Halloween is just around the corner, bringing with it ghosts, skeletons, and other assorted monsters. Some of these creatures may be more than just stories, however. Max Milo has more.
IN THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEEN, I THOUGHT IT’D BE FITTING TO EXPLORE SOME OF REAL LIFE’S MONSTERS, GHOULS, AND GHOSTS—OTHERWISE KNOWN AS CRYPTIDS. WHILE THE TERM ITSELF IS LESSER KNOWN, CRYPTIDS HAVE BEEN AN ESTABLISHED PART OF OUR LIVES FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. EVERYONE KNOWS BIGFOOT, THE LOCH NESS MONSTER, OR EVEN THE FEARED CHUPACABRA. WELL, CREATURES LIKE MINOTAURS OR FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS PAVED THE WAY FOR THESE MODERN DAY BEASTS.
IF THERE IS NOT SCIENTIFIC PROOF THAT AN ANIMAL EXISTS, BUT MANY PEOPLE CLAIM IT DOES, THEN IT IS A CRYPTID. IT’S AN INTERESTING DEFINITION. THESE LOOSE PARAMETERS MEAN THAT—AT SOME POINT IN TIME—BOTH BIGFOOT AND THE GORILLA WERE CONSIDERED CRYPTIDS. THE GORILLA WASN’T OFFICIALLY DISCOVERED UNTIL THE END OF THE 1800S. LIKE BIGFOOT, GORILLAS WERE THE SUBJECT OF MUCH SPECULATION PRIOR TO THEIR OFFICIAL ENTRANCE TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. AT THE TIME, EXPLORER ANDREW BATTEL CALLED THE GORILLAS “HUMAN-LIKE MONSTERS.” THE KOMODO DRAGON WAS ANOTHER CRYPTID UNTIL 1910. FOR A WHILE, PLATYPUS SKINS WERE THOUGHT TO BE SOME TAXIDERMIST’S SICK JOKE. AND THE GIANT SQUID STILL HAS SOME CONFLICT OVER ITS EXISTENCE DESPITE ITS CLASSIFICATION AS A SPECIES.
MOST PEOPLE KNOW A CRYPTID OR TWO, AND MANY HAVE THEIR OWN LOCAL STORIES. FLORIDA IS APPARENTLY A HOTSPOT OF THESE STORIES. I TRIED TO SURVEY ALL MY FRIENDS FOR ANY HOMETOWN HORRORS, BUT THE ONLY REAL STORIES PROVIDED WERE FROM TWO FLORIDIANS. HONESTLY, THIS CHECKS OUT FOR FLORIDA. SO, I SAT DOWN WITH EACH OF THEM TO DIG A LITTLE DEEPER INTO CRYPTID CULTURE.
[Stephany] Hi, my name is Stephany Martinez. I’m from Cuba…A Chupacabra is more like a—it’s like a Latin America myth…this animal that goes around killing goats.
I ALSO INTERVIEWED MY FRIEND LUIS.
[Luis] So, I’m from Ocala, Florida. The skunk ape, it’s rumored to be around southern United States, more like Louisiana or—you know—where the Everglades are in South Florida…along that little swampy region.
PEOPLE LOGICALLY DISMISS CRYPTIDS. BUT, THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING CREATURES WHO SLIP THROUGH THE CRACKS. TAKE JACKALOPES, FOR INSTANCE. ULTIMATELY, JACKALOPES AREN’T A REAL SPECIES. A RARE DISEASE IN BUNNIES AND RABBITS LEADS TO UNUSUAL GROWTHS ON THE HEAD, WHICH CREATES THE SEEMING “ADOPTION” OF ANTLERS. FOR THIS REASON, OTHERS HAVE STARTED TO CONSIDER IF THIS CONCEPT CAN BE APPLIED TO, SAY, THE “CHUPACABRA.” MAYBE THE CHUPACABRA IS REALLY JUST A BUNCH OF SICK COYOTES. LIKEWISE, LUIS HAD HIS OWN IDEAS ABOUT THE SKUNK APE.
[Luis] I have heard that there are legends of like indigenous tribes who have seen of a creature like that. And you know, tell stories about that. You know, Florida is full of a lot of history and full of a lot of flora and fauna. So, you know people see things in these very dense forests, swamps, and make up stories about it…So if someone saw something that kind of looked like a creature like that in Florida, maybe that became kind of that story, that legend.
STEPHANY AND LUIS ARE CORRECT IN THAT THE HUMAN MIND PLAYS A BIGGER ROLE. HISTORY IS SPECKLED WITH DISPROVEN AND FAULTY CRYPTIDS. YETI BONES WERE FAKED ON A PROMINENT 1958 EXPEDITION. STORIES HAVE BEEN BORN OUT OF FAMILY DINNERS. TAXIDERMIED FISH WITH FUR ATTACHED AND A RABBIT WITH GLUED ON WINGS ARE JUST SOME OF THE JOKING CREATIONS LATER DISCOVERED BY EAGER CONSPIRACISTS.
REGARDLESS OF WHAT REALITY IS, PART OF THE FUN OF CRYPTIDS IS THE UNKNOWN. SCIENTISTS MAY ARGUE AGAINST THE LACK OF SOLID DATA OR
TRUTH BEHIND REPORTS, BUT WHO KNOWS WHICH CRYPTID MIGHT SURPRISE US IN THE FUTURE. FOR ALL WE KNOW, BIGFOOT COULD BE WANDERING AROUND GREAT WILDERNESSES LIKE THE FORESTS OF OREGON, THE SWAMPS OF FLORIDA, OR THE MANY HALLWAYS OF THE NU TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE. FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M MAX MILO.
