS in Psychology, and the psychological aspects of the whole Point Pleasant phenomenon really struck a nerve. I started writing an analysis of the players involved, their motivations, background (as much as I could find), etc.
    Then weird stuff started happening. My apartment phone would ring in the middle of the night and no one would be on the line. My television would turn on at odd times when no one was even in the room where the TV sat. I started to feel like I was being watched.

    This all reached its apex one night during a thunderstorm. Montgomery is very flat (at least from this Kentuckian’s point of view) and the thunderstorms down there were really something else. I woke up in a cold sweat about an hour after I went to sleep (about 3am). I was absolutely convinced something was in the room with me. Specifically behind me. I sleep on my side, so that would have meant that something was between me and the door. It took forever for me to get up the nerve to roll over. I reached up, flicked the lamp on, and rolled over all at once.

    The next thing I knew it was morning and my alarm was going off. I have no idea if it was a dream. It seemed very real if it was, and I’ve never experienced anything like it since.

    I didn’t loose my interest in Mothman after that, but I did stop focusing so much attention that direction. I kept thinking about Keele’s idea that if you pay attention to some entities they may return the favor. No. Thank. You. Lol!

    Anyway, take this as you will.

    My favorite cryptids other than Mothman are Mokole Mbembe and any “Wild Man” type. We’ve had local Bigfoot sightings in the community where I live.

  13. Yes, I agree most cryptids are a result of either mistaken identity or over-exaggerated tales. While I do believe there could be some truth to wild man-beasts such as bigfoot or yeti, or giant lake creatures (Nessie/Champ), it is surprising that as of nearly 6 decades, there has yet to be definitive proof proving their existence. There’s a plethora of minute evidence — that which is speculated upon but not necessarily genuine or in fact, actual verifiable evidence. By this I mean, traces of skeletal remains, skin tissue, or blood/DNA evidence being discovered and analyzed. If this is truly the case, then what of the population size & life cycles of some of these cryptic legends. Are there actual beings or creatures with infinite life cycles, or that display an undetected prowess even in death? That question alone really cornholes almost everything about them, if you really think about it. But I would certainly say no to the question, regarding most of the documented life on Earth; although the case could be made for parasitic organisms and microbes, and those are indeed the definition of “hidden” or cryptic life forms.

    I consider myself a huge fan of the cryptozoology genre, and have been ever since I was a young 5th grader. But despite facts having generally proven otherwise, doesn’t mean there aren’t still hidden and undiscovered species on our planet. I just doubt the exaggerations. And I deeply doubt the truthfulness of certain claims. I love the fiction behind it all, the inherent possibility of it, but in reality, its truly no more mysterious than what is depicted on National Geographic. It is survival, and life, and death. This is the pattern that is followed by all life, not surprisingly. And not to be a spoiler and such, but true cryptic biology should be more about natural and scientific discoveries in the animal world, than creating unwarranted speculation or perpetrating false hope just for the sake of it. I was always fascinated reading the various non-fiction books as a young adolescent, but have since, come to realize that there was far more investment in the various folktales and stories as opposed to the scientific facts. That is why the genre of cryptozoology would make excellent material for horror stories, much like paranormal topics, in that there is not yet a definitive answer to the question, so the realm of possibilities is endless. Of course, I’m referring to the FICTION of cryptids as a source material, not the actual biological science behind it. That’s indeed entertaining and really peaks my interest, just like some of the user stories on this site.

    I’m enthralled by nature shows on National Geographic or the Discovery Channel as equally as when I’m watching River Monsters; as I enjoy watching mindless drivel like The Lost Tapes in comparison to older shows such as A&E’s In Search Of… or the original episodes of Unsolved Mysteries. There was some sort of indirect line drawn between the factual content, and the fictional elements being incorporated, that there was always an aura of fascination and a sense of disbelief when viewing these shows. I suppose, as they say, “that sometimes you’re better off telling the lie, than the actual truth”, and that seems so true within the context of fiction. Unless of course, the extraordinary occurrence that’s spoken of, really happens to be the truth.

    Favorite Cryptids: Reptoids, Mokele-Mbembe, Globsters

    Scariest Cryptids: Giant Spiders, Flatwoods Monster, Wendigo

  14. Thanks for picking my topic Derpbutt! Now on to my favorite cryptids.

    Most Interesting Cryptid: Atmospheric Beasts
    Just in case you don’t know, atmospheric beasts are supposedly semi visable creatures that live in the sky. Rumors say that some UFO sightings have been mistaken with sightings of these cryptids. I’ve heard that they’re supposed to resemble sea creatures.

    Most Mysterious Cryptid: The Bloop
    Now this is a weird one. The bloop was a noise audible from less than 5000 KM below the sea. Some scientists thought that it might be a sea quake. Others believe it could be the mythical beast Cthulhu as the location where this sound was recorded is just 1760 km away from the sunken city of R’yleh. Sounds a bit far off, but it’s still mysterious nonetheless.

    Most Fascinating Cryptid: Gef
    Oh man. Just wait until you hear this one. I’ll just copy/paste the description from Listverse to describe this one.

    “In September, 1931, the Irving family — James, Margaret and daughter Voirrey (13) — claimed to hear persistent scratching and rustling noises behind their farmhouse’s wooden wall panels. At first they thought it was a rat, but then the unseen creature began making different sounds, sometimes spitting like a ferret, or growling like a dog, or gurgling like a baby. The creature soon revealed an ability to speak, and introduced itself as Gef, a mongoose. It claimed to have been born in New Delhi, India, in 1852. According to Voirrey, who was the only person to see him properly, Gef was the size of a small rat, with yellowish fur and a large bushy tail (the Indian mongoose is in reality much larger than a rat and does not have a bushy tail).

    Gef variously claimed to be “an extra extra clever mongoose”, an “earthbound spirit” and “a ghost in the form of a weasel”. He once said, “I am a freak. I have hands and I have feet, and if you saw me you’d faint, you’d be petrified, mummified, turned into stone or a pillar of salt!” Voirrey Irving, who took Gef under her wing, died in 2005. In an interview published late in life, she maintained that Gef was not her creation.”
    Now if that isn’t interesting, I don’t now what is.

    Favorite/Most Terrifying Cryptid: The Nameless Thing of Berkeley Square

    Of every supposed cryptid that I’ve ever heard of, this one takes the cake for the most terrifying cryptid that I’ve ever heard of. But first, let me explain what Berkely Square is. Berkeley Square is one of the most haunted houses in London. It’s a house full of spirits. But, there’s supposedly something in that house that overshadows every single spirit in that house. Rumor is, that in that house, is a real life eldritch abomination lurking lurking in the upper floors of that house. Yes. You heard me right. I’ll just copy/paste a story from listverse about this monster.

    “In the 1840s, paranormal skeptic Sir Robert Warboys accepted the challenge of spending a night in the second story of London’s hell house. At the nervous landlord’s insistence, Warboys armed himself with a candle and a pistol and was ordered to yank the bell pull if anything strange happened. At 12:45, the landlord was jolted from his sleep by the ringing of the bell and the roar of a gunshot. He charged up the stairs and burst into Warboy’s room to find the young man huddled in a corner, smoking pistol in hand, and very much dead. There was no sign of an intruder, but the landlord could tell by the look left on Warboy’s pale face that he’d seen something horrible.

    The second encounter took place in 1943, when two sailors named Martin and Blunden, both broke after a night of carousing, decided to spend the night in the abandoned house. They found a relatively dry and rat-free room upstairs, made a nice little fire and fell asleep on the floor. But after midnight, Blunden woke to the sound of creaking hinges and sat up to see the bedroom door slowly opening. Petrified, he woke up Martin, and that’s when they heard something wet, something slimy, dragging its way across the floor, slowly oozing towards them. Martin saw the creature, something he could only describe as a “hideous monstrosity” (perhaps because it was too awful for the human mind to comprehend), and it was blocking the door.

    The monster suddenly sprang toward Blunden, wrapping around the man’s throat, choking the life out of him. Martin took off screaming and found a police officer patrolling the neighborhood. The cop was skeptical of Martin’s story, but after searching the house, he found Blunden’s body in the basement. The sailor’s neck was broken, and his eyes were bulging out of his head. Obviously, a more plausible scenario would be that Martin murdered his friend, but then why would he make up such a preposterous story? And what about numerous other sightings where witnesses described seeing a massive, viscous blob armed with tentacles? There are things man was not meant to know, and it might be that one of them lives in 50 Berkeley Square.”

    Holy hell. If that isn’t 100% terrifying, I don’t know what is. So is anyone going to come with me to Berkeley Square to investigate this thing? :)

    1. I’d never heard of Gef or the Nameless Thing. The latter sounds like something out of Lovecraft; I’ll have to look into it more. Thanks!

  15. Mermaids: The Body Found is a mockumentary. The scientists shown are actually actors, and the evidence is mostly made up.

    As for cryptids, I’ve always been fond of the Mothman, though I don’t believe any of these creatures are real.

  16. Eh… Some cryptids are full of shit, often mistaken for common animals or objects.
    I’m a bit skeptical though, unless you show me some hard evidence as in photos, video/audio recordings, or artifacts.
    -I’m guessing mermaids are considered ‘cryptic’…?
    I saw a documentary lately on Animal Planet called Mermaids: The Body Found and all of the evidence they had was astounding. They had found strange bone fragments, recorded sounds underwater, and showed terrifying footage from a navy base, and a video caught on a teen boy’s camera phone. They had even created the ‘Sea Ape Theory’: At the dawn of time, a few of our ancestors fled to the ocean instead of staying on land, adapted over many years, and became aquatic humans. But hey, it might be all a hoax.
    That’s a short version of my opinion.

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