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Kamikiri

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  Kamikiri is a yokai from the Edo period of Japan. It sits on the edge between legendary creature and cryptid, with newspaper articles about encounters with the creature coming out at the time, yet being treated as folklore now. Although the line between yokai and cryptid isn’t always clear. The kamikiri is a yokai who’s all about cutting off people’s hair. In previous eras in Japan long hair was a symbol of age and status. Both men and women had long hair, men wearing their hair in top knots and women in various styles. There was a much greater need to conform in Japan’s past, people wore hairstyles based on status and role in society, rather than for fashion. So having your hair cut off was far worse for the person that it would be in modern times. The kamikiri would lurk around its victim in secret and wait for a time they were alone to attack. They would then quickly and silently cut off the victim’s hair. Often the kamikiri would never be seen and the victim would would o...
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Horned Dogmen

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This entry is going to indulge in some original research. Something I’ve noticed among dogman encounters is the occasional mention of horned dogmen. The cryptid community is usually pretty thorough in classifying subtypes of cryptids. For instance there’s standard, hyena and rottweiler types of dogmen, based on their head and muzzle shape. Yet I haven’t seen anyone else in the cryptid community discuss horned dogmen as a category, just scattered unrelated stories. It’s possible that’s because these creatures aren’t always considered dogmen, but demons, or goatment who happen to have a canine head, although I would think that quality is important enough to change what sort of cryptid they’re classified as. So I’ve gathered here all the horned dogmen stories I could find.  Caldwell’s beasts This first encounter happened to Roger Caldwell in October of 2005. He was on a hiking trip along the Appalachian Trail through North Carolina at the time. Mr Caldwell was an experienced hiker who...
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Grand Lake Hoedag

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  The Grand Lake hoedag is a fearsome critter from St Mary’s Ohio, not to be confused with the more famous Wisconsin hodag. It was said to be a lake monster, albeit one that was completely different from the typical plesiosaur / Nessie type. The hoedag was said to be a one of a kind, female creature, not a species. It appeared in news articles from 1912 to the 1960’s, and was never meant to be taken seriously. The hoedag was the size and shape of a giraffe. She had fur on her body and a combination of feathers and porcupine quills on her neck. Her body was covered in a cow spot pattern and had a camel like hump on her back. Her front legs were long like a chicken’s and her back legs were short like a pigs. Both sets of legs ended in plate shaped feet, which were capable of moving over mud and water plants without sinking in. On her head she had a singular green eye, partly covered by cow licked bangs. Her tail stuck up in the air like a flagpole and at the end of it was a red eye. ...
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Bai ze and Hakutaku

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  Bai Ze is a monster from Chinese mythology. It’s also found in Japan, where it’s known as hakutaku. It is a good and pure creature responsible for warding off evil spirits. The bai ze was a wise and intelligent creature. It was one of the nine spiritual beasts which resided in heaven. Bai ze descended to Earth where it taught the Yellow Emperor about the various harmful ghosts in the world and how to expel them. These lessons resulted in the Bai Ze Diagram, a scroll depicting various harmful spirits and how to ward them off. The Bai Ze is mentioned many times throughout Chinese literature. Over time the bai ze became a protective charm. Images of the beast were hung in homes or carried with people to ward off ghosts and disease. The bai ze has many varying appearances in Chinese mythology. In the History of Yuan, written in 1370, the bai ze was described as having the head of a tiger, the body of a dragon, a single horn and a red mane. In the Sancai Tuhui, written in 1609, the ba...
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Cathach and Sisters

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I’ve seen articles written about Cathach the dragon a few times. Each time her sisters were mentioned by name, but descriptions were never given for them. So I was determined to find out what her two draconic sisters also looked like.  The story starts with three Tuatha-De-Danann brothers, Crohan, Sal and Daltheen fighting a campaign against the boars of Ireland and successfully wipe them out but one. The last one, the All Devouring Sow, mates with the gatekeeper of hell and birthed three dragons in revenge, the sisters Cathach, Dabran and Farbagh. They were subsequently nursed by the red demon of Western Ireland. Farbagh was the oldest of the sisters. She was a cat like dragon with a crescent moon on her forehead and a deadly nail on her tail. The three brothers slayed Farbagh by waiting for her to pounce from a height on them and skewering her on their spears as she landed. When the three brothers returned home they were told a prophecy that their sister Aonbhean would marry Diar...
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Beither

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  The beithir is a Scottish dragon. It inhabits mountainous regions, near water. Hiding out in caves and steep mountain valleys. Unlike other European dragons the beithir lacks wings or fire breath. Instead it’s highly venomous and has a poisoned sting. It’s also associated with ice and lightning. The beithir was considered the largest and most deadly of serpents. In addition to its other abilities the Beithir was cunning and had the ability to shape shift. The beithir would lurk in high mountain valleys near water and wait for passing victims. When an unlucky person would enter the territory of the beithir the dragon would sting their victim. If the stung person then had to run to the nearest water and wash off the sting. If they made it to the water before the beithir then they were saved. If the beithir reached the water first then the victim would be devoured. It was believed that if a snake was killed then its head and body had to be separated from each other by quite a distan...
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Salt Lake Fire Drake

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  The Salt Lake Fire Drake is a flying cryptid seen near the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It was seen once in 1903, and again just under a hundred years later, in 2001. This cryptid is often touted as a living pterosaur, however in my research I found this cryptid to be something far stranger. On September 3rd, 1903, a flying creature was seen by multiple witnesses on Stansbury Island, in the south end of the Great Salt Lake. Two hunters, John Barry and Martin Gilbert, gave the most detailed report of the creature. They described it as equal mixes of bat, fish and alligator, having the head of an alligator, the wings of a bat and the tail of a fish. In addition the creature was covered in either thick, rough scales, or salt accretions from the lake. The creature got its name from the fiery rainbow iridescence of its wings, shining with reflected sunlight. The two men described the monster as being prehistoric in nature, although they didn’t specifically say it was a pterosaur. Othniel ...
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