Cryptozoology

[AerostarMonk]

Ah, found what I was looking for. Or at least an explanation.

There is a story that in April 1890, two cowboys in Arizona killed a giant birdlike creature with an enormous wingspan. It was said to have had smooth skin, featherless wings like a bat and a face that resembled an alligator. This description has obvious similarity to that of a prehistoric pterodactyl, a creature which was known at the time. They dragged the carcass back to town, and it was pinned, wings outstretched across the entire length of a barn. A picture of this event may have been published in the local newspaper, the Tombstone Epitaph. It should be noted that Cryptozoology.com has an account of this story with the events taking place in the state of Texas.

According to Mark Hall, the Epitaph did indeed print a story about the capture of a large, unusual winged creature, on April 26, 1890. Beyond this single story, however, no one has made historic corroboration that this event ever occurred; it is usually considered an urban legend. Utterly fictional tall tales were not an uncommon feature in newspapers during this era.

No one has ever produced a copy of the "thunderbird" photograph, though numerous people, Ivan T. Sanderson being one of the better known, have made claims to its existence. Sanderson claimed to have once owned a copy of the photo, which vanished after he loaned it to an acquaintance in the 1960s. The television program Freaky Links staged a similar photo, giving new life to the "Thunderbird Photograph" legend.

Jerome Clark speculates that the description of the basic image in question (men standing alongside a winged creature nailed to a barn), is evocative enough to implant a sort of false memory, leading some people to vaguely "remember" seeing the photo at some distant, imprecise time.


On top of that reports still roll in. Even from my state, Ohio. Still a common cryptid in the US.

[Cassini90125]

Odds are what they had was nothing more than a large condor.

[AerostarMonk]

Could be. But never thought condors were so spread out across the US. Then again you never can tell. Many reports of these birds seem to point to condors.

[Invader Bloo]

I agree that could be a condor. I don't think any dinosuars are still alive, unless they live in the ocean.

I used to live in Naples,Fl. We has a crud load of woods as our backyard (though we weren't in the middle of nowhere) I used to here noises that sounded like what Bigfoot supposedly sounds like, back then I didn't beleive I this. I wonder if it was a bigfoot or alligators. Hnmmmm...

[kageri]

Originally Posted by pitbulllady

One such hoax that I DO know of, though it's never been "officially" solved as such, involves Lee County, SC's, very own "Lizard Man". I know that this was my very tall cousin, the late Lucious Elmore, dressed in a suit made of a Halloween costume and some butterbean hulls from his truck farm, that he'd made to scare off would-be thieves. He'd had several farm pumps and other expensive bits of equipment vandalized by punk kids, and with the suggestion of his brother-in-law and some sewing skills provided by his wife, what was to become one of the biggest news sensations of the '80s was born!

pitbulllady

Wait, seriously? Wow, you're related to a mythical creature!

One such creature that sounds kinda cool is that Mothman guy. I doubt it's real, but I'm curious to know what people were really seeing when they reported it, if they actually saw it at all.

[AerostarMonk]

I wonder what brought about the term Mothman. I mean the creature described is often said to be owl-like. I guess Mothman just sounds better.

I have been interested in Mothman for quite sometime. I wish there were more reports that didn't vary from telling to telling. And recent sightings have been at an all-time low.

[jekylljuice]

Mothman is an interesting one. Didn't he (according to folklore) have something to do with the collapse of the Silver Bridge? From what I've read, opinions seem to divided as to whether he was actually the cause of the disaster, or simply trying to warn passers-by of the impending catastrophe ahead. Either way, his work there seems to be done, for the time being.

I agree with Medikor - regardless of whether these elusive beings are real or not, in an age where we humans more-or-less assume that we have complete knowledge and dominion of everything around us, it's nice to still have some mystery left in this world. Sadly, although I used to be a devout believer in each and every crypto-zoological creature you could mention as a kid - Nessie in particular - I find that I've grown up to be a much more cynical and skeptical person, and I can't really force myself to suspend my disbelief any more. Oddly enough, it was actually going to Loch Ness that killed a lot of the magic for me, not so much because I didn't see any traces of Scotland's most famous resident, but because the local information centres on the matter seemed to sympathise a lot more with the cynics. Surprisingly so, given that the local tourism board thrives on the possibility of her existence (not to mention that they make heaps of money selling shed-loads of the tackiest-looking Nessie plushes you can imagine). I'm always interested to read about possible new sightings, though.

I find it increasingly difficult to even believe in aliens any more, or at least that humankind will ever have contact with them (in that sense I'm merely a shadow of my former self). Here's to the days of lost youth and innocence...

[AerostarMonk]

I think my mind is more open now than it ever was when I was a kid. I mean I've been searching cryptid and legend databases, and my mind just fills with wonder.

In fact, I think the only thing that's changed is I no longer want to be a semi-pro paranormal investigator.

[Partymember]

Don't forget Mokele Mbembe. Totally plausible.

[Invader Bloo]

Could be, but I'm not a strong beleiver in that.