hyperfixation-on-cryptozoology

[hyperfixation-on-cryptozoology]

Goofus bird

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.

The Goofus Bird flies backwards, as it does not care where it’s going, only where it’s been, and it builds its nest upside down. It is described as having a conspicuous appearance, with a turkey-like head, long green neck, with silver scales, a black right wing and a pink left wing.

A person likened to a Goofus Bird is a person low in intellectual curiosity and indifferent to their forward direction. Goofus is a possible origin of the word doofus, slang for a person prone to foolishness or stupidity, perhaps influenced by the German word doof, meaning stupid.

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Gancanagh is a fairy from Irish mythology. Said to belong to the same tribe as the leprechaun, he is known for rampantly seducing both women and, more rarely, men. He is usually depicted smoking a dudeen, a type of pipe.

Gancanagh is said to dwell in lonely valleys, seducing shepherds and milkmaids. Meeting him is thought to be bad luck.

Image source.

Monster master list.

Suggest a spook.

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Mokele-Mbembe

What Is It?  The Mokele-Mbembe is considered a living dinosuar which is said to live in the jungles of central Africa. The creature is said to have the body of an elephant and a long neck with a pointed face. Some consider the Mokele-Mbembe to be a spirit. Sightings have occurred as far back as 1700s and continued on well into the 1900s. It is closest in characteristic to a sauropod dinosaur. The monster is brownish-gray and reptilian and locals claim it lives in the caves it digs in riverbanks and feeds on crocodiles and hippos: reports of it’s diets are usually conflicting, however, and it is likely the mokele-mbembe is an herbivore.

Keep reading

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Issie

Issie:

According to mythology, Issie was a white mare which had a little foal, and they lived together on the shore of Lake Ikeda. However, when the foal was kidnapped by asamurai, and Issie was unable to find it, she jumped into the lake, and her despair transformed her into a giant, saurian beast, which since then frequently surfaces, trying to find her lost child.

Is anyone else hearing the music from Lavendar Town in their head? No. Just me?

Art © Ria Campbell

[hyperfixation-on-cryptozoology]

What is a Trickster?

Many people throw the word “trickster” around like candy, never really understanding the full implications of the word. Some think that anyone who uses pranks and witty rapport to accent their magical or combat skills deserves the label of “Trickster,” but the truth is that there’s more to it than that. What follows are the criteria that your resident adventurer here at We-Are-Trickster uses to separate a true Trickster from your average mischief-maker. 1. The Trickster is an Other

Tricksters, for whatever reason, are always a societal other. They are an outside viewpoint that looks inwards, which gives them a unique perspective and allows them to make more poignant commentary on the society they have been “adopted” into.

2. The Trickster is a Teacher

Trickster pranks are rarely played without reason. All of the best Tricksters teach some sort of lesson; sometimes the lesson is overt, sometimes the lesson is subtle. But very rarely do Tricksters have no motive or act completely randomly. There’s a method in the madness.

3. The Trickster is a Border-Crosser

Tricksters, thanks to their outsider status, have the unique ability to cross borders both mundane and magical. These borders can include things like race and class as well as planar or country-borders. Sometimes they are the only being that can cross these borders, making them unique and powerful go-betweens.

4. The Trickster Reshapes the World

One way or another, in one aspect or another, the Trickster affects some form of change on the world, literally to the point they must be acknowledged as the catalyst or designer for the change.

Hermes re-orders the Gods of Olympus through song.

Loki causes the world to die and then be reborn anew.

Raven steals the sun for humanity.

In some cases, life itself is impossible if it were not for the Trickster. The term is a badge of honor and should be treated as such. Our methods may seem odd, but without us the world is a darker, more dreary place.  

[hyperfixation-on-cryptozoology]

Fleshgaits are shapeshifting creature found in forests all over North America. Fleshgaits are shapeshifters similar to that of the Skinwalkers of Navajo folklore however unlike the Skinwalkers, Fleshgaits where never human. Fleshgaits are known to mimic voices mostly that of their victims last words as well as change into different animals and people to lure their victims into the forest where they would then be killed.

[hyperfixation-on-cryptozoology]

Searching for some interesting info for this blog, I couldn't help but notice the lack of posts about cryptids and legends from my province (Quebec in Canada) which leaves me quite perplex and disappointed since we have plenty of really awesome lore.

Therefore, (since I already infodump everyone in my life about them and, with the whole quarantine situation, I have all the time in the world to do it) I decided I might share some creature descriptions (with drawings if motivated enough) and translated legends with tumblr!

This is not my first language which means I might make some grammar mistakes so, don't hesitate to tell me if you spotted one.

Have a great day!

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Hoia Baciu Forest is thought to be the most haunted forest in the world. Located in Romania, hundreds of people have gone missing, UFOs have been seen and phantom laughter is heard. At the centre of the forest, there is a circular patch of land where no trees or plants grow, and scientists still remain baffled as to why this is. Some people believe that the area is used for UFO landings, while others think it is a portal to another dimension.

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What are some good cryptozoology books?

Monster Hunt: The Guide to Cryptozoology which is a great book and I would recommend it! Its set up to look like the journal of a cryptozoologist and offers very basic information on cryptozoology and cryptids. I personally own this one.

Cryptozoology A to Z, you cant go wrong with a book written by world renowned cryptozoologist Loren Coleman. It was written in 1999 so you will be lacking in information of cryptids gathered in the last 18 years but I’m sure it has great information on cryptids and you may even learn about some you’ve never heard of before.

Mysterious America A guidebook to cryptozoology in the United States. Another great book written by Loren Coleman.

Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology is an encylopedia of nearly 1000 cryptids. It also covers hoaxes, sightings, habitats, and possible explanations for its existence.

Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend another book I personally own. Everything you could ever want to know about the Mothman and surrounding occurrences is covered in this book. It includes newspaper clippings which are very interesting to read.

Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology: A Global Guide to Hidden Animals and Their Pursuers this is another encyclopedia with 2,744 entries. Would be a great reference for learning about cryptids and cryptozoology.

Tom Slick: True Life Encounters in Cryptozoologytells the true story of millionaire Tom Slick who spent his time searching for cryptids. This book isn’t specifically about cryptids but about a man’s journey to find them. Loren Coleman also wrote this one.

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*IMAGE NOT MINE*

LUSCA

Lusca is a fascinating cryptid. It it said to dwell in the blue holes of the Bahamas. Still and tranquil pools of blue but home to the most sinister of cryptids, Lusca. Some say Lusca is part shark-part octoptus. 

Some eye-witnesses say Lusca is around 200ft in length. Although there have been few survivors. 

The Island of Andros in the Bahamas is home to many of these blue holes and curious people have tested out a theory that they all connect to each other deep under the sea by using dyes. This means that Lusca may not be in one hole at one time, it can travel. 

For me this is one of the most terrifying of cryptids, able the strike from great depths and in complete silence, you never really know when Lusca may be coming for you. 

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>>Requested by:: @cryptid-wendigo

A man-eating wolf, dog, or wolf-dog hybrid that attacked unsuspecting victims in south-central France from 1764-1767. All victims were killed by having their throats ripped out. Later, it was believed that the beast was not a single animal, but several man-eating wolves. Once all of the wolves had been killed, there were no longer human deaths reported. During that time wolf attacks were rampant throughout all of Europe attributing to tens of thousands of deaths which gives credibility to this theory.

In 2011, the History Channel released a documentary titled “The Real Wolfman” which speculated that the beast could have been an Asian hyena, a long-haired species now extinct in Europe.

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Adjule - near Sahara Desert

Agogwe - Zimbabwe/Congo

Dingonek - West African jungles

Emela-ntouka - Congo/Cameroon

Ennedi Tiger - Ennedi Plateau, Chad

Gambo - Bungalow Beach, Gambia

Inkanyamba - South Africa

Jba Fofi - Congo

Kikiyaon - Gambia

Kongamato - Angola, Congo, Zambia

Koolakamba - African Jungles

Mahamba - Lake Likouala, Congo

Mamlambo - South Africa

Marozi - Eastern Africa

Mngwa - Tanzania

Mokele-Mbembe - Congo/Cameroon

Muhuru - Kenya

Nandi Bear - East Africa

Ndendeki - Central Africa

Ngoubou - Cameroon

Okapi (Atti) - Congo

Popobawa - Tanzania

Pygmy Gorilla - Cabinda/Gabon

Trunko - South Africa

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In Southern New Jersey and Philadelphia folklore, the Jersey Devil (also known as the Leeds Devil) is a legendary creature said to inhabit the Pine Barrens of South Jersey. The creature is often described as a flying biped with hooves, but there are many variations. The common description is that of a kangaroo-like or wyvern-like creature with a goat- or horse-like head, leathery bat-like wings, horns, small arms with clawed hands, legs with cloven hooves, and a forked tail. It has been reported to move quickly and is often described as emitting a high-pitched "blood-curdling scream". According to popular folklore, the Jersey Devil originated with a Pine Barrens resident named Jane Leeds, known as Mother Leeds. The legend states that Mother Leeds had 12 children and, after finding she was pregnant for the 13th time, cursed the child in frustration, crying that the child would be the devil. During 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night while her friends gathered around her. Born as a normal child, the thirteenth child changed to a creature with hooves, a goat's head, bat wings, and a forked tail. Growling and screaming, it killed the midwife before flying up the chimney and heading into the pines. In some versions of the tale, Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child's father was the devil himself. Some versions of the legend also state that there was subsequently an attempt by local clergymen to exorcise the creature from the Pine Barrens, or that the creature proceeded to kill local children. Mother Leeds" has been identified by some as Deborah Leeds, on grounds that Deborah Leeds' husband, Japhet Leeds, named twelve children in the will he wrote during 1736, which is compatible with the legend. Deborah and Japhet Leeds also lived in the Leeds Point section of what is now Atlantic County, New Jersey, which is commonly the location of the Jersey Devil story. Skeptics believe the Jersey Devil to be nothing more than a creative manifestation of the early English settlers, bogeyman stories created and told by bored Pine Barren residents as a form of children's entertainment; the byproduct of the historical local disdain for the Leeds family; the misidentification of known animals; and rumors from negative perceptions of the local rural population of the Pine Barren (known as "pineys"). There have been many claims of sightings and occurrences involving the Jersey Devil. - Wikipedia sourced.

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Shadow people are supernatural entities seen mostly in peripheral vision. They are generally described as black silhouettes with no discernible facial features. They can be shapeless masses that sometimes change to human form. In many cases, they have been described as small, of the size of a goblin or a small child. In some stories, their eyes are glowing. Some witnesses have discerned the visible outline of a cloak or a fedora hat.

Shadow people are a widespread phenomenon, possibly related to hypnogogia, a physiological condition in which a person is part-way between sleeping and waking, or to the stimulation of the temporoparietla junction, a specific region of the brain. People experiencing waking-sleep commonly report a feeling of dread and the sensation of lights or shadows moving around them, as well as other visual hallucinations.