CRYPTOHUMANS

Cryptohumans are mysterious human-like creatures with non-human, animal-like characteristics. Mainstream science says they do not exist. There is either no physical evidence or the flimsiest physical evidence for their existence---only unverified eyewitness “sightings”. Scientists explain such “sightings” as anything from hysteria to simple mistaken identity. But such “sightings”, especially if they persist over centuries, are the stuff from which myths and legends are born.

We are all familiar with the cryptohumans of Western civilization’s past. The mythological Centaur was half man, half horse. The Satyr was half man, half goat. There were others. Although no one believes in these creatures today, the ancient Greeks certainly did.

Belief in cryptohumans has been around for a long time.

At present, the two most famous cryptohumans are Bigfoot (allegedly roaming in the mountainous regions of the western United States) and Yeti (the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas). Many today still believe in one, the other, or both.

Lesser-known cryptohumans of today include the Nandi Bear of East Africa. Accounts of this creature date back to the writings of the ancient Roman, Pliny the Elder. It is now believed the Nandi Bear may be a hyena. The Chupacabra of Puerto Rico is described by witnesses as having the face of a panther, the legs of a kangaroo, and the fangs of a vampire bat. The New Jersey Devil of the U.S. supposedly possesses the face of a lion and the legs of an eagle. The Ye Rhen of central China is described as being similar in appearance to Yeti. Interestingly, quite different from other cryptohumans who leave no physical trace, the Ye Rhen allegedly left hair behind after one “sighting”. According to THE NEW YORK TIMES (16 June 1990), this hair was analyzed by U.S. scientists in Ohio and found to be unlike the hair of any known animal species.

Belief in cryptohumans will not go away.

Why do we humans believe in such human-like creatures? In the past, less knowledge of the animal world, ignorance of biological processes, widespread beliefs in superstitions, higher rates of people with gigantism, dwarfism, and other human abnormalities due to genetic causes, poor nutrition, etc., and the greater likelihood that one was more likely to live near ferocious animals no doubt contributed to such beliefs. Two hundred years ago both bears and wolves roamed throughout Europe. The distinction between animal and human has not always been so clear.

At present, we have no real reason to believe in cryptohumans. No corner of the earth is unexplored. All human cultures have been discovered. No human-sized terrestrial animal is unknown to science. There may be some in the unexplored lowest depths of the oceans. We have no real reasons to believe in cryptohumans, except perhaps that we want to believe.

Cryptohumans could be a source for the projections of our fears or the alleviation of our guilt---another haven for our nightmares. Or we may simply be entertained and intrigued by the possibility that there are as well as human beings, human-like beings.

Maybe there is comfort in the feeling that, in another way, we are not alone.

The Mothman of the rural Appalacian Mountains of the eastern United States is one of the lesser-known cryptohumans. What is fascinating about this case is that, unlike stories of other cryptohumans that have been told for centures, the Mothman is new. It was first sighted in 1966, is one of the most difficult to dismiss, and is certainly one of the weirdest.

On the night of 12 November 1966 near Clendenin, West
Virginia five men reported seeing something that looked like a “brown human being” lifting off from some nearby trees and flying over their heads. The “being” was again reported later that night by a pair of young married couples driving past a deserted factory near the neighbouring community of Point Pleasant. The four reported seeing a creature that stood about six or seven feet tall, had the basic shape of a biped, possessed a large pair of eyes, and exhibited large wings that were folded against its back. The witnesses claimed the eyes were “hypnotic”. The creature flew quickly and followed the four who drove away in their car. Later, the creature was seen standing on a hillside near the road. It spread its gigantic wings, which resembled those of a bat, and rose into the air with little effort. The creature began to follow the car as it sped nearly one hundred miles an hour towards Point Pleasant. When the couples reached the town limits of Point Pleasant, the creature broke off its chase and turned back. The two couples noticed a large dead dog on a hill near the road as they entered town. Later that night, when returning to the scene with police, the dog could not be found.

On the same night, another witness was watching television at about 10:30pm when the television picture and sound disappeared. The witness, a building contractor, claimed the picture was then replaced by a "fine herring bone pattern" and the sound was then replaced by a "loud whining noise." At the same time his dog began to howl on the porch. After stepping onto his porch, the witness saw his dog run towards a barn that was about four hundred and fifty feet away. The witness claimed to have shone a light in the direction of the barn that revealed a large creature of some sort with two large, round, red eyes. The dog was an experienced hunting dog and used to fighting and fending for itself. Too scared, the witness did not try to follow his dog and instead barricaded himself inside his house all night. The next morning, when looking for his dog, the witness found dog tracks running in a circle, as if the dog had been chasing something in the sky which had kept in a tight ring. As police and journalist investigations proceeded, a reporter soon nicknamed the creature "Mothman", after a once popular Batman comic book character.

Another sighting involved two adults and their infant on 16 November. After visiting friends, the family left a house and began walking to their car when suddenly a large figure rose from behind the vehicle. The woman was so frightened by the creature that she dropped her baby. As the creature unfolded its gigantic wings, the man scooped up the child and dragged the stunned women back into the house. The witnesses later claimed that the creature was a "big gray thing" that was "bigger then a man". The creature had no distinct head but a large stump that rose from its shoulders. The creature then followed them to the porch, where it emitted strange sounds and looked inside the windows. But by the time police arrived, the creature was gone.

Many “sightings” took place in the area over the next year. One “mass sighting” involved more than 100 witnesses.

Several theories emerged to explain the creature. The most prominent is that witnesses merely mistook a large Sand Hill Crane or perhaps a very large owl for “Mothman”. Perhaps too, group hysteria, fears, and overactive imaginations may have played a role. Witnesses mostly disagree with both explanations. The case of “Mothman” remains open.

 

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