What would you do if you were driving down a dark country road in the middle of nowhere and out of the forest, a huge hairy apelike creature walks into your path? Did you just see Sasquatch? How about replace that Sasquatch with an eight-foot tall lizard standing upright and staring at you like a boss, or a wolf the size of a horse. There are many strange animals in the world and contrary to popular belief, not all animals have been discovered or are recognized by the scientific community.
Creatures like Bigfoot, Mothman, the Jersey Devil and the like are classified as cryptids. The term “cryptid” in this definition is a hidden animal, one whose existence is either suspect or there is very little evidence of the creature’s existence at all other than eyewitness accounts. What evidence there is of a cryptid animal’s existence falls short of what the scientific community deems as verifiable proof. Usually, a carcass of said cryptid animal is required in order for mainstream science to give credence to the creature at all.
Creatures like Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster are therefore delegated to a field of study called “cryptozoology” until the day a body of one of these creatures is discovered by chance or other means. Once a body is available for study, then mainstream science takes over and the creature is removed from the magic and mysticism of myth and legend and deposited into the lap of the zoologists who will promptly begin dissection of the specimen, to see what makes it tick. So, if you were Bigfoot, would you want to be found? However, real animals that were merely legend and myth have been discovered before, well known examples are the giant squid, the gorilla and most recently (this summer) a giant tree-dwelling, coconut-eating rat in the Solomon Islands.
One of the most intriguing aspects about learning about cryptid animals is the eyewitness accounts that describe a cryptid encounter of one sort or another. Although the vast majority of people who have an encounter with a strange creature or what they could only otherwise describe as a “monster” are thought to never tell anyone of their experience, some want to let others know either to see if anyone else had seen the same thing they did and sometimes to just get it off their chest. There is a major hurdle witnesses must to get past before they divulge details of their encounter with Bigfoot or any number of unknown beasts; the fear of ridicule.
A common misconception the public has about people who said they’ve seen a “monster” is that they are making it up. I’ve seen this first hand when looking into online groups and forums seeking individuals who had first-hand encounters with a cryptid. After they tell their story online there should have been a relief in the act of sharing their experience, but instead many of the people are attacked, called a liar or ridiculed to the point they remove their account, never to tell it again. This is one of the reasons I founded the National Cryptid Society… to allow people to tell their experience without fear of ridicule.
Not all cryptids are as well-known as Bigfoot. In its short existence, the fledgling online-based cryptozoological organization The National Cryptid Society has collected and received reports from individuals from every walk of life that describe a wide variety of strange and unusual creatures.
The National Cryptid Sociey is an online community of people who share an interest or experience with animals whose existence is unrecognized by current zoology.
It also serves as a safe place for witnesses to tell their stories of cryptid encounters.
When you file a report with the National Cryptid Society, you always have the option to remain anonymous.
If you or someone you know have seen or have photographic or video evidence of a cryptid encounter, contact us immediately HERE!
The Case Files are handled by the Founder of the National Cryptid Society, Jesse Durdel. Jesse is a partially disabled USAF veteran and former science educator.
The National Cryptid Society 