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helenarlett-rex · 3 years

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Helen Arlet’s Favorite Cryptids

#7 The Fresno Nightcrawlers

This is a new one for me that I only just recently learned about. I don’t even know how I missed these guys before now... But I’m instantly fascinated with them. They are just so weird and cute. And we have multiple cases of them caught on video?! I love this already!

Do I believe in them?

Well I’m new to the whole Fresno Nightcrawler scene, but for now I’m going to have to say no... I’ve watched the videos of these guys and I’m trying to figure out what they actually are, but weird alien creatures isn’t at the top of my list. The first video could very easily just be a guy in a sheet. I could see how that could be done. The second video that was captured of them almost looks more like puppets to me, but I just can’t figure out how the puppeteering would have been done... Either way I’m fascinated by it. Who knows... Maybe I’ll change my mind as I delve deeper into it.

#6 Snallygaster

I honestly don’t don’t know a ton about Snallygaster. I know it’s the signature cryptid of Maryland and I lived in Maryland for a short time... so I guess I have some attachment to it that way... I know he’s a big tentacle dragon and he looks pretty cool... But that’s about the extent of what I know. I haven’t taken the time to do research on him yet. I think honestly, I just really like the name. Snallygaster... That’s just fun to say. Say it with me... Snallygaster...

Do I believe in him?

Not at the moment, but then I haven’t really looked into this guy yet so I haven’t seen what kind of evidence is out there to support the belief of such a creature. I just look at the pictures of him and I feel like if such a thing existed, we’d probably be hearing about it... a lot... like every time he swooped out of the sky and snatched someone off the street...

#5 The Wampus Cat

It’s a big cat with 6 legs. And it might possibly be a shape shifting woman. That’s pretty cool. Plus she’s also the signature cryptid of my home state of Tennessee. I may not exactly like certain things about Tennessee, but I’ve still got to show some loyalty to our state cryptid. Funny thing is, despite the fact that I moved to Florida when I was very little and grew up there, even then I knew about this thing and heard about it all the time. We actually believed there was a Wampus Cat living in the woods there in the town I grew up in. I even knew an old man who had claimed to have been attacked by it. So the Wampus Cat has always been a part of my childhood.

Do I believe in her?

Debatable... Do I believe in a shape shifting cat woman with six legs? Probably not... But Tennessee has a lot of panther sightings. People see panthers, especially black panthers, around here all the time. And the thing is... officially there are no black panthers (or any other kind of panthers) in Tennessee. Officially, Tennessee doesn’t have any kind of cat larger than a bobcat. Black panthers, which are just a variant of jaguars, are extinct in the United States. But people still see them here all the time. It’s just kind of a known fact they are here regardless of what anyone else says. So hey... Maybe that’s just the Wampus Cat? *Shrugs*

#4 The Van Meter Visitor

The Van Meter Visitor is super interesting because it’s one of the few cryptids that is really hard to disprove, and yet, hardly anyone ever talks about it. It’s one of the more obscure cryptids out there to the point where I’d bet nine out of ten people reading this list have never even heard of it before. And you may be thinking, it’s a big pterodactyl with a horn on its head that shoots light... How is that hard to disprove? But when you think about it, this isn’t just some random cryptid with a few isolated sightings by a couple random people who may or may not be trustworthy. An entire town saw this thing. In 1903 the Van Meter Visitor terrorized the entire town of Van Meter, Iowa for days before they tracked down its nesting place and then the whole town showed up to shoot it and it’s mate(?), which they in fact did. Yeah, the creatures vanished into the mines after being shot at and were never seen again... so there’s no body... But it doesn’t change the fact that an entire town saw these things multiple times, lived in fear of them, and then finally shot them. So regardless if you believe it was a pterodactyl that could shoot light from its horn, there was obviously some kind of creature terrorizing the town of Van Meter that October in 1903. And the fact that it was so widely sighted just makes it really interesting to me.

Do I believe in it?

Like I said. Something terrorized that town that week. I believe that much. Was it a spotlight pterodactyl? I’m open enough to consider the possibility... But I’m also open enough to consider the possibility that it was something more on the normal side and it being 1903 people just didn’t know what they were looking at. We can’t really rule out mass hysteria as a possibility.

#3 The Jackalope

I simply love Jackalopes. I’ve thought they were awesome ever since I was a kid. I even used to love those creepy Jackalope videos they used to run on America’s Funniest People (Remember that show? Don’t feel bad if you don’t...) There’s just something weirdly captivating about the idea of a vicious rabbit with antlers.

Do I believe it in?

Well, despite the fact that I have an “I believe in Jackalopes” patch on my jacket, no, I don’t actually believe they exist. I’m a reasonable enough person to understand the history of Jackalopes and know where it came from. I wish they were real, but I know they aren’t.

#2 The Flatwoods Monster

The Flatwoods Monster is equal parts cute and creepy, which is really cool. She’s nowhere near as popular as Mothman, despite the fact that they are both West Virginia cryptids, and that’s kind of a shame. She certainly has one of the coolest designs of any cryptid. And her story is pretty interesting too. It’s one of those cryptid stories I still sit and ponder over.

Do I believe in her?

Not exactly...? I’m highly skeptical of aliens. Now did something happen in Flatwoods, West Virginia on September 12, 1952? Yeah. Something clearly happened. And the reports are strange enough that I can’t quite figure out what exactly happened... But as for the monster herself, as cool as she is, it’s more likely that she was just an owl in a tree that a group of people panicking in the dark mistook for a giant alien.

#1 Nessie

Of course Nessie has to be my favorite. She’s my home girl. Okay... Nessie is Scottish and I’m Scots-Irish, with more Irish than Scottish, but it’s close enough. I’ve still got some Scottish in me. Plus she’s like, a big dinosaur, so we have that in common as well. And Nessie was the first cryptid I ever truly believed in so how could she not be number one on my list? I love this girl.

Do I believe in her?

I’m going to say yes. There is totally something down there. There’s enough evidence at this point that it would be harder to convince me there isn’t something down there. We’ve got scientists who are now saying she’s a big turtle, and I guess that’s possible... probably more possible than an actual plesiosauria... Although I haven’t seen a ton of evidence to support the turtle idea yet... But whatever you want to think she is, I certainly think there’s something down there.

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symphonicspecter · 3 years

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Which mythical creatures/cryptids are your favorite(s)? Feel free to expand upon your answer of you want!

Me thinking about monsters: fuck yeah fuck yeah fuck yeah

Okay so in no particular order

Mothman my beloved. Theres a few of you following me that know one of the reasons he’s a fave but I’m not disclosing that publically. I think as a cryptid he’s very neat because there is an event associated with his sightings!

And while Mothman is most famous for showing up around Point Pleasant before the Silver Bridge collapse, there have been sightings of a similar creature by different names in Mexico and southern US before a swine flu outbreak, and I don’t remember the location but somewhere else before an earthquake. Would be neat if they’re related, like this creature that tries to warn people of disaster. Although of course from the skeptical side it’s probably been misidentifed birds and coincidences. But it’s fun to think about!

Also the typical design of this vaguely bug-bird-human blob that’s pitch black with big eyes is really cute. It’s also just fun to see all the different ways people draw him. And he’s a little bit of a meme which is fun. Fun fact the first time I read about Mothman was in 4th grade and the book had a creepy drawing of him staring through someone’s window, so some nights I was afraid that if I opened the curtains I’d see him staring at me. .

I like the Jersey Devil too, theres a lot of cool designs of him. Like yesss gross demon horse man lets gooo. I also think it’s really interesting how some of the “sightings” are not actually of the creature but of hoofprints and disembodied voices. Somewhere in New Jersey a beast is tap dancing on roofs at night and I think that’s great. .

Fresno Nightcrawlers! They’re fucking pants. They’re just so funny to me. Just these weird little baggy pants lookin guys walking around in people’s yards at night. .

The Chupacabra is another fave of mine and has been for a while. I personally like doglike interpretations better than the alien ones. Spiky vampire dog is such a neat idea. Horrible for your livestock though. Maybe if Chupacabra is real we could tame it 🤔

For non-cryptid creatures:

Dragons!! In case it’s not obvious when I have a dragonsona. I’ve loved dragons since I was little. I ALWAYS was the “why do they have to slay the dragon why can’t they befriend the dragon” kid. I had lots of books of dragons as a kid, from story collections to novels to drawing guides to history and famous dragons collections. And I would read them again and again.

Im not quite sure what drew me to dragons versus other mythical creatures at first. Except that they’re very cool and there’s lots if different kinds. Dragons are really cool because they show up in myths all over the world! So there’s lots of stories and lore.

I love how dragons are so popular and varied that there’s lots of designs for them too, and they still continue to be popular creatures, even a fairly common sona!

I think another thing I’ve liked about dragons over the years is the experience of drawing them. Because there’s not just one dragon design, I used to draw dragons a lot to practice different types of animal bodies and colors. And I didn’t feel as pressured for accuracy as I did drawing animals and people.

Slenderman. One of the most modern monsters in terms of creation time. I think it’s VERY cool that he’s borne from the Internet, so the spread of his popularity and trends in the myth are recorded. Like, this is a myth that you can find the origin of and view it yourself (I don’t know if the site is still up actually, but I’ve seen screenshots so I know there’s at least that). I really think Slenderman was done dirty by popular media. He deserves a better movie and to be known for more than just bad incidents. I love the wide range of takes though. I know I keep saying that but I really do think it’s neat how people interpret creatures differently. Slenderman is cool in that some people make him scary, others make him funny, or sympathetic. And while typically he’s made scary, or at least spooky, there’s different ways he’s scary. Some people like him as a violent killer, others like him as a psychological predator. It’s really neat that no two Slendermen scare the same way.

Also he’s just a neat looking monster. 10/10 would get a gangly hug

Cerberus/hellhounds. They’re scary looking but they’re just puppies! Good boys and good girls! Houndoom is one of my favorite pokemon too (it’s inspired by hellhounds)

On one hand, manticores are not one of the first creatures that come to mind, BUT whenever I see one I always think oh !!! How cool!!! They have a very cool design! While it’s never said explicitly in The Divine Comedy that Geryon is a manticore, his design is clearly based on one. I love that “the beast of fraud” has “the face of an honest man” but when you look beyond that it’s a monstrous body, it’s a symbol of deception! .

W*nd*gos are incredibly controversial bc of their origin and the usual design for them is inaccurate, but I’m using that as a reference point here. The actual myth of these creatures I’m not as much a fan of. However, the “big black furry beast with a skull head” is one of my fave designs. I’ve seen some proposals for calling this design pucca after the black shapeshifting creature instead! Tbh I think we need a new name entirely since this type of monster seems detached from other myths. It’s just a very neat design that I wish we could call something else!

Okay ummm that’s it with naming I think. But I like all sorts of weird creatures! I like animalistic looking ones more than humanoid or abstract. Ive probably said it many times before but I love monsters that are actually sweet or friendly.

#anon I’m sorry but #I ended up going off #if I had to pick to three I’d say dragons Mothman and slenderman #god typos #no editing or proofreading we die like sidewalk worms #ouija board #long post #I’m. Pretty sure I know who sent this. I have a second guess also.

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