Monsters And Other Creatures
by: Kenneth J. McCormick
What was it, that legend states, that was killed by two cowboys in Arizona in
1890? According to the local stories, a creature was in the desert in Arizona
when a couple of cow pokes happened to come across it. At first they were frozen
with fear because the creature was like nothing they had ever seen before. It
was a huge creature and it could fly. It's body looked more like a snake than a
bird and it had fearsome claws. The face of the creature looked like that of an
alligator or crocodile and it's wings were huge. This was definitely a case of
shoot first and ask what it was later. To give you an idea of the size of the
creature, it is said that the wingspan was over 160 ft. I am sure that this
measurement grew as the years passed as these things often do.
So why has this story flourished to this day? Could it have been because a
photo was supposedly published of the monster, in the Tombstone Epitaph in 1886?
What I find most amazing is the fact that the photo was supposed to have been
published four years before the event! Had the bird monster been sighted before
the event while it was in the wild, by a photographer? Because of numerous
inquiries, newspapers all over the area began a search for a back issue
containing a photograph of the creature, but none could be found. Did the
creature really exist or was it just a tale to be told over a beer at the local
Arizona bar?
So what is up with the Mongolian Death Worm? Yep Mongolian Death Worm. I bet
we could make a movie about this, we already have a title worthy of a cheesy
movie, we could call it "Revenge of the Mongolian Death Worm" or something like
that. The Mongolian Death Worm is supposed to be a creature that lives in the
Gobi Desert and is about five feet long. It is said to be red in color and
called allghai khorkhai by the tribesmen of that country. People that have
claimed to have seen it say it resembles the intestine of a cow. Can you imagine
something that looks like this crawling into your tent one night? So what
supposedly makes this worm dangerous? The story goes that this worm not only
sprays acid at its victims but carries a deadly electric shock. It is sort of an
acidic electric eel on land.
One monster legend that seems to surely have a basis in fact is the legend of
the giant squid. A news program reported that a Japanese science expedition
actually recorded the existence of a live one. We have all seen the drawings of
sailing ships that were entangled by these monsters and even broken in half and
sunk. While it doesn't seem that the one the Japanese saw would be capable of
this, since it was only about 5 car lengths in size, who knows if there are
bigger creatures lurking at the bottom of the ocean just waiting to attack?
Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water lake in the world. It is located in
Russia. Along with the distinction of being the biggest fresh water body comes
the distinction of having a monster in the lake. Over a period of many years,
people have reported seeing this creature. Chinese scientists have decided to
try and find the creature They say that they have carefully studied all the
descriptions of it that they have collected and have come to the conclusion that
the thing is a mammal. Not only is it a mammal., they state that this mammal. is
not know to man yet. Could they be right? Could this be some unknown type of
creature that might have survived from eons ago? I guess that we will just have
to wait and see if it gets captured to find the answer to that question.
Have you ever heard about creatures that turn from man to wolf when the full
moon is out? I am referring to werewolves and supposedly they are waiting for
you in the woods around Quebec in Canada. The French Canadians call these
creatures loup-garou. Supposedly there is a man in these woods, he is a lone
trapper and hunter but he is also carrying around a terrible secret. Yep you
guessed it, he is also a werewolf. So you can still go into the woods around
Quebec, just don't be in them at night when there is a full moon.
What was it that a group of indians found in 1914 near Lake Okanagan? For
many years there had been reports of a monster in the lake. Supposedly a carcass
was found, a very strange carcass. It was about 6 feet long and about 400 pounds
in weight. It was said to have four flippers and a tail. The head of the
creature was missing. Many of you have seen the drawings that depict lake
monsters as having flippers and a tail. Was this the corpse of a baby Ogopogo?
Ogopogo is the name for the monster that is said to inhabit Lake Okanagan where
sightings still take place to this day.
What creature would be more fitting to close this article with than the
Tasmanian Globster? A carcass was found in 1960 in Tasmania. It was said to be
about 20 feet long and 18 feet wide. It had a hump that was estimated to be
about 4 feet high and the weight of the whole thing was said to be about 16,000
pounds or more. Quite a huge creature indeed. No one could identify what it was.
Two years later, when it had floated out to sea it was examined by experts who
found it had gills and maybe a head, but no eyes were found. The government then
sent out their own team which contradicted most of the first team's findings and
concluded that it was nothing more than a hunk of blubber. What couldn't be
explained was the fact that tissue samples had been taken by the first team and
they didn't show that it was any type of known animal.
About The Author
Kenneth J. McCormick
Copyright © 2005 by About Facts Net and its licensors. All rights
reserved
Ken is the webmaster of About Facts Net, an interesting, free Internet
Magazine. The magazine is suitable for the entire family and many of the
articles are accompanied by photographs, video and/or audio.
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