# What's your favorite Cryptid/ monster etc? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009 "2010-10-13T15:36:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/21 "2010-10-15T17:00:00Z")
I love them all and have since my youth. But I still harbor hopes that they may find a Bigfoot. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/22 "2010-10-15T17:08:19Z")
The [Goatman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goatman_(Maryland)). ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/23 "2010-10-15T17:22:50Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I love them all and have since my youth. But I still harbor hopes that they may find a Bigfoot. We are the only house near the end of a very dark dead end road way up in the mountains. Sasquatch, you bet your boots. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/24 "2010-10-15T18:15:40Z")
I’m fond of the [Big Cats](http://www.bigcatsinbritain.org/) of the British Isles. And the [Other Lake Monsters](http://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.com/2009/04/morag-other-lake-monster.html). There are supposedly [Big Feet (Bigfoots?)](http://www.texasbigfoot.org/) in Texas! Moth Man scares me but I liked the book. An influence on _X-Files_? Note: _Chucabras_ is singular, from the Spanish verb _chupa_ (sucks) & the noun _cabras_ (goats). For comparison, see _Matamoros_ (Moor Killer) & _chupabrandies_ (seen in an ad for a Border dive). ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/25 "2010-10-15T18:32:13Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Note: _Chucabras_ is singular, from the Spanish verb _chupa_ (sucks) & the noun _cabras_ (goats). For comparison, see _Matamoros_ (Moor Killer) & _chupabrandies_ (seen in an ad for a Border dive). Interesting. What’s the plural, and is el chupacabras correct? ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/26 "2010-10-15T19:59:35Z")
> [@MegaBee](#): > > > [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > > > Note: _Chucabras_ is singular, from the Spanish verb _chupa_ (sucks) & the noun _cabras_ (goats). For comparison, see _Matamoros_ (Moor Killer) & _chupabrandies_ (seen in an ad for a Border dive). > > Interesting. What’s the plural, and is el chupacabras correct? _El chupacabras_ is correct, unless you know that particular little beastie is a female; in which case she would be _La chupacabras_. The plural form stays the same but is preceded by the plural article: _Los chupacabras_. Or _Las chupacabras_, for a bunch of female goat suckers! ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/27 "2010-10-15T22:55:40Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > From Catalan legend, Comte Arnau. This man was a very cruel lord, and completely obsessed with hunting. Any peasants who could escape his lands, did; he killed his wife by knocking her over when she was standing on the stairs before his castle, begging him not to go hunting on Good Friday; he would hunt down men when other big prey were not available. When he died, St. Peter told him “well, you certainly can’t get into Heaven, as your sins are darker than the blackest night” and the Devil said “but your wife, for some reason, insists in loving you, and her love prevents me from dragging you into Hell, where you belong”. He now races across the sky on stormy nights, astride a fiery steed, chasing the storm clouds and throwing spears of lightning at anybody stupid enough to be outside at such times. > > One thing I like about knowing my share of Spanish legends is that they’re exotic for people from Elsewhere 🙂 The story about Comte Arnau is [another variation](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheWildHunt) of t[he Wild Hunt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt) myth. My choices:[the Jackalope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope)and its Continental cousin, [the Dahu.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahu)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/28 "2010-10-16T04:35:58Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > My choices:[the Jackalope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope)and its Continental cousin, [the Dahu.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahu)😃 The Dahu sounds like it’s more closely related to the [Sidehill Gouger](http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Sidehill_gouger) (or Sidehill Dodger) than the Jackalope. Of North American legendary critters, my favorite is the [Squonk](http://www.fearsomecreaturesofthelumberwoods.com/pg31.htm), closely followed by the [Gumberoo](http://www.fearsomecreaturesofthelumberwoods.com/pg11.htm). ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/29 "2010-10-16T05:42:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > > [@NDP](#): > > > > My choices:[the Jackalope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope)and its Continental cousin, [the Dahu.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahu)😃 > > The Dahu sounds like it’s more closely related to the [Sidehill Gouger](http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Sidehill_gouger) (or Sidehill Dodger) than the Jackalope. You’re correct. There is a closer connection between the Sidehill Dodger and the Dahu. In any case, I only related the Jackalope with the Dahu because they both have horns and are fairly recent tongue-in-cheek mythological creations often used by locals to dupe gullible tourists. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/30 "2010-10-16T09:02:20Z")
The Southeast AK native tradition of the Kushtaka, an otter person who is also a shape shifter. The Kushtaka will lure you to the water by shape shifting and calling out as a loved one drowning. As you try and save the person they will take you away and change you into a Kushtaka, or kill you. (My apologies to any Alaskan Natives for simplifying/butchering your individual oral histories) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/31 "2010-10-16T10:09:53Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > > [@Nava](#): > > > > From Catalan legend, Comte Arnau. This man was a very cruel lord, and completely obsessed with hunting. Any peasants who could escape his lands, did; he killed his wife by knocking her over when she was standing on the stairs before his castle, begging him not to go hunting on Good Friday; he would hunt down men when other big prey were not available. When he died, St. Peter told him “well, you certainly can’t get into Heaven, as your sins are darker than the blackest night” and the Devil said “but your wife, for some reason, insists in loving you, and her love prevents me from dragging you into Hell, where you belong”. He now races across the sky on stormy nights, astride a fiery steed, chasing the storm clouds and throwing spears of lightning at anybody stupid enough to be outside at such times. > > > > One thing I like about knowing my share of Spanish legends is that they’re exotic for people from Elsewhere 🙂 > > The story about Comte Arnau is [another variation](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheWildHunt) of t[he Wild Hunt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hunt) myth. > > My choices:[the Jackalope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope)and its Continental cousin, [the Dahu.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahu)😃 > [@Colibri](#): > > > [@NDP](#): > > > > My choices:[the Jackalope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackalope)and its Continental cousin, [the Dahu.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahu)😃 > > The Dahu sounds like it’s more closely related to the [Sidehill Gouger](http://www.monstropedia.org/index.php?title=Sidehill_gouger) (or Sidehill Dodger) than the Jackalope. > > Of North American legendary critters, my favorite is the [Squonk](http://www.fearsomecreaturesofthelumberwoods.com/pg31.htm), closely followed by the [Gumberoo](http://www.fearsomecreaturesofthelumberwoods.com/pg11.htm). You two sound like potential [furr-bearing trout](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur-bearing_trout) fans. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/32 "2010-10-16T11:09:46Z")
These are great! I hadn’t heard of a few of these. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/33 "2010-10-16T11:45:28Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > These are great! I hadn’t heard of a few of these. You need to watch more of the Bad Science Channel (or as they call themselves, The History Channel.) They often have an entire day devoted to Cryptid shows. Lord knows how it relates to History. (Still, I confess that I watch them.) I love that they end each show with: While science has not been able to prove the existence of \, there are still many unexplained facts and we have not disproven them as yet either. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/34 "2010-10-16T12:06:18Z")
I’m a Nessie and Sasquatch fan myself. Sasquatch has gone so far as to be [an Olympic Mascot,](http://fr4camilleh10.wikispaces.com/file/view/quatchi.jpg/129384697/quatchi.jpg) so you’ve got to admire his tenacity and drive, unusual in a retiring cryptid. I would also recommend \*[The Fortean Times](http://www.forteantimes.com/)\*if you are a fan of this sort of thing. If nothing else the strange deaths column keeps me coming back. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/35 "2010-10-16T12:17:46Z")
the _kappa_ from Japanese folklore. > **[Kappa (folklore)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore))** > > A kappa (河童, "river-child")—also known as kawatarō (川太郎, "river-boy"), komahiki (駒引, "horse-puller"), with a boss called kawatora (川虎, "river-tiger") or suiko (水虎, "water-tiger")—is a reptiloid kami with similarities to yōkai found in traditional Japanese folklore. Kappa can become harmful when they are not respected as gods. They are typically depicted as green, human-like beings with webbed hands and feet and turtle-like carapaces on their backs. A depression on its head, called its "dish" (sar... ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/36 "2010-10-17T01:11:33Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I’m a Nessie and Sasquatch fan myself. Sasquatch has gone so far as to be [an Olympic Mascot,](http://fr4camilleh10.wikispaces.com/file/view/quatchi.jpg/129384697/quatchi.jpg) so you’ve got to admire his tenacity and drive, unusual in a retiring cryptid. > > I would also recommend \*[The Fortean Times](http://www.forteantimes.com/)\*if you are a fan of this sort of thing. If nothing else the strange deaths column keeps me coming back. I love the Fortean TImes, I actually have a subscription to the magazine =) [is it really legal in Britain to buy marijuana seeds and magic mushroom spores?!] I actually read it once a week, Saturday morning. That way I can get the whole week over breakfast =) I am torn as to which cryptid/monster is my favorite. Monster-wise, I am fond of vampires. I find it interesting that almost every culture has some sort of vampire, whether it sucks out blood or some concept of life essence. Are Fae considered cryptids? I am fascinated by the whole ‘fairy mound, tiny people that are hidden and hard to find’ and correlate them to the interesting mound homes found in the islands way up north of Scotland, that may possibly exist in the areas of the now underwater areas formed between Britain and the mainland. If you consider the population were probably much smaller [evidenced by the size of the living quarters] more hunter/gathered/fishermen than farmers, and probably lurked in the perimeters and hid from the larger Celtic and Pictish immigrants it would fit the description of fairies. I would love to get some sort of DNA work done, because you find little dark peoples and larger lighter [blonds and gingers] both in areas where there are a lot of fairies in the folklore [Basque region and British Isles both] It would be interesting to see how the DNA shakes out. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/37 "2010-10-17T01:20:46Z")
I like the [Grool](http://goosebumps.wikia.com/wiki/Grool). And the Lanx is not bad either. If you like potatoes with vampire teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/38 "2010-10-17T02:24:07Z")
Are you asking about general mythology, or just monster-hoax type thingies? ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/39 "2010-10-17T12:00:07Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Are you asking about general mythology, or just monster-hoax type thingies? Anything goes. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009/40 "2010-10-17T16:46:24Z")
If you’re talking critters from classical bestiaries, my favorite is the [Manticore.](http://www.29-95.com/files/images/manticore.jpg) It has the body of a lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth, and an envenomed tail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-cryptid-monster-etc/557009.md?page=3)