Monsters on the Doorstep
Posted by: Nick Redfern on April 9th, 2013
“Many people assume that to search for, investigate, and find strange creatures, it’s necessary to travel thousands of miles to locations as exotic as they are mysterious. Well, yes, sometimes that is true. Take, for example, the Chupacabras of Puerto Rico: a glowing-eyed beast that sports vicious fangs and claws and a dangerous row of spikes down its neck and back. You’ll likely only ever find it in and around the island’s El Yunque rain-forest.
“It’s the same with the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti, of the Himalayas: unless you’re a resident of the area, you’re certainly not going to find the legendary wild thing on your doorstep. The same can be said of the brontosaurus-like Mokele-mbembe which, legend says, haunts the deep waters of the Congo River basin in Africa.
“But, there are some monsters which can be found surprisingly close to home.”
That’s how I start my latest Lair of the Beasts article for Mania.com, on strange creatures in the neighborhood…
About Nick Redfern
Punk music fan, Tennents Super and Carlsberg Special Brew beer fan, horror film fan, chocolate fan, like to wear black clothes, like to stay up late. Work as a writer.
There’s sightings of Bigfoot in my state (within an hour drive or less depending on the year), and though no water cryptids, there’s such within striking distance…
But, there are some monsters which can be found surprisingly close to home.
Well, no. If these things “could be found” so easily they would not be cryptids, let alone monsters. Maybe “are reportedly seen” is nearer the truth.
I saw Bigfoot 10 mins from my house.
@Bigfoot Seekers
But I bet you weren’t looking for him at the time; it was probably more like a deer and me surprising each other about a block from my apartment. The most detailed and believable encounters seem to almost never happen to people who are looking for Bigfoot. Maybe that’s because at any given moment there are vastly more people *not* looking for Bigfoot than looking for him, but I get the impression there’s more to it than that.