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The Mothman of Point Pleasant: A Legendary Cryptid
In the small town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, a mysterious figure known as the Mothman has captured the imagination of locals and cryptid enthusiasts alike. This enigmatic creature, described as a humanoid with massive wings and glowing red eyes, first made headlines in the late 1960s and has since become a staple of American folklore.

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Was it a Thunderbird?

I recently got in this report of a very large bird sighting. I'm not sure what kind of bird the witness saw and described but many might say it was a possible thunderbird. Thunderbirds are a cryptid large bird believed to be a predatory bird, larger and perhaps stronger than known species.

Here is the report

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BLACK MOUNTAIN'S HEADLESS ANNIE
It was just a coon hunting trip. Some of my distant relatives (I prefer not to publicly say their names because what happened to them was bone-chilling and disturbing, not to mention they fear being scoffed) ......these distant relatives of mine decided to go coon hunting on Big Black Mountain one August night when the air was thick with humidity and ghostly mist. I was just a child in the mid 80's, and I remember sitting in the back of my Daddy's blue Chevy truck as my distant family (all men) were taking inventory of their equipment for the all-night excursion upon the state's highest peak.

They tried to talk my Daddy into joining them, and although he was an avid coon hunter himself, something just "didn't set right" with him. He told the men "I don't reckon I want to be up on that mountain in the middle of the night." Once they were satisfied they had all the equipment they needed, they piled in their truck and sped up KY 522 toward the Tri-Cities where Big Black Mountain towers over the old coal mining towns of Lynch and Benham, as well as Cumberland, which was more of a municipality for commerce.

I went on to bed that night, saying my prayers for the poor, defenseless coons (that's just the kind of child I was) and never gave the hunting trip another thought. In fact, it wasn't until months later that I overheard another family member relay to my mother the events of that horrific night experienced by my coon-hunting distant relatives upon Big Black Mountain.

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This is an exciting post for me. I recent met author and filmmaker Nic Brown at the Harlan Haunt Fest. I was able to take in part of his lecture on the Wendigo. His lecture was very informative and intriguing. Unfortunately, I was not able to stay for the whole presentation as I had my own table and people were coming by to see and speak to me, which was great. So, I had to cut out early of his lecture.

As the Haunt Fest event was winding down, I made my way over the Nic's table and introduced myself and we had an enjoyable talk. And today I'm very pleased to share a nice interview I did with Nic. I think you will enjoy this one, here is our interview.

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This past weekend was the first annual Harlan Crypto Con. I attended the event as a vendor, team member Tony Felosi did a presentation and team member Jennifer Williams lunched her Urban X jewelry line at the event. Also in attendance was author and friend, Judith Hensley who was there to unveil two new books.

We know some of you may not be familiar with Judith's work but her latest two book are sure to draw attention from much of the cryptozoological field. We thought it would be great to conduct a short interview with Judith and tell you about her fantastic new books.

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A couple of weeks ago we ran the story and image of a bigfoot that was taken by Leo A Frank. (Click here) The bigfoot in the picture was rather unusual looking and had what most people consider the appearance of a troll. The nose was very large and is not what is commonly reported by witnesses. What some may fail to realize is that not all bigfoot look the same. In fact, some are really different looking but still have an overall humanoid appearance.
But all the troll talk got me to thinking more about the word troll and the word bigfoot. We all know the term bigfoot was not coined until 1958 by Jerry Crew, but what about the word troll?

Lets take a look.

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Still frame from the video

What is this strange, almost human shaped, object in the sky? That is what many people are asking after seeing the video below.

Before we get to the actual video, let me tell you what is known about the clip. Reportedly this was filmed in Indonesia during what appears to be some type of riot, protest or a demonstration. The local people called it a Kuntilanak. A Kuntilanak in Indonesian mythology is a female vampiric spirit of a woman who died while pregnant. Another word used to describe this is Pontianak. Pontianaks are usually depicted as pale-skinned women with long black hair, red eyes, and white dress.

According to what I read about this folklore a Kuntilanak is a woman who died during childbirth. That the woman would come back to terrorize and take revenge on the towns people. The creature would or might look like a pretty woman and have a floral aroma. Then she would attack with claws and rip open peoples stomach.

Now, I'm not sure what this entity is, or even if it is an spirit of some sort. But it does appear to be odd and out of place with the events going on. Lets watch the video and then I will close with a few more thoughts.

Here is the video.

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Krampus: "Just give me the names, fat man"

For as long as I can remember we've all heard about Santa and his list of naughty and nice little boys and girls. We were told that naughty little boys and girls get a lump of coal for Christmas, or nothing at all. But over the years the legend of Krampus has grown here in the United States and North America in general. While some may have already been aware of Krampus, the tale has grown over the years thanks to movies and social media.

I had never heard of Krampus while growing up. But now the pairing of Santa Clause and Krampus seems to be a common occurrence. I guess it might add an extra incentive for children to be good and well behaved. After all one would want to avoid the dreaded naughty list.

For those who may not know, or those who would like more details, the rest of the post will deal with the legend and history of Krampus.

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Many cultures have a belief in shapeshifting in some form. Shapeshifting is the ability of a being or creature to completely transform its physical form or shape. The Aswang reportedly has the ability to combine various elements from different creatures.

In this episode of The Crypto Files, we take a look at the Aswang and explore some of the characteristics and behavior of this cryptid.

Here is the episode (ep. 25)

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When we speak or write about a Golem, most people probably think we are talking about Gollum from the J.R.R Tolken's Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movies. But while they may have some similar traits, we are not talking about that creature and his pursuit of his precious ring. Nope, we are talking about an animated anthropomorphic being from Jewish folklore. The golem would normally be formed out of clay or mud and would be brought to life and then controlled. The method of this seems to vary with different tales.

The oldest stories of golems date to early Judaism.  In the Talmud, Adam was initially created as a golem, created out of mud. Early tales of golems lean toward them not having the ability to speak. One of the methods, at least early on, to bring a golem to life was to use various letters from the Hebrew alphabet to form a "Shem", any one of the names of God, and write it on paper and insert it into the mouth of the golem. You could later stop the golem by removing the paper. In some cases removing the paper from the mouth of the golem caused it to return to dust other times it just put it on pause.

Another method of animating and controlling the golem was to write the word "emet" on the being. In Hebrew "emet" means Truth. Usually this was written on the golem's forehead but I have seen stories where it was written on the back of the hand or other methods used.  The golem would be stopped or deactivated by removing the "e" from "emet". That leaves you with "met" which would mean Death or Dead in Hebrew. So you would go from Truth to Death by scrubbing off the letter. In some stories, the golem would be deactivated once it completed the bidding of the person who was controlling it. In some cases it was used to do hard work, to get revenge or settle a score.

The Golem on DVD

There is a long history and many hand me down tales about golems. There is even one about a Nazi trying to stab a golem during WWII in an attic of a church. The attic is not open to the general public but in 1984 a film crew was able to visit and film the attic. They came away with no evidence to support the old WWII claim.

Golems have often made appearances in movies, TV shows, games and cartoons. Even in today's popular shows and movies golems can be found. I would assume that most people have no idea that golems are actually rooted in Jewish history and folklore. That many people have and continue to believe in the creation of golems.






While I can see that there may be some confusion about golems, and just what they are, I heard it explained like this:

A Ghost is a spirit without a body, a Golem is a body without a spirit.  

And I know a lot of us believe in ghost, but what about Golems?
Maybe it is worth taking a deeper look before making up your mind. 


Thanks
~Tom~

This post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.


This post sponsored in part by

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I was talking with a friend last night on facebook and we got to taking about Pukwudgie. So I thought it might be a good idea to make a short post about this lesser known cryptid.

The Pukwudgie
 
A Pukwudgie is a 2-to-3-foot-tall (61 to 91 cm) being from the Wampanoag folklore. Pukwudgies' features resemble those of a human, but with enlarged noses, fingers and ears. Their skin is described as being a smooth grey, and at times has been known to glow.
In Native American lore, Pukwudgies have the following traits and abilities;

• they can appear and disappear at will
• they can transform into a walking porcupine (it looks like a porcupine from the back, and the front is half-troll, half-human and walks upright)
• they can attack people and lure them to their deaths
• they are able to use magic
• they have poison arrows
• they can create fire at will
• Pukwudgies control Tei-Pai-Wankas which are believed to be the souls of Native Americans they have killed.

Native Americans believed that Pukwudgies were best left alone. When you see a Pukwudgie you are not supposed to mess with them, or they will repay you by playing nasty tricks on you, or by following you and causing trouble. They were once friendly to humans, but then turned against them. They are known to kidnap people, push them off cliffs, attack their victims with short knives and spears, and to use sand to blind their victims.


"Legends of the Pukwudgie began in connection to 'Maushop', a creation giant believed by the Wampanoag to have created most of Cape Cod. He was beloved by the people, and the Pukwudgies were jealous of the affection the Natives had for him. They tried to help the Wampanoag, but their efforts always backfired, until they eventually decided to torment them instead. They became mischievous and aggravated the Natives until they asked 'Granny Squanit', Maushop’s wife, for help. Maushop collected as many as he could. He shook them until they were confused and tossed them around New England. Some died, but others landed, regained their minds and made their way back to Massachusetts.
Satisfied he had done his job and pleased his wife, Maushop went away for a while. In his absence, the Pukwudgies had returned. They again changed their relationship with the Wampanoags. They were no longer just a nuisance, but began kidnapping children, burning villages and forcing the Wampanoag deep into the woods and killing them. Squanit again stepped in, but Maushop, being very lazy, sent his five sons to fix the problem. The Pukwudgies lured them into deep grass and shot them dead with magic arrows. Enraged, Squanit and Maushop attacked as many as they could find and crushed them, but many escaped and scattered throughout New England again. The Pukwudgies regrouped and tricked Maushop into the water and shot him with their arrows. Some legends say they killed him, while others claim he became discouraged and depressed about the death of his sons, but after these events Maushop disappears from the Wampanoags' mythology."
There are reportedly encounters of the Pukwudgie in the Freetown-Fall River State Forest in Massachusetts. Ironically, part of the FFR state forest belongs to the Wampanoag Nation. There have also been several odd suicides at a ledge in the state forest. The suicides have led some to believe that the Pukwudgie pushed the people off the ledge.

Here is a video done by Animal Planet about Pukwudgie.



Some say that Pukwudgie is nothing more than a troll or a hobbit, while others say it is a jinn because it shape shifts abilities. Regardless of what you may call it or what it's appearance may be, I think we can all agree that the Pukwudgie is a scary cryptid.   


Thanks
~Tom~

This post by Thomas Marcum, Thomas is the founder/leader of the cryptozoology and paranormal research organization known as The Crypto Crew. Over 20 years experience with research and investigation of unexplained activity, working with video and websites. A trained wild land firefighter and a published photographer, and poet.

(source:wikipedia )

This post sponsored in part by

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