The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word cryptid as “An animal whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the yeti.” For the following witnesses to living cryptids, there is no dispute. This is the first in a series of National Cryptid Society’s case files, in which you will read what the witnesses themselves have experienced.

Keep an open mind when reading these accounts, and also remember one’s perception and memory of an event can be influenced by the emotions felt at the time of the occurrence. The contributors to this series of articles are doing the best they can to recount what are in some cases very shocking and traumatic experiences.

As more witnesses come forth and tell their stories, perhaps more people will pay closer attention to their surroundings.

If you have a personal cryptid sighting story you would like to tell us, our contact information is at the bottom of this article.

NCS Case File #1: Large Bipedal Creature in the Woods of North Carolina

Submitted by Leon

“In 1973 I was 9 years old, I lived on a big pig farm, I got a motorcycle for Christmas and in NC it (the temperature) can be in the 70’s in December. My dad always told me to not go down a certain right away, so as soon as I could I went down that right away. Nothing happened for a few months. Around April, I had gotten used to riding that path and [still] nothing strange happened.

But at the end of April beginning of May I started feeling like something was watching me. I started hearing things in the woods. I started seeing some tree limbs in the path. One day I had went down the path and I stopped at the bottom and I heard something heavy coming through the woods. I looked up and saw a big creature walk across the path. It was on two feet and it turned and looked at me and then it was gone.

I gunned my bike and got the hell out of there, I didn’t tell anyone about this for 40 years, then a couple years ago I mentioned it to my oldest brother and he told me [he] saw it when he was a kid and that’s why dad said don’t go down that right away. Then I mentioned it to one of my sisters and she said she had heard our dad talk about it and how he had to start taking a gun when we went to feed the pigs. I always wondered why my dad took a gun all the time while we were on our own land, now I would love to see it again.”

NCS Case File #2: Skunk ape and Sasquatch in Florida and Michigan

Submitted by Andrew

“Well to begin I get my native American blood from my mother’s side, her mother was full blooded Chippewa although they didn’t talk much about [it] so I sought out elders when I was in my early twenties. When I was about 12 years old mom and dad got divorced and we moved to Florida where my mother’s half sisters lived… While visiting my aunt Caroline who lived in a little town called Osprey 15 miles south of Sarasota which is on the western coast of Florida south of Tampa is where I saw a skunk ape.

My mom and my aunt were talking so I decided to take a walk as I love nature. I headed for a wooded area. I had to cross a cow pasture to get to the woods about half way across the pasture is when I saw this hairy man like creature standing next to a palmedo bush just staring at me… that is all I remember because the next thing I know I’m walking on the street in front of my aunt’s house. I never told anyone until years later.

Again in my twenties at my Dads house in Michigan there was a summer of strange events. Something was breathing outside my window so loud it woke me out of a sound sleep. My step mother confided in me she saw a tall hairy man run across the back yard at night. My dad had two different events where something was making a high pitched noise and slapped the side of the trailer. My uncle who lived across the street said one night he heard what sounded like to grown men wrestling in the woods behind his house.

During this time one of my elders had asked my dad if he and a couple friends could build a sweat lodge on my dad’s 15 acres. My dad said yes so they came out to do the ceremony. It was a year later and they hadn’t built the lodge, so I went to [the elders] and asked if something was wrong. One of them said ‘it didn’t feel right.’

I decided to tell them about the weird experiences which had stopped after they did ceremony on my dad’s land. All they said that it was “unchee” which meant Bigfoot. They explained he shows up when things are out of balance to remind people to live in a good way to restore balance. Later I learned about putting down tobacco when entering the woods in their territory and asking permission to pass through. It is said that they will guide you and protect you although you will not know they are there usually.

The Bigfoot is also known as “kitchie sabe” and it is taught they brought honesty to the people.”

NCS Case File # 3: Unknown Pale White Beings in the Midwest

Submitted by FrancoisLeMew

“I grew up on 32 acres of woods in the Midwest. When I was in 6th grade, I looked out the living room window and saw a white reflection. My mom grabbed a flashlight and looked out the window, she could see some white animal crawling around on the ground in the clearing by our house. It was approximately raccoon-sized, but white and apparently able to get 3′ up to the window.

The next morning, before sunrise, I was letting my dog outside. He ran out the garage door and began barking and growling (completely out of character for him). I stepped around the door frame and saw an approximately 5′ tall pale being with two huge, glowing eyes and some form of round glowing item where a mouth or neck might be. My sixth grade self screamed, turned, and ran back inside, leaving my mother and dog out to fend for themselves.

By the time my mom figured out what happened and I calmed down enough to come back out, the thing was gone. To this day, I’m terrified of the woods surrounding their house at night. When I visit, I leave before sunset or have someone walk me to my car. It has been over 15 years. I would also like to add that I don’t believe in “aliens” or “ghosts” or anything, but I have no clue what these things were.”

NCS Case File #4: Large Wolf-Like Creature in West Virginia

Courtesy of Koality_time_

“Late the other night around midnight, I was driving home through the back roads as usual. I approached a slow speed turn and felt an urge to slow myself more than normal, and as the headlights rounded the turn a large, dark figure broke the woodline and strode across the rode on all four legs. As it crossed the lights I caught a prolonged look at a large, wolf-like creature with thick, coarse, black, patchy coat.

It turned its head and it’s large, yellow eyes resembled the moon which had been vibrant and bright all weekend. The shoulders stood approximately four to five feet tall, its body was as long as the lane I was in (not including head or tail). The encounter has left me physically and mentally shaken, I’ve never seen anything like it with my own eyes… I spend a lot of time outdoors and in the woods, wolves aren’t native to our area, the closest zoo is a few hours away, no local wolf-dog breeders.”

NCS Case File #5: Pterosaur in India.

Submitted by Madaboutsnails

“This happend a few years ago, perhaps 5. My boyfriend and I were visiting the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary near Mysore in South India.

An absolutely beautiful place, where the Kaveri river flows lazily amongst small, heavily forested islets, the trees crowded with nests of painted storks, spoonbills, cranes and dozens of other species. Freshwater crocodiles lurk in the dark waters, all too eager to snap up unwary birds or an unfortunate fledgling. Here the trees are not only home to the birds, but also big flying foxes; the India fruit bat.

It was here we saw it, while gently being rowed around in a small wooden boat. At first we thought it was a fruit bat. Although they tend to roost during the day there were still the odd ones flaunting convention and wheeling around in broad daylight. They first thing we noticed was its size. I know that India fruit bats are large, very large, but this dwarfed them. We were close with nothing obscuring our vision, probably about 50 meters away over the open water.

It was at least four times bigger than the large bats with about a 7 meters (about 20 foot) wing span, and it glided while they flapped. It swooped down to the water, and on the wing plucked a 60-70cm (about 2 foot) fish effortlessly out the water, carrying it off, thrashing, in one claw. Its body was smooth, not furry, and a mixture of grays, whereas the bats are clearly very dark brown to black. As it flew off, its silhouette was clearly not that of a bat, the anatomy different.

This was not a flying fox. I am sure of it. I have seen many flying foxes, up close. This was huge and distinctly different. Also, fruit bats are vegetarian, eating, well, fruit and not fish. I have been a avid studier of nature for years, and I am aware that you get fishing bats, but not only are they small, but there are no fishing bats in India. It was not a bird of prey; the taut, membranous skin of its wings clearly stretched out between the bones of its ‘fingers’. The India flying fox is the largest species [of bat] in the world, this was bigger, much bigger. They were practically side by side for comparison.”

NCS Case File #6: Large Aquatic Creature in Lake Ontario

Submitted by DeadcellKody

“I live next to Lake Ontario. One day I was out for a walk with a friend along the pier and marina. There were dozens of carp just hanging around chilling like carps do, you know, just kind of lazily floating looking for food. Well I’m watching these fish because I love watching underwater creatures from above the surface.

Suddenly they all scatter…like fast, some with splashing some without. My first thought of course was either a predator or someone jumped in the water both of which I didn’t see happen. About 20 meters out this thing crested the surface. It was pretty long and very dark and slowly came to the surface and dove in one smooth motion. It rose again several meters and crested in the same way and I remember thinking that there was something very odd about the shape this time…as if it was thicker now than the first time. I later realized that it could have been very long and I was seeing two separate parts of its body.

I still don’t know what I saw. My friend said it was a log or a fish and really isn’t open to the idea that it was something unexplained.”

NCS Case File #7: Unnaturally Large, Dark Dog in the Cornfields of Ohio

Submitted by trollings2easy

“My girlfriend and I saw a black dog in rural Ohio. It charged at us while we were sitting in my backyard which is surrounded by corn fields. Right at the last second it veered off and ran right past us and we watched it seemingly vanish.

It was around 1 a.m. and a full moon that was so bright you could see everything clearly. It was much larger than the biggest dogs I’ve ever seen, on all fours it easily was at chest level. Its legs moved like a dog’s when it ran except that it seemed like it glided over the ground. It was an eerily quiet night, and it made not even the faintest sound the entire time.

Something that large would have made a sound off the ground or at least a breathing sound or something. It ran directly at us and in front of us probably about 10 feet and didn’t make any noise. It had incredibly black fur, it was unnaturally dark.

The next day I had found out my great aunt past away around that same time that night in the hospital. We still try and just tell each other it was just a black bear or large dog but we both know it wasn’t.”

NCS Case File #8: Fairies in Western France

Submitted by FrenchCrepe

“I know it sounds stupid, and I think there’s a logical explanation for what we saw, but I just don’t have it yet.

It happened only once, seven years ago, during the day, spring or summer. I was at my parent’s new house (Western France, in the country). I was talking to my mom, we were sitting on the sofa, next to the window. Then I watched a creature, flying from that window to the one in the next room. I only lasted 2-3 seconds, but I saw it clearly; it was the size of a bird (smaller than a pigeon), it was dark-brown, it seemed to have small wings, one or two pairs, it was thin, and shaped like a human.

I looked at my mom, asked her if she saw it too, she said yes. I asked what she thought it was, she said she didn’t know and that she didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

I know it sounds crazy, and I would not believe that story if I hadn’t seen that thing with my own eyes.”

NCS Case File #9: Bipedal Deer with Dog’s Legs (possible shapeshifter)

Submitted by MCCornflake1

“I’m not sure what it would be, but I can describe like it was yesterday. I was about 13 or 14, I was at my cousins house, and we were playing hide and seek outside. He lived in the more “woodsy” part of NE Ohio. His house had a creek that ran down one side of his property, and the driveway was on the opposite side of the house.

It was getting dark and I was the one searching. I heard leaves crumpling, and when I turned to look, I saw what looked like a deer on its hind legs. I clearly remember seeing “dog legs” running, but the rest of the body was straight up. And it ran with incredible speed, and I knew it wasn’t either of my cousins hiding. I ran as fast as I could back to the house, and my one of my cousins was running in too, he saw the same thing. It still creeps me out to this day, because my uncle always told us how he saw weird things on that property.”

NCS Case File #10: Gnome-Like Creature in Tampico Tamaulipas Mexico

Submitted by creeped_out31

This happened to me, my little brother and cousin I was about 14 years old and it was around dusk. We decided to go play basketball at the outside courts it was still daylight when we first got there and we usually start heading home about dusk or when the court lights come on, it was only a few blocks away from our grandma’s house. When the lights come on is usually when the bigger kids get the court to play, but this time we were fortunate enough to have the whole court to ourselves.

We were shooting hoops like normal nothing out of the ordinary and the lights came on. But we were having fun anyways, the game was 21 so two of us would stand to the side of the hoop depending on which direction the ball would go so it wouldn’t roll to the street.

On one of these shots that my cousin made ball just missed the hoop and bounced behind it. I managed to grab it before leaving the court when I saw a strange creature. It was like a little person no bigger than 2 feet, it had the face of an old man with a fairly large nose old ragged clothes that looked like they were handmade and a hat something like a garden gnome would were one of those pointy hats but it wasn’t straight up it hanged down to the side.

It was crouched down almost like in hiding and when I got too close to it that’s when it stood up looked at me and ran away from me believe me my first thought was not to chase it. I was scared stiff but my cousin and little brother saw it too and ran. When it ran it was headed for the other side of the court. I couldn’t believe the speed of it for this thing; to be so small it made it to the other side in mere seconds almost a blink of an eye. It ran behind the post and it was gone.

I snapped out of it and I started to run home as well. As I ran past that same post this thing ran behind I turned to look to see if it was there but it was gone. When I got home my little brother and cousin had already told the adults there what had happened and they told us that these creatures are called Duendes.”

Read National Cryptid Society Case Files 2nd Edition for case files 11-20.

If you or someone you know has had an encounter with a cryptid, strange creature or what you could only describe as some kind of monster, tell us your story!

You can submit your sighting directly to us HERE.

And to get up-to-date information on our articles, please like and follow the National Cryptid Society’s Facebook Page.

Join the conversations on these various platforms:

Join our Reddit conversation HERE.

Join our Quora conversation HERE.

Join our Disqus conversation HERE.

Advertisements