The Monster of Montauk

goobermaster — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:40:44 -0500

Have you seen or heard of this thing yet? This creature washed up on shore in Montauk, New York. Too add to the fun - there is an animal research facility just offshore on Plum Island. Woot! Can you come up with a better recipe for internet-crypto nuts to speculate about? The image is front page news on all the cryptid sites lately. The forever hopeful ignorants are swearing it's a wingless griffin or some sort of sea beasty. (Or at least a mutated genetic mistake from Plum Island.) Admittedly, at first glance, the exposed skull does look like a beak. But those are clearly canines and the creature is obviously some sort of bloated raccoon or dog carcass laying in the sand. Even my untrained forensic eye can see that. So let's solve this riddle... It's most likely a dead raccoon. So sad, but in this second picture (there were 4 witnesses and 2 photographers), we can clearly see the nostril port in the exposed skull. Sorry -- no griffins here. Also in plain site are the lower canines, (see skull pic), and long fingers. Some claim that it's unlucky pug -- oh noes! But the face isn't short enough and there isn't any underbite. Also -- see the gray fur?

Raccoon Skull

Here's some linkage:

And whoever claims "photoshop" gets slapped. Give me a break.

Wendigo

goobermaster — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:51:17 -0500

The Wendigo is a mythological entity from Algonquian Indian culture. It is a creature that's part human that cannibalizes people lost in the woods. Typically during winter and always in the night. The nifty part is its Minnesotan heritage. Wendigo legend has its roots in the Great Lakes region being a story told to frighten youngsters in Algonquian and Ojibwa tribes. More specifically, though, the Wendigo is the spirit of the forest that overtakes a person and forces them towards horrific actions. Stories indicate how a person overcome by the elements, starvation, and cold will fall victim to the Wendigo and go mad while preying upon his fellow mankind. As Steve Pitt writes in Legion Magazine...

"A Windigo was a human whose selfishness has overpowered their self-control to the point that satisfaction is no longer possible. That is why Windigos are always hungry no matter how much they eat."

... "A Windigo was a human whose selfishness has overpowered their self-control to the point that satisfaction is no longer possible. That is why Windigos are always hungry no matter how much they eat." ...

From Legion Magazine

Popular culture has recently made the Wendigo into a monster of the north. (I'm guessing he hangs out with Sasquatch, plays poker, and has a French-Canadian accent, eh.) The common image is a creature with a man's body, a deer head (with antlers) and cloven feet. The creature moves like the wind and is tremendously strong -- a top carnivore. Our fascination with the Wendigo began with this gloriously cheesy movie. It's not as cheesy as say, "Snakes on a Plane", but certainly is firmly seated in the "B" rate indie genre. Mostly because of the wonderfully goofy monster. (Watch the video at the bottom to see for yourself.) The antlered, twitchy, forearm in kangaroo stance, speed-walking Wendigo is the most hilarious movie monster since the Space Herpe. The best part is the DVD extra where director Larry Fessenden explains the multi-year process of the creature development. Mostly devoted to a gangly walking apparatus with rearward facing knees worn by an actor trying not to fall on his antlered helmet. The best is the "super-speed" that the Wendigo is supposed to possess done in the movie with a simple fast forward of the camera. It makes the beastie look as if it's being pulled on a string while vibrating up and down. (Again, I refer you to the video below...)

Drawn by Ape Lad,
embellished with
antlers by me. :)

So now -- everything with antlers has become a sort of Wendigo. The Great Forest Spirit in "Princess Mononoke" is clearly a Wendigo. And while drinking at an Uptown watering hole and staring at the wall of bottles, I made the connection to Jagermeister. Obviously -- enough Jag shots and you'll see the Wendigo too. Just look at the label. And if that weren't enough, here's a Wendigo crumpet just for fun.

cryptozoology

The Monster of Montauk

Wendigo