1. American Folklore Creatures
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1. American Folklore Creatures 1 1. Abbagoochie >The abbagoochie (pronounced abba-GOO-cheez) is a fierce little creature resembling a cross between an owl, a fox, and a deer. It is indigenous to Costa Rica, where people refer to it as a "dryland piranha" because it will eat anything, including creatures far larger than itself such as horses and cows. If cornered, an abbagoochie will consume itself "in a devilish whirlwind" rather than allow itself to be captured. They mate only once every 6 ½ years. 2. The Alkali Monster >This gargantuan, mono-horned, foul smelling, reptilian beast is reputed to lurk in the depths of Nebraska’s famed Alkali Lake, devouring all who come near it. Located in central Nebraska, Walgren Lake (formerly known as Alkali Lake) is an eroded volcanic outcropping that is reputed to be the nesting place of one of the most unusual lake monsters ever recorded and, if the legends are true, the habitat of the only aquatic monster ever reported in the state of Nebraska. Originally chronicled in Native American folklore, this creature has been described as a gargantuan alligator-like beast with some unique attributes. Eyewitnesses claim that the beast is approximately 40-feet long, with rough, grayish-brown skin and a horny outgrowth located between its eyes and nostrils. 3. The Altamaha-ha >Local legend reports a 20-foot-long water serpent that dwarfs the size of alligators in the region. It lives where the Altahama River dumps into the Atlantic Ocean, and thus a host of very real sea creatures have been suggested as explanations for the beast. In addition to sightings, it has been the subject of many myths and lore during the time of its "discovery" by the local Tama Indian Tribe in the state of Georgia, which predates British-English colonization. The Altamaha-ha is described as having a sturgeon like body including the bony ridge on its top. Front flippers and no back limbs, swimming like a dolphin or porpoise and having the snout of a crocodile. The coloring is said to be gray with a whitish-yellow underbelly. So far, no physical evidence of the Atlamaha-ha has been found. It is sometimes shown to be green, so it can camouflage. 4. Amhuluk >The monster Amhuluk, whose home is the lake near forked mountain, Oregon, had but one passion-to catch and drown all things; and when you look into the lake you see that he even drowned the sky in it, and has made the trees stand upside down in the water. Wherever he set his feet the ground would soften. As three children were digging roots at the edge of the water he fell on them and impaled two of them in his horns, the eldest only contriving to escape. When this boy reached home his body was full of blotches, and the father suspected how it was, yet he went to the lake at once. The bodies of the children came out of the mud at his feet to meet him, yet went down again and emerged later across the water. They led him on in this way until he came to the place where they had drowned. A fog now began to steam up from the water, but through it he could see the little ones lifted on the monster’s horns, and hear them cry, “We have changed our bodies.” Five times they had came up and spoke to him, and five times he raised a dismal cry and begged for them to return, but they could not. Next morning he saw them rise 2 through the fog again, and building a camp, he stayed there and mourned for several days. For five days they showed themselves, but after that they went down and he saw and heard no more of them. Amhuluk had taken the children and they would live with him for ever after. 5. Angont >Angont is a vicious, poisonous reptile who supposedly dwelled in desolate places such as caves, forests, lakes, and other depths in the world. If close enough to humans, the Angont could reach out its coils and thereby bring about a number of problems to local inhabitants, such as disasters and diseases. Due to Angont's abilities, medicine men sought this reptile out, hoping to gain cures via magical medicine. But its skin was so poisonous that nothing good came about from these searches. The Hurons believed in a monster spirit, the Angont, who wore a horn on his head that could pierce trees, rocks, and hills. A piece of this horn was an amulet of great value, for it insured good luck. 6. Apotamkin >The monstrous Apotamkin is often misidentified as a "vampire" by non-Native Americans. But in actual Maliseet and Passamaquoddy legends, this creature has nothing to do with vampires-- the Apotamkin is a giant fanged sea serpent that lurks in the Passamaquoddy Bay and drags people, especially incautious children, into the water and eats them. Apotamkin is said to have long red hair, and in some stories was once a human woman who was transformed into a serpent. 7. The Argopelter >Leading a vengeful existence, resenting the intrusion of the logger, the agropelter deals misery to the lumber jack from Maine to Oregon. Ill fares the man who attempts to pass a hollow tree in which one of these creatures has taken up its temporary abode. The unfortunate is usually found smashed or pinned by a dead branch and reported as having been killed by a falling limb. So unerring is the aim of the argropelter that despite diligent search I have been unable to locate more than one man who has been the target for one of their missiles and yet survived to describe the beast. This is Big Ole Kittleson, who, upon a certain occasion, when cruising timber on the upper St. Croix, was knocked down by a partly rotten limb thrown by an argropelter. This limb was so punky that it shattered on Ole's head, and he had time to observe the rascally beast before it bounded from the tree and whisked itself off through the woods. >According to Ole, the animal has a slender, wiry body, the villainous face of an ape, and arms like muscular whiplashes, with which it can snap off dead branches and hurl them through the air like shells from a six-inch gun. It is supposed to feed upon hoot owls and woodpeckers, the scarcity of which will always prevent the argropelter from becoming numerous in any locality. 8. The Arkansas Snipe >The Arkansas snipe has nothing to do with dodgy little snipe. The Arkansas snipe is a more terrifying creature, a mosquito, a large, ugly mosquito that devours horses, cows and hapless campers. One account tells a hunter was lost in Arkansas, so he tied the bridle of his horse at the foot of a tree and climbed a hill to get his bearings. When he returned, two Arkansas snipes had eaten his horse, chewed the saddle, and spat the horse's horseshoes to see which of them would pick up the bridles. In another version, the gigantic mosquitoes kill a cow and clean their teeth 3 with their horns. A story specialist named Daniel Stamps believed this story, according to "a friend of Daniel": "A northern cattle buyer came to town and sought Danial to find some cattle. So, the next morning, they both started walking through the swamp. Soon, they heard the cowbell that was ringing and they took that direction. When they came to a clearing, they saw a mosquito standing on a dead cow that blew its bell, shaking it infernally so that the rest of the herd would turn toward him. Apparently, these mosquitoes looked more like raccoons than mosquitoes, and their toenails were so long they could kick a cow into their belly and get their heart pierced.” 9. The Augerino >The augerino is one of the fearsome creatures that, they say, lived in the deserts of Colorado, and is sometimes called the augerine. He lived underground and liked to keep its deen as dry as ever it could be. As a result, it attacked all waterways and destroyed the dams that the local population built. 10. Axehandle Hound >like a dachshund in general appearance, with a hatchet-shaped head, a short handle-shaped body and short, stumpy legs. It prowled about the lumber camps at night looking for axe or peavy handles, this being the only kind of food it was known to touch. Whole cords of axe handles were eaten by these troublesome wild hounds 11. The Bassigator >Nothing is known about the genealogy or habits of this hybrid-looking predator, the bassigator. An encounter with him in nature would probably be brief and unpleasant. Half aligator, half fish, measures about 22 feet in length and eyes the size of a beach ball, in its natural habitat has to be a relentless and voracious predator. 12. The Bear Lake Monster >The Bear Lake Monster is reported to resemble a brown serpent, but with legs about eighteen inches long on which it marauds along the shoreline. It has a large undulating body, with about 90 feet of exposed surface, of a light cream color, moving swiftly through the water, at a distance of three miles from the point of observation. Others reported seeing a monster-like animal which went faster than a locomotive and had a head variously described as being similar to that of a cow, otter, crocodile or a walrus. Its size was reported to be at least fifty feet long, and certainly not less than forty.