Cryptomundian Q & A
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on April 22nd, 2013
Nick Redfern started it off with his post A Crypto Q and A.
Cryptomundian springheeledjack offered the following:
Very nice. I think we’ve all got our stories of what got us into this stuff… perhaps this should be a post: get the cryptomundians to answer these questions to get a better idea of the community who frequents this site.
Fair enough. 🙂 I can start.
1) How did I first get involved in crypto? It was watching In Search Of with Leonard Nimoy on the Loch Ness Monster. I’d always thought it was checking out the book, Monsters, Giants and Little Men From Mars by Daniel Cohen–but that was just the first book that I ever read on the subject. But it was In Search Of that got me hooked.
2) Early influences were In Search Of, Dinsdale, Mackal, Cohen and references to Bernard Heuvelmans (I was all a slobber when I finally heard they were translating and publishing his book as an adult). Influences also included members of my family. I live in Iowa and in the early 70′s there were several reports of bigfoot in our immediate area. My aunt had a sighting and there were stories everywhere.
3) Have I seen a cryptid yet? I do not believe so. I’ve had a couple of weird encounters, but nothing concrete. I’m just starting to get out into the field to really look for cryptids. I’ve had friends and relatives that have had sightings, which only encourages me.
4) What creatures have my interest? The water cryptids of course–anyone who knows me on here is well aware of my passions. 🙂 Loch Ness was my first love, but all lake, ocean and sea critters will get my attention. I’ve got my “hit list” of places I’m planning adventures too and Scotland tops them all.
5) Which ones most likely exist? “Sea monsters” in the oceans. The environment is vast enough with plenty of food and we’ve only really scratched the surface of what’s in it. What forms they take, only time will tell. I also think there’s enough evidence for lake critters–there’s too many accounts in too many places and consistent enough over time for it to all be bunk. As for Bigfoot, yes, there’s plenty of evidence and accounts to support the existence of a large bipedal critter in the wide expanses of country in the U.S. and other places. Plenty of places to hide.
6) Favorite Australian cryptid? I’m with Nick–the megalania. I think it would be cool to hunt that one too.
7) Theories? As for Bigfoot, it’s bipedal and hairy so it’s some sort of primate, either related to mankind or along another evolutionary path. I think it’s flesh and blood–I just don’t believe humanity is as good as we think we are when it comes to hunting for things and finding them. Concerning the water critters–I think we’re looking at evolved descendants of other creatures now extinct–whether they’re mammalian, reptilian or what, I’m not sure. It could be something as yet uncovered in the fossil record (there’s an awful lot not discovered) or something that’s evolved from something we know of. With the weird things like the death worm or the lusca? I have no idea until I see one. 🙂
8) Written articles? I have not written articles other than here–oh, I take that back. I once got into a string of conversations on the Fortean Times a while back on the subject of Mansi’s photo of Champ with none other than Ben Radford. 🙂 They published several of our tete-a-tete’s in the letters section over several issues.
9) Website(s)? I do not have a website. I’m content to hunt on my own for the time being.
10) What’s the closest I’ve come to finding something? A friend showed me a pic of a footprint he found in Ohio via his phone. Other than that, nothing yet… yet, I said.
11) Looked for a cryptid? I’ve gone to West Virginia to hunt for the big guy. Heard lots of stories and walked a lot of wilderness and kayaked a lot of water, but no evidence so far.
How was that? You should condense this down and invite cryptomundians to participate. I’d love to hear how all of us got into this business…
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
How did you first get involved in researching strange and mysterious creatures?
I first got involved or interested at a younger age, mostly from reading various books on the subject. Unsolved Mysteries and a few other television series added to the interest.
What were some of the early influences in your life?
Some of the authors I read were Loren Coleman, Roy Mackal, Grover Krantz and several others I can not recall.
Have you personally seen one of these creatures?
I haven’t seen any to my knowledge and I haven’t been into the field looking.
What creatures particularly interest you?
I would have to say the ones I were and am primarily interested are the hairy unknown primates and the several lake or sea monsters.
What cryptids are most likely to exist in your opinion?
I think the Sasquatch in North America has a good possibility of existing. While as with many cryptids there is no conclusive evidence, there is circumstantial evidence to suggest there is a large unknown flesh and blood primate on the continent. Despite the fact there are a lot of people, most of those people remain in a fairly small area, and only a relatively small percentage spend time in the correct environment. Additionally we do not keep any form of constant surveillance on the wilderness to really be able to say we truly know what is there or not. There is plenty of food and room for a relatively small population to go by undocumented. Some of the various lake or sea monsters have a decent possibility as well. Again as the oceans are even larger than the continents, we can’t say that we keep any better of surveillance on them.
What’s your favourite Australian cryptid?
In Australia, probably the Megalania is the most interesting as there are fossil records of something very much like it.
Have you developed any theories around where the more unusual animals – i.e. yowies/bigfoot – have come from?
At least in regards to Sasquatch it would be a flesh and blood hominoid not entirely unlike the several species alive today or those that had live in the past. I am in agreement with springheeledjack on finding things, or perhaps we’re impatient with the fact that nothing conclusive has turned up. There is more area than many people I think realize, enough food available and really it has been fairly recently that larger number of people have thought of looking. The absence of evidence is not always conclusive towards evidence of absence.
Have you written any books/articles?
I have not authored any books, just some perhaps lengthy blog or forum postings.
Do you have a website?
I do not have a website.
What’s the closest you’ve personally come to finding something?
I have not been out looking in the field for anything to come close to finding anything.
Watch it, SHJ: you’re almost a blogger!
1) How did I first get involved in crypto?
I read a balanced treatment of the sasquatch evidence, in National Wildlife magazine, about as mainstream as one can get, the spring after Patterson and Gimlin shot their film.
2) Early influences were
…well, I guess I’d have to say my parents. My interest in animals – without which I assuredly would not be interested in crypto – is utterly my own; but at every turn of my childhood, they reinforced it and facilitated it. Trips to the museum; trips to the zoo; books books books; and, well, that magazine. (Plus our house backed on extensive woods; and they tolerated not knowing where we were 90% of the time. Simpler time, for sure.) No, I never asked them about Bigfoot.
3) Have I seen a cryptid yet?
Nope. I have seen two possible pieces of sasquatch evidence. That’s not much, given the time I spend in the woods. But then, we don’t really know that much about what sasquatch evidence looks like, do we…? (One visit to Loch Ness, a drive-by. I assure you I didn’t buy the plane ticket to see Nessie. Nada.)
4) What creatures have my interest?
The ones with a significant volume of consistent evidence, in which is very emphatically included eyewitness testimony. We are nature’s preeminent eyewitnesses; this is why we convict criminals based on it. It’s been said by more objective folks than me – and I’m about as objective as you’ll see in crypto – that barring compelling evidence otherwise, people can be taken at their word on what they saw. And we do it all the time…the skeptics maybe more than the proponents, right, Ray Wallace? Right, Bob Hieronymous…?
5) Which ones most likely exist?
The evidence for sasquatch makes it, to me….well, if I had to bet everything I owned, up or down, I’d bet it’s real. (Anyone who wouldn’t either isn’t a betting man, or hasn’t done the homework that one better do.) Yeti and orang pendek are worth betting dinner in a really nice restaurant, anyway. I’d have to agree with SHJ otherwise. “Sea monsters” in the oceans. Same reasons he cites.
6) Favorite Australian cryptid?
Thylacine. It was there; people continue to claim sightings; and our record on nailing down extinctions isn’t exactly perfect.
7) Theories?
Sasquatch and yeti are primates. Yeti are likely apes. Sasquatch are one of the following: apes; in genus Homo or another hominin genus (although most assuredly not, and almost certainly not even partially, our species, sorry, Melba); or will get their own limb on the primate family tree somewhere near those two. Orang pendek, apes. The fossil progenitors, at least the immediate ones, of any of these have yet to be found. Sasquatch may have come over on the land bridge…and maybe not, as NA has a pre-land-bridge, non-human primate record. (The fossil record will never be complete; we have maybe 5% of extinct primates accounted for by fossils.) Anything else: you got me.
(Oh. On that tricky classification deal, I’m with John Hawks. It just doesn’t feel right calling us “apes.” We distinguish gibbons and siamangs from the other apes. Why not humans?)
8) Written articles?
God I try not to. But I have blogged here once; been cited many times; and, well, like to shoot my mouth off, particularly at people who bring on ignorance and disguise it as arrogance.
9) Website(s)?
Sounds like work to me. I’m glad people do it, though.
10) What’s the closest I’ve come to finding something?
Seen two pieces of evidence; had at least one buddy relate what might have been a sighting.
11) Looked for a cryptid?
Every time I’m out there, on foot, on the road, in a boat. Because you never know. Any cryptid eyewitness would tell you that.
How did you first get involved in researching strange and mysterious creatures?
In 5th grade two of the stories I read for reading comprehension were about the Devil’s Footprints and Steller’s Sea Monkey. By 7th grade I was begging my mother for Heuvelman’s “On the Track..” for Xmas. Still have it.
What cryptids are most likely to exist in your opinion?
Definitely think there must be something to the Orang Pendek, just not sure what. And aside from plesiosaurs almost anything could exist undiscovered in saltwater oceans. Probably a few decent sized herbivores left to discover on land as well.
What’s your favourite?
Steller’s Sea Monkey. Thylacines. The Buru. Lake Iliamna “Monster”. “Gambo”.
What’s your favourite Australian cryptid?
The thylacine. I probably own the largest collection of thylacine items of anyone outside Australia.
Have you developed any theories around where the more unusual animals – i.e. yowies/bigfoot – have come from?
Yes, with some as being internal human phenomena and others as being external ones.
Have you written any books/articles?
Only two articles for Chad Arment’s Biofortean review and one on the Loveland Frog for Ron Shaffner’s Creature Chronicles.
What’s the farthest you’ve traveled to go ‘in search of’ mystery animals?
Lake Champlain.
What’s next for you – Books or articles to write?
Currently researching and writing a book on historical mystery animal sightings.
Could you share some of your favourite cryptozoology book titles with us?
Rumors of Existencea by Matthew A. Bille (1995)
Shadows of Existence by Matthew A. Bille (2006)
Imo, the best, most balanced information on the subject.
What advice would you give anyone getting into the field of cryptozoology?
Read as little about cryptozoology and as much about zoology, paleontology, human perception, critical thinking, and world history as possible before you start.
I’ll give it a go.
1) How did I first get involved in crypto?
I believe my love of photography got me involved in cryptozoology. Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals. I can remember at the age of 7, taking my camera in the field with my father and trying to photograph animals that were new to me. Not much of a success with a point and shoot Polaroid. LOL
2) Early influences were
I think my early influences were specials on television, mixed with a few books and the desire to photograph wildlife. The movie, the Legend of Boggy Creek, both scared me a bit and drew me further in.
3) Have I seen a cryptid yet?
No
4) What creatures have my interest?
The thylacine, Giant Ground Sloth of South American, and of course Bigfoot.
5) Which ones most likely exist?
I’m not sure if any of them exist. But if I had to choose, I would think it would be BF, based on the amount of witness sightings. However, we do know for a fact that new animals are being discovered every year and that is what holds my interest. The possibility of discovery!
6) Favorite Australian cryptid?
Thylacine
7) Theories?
If BF exists, I believe it would be a similar animal to Gigantopithicus blackie or some hybrid variation.
8) Written articles?
Yes, related to photography and photographic analysis.
9) Website(s)?
Yes, but I like keeping my anonymity and therefore, I would not list them here.
10) What’s the closest I’ve come to finding something?
Well, once in the Amazon Jungle in a small boat on the river, a jaguar chased something huge into the water. The beast submerged. It was large, bigger than a pig, and it popped it’s head up. With camera at the ready, I fired off a couple of shots. It turned out to be a huge tapir. Another time, while on a boat in the lower Chesapeake Bay, I saw a mammal pop his head up out of the water, just several feet from the boat. Two of the four people onboard saw the animal. We waited again and it popped it’s head up again. It was a seal! Normally, they are a rare sighting that far down in the Chesapeake Bay. It is something you do not normally see. So that was exciting and a bit cryptid.
11) Looked for a cryptid?
Sure, sometimes with intent and other times, just prepared if the opportunity arises. One must always be on the lookout or miss an opportunity. You have to be ready to answer the door when opportunity knocks. But yes, besides being an armchair researcher, I do get out in the field.
DWA–I’ve been called a lot of things, but blogger is just nasty. 🙂 I just like to ramble and hear myself type.
Nice posts! Thanks Craig and thanks Nick for starting it!
Let’s get some more…
It’s interesting that we all have different reference points that we started from–
PhotoExpert–photography spiraling into the unexplained, Corrick and the Devil’s Footprints–I remember reading that too early on, DWA and wildlife, Insanity and the media. I’ve always had a fascination with the oceans and the animals living therein. Even as a kid the swimming dinos were my favorite, and I still spend plenty of time learning about recognized sea critters (which is truly ironic and more than a little amusing considering I’m sitting in the middle of Iowa).
It intrigues me that many others get into all of these passions without delving into the unexplained and the unresolved. So what was it that drew us to things most others scoff at or only talk about around a campfire or after a few beers with any sort of seriousness? Maybe it is an open mindedness coupled with the drive to look further than what we see in front of us. Or maybe we’re just crazy:)
A lot of people get drawn into this pursuit because of personal experiences, but from what I’ve seen above, none of us has directly.
I’ve talked with a few eye witnesses and there’s a quality about all of them–a wariness mixed with disbelief and yet also curiosity. Almost all have tried to come up with an explanation other than the idea of BF, and none of them have directly come out and said matter of factly that it was said cryptid, just implied because they can’t settle with another explanation that fits properly.
Just interesting on many levels.
It’s too bad we don’t have more Cryptomundians participating in this: it’s a gooood exercise in looking at the mind set and population of people who descend into this pursuit and field.
What about you Craig? What’s your story?
(1) How i got involved: The first time i saw the Patterson film. My obsession was born.
(2) Early influences:Reading the books of Gardner Soule, William Ley, Ivan T. Sanderson, and Dr Heuvelmans; living dinosaurs in the Congo? I was hooked.
(3) Have i ever seen one? No, but i smelled one in northern California.
(4) The big guy, the Yeti, Ogopogoand Mokele Membe.
(5) Most likely to exist: See 4.
(6) Aussie cryptid? Yowie/Burrunger.
(7) It is my opinion that Sasquatch occurs in the fossil record–as Gigantopithecus blacki. Also, i feel the Yeti is a relict species of huge, rock climbing gorilla.
(8) Books/ect: None at this point.
(9) Blogs: None.
(10) A sighting? Northern California, July, 1977: about 2:30 am: heard VERY loud vocalizations and smelled something i can only describe as a dead cow stuffed with excrement. One of the high points of my life.
1: how did I get involved in Crypto?
I have always loved animals, not just the modern ones but also those prehistoric as well as those of myth, legend, movies, and crypto. I also like the paranormal, though I am less into ghosts and hauntings and ET abductions (though i have studied both, especially the latter) than I am in to Crypto. I was exposed to Cryptozoology at an early age, and I find it a fascinating field of study, one that deserves more respect than it gets (I also like Crypto-anthropology).
2: Early influences
My brother loves the paranormal like myself, and he introduced me to several (I still remember him telling me about the Yeti: I was intrigued big time when I heard what he had to say). I also watched “In search of” and read books like Time Life’s “Mysterious Creatures”
3: Have I seen a cryptid yet?
No, but my Brother is both big and kind of hairy…
4: What creatures have my interest
Practically just about every Cryptid will have my interest. I like the mysterious hominids of the world like True Giants and Orang Pendek and the like, as well as the dinosaur like cryptids, many of which are located in Africa (Emela-Ntouka is one of the most fascinating to me). Others like surviving Thylacines and sea monsters also intrigue me, but I cannot say that I have a paramount favorite: just about everything cryptid gets my attention.
5: Which ones most likely Exist?
Those in the ocean (due to the vast unexplored, dark environment of the oceans, a place you can hide cryptids larger than a blue whale), tiny cryptids (smaller animals can generally hide better than big ones. The vast majority of animals discovered recently, such as the Dingiso/Bondegezou, were small. Even the recently found “Giant wooly Rat”, though big by rat standards, was still small enough to be held in both hands). Though I do not doubt that some undiscovered megafauna is possibly lurking about somewhere in the world, its the smaller land animals and the creatures of the murky deep that will be the most likely to be real, undiscovered beasties.
6: Favorite australian cryptid
Those accounts of the Yowie that seems to indicate a giant wombat, as well as the Thylacine (because it is so CUTE!) and Megalania.
7: Theories
Sasquatch most likely exists, as well a some similar animals reported worldwide, but I doubt that, in the North American case, this animal exists in every state of the union (Including Hawaii and Alaska) and perhaps in every Canadian Province. It may be migratory, but it has to have a much smaller range limit than what has been proposed by all the sightings of the beast.
The Loch Ness Monster, if it has any biological reality at all, has been formed through a variety of situations: encounters with Wels giant Catfish, possibly encounters with prehistoric looking beasts that enter and exit the Loch back into the sea, perhaps a sighting of a circus elephant swimming in the Loch (which, when it raises the trunk, looks from a distance like a Nessie. However, I believe that elephants do not like cold water, and they can get sick drinking it, so it remains to be seen if the Loch could ever get warm enough for an elephant to pull this type of miss-identification off), other out of place animals, etc.
Chupacabras, in a wide sense, is a big ball of yarn. Not much too it aside from dead hairless critters on the road and a mythology that spread from Puerto Rico to throughout the Latin Americas and even beyond in to Russia of all places.
Having said that, there are some real life animals that could be misidentified as a Chupacabras (Amazonian short eared dog, Quique or Lesser Grison, etc), and the livestock attacks in Puerto Rico, the original homeland of the Chupacabras, might involve some government experiment gone awry, or even like Nick Redfern’s Cormons (indeed, the livestock mutilations make me think of the Invisible assailant phenomena, in places like China and Great Britain, as well as those cattle mutilations (some Chups are described as similar in appearance to so-called Grey aliens). But aside from these possibilities, when viewing all the places the Chup is said to be, I consider this a non-existant being.
8: written articles?
None that I will tell.
9: Websites
None that I will post.
10: What’s the closest I came to finding something
I have hunted in thick east Texas forests in the past, places where some may think that Bigfoot is said to live in. That is the closest I came, and it was not close (never saw a thing)
Raider and Hapa–great posts. A lot of different backgrounds and interests. Even from the small number of cryptomundians here, we’ve actually got quite a pool of perspectives and skills to throw at these cryptids.
It does seem that several of us got hooked in during the hype of the earlier eras: the P.G film, In Search Of, Boggy Creek, and so on. It’s that mass media that reaches lots of people that lets you know there’s a lot more going on in the world, and that there are other people interested in it. With the advent of the internet like minded souls can band together to take on these things in a much more systematic and logical approach.
Even though I have plenty of misgivings about a lot of the crypto shows on these days, perhaps they’ll still spark interest in a whole new generation of cryptozoologists, adding to the numbers of eyes in the woods and on the water…and the skies. 🙂
1. 1960 was an important year. I first heard about the footprints in CA and that they were being called Bigfoot. Also that year, the Dinsdale film at Loch Ness became world-wide news. These happenings started my interest in the crypto-world. My interest further broadened with my witnessing a UFO sighting in 1964. This event was seen by hundreds of people in Northern NJ. I still have the newspaper clipping.
2. Early influences were articles from a scholastic program called Weekly Reader which had articles about UFOs, Loch Ness and other phenomenon. I saw the Patterson/Gimlin film on TV in 1967 and the Argosy magazine article about the “Iceman”. Add to this Fate magazine and Flying Saucer Review. Also the John Keel paperback “Strange Creatures From Time and Space” with a great cover by Frazzetta. I still have it. Too many Loch Ness books to count.
Also influential; The films;
“Half Human”…1955.
“UFO”…1957
“The Abominable Snowman”…1957.
many others…
3. No, I have not seen a cryptid. I have visited Lake Champlain several times both as a child and adult but no sightings…it’s a huge body of water. Have been to and through the NJ Pine Barrens but nothing to report…don’t really put much interest there anyway. As fore mentioned, I have a documented UFO experience. Once while crossing Block Island Sound off the coast of RI, a few passengers including myself saw a huge back and fin structure break the surface. Too large for a shark or dolphin in that area but not really like a whale. The best we could say was…what the hell was that?
4. Lake Monsters would be my primary interest with Bigfoot types plus Orang Pendek second.
But I am interested in reading about most all reasonably plausible cryptids. Of course something strange will always pop up out of some part of the sea, guaranteed.
5. I think that today, Orang Pendak has the most chance of being recognized. I have been following and waiting for over fifty years for some of these phenomena to be realized as real beings but nothing as yet. Though we were close a few times but…
6. A guy I play soccer with is my favorite Australian cryptid…he survives only on beer.
7. Theories;
Loch Ness…Running out of steam on Loch Ness. Too much classic evidence proven wrong.
Bigfoot…could be a sub-human primate but why no clear or even reasonable trail-cam images? Trail-cams capture just about everything else from rediscovered animals to humans misbehaving.
Champ…possible water-cryptid but what does the evidence actually show/prove…not much.
Cadborosaurus…well the sea offers a much larger unexplored area so an also could be..
Orang Pendek…Best chance of a cryptid actually being recognized. Most likely an unknown near Human primate or close Orangutan relative.
8. I have written no articles on cryptids but being a professional sculptor for over 35 years, I have sculpted a few for collectable series along with several alien collections and have provided the copy for the item’s descriptions.
9. I have several websites devoted to my sculpting businesses. About to launch a fourth.
10. Apart from witnessing a UFO, no sightings of any real cryptids. I have seen mangy foxes and raccoons and I’ll admit, they do look odd. I have also seen some large feral cats but certainly not cryptids.
11. I have been to Lake Champlain several times. Went to West Virginia but only passed through. I remember clearly the Silver River Bridge collapse news on TV but not really sold on Mothman.
I lived in NJ for many years…have been in the Pine Barrens, nothing there but legends.
1) How did I first get involved in crypto? I grew up in the 70s in Sarasota, Fl and the Skunk Ape was making news locally. Seeing The Legend Of Boggy Creek at the movie theater was icing on the cake.
2) Early influences were In Search Of, Legend of Boggy Creek, local accounts of Skunk Ape Sightings.
3) Have I seen a cryptid yet? No. But maybe some day. There has been sightings as close as 15 miles from my house.
4) What creatures have my interest? Bigfoot, Skunk Ape, Skinwalkers, Thunderbirds, water cyptids, Jersey Devil (wife is from S. Jersey), giant sloth in S. America, dinosaurs in Africa, gigantic snakes, dogman/wolfman of Wisconsin.
5) Which ones most likely exist? I think most may exist with the lowest probability going to the Jersey Devil.
6) Favorite Australian cryptid? Yowie, although he sounds pretty mean.
7) Theories? Man thinks that everything is known and dismisses anything that doesn’t fit in a neat box. These animals live in the most remote places and associate man with death so steer clear. So, small numbers, well hidden.
8) Written articles? Not on cryptids. I have received books for review on Amazon from publishers including Nick’s books. I have written articles on UFOs in the late 90s on MSN’s UFO Forum/Community where I was a staff member. I hosted weekly guest chats and even had weekly chat room meetings with abductees.
9) Website(s)? Currently no. But as noted I was on MSN’s UFO/Community which is what their Project Watchfire changed to and also Destination Space.
10) What’s the closest I’ve come to finding something? I went on one bigfoot investigation in central GA several years back. We did hear lots of movement and the woman showed me plaster casts of footprints she had seen. Eerie night, never forget it.
11) Looked for a cryptid? See above
Alright, two more–and we are all following this stuff, but CryptoKellie and Slick, you’re like most of the rest of us–never had any direct encounters, but there’s enough to draw you in. We’ve read through the evidence or talked with people or actually seen evidence that makes us think there’s more than enough information to pursue the cryptids.
Doesn’t mean we’ve solved the mystery and it doesn’t mean we have all of the answers, but we’re willing to look to get at the truth.
Good show.
I saw a piece on the Navy working to build ROV’s using the propulsion elements seen in Jellyfish, to use as recon. ROV’s are becoming more prominent in exploring the ocean, so I’m hoping that in the next few years somebody will accidentally get some footage of some even more exciting discoveries.
How did you first get involved in researching strange and mysterious creatures?
I became interested after reading about bigfoot/sasquatch/Loch Ness, etc., encounters on the internet. I don’t know how I ran into the subject but was astonished as to the volume of information/material that was out there, i.e. books, websites, films, etc. on the subject.
What were some of the early influences in your life?
As a child I loved dinosaurs and any kind of monster movie depicting them. I recall seeing the PG film as a 12 or 13 year old and laughing at it as I thought it was a guy in a suit. But even so I thought it was cool. Now, I believe it likely was real after reading countless web sites, at least 30 books (have over 25 I own) and watching tv shows. Sort of the opposite of what most mainstream people would believe.
Have you personally seen one of these creatures?
I haven’t seen any and I haven’t been into the field looking, but in my younger days did a lot of hunting and never saw anything truly weird other than a possible cougar in Western Maryland.
What creatures particularly interest you?
I would have to say the ones I were and am primarily interested are the hairy unknown primates and the several lake or sea monsters like Loch Ness, Okopogo, Champ, the possible dinosaur in the Congo (Oke Motumbo?forget the name) etc. I also believe that a descendant of a winged dinosaur (Pteradactyl) sic, could exist. Not sure about mothman though.
What cryptids are most likely to exist in your opinion?
I think the Sasquatch in North America has a great possibility of existing. While as with many cryptids there is no conclusive evidence, there is circumstantial evidence to suggest there is a large unknown flesh and blood primate on the continent. Despite the fact there are a lot of people, most of those people remain in a fairly small area, and only a relatively small percentage spend time in the correct environment. Additionally we do not keep any form of constant surveillance on the wilderness to really be able to say we truly know what is there or not. There is plenty of food and room for a relatively small population to go by undocumented. Some of the various lake or sea monsters have a decent possibility as well. Again as the oceans are even larger than the continents, we can’t say that we keep any better of surveillance on them.
I totally agree with this that was posted above. I also believe the Yeti probably existed or still exists as well as the Almas, Yren, etc.
What’s your favourite Australian cryptid?
Yowie of course.
Have you developed any theories around where the more unusual animals – i.e. yowies/bigfoot – have come from?
At least in regards to Sasquatch it would be a flesh and blood hominoid not entirely unlike the several species alive today or those that had live in the past. I think Melba Ketchum could be correct in that it is some sort of hybrid now with some very human characteristics bred into it. I am in agreement there is more area than many people I think realize, enough food available and really it has been fairly recently that larger number of people have thought of looking. The absence of evidence is not always conclusive towards evidence of absence.
I also believe in the law of averages that all of these thousands of sightings cannot be false. If even one is true these creatures likely exist.
Have you written any books/articles?
No, but I read anything I can find. I purchased a copy of Roger Patterson’s original book , Do Abominable Snowmen in America really exist I also have Paullides books, Legend Meets Science by Meldrum (book and DVD) Apes Among us by Green and scores of other books. I have a number of DVD’s as well on the subject of bigfoot.
Do you have a website?
I do not have a website.
What’s the closest you’ve personally come to finding something?
I have not been out looking in the field for anything to come close to finding anything, although I once saw a UFO but it went by so fast it was hard to describe. It was flying so low I don’t know how it missed trees or power lines and flashing multicolored lights. A friend who was with me saw it too and we both thought we were seeing things until we confirmed with each other. That was over 30 years ago and we both still talk about it as we were in a car driving home late one night. Oddly enough though, I am more interested in bigfoot and lake monsters than UFO’s.
Another addition–William–I can relate–I started with dinosaurs as a kid and then things like Loch Ness and Mokele Mbembe just added fuel to the fire, and made an easy shift into cryptozoology.
Including Nick, we’ve gotten eleven! That’s probably about the same percentage as votes in elections. 🙂 So we’ve done great.
This was a wonderful idea springheeledjack. A great way for everyone to learn and understand where other posters are “coming from.” Better still if even more jumped in even with just brief summaries of their crypto interests.
Thanks, but I give Nick the credit. We all post here and it’s nice to be able to put some history and perspective with the names that show up while we rant, consider evidence and enjoy the world of crypto. I wish we’d have more input too, but eh, what are ya gonna do?
1) How did I first get involved in crypto? I don’t really know. I’ve always been fascinated with the unknown and the paranormal to some extent. I have also always been amazed at how mainstream science will claim something to be a certain way up until the very moment they are proven wrong (e.g. Pluto, T-Rex’s scales…er…feathers). I have definitely been fueled on by a bunch of different television programs and authors. Cryptomundo has also played a role in keeping my interest in all things cryptid.
2) Early influences Loren Coleman, UFO Files (I know, it’s not cryptid, but it contributed to my interest in the paranormal as a whole.)
3) Have I seen a cryptid yet? Yes, although at the times I wasn’t aware it was considered a cryptid. Twice in my life I have seen a black “panther”. Once, I was a kid and it was no further than 50 feet away. I saw another one as an adult. Both were daylight sightings, clear and close. The only problem is I didn’t think that much of it at the time. I have always heard about them being around and most people I know not only believe, but aren’t aware that it supposedly doesn’t exist. It had always been one of those things that are out there, you just don’t see them a lot, like bobcats. It wasn’t until a few years after my second sighting that I was watching an episode of MonsterQuest that I found out that these were cryptids. Unfortunately, because of this, I made no attempts to document the sighting.
4) What creatures have my interest? Sasquatch and Yeti, Black Cats (of course – see above), Orang Pendek, Tasmanian Tiger
5) Which ones most likely exist? Well, I’ve seen the melanistic cougar or “black panther”, so obviously that gets my vote. I also believe there is a very high probability of sasquatch. When I found out that there are parts of the Pacific Northwest forest that have never had humans set foot in them, that pretty much told me anything could be out there. The Tasmanian tiger we know existed at one time very recently, so why not still?
6) Favorite Australian cryptid? Tasmanian Tiger. See above.
7) Theories? Too many to list. The one I’ll share for now is regarding the London Trackway (alleged sasquatch prints in Oregon). It has been said that sasquatch intentionally try not to leave tracks, so this find was all that much more astonishing. It is known that the reservoir had been drained leaving the muddy area where the tracks were found. I believe the tracks were left when the water was still up, and the sasquatch was wading, possibly fishing. The tracks were then exposed after the reservoir was drained. The animal would have had no way of knowing that it was leaving any tracks that could be found, especially if this was not a regular event.
8) Written articles? No, although I have given it some thought as of late.
9) Website(s)? No, not right now.
10) What’s the closest I’ve come to finding something? See question #3.
11) Looked for a cryptid? Not officially, but I would like to go on an expedition someday.
chadgatlin–great post! It’s always people with an open mind and maybe a little adventurousness that allows one to look a little further than the headlines to start wondering if our world’s bigger than what we thought!
While I know UFO’s don’t exactly fall into crypto, it’s one of those “fringe” subjects and I think people that get interested in one area often get interested in others–goes back to what I said about an open mind.
And I think Loren Coleman, with all of his books and work has probably pulled a lot of people into this field–his name has been coming up a lot too. And of course others who aren’t always the face of crypto but do the important work, like Craig Woolheater for running the site and contributors like Nick Redfern and occasionally John Kirk and others.
Again, thanks to everyone who took the time to chime in–always worthwhile to get to know the other people in our Cryptomundo family.
Now I need to check the other threads to see what needs discussing and who needs verbal “guidance” 🙂
1) How did I first get involved in crypto?
The tv series the 6 million dollar man. Steve Austin fighting the Bigfoot really made me wonder about monsters.
2) Early influences?
Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan Sanderson.
3) Have I seen a cryptid yet?
No. I wish I had.
4) What creatures have my interest?
Mapinguari and Minhocao (Brazil’s most famous cryptids), Bigfoot, Nessie.
5) Which ones most likely exist?
Bigfoot is #1. Mapinguari is close behind.
6) Favorite Australian cryptid?
Yowie, the Bigfoot down under.
7) Theories?
Two. Mapinguari is a giant ground sloth and Minhocao is most likely a snake.
8) Written articles?
Not really. I have four books on print, but they are novels, and have nothing to do with cryptozoology.
9) Website(s)?
Well, there’s my Flickr, I am a professional photographer.
10) What’s the closest I’ve come to finding something?
I’ve talked to witnesses of Mapinguari.
11) Looked for a cryptid?
Well, I’ve been to the Amazon Rain Forest, and I did interview some people who claimed they saw (or heard) Mapinguari, but I did not actually look for it. An expedition in the Amazon would cost a fortune, and unfortunately I don’t have one to expend.
volmar–I had TOTALLY forgotten about the 6 million dollar man and bigfoot episode:) Awesome.
And I’m not very familiar with either Mapinguari or Minhocao. You should see if Craig Woolheater would let you post whatever you’ve got on those two cryptids for a thread. I’d be interested in reading it, and I’m sure other cryptomundians would too.
@springheeledjack, I’ve never forgot Steve’s fight with Bigfoot. I think you can find it on You Tube, I know I did!
Well, I got almost nothing on Minhocao, except for my theory it is, or was, a snake (I think all other theories can’t really explain the 18th and 19th century sightings). I interviewed four witnesses of Mapinguari. Two of them claim they actually saw it. One only heard it, and the last one saw its claw marks on a tree. What they saw, or say they saw, was a giant ground sloth. I even had a Schleich Toys plastic Megatherium I took with me to show them. The two who saw Mapinguari recognized it as what they saw. Not much, clearly not enough for a long discussion on the subject.
Volmar–thanks! It may seem like little, but you took the time to interview four people and investigate. That IS what this business is all about. That’s great! We not only learned more about you in our community, but you taught us about some other lesser known cryptids.
Oft times it people investigating the world around them that make discoveries or come up with answers. Keep up the good work and thanks for the info!
@springheeledjack, I wish I could research Mapinguari as it deserves to be researched, but I live thousands of miles from the Amazon Rainforest, in southern Brazil. Would you believe a plane ticket to Manaus, in the Amazon, is more expensive than a plane ticket to Miami? That’s life I guess!
Volmar — I guess the “world around you” is relative in terms of time and space. 🙂 Still, you do what you can. And I suppose the airlines don’t get a lot of people flying just to get to the Amazon on a regular basis to bring ticket prices down. 🙂
I would also guess that aside from the ocean, the rainforest and the Amazon are probably the best places to hope for new cryptids, and especially larger cryptids because there’s so much unexplored and undiscovered areas yet. Then again, there’s probably lots of places like that–people always use the excuse against Bigfoot existing in the U.S. because it’s so populated and because it is perceived that there’s not enough space to cloak a population of larger hairy primates or hominids, but that’s not even close to the truth.
@springheeledjack, Manaus, the biggest city in the Amazon has over a million inhabitants, a few kilometers away, when the Rainforest is thick, dark and almost impossible to penetrate, one could hide a hundred Mapinguaris every few kilometers and no one would ever know. That’s the problem: The Amazon Rainforest is not for the faint of heart, it’s probably the most difficult terrain on Earth!
This is a great thread. Hopefully a couple of stragglers will chime in.
Volmar, so glad you brought up the Mapinguari and the Amazon.
While I’m a skeptic on Bigfoot and Lake Monsters the Mapinguari is an excellent example of one simple important zoological fact regarding terrestrial animals that everyone should be aware. The closer to the equator the greater the number of different species, but with small numbers. The further away from the equater the smaller number of different species but with much greater numbers.
Which is why chasing the Mapinguari isn’t nearly as far-fetched as chasing bigfoot.
1) How did I first get involved in crypto?
“Monsters” have always fascinated me. Growing up i found monsters cooler than super heroes. Lots of horror and Hanna Barbera cartoons helped hit that home with me growing up. When i got older and read and saw tv programs that some hidden “monsters”/animals could be out there i was interested in searching and learning about what could be out there. Sometimes reading encounters are good sources of inspiration for me as well.
2) Early influences
I don’t really count “influences”. Just about every thing or everyone you encounter leaves some kind of mark on how you go forward.
3) Have I seen a cryptid yet?
I have not spotted any cryptid, but given that i live in a suburban area right next to a very slimmed wooded area and have seen plenty of fauna that have well established populations that are rarely seen, just goes on to increase my intrigue.
4) What creatures have my interest?
To me anything that is waiting to be discovered is of interest.
5) Which ones most likely exist?
Likely? That’s too relative for my tastes. I’m not sure any strike me as that more likely. There are ones that are biologically feasible and have sightings. Such things could exist but that doesn’t make me inclined to make them more likely. Many things are possible, doesn’t exactly guarantee they will come true.
6) Favorite Australian cryptid?
Does Thylacine’s count? Not hurting other Aussie cryptids feelings but that’s a cool animal i hope isn’t extinct.
7) Theories?
Lots of things intrigue me. I’m curious if some cryptids and mythical creatures are bumps on our understanding of hybridization instead of missing holes in the fossil record. But at the same time i’ve heard lots of theories but theres lots that could be probable. I personally do call fowl on a lot of cynics. I think too much of society is out of touch with how science really works. We have not found everything there is to find, lots of smaller things have been reported but never got much hype or devotion because they weren’t big. I feel like in some cases the world needs to educate themselves more. As i mentioned before i live right next to woods and i’ve been in plenty in my times, things that are pretty much known should be there can easily hide. If said cryptids are intelligent in some respect they should have little problem avoiding detection. I may not be willing to believe in them all completely but i’m positive there’s a chance and it’s worth investigating.
8) Written articles?
I haven’t published anything but i’ve written enough summaries and personal stuff that i feel that should count for something.
9) Website(s)?
N/A
10) What’s the closest I’ve come to finding something?
An old neighbor told a story about some times he went with his fellow workers into the woods to cut trees (as it was a logging company). Said he heard strange sounds, but that’s the only second hand cryptid like story i’ve heard.
11) Looked for a cryptid?
Went looking for the area the Goatman is said to lurk twice. Also walked trails in plenty of woods where i looked for anything that might be out of the ordinary. I don’t blame a cryptid for it but on land that is often used by boyscouts me and my Dad found what looked like an old abandoned station of some kind. It was overgrown with vegetation so whatever it was, it surely wasn’t in use then. Glass was broken on the main door. Looked pretty eerily, but sadly no sign of any cryptids around.
MattPriceTime–and I bet you watched some Johnny Quest. So did I. That was a cryptid based cartoon if ever there was one–a good mix of sci-fi and adventure with all kinds of monsters tossed in. Godzilla fan by chance? 🙂
Great post! The thing about cryptids is that it appears to work exactly like the “Six degrees of separation.” I would guess many or most people know someone or know someone who knew someone that has had an encounter or some kind of story dancing into the unknown. It’s those of us with an open mind and who tend to look at little more at the fringes of the common world that get involved in crypto, the supernatural or any other weirdness.