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Photo: Michael Martin/iStockphoto

 

You’ve likely heard of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. Perhaps you’re even familiar with tales of blood-sucking chupacabras and West Virginia’s Mothman. But there are numerous other creepy creatures and mythical monsters throughout the world that cryptozoologists and thrill-seekers are eager to find. Here’s a look at 10 lesser-known cryptids right here in the United States.

 

1. Skunk Ape (Florida)

This large, hairy bipedal mammal is said to inhabit the Southern United States, but it’s most often spotted in Florida. It gets its name from its unpleasant odor, which is said to be similar to rotten eggs or methane. Although reports of the creature were most common in the 1960s and 1970s, sightings continue today, but the most famous one took place in 2000.

 

That year, two photographs of an animal alleged to be the Skunk Ape were mailed to the Sarasota Sheriff’s Department in Florida, along with a letter from a woman who said she’d photographed the creature in her backyard. She said that the cryptid had entered her yard for three nights and taken apples from her porch. She was convinced the animal was an escaped orangutan, but the police dispatched to her house several times never saw the animal. The National Park Service says the Skunk Ape is a myth that developed from Native American legends, but according to the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters, the creature might be part of the same species as Bigfoot.

 

2. Tahoe Tessie (California and Nevada)

Stories of this aquatic creature in Lake Tahoe can be traced back to members of the Washoe and Paiute tribes in the mid-19th century, who said the cryptid lived in an underwater tunnel beneath Cave Rock. Sightings of Tessie — who got her nickname from the famous Nessie of Loch Ness fame — continue today, with witnesses describing the creature as being between 10 and 80 feet long, having a serpentine body and coloration ranging from black to turquoise.

 

There are several theories surrounding Tessie, the most popular being that the animal is a Plesiosaur, Icthyosaur or Mosasaur because fossils of these creatures have been found in the surrounding Sierra Nevada Mountains. However, scientists say this is unlikely because the lake formed in the last Ice Age, long after those animals went extinct. Other Tessie theories say she could simply be a large sturgeon or an unidentified species of freshwater eel, but believers point to a quotation from undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau who’s alleged to have emerged from a submarine expedition in Lake Tahoe and said, “The world isn’t ready for what’s down there.”

 

3. Pope Lick Monster (Kentucky)

This legendary human-goat hybrid has a deformed human torso, goat legs and a horned head, and it’s said to haunt the railway trestle over Pope Lick Creek in Louisville, Ky. Numerous urban legends exist about the creature’s origins. Some stories say the monster is a circus freak who vowed revenge after his mistreatment, while others claim it’s a reincarnated farmer who sacrificed goats in exchange for Satanic powers. Stories of how it claims its victims are equally diverse. May believers think it uses voice mimicry to lure trespassers to their deaths before oncoming trains. Some say it slays its victims with an ax, while others say that simply the sight of the Pope Lick Monster is so terrifying that people jump to their deaths. These legends have turned the Pope Lick Train Trestle into a destination for thrill-seekers, and there have been a number of deaths at the location despite the 8-foot fence meant to keep visitors out.

 

Read more here: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/10-lesser-known-us-monsters-and-cryptids

 

There is a wealth of information here, cryptids even I wasn’t aware of.  Love this article, Enjoy! ~Ophelia