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In American folklore, the dungavenhooter is a fearsome critter akin to a large crocodylian animal, lacking a mouth, which consumes prey by pulverizing its victims into a fine powder and snorting them through a set of large nostrils. [1]
The dungavenhooter appears in the 1939 book on folklore, Fearsome Critters, by Henry H. Tryon, wherein the animal is purported by Tryon to make its habitat in marshlands between Maine and Michigan. Tryon relates that the dungavenhooter stalks its prey from behind brush with "Satanic cunning" while it waits for passing prey. The dungavenhooter is partial to devour intoxicated individuals of which Tryon relates, "Rum-sodden prey is sought with especial eagerness." Subsequently, the dungavenhooter catches its prey by surprise pounding them into vapor with its tail and inhaling them through its nose. [1] It should, however, be noted that the dungavenhooter is not to be confused with the Dungarvon Whooper, a ghost legend from the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
In American folklore, a Sidehill gouger is a fearsome critter adapted to living on hillsides by having legs on one side of their body shorter than the legs on the opposite side, having evolved to resemble any form of mammals such as pangolins, goats, humans, and bears. This peculiarity allows them to walk on steep hillsides, although only in one direction; when lured or chased into the plain, they are trapped in an endless circular path. Some claim these creatures play a large role in, and in some cases are responsible for, the creation of hoodoos. The creature is variously known as the Sidehill Dodger, Sidehill Hoofer, Side-hill Gazink, Sidehill Ousel, Sidehill Loper, Sidehill Galoot, Gyascutus, Sidewinder, Wampus, Boofum, Gudaphro, Hunkus, Rickaboo Racker, Prock, Gwinter, or Cutter Cuss.
The squonk is a mythical creature that is reputed to live in the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania in the United States.
In American folklore, the hodag is a fearsome critter resembling a large bull-horned carnivore with a row of thick curved spines down its back. The hodag was said to be born from the ashes of cremated oxen, as the incarnation of the accumulation of abuse the animals had suffered at the hands of their masters. The history of the hodag is strongly tied to the City of Rhinelander where it was claimed to have been discovered. The hodag has figured prominently in early Paul Bunyan stories.
A whiffenpoof was a tool for training Boy Scouts in tracking skills. The whiffenpoof itself was a small log, about the size of a stick of firewood, with nails driven into it on all sides, so that it bristled with nails. This was dragged through the forest on a short leash, by the older Scouts who were training the younger. It might thus create a track that the tenderfoot must learn to trace out. Or it might, alternately, be dragged across a trail in order to confuse the trackers. The fewer nails that were driven into it, the more difficult and subtle was the effect.
The Dungarvon River is a tributary of the Renous River in New Brunswick, Canada.
The Dungarvon Whooper is a ghost story, immortalized in a song by Michael Whelan, about the alleged murder along the Dungarvon River in central New Brunswick, Canada, in the late 19th century.
Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts is a 1910 fantasy field guide by William Thomas Cox (1878–1961), Minnesota’s first State Forester and Commissioner of Conservation, with illustrations by Coert du Bois and Latin classifications by George Bishop Sudworth The text is a noteworthy resource on folklore, as a century after its initial publication Fearsome Creatures remains one of the principal sources on legendary creatures of the United States and Canada.
The splintercat is a legendary fearsome critter in the folklore of the United States.
In North American folklore, fearsome critters were tall tale animals jokingly said to inhabit the wilderness in or around logging camps, especially in the Great Lakes region. Today, the term may also be applied to similar fabulous beasts.
The Agropelter is a mythical fearsome critter said to inhabit hollow trees of the conifer woods from Maine to Oregon. From this vantage point, the creature would await an unwary person and hurl wooden splinters and branches at the intruder. Some have described the creature as being so quick that it has never been seen. One reference describes the creature as having a "slender, wirely body, the villainous face of an ape, and arms like muscular whiplashes, with which it can snap off dead branches and hurl them through the air like shells from a six inch gun."
In American folklore, the axehandle hound is a "fearsome critter" of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The animal resembles a dog with a body axe-like in shape. It has a head shaped like an axe blade, hence the name, complemented by a handle-shaped body atop short stubby legs. It subsists on a diet consisting entirely on the handles of axes which have been left unattended. A nocturnal creature, the axehandle hound travels from camp to camp searching for its next meal. In Minnesota, there is a canoe-access campground named Ax-Handle Hound after the folklore creature. It can be found on the Little Fork River near Voyageurs National Park and very near the town of Linden Grove.
The Hidebehind is a nocturnal fearsome critter from American folklore that preys upon humans that wander the woods, and was blamed for the disappearances of early loggers when they failed to return to camp. As its name suggests, the Hidebehind is said to be able to conceal itself. When an observer attempts to look directly at it, the creature quickly hides behind an object or behind the observer and therefore cannot be directly seen. The Hidebehind supposedly uses this ability to stalk human prey without being observed and to attack them without warning. Said victims, including lumberjacks and others who frequent the forests, are then dragged back to the creature's lair to be devoured. The creature subsists chiefly upon the intestines of its victim and has a severe aversion to alcohol, which is therefore considered a sufficient repellent. Tales of the hidebehind may have been used as an explanation of strange noises in the forest at night. Early accounts describe Hidebehinds as large, powerful animals, despite the fact that no one was able to see them.
The glawackus is one of the fearsome critters, a group of legendary creatures in the folklore and traditions of lumberjacks during the 19th and early 20th centuries in North America. The glawackus is described as looking something between a bear, a panther, and a lion. The glawackus is also known as the northern devil cat. It is known for its fearsome screech that compares to the cackle of a hyena. The creature is blind and uses its sense of smell as well as sound waves. Looking into the creature's eyes is said to wipe the victim's memory. It was seen in 1939 in Glastonbury, Connecticut.
The cactus cat is a legendary fearsome critter of the American Southwest.
The ball-tailed cat is a fearsome critter of North American folklore most commonly described as having similar traits to that of a mountain lion, except with an exceedingly long tail to which there is affixed a solid, bulbous mass for striking its prey. Tales of ball-tailed cats were common among woodsmen during the turn of the 20th century and many variations exist; two of the more prominent variants are the digmaul and the sliver cat. The latter is distinguishable for not only having a smooth-sided ball for knocking wayfarers unconscious, but in addition a spiked-side for piercing and grappling its victims.
The drop bear is a hoax in contemporary Australian folklore featuring a predatory, carnivorous version of the koala. This imaginary animal is commonly spoken about in tall tales designed to scare tourists. While koalas are typically docile herbivores, drop bears are described as unusually large and vicious marsupials that inhabit treetops and attack unsuspecting people that walk beneath them by dropping onto their heads from above.
Canadian folklore is the traditional material that Canadians pass down from generation to generation, either as oral literature or "by custom or practice". It includes songs, legends, jokes, rhymes, proverbs, weather lore, superstitions, and practices such as traditional food-making and craft-making. The largest bodies of folklore in Canada belong to the aboriginal and French-Canadian cultures. English-Canadian folklore and the folklore of recent immigrant groups have added to the country's folk.
The Goofus bird is a mythical, backwards-flying bird, originating in lumberjack folklore in North America. It is also known variously as the Filla-ma-loo bird or the Flu-fly bird.
In American folklore, the snow snake is a fearsome critter that, unlike other reptiles, can live in cold temperatures and is only active during winter months.
In American folklore, the hugag is a fearsome critter similar to a moose with an extensive upper-lip, preventing it from grazing, and joint-less legs preventing it from lying down.
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