May Monster Madness - Day 1

Today is the kickoff for the 2nd Annual May Monster Madness! Hosted by Annie Walls and her blogger buddies, Emma @ Little Gothic Horrors, and Ked @ Something Wicked this Way Comes.

How does May Monster Madness work? Well, it's a blog hop featuring posts about monsters! Anything you can think of as long as it has something to do with monsters... crafts, lists, movies, funnies (a personal favorite)... anything!

I have picked 5 main features which will be posted the 12th-16th and something simple and fun for the wrap up on the 17th.

Today, however, I will highlight some Urban Legends, Sightings, and Otherworldly creatures...

Chupucabra [tʃupaˈkaβɾa] - Literally "goat sucker") is a legendary cryptid rumored to inhabit parts of the Americas. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknown animal in the United States, especially in the Latin American communities. The name comes from the animal's reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Sighting reports of the Chupacabra have been disregarded as uncorroborated or lacking evidence, while most reports in northern Mexico and the southern United States have been verified as canids afflicted by mange. Biologists and wildlife management officials view the chupacabra as a contemporary legend.

Yeti or Abominable Snowman - Said to be an ape-like cryptid taller than an average human, similar to Bigfoot, that inhabits the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century. The scientific community generally regards the Yeti as a legend, given the lack of conclusive evidence, but it remains one of the most famous creatures of cryptozoology.

Bigfoot or Sasquatch - Name given to an ape-like creature that some people believe inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid. Most scientists discount the existence of Bigfoot and consider it to be a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, rather than a living animal, because of the lack of physical evidence and the large numbers of creatures that would be necessary to maintain a breeding population.

Mermaid/merman -  Legendary aquatic creature with the upper body of a female/male human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Mermaids are sometimes depicted as perilous creatures associated with floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drowning. In other folk traditions they can be benevolent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans. Historical sightings by sailors may have been the result of misunderstood encounters with these aquatic mammals. Christopher Columbus reported seeing mermaids while exploring the Caribbean, and sightings have been reported in the 20th and 21st centuries in Canada, Israel, and Zimbabwe. The US National Ocean Service stated in 2012 that no evidence of mermaids has ever been found.

Loch Ness (Nessie) - A cryptid, reputedly a large unknown animal that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next. Popular interest and belief in the animal's existence has varied since it was first brought to the world's attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with minimal and much-disputed photographic material and sonar readings. The most common speculation among believers is that the creature represents a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs. The scientific community regards the Loch Ness Monster as a modern-day myth, and explains sightings as including misidentifications of more mundane objects, outright hoaxes, and wishful thinking. Despite this, it remains one of the most famous examples of cryptozoology.

Slender Man - A fictional character that originated as an Internet meme created by user Victor Surge on the Something Awful forums in 2009 with the goal of editing photographs to contain supernatural entities. The Slender Man is described as very tall and thin with unnaturally long arms, often ending in tentacles. It has a pale featureless head and appears to be wearing a dark suit. The Slender Man is associated with the forest and has the ability to teleport.The Slender Man is commonly said to stalk, abduct, or traumatize people, particularly children. (My kids are horrified of this! They have some seriously scray dreams) Minecraft computer game even has it's on version of The Slender Man.

Last but not least...

Aliens or Extraterrestrials - Defined as life that does not originate from Earth especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin.
My favorite Alien movies: Independence Day, Signs, AVP, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Fourth Kind, War of the Worlds, etc.



Which one of these legends freak you out most? What alien movie is your favorite?