Local Flavours of Monster

In south Louisiana we have the Cajuns' Loupe Garou, a monster that lives in the swamps which is said to have taken people (especially misbehaving children) away. It is mostly said to be a warewolf like creature that is, as far as I know, not considered real by anyone. More or less the boogyman of Acadiana.

Honey Island Swamp, which is about an hour east of New Orleans, harbors something that many people DO believe. Appropriately called the Honey Island Swamp Monster it is a bigfoot-like creature with some significant differences. It isn't quite as big as the typical sasquatch is said to be and it leaves three or four toed tracks which appear to have a claw at the end of each toe. Many hunters and fishermen have reported sightings over the years and they make local news from time to time.
ucmmuseum.com...
www.beckjord.com...

In south Louisiana we have the Cajuns' Loupe Garou

That's so cool. I wonder if the legend was brought over by French settlers or whether it is a native legend? The 'boogeyman' nature of it lends me to believe that it may have been imported.

I've actually heard of the Honey Island Swamp monster before and think that it sounds far more interesting than your regular garden-variety Bigfoot. It's like having your very own Creature From the Black Lagoon. Drop-Bears seem lame in comparision.

When hitch hiking (don't do it kids ) through regional New South Wales in Australia I was told the story of Water Babies.
They are small, michievious little creatures and are never sighted as they run very rapidly.
They like to 'play chicken' with cars and as your car drives through a causeway you can see the footprints the water babies leave across the bonnet of the car, usually tracing from one side to the other.
I was also told that if I sat quietly by the edge of the creek I might be lucky enough to hear the laughter of the water babies as they frolicked in the water.

Another crypto from the area is the infamous Lithgow Panther. It has been sighted by many people over the years and in recent years was captured on video, though that was inconclusive, a lot of people believe it exists and the local football team is called -- the Lithgow Panthers. LOL

Also, the Yowie - Australia's answer to Bigfoot and the Tasmanian Tiger.

[edit on 9-8-2005 by ilandrah]

That reminds me in England we have “Beast of Bodmin” more people think that if it is real its some kind of panther that was realest when owning one became illegal though.

[edit on 9-8-2005 by Elfwood]

South Africa is rich of culture and has its fair share of stories, myths and beliefs, including several ghosts, UFOs and Aliens, and two rivers with "lake monsters" (or river monsters?)

But of all these creatures the "tokkelosh" is the most mentionable. This creature is described in the black cultures as an evil spirit, about knee-high. It's supposedly covered in hair with huge testicles (). It supposedly drags you out of your bed and into the night never to be seen again, if you're not "safe", and other stories say that it rapes you. There's no proof of this creature, yet 6 out of 10 black people put their beds on bricks. That's right. If your bed is a little higher, then the tokkelosh can't reach you, and you're "safe".

I've heard about "pinky-pinky" also a creature feared in the black cultures. I've asked about "pinky-pinky" many times, but the response is always a frightened look followed by "Don't talk about her!" There's nothing "documented" about it on the Internet, and it remains a mystery to me.

We also have something similar to the bogeyman. It's called "Antjie Somers" and is supposedly a man dressed in woman's clothes that abduct naughty children.

Then there's a creature living in the Waterberg mountain range. Might be close relation to Bigfoot/Yeti. Again, no proof.

Hmmm... Actually South Africa has many legends, but very little proof other than eye-witness accounts...

In New Orleans, some time ago, there was a lady named Marie Laveau, who was rumored to be really good at hexing people and ultimatly got the whole Voodoo thing going. Well, she died (I'm not sure how) and has this massive grave that has a bunch of x's drawn all over it. Supposedly, if you draw an x on her grave, you can get good luck or put a hex on someone. There is also a lagoon Marie went to to practice spells that, if you go to on Halloween at midnight, you can see her spirit take visible form. (it's also rumored to be a drug-dealing hot spot...)

my country(G.O.C)wales is full of mysterious legends and such..the 1 i remember from my childhood is not to go up twmbarlwm tump(a mountain(well hill:lol)at night on the summer solstice because you would hear pipe music and a sound like bee`s buzzing and it would make you follow it and and you are never seen again.....it was associated with a tale about the welsh tribes(silures).
all the men were out fighting the romans and a group of romans came to twm to kill all the women and children..they did and the tribes males returned to find the destruction..the tribal druid cursed the hill and its this that takes people away.
also there is this 1 i found...i liked it because its description is a flying pig(as if:lol

It reports that during the great Welsh religious revival in 1905 "a dark black object with four legs and short wings, which looked like nothing so much as a flying pig, soared over Froncysyllte" in north Wales.

The airborne creature, says the magazine, was "estimated to be two miles up and travelling at 20 mph".

news.bbc.co.uk...

good post

Aw man, you're lucky! I wish we had flying pigs.

what the...where the heck did you hear this? i never heard that, mag.

From my science teacher... he was full of those kind of things. He acually claimed to have had a run-in with the ghost on Halloween. You know I can't resist a story, so anyway, this is how he told it...


It was Halloween, and my science teacher (let us refer to him by his name, "Don", to save time and space) and his friends Teddy, "Chinaman", and two girls (can't remember their names: let's call them Mary and Sue) had decided to go check out the local myth of Marie's ghost. Not that anyone here (save Coors) will know what I'm talking about, but this was thirtysomething years ago, and City Park wasn't nearly as well-lit as it is now. So, they showed up at around 11:50, and parked the car about twenty yards away from the lagoon. There's a tree growing by the lagoon with a bunch knots on it, witch are suposedly the souls of those who were claimed my Marie's black magic. The three guys decided to go check out the tree, but the girls refused to get out of the car. Anyway, they waded through some shrubbery to the tree, but when they got there, they noticed a mist begining to form over the lagoon.
" Dare you to go touch that tree" said Don.
"Okay" Teddy replied with a devious grin. He walked up tp the tree, but instead of reaching out to it, he tossed his head back, hocked up a glob of saliva, and spat right on the tree's trunk. At that exect second, every bird, tree frog, mosqito, or any other night creature that made any noise- silent. Everything was absoutly silent, as though even nature sensed the disgrace of a place that, although unholy, was sacred. The mist on the lagoon spiraled into the night, and suddenly, Don thought he saw somethng taking ghastly shape in the center of the lagoon.
He turned and fled to the car in fear, and the others needed no urging to follow. They found the car locked, and banged on the door franticly. Mary and Sue screamed.
"It's us!" Chinaman yelled in panic. "let us the !@#$ in!!" In realization, Mary and Sue unlocked the doors, whitch the trio franticly flung open. Once inside the car, Teddy wasted no time. He shoved the key into the ignition and tried to start up the car-but at that crucial moment, it wouldn't start. He tried, again and again, but in vain. Suddenly, a cat jumped from the bushes and onto the hood of the car. It hissed, arched it's back, bared it's teeth, and looked staight at Teddy.In despairation, Teddy tried the ignition one more time- but this time, miracualouly, it started. The cat was flung from the car, and everyone went screeching out of there on two wheels.

I dunno, he might've made the whole thing up, but it's not a bad story.

wait, the psycho one that gave you his s/n? or is it that dude that you said was leaving?

oh please, i've seen the tree your talkin about, it aint no souls of the dead. like all the trees in city park, its just really old.

[edit on 11/8/2005 by Kitsunegari]

Yes they ARE!! .......

Hey, wanna go there Halloween and see what happens?

[edit on 8/12/05 by psychochick]

bs, ill take you up on that offer too. well see whos right then.

you know everything in city park's 100 years old, that doesnt mean theres tree with the souls of the dead in it. i think im more likely to catch a manatee on the southshore.

(im goin huntin(not literally) for manatees to take some pictures, you want copies if we get anything?)

[edit on 12/8/2005 by Kitsunegari]

Damnit! Why do you get all the manitees?
Sorry, yeah, that'd be awesome!
And I stand by my souls of the dead sh*t!!

ok, well go check out the city park thing while were at voodoo. i get the manatees cuz i live in mandeville part time, and thats where they go !!!

Figured this was a good thread to revive, and since it's not much older than a couple of weeks, I hope any retribution I receive will not be too harsh.

One of my favorite absurd cryptid tales here in AZ is that of the jackalope. Although it's been sighted pretty much everywhere in the West, and the Jackalope Capital is in Wyoming, I've seen more of it here in Arizona than anywhere else (probably because I live here, but let's not split the hair!).

According to legend, the jackalope is an aggressive critter with the body of a jackrabbit and the antlers of an antelope. It differs from other rabbits not only because of its horns and temperament, but also because it can mimic human sounds at an uncanny level. Cowboys singing around the campfire could sometimes hear the jackalope singing back.

The jackalope only mates during a thunderstorm, specifically during a lightning strike (pretty dang fast, even for a rabbit). They also love whiskey; in fact, offering a jackalope whiskey is really the only way to catch it.

Of course, the jackalope is complete bull-honky. Just a tourist trap.

Another, more fearsome, myth is that of skinwalkers. According to legend, skinwalkers are Navajo witches that take on the form of an animal by wearing its skin. They have red eyes and are said to terrorize people on the Navajo reservation--the classic tales involve motorists on empty roads, although I've heard several more that involve people in their homes or lonely gas stations.

I've also heard of hoop snakes somewhere, or something similar to it, but I can't be sure where.

[edit on 29-8-2005 by Wolvaurynphamir]

In Colombus we have something like the mid-western Springheel Jack. Its supposidly an old german settler who travels from roof to roof, looking in windows and whatnot at night. My uncle swears he shot it too..

And the 'Prarie Howler'.. Once again the midwest version of an european monster. Its something like the mix of a werewolf and prarie dog, burrowing underground to hide from the sun and coming out at night to feed on small animals and livestock. The sightings of this are usually a particulalry large or ugly coyote..

And finally the Madison Mankiller, a home brewed beast this time. It supposidly lives in the old mineshaft near town, and you can infact hear SOMETHING moving down there. Its descriptions range from a hunch backed bahemoth to a nearly vampire like critter. But they all say that it has long, jagged teeth, rubbery teeth and extended limbs. Long, cracked fingernails with gnarled fingers are another trademark, along wit h a small head with big, glowing eyes. I fear this one, since I have heard the bastard laughing in the old mine, and I know i've seen it before..

maggie, i dunno when youll be able to read this, but i dont think that tree will still be there if city park is still even there dam katrina!!!

On a lighter note there was the Naugas.

The Nauga was a shy creature but very easy to hunt. It was hunted to extinction in the U.S. during the 1950's when naugahyde furniture was all the rage.

where i used to live in baltimore maryland there was a near by county that had a legend called goat man and if you drive through the area there is usualy graffeti sprayed on buildings saying "goat man lives". the story depending on which version you here he either was a scientist whose experminets with goats made him half man half goat, or he is just some saytr that lives in the wooded areaes carrys a ax and attacks cars that park in the local lovers lane area.