They lurk in the dark woods, the deep lakes, the uncharted oceans, the shadows of an old barn or a deserted city street — cryptids, creatures that defy categorization and sometimes logic. Identify these 30 cryptids based on their descriptions.
This elusive monster appears as a sort of kangaroo/goat hybrid, walking on two legs with hoofed feet, though it also has the ability to fly short distances with its batlike wings. It's said to be the 13th child of a witch named Mother Leeds.
Blair Witch
Orkney Horror
Jersey Devil
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Mother Leeds supposedly gave birth to the Jersey Devil.
In 1969, couples in a Texas town reported that a half-goat, half-man creature with fur and scales attacked their cars when they were out parking. The beast later threw a tire and jumped on another car. The only known photograph shows a hulking biped with shaggy white fur.
Lake Worth Monster
Austin Demon
Balmorhea Beast
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The Lake Worth Monster is not the only goatish creature that terrorizes American teenagers.
This cryptid is essentially a dinosaur, similar in shape and size to a sauropod, that has reportedly managed to avoid extinction in the jungles of the Congo River Basin. Dozens of expeditions across more than a hundred years have failed to turn up evidence that it actually exists.
Mokele-mbembe
Bantu
Megalodon
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Wrong Answer
The earliest modern Mokele-mbembe expedition was in 1909. The most recent was in 2012. No photographs of Mokele-mbembe exist.
This terrifying Filipino monster takes a human shape during the day, often living among people. At night it turns into an animal or monster and sucks people's blood. Sometimes it devours children instead, even sucking the unborn out of their mothers' wombs while they sleep.
Bowolu
Aswang
Paalam
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Wrong Answer
The Aswang is sometimes known as the Tik-Tik or a dozen other regional names. Its nature varies from region to region as well, though it is always a shape-shifter that hides in human form.
This underwater creature thought to resemble a plesiosaur is perhaps the most famous cryptid in the world. It's been photographed numerous times, but never conclusively. It gets its distinctive name from its Scottish heritage.
Loch Ness Monster
Lachlan Sea Monster
Highland Horror
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The Loch Ness monster (Nessie) has been hunted for more than a hundred years with cameras, sonar, rifles and even Google Maps. It remains elusive.
A mysterious corpse was found on a beach in Long Island, New York, in 2008. It resembled a hairless beast with a bizarre, toothy beak. Experts later identified it as a raccoon that had undergone decomposition and lost part of its jaw.
Long Island Devil
Suffolk Sea Creature
Montauk Monster
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Wrong Answer
The Montauk Monster is part of a long tradition of decomposed animals being mistaken for monsters.
Only a few sightings support the existence of this British cryptid, a terrifying combination of a predatory bird and a human. It's partly named for the town in Cornwall, England, where it was seen.
Exeter Eagle
Cornish Owl Monster
Owlman of Mawnan
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Wrong Answer
The Owlman of Mawnan might be a hoax or a misidentified actual owl. (Some owl species are startlingly large and look strange at first glance.)
Let's stay in Cornwall a bit longer. Britain is famous for panthers stalking their prey far outside their known distribution and in numbers far too low to sustain a population. Dead sheep and panther sightings on the moor created this legendary monster.
Moorish Cat
Beast of Bodmin
American Werecat in London
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Wrong Answer
The Beast of Bodmin was thoroughly investigated by authorities, who found no evidence of a persistent big cat threat.
This legendary sea beast reportedly attacked ships with its massive tentacles. Numerous dead specimens were collected in the 20th century, typically caught in fishing nets or washed ashore. Living adults were eventually photographed and filmed, ultimately removing this animal from the ranks of true cryptids.
Kraken
Humboldt Squid
Emperor Jellyfish
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
The Kraken is actually the giant squid, Architeuthis dux.
This is Nessie's only real competition for most famous cryptid. Originally a resident of the vast forests of the Pacific Northwest, variations of this bipedal evolutionary mystery pop up all over the place.
Callophax
Dell Hollow Monster
Bigfoot
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Wrong Answer
Bigfoot's most well-known appearance was in the Patterson-Gimlin footage, which is either a genuine film of a cryptid or a man in a furry costume. Among friends, it goes by Sasquatch.
This Himalayan primate is sort of a hipster's Bigfoot — it became well-known beginning in the 1920s, before Bigfoot was popular. Sometimes called the Abominable Snowman, it's mostly known for leaving massive footprints in the snow.
Yeti
Boreal Snow-ape
Gharang
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Wrong Answer
DNA analysis has failed to prove the existence of Yeti. Many sighting are likely misidentified bears.
Another primate cryptid Bigfoot variant, this one is known for two things: It mostly hangs out in Florida, and it smells really, really bad.
Southern Stech Beast
Everglade Swamp Man
Skunk Ape
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Wrong Answer
The Skunk Ape has been reported as far as Louisiana and Arkansas. Two known photographs appear to show a large orangutan, which is pretty weird anyway.
This cryptid is interesting because its description generally matches that of a huge werewolf. It's named not for the town in Wisconsin where it's supposedly found, but for the very specific road it roams.
Beast of Bray Road
Tudor Lane Werewolf
Jainard Highway Horror
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Wrong Answer
The Beast of Bray Road first made a name for itself in the late 1980s.
Bray Road doesn’t have a monopoly on werewolves, though. Traverse City, Michigan, and the surrounding area has its own howling canine/human hybrid monster, though its name is nowhere near as exciting as the Beast of Bray Road.
Boris the Mandog
Traverse City Howler
Michigan Dogman
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Wrong Answer
Michigan Dogman sightings date back to the 19th century. Someone even wrote a novelty song about him in the 1980s.
Many sea monster reports are derived from eerie carcasses that wash up on beaches worldwide, each one appearing to be some kind of bizarre and unknown creature. In truth, they are usually decomposing masses of fat from sperm whales or other rotting animal carcasses known as …
benthic ghouls
globsters
thraouls
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Wrong Answer
Globsters can look quite alarming and may lack many of the original animal's basic physical features, making accurate identification difficult.
Modern sightings of giant avian creatures have all come to be associated with this Native American myth.
Thunderbird
Quetzalcoatl
River Wraith
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Thunderbird sightings may be unexpectedly large bird species whose actual size is misjudged due to a lack of landmarks when viewing an object against an open sky. Or they may be actual giant birds.
This scary monster appeared in West Virginia in 1952 immediately after a meteor was seen in the sky. Its appearance was thought to be connected to a UFO crash, and a strange mist emitted by the creature made eyewitnesses ill.
Elk River Ghost
Silverton Creature
Flatwoods Monster
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Wrong Answer
The most common explanation for the Flatwoods Monster is a startled owl. If this seems unlikely, don’t underestimate how scary a large owl looks at night, especially if you're already amped up because you think you saw a UFO crash.
This three-legged, pink-eyed, gray-skinned creature was spotted (and reportedly shot) in Illinois in the early 1970s. It might have been an escaped kangaroo.
Chicago River Phantom
Mad Gasser of Matoon
Enfield Monster
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Wrong Answer
The Enfield Monster was also supposedly a wild ape or the imagination of the primary witness.
In the 1760s, France was stalked by a monstrous wolf said to have killed dozens or even hundreds of people. King Louis XV even sent royal wolf hunters to capture the beast.
Clermont-Ferrand Werewolf
Beast of Gevaudan
Red Wolf of Abbaye des Chazes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
The Beast of Gevaudan may have been a spike in normal wolf pack attacks inflated by fear and superstition.
Residents of Loveland, Ohio, have reported seeing this unique cryptid in the 1950s, 1970s and 2016. It's a hybrid human/animal creature that walks on its hind legs.
Loveland Frog
Loveland Pigman
Loveland Freak
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
The Loveland Frog appears to be the only humanoid frog cryptid ever reported.
Residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, were terrorized by a red-eyed, winged creature in the 1960s. It supposedly caused a bridge collapse and was connected to mysterious "men in black" encounters.
Mothman
Mothra
Monagra
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Wrong Answer
Mothman even found his way into a movie starring Richard Gere.
This is a tough one unless you grew up in central Africa, where this giant bat or surviving pteranodon has been sighted and even reportedly wounded a man.
Kongamato
Htu-Pteran
Igopogo
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer
Kongamato frequents the swamps and lakes of Zambia and the Republic of Congo.
This legendary Wyoming creature is almost universally acknowledged to be an urban legend or hoax — it appears to be a rabbit with the horns of a large ungulate.
Long-eared Longhorn
Jackalope
Steerabbit
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Wrong Answer
The jackalope legend probably stems from a joke played by a taxidermist.
If the idea of a giant worm erupting from the ground terrifies you, avoid South American forests and Kevin Bacon movies. Otherwise you might run into this monster.
Jungle Shaker
Minhocao
Chilean Leopard Worm
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Wrong Answer
Minhocao would be right at home in a "Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual."
