“American Cryptids” — The Most Well Known Mythical Creatures From Every US State
Every state in America has its own local legends, and thanks to Barbara Davidson, we now have an illustrated guide to the most well-known mythical creatures lurking in each one.
From Bigfoot’s many regional cousins to lesser-known cryptids that sound like they were invented on a dare, this collection proves that no matter where you go, something weird is watching from the woods (or lakes, or skies).
Each wild creature comes with a brief description, so you can finally learn which nightmare fuel your state contributes to the country’s cryptid catalog.
Let’s take a look at these legendary beasts from across the U.S.
1. Alabama – White Thang
The White Thang is described as an 8-foot-tall creature covered in white hair, resembling an albino Bigfoot or a white lion with red eyes.
2. Alaska – Tizheruk
A giant sea serpent, 15 feet long with a flipper, known to snatch people from docks and piers.
3. Arizona – Mogollon Monster
A Bigfoot-like creature, 7 feet tall, covered in long hair, with red eyes and a terrible stench.
4. Arkansas – Fouke Monster
A large, hairy creature with red eyes, standing between 7 to 10 feet tall, smelling like a wet dog mixed with skunk.
5. California – Dark Watchers
Mysterious, silent dark silhouettes up to 15 feet tall, seen against the twilight sky, often with cloaks and hats.
6. Colorado – Slide-Rock Bolter
A whale-like mountain monster with a huge mouth and flared tail, last seen a hundred years ago.
7. Connecticut – Melon Heads
Inbred cannibal descendants of asylum patients, with huge heads and bulging eyes, lurking in the woods.
8. Delaware – Selbyville Swamp Monster
Described inconsistently as either a hairy bipedal creature or a ghost-like figure, initially a hoax by an actor.
9. Florida – Skunk Ape
A large, foul-smelling, hairy ape-like creature that runs upright on two legs, hiding in the swampland.
10. Georgia – Altamaha-ha
A 20-30 feet long green cryptid with a sturgeon-like body, large protruding eyes, and sharp teeth.
11. Hawaii – Menehune
Tiny beings, about 2 feet tall, appearing only at night to build structures, rarely seen by humans.
12. Idaho – Sharlie
A 35-feet long lake monster with a dinosaur-like head, humps, and a shell-like complexion.
13. Illinois – The Enfield Horror
A hissing, three-legged creature, 4 1/2 feet tall, with pink flashlight-like eyes and kangaroo-like movement.
14. Indiana – Beast of Busco
A gigantic snapping turtle, reportedly the size of a Volkswagen, seen in the late 1940s.
15. Iowa – Van Meter Monster
A human-shaped bat with giant wings and a glowing horn, last seen escaping into a mine shaft.
16. Kansas – Sink Hole Sam
An eel-like creature, 15 feet long, believed to have escaped from a prehistoric underground cavern.
17. Kentucky – The Kelly Little Green Men / Hopkinsville Goblins
Silver, greenish-glow aliens whose bullets bounce off them, tormenting a farmhouse in 1955.
18. Louisiana – Rougarou / Loup-Garou
A shapeshifting werewolf, often described with a human body and a wolf’s head, glowing red eyes, and sharp teeth.
19. Maine – Specter Moose
An enormous, ghostly white moose, 10-15 feet tall with glowing antlers, appearing and disappearing at will.
20. Maryland – Chessie
A serpent-like creature, 25-40 feet long, with flippers, swimming like a snake in Chesapeake Bay.
21. Michigan – The Michigan Dogman
A seven-foot-tall creature with a canine-like appearance and a human torso, known for its fearsome howl.
22. Minnesota – Wendigo
A gaunt, ash-gray creature that gives off a disturbing odor, known for its cannibalistic tendencies.
23. Massachusetts – Dover Demon
A creature with rosy orange skin, a large head on a small body, glowing eyes, and often traveling on all fours.
24. Mississippi – Pascagoula River Aliens
Robot-like aliens, just over 5 feet tall, with carrot-shaped heads, emerging from a glowing egg-shaped spaceship.
25. Missouri – Momo (Missouri Monster)
A foul-smelling, hairy creature with three-toed footprints, no neck, and a face hidden in hair.
26. Montana – Shunka Warak’in
A nearly black, wolf-like creature with high shoulders and a sloping back, known to carry off dogs.
27. Nebraska – Alkali Lake Monster
A giant brown alligator with a rhinoceros horn on its nose, 40-100 feet long, emitting a foul stench.
28. Nevada – Tahoe Tessie
An 80-foot-long serpent living in a cave beneath Lake Tahoe, often compared to Nessie.
29. New Hampshire – Wood Devils / Wood Devils of Coos County
Tall, grayish creatures, over 7 feet tall, blending in with their surroundings and startling locals.
30. New Jersey – Jersey Devil
A creature with a goat head, hooves, bat-like wings, and a barbed tail, said to be the thirteenth child cursed by its mother.
31. New Mexico – Teratorns
Giant, airplane-sized birds with wings spanning 20 feet, believed to have died out six million years ago.
32. New York – Champy
A 187-feet long lake monster with a seahorse-like head, three teeth, and a white star on its forehead, living in Champlain Lake.
33. North Carolina – The Beast of Bladenboro
A 4 1/2 feet long, bushy creature, resembling a bear or panther, known for draining the blood of horses.
34. North Dakota – Thunderbird
A colorful bird with a 12-foot wingspan, capable of stirring up storms and shooting lightning bolts from its wings.
35. Ohio- Loveland Frogmen
Human-like creatures, about 4 feet tall, with webbed hands, green leathery skin, and one holding a wand spitting sparks.
36. Oklahoma – Oklahoma Octopus
A horse-sized, shark-toothed octopus with long tentacles and leathery, reddish-brown skin, living in human-made lakes.
37. Oregon – Colossal Claude
A 40-foot-long monster with a big round body, a vicious-looking tail, and an evil, snake-like head.
38. Pennsylvania – The Squonk
A miserable creature with saggy, ill-fitting skin covered in warts, escaping captivity by crying itself into a pool of water.
39. Rhode Island – Vampire Mercy Brown
A perfectly preserved young girl, dug up from her grave, believed to be a vampire by locals.
40. South Carolina – Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp
A 7-foot-tall, green, wet creature with red eyes, scales, and three fingers, known for leaping on cars.
41. South Dakota – Taku-He
A Bigfoot-like creature, often seen in a coat and top-hat, blending in with its surroundings.
42. Tennessee – Tennessee Wildman
A seven-foot-tall, manlike creature with red eyes and a high-pitched scream, known for its aggressive behavior.
43. Texas – Chupacabra
A reptilian creature with spines along its back, known for draining the blood of livestock.
44. Utah – Bear Lake Monster
A 90-foot-long creature with short, powerful legs and a lizard-like head, living in Bear Lake.
45. Vermont – Northfield Pigman
A half-man, half-pig creature with a pig’s head and a human body, known for its grotesque appearance.
46. Virginia – Snallygaster
A dragon-like creature with tentacles, known for swooping down and snatching livestock and children.
47. Washington – Bigfoot
A bat-winged, Bigfoot-like creature with piercing red eyes, known for its eerie sightings near Mount St. Helens.
48. West Virginia – Mothman
A humanoid creature with large wings and red glowing eyes, known for its ominous appearances.
49. Wisconsin – The Beast of Bray Road
A bull-horned, spiked-backed creature with a frog-like face, known for its fierce appearance.
50. Wyoming – Jackalope
A mythical creature, part jackrabbit and part antelope, known for its humorous folklore and rare sightings.