The Grootslang is a cryptid from South African folklore. Grootslang means “Great Serpent” in the Afrikaans language of South Africa. Afrikaner legend describes the Grootslang as a gigantic primeval snake that lives in a pit or subterranean cave in a remote part of Richtersveld, a desert in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Legends … Read more
The Mapinguari is a legendary ground-dwelling sloth-like creature resembling an ape which is reported to still roam the jungles of Brazil and Bolivia. Description The Mapinguari is thought to be a relative of a type of giant ground sloth (possibly a Megatherium) that is generally believed to have died out some 10,000 years ago. However, … Read more
The Mongolian Death Worm is a giant worm-like cryptid said to live in the sands of the Gobi Desert. The terrifying creature has deadly venom. Description Olghoi-Khorkoi is Mongolian for “large intestine worm,” otherwise known as the Mongolian Death Worm. Local tribesmen have told tales of the worm for generations; however, there has never been … Read more
The Flatwoods Monster (also known as Braxxie, Braxton County Monster, Phantom of Flatwoods) was an alleged 10-foot-tall humanoid cryptid with a hooded blood-red face that some residents of Flatwoods, Braxton County, West Virginia, reported sighting on the evening of September 12, 1952. The Flatwoods Monster sighting occurred soon after a bright object appeared in the … Read more
The giant anaconda (Sucuriju Gigante or Megaconda) is a cryptid similar to but said to be much larger than the regular anaconda (genus Eunectes). Early 20th-century European explorers in the Amazon River Basin first learned about supposed giant anacondas from native accounts of fearsome super-sized boas living in the dense jungles. Some explorers later claimed to … Read more
The snallygaster is a mythical cryptid that features prominently in American folklore. It is a fantastical dragon-like creature usually represented as a cross between a reptile and a bird. Legend says it lives in caves in the South Mountains that form the northern part of the Blue Ridge range in Maryland. The earliest claimed sightings … Read more
The Elwetritsch is a bird- or fowl-like cryptid from German folklore. The creature is supposedly native to the forests of the Palatinate region of southwest Germany. However, the folklore occurs in various locales spread over a wide area of southern Germany. The Elwetritsch is only one of several mythical birds from German folklore. Other regions … Read more
The Jersey Devil is a legendary creature and one of the world’s best-known cryptids. New Jerseyans have told tales of a cloven-hoofed creature with wings and horns for almost 300 years. The creature’s homeland has traditionally been in the wooded areas of Pine Barrens in the southeast of the state. However, over the years, it … Read more
The chupacabra is a blood-sucking creature of modern legend, with stories of sightings originating in Puerto Rico. There have been thousands of reported sightings of this violent and vicious creature. Description The chupacabra is, as legend would have it, a 4-to-5-feet tall, spiky-backed creature with an oblong skull. The word “chupacabra” translates, somewhat underwhelmingly, as … Read more
The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp is a cryptid from the folklore of South Carolina. The alleged creature lives in the swamps around Bishopville in Lee County and the neighboring Sumter County. Media coverage of Lizard Man sightings in the late 1980s brought Lee County to national attention, and now South Carolina holds an … Read more