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Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a large, hairy mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Bigfoot is featured in both American and Canadian folklore, and since the mid-20th century has grown into a cultural icon, permeating popular culture and becoming the subject of its own distinct subculture.
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor of folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.
The chupacabra or chupacabras is a legendary creature, or cryptid, in the folklore of parts of the Americas. The name comes from the animal's purported vampirism—the chupacabra is said to attack and drink the blood of livestock, including goats.
The Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature has varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a number of disputed photographs and sonar readings.
In several Bantu mythologies, mokele-mbembe is a mythical water-dwelling entity that is believed to exist in the Congo River Basin. Variously described as a living creature or a spirit, mokele-mbembe descriptions vary widely based on conflicting purported eyewitness reports, but it is often described as a large quadrupedal herbivore with smooth skin, a long neck, and a single tooth or horn, much like the extinct lineage known as sauropods.
Bonita is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern San Diego County, California, nestled between the cities of Chula Vista, National City, and San Diego. The population was 12,538 at the 2010 census.
In Canadian folklore, the Ogopogo is a lake monster said to inhabit Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, Canada. Some scholars have charted the entity's development from First Nations folklore and widespread water monster folklore motifs. The Ogopogo now plays a role in the commercial symbolism and media representation of the region.
The Mongolian death worm is a creature alleged to exist in the Gobi Desert. Investigations into the legendary creature have been pursued by amateur cryptozoologists and credited academics alike, but there has been little evidence found to support its existence. It can be considered a Cryptid or a mythological animal.
In the folklore of Lee County, South Carolina, the Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp is an entity said to inhabit the swampland of the region. First mentioned in the late 1980s, the purported sightings and damage attributed to the creature yielded a significant amount of newspaper, radio and television publicity.
In American folklore, the snallygaster is a bird-reptile chimera originating in the superstitions of early German immigrants later combined with sensationalistic newspaper reports of the monster. Early sightings associate the snallygaster with Frederick County, Maryland, especially the areas of South Mountain, Braddock Heights and the Middletown Valley. Later reports would expand on sightings encompassing an area to include Central Maryland, Berkeley County, West Virginia, and the Washington, DC, metro area.
Jon-Erik Beckjord was an American paranormal investigator, photographer, and cryptozoologist interested in UFOs, crop circles, the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot. Throughout his life, he owned three separate, small-scale museums that featured displays, mostly photographs, of alleged UFO, Nessie, and Bigfoot sightings. He made guest appearances on national radio and television shows, but was criticized by skeptics and fellow cryptozoologists alike for not providing substantive evidence to back up his claims of the existence of paranormal beings.
Proctor Valley is a valley in southwestern San Diego County, California, United States. It is traversed by Proctor Valley Road, a dirt road which connects the community of Jamul in the northeast to the Eastlake neighborhood of Chula Vista in the southwest.
Bigfoot is an alleged human or ape-like cryptid in North America. Since the mid-20th century, Bigfoot has become increasingly relevant in popular culture and is the subject of film, television, advertising, music, literature and more.
The Honey Island Swamp Monster, also known as the Cajun Sasquatch and in Cajun French: La Bête Noire, is an ape-like humanoid cryptid creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, purported to inhabit the Honey Island Swamp in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. It has become a part of Louisiana folklore, with many swamp tour companies in the area capitalizing on its alleged existence, which is considered unlikely by scientists.
Mothman, in West Virginian folklore, is a humanoid creature reportedly seen in the Point Pleasant area from November 15, 1966, to December 15, 1967. The first newspaper report was published in the Point Pleasant Register, dated November 16, 1966, titled "Couples See Man-Sized Bird ... Creature ... Something". The national press soon picked up the reports and helped spread the story across the United States. The source of the legend is believed to have originated from sightings of out-of-migration sandhill cranes or herons.
Minerva Monster is a 2015 American documentary film written and directed by Seth Breedlove, about the purported sightings of an alleged Bigfoot-like creature around the town of Minerva, in Paris Township, Stark County, Ohio, in 1978. The first in a series of cryptid-related documentaries produced by Breedlove's production company Small Town Monsters, the film features interviews with law enforcement, media officials, and supposed witnesses of the titular creature.
MetaZoo is an out-of-print tabletop collectible card game based on cryptozoology, folklore and the paranormal first published by MetaZoo Games LLC. in 2020. MetaZoo centers around creatures known as Beasties who are inspired by cryptids and other figures from mythology and folklore such as Bigfoot, Mothman, Piasa Bird, the Chupacabra and other fearsome critters. The card game is also notable for including a fourth wall mechanic where the real-life surroundings, such as the location of the player, can affect the gameplay and the outcome of the game.
A cryptid town is a colloquial term given to a town which has a close cultural identity with a local cryptid, often with the goal of encouraging cryptid-related tourism. Cryptid towns may have festivals, museums, statues and research organisations dedicated to a given cryptid. Areas called cryptid towns tend to be rural and remote, which correlates with the types of areas cryptids are said to often originate from, which in turn can make them appear economically deprived and reliant on the economy of cryptid tourism. Some places may not necessarily be best known for their folklore or rely on it for tourism, but do still feature it prominently in events and local culture.
References
- ↑ "Proctor Valley Road: The history behind the ghost stories". ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ↑ "What is the story behind the Proctor Valley Monster?". San Diego Reader . Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ↑ Schulte, Richard (2022-10-17). "Evidence in Bonita of the Proctor Valley Monster?". Cool San Diego Sights!. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ↑ "Proctor Valley Road". BOOM! Studios. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
- ↑ "Proctor Valley Monster Film & Zine fest JULY 22–23" . Retrieved 2023-12-24.