American Cryptids: The Snallygaster..

Today we talk about a German inspired cryptid, The Snallygaster.
The Snallygaster is a dragon like cryptid, from the North East part of the United States seen mostly in  Frederick county , Maryland, Central Maryland and the Washington DC area...

Starting in 1730 the Maryland area was being settled  by German immigrants.

Some of the earliest sightings of the Snallygaster  describe the monster terrorizing the  community and because of it's intense speed they called it a (Schneller Geist ) That's German for "quick ghost"
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 The earliest  version of the creature seemed to describe a strange combination  of features  seeming to be  that of a  half bird  Half Reptilian like monster.

The snallygaster was was often described as a fierce Half reptile, half-bird with a metallic like beak lined with razor-sharp teeth occasionally with octopus-like tentacles.

 It swoops silently from the sky to pick up and carry off its victims.

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The earliest stories claim that this monster sucked the blood of its victims. A Seven Pointed Star was apparently a good luck charm of sorts said to keep  the snallygaster at bay, and it can still be seen painted on local barns from time to time.
his string of appear
 

At one point Theodore Roosevelt   reportedly considered postponing one of his African safari's to personally hunt the beast, Even the Smithsonian Museum was offering a reward the the creature.

Much like the Jersey Devil, sightings of the Snallygaster still continue to this day,  whether this creature is physical or more ethereal in nature, or if it even exist outside of our imaginations the legends will continue for many years to come..

Monsters and Yokai: The Hinoenma

 

 

 The Hinoenma 

She is a Yokai sometimes  known as an Enshoujo
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By most accounts the Hinoenma are as evil as they are beautiful.

She is a dangerous female yokai that looks just like any normal attractive young women. 

They use their beauty to attract young men and later destroy them.

She is said to walk the city streets late at night in search of new prey, her preferred victims are men ( in the feudal era young monks).

Men who become enamored by a hinoenma will quickly find their life in ruins. 

 

The hinoenma seems to have similar characteristics  too that of the western vampire
feeding on blood, but also a Asian vampire jineshi feeding on virility / life force with the added bonus of very bad luck, causing her target to become weaker and poorer over time. 

In the end, the man dies, and the hinoenma will move on to a new victim.

East Asian folklore is full of cautionary tales in which hinoenma have allegedly used their beauty and charm to destroy men.
 
These yokai are said to have  caused the downfall of three of China’s great dynasties.

Mo Xi is believed to be  responsible for the collapse of the Xia Dynasty. Daji, for the collapse of the Shang Dynasty. and Bao Si brought about the downfall of the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Hinoenma is also a Buddhist term warning about the dangers of beautiful women. 

Sex with women was viewed as a sin for priests because it was a worldly, carnal pleasure which distracted them from the path of spirituality. Phrases like “bodhisattva on the outside, yasha on the inside” were meant to remind monks that no matter how pretty a woman looked her true nature was as dangerous as any yokai.

Or in other words, if you give a woman your heart, she will steal your soul.


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In the book  - Ehon Hyaku Monogatari
During the Edo Period, The Hinoenma was often depicted has a flying monster.


The name hinoenma can also have different interpretations. Literally translated, the name means “flying fate demon,” Fate in this case refers to the Buddhist concept of nidana, the cause-and-effect chain and birth-death cycle that links everything in the universe. 

In Buddhist belief the Fate demon means a creature who tries to disrupt a person’s spiritual progression.
 

More specifically it refers to Mara, the demon king who tried to disrupt Buddha’s quest for enlightenment by tempting him with several beautiful women.

Written with different characters, hinoenma can also mean “fiery Enma,” referring to the king of hell—a hint at what awaits monks who allow
themselves to be tempted by beautiful women.

The also refers to the phrase hinoe uma— or the year of the fire horse—which occurs every 60 years according  to the Chinese calendar. Women born in these years are said to be destined to ruin their husbands lives or success.

 

 

                                       https://www.behance.net/gallery/20961807/Fire-horse

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This superstition can be traced back to the legend of Yaoya Oshichi.
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Japanese superstition.....

Yaoya Oshichi is the origin of a Japanese story about women born in the year of the fire horse.

Oshichi was born in Edo in 1666, the year of the fire horse. During the Tenna Era, a massive fire erupted at Daienji. 

Watching the fire, she saw a temple page named Ikuta Shonosuke  and fell in love at first sight. A year later, she attempted to set fire to Daienji in hopes that she would see him again. She was caught,  and in an ironic turn of fate she was later burnt at the stake for arson.

Ever since then, it has been believed that any women born in the year of the fire horse is destined to have furious  tempers and eventually destroy their husbands by consuming all that they own.

This belief is evidently still alive and well in modern times, the most recent year of the fire horse was 1966 and during that year there was a  25% drop in births compared to the previous and following years.

Supposedly weddings have even been cancelled by superstitious families after finding out that the bride was born in the year of the fire horse.

The next year of the fire horse will be in 2026.

In any case the next time you encounter a pretty girl on a dark street late at night maybe just keep walking especially if she can fly lol

American Cryptid: Montana's The Shunka Warakin.

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The Shunka Warakin sometimes referred to as Shunka Warak'in meaning "Carries off Dog's" is a large wolf or hyena like cryptid said to stalk the forest of Montana.


A strange looking canine creature was  shot  by a rancher named  by Israel Ammon Hutchins in 1886 , on what is now the Sun Ranch in Montana.

Joseph Sherwood, a taxidermist, acquired it from Hutchins, mounted it and put it on display in his combination general store-museum in Henry's Lake, Idaho.

Mister Sherwood named the beast "Ringdocus". This stuffed trophy, the only piece of physical evidence, was never examined by qualified scientists and went missing for some time, before it was rediscovered in December 2007.

Cryptozoologists suggest that the Native American folklore can be explained by prehistoric mammals such as hyaenodons, dire wolves, members of the subfamily Borophaginae (hyena-like dogs), or Chasmaporthetes (the only true American hyena).

Others suggest more plausible explanations. For instance  back in December 2005 through November 2006, an odd reddish colored 106 lbs wolf killed 36 sheep (and injuring 71 more) in McCone and surrounding counties in Montana.

 It was shot on November 2, 2006, in Garfield County, Montana, after killing as many as  120 sheep. Initially, Montana wildlife officials were unable to identify the 106-pound, reddish-yellow animal. Thought to be a Shunka Warakin, but it has since been identified by the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department as a four year old male wolf with unusually red colored fur.