In this Strange Matters Short the legend of the ancient creature known as the Sirrush is discussed. This dragon-like beast was heavily featured through the great city of Babylon. The Sirrush was an obscure creature that was nearly lost to time, and widely believed to be merely a myth. However, after its rediscovery there have been new theories and explanations that would instead claim that the mysterious beast was in reality an actual living animal!
Was the Sirrush a descendant of the dinosaurs, a leftover of an extinct species? Perhaps a rare breed that was brought to Babylon from a distant land? Or are all the new theories a fantasy, and the truth remains that the Sirrush is, and has always been, simply a made up myth or legend created by the ancient people of Mesopotamia. Check out this Strange Matters Short and hear all about this strange and interesting creature!
In this episode of Strange Matters a number of infamous and legendary monsters and vile creatures of America are discussed. Each of these monsters have become well known urban legends in their own specific regions across the country. Whether it is the dark woods of New Jersey, the creeks of Kentucky, or even the snowy lands of Michigan, rumors and stories have spread of terrifying beast lurking in the dark.
The Jersey Devil is one of America’s most well known and oldest monster story. This hybrid creature’s origin supposedly dates back before the formation of the United States even. Combining the body parts of numerous different animals, this horrifying creature was rumored to be the spawn of the Devil itself. This monster allegedly lurks in the deep woods of New Jersey, scaring unsuspecting hikers with its blood curdling scream.
The Dogman of Michigan is a mysterious creature that lives in the deep snowy woods of the northern state. Combining the torso of a man with the legs and head of a canine, the Dogman has been spotted and encountered for over a century. Whether the Dogman is actually some type of freak hybrid creature, or just the over-imagination of the locals, has been an ongoing debate for years.
The Pope Lick Monster is a terrifying abomination, a creature combing the body parts of man, goat, and sheep together. This violent monster is rumored to lure innocent victims onto the train tracks on its home bridge. There, they are helpless to either face the oncoming train, or jump to their own demise below. Though the Pope Lick Monster is well known to be merely a myth, the popularity and danger of its tale has lead to many unfortunate accidents.
Finally there is the Beast of Bladenboro, a creature responsible for a string of attacks on people’s pets and livestock in the winter of 1954. When its legend grew, over a thousand people swarmed to the town to try and hunt this vampire like beast. Just as quickly as the Beast arrived, the attacks soon ceased, leaving the people of Bladenboro to wonder to this day exactly what kind of creature was behind the violent animal murders.
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In this story we present a collection of local myths, folklore, and urban legends that have been sent in to us by our listeners around the world!
The origins of these stories range from Austria, England, Canada, and a few in the United States. This episode is a mixture of tales and urban legends including a sadistic murderer, a mythical suicide pool, the haunting of the water babies, the foul smelling Honey Island Swamp Monster, as well a number of other supernatural and paranormal events.
Thanks to our listeners Raphaela, Thomas, Cody, & Kate for sharing your local urban legends with us!
Also big thanks to fellow podcast hosts Jordan, Ryan, and Sam for sending in their own stories as well. Check out their podcasts and give them a listen when you have finished with this episode!
In this episode, Eric takes you on a tour of some of the world’s sightings of Alien cryptids. The following stories walk a fine line between what is considered a cryptid and what is actually just evidence of extra-terrestrial life.
The first encounter is that of the Enfield Horror. In 1973 in the town of Enfield Illinois multiple accounts of encounters with a strange 3 legged creature were reported all around the same time. This monstrosity, thought to be an alien, demon or genetic mutation, terrorized the town for days before disappearing never to be seen again.
One individual tells how they heard a scratch at the door, and when they went to investigate, found a hideous hairy, yet slimy figure crouched at his front door with large glowing red eyes and miniature T-Rex like arms protruding from its narrow torso. As ridiculous as this sounds, multiple independent accounts describe the creature very similarly. Is this an alien? Or another cryptid? Or simply just a case of mistaken identity?
The Musconetcong Mantis Man is another strange hybrid or genetic mutation that was sighted and described similarly within a fairly localized region in New Jersey. Some describe this 7-foot tall praying mantis as having inter-dimensional teleportation capabilities based on its ability to seemingly materialize and de-materialize in and out of thin air.
However a slightly more logical explanation would be that this giant mantis is using natural capabilities, that it’s smaller bug brethren display commonly — the ability to take on the same color and pattern as its surroundings, also known as active camouflage. Some people believe that this giant beast is some mad scientists genetic experiment gone horribly wrong; and when this unnamed mad scientist realized he could not control this creature, he simply released it into the wild, where it has dwelled for years. Another popular theory draws similarities between the Mantis Man and another well known race of mantis-like aliens.
Our final alien encounter is of a less extra-terrestrial form, however is alien in the sense of a creature that is non-native to the area in which it has been sighted. Alien big cats or “ABCs” are large black wild cats that have been sighted in Britain for almost a century. There have been several reports of people being attacked and some deceased corpses of smaller ABCs have been found. However the British government is skeptical given the existence of these beasts and believes them to be nothing more than hoaxes or misidentifications.
Others take a more primitive and paranormal approach and believe that they are demons that have taken the form of panthers and leopards. However despite the demystification of thousands of photographs, there are still a handful that remain unexplained.
Check out the other great podcasts over at Dark Myths!
In this Strange Matters Short, Sean discusses the man-eating creature known as the Beast of Gevaudan. This violent animal terrorized a region in France for several years as it killed as many as a hundred men, women, and children. During this time the local populace was nearly hysterical with fear, forced to venture outside to make a living knowing all along that there was a huge beast roaming the area attacking anyone it can across. In an attempt to take down this violent creature, a French officer organized large hunting parties of thousands of soldiers to patrol the area. Professional wolf hunters were hired to track down and kill the Beast. Despite all this, the Beast of Gevaudan evaded any attempt to kill it and continued its reign of terror.
After three years of setbacks, embarrassments, and dozens of deaths, the Beast was reportedly finally brought down by a local farmer when he shot and killed a large wolf near his village. Through the years there have been multiple accounts and theories as to what the Beast of Gevaudan really was. Most think it was a pack of large and man-hungry wolves, while others believe it could have been an exotic or imported predator introduced into the region. There has been more outlandish claims of a werewolf or an ancient species still roaming the land. Whatever the true identity of the animal actually was, the Beast of Gevaudan is one of the most unique and unusual cases in history of a creature that specifically enjoyed hunting and slaying humans.
For this episode we continue our series of cryptozoology by discussing a number of legendary and mythical humanoid creatures. Though there are a large number of alleged sightings and encounters of such human-like beings all over the world, no actual concrete proof has ever been found that can prove of their existence. Sean and Eric present the backgrounds, encounters, and any possibly evidence or theories of each of these mysterious beasts.
The infamous Yeti, or “Abominable Snowman,” supposedly hides in the Himalayan Mountains and has been seen by local tribes for centuries. Mountaineers and adventurers claim to have seen this creature from a distance, and many times in the snowy mountains bipedal tracks have been discovered that can be linked to no known animal.
The Almas is a legend of the Caucasus mountains in central Asia. These man sized creatures supposedly share facial features with the Neanderthal people. Could these creatures be leftovers from some ancient population, or are the sightings of the Almas merely exaggerations and folklore?
Next up is the Skunk Ape, a bizarre creature that was allegedly spotting many times in the state of Florida in the 60’s and 70’s. This animal was described as being similar to an orangutan, but was always associated with a horrible smell that followed it. Whether the Skunk Ape that caused a frenzy in the state was simply an escaped primate, or a strange humanoid creature that has been hiding in the swamps for decades, is still unknown to this day.
Finally we discuss the Orang Pendek, a smaller cryptid that reportedly lives in the remote forests of Sumatra. These creatures have supposedly been spotted by locals and foreigners alike for over a century, but as yet there is still no legitimate evidence of its existence.
Is there any reasonable explanations of these humanoid creatures? Are these beasts all just myths and legends created by locals, or could there actually be something to the phenomenon of different groups of people allegedly seeing these lone creatures all over the world? Tune in and found out all about these strange and mysterious humanoid creatures!
The Jersey Devil is one of America’s most well known and oldest monster story. This hybrid creature’s origin supposedly dates back before the formation of the United States even. Combining the body parts of numerous different animals, this horrifying creature was rumored to be the spawn of the Devil itself. This monster allegedly lurks in the deep woods of New Jersey, scaring unsuspecting hikers with its blood curdling scream.
