The Creatures of Legend: real or not?
I am at times obsessed with "mythical" creatures and whether they could in fact be real. Let me be perfectly honest. I want them to be real. I HATE it in movies where they have "scooby doo" endings -- ie the scary or unusual things are just Ol' Man Higgins in a rubber suit. So in many ways, I want there to be at least some kernal of truth to most legends. So why don't you weigh in on the following -- real or not?
Chupacabra
description taken from skepdic.com
The chupacabra ("goat sucker") is an animal said to be unknown to science and systemically killing animals in places like Puerto Rico and Mexico. The creature's name originated with the discovery of some dead goats in Puerto Rico with puncture wounds in their necks and their blood allegedly drained. According to UFO Magazine (March/April 1996) there have been more than 2,000 reported cases of animal mutilations in Puerto Rico in the last two years attributed to the chupacabra.
People have gotten so scared of the Chupacabra in parts of Mexico that they are now causing environmental damage by burning the caves we the creatures are purported to live. . .
The New Jersey Devil
taken from urbanlegendsonline.com
There are many different versions of the birth of the Jersey Devil. One of the most popular legends says a Mrs. Shrouds of Leeds Point, NJ made a wish that if she ever had another child, she want it to be a devil. Her next child was born misshapen and deformed. She sheltered it in the house, so the curious couldn't see him. On stormy night, the child flapped it's arms, which turned into wings, and escaped out the chimney and was never seen by the family again. A Mrs. Bowen of Leeds point said, "The Jersey Devil was born in the Shrouds house at Leeds Point."
Another story that also placed the birth at Leeds Point said that a young girl fell in love with a British soldier during the Revolutionary War. The people of Leeds Point cursed her. When she gave birth, she had a devil.
Some people believe the birth of the devil was punishment for the mistreatment of a minister by the Leeds folk.
Another story placed the birth in Estelville, NJ. Mrs. Leeds, of Estelville, finding out she was pregnant with her 13th child, shouted,"I hope it's a devil". She got her wish. The child wad born with horns, a tail, wings, and a horse-like head. The creature revisited Mrs. Leeds everyday. She stood at her door and told it to leave. After awhile, the creature got the hint and never returned.
Burlington, NJ, also claims to be the birthplace of the Jersey Devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child's father was the devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a horses head, bat wings and a forked tail. It beat everyone present and flew up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740 a clergy exercised the devil for 100 years and it wasn't seen again until 1890.
The Loch Ness Monster
Tied with Bigfoot as the quintessential "does it exist" creature, it may or may not inhabit an incredibly deep lake in Scotland.
Bigfoot
I actually prefer calling it Sasquatch. . . just because I think that's a cooler name. Along with Sasquatch, there is also the Yeti, the Abominable Snowman, etc. Basically it's a large kind of ape kind of human creature that lives in remote areas and walks around. I read Frank Peretti's recent book Monster, which for the first time made me actually fear a Sasquatch, but still I don't think they are nearly as scary as the NJ Devil or the Chupacabra!
OK, that's all I can think of right now -- tell me if you think any of them are real. And let me know if I left any out.
For the record. Chupacabra -- probably vampire bats or something. NJ Devil -- I think there really was a deformed person who lived in the pine barrens and scared people. Loch Ness -- I think that a ocean dinosaur did somehow survive. But I think it's dead now. Sasquatch - yes, a North American relative to the ape makes sense to me.
Oh yeah, and Aliens. . . I actually DON'T want them to exist, because they scare me. But I kind of think they are real.
12 Comments:
downstate we have the Wampus that lives in Cypress Swamp.. that one scared me when I was a kid
My family always talked about the Chupacabra...if you didn't know I'm Puerto rican and so it was funny. They use to sacre us by saying, "If you don't act good, the Chu Chu will come and suck you dry!" And us kids would be like "AHHHHHH!!!!!" hahahaha
Ah.....how stupid...and if you were wondering no I don't speak spanish and I actually regret taking it in 8th grade and I don't look pureto rican at all haha!
I like French and Japanese! ^_^
"The Chu Chu will come and suck you dry!"
That is hilarious and terrifying at the same time. I've actually been to Puerto Rico, and I loved it. The tiny frogs and El Morro the fortress and the clear water are what stick out the most in my memory (I was just in 3rd grade).
Is the Wampus a devil dog with red eyes? I think I've heard of that if it is. . .
I went to a summer camp in Maine when I was growing up. There was a legend of an old guy who lived in the forest named "three-fingered Willy", who used to . . . waitaminute . . . that doesn't fit, does it?
What about the nephilim? These are a race of giants that are actually referred to in the bible. Goliath was one--they are the children of women who were raped by demons. Pretty crazy stuff! I wonder if there may be any people with a trace of that lineage in there blood left on the earth today...Oh, I am writing from Korea, so I am not sure if this will work...
And Drew--I mean, Xerxes--what are you doing up at 4:40 in the morning?
although, maybe that is based on Korean time--and for some reason, my name is showing up as a Korean word--or maybe many Korean words--on this website!
you know those krazy korean komputers..
I don't really know what the wampus looked like.. it was always just described as a monster that lived in the "burnt swamp"
It's fine if some of the creatures are real, but not all of them... I need the work.
-Ol' Man Higgins (in a rubber suit)
I found a real, mysterious creature today. I am very excited about it, and quite puzzeled as well.
After work, I met Laura at the White Clay Creek, and went snorkeling. It was the first time this year, so I was incredibly happy to be out in the water. Well, I was swimming around, looking at stuff in the murkey water, when I saw what looked like a long dead fish laying on the bottom. I swam closer to investigate, and saw it was a beautiful blue-gray color, not quite like any other color I've seen in fish around here. I saw that it wasn't a fish, it was a tale, a really wierd tale sticking out from under a rock. It looked kind of like a shark, but it was long like an eel, only fatter than any eel I have ever seen in the U.S. I poked it and found out that it was deffinately not dead, and it was way too smooth to be a shark. I grabbed it and tugged on it to try to get out from under it's rock, but it was slippery and only burried itself deeper.
In desperation, I flipped the rock over, but a huge burst of mud went up into the water, and I realized I was swimming with an unidentified sea monster. He got away, and I got scared.
I went online and searched until I found pictures of every species of fish livine in PA. I didn't look like any of them, but it was most similar to a lamprey.
Ol Man Higgins - hilarious.
Ian. I hope it didn't look like this.
Did it?
Goliath was a Nephilim? Interesting... I have heard of them... actually read a book about them... it was quite interesting, and to think they're real (I believe they were... are??) is rather creepy!!!! God is on the throne though, and no one can usurp!
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