31 Posts of Monsters: Giant Spiders

Maybe it's part of being a mammal, but it's odd how anything outside of the usual head, body, and four limbs becomes something frightening. It doesn't seem to matter if it's no legs, like snakes and fish, to multiples, like most insects, squid, and, of course, spiders.

Name: Giant Spider

Size: To some people, any size is scary. For the purpose of this post though, we're talking anything from one to hundreds of feet across.

Appearance: A spider. A bulbous abdomen, small thorax, small head. Two fangs, eight eyes, and eight legs. They can be almost any color of the rainbow.

Threat: Variable. Small spiders can have deadly venom, while larger spiders may be harmless, or able to impale people on their fangs. The largest spiders may even be able to swallow people whole.

Spiders are just plain unnerving to, let's just say, the vast majority of people. Crawling along on eight legs, venomous, leaving webs everywhere, why wouldn't they be? They are probably the closest we can get to an alien species. Spiders are just so different from practically every other type of creature on the planet. It's a good thing most of them are so small.

Every so often though, a story comes out of a sighting of a spider of massive proportions. There is a legend in the Congo of the Jba Fofi, a spider with a leg span of at least five feet. It creates a home almost like a trap-door spider, although it's the size of a mud hut and is said to prey on antelopes.

Recently, legends of giant spiders, or whole hives of them, have been further strengthened as weather in various places has forced spiders to collect together. These communes can span an entire tree, or even a full acre of nightmare fuel that not even fire can cleanse.

Being such fear-inducing creatures, it only makes sense that spiders would get picked up in fiction as antagonists. One of the earliest movies being Tarantula, released in 1955. Godzilla had a giant spider as an enemy in a few movies. All leading up to the present day with movies with such imaginative titles as Big Ass Spider, and Eight-Legged Freaks. It seems like they're everywhere.

All the more reason to squash anything that comes within reach. Or not. They do eat mosquitos, flies, and the occasional scorpion. 

~ Shaun

31 Posts of Monsters: Ropen

It seems like people are predisposed to seeing things in the sky. Be it giant birds, angels, UFO's, or just about anything you can think of. So it should be no surprise when people claim to have seen flying dinosaurs, or Pterosaurs. In parts of Papua New Guinea, they see a strange light in the sky at night, which has become one of these creatures of legend.

Name: Ropen

Size: While sizes are hard to come by, considering most sightings are at a distance and are mostly the light the creature emits, estimates are of a wingspan of up to six feet. Which would make this one of the smaller cryptids.

Appearance: Many sightings only see the light it emits from it's underbelly, but other close-up sightings describe a small body, leathery wings, short fur, and a long, pointed tail.

Threat: Low. The small size of the creature, plus most reported behavior, would lead one to believe this creature doesn't pose a threat to people. Claims are that it uses the light on it's belly to attract fish to the surface of the water at night, which it then swoops down and scoops up in it's mouth. The only thing which may suggest any threat to people, are claims that it occasionally breaks into or digs up fresh graves and eats the bodies of the dead. So it is possible that a particularly bold specimen could become accustomed to the taste of human flesh and move up from eating dead people, to eating live people.


The possibility of this creature isn't as far-fetched as some might think. Very large areas of Papua New Guinea remain unexplored to this day and it is commonly said that there are likely groups of indigenous tribes living in the jungles who still haven't made contact with the outside world. Even though the Ropen is relatively large for a flying animal, it would be easy for it to remain hidden. Sleeping in caves or among the trees during the day and only coming out at night to feed.

The possibility that the creature could exist doesn't stop people from trying to suggest it is an already known animal. Many people think the Ropen is just a frigate bird. Their silhouettes in flight are remarkably similar, and the behavior of fishing matches up as well. However, that doesn't explain the light the Ropen seems to emit, and most frigate birds aren't nocturnal. The other suggestion is the flying fox, a large, fruit-eating bat. That covers the close-up descriptions, and the nocturnal behavior, but not the light or the fish-catching.

The truth is likely both. Sightings of both animals on separate occasions leading to the creation of a creature which is a combination of the two by superstitious people who aren't used to the animals they're seeing. Or, the truth could be that the Ropen itself is a real animal as described, and is still hiding in the depths of the jungles of Papua New Guinea.

Still, who knows whether everything we see in the sky is actually what we think it is.

~ Shaun

(for those of you curious, this is post #20 out of 31 posts of monsters. Sorry this is taking me so long to get through.)

31 Posts of Monsters: Megalodon

The monsters discovered in fossils have always enthralled us, from T-Rex to Velociraptors, to Terror Birds and Saber-toothed Cats. Most of them, despite a few disparate reports, are pretty much fully accepted as being extinct. Some predators from the past have captured our imagination so much, though, that we can't help but imagine them still roaming the shadows in the darker, and deeper, places of the world.

Name: Megalodon

Size: Estimates range from 50 feet, all the way up to 90 feet in length. It would also weigh somewhere between 60 to 100 metric tons. (One metric ton is 2000 lbs.)

Appearance: Megalodon is a shark, similar to a Great White, but many times bigger.

Threat: High. Megalodon is a predator, and while it would undoubtedly prefer whales or other large animals, anything that fits in its mouth is fair game. This is also an animal that would have no problem bringing down a large boat, so it is easily conceivable that it's existence is being kept a secret due to the fact that there are no survivors from sightings of it.

Sharks have been feared ever since humanity has set out in boats and see their large shapes circling them out of curiosity. Just the idea of a twenty foot shark is enough to send most people scrambling for the beach. Imagine if people knew there was a sixty foot beast swimming around.

Of course, science tells us Megalodon's are extinct and have been for quite some time. The only remains to have been found are fossilized teeth and rarely, vertebrae. One of the things that makes people suspicious is that you not only find teeth in fossil beds as one would expect, but that teeth have been dredged up from the sea floor around the world, from the Gulf of Mexico to the bottom of the Mariana's Trench. On top of that are the rare reports of sharks bigger than anything thought to be swimming around.ou

Animal Planet's recent docu-drama on Megalodon, like their pieces on mermaids, has stirred additional controversy, with many people completely unaware they were watching a dramatization and not really seeing proof that the giant shark is still swimming around, eating whales.

While it would really be something to have Megalodon swimming around these days, there's one big reason it's not. Lack of food. Sure, for one or two Megalodon, there might be enough whales around, but you need more than two for a viable breeding population. That might not be up in the hundreds, but even to have just 50 Megalodon's swimming around, you would need much more full oceans than we currently have. As it is, whales are well known, and some species are rebounding from the way they were over-fished thirty or forty years ago, but they are still not common. In addition, ocean populations around the world are steadily declining from over-fishing and pollution. So there really is no way a breeding population of Megalodon's would have enough food to survive today.

Of course, if you're interested in seeing giant sharks, there's no shortage of movies. JAWS is still the best example, even though it's not a Megalodon. In addition to that are whole series, like the Megashark Vs. series, and the Shark Attack films. For one-off's, you can watch Jurassic Shark, Megalodon, and Dinoshark. How much I would recommend most of them outside of JAWS though is very debatable.

If you're looking for books. Of course you can pick up the original story of JAWS by Peter Benchley. Then there is also the Meg series by Steve Alten. So there is lots of entertainment to pick from.

Happy Swimming.

~ Shaun

31 Posts of Monsters: Jersey Devil

So, originally, I said I wasn't going to touch on supernatural creatures for this series. I then figured out there really aren't that many different types of cryptids. Sea monsters, Sasquatches, extinct animals. There's no arguing that there are some creatures that, supernatural or not, have such a history of physical sightings, that they do deserve to be mentioned on lists such as these.

The Jersey Devil is one of them.

Name: Jersey Devil

Size: Anywhere from 3 to 7 feet tall, with a comparable wingspan of 10 to 20 feet.

Appearance: A head similar to that of a horse, with sharp teeth and horns, a relatively thin, spindly body, bat-like wings, a long, thin tail, and back legs that end in hooves. The front legs have been reported as being hooves and claws depending on the witness.

Threat: Low. What? Low? Actually, yes. Despite all the reports of people feeling threatened and terrified of it, and reports of it killing and eating dogs, reports of it actually harming people are all but non-existent. Considering it probably could, if it wanted to fairly easily, it's something to consider that there aren't any reports of it doing so.

The story of the Jersey Devil is something out of a horror movie. It begins with a family that lived out in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The wife, Mrs. Leeds, declared that if she ever gave birth to an unhealthy child that she wished it would be a devil. As it happened, that turned out to be her 13th child (talk about getting busy, and that was in the early 1700's!). As soon as it was born, it screeched, ran around the room, out the door and flew off into the woods. Rambunctious little guy, wasn't he?

Since then, reports of a strange, giant winged creature have persisted through the Pine Barrens and the surrounding communities and witnesses to the creature even include the older brother of Napoleon, Joseph Bonaparte.

With such a long history, of course such a creature is going to pop up in entertainment. The New Jersey hockey team even took the name. It's also appeared on episodes of The X-Files and Lost Tapes. Several movies have been also inspired by the legend, if not the creature itself. Most recently is the film The Barrens. Others include Carny and (as one might expect) The Jersey Devil. So there's lots to watch for a little devil-themed entertainment.

What better way to start October?

~ Shaun

31 Posts of Monsters: Lusca

Of all the places in the world, the Caribbean is actually one that doesn't have many suggested monsters, despite a history of legends. It may have something to do with how clear and relatively shallow the water is in many places. Wherever there are dark places, though, some people will come up with claims that monsters live there. Such is the case with the Lusca.

Name: Lusca, Giant Octopus

Length: 75 - 200 feet long, from tentacle to tentacle.

Appearance: The same as any other octopus, except for its monstrous size. The shape and colors of Octopuses are highly variable though, they're known to be able to mimic many other ocean species, including eels, rays, and fish. They can even change their shapes to resemble rocks and coral.

Threat: moderate. Octopuses are predators, with a hard, sharp beak that is easily capable of cracking open shellfish or piercing flesh. They are also known to eat just about anything they can catch, which includes sharks and even birds. An octopus of significant size would have no problem grabbing and devouring a human being.

While occasional Globsters, like the picture above, are attributed as possibly being giant Octopuses, there is little to actually connect them to such animals. Most such unidentified masses are either found to be decomposing whale parts, or are washed up and then washed back out before they can be tested upon.

Where are the dark places these creatures would hide though? The answer for the Lusca is the myriad of underground rivers and waterways which run underneath central america, connecting many of the famous Cenotes, or blue holes.

These dark tunnels stretch for miles, connecting the inland cenotes with underwater caves out in the gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Many are huge caves as well, easily large enough for a giant, and malleable creature to slip in and out of. The cave walls would also give an octopus ample opportunity to blend into the rock, where only a truly dedicated eye would be able to pick them out.

Giant octopuses (That is the correct term, feel free to look it up.) have been fairly popular in movies. Headlining in such titles as the classic It Came from Beneath the Sea, Tentacles, and the aptly titled, Octopus. It's also had cameo's in such movies as King Kong, and some versions of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. So there's lots of options out there to see them in action.

We're not even going to touch this though.

~ Shaun

31 Blog Posts of Monsters: Nessie

(Sorry this is so late. Being sick and dealing with allergies at the same time BLOWS!)

So, it's not really 31 Days of Monsters at this point, but I would like to get through 31 monsters total at least, and there are some of the really famous cryptids that I was leaving until last that I didn't get through. The Loch Ness Monster was one I had originally planned to do as a kind of 'Grand Finale'. Well, we can all see now how that turned out. Anyway, I'm not going to do these one after the other, so expect more like this to be somewhat spaced out, but I am going to finish this little series. Eventually.

Name: Loch Ness Monster, Nessie

Size: Estimates from video, photographs and sonar recordings very widely, from as small as 5 feet to as long as 46 feet.

Appearance: Generally a large, oval-shaped body, a long serpentine neck, and a small head. It has drawn comparisons to the prehistoric sea reptile the Plesiosaur in nearly every description.

Threat: Low. While a creature of Nessie's size could certainly cause harm to and possibly even eat people, there have never been any reports of attacks. Though, with water temperatures ranging between 42 and 58 degrees, it's not a common swimming spot for tourists.

The Loch Ness Monsters is one of the oldest cryptids known, and one of the most interesting in that it seems to have kept up with technology without giving itself away. There have been dozens of searches of the Loch, including intensive sonar scans. Many have indeed turned up shapes of large animals moving deep under the water which cannot be identified. Of course without a body or a crystal clear video, there is no definitive proof on the animal; but as long as sightings continue, both visually and on sonar screens, the mystery will continue.

Many suggestions have been made for what the creature could be. All have strong points, as well as weaknesses. One of the best ideas put forth was an oversized Conger Eel. Color would match and size would be a good fit if one could grow large enough. The problem with that answer, though, is that Conger Eels are saltwater fish, and the loch is freshwater. Their long, snake-like bodies also don't come close to the bulkier form often reported.

Even to this day, expeditions and searches carry on on the Loch. Jeremy Wade did an episode of his show River Monsters where he plumbed the depths of the loch to see what was in it, then followed the trail of the stories through history and made a guess that the massive and rare Greenland shark could be the culprit. Again though, this answer has holes in that the Greenland shark is a salt-water species. It also doesn't match the long neck and head so often described.

Of course, there have also been several hoaxes, made by people looking for a little publicity or just trying to have fun at the expense of those who think there is really something there. In fact, it was even brought out several years ago that the original Surgeon's photograph (The first one up top) is a hoax, done for no real reason than to stir up the local press. Most recently, a picture reported to be on Apple Maps supposedly shows the creature swimming near the surface of the loch. That one has since been shown to be simple a photo of a boat where the offending vehicle has been photoshopped out.

Still, whether there is an ancient Plesiosaur swimming around in Scotland, or not. It's hard to deny that there does seem to be something in the lake that we are not familiar with. Something large, swimming at depth, occasionally captured on sonar, and more rarely, seen, and even photographed. Believing in it or not is entirely up to you. At the moment, the evidence swings both ways.

Still, if you're out in Scotland, I would recommend trying not to fall out of your boat. Just to be on the safe side.

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Man-Eating Plants

While there are certainly plants that are sustained by the blood of other creatures and some that can even catch their own food, most are of a size that isn't even a threat to your toe, let alone an entire person. You'll note there, I said MOST.

Name: Ya-Te-Veo, Bloodoak, Man-Eating Tree

Size: Being plants, size varies, but most are at least the size which would be required to catch and kill a human being and grow to well above that size.

Appearance: The Ya-Te-Veo has a short, thick, trunk, and dozens of long, tendril-like branches or vines with which it grabs prey. Other reported plants include giant versions of the Venus Fly-Trap and some species of cacti.

Threat: Medium. While any of these plants could be extremely dangerous to the unaware or even to people who don't take the correct precautions, they remain plants. They're not going to uproot and chase you. Probably.

Fortunately, you're not likely to stumble across one of these plants unless you're deep in the uncharted jungles of the Amazon or the Congo. The fact that they are plants means they can't exactly hide in plain sight like an animal could by staying light on its feet and fleeing at the first unfamiliar sound or smell.

As I've said, it is still a fact that there are plants which consume meat. Venus Fly-Traps, Pitcher Plants, and Sundews are all well-known plants that catch and eat insects, small birds, and even mice and rats if the plant grows big enough. No plants are reliably known to grow big enough to prey upon larger animals than that though. I have seen it suggested that some species of cacti use the scent of their flowers to lure animals close enough to impale themselves on the thorns, thus watering the plant with their blood, or in extreme cases, causing them to collapse at the base of the plant, dying and fertilizing the ground with their rotting corpse, but these stories have never been confirmed.

Is there anything to really substantiate any of these stories besides the fact that plants do eat meat on a smaller scale? Not really. Reports of such plants such as in the picture above have been determined to be hoaxes or anecdotal reports. Granted there are several trees which would look like the ones described. Willow trees, with their long, whip-like branches would be easy candidates for trees that are reported to have the long, thin tendrils to grab people with. A small monkey or other animal hiding unseen, shaking branches trying to scare away intruders could certainly give the impression that the tree was actively moving in search of prey.

Of course, killer plants have been used for monsters and plot devices many times over the years. Some well-known movies were books first, which includes The Ruins, and The Day of the Triffids. Movies are much more abundant, with films like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Little Shop of Horrors, The Happening, and the movie versions of the two books I just mentioned. They also happen to be fairly common adversaries in video games.

Still, it never hurts to watch your fingers when you go to water your plants. They might be thirsting for something a little more...red.

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Sewer Gators

Not all supposed monsters are creatures whose existence is questionable. Sometimes it's just a matter of something being found where nobody would expect it. 

Name: American Alligator

Size: 11 to 15 feet from nose to tail.

Appearance: That of a typical alligator, though there are some reports of Albino specimens being seen or captured. 

Threat: Medium. They are known to attack, kill, and even eat humans when the opportunity presents itself, but they don't go out of their way to track or attack us. 

It's the location of the sightings which helps this critter make the list. Reports of alligators being found in sewers and storm drains in major cities like New York and Chicago, places well outside the American Alligator's range. Fortunately, though, they are limited to the largest and oldest of American cities, ones with the old large and extensive tunnel systems needed to service cities of their sizes. 

How they get there isn't much of a mystery either. Most are simple animals which were illegally obtained as hatchlings who were dumped into the sewer or flushed down the toilet when they started getting too big for their owner's or when their owner's just got bored of them. Some people have suggests, as well, that with summers getting hotter, Alligators have been expanding their range, swimming up the rivers and the coast, and finding entrances into the sewers which provide them shelter when the temperature starts to drop again. 

There are people that belittle the idea of alligators in sewers though, claiming hoaxes and plants for publicity stunts. They point out the lack of decent food sources and the temperature of the sewers as reasons cold-blooded animals like Alligators couldn't survive in such places. Unfortunately, neither of these arguments hold up to any scrutiny. Anyone who has been to one of these types of cities is well aware of the problem with rats, which would provide small to medium alligators with an ample food supply, not to mention any food thrown out by humans which then gets washed down. 

The temperature isn't actually an issue either. It used to be thought that it would be too cold down there for such animals to survive, however, recent investigations have determined the underground levels of most large cities actually maintains and steady temperature almost year round. The dark caverns are insulated from the weather above. An investigation by the show Monsterquest found in New York, even in the middle of winter, with snow falling, had areas of the sewers which maintained a cozy 68 degrees. Ask anyone who has looked into building a house underground and they'll probably be more than happy to tell you what a great natural insulator the earth is. 

The only real issue, is that there isn't enough material in the sewers for them to build nests, so most likely, while one or two might find their way in and set up house, you're not going to find a breeding population. Which explains why the discovery of such creatures remains rare. 

The idea of such large, predatory creatures being right under our feet has inspired a number of movies, most notably the series of movies titled Alligator. It's interesting to note that while a lot of people have trouble differentiating between an alligator and a crocodile, Hollywood doesn't seem to have such an issue, with alligators being city-dwellers while anything actually in a swamp is a crocodile. Of course though, this doesn't seem to matter between the animal actors in such movies. 

Even in cities, it's not a bad idea to keep in mind what could be right underneath your feet. Really starting to feel like there's no place safe from monsters, isn't it?

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Ahool

Creatures flying through the air aren't limited to bird and people shot out of cannons or giant slingshots. There are also insects and the occasional lizard or squirrel. Then, of course, there are the bats.

Name: Ahool

Size: A wingspan of 10 feet.

Appearance: Typical of a bat, only much larger. Wide, leathery wings, a body covered in grey fur, and large, dark eyes. Some reports describe the face as almost monkey-like.

Threat: Low. It has been known to swoop down at people in boats, but reports of it outright attacking and inflicting injuries are rare. The aggressive behavior it takes fits in with similar actions by animals seeking only to scare away intruders into their territory.

 Fortunately, for those who still have nightmares based on The Wizard of OZ, despite its ability to fly, the Ahool remains reported exclusively on the island of Java in the Philippines. Although reports of other large, bat-like creatures have also been reported in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and in the jungles of India.

It's unsurprising that bats are included in the animals of which we fear growing to giant size. Even as small as most species are, they tend to send people running as they flitter about our heads at night. Their leathery wings and unusual way of locating prey, as well as their nocturnal habits all feature into things which confuse and frightened primitive man. The way some species subsist on the blood of much larger animals also brings a certain level of fear and it part of the reason they were connected with vampires. As we've learned more about them, we've even found new reasons to fear them, with the addition of Rabies and other similar diseases they can carry.

The Ahool is one of those creatures, though, that actually has a fair explanation.While there isn't any direct evidence of the creature the Ahool is claimed to be, there is a similar animal which is very rare that lives in the jungles of Java. The Javan Wood Owl is a good candidate to be the creature. Its wingspan is a far cry from that reported of the giant bat, only reaching an average of four feet, but witness estimates of such things are easily exaggerated, particularly at night and in a panic at having something swoop over your head. As the owls have been known to do to people hiking and working near their territory.

Still, the idea of giant bats has the ability to haunt human dreams and the invariably pop up in several movies, TV shows, and books. There is a reason we have Batman and not Nightman, after all. There is just something unnerving about them which bites into us.

As far as entertainment goes, there is The Devil Bat starring Bela Legosi, and The Bat with Vincent Price. More recently are the movies Bats and Vampire Bats (Which I don't believe are related, though I must admit to not having seen them). There is also Attack of the Bat Monsters and The Bat People for those who enjoy the older now-campy monster movies.

So, there really isn't much to be afraid of honestly, as far as bats go. Some may carry Rabies, but those cases are getting rarer and rarer as animals that are even suspected are trapped and destroyed. They're not really out to eat us, or suck us dry. Usually.

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Ogopogo

It seems whenever there is a new fad, you alway quickly get knock-offs, copies, and imitations as everyone tries to have, get, or be the new trend on the block. For a while, it seemed that everyone was trying to claim to have their very own lake monster, despite some people not even having a lake.

Name: Ogopogo

Size: 40 - 50 feet long.

Appearance: This would be the typical sea serpent. A long, serpentine body, with fins, several humps or coils which stick out of the water, as well as a head which reportedly resembles a horse.

Threat: Low. Among all the sightings, none mention the creature attacking or making threatening gestures towards people.

Hundreds or even thousands of lakes around the world have had reports of monsters living in them in the past twenty or thirty years. This one hails from Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, Canada. Ogopogo is one of the more well-known lake monsters, though its popularity never peaked in the same way the Loch Ness Monster's has.

The native tribes that live on the lake have told stories of the creature dating back into the 1800's. The first modern-day sighting though, was in 1926 when traffic on a road next to the lake completely stopped and no less than 30 cars of people claimed to have seen a large, unidentified animal in the water. All the witnesses described the same creature when asked about it.

The name of the creature was originally Naitaka, a name given it by one of the local native american tribes. However, for reasons unknown, the creature started to be called Ogopogo, a name taken from an English song written in 1924.

Sightings of Ogopogo are infrequent, but there are usually one or two a year. Interest in the creature has been enough to spur shows like Monsterquest and Destination Truth to devote an episode to searching for the creature. Some with negligible results, while others turn up some surprising information. It has also been referenced in an episode of The X-Files, the National Geographic series Is It Real?, and even The Venture Brothers.

Due, perhaps, to Ogopogo's rather tame nature, or to the fact that it is so specific in its location, there aren't really any books or movies specifically about the creature. Probably the most well-known lake monster movie is the oldie The Crater Lake Monster. Other titles though that you can look up, which may or may not be similar to the Ogopogo creature are Creature from Black Lake, Serpent Lake, and the ever popular Lake Placid.

So something to keep in mind, you don't have to be out in the ocean, to be unaware of what could be swimming around just underneath your feet. Just ask Jeremy Wade. 

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Yeti

We know for a fact that the continents used to be a lot closer together and animals could easily travel from one place to another. As the land masses spread apart, species get separated into different areas and eventually adapt specifically to that area. This creates species which are more or less the same, with small, fundamental differences that allows them to be identified from each other. This is one of the base ideas in the theory of evolution.

Name: Yeti, Abominable Snowman

Size: 6 - 8 feet tall.

Appearance: Human-like, walking upright and covered in hair which is usually described as either a dark brown or white.

Threat: Low-Medium.

If any of you are planning a trip to try and scale Mount Everest (a bucket list item if I ever saw one), that is where most sightings of this creature tend to be, typically at the higher altitudes between 10 - 20,000 feet. Sightings have been made throughout much of the Himalayan mountains where humans live and stories and tales are told from ancient times.

One of the interesting things about the Yeti, Sasquatch, and all the like cryptids from around the world, is how similar they all are in appearance. You would expect different cultures in different parts of the world to see different things, for instance horns, spines, maybe quills. Instead, all of the bigfoot types are remarkably similar to each other, with small differences like the Yeti's white coloration, which would allow it to hide much better as an ambush predator on the snow-covered slopes on which it reportedly lives. Compare this to the dark brown or black of Sasquatch which lives in the dark woods of the Pacific Northwest and the light brown/orange of the Orang-Pendek in the tropical jungles of the Philippines. Such similarities should only help to give credence to their existence, as they demonstrate evolution despite it being a concept foreign to such isolated tribes as many tales of these creatures come from.


Sightings of the Yeti have been made by such notable expeditions as those sent by the Royal Geographical Society in 1925. Sir Edmund Hillary even reported the discovery of large, human-like footprints during his historical ascent of Everest in 1953. I would rather think he would be one to take seriously, as I doubt he would want to suggest he was actually beaten to the mountaintop by someone walking barefoot, no less.

Oddly enough, the Yeti has actually had more screen time than its cousin the Sasquatch, with multiple movies to its name, though books featuring his visage seem to be scarce. His visage was the basis for the Wampa from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and who can forget the Bumble from the classic stop-motion version of Rudolph. Most recently, they made a cameo in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. On top of that, www.imdb.com lists seven different movies with Yeti in the title, including this interesting title.

So if you find yourself lost in the Himalayas this summer and stumble upon a huge man-beast covered in fur. Offer him a hug, that may be all he's looking for.

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Rods

So, I've noticed the blog is posting things by the date I write them, not necessarily by the date it goes up. Sorry if that's caused any confusion, if you want, you can click on the Cryptid label on the bottom right to see only the posts involved in this challenge.

Name: Rods, Skyfish

Size: Variable, from inches to at least one account of almost a mile in length.

Appearance: Long, cylindrical bodies with fins that run their entire length.

Threat: None.

One of the few creatures that seem to be found worldwide. Rods have been caught unexpectedly in pictures from South America, North America, Iraq and Australia. The curious thing about them is that they are never seen with the naked eye, although they have even been caught on video in some cases. They don't seem to have a preference between night or day, and they seem to roam in groups, although larger specimens have been seen traveling along.

The fact that Rods are never seen with the naked eye, has led some to speculate that the creatures are spirits, tiny UFO's, or even inter-dimensional animals. While any of those could certainly be possible, it would seem to me to be just as likely that they simply reflect a spectrum of light just outside of our visual range, rather than any particular color. You have to admit, it would be almost impossible to beat that kind of camouflage outside of heat sensors or infrared goggles. To a degree, the fact that we can't see them could also be attributed to their speed, which under some estimates is faster than the speed of sound.

Pictures of the sky in which they have appeared, taken in rapid succession, show them crossing the expanse of sky  in the frame in a matter of seconds. Given speeds like that and their relatively small dimensions, excluding length, it would be a simple matter for one to zip right before your eyes and you would never have a clue.

There really is a lot here to work with, between speeds, lengths, and a degree of invisibility, so it's a little surprising they haven't appeared in movies or literature. They are a recent find, though, only first being spotted in 1994, with sightings fairly scarce since then, despite them all being caught on film.

There is one other reason there hasn't been any movies or stories told about these creatures. That would be the fact that they just plain don't exist. The real reason nobody has ever seen one without a camera is that we can see them for what they really are, which, unfortunately, is just moths, butterflies, and other flying insects. The Rod is simply an effect created when an insect flies past the camera with a little 'oomph' behind it and the camera captures several wingbeats and distance traveled in a single frame. A company in China actually had several "Rods" appear on their surveillance cameras, so as an experiment, they set up nets to try and capture them and set to watching the video. When Rods appeared, they closed the nets and went to check their catch, finding only moths and other common bugs.

Still, it creates some food for thought. After all, the spectrum of light that we see is miniscule compared to the  full range possible in nature. It really wouldn't be that inconceivable that creatures could be out there that simply don't reflect light in the visible range, rendering themselves invisible to us. Who knows, there could be such creatures in the room with you right now, and you'd never even know it. Maybe that slight brush against your hair wasn't just a small breeze, after all.

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Thunderbird

It only seems natural that people take things that scare them, and imagine stories of those creatures but enlarged to monstrous sizes. Everything from spiders and leeches to bats and people have been super-sized to inspire fear and terror. When it becomes interesting is when there are tales told of giant animals which don't normally inspire horror and loathing.

Name: Roc, Thunderbird, many tribes of native americans were aware of the stories of the creature though, and each has their own name for it. 

Size: Differing reports suggest animals with wingspans anywhere between ten to 20 or even 30 feet wide.

Appearance: A giant bird, with a head that can either be similar to an eagle or a vulture. 

Threat: Low. While the Thunderbird is told to be extremely powerful, there are no contemporary stories of these creatures actively hunting adult humans, even though a carnivorous bird at that size would have little difficulty in such a feat. 

Reported sightings remain scarce, but consistent in the southern US, with sightings as far North as Illinois. What makes the sightings hard to verify is the fact that almost all are of the animal in flight at high altitudes, giving little to make size comparisons with. The best reports are those of pilots in private aircraft who occasionally see exceptionally large birds that they can't identify, following in their tailwind. 

Several photos taken in the old west, report to show slain creatures which were claimed to be the mythical Thunderbird. Most of these have since been reported as fakes, but some remain unverified. The creatures pictured however, resemble the prehistoric Pterosaurs than the giant eagles of legend. It is curious however, as the science of paleontology was not widely known during that period and so good fakes of creatures which were yet to be discovered makes one pause and wonder if the Thunderbird legend could have been inspired by surviving flying reptiles. I find that doubtful, though. The legends of the native americans across the areas where Thunderbirds were occasionally seen are remarkably consistent in what they describe, and they describe a large bird, with feathers, not something which would probably described as bat-like. 

The most likely theory put forth, is that of large non-native birds getting lost somehow or searching for places to expand their territory. Sightings of Thunderbirds in Alaska, for instance, are mainly attributed to sightings of Stellar's Sea Eagles, which regularly boasts a wingspan of eight feet. There is also one reported encounter from Illinois about three boys who were playing in their backyard when a pair of large birds swooped down on them, grabbing one of them, lifting him about two feet off the ground and carrying him about thirty feet before letting go. The descriptions of the birds given by the boys and other witnesses matched up with descriptions of the Andean Condor. How the birds ended up so far from the Andes is anyone's guess. 

Giant birds have appeared several times through writing and movies. More often than not, they are simply depicted as giant, flying monsters, rather than described as the mythical Thunderbird. One of the most well known is the giant bird monster from the era of old Hollywood The Giant Claw. After that are movies such as Roadkill. As stated though, these are giant birds, and not specifically the Thunderbird, which in legends was more of an ally or a warning, or even one of the Gods as opposed to an actual threat to man.

Try to keep in mind as you're traveling this summer, especially if you happen to be on a long car trip through the southern states, in addition to what could be underground, underwater, or in the woods, sometimes all it takes to see something unusual is to look up and see what's right above your head.

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Mokele-mbembe

Tropical rain forests seem to make excellent places for large creatures to hide. Maybe it's got something to do with the brush which grows so thick it can take days to hack a trail only a mile or two long. Then again, maybe it's got something to do with the weather. Nobody likes hiking in the rain after all.

Name: Mokele-mbembe

Size: It is suggested to be at least the size of an elephant, and a hint can be taken from its name which means "One who stops the flow of rivers" in the native Lingala language.

Appearance: Many descriptions describe the creature as having a huge body, long neck, and a small head, giving the animal an appearance not unlike the classic Sauropod dinosaur. Physical descriptions are also enhanced by the fact that in this case, early explorers took picture books with them to let natives point out similar creatures, and many native tribes did pick out the picture of a Sauropod as being Mokele-mbembe.

Threat: Low. Some reports blame the creature for flipping boats, but they are generally a result of the creature's passing, and not done out of any malicious nature or intent to harm, though like all animals, it can be aggressive if threatened.

This isn't an animal you're going to come across in just any river though. Reports come solely out of the depths of the Congo jungle, where the creature hides under the waters of the river, only coming out to feed on the trees which overhang the water.

Stories of the creature have been attracting attention for well over two-hundred years now, the first known record of it being in 1776 by a French missionary who discovered tracks of an unknown creature which were three feet across. In 1919, an expedition sent into Africa by the Smithsonian Institution to collect plant and animal specimens also reported giant tracks that they were unable to identify, along with roars and sounds which they could attribute to no known animal. More recently, expeditions have been done for several television shows, including Monsterquest, Destination Truth, and Beast Hunter.

While the idea of a living dinosaur is certainly an interesting and beloved one, the idea that a land-based dinosaur surviving through the ages is about as remote as it gets, especially one of this size and type. To have survived through all the various ice ages, changes in weather patterns, through the evolution of the plants it eats and the diseases to which it is exposed (to say nothing of being able to survive contact with man) are odds that would quickly make you rich in Las Vegas. Most likely, it would be a good example of convergent evolution, creating a creature which appears similar to a Sauropod, while not actually being a species of dinosaur which has survived. My guess would be that this is a creature completely unknown to science or a large species of undiscovered elephant.

The Mokele-mbembe has had a fair amount of use as a device in older movies and books. Many of which use it more as a footnote in tales of exploration in the dark jungles of Africa than as a goal in and of itself. The most well known of stories involving this particular creature is probably the 1985 film, Baby, Secret of the Lost Legend. While a good movie, it is very hard to find, as it hasn't made the jump from VHS to DVD. I do recommend it if you can find it though.

Still, wouldn't be a bad idea to keep your eyes open and watching the water if you happen to find yourself floating down the Congo river this summer.

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Oklahoma Octopus

There are basically three kinds of cryptid creatures. There are the creatures found in myth and legend. There are the animals which we know used to exist and now argue over whether or not they still do, and lastly, there are creatures which seem to pop up in places nobody would expect them to. Like an octopus in the middle of Oklahoma.

Name: Oklahoma Octopus

Size: Reports give it the size of a horse, which would easily give it an arm-span of 25-30 feet. Similar in size to some reports of the Giant Pacific Octopus which lives in Puget Sound in Washington State.

Appearance: People describe a creature with multiple long tentacles and reddish-brown in color occasionally rising to the surface, then disappearing under the water.

Threat: Medium to high. It has been reported to grab swimmers and drag them down and the lakes it is claimed to be in has continually reported increasing rates of unexplained drownings, upon which this creature is blamed.

It rather goes without saying that this creature is found in Oklahoma. Specifically, reports of attacks and sightings focus on Lakes Thunderbird, Tenkiller, and Oolagah. Which presents our first problem for the existence of this creature. All of these lakes are man-made and none are older than a hundred years. So creatures that have been there for centuries these critters aren't.

Still, there are legends of the native americans about creatures which lived in the ponds and rivers before the lakes were there, and it is certainly possible that suddenly being given a much larger area to live in with a more than abundant food supply would allow creatures which were previously minor threats and annoyances to become real monsters. That is very possible given the time frame we are currently working with.

The other problem is the water. To date, there are no known species of freshwater octopus and many experts will make a definite statement that it isn't possible. Personally, I disagree with that. Many saltwater species have made the transition to freshwater and just as many animals regularly go back and forth through estuaries and river systems. There are freshwater dolphins and jellyfish, and Bull Sharks have been seen and even caught living miles upstream in pure freshwater. So to say any animal couldn't make the transition is unnecessarily closing off avenues of the imagination. Just because we haven't found one, doesn't mean one doesn't exist.

More than likely, though, this is one that probably doesn't. What is known to be in the lake are introduced giant catfish which match the coloration of the Oklahoma Octopus. Their whiskers could very easily, in a panic, be taken for tentacles and large enough catfish are known to attack and pull down people into the depths to drown. As an introduced species with no natural predators and being fed on a constant basis by fishermen, they are also known to be able to grow to massive sizes and to be completely unafraid of humans.

As expected of a creature this recent, literature and even movies about it are extremely rare. The best I can find is an episode of the Animal Planet "found footage" series Lost Tapes. There isn't even a cheesy SyFy Original movie. Yet.

Still, you never know sometimes. 

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Mongolian Death Worm

Some people like worms, some don't. Gardeners generally like worms. Veterinarians and Doctors, not so much. They're slimy, segmented, faceless and are probably underneath you right now in the millions. Different worms live in different places though, and for that, we should probably be grateful.

Name: Mongolian Death Worm, Olgoi-Khorkoi

Size: 2 to 5 feet in length.

Appearance: A blood-red worm, its body is said to be anywhere from 15 to 24 inches around (38 to 60 cm). Some reports claim it is impossible to tell which end is the head and which is the tail, while others claim the head has a circular opening in the center, ringed with teeth.

Threat: High. As you would expect from where it lives, the Death Worm is an opportunistic feeder and is reported to take down camels, horses, and anything else that crosses its path with a combination of acid and electricity.

Fortunately, unless the illegal animal trade knows something the rest of us don't, you're only going to come across this creature deep in the depths of the Gobi desert. Not exactly the number one tourist spot in the world, even before the death worm is taken into account. One reason for the doubt as to its existence is the fact that it reportedly lives in one of the few areas of the world that are left to indigenous tribes. There are only 3 people for every square mile living in the area of the Gobi, most of which are family groups of 15 - 20 people, which means, for every family group living together, there are five square miles of empty, unwatched desert where this thing could be sunbathing for all we know.

There there are its weapons. Reportedly, the Death Worm is capable of sending out electric shocks, much like Electric Eels or Catfish. It lies in wait just under the sand for something to get too close, where it then releases the shock, stunning and sending the prey to the ground in convulsions. The effects of the shock are only temporary though, the killing stroke is when the worm then lifts itself out of the sand and sprays the pray with a powerful acid which can reach as far as three feet. Prey animals then die from a mix of the burns from the acid and exposure as their wounds prevent them from getting back up. This allows the worm to effectively eat at it's leisure.

One of the interesting things about this creature, is the amount of scientific interest in it, despite the lack of hard evidence. Most reports of sightings are anecdotal, second, third, or even fourth-hand reports from local tribesman and nomads. No actual pictures exist, only drawings on parchment and animal skins. No partial remains have been found, nor even leftovers from one of its meals, which would undoubtedly yield samples of the creature's acidic spit at the very least. Nothing has ever been found, and yet the television series Destination Truth and Beast Hunter have both mounted expeditions looking for it, as well as the Centre for Fortean Zoology and Zoological journalist Richard Freeman. You almost wonder if they know something we don't.

Despite being a fairly recent addition to the list of questionable animals created by western science, the Mongolian Death Worm has had a fair share of influence on both books and movies. It's unknown for sure, but it wouldn't be a bad assumption to make that Frank Herbert had it in mind while writing Dune. The monsters in the movie Tremors can also be attributed, at least in part, to stories of the Death Worm. It has had its own movie on the SyFy channel and even been referenced in cartoons.


So, while it's unlikely anyone reading my blog here is planning a family vacation to the Gobi, it is a good idea to keep in mind the natural world around you. In the sky, in the trees, on the ground, and especially don't forget about what's under the ground. What could be down there, right underneath your feet, right now?

~ Shaun

31 Days of Monsters: Megalania

Ah. Australia. Home of the most poisonous snakes, spiders, fish, and ants in the world. That's not how it used to be though. It used to be worse.

Name: Megalania, Giant Ripper Lizard.

Size: Estimates from remains mark the creature anywhere between 4.5 to 7 meters in length (15 to 23 feet.)

Appearance: This is effectively, a monitor lizard, similar to the Komodo Dragon and probably looks much the same, only much, much bigger.

Threat: High. This is a predator. No if's, ands, or buts. It WILL track you, catch you, kill you, and eat you.

This isn't just an animal which people have caught glimpses of, and which MIGHT be out there. We know for a fact, this creature used to be there and in fairly significant numbers. The real question is whether or not the animal is actually extinct like the Australian government would probably like us to believe. (Disclaimer: I am not a hardcore conspiracy theorist. Unless it comes to aliens and UFO's.) Though, why they would think something like this would scare people away after everything else Australia has to offer, is beyond me.

Taxonomy, the science of classifying animals, puts Megalania in the same group of animals as the Komodo Dragons, and, if this is accurate, indicates that on top of being a 30 foot long, 2-ton lizard, it was probably poisonous as well. Why a 30-foot, 2-ton lizard needs to be poisonous, I don't know.

Of all the creatures I'm going to go over this month, this one probably has the best and most direct evidence for it's existence. For a start, we know it used to exist already. We know this is a real animal. In 1979, a farmer in Central Queensland, Australia, discovered a collection of bones in a corner of his property. Upon taking them to the University of Brisbane, they were identified as Megalania bones. That was quite a find in and of itself already, but the real kicker was when the bones were dated. It was determined that the bones were actually only 300 years old! Merely the blink of an eye in geologic time and almost a thousand years after Megalania was thought to have been extinct.

In addition to fairly recent remains, footprints have been found, and sightings have even been made by respected scientists as in the case of Herpetologist Frank Gordon. There are even some aboriginal tribes who insist that even to this day, they know of, respect, and fear these monstrous creatures, claiming sounds in the jungles where they live are made by them.

Surprisingly, there aren't many stories which include the Megalania in their work, as a monster or even as a creature of interest. The Animal Planet series Lost Tapes, included an episode based on Megalania called "Devil Dragon" where we never actually see the animal, only the dumb guy who got bit being dragged off camera into the scrub. As well, the animal was featured in an episode of the History channel's Monsterquest. The sad fact of the matter is that despite Megalania's fearsome size, power, and poisonous bite, it just doesn't compare to the awe inspired by Tyrannosaurus Rex, or the small, deadly quickness of Velociraptor. While some people don't like any kind of reptile, most people aren't going to be afraid of an over-sized lizard. Even if it is the size of a bus.

So. I'm packed. Anyone else want to head down under?

~ Shaun