What is an urban legend?
Urban legends of today are things like modern folk tales/folklore. These stories might be a tad bit exaggerated. A famous example of an urban legend is Nessie or the Loch Ness Monster. Some people think that there is a really living dinosaur that resembles a plesiosaurus or a big sea serpent. Unfortunately scientists have ruled that such a large creature couldn’t live today in such a small environment and have also ruled that sightings of the Loch Ness monster were just pieces of driftwood. So most of these urban legends I’ll be talking about will be big exaggerations that have formed over years. Cryptids are basically urban legends except with a lot less story or detailed lore. I’ll keep all the entries short and if there’s any that you find interesting, research it more.
Alabama
The White Thang. It’s been spotted throughout the 1990s. A local news station in Alabama, WAFF 48, has articles about it. The White Thang looks a lot like Bigfoot, 10ft tall, hairy, but is white instead of a brownish color. There’s some speculation that the White Thang and Bigfoot are related.
Alaska
Tizheruk. Described as a sea serpent. It is located in subarctic waters of the King and Nunuk islands. All spotting of Tizheruk have only been able to see its head or tail so we don’t know what its body looks like. It’s very comparable to the Loch Ness monster we already talked about.
Arizona
The Mogollon Monster. It’s a large and tall monster that’s bipedal, walks on two legs like us. Has hair all over its body other than the face, feet, chest or hands. Supposedly it smells really bad, like a skunk spraying onto you. The Mogollon monster is nocturnal, territorial, and violent. It’s an omnivore as well.
Arkansas
The White River Monster. First seen on the bank of the river near Newport. Kinda looks like a massive piranha, has gray elephant like skin, Bony armored face, as wide as a car and as long as 3. This rumor got so serious that the city was actually constructing a rope and net to catch it. Then they ran out of resources to be put to catching the monster. Fun “fact”, this monster had an impact on the civil war because it was blamed for capsizing cargo boats transporting resources across its river. Since 1915 to today there have been over 100 sightings.
California
The Dark Watchers. They are tall, dark silhouettes who wear a brimmed hat. As their name suggests they just watch people traveling from a distance, normally near the Santa Lucia mountain range. No one has ever been able to get a close look at them because they’ll just vanish.
Colorado
Slide Rock Bolter. Originates from lumberjack lore from the 19th and 20th century. Lives in the steep mountains of Colorado. Has a large head, small eye, mouth that matches its head, and a tail kinda dorsal shaped but hooked. The way it hunts people is by waiting at the top of its steep mountain for people to pass and then unlatching its hooked tail to basically slide onto people and eat them.
Connecticut
The Melon Heads. This cryptid can be found all over the midwest. It looks like a small humanoid with an inflated head that resembles the shape of a melon. They attack people by hiding in unsuspecting places and getting them. One story states that an asylum for the criminally insane located in Fairfield Country burned down and 10-20 inmates escaped into the woods. While living in the woods they resulted to cannibalism during the winter and that’s why they look so disturbing and deformed.
Delaware
Pukwudgie. A mythical creature that has the ability to shapeshift itself. It kills people by luring them with their shape shifting, then poisoning them, and will also use magic. Unlike most of the creatures/monsters on this list, they can be friendly but if you betray their friendliness they will retaliate. They kinda look like a goblin and also have some personality traits of goblins as well since they are mischievous.
Florida
The Muck Monster. First seen in 2009 when these people working for a non profit were cleaning up the lagoon Lake Worth. While they were taking out a log from the lagoon their boat suddenly whipped around the lake at high speeds and was recorded. Then this incident was picked up on the news and the city, being an entrepreneur, marketed it with t-shirts of the Muck Monster and special drinks too. The monster was never really seen out of the water so who knows what it looks like.
Georgia
Altamaha Ha. This one is just Georgia’s version of the Loch Ness Monster. It lives in streams and rivers. A difference between this and Nessie is that it can go onto land, like rice fields. Kinda a lame one on this list.
Hawaii
Menehune. They live in the valleys and rural areas of Hawaii. They are intelligent because they’ve built temples, roads, boats, and very small towns. If they weren’t smart then we know they couldn’t have built all that. People say that they were in Hawaii before settlers came over. They eat bananas and also fish. The Menehune are also active during the night. They are smaller in their build but still have that muscle.
Idaho
The Pumwa. Idaho has these witches who have the ability to shapeshift into a bobcat or even a child. The Pumwa likes to live in the canyons of Snake and Salmon rivers. These witches are also omens associated with storms, wildfires, and blizzards. It came from oral traditions of the Nez Perce people.
Illinois
The Enfield Horror. Lives up to its name with three legs, two short arms, 2 pink eyes that are huge, and a short body that makes it 4 feet 6 inches tall. Spotted in 1910 at Enfield Illinois which spread through the local news, this got the attention of hunters who wanted some glory. Even normal people going on hike or touring went out to see it but no one was able to find it and kill it.
Indiana
Meshekenabek. This monster was first spotted by Native Americans centuries ago. The Meshekenabek is around 60 ft long, its head looks like a bull’s head, and the body like a serpent. It goes without saying that the Meshekenabek live in the water.
Iowa
The Van Meter Monster. This monster is 9 ft tall and looks like a winged bat. Apparently it’s immune to bullets and can shoot out light beams from its horns. It has three toes and we “know” this from the plaster cast of its feet. This bat-like monster lives in a coal mine. Even today there are events to commemorate this monster with one taking place a few days ago, September 27th.
Kansas
Deer women. Came from Native American mythology and is a spirit. She either looks like a pretty lady with deer feet or a normal deer. Depending who she is dealing with, she can be either benevolent or violent. If you are a man who has caused harm to women or children she’ll lure them away and then kill them. If you’re chill she’s chill.
Kentucky
The Pope Lick Monster. Its other not weird name is the Goat Man and unfortunately it doesn’t lick popes. This half-man, half-goat, part sheep monster lives under a railroad at pope lick creek. The Goat Man tricks people with hypnosis and mimicry to either have them be ran over with an oncoming train, or to below the bridge where you’ll be attacked with an axe. Some say the Goat Man is how he is because when he was young he was made fun of, and some say the Goat Man is a result of a farmer making a deal with the Devil.
Louisiana
Feu Follet. So the Feu Follet starters with this guy named Will Smith. Will Smith was a blacksmith who died and was given another chance at living. When he came back he did evil in his life. After he had died for the second time he was cursed by the devil to live on earth forever with coal to keep him warm. Feu Follet can be seen as a dim light in the swamps of Louisiana trying to lead travelers to their death, kinda like an angler fish’s light from finding nemo.
Maine
Kiwakwa. This cryptid comes from Abenaki folklore. The Kwakwa is a massive cannibal who is half animal half human. Its lore is that someone’s heart was turned to ice because a spirit possessed them, or they committed a really evil act like cannibalism. It’s like gluttony incarnated because it’s constantly hungry and always looking for something to eat. Apparently the Kiwakwa is thankfully no longer with us so we won’t be eaten by a never ending hunger if we ever visit Maine.
Maryland
Snallygaster. Looks like a bird chimera hybrid but in a grotesque way, you could say that it looks like a messed up dragon. It also has these long tentacles. This monster originates from Germany and that version hunted livestock in rural areas. In 1909 Snallygaster was fabricated in a newspaper so that more people would read that company’s news. Then in 1932 Snallygaster apparently died from inhaling fumes from moonshine and falling into a really big vat of whiskey. Pretty stupid that a dragon like monster died drowning in alcohol.
Massachusetts
Thunderbirds. The Thunderbird is a supernatural being to Native Americans with supernatural powers, it also looks like an eagle. Some of its power is causing thunder when flapping its wings or closing its eyes.
Michigan
The Michigan Dog Man. First seen in 1887 in the lower peninsula. Is a 7ft tall dog looking thing, like a werewolf, and howls like a person screaming to lure in people who want to help the “screaming” person. It only appears every ten years ending in seven, so like 1957 or any other year like that which means we got two years before it comes again. As scary as it might be you can scare it off by clapping loudly so we should be fine if we ever meet it.
Minnesota
The Wendigo. The Wendigo has different versions all over the world but just like the melon heads, we’ll focus on the Minnesota version. The Wendigo has human-like features and can possess other people making them really hungry, hungry enough to eat other people. It’s also like the Kiwakwa from Maine because it also has an icy heart
Mississippi
The Pascagoula River Aliens. These aliens are associated with the alien abduction that took place in 1973. On October 11th, 1973, a father and son were out fishing and they spotted a UFO. Then they were taken by that UFO and were examined for hours before being released back down on their fishing spot. These aliens looked like humanoid robots with slit mouths and crab’s pincers
Missouri
The Ozark Howler. Lives in a large, dense forest of the Ozark. Looks like a bear with short legs, black fur, horns, red eyes, and a thick body. Sounds like a mix of a wolf’s call, an elk’s cry, and a hyena’s laugh. Is kind of a guardian of its home and has some supernatural powers to help its goal.
Montana
Water Babies. Water Babies are spirits that can be found in the folklore of multiple Western Native American tribes. These spirits are believed to take over springs, ponds, and streams, often appearing as infants whose cries are believed to be an omen of impending disaster. In some traditions, they are described as small creatures who lure people to their deaths and are said to eat children.
Nebraska
The Flying Man of Falls City. In 1956 there was a man named Hanks who saw a nine-foot-tall being with a metallic shine. It had a 15-foot wingspan adorned with multicolored lights. This made Hank believe that this monster was being controlled by someone else. Not much else is known about The Flying Man but there was a bar that opened with homage called, “Kinkaider Brewing” recently.
Nevada
Si-Te-Cah red-haired giants are a tribe of red-haired, cannibalistic giants. They stem from oral traditions of the Northern Paiute people. These giants were fierce and were only killed by several local tribes who united to wipe out the giants. In 1911 bones of these giants were found in Lovelock cave. They were 8-10 feet tall and some had some of their reddish hair. Then scientists were lame and confirmed that these “”giants” were only about six and a half feet tall, not very giant anymore.
New Hampshire
Wood Devils. Spotted ever since the 1930s and described as tall with tan hair and a bit lanky. These guys are a little creepy because they tend to hide either behind trees and cover themselves more as you get closer or if there are no trees they pretend they themselves are trees until you leave. I would be freaked out if I actually saw this thing 3 feet taller than me watching me out in the woods at night in the pitch dark.
New Jersey
The Jersey Devil. The Jersey Devil lives in the forest of Pine Barons, the southern part of New Jersey. It’s a two legged, bat-like creature, with hooves like a goat’s, a goat’s body, and a horse’s head. It can move really fast and has a terrifying scream. Lastly, the New Jersey NHL team, the New Jersey Devils, is named after this monster.
New Mexico
Teratorns. This one actually has real skeleton remains that have a wingspan of 20 ft. It’s estimated to weigh over 100 pounds which is a lot for a bird since they need to be light to fly and the way they “save off” that weight is by having hollow bones. So unlike every other entry in this list this one is real so you might be wondering why it’s on here? Well this bird was also found in other places like Massachusetts, which has the Thunderbird. So it’s reasonable to assume that the Thunderbird might’ve been based off of the real Teratorns.
New York
The Headless Horseman. He’s a legendary ghost from New York folklore, which was really popularized by Washington Irving’s 1820 story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. He’s said to be the spirit of a Hessian soldier who was decapitated by cannonball during a war in 1776. According to local legend, his body was buried in the cemetery of the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, where his ghost now rides in search of his missing head. I personally didn’t know that the headless horseman was a story from the US, I always thought it was a European story that’s been “claimed” by the USA.
North Carolina
Wampus. Is a hybrid of a mountain lion and a woman. Looks just like a mountain lion but has six legs. The reason it’s a hybrid of a mountain lion and a woman is because there was this girl who wanted to know more about what ceremonies/traditions the men of her village did so she disguised herself as a mountain lion and spied on them. Once she was found she had a curse put on her which made her what she is today.
North Dakota
The Thunder Horse. So North Dakota is kinda lame with their monsters with repeats like Bigfoot or Nessie but they also had the Thunderbirds and I didn’t want to do that again so we’ll talk about the Thunder Horse instead. The Thunder Horse is connected to the powerful spiritual beings known as the Wakíŋyaŋ. Those powerful beings give the people of Lakota and Dakota the Thunder Horse as a gift as a connection to people and the spirits. They say every time thunder strikes that’s the thunder horse galloping.
Ohio
Loveland Frogman. Looks like a humanoid frog monster that’s only four feet tall. In 1973 officer Ray Shockey spotted the Frogman at about 1:00 a.m he stated that it “crouched like a frog” before it climbed a guard rail and jumped off into the river. Another officer Mark Matthews two weeks later saw a similar creature on the same road and shot it, but it escaped. To me it sounds like a person just made a frog costume and was testing it out, maybe a kid since they were small. If it was a monster frog I feel like I could still beat it hand to hand you know? It would just be really slimy and hard to get a good shot in.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Octopus. Lives in manmade freshwater lakes and then strikes anyone who swims in its water. It’s about the size of a horse so it could easily take out anyone who had no clue it was in those waters. The Oklahoma Octopus’s popularity rose after an episode of a documentary series, “Lost Tapes”, aired on the Animal Planet network in 2009.
Oregon
Gumberoo. It’s bigger than a bear with tougher, shinier skin as well. Lumberjacks also say that nothing they threw at it could break its hide and even bullets couldn’t pierce it. The only weakness it does have is being set on fire, which it’ll explode afterwards violently.
Pennsylvania
The Squonk. A pig-like creature that roams Pennsylvania at sunrise and sunset. Its skin is really loose and is covered in warts/moles. The Squonk is known for being miserable and unhappy, you can even hear it crying and hunters locate it by finding a tear trail. A defense mechanism the Squonk uses is by dissolving itself into a puddle to get away. If the Squonk and Frogman got into a fight I feel like the Frogman would win because he ain’t no scaredy cat.
Rhode Island
Vampire Mercy Brown. An incident happened in 1892 during a time where the public was in a roar over vampires. It was really just tuberculosis but people back then were stupid and quick to blame tragedies on anything to keep the blame away so vampires and zombies it is. Anyway the Brown family’s daughter died from tuberculosis so the neighbor thought a vampire was in that family so they were feared and avoided in public. Not really a monster story but close enough.
South Carolina
The Gray Man. One of the few monsters on this list who are actually friendly. The gray man is a ghost who only shows up on beaches and shores as a sign of hurricanes coming. The reason why the Gray Man shows up before disasters is because he was killed in a storm before he was able to propose and he doesn’t want other people to end up like him, dying before you’re ready. Also, if you do spot him in a storm he acts as a guardian angel who will protect you until the storm passes and can even save your house/belongings.
South Dakota
Taku-He. A pretty strange name that means big man when translated from the Lakota language. Taku-He is another guardian of its land who wards off harmful invaders like other monsters. It basically just knows if something isn’t natural or is supposed to be there and will remove whatever it deems permanently. It’s also like a Bigfoot but “on” the Peoples “side.”
Tennessee
The Tennessee Wildman. Just the polar opposite in terms of morals compared to Taku-He. He has the same structure as Taku-He, like Bigfoot. His eyes are red and has a blood freezing war cry. He’s aggressive and has the strength and speed to match. He’s kind of a loser though because he goes after pets like dogs and women but he’s never been successful in hunting women because they’ve always gotten away and escaped.
Texas
Donkey lady. She haunts the Donkey Lady bridge over in San Antonio Texas. When she died she got horribly burned and disfigured when she was caught in a fire and was called the Donkey Lady. Anyone who gets too close to her bridge gets spooked, chased, or even attacked.
Utah
Skinwalkers. A very famous cryptid that originates in Navajo culture. A Skinwalker is like a witch who can turn into any animal. So if you were walking alone in the forest and there was this deer that just wouldn’t leave you alone and you were thinking, “wow how lucky am I to have a Friend in Utah in the pitch dark of night so close to me” it could’ve been a skinwalker stalking you. Skinwalkers can also mimic things with their voice to lure them into an ambush.
Vermont
Northfield Pigman. The Pigman is a humanoid creature that has a pig face, pig body, pig arms, pig legs, but is bipedal and fingers instead of hoofs. He’s commonly been spotted over in rural areas especially near barns and abandoned buildings. Some say he’s the result of an experiment gone wrong or is the spirit of a dead farmer who wants revenge.
Virginia
The Bunny Man. So this one is like a real story that was cranked up to eleven on the exaggeration scale. The legends describe this beast as a humanoid bunny who used an axe as a weapon and went around murdering people, but it was really just some dude who was wearing a bunny suit in the 1970s who threw a hatchet at a couple who were trespassing on his land. Another story about him starts with a construction security guard encountering a man in a bunny costume who had an axe chopping at the porch of an unoccupied home. The Bunnyman accused the guard of trespassing and threatened to chop his head in two before skipping off into the woods.
Washington
The Lake Chelan Dragon. So this one is also like just a Nessia clone but the interesting thing about this clone is that it lives in a lake that’s about 1500 feet deep. That lake, Lake Chelan, is only Washington’s third deepest lake but beat Michigan’s deepest lake, Lake Superior, by only about 14ft.
West Virginia
The Mothman. Originated from the 1960s, over at Point Pleasant West Virginia. He looks like a humanoid creature who has wings and the face of a moth glowing red eyes. Some stories say that the mothman jumps onto cars or roofs of houses at night in rural areas. There are even some movies about the moth man like the one Mark Pellington directed “The Mothman Prophecies” 2002.
Wisconsin
Beast of Bray Road. This beast is a 7ft tall humanoid creature covered in fur with the head of a wolf. Instead of red eyes, it can have orange eyes. Interesting I know. Even though it’s humanoid it can still run on all four legs, not just two. People debate whether it’s more of a werewolf or more of a Bigfoot but I would say it’s more of a werewolf.
Wyoming
Jakalope. As our last entry of the list I wanted to find one different from the rest. This creature is a rabbit with the antlers of a deer. Its origin is a funny story because there were these taxidermists from Douglas who recently scored a jackrabbit on a hunting trip. They thought it would be funny to put some deer antlers onto the rabbit and market it as a real mythical creature to be sold. Then after making the town Douglass known for the Jakalope, the town made an 8ft tall satire in honor of this mythical creature that made them popular.
Wrap up
Well that’s all the states and I hope you read at least one new story that you haven’t read before. I think my favorite was the Bunnyman because his story is just so ridiculous. To send you off I have a few questions for you. Out of all the “mans” (The Michigan Dog Man, The Flying Man of Falls City, The Headless Horseman, The Loveland Frogman, The Gray Man, The Tennessee Wildman, Northfield Pigman, The Mothman), which one is your Favorite? Which one if they all fought would come out on top? How many of them could you take on in a fight?
Sources: Trust Me Bro. “Cryptids from EVERY State in the USA.” YouTube, 25 June 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeQY4N9pAn0. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
