What Is This?

Posted by: Loren Coleman on October 7th, 2012


What do you think this represents? Some kind of Northern cryptid? Folkloric creature? Have you heard of any names associated with an upright humanoid with a reindeer head?

It does not look like the Horned God, Cernunnos, which has a decidedly human head with antlers:




The appearance is not similar to the evil dark Yuletide Krampus, either, even though it is more animal-like with two horns that are definitely too small:

How about the Windigo/Wendigo? While most traditional representations of Windigo seem to look like eastern Canadian Sasquatch, there is a body of Wendigo art that appear to be angry upright elk:



Of course, sometimes an upright caribou, I suppose, is just a standing Christmas reindeer.

I had to ask, do you know of a cryptid name for this critter?

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.


7 Responses to “What Is This?”

  1. Kjak75 responds:

    The Horned God is actually sometimes depicted with a more stag head than human head, some see his form as changing seasonally, but he is by no means a cryptid.
    I am sure i have read about a deer headed creature in mythology, but off the top of my head i can not think of where. I will flip through some mythology books tomorrow and see what i can find.
    As for an actual cryptid there was the stories of the Deer Man, but i thought those were just hoaxes.

  2. oldphilosopher responds:

    Curiosystis Christmasus Ornamentatis.

  3. Goodfoot responds:

    I say “totem” and leave it at that. It certainly isn’t a One-Eyed, One-Horned Flying Purple People Eater…

  4. David-Australia responds:

    Rudi Sasquatch the Black-Nosed Reindeer…

  5. PhotoExpert responds:

    I don’t know what it is or what it may be called, but I like it in a weird way.

  6. Mnynames responds:

    It may most closely resemble the Peryton, although it is usually depicted as also possessing wings. My notes on it have it being ancient Greek in origin, but Wikipedia claims that it is a much more recent creation found in fantasy and role-playing literature (which, admittedly, is where I first encountered it). Wikipedia also has it being quadrupedal, but I recall seeing depictions of a more humanoid or at least bipedal appearance. In Dungeons & Dragons, it casts a human shadow, which might explain the confusion.

  7. somebodyssquatchingme responds:

    Abominable Doe-man.

Sorry. Comments have been closed.

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