The 11 best cryptozoological monsters

What’s better than an animal you’ve already seen and know all about? An animal that can’t even be proven to actually exist. Collected below are the 11 best beasties that can only be seen in grainy photographs and half-remembered tales from local weirdos.

Bigfoot

Sasquatch, Yeti, Skunk Ape, Yowie, Harry and many, many more. They go by different names depending on where they’re said to reside, but as far as I’m concerned, they’re all Bigfoots. Some of the most frequently sighted cryptids are ape-like humanoids, which – depending where you fall on the skepticism spectrum – says either something about our shared, cross-cultural delusions or the preponderance of bigfoots running around out there.

Shug Monkey

More or less a cross between a dog and a monkey, the Shug Monkey is native to eastern England and, depending on who tells it, either a cryptid, a demon or maybe just an ape that got loose from somewhere. The Shug Monkey hasn’t been seen since before World War II, which I like to take as evidence that it got a nice shave before serving King and Country proudly in the war.

Jersey Devil

Another well-known one, the Jersey Devil is said to be some kind of flying, hooved kangaroo thing with a goat head, which, frankly, makes us wonder why it wasn’t on our list of Best Hybrid Monsters. Though the Jersey Devil has become a kind of mascot for the Garden State, it has its origins in an odd mixture of old wives tales, American Indian names for the region where it makes its home and flat-out hoaxes.

Ayia Napa Sea Monster

The Ayia Napa Sea Monster is a cool one because it is more or less a modern descendent of Scylla, the mythical sea monster from the Odyssey. These days, the big tentacled beastie is said to hang out near Cape Greco, which just so happens to be conveniently located near a popular Mediterranean tourist resort, where you can take boat trips out to hopefully catch a glimpse of it. VERY CONVENIENT.

Jba Fofi

There’s nothing fancy about Jba Fofi. It doesn’t have a supernatural origin, it’s not an alien and it doesn’t combine pieces of several different monsters. It’s just a big, honking spider – basically a four to six foot tarantula. Initially, back in 1938, the Jba Fofi was said to live in the Congo, but since then, giant spiders have been spotted in New Guinea, Cameroon, the Amazon and even the US of A.

Mothman

The Mothman is a winged humanoid with glowing red eyes that gets up to trouble in its native West Virginia. That in and of itself would probably be enough to warrant inclusion in this list, but the Mothman faithful have gone further. Since the first sighting back in 1966, belief in the Mothman has grown and mutated to the point where the cryptid is tied in with multiple other conspiracy theories, including UFOs, government coverups and more.

Dingonek

The top line on this one is “jungle walrus.” It’s said to reside in the Congo, and possesses not only the tusks of a walrus, but also a scorpion TAIL, and is typically said to be between 9 and 18 feet in length, which, frankly, just seems kind of excessive. The most interesting thing about the Dingonek is that there is an ancient cave painting in South Africa that fits the description of the beast almost exactly.

Melon Heads

I love the Melon Heads because they are as bizarre as they are specific. On the surface, there’s not all that much impressive about them: Little people with big, round heads that pop out and attack people in Michigan, Ohio and Connecticut. Depending on what region you’re talking about, explanations for the Melon Heads range from child victims of bizarre experiments, to escaped asylum inmates, to good old fashioned inbreeding. What’s truly fascinating about the Melon Heads, however, is that their appearances aren’t just tied to specific areas, but specific parts of specific roads in those regions.

Chupacabra

The Chupacabra is a cryptid of a much more recent vintage, only rearing its head in 1995, when a group of eight exsanguinated sheep were found in Puerto Rico. Since then, there have been reports of the Chupacabra – said to be either a hopping, reptilian creature or some kind of hairless dog-beast – in Mexico, the United States, Chile and even in Russia and the Philippines.

Mongolian Death Worm

The Mongolian Death Worm is like something out of Dune: A big, oversized, red worm that can spit deadly acid or even shoot out electricity. It is said to live in the Gobi Desert of – you guessed it – Mongolia, where it just kinda hangs out underground most of the year until it comes up to wreak havoc in June and July.

Loch Ness Monster

Finally, another old standby: The Loch Ness Monster. Like the Bigfoot, the lake-dwelling monster is an extremely popular cryptid archetype, and in my opinion, it’s even a little bit better. That’s because I’m absolutely in love with the idea that a big dinosaur-esque creature could not only live in a lake, but also remain hidden, despite the fact that a lake is such a relatively small and finite area.

These are our favorite cryptids, but there are hundreds more of them out there, from all over the world. Tell us your favorites in the comments!