My favorite dumb cryptid is this "ghost cow" from some backwater town. It turned out to be a real cow wandering around, but that means that people saw a cow and instead of going "Weird, there's a cow wandering around town," people instead jumped to "IT'S A GHOST COW. IT HAS COME TO HAUNT US"

Hoop Snake sounds like the best made up creature ever conjured by a lumberjack.

Hoop snake really is kinda scary. Imagine being chased by a cobra rolling after you like a wagon wheel.

Spring-Heeled Jack is basically the same M.O. as the Killer Clown Scare of '16. Humans never really change, I guess.

Jack the Ripper : Who are you? Spring Heeled Jack : Im you but cheaper.

I like to believe that at least one Spring-heeled Jack was just an affair that was almost caught.

I saw an ancient mural in Japan that had lions and leopards chilling out together. This is because they believed lions and leopards were really the same species. It's not so crazy if you've only seen house cats, which come in all different colors. In 1962, a Japanese zoo would breed the first leopon, an actual leopard-lion hybrid.

I recently read about the axe-handle hound, being another "fearsome critter"; a hound with an axe-like body shape that eats the handles of any axes left unobserved.

Imagine seeing a Leopard and just being like 'Ah yes, a bastard"

Imagine seeing a leopard, and your first thought is "Oi, this thing can't possibly be its own species, it's got to be half lion half god-cat."

Actually the Pard is literally just a leopard. The myth is that cheetahs are the offspring of lions and pards. Pard is just an arcadic short for leopard. There was some mysticism about them but that was true of pretty much every animal in Africa since people writing about them hadn't actually ever encountered them. Edit: I found what you were talking about and I think that Atlas obscura was confused by the word lepardos when they were doing their research. Leopardos means cheetah in Greek not leopard. It's actually the combination of Leo from lion and pardos meaning leopard.

Once upon a time, there was a Bigfoot named Fred who lived in a cozy cave deep in the forest. Fred loved to dance, and he would often put on a show for the other animals in the woods. One day, a group of humans stumbled upon Fred's cave and were so impressed by his dancing skills that they invited him to join their traveling dance troupe. Fred was hesitant at first, but he eventually agreed and became a star in the human world. He traveled the world, dancing on stage and even appearing in movies. But eventually, Fred grew tired of the spotlight and decided to return to his peaceful life in the forest. The humans were sad to see him go, but they knew he belonged in the wilderness with his Bigfoot family. And so, Fred returned home, where he continued to dance under the moonlight, delighting his forest friends with his graceful moves.

My favourite stupid cryptid has to be the "Dip", a vampire dog with one leg shorter than the other three.

“The hoop snake, whose name is self explanatory”. No, no it isn’t, please explain

One of the theories on how spring heeled jack came to be was that he was a combination of mass hysteria and the industrial chemicals and smog that was around in the Victorian era. He is sometimes thought of as a monster or demon that would kill women or children. He may be silly as a cryptid now, but the reality of his myth is pretty sad.

Didn’t expect the Oklahoma Octopus to be mentioned. Thought it was a rather niche bit of local folklore around here. Even most Okies haven’t heard of it, in my experience.

Me trying to explain to the skinwalker following me into the woods that he’s not real and needs to stop speaking to me in my mothers voice

You surely can’t miss the mountain whale thing which holds on to the top of a mountain with its tail and then slides down to eat American frontiersmen. No clue how it even gets back up the mountain.

I love how the old ragtime music is a reference to the fictional freak shows and museums of the late 1800s and early 1900s

I just wanted to share that I am acquainted with a man who 100% believes, no irony, that Bigfoot breaks into his home under the cover of dark, opens the bottom of his canned goods, eats the contents out, then places the cans back into the pantry before disappearing into the night. The deepest of Bigfoot lore.

Honestly I think the staticky microphone, and the constant use of stock images with watermarks adds to the whole cheap museum schtick. I love it.

Weirdly, the octopus is probably the most believable, if highly unlikely, of the lot. While landlocked today, that state would have been what was once an interior seaway that split North America in two. A group of proto-octopus could have gotten stranded in particularly deep saltwater lakes and adapted as the water salinity changed more slowly over time. Probably not but it's an interesting idea.

4:00 the folkrole around the goofus was most likley formed after someone witnessed some falcon hunting, since if the weather conditions are right they like to "hover" in the same spot while hunting and if the wind is strong enough they can be blow backwards looking like a bird thats flying back

I had to write an essay about Spring-Heeled Jack, and I loved the one account where they caught somebody who fit the description to a tee, except the lady who was attacked said that Jack could breathe fire, so they went to the suspect and he was just like "idk man I don't remember ever spitting fire" so they just let him go since he didn't show and fire-breathing potential

I have never laughed as hard in my life than at the prospect of a *hoop snake*

I like how an animal's entire existence was rethought when someone was like "yo I just saw two leopards fuckin"

the old man with the top hat popping up randomly has me in tears

Sping heeled Jack is a great example of details being lost like in a game of telephone. A woman gets attacked by a weird dude in a goofy outfit. The women says a guy in weird outfit hit her and jumped over a fence to get away, dropping his latern and starting a fire. Man is funny clothes attacked girl, created fire and jumped over a tall fence. This gets repeated from word to mouth, and suddenly, the man had red eyes, and he could breathe blue fire and the fence he jumped was actually 9 feet

"Pard" Sound like something an angry 4Chan dweller would call me as an insult

You mentioned the "hide behind" but you forgot another very common cryptid the "out of focus".

That story about lumberjacks making up creatures reminded me of a story my dad told me. It was the mid 1970's my dad was around 7 or 8 and his grandpa told him for a month that they were going to go on a Woozle hunt soon. Weeks pass and my dad is excited to go on a hunt, and his grandpa keeps telling him they'll go soon. One day in the middle of the night his grandpa wakes him up and tells him to get ready to hunt. He explains to my dad the woozles are nocturnal, so like raccoons you have to hunt them at night. He gets dressed and heads out in the woods with a shotgun and a light. Once they are in a ways his grandpa tells him that my dad should stay put here and he will go out and chases the woozles to him. My dad agrees and they go there separate ways. My dad keeps looking through the forest with his flash light trying to spot a woozle. After about 3 or 4 hours he decides to give up and look for his grandpa. He calls out for him and there's no response after a few minutes he starts to panic and he runs back to the house. When he gets home what does he find? His grandpa out on the couch drinking a beer. His grandpa then explain to him that woozle aren't real and the prank is to take someone out on a woozle hunt and see how long they will sit in the woods hunting woozles.

Just stumbled upon your channel but I already love it. The unserious narration and witty stock images add a lot to the experience

I caught a fur bearing trout. Tasted like cat fish.

ok that section on the "pard" cracked me up way more than it probably should have

a small part of me kinda wanted to see my local urban legend in this video. In Long Beach Washington there lives the mummy of an alligator monkey man hybrid we call "Jake the Alligator Man". he lives on many a bumper sticker within southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon

So sad the Hodag did not get a mention in the 'Fearsome Critters' section! It's a mysterious beastie found in the woods of Wisconsin- exactly the sort of thing loggers would tell stories about, I'm sure!

The aristocratic theory of Springheeled Jack would actually make sense. Some ancestors of mine lived in England during the Victorian Era, and we have some diaries of them. One of them writes about some young noblemen being caught drunk while running around with wolfskin and a wolfmask and scaring people.

3:45 I mean the Jackalope sightings are probably real considering that rabbits can suffer from disorders that can cause growths that look like horns sprouting out of the head

"Veggiman! Half man, half produce" Sounds like a frickin vegan's superhero 🤣

With your dismissal of the lake octopus on the basis of it being impossible - the 'peach blossom jellyfish' {Craspedacusta sowerbii} is a freshwater jellyfish found in China (and is actually becoming invasive in places) did just that. Not to say it's likely there's a octopus in that lake, just that such an adaptation isn't unprecedented.

i wish all of these were real just because i think itd be funny. like imagine youre some hardened pirate sailing uncharted ocean territory and you look to the seas and see a monkey attached to a fish and you have to break the news to people that thats what mermaids actually are. effervescent id also like to note lemon demon has a song about the spring heeled jack. i never realized what he was talking about and this has led me to realize i have zero auditory processing abilities whatsoever

When I was a kid I went to an old school circus with a bunch of sideshows and at the end they had this exhibit called the (Man eating Chicken), all of the walls were covered with pictures of huge menacing chickens with razor sharp talons and dagger lined beaks. We paid the obligatory $5 entry fee and entered to find what was indeed a Man eating Chicken, no it was literally a big fat man sitting on a stool shoving Kentucky Fried Chicken into his greasy pie hole! Pretty creative if you ask me!🤣

Spring Heeled Jack is basically an anime comic relief character IRL.

this feels like a Gravity Falls Mystery Shack ad. i love it

One of my favorites is the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.

Fish: rather than building fat, why don’t we grow fur Other fish: bro we live in the water, the fur won’t block the cold.

The fact that you use the iPhone Sci-Fi alarm sound for transitions is perfect

Informative and educational! Ty for the historical background 😊 if you ever do a pt 2 (which would be lovely!) please consider featuring the Squonk 💕

As an Oklahoman, thank you for bringing light to how freaking stupid our state's cryptid is.

Hell yeah. A worthy man to exist in Master Sam O’Nella’s absence

I like your voice and your style. I'm sold. Subscribed.

I was just smiling during this whole video, I loved it

I love the image of, some new young lumberjack, and all the other lumberjacks just make up cryptids on the spot, like “oh Greg didn’t you see that fuckin’ Goofus?” “Yeah man, what bout that hoop snake?!” And the young lumberjack is like “what’s a hoop snake?” And the team prattle on and on about hoop snakes, which they made up. And one day? That young lumberjack is walking through a field of tree stumps. And before him is a snake. Holding onto its tail, and blowing past like a tumbleweed. And he goes back to his pals, tells them. And none of them believe him, and laugh it off, tell him it’s fake. And this kid is just here, thinking this joke was real. And it was. Ol’ hoopsnakes tumbling past on stormy days.

I heard that dragons are an amalgamation of all the things we feared as primitive hominids, namely big cats, big lizards and birds of prey. Kinda makes sense since dragons appear separately in ancient cultures all around the world.

i just want to say this is my favorite channel thank you so much for making these videos

this is epic! gonna delve into this creator more for sure!!

Glad to see Grunkle Stan is still kicking with his creations.

When I learned about the Loveland Frogman/Frog I was absolutely tickled pink. It’s a cryptic that is basically just a giant frog someone saw. Also it apparently had a musical written about it but sadly I couldn’t dig up much information about it

This video randomly showed up in my feed and I immediately loved it, needed that laugh

I couldnˋt fall asleep to this bc the alien sound played for every introduction is my ringtone… shook me up every time hahaha

"You shouldn't believe in cryptids." Oh thank god, I almost believed in that silly kraken thing like that fool Carl Linnaeus. I sure am glad no squid exceeds a few feet in length.

No Slide-Rock Bolter? That was one of the strangest cryptids I stumbled across. At first, the idea of a mountain-dwelling fish-whale that destroys everything in it's path seems terrifying, until you realize that it can only devour what's in front of it as it slides down the mountain side on it's own lube-drool and has to pray that it's momentum can get it up the side of the next mountain to start the process over again.

I'm glad that someone finally had the courage to report the Veggie Man. His reign of terror has gone on long enough!

I’ve listened to so much lemon demon that whenever I hear the spring healed Jack tail I can’t think of anything except him

LMAO I remember reading something about a Jersey Devil hoax that was made: a person bought a kangaroo and put wings and painted green stripes on it and Let it Loose it's honestly one of the best hoaxes I have ever heard of.

I already knew about the fur bearing trout and the hoop snake. If you're ever attacked by a hoop snake, step to the side and then jump through the hoop. It confuses the snake and you can escape.

Dude, you have a real talent for comedy. This was one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched.

This was dumb as all get out. And I absolutely Loved it!!!!! Thanks for the laughs!👍 Perfect mix of silly and absurd with just the right atmosphere of fake mystery and "spooky" bits to make it just that much more fun to watch.

Me: Mom can we get Mermaids? Mom: We have Mermaids at home. The Mermaids at home: 2:03

I like how spring heeled jack is litteraly just a dude that has magical powers. he doesn't have any interesting looks at all, I actually don't understand how you could try and call this a "cryptid"

I seen a geese flying backwards on a super windy day. It was crazy. A whole bunch of them still somewhat in formation blowing around. Some got separated.

Imagine playing a Medieval RPG, accepting quests to kill various horrible legendary beasts and just ending up never finding a single one of them in game.

I had an illustrated book of these when I was a kid, I loved that book! I remember mountain goats with 2 short left legs or 2 short right legs that could only face one way on a mountain. If a left footed met a right footed on a mountain pass, watch out! It had the goofus, hoop snake, squink, squonk, furry trout, jackelope, some sort of moon cat and a bunch I'm trying to recall. It was a wonderful book.

Jackalopes are real! Or rather, rabbits with Shope papilloma virus are likely what they're based on.

this is legit grunkle stan giving a tour of the mystery shack

I love how he uses shutterstok preview images with watermarks on it, really convey the theme of budget, love it!

THE KING HAS RETURNED

"fish people always amazed humans, and they've been searching for them ever since." spoken like a true fellow human.

i love your channel so much this is amazing

Hoop Snakes are getting added to my Pathfinder campaign

C'mon now, everyone knows that Spring-Heeled Jack was a time traveler.

Wow, I was into the Pard until you said "Leo-Pard" and I was like oh, that's definitely a joke. I looked it up, and nope, it's completely real. Humans are the goddamn dumbest. Anyway, I rate the museum 5 stars. The curator is like a sleazy salesman, but his exhibits are legit. Will be bringing my kids next time.

Just found your channel, glad I have. I've got a few to catch up on... really enjoying your take on things.

I remember seeing the Fur-Bearing Trout of Lake Superior in Antlers,a restaurant in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan that was decorated with taxidermied animals,all real save for the aforementioned trout and a jackalope

The best icebreaker question is: "You're stuck on an island. You'll be there for a long time. You have a mermaid companion. Do you want the top half or the bottom half to be fish?"

I didn't pay any money to watch this and yet I still feel like I got scammed...

I can't believe you reminded me of the Hidebehind. That used to scare me so badly when I was younger living in middle of nowhere Louisiana.

spring healed jack just sounds like a nerfed vampire

My dad was a pilot and one time when a rabbit was running across a runway him and his friend managed to convince another pilot that it was a Jackelope.

I'm glad to learn that I've been part of a long running lumberjack tradition lmao. I definitely used to make up animals to be afraid of for the younger boys around the campfire.

What a great channel! I’m stoked to be new so I can binge my one last brain cell, yayy!

Loved this channel. You get a sub dude.

"Pictured: a group of peasants going bananas" is absolutely killing me.

“Pard” is such a funny name I can’t

I don't know why it took me so long to discover this channel but I am so happy I did.

That was the intro I didn't know I needed. Thank you.

honestly, judging by how deranged the victorian era was, I'm not even surprised

The mothman is my favorite "stupid cryptid" you have to have a complete disregard for how biological anatomy works to truely believe in that fairytale

Veggie man 🤣🤣🤣 This channel is awesome, so glad I found it!!!

I remember reading a really cool novel about Spring Heeled Jack where he was a time traveler and his whole aesthetic was actually the suit he used to come back to save the reputation of his ancestor but it resulted in altering the technological course of human history.