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?

A to Z - Legends and the Lovins Good

Land of the Dead

Three years ago an unknown global phenomenon occurs which causes any recently deceased person with an intact brain to reanimate into a zombie to feed on the living, effectively causing the zombie apocalypse. Today, survivors have set up outposts across the United States, one of these outposts is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where a feudal-like government has taken hold. Bordered on three sides by rivers and on the fourth by an electric fence, the city has become a sanctuary. Fiddler's Green is where the rich and powerful live in luxury, while the rest of the population subsists in pathetic squalor. This doesn’t last long when “Big Daddy” discovers him and the rest of the undead can walk on the riverbed to make it to the city.

What happens next? Watch it. It’s a great zombie flick.

Legend

A cult classic. In a world of unicorns, fairies, goblins, and demons, the Lord of Darkness begs Mother Night for her protection, lamenting his isolation, exiled underground by an unseen force. He senses the presence of two unicorns who safeguard the power of light, and asks his goblin servant, Blix, to find and destroy them. They are to bring him the horns, to create a lasting darkness and ensure that sunshine never returns only to be overthrown by Jack and Princess Lily.
I remember seeing this film, which Stars Tom Cruise, when I was younger and it has always held such a strong hold to my heart.

C.S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland.

Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends.

In 1956 he married the American writer Joy Davidman, 17 years his junior.

Lewis died three years after his wife, as the result of renal failure. His death came one week before his 65th birthday. Media coverage of his death was minimal; he died on 22 November 1963—the same day that U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and the same day another famous author, Aldous Huxley, died.

Lewis's works have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Luna Lovegood

A Ravenclaw student one year younger than Harry. She is described as having straggly, waist-length dirty blond hair and a "permanently surprised look". Rowling has often said that Luna is the "anti-Hermione", as Hermione is "inflexible and logical", as opposed to Luna, who relies on faith. Luna is at first socially isolated at school, but she appears to care little for what others think.
She is a main protagonist in war against the Dark Lord. Luna becomes a member of Dumbledore's Army. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville in the conflict with Death Eaters at the Department of Mysteries. When Death Eaters attack Hogwarts, Luna, Ginny and Neville are the sole D.A. members who answer the call to protect Hogwarts. She returns to school for her sixth year, where she and Neville help Ginny secretly revive the D.A. to oppose Snape's regime as Hogwarts headmaster. She also helps Harry get into Ravenclaw common room. After Harry's apparent death, Luna ends up dueling Bellatrix Lestrange, along with Hermione and Ginny, until Molly Weasley takes over and defeats Bellatrix herself.

Rowling revealed that, after Hogwarts, Luna pursues a career that is "the wizarding equivalent" of a naturalist. She also accepted that some of her father's beliefs were, after all, not so true. She married a fellow naturalist named Rolf, the grandson of Newt Scamander. Luna and Rolf had twin boys, Lorcan and Lysander. After Harry and Ginny are married, they name their daughter Lily Luna.

 Luna "Sexpot" Lovegood. This is taking the name a lil too seriously!

And how about this strange lil picture of Harry and Luna or Daniel and Evanna...

Loki

Or Loptr is a god or jötunn (or both). Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi. And with the stallion Svaðilfari as the father, Loki gave birth—in the form of a mare—to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. In addition, Loki is referred to as the father of Váli in the Prose Edda.