Cryptids

Hysteria over the “grease devil” urban legend is causing riots in Sri Lanka

Over the course of August, Sri Lanka’s countryside has been whipped into a mass hysteria by an urban legend known as “the grease devil.” Rumors of these supernatural prowlers have rural townspeople attacking suspected grease devils, and people are dying as a result. The panic over these nocturnal creatures has gotten so bad that the…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

“Living fossil” eel found in underwater cave

The term “living fossil” gets bandied about a lot, but this eel found in an underwater cave in the Pacific Ocean is unlike any living relative, and has features that are only found in the fossilized remains of its ancient brethren. Found in a cave 35 meters underwater in the Republic of Palau, Protoanguilla palau…

io9 Tim Barribeau

Paranormal Investigator Joe Nickell Reveals the Truth Behind Modern Cryptozoological Myths

Paranormal investigator and cryptozoologist Joe Nickell has spent 40 years doing fieldwork and research, digging for the truth behind bizarre phenomena like weeping statues and haunted houses. He invited us to his office to talk about the connections between Bigfoot and alien mythology, life as the token skeptic on TV, and why debunkers are just…

io9 Ed Grabianowski

The very best fake monster pictures that you created!

All summer long, you’ve been chasing cryptids, or mystery animals, for our Cryptid Summer bounty. And you’ve also diligently been producing pictures of fake cryptids because, well, it just wouldn’t be monster season without a lot of photoshopping. Here is the summer’s last batch of fake cryptids – would any of these fool you? https://gizmodo.com/io9-offers-2000-bounty-for-authentic-photos-of-cryptid-5812013…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Chupacabra-like roadkill flummoxes Minnesota town

The mowed-down remains of a small white mammal have captured the imaginations of residents of Douglas County, Minnesota. Although the creature resembles a badger, its tail has left wildlife officals perplexed. Could we be looking at the Montauk Monster Midwest? Says KSAX: D.N.R. Area Wildlife Supervisor Kevin Kotts said Friday that after examining the remains,…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Chupacabra attacks on the rise in Siberia

Despite the absolutely Dullsville real-world explanations for chupacabras, it seems as if the dreaded goat-sucker has hopped continents. https://gizmodo.com/chupacabras-are-just-coyotes-with-scabies-says-biologi-5671700 https://gizmodo.com/actress-natasha-henstridge-is-the-chupacabra-for-real-5784498 According to The Moscow News, towns outside of the Russian city of Novosibirsk are abuzz with rumors of chupacabras, who are said to be sipping on some bovine and goaty hemoglobin. One local named Natalya…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

What is going on at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center?

Bloated raccoon? A human/animal hybrid? Whatever it is, the Montauk Monster washed ashore on Long Island, NY, and subsequently broke the internet in half when its picture began circulating online. Newsday, a Long Island news outlet, quoted one of the locals who found the creature, Jenna Hewitt, saying: http://gawker.com/5030531/dead-monster-washes-ashore-in-montauk We were looking for a place…

io9 Keith Veronese

Which of these fake monsters could fool you?

All summer, io9 is offering a bounty to anyone who can find a genuine cryptid, or mystery animal. But to keep you amused in the meantime, we’re doing a contest for who can create the best fake cryptid. https://gizmodo.com/io9-offers-2000-bounty-for-authentic-photos-of-cryptid-5812013 We’ve gotten some pretty funny entries so far, some of which might even be convincing. Would…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Alien life form discovered in China turns out to be hairless monkey

The people of a Chinese village thought they’d encountered E.T. — but it turned out to be a malnourished monkey with no hair. Mao Xiping spotted the creature eating cucumbers in her garden in Gezhai Village, and thought it was a rabbit at first. “At first I thought it was a rabbit, then I was…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

13-year-old shoots a chupacabra in Texas

A young man identifying himself as Carter Pope claims to have shot and killed what he believes was a chupacabra in Texas. How did he know it was the legendary monster? Apparently, it was hairless and had “shriveled up” back legs. Good going, Pope — you probably killed an old, injured dog. According to Live…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Cryptid or Not? You Be The Judge (Round Two)

We’ve gotten more intriguing cryptid photos from people trying to win our Cryptid Summer bounty. Here are a few of the pictures people have sent us over the past two weeks, ranging from highly plausible to downright bizarre. https://gizmodo.com/io9-offers-2000-bounty-for-authentic-photos-of-cryptid-5812013 Now you can vote on which you think might really be cryptids. We’ll consider your votes…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The Weirdest Mystery Animals in the World

There are hundreds of mysterious cryptids in the world, a mythical menagerie of barely-glimpsed monsters, lost species, and terrifying legends. But let’s face it: most of them are pretty pedestrian lake monsters and Sasquatch variants. There are a few, however, that are so bizarre you kind of hope they’re real. Here are our favorites. Dingonek…

io9 Ed Grabianowski

We want your pictures of fake monsters!

Sick of all the crappy Bigfoot fakes? The blurry shots of Nessie? We know you can do better than that. Use your best image-doctoring skills, makeup wizardry, or just crafty DiY awesomeness, to create a photograph that looks like you’ve discovered a real monster. https://gizmodo.com/bigfoot-conference-verdict-big-fat-hoax-5037738 Give us your best faked image of a cryptid, or…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The Lizard Man is terrorizing South Carolina again

In 1988, Bishopville, South Carolina fell under the thrall of a dark and handsome Lizard Man. After being out of the limelight for 20+ years, the Lizard Man’s returned to carve up random automobiles and shards of metal. Local news anchors were on hand to welcome his scaly excellence. Don’t call it a comeback! [WLTX…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Mothman: An Exposé

A bizarre creature terrorized a town in West Virginia in 1966 and 1967, leering at locals with glowing red eyes, flying over their cars and causing radiation burns and even the collapse of a major bridge over the Ohio River. Half man, half moth? Ultradimensional being? Alien from another planet? What was Mothman? What began…

io9 Ed Grabianowski

Cryptid Or Not? You Be The Judge.

We’ve gotten a lot of great cryptid photos from people trying to win our Cryptid Summer bounty, and even some video. Here are a few of the pictures people have sent us over the past two weeks — some are a little disturbing, so be warned. https://gizmodo.com/io9-offers-2000-bounty-for-authentic-photos-of-cryptid-5812013 Now you can vote on which you think…

io9 Annalee Newitz

How do you know if you’ve found a genuine new species? Zoologist Mark Siddall explains.

You’re out in the wilderness — or maybe just your front yard — and you see a really weird animal. It’s like a cross between a bat and a frog. Have you discovered a new species? If so, how would you prove it? We asked American Museum of Natural History zoologist Mark Siddall for some…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The very weirdest theories about the Loch Ness Monster

What is the Loch Ness Monster? No one knows, but that hasn’t stopped legions of armchair cryptozoologists from formulating one theory after another on the subject of the world’s most famous lake creature. Ok, it isn’t entirely true that we don’t know anything about what Nessie is – a lot of evidence indicates that the…

io9 Ed Grabianowski

Cyclopean baby shark smiles for the camera (despite being dead)

According to the Pisces Fleet Sportsfishing blog, this one-eyed bull shark fetus was removed from a mother caught in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. Apparently shark researcher Felipe Galvan Magaña is now examining this monocular specimen. Will the mystery of baby sharkclops ever be solved? More importantly, are we looking at SyFy’s inevitable Saturday night D-movie…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Punch-drunk imp terrorizing Argentinian town

Here’s some more weirdness from Argentina, courtesy of the eminently entertaining Inexplicata blog. According to police of the town of Suncho Corral, an “imp” with a proclivity for boxing is making residents’ lives extremely harrowing. https://gizmodo.com/angelic-squid-descends-over-argentina-bringing-tentacl-5811967 From Rosario 3 (translation via Inexplicata): Local residents state that the small creature appears in dark places and pummels…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Hysteria over the “grease devil” urban legend is causing riots in Sri Lanka

“Living fossil” eel found in underwater cave

Paranormal Investigator Joe Nickell Reveals the Truth Behind Modern Cryptozoological Myths

The very best fake monster pictures that you created!

Chupacabra-like roadkill flummoxes Minnesota town

Chupacabra attacks on the rise in Siberia

What is going on at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center?

Which of these fake monsters could fool you?

Alien life form discovered in China turns out to be hairless monkey

13-year-old shoots a chupacabra in Texas

Cryptid or Not? You Be The Judge (Round Two)

The Weirdest Mystery Animals in the World

We want your pictures of fake monsters!

The Lizard Man is terrorizing South Carolina again

Mothman: An Exposé

Cryptid Or Not? You Be The Judge.

How do you know if you’ve found a genuine new species? Zoologist Mark Siddall explains.

The very weirdest theories about the Loch Ness Monster

Cyclopean baby shark smiles for the camera (despite being dead)

Punch-drunk imp terrorizing Argentinian town

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