Land and Water Cryptids! Oh My! Quiz

Answer: Water

The Bunyip is connected to creeks, billabongs, and watering holes - any kind of water - in Australia. Its name originates with the Aboriginal people of Victoria and translates to devil or evil spirit. Later settlers also claimed to see the creature.

News of the Bunyip first appeared in the "Sydney Gazette" in 1812. The creature was described as a large black or brown nocturnal animal with a terribly scary voice; sometimes it is described as having flippers and eating crayfish. An 1851 report claimed that one had been speared after it killed a man, but no evidence was ever produced to back it up.

Most people who have seen the Bunyip says it kind of looks like a seal or a dog, but it is 4-6 feet (1.2-1.8 m) tall. Others say it has a 5-15 feet (1.5-4.6 m) long neck, and has a mane and tail like a horse. Some sources describe it as a man eater, while others say it punishes evil people, and still others claim that it is timid.

The bottom line: Stay away from any water source in Australia at night!

Answer: Water

Champ or Champy lives in Lake Champlain, which borders on New York and Vermont in the United States and Ontario, Canada. There have been over 300 sightings of the creature, which go all the way back to the Iroquois, a group of Native Americans who lived in the area. Their legends tell about a giant snake in the region that would slither onto land and eat people.

Famous explorer, Samuel de Champlain, was said to have seen the monster when he visited the area in 1609; although he wrote about seeing big fish, however, he didn't ever write about seeing a monster one! A 1970 article in "Vermont Life" wrongly claimed that Champlain said he had seen a monster that was 20 feet (6.1 m) long and had a thick body with the head of a horse.

In 1977 a chance photograph was taken which the owner claimed was a picture of Champy. Unfortunately, she was never able to come up with a negative for the picture or remember the exact location where it was taken. It's featured in the cover picture for the quiz. You be the judge! Is it Champy or a log?

My advice? Since it has been a long time since Champy was accused of hurting anyone and he lives in a lake, its probably okay to try and search for him if you're feeling especially curious! It may be a good idea, though, NOT to try and swim in the lake!

Answer: Water

Igopogo is another lake monster that is said to live in Lake Simcoe, Ontario. The first alleged sighting of the monster was in 1823 by a settler named David Soules. He said he saw the creature come out of the lake. Four witnesses said they saw Igopogo in 1952, and in 1983 a sonar operator said he saw an animal with a long neck there.

Igopogo has mostly been described as being a seal-like animal that leaps out of the lake. Many people believe that it could be a huge seal or otter, but some pretty wild descriptions of a creature that had four octopus-like arms and two antennae have been given too.

My thought? There has never been an account made of Igopogo hurting anyone, so use your best judgement about going into the water!

Answer: Water

A part of Scottish folklore, the first mention of a monster in Loch Ness was made in the "Life of St. Columba", written by Adomnán in the 7th century AD. Adomnan wrote that one hundred years earlier, St. Columba had encountered a group of people at the River Ness, which is connected to the Loch, burying a man who had been attacked by a water monster. Columba sent one of his followers to swim in the river, and when the monster tried to attack him, he made the sign of the cross and the monster fled.

Over the years, there have been 1,160 reported sightings of Nessie. The monster received world wide attention in 1933 when a story appeared in the "Inverness Courier" about a beast or whale-like creature that had been seen in the water. The now-famous picture of Nessie was taken in 1934. Modern people have used sonar, webcams, and the like to try and locate the creature, but to no avail.

So - Go to Scotland! Visit Loch Ness! The monster hasn't attacked anyone for centuries! Why not enjoy the trip?!

Answer: Water

In my search for a different monster, one not so well known, I found the Loveland Frog, a humanoid frog that dwells in the waters of Lake Isabella near Loveland, Ohio. The legend says that in 1955 a businessman saw three creatures, 3-4 feet (0.91 to 1.22 m) tall, standing on the side of the road, with frog faces, big bulging eyes, and leathery looking skin. Another story says the creature was seen under a bridge and used a wand to fire sparks at people.

Then, in 1972 there were two reported sightings of the creature by police officers. The second police officer shot an animal near the first's sighting; the animal was a rather large iguana that was 3 or 3.5 feet (0.9 or 1.1 m) long, and didn't have a tail. Was that the end of the story?

In 2016 there was a report of a couple playing " Pokémon Go" near Lake Isabella who reported seeing a similar creature again. The town of Loveland adopted the Loveland Frog as its mascot in 2023, and it comes dressed up for city events.

My thoughts? In 1972 a woman said that the creature grabbed her leg, leaving scratches and a green hand print. Reports said that the creatures doesn't like to be confronted and will throw rocks at people, but there are no accounts of it fatally harming anyone. I'll let you use your own judgement on this one!

Answer: Land

Well, since I live in Missouri, our MoMo the monster had to make the list of terrestrial cryptids! MoMo, who had a special ride named for him at Six Flags Over Mid-America St. Louis, was first seen in rural Louisiana, Missouri, in 1972, but there had been reportings of a Bigfoot type creature in the area for years before that.

Described as a humanoid creature, MoMo is a biped; he is 7 ft (2.1 m) tall, covered in dark hair, with a pumpkin for a head and large, glowing orange eyes. He reportedly also emits a foul odor. There were many sightings of MoMo that year, and sheriff posses were even formed to hunt down the creature, but he was never seen again.

Momo never was said to hurt anyone and his appearance seems to have been precipitated by a warning foul odor. I wouldn't wander too far outside when visiting Louisiana at night!

Answer: Land

Sightings of the Chupacabra in Puerto Rico, as well as Central and South America, have been reported since 1975. With a name that means goat sucker, the Chupacabra is a creature that I'm sure I don't want to meet!

Reports about his appearance have varied greatly; he has been everything from a bat to a dog to a reptilian creature with glowing red eyes, fangs, and claws. What is really scary about the Chupacabra is that he drinks the blood of his victims - typically some sort of goat or livestock - leaving behind two puncture wounds; a human, however, has never been attacked by him.

Some think it was a dog or coyote with a really bad case of mange, which is said to alter its appearance considerably, but that does not account for the blood loss and the puncture wounds. I would suggest to exercise extreme caution while around farm animals in the areas mentioned.

Answer: Land

I really enjoy visiting Michigan, so I thought I'd better check out the stories about the Michigan Dogman. It's a good thing I never go as far north as Wexford County! Also, Dogman supposedly only appears in ten year cycles that fall on years ending in 7, so plan your trips accordingly!

Sightings were first reported in 1887 of a creature that was seven feet (2.1 m) tall with blue or amber eyes, the body of a man, head of a dog, and a very frightful howl. In 1937 there was a report of an individual who was attacked by wild dogs, one of which stood upright. A guy named Ben claimed to see the creature three different times from 1993-1994.

There is a legend that a person died of fright when he encountered the Michigan Dogman, but that was never documented. I did notice that there were sightings in years that didn't end in seven, so that concerns me a bit. My advice? If you are near the Manistee River in the northwestern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, have some care! Keep your eyes open all the time, but especially in years that end with a 7!

Answer: Land

According to Indonesian folklore, the Orang Pendek, a small ape-like creature, lives in the mountain forests of Sumatra. He is described as being 31.5-59 inches (80 -150 cm) tall, and an upright walker with a body covered with hair. Apparently people have noticed him eating all types of plants like yams, insects, and fish. Some reports say the creature hunts animals with a small ax!

Groups of nomadic people who live on Sumatra have spoken of sightings for years, and think of the Orang Pendek as more of a supernatural creature than an animal. There have been hundreds of eye witness accounts of sightings since the late 1800s; the creature's footprint casts have even been made, however, there are no clear photographs that might help prove its existence.

While some think the Orang Pendek may be a small orangutan, others think it could be a sun bear. Either way the creature has been extremely shy, and there have been no reports of it hurting anyone. My thought is that it would be interesting to discover a modern day relative of "Homo floresiensis", the famous Hobbit!

Answer: Land

On April 21, 1997, a small creature was sighted near Dover, Massachusetts. Two boys in separate sightings described the Dover Demon as being "about 4 feet tall with glowing orange eyes and no nose or mouth in a watermelon-shaped head". The next night a similar sighting was reported by another boy.

The three all drew similarly looking pictures of the creature, however, it was a couple of weeks before the sightings were reported to the public. An investigative reporter claimed that the pictures looked like ones from the Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter of 1955 in Kentucky. Although all the boys swore that they were telling the truth, most wrote off their encounters as a hoax.

Since the Dover Demon hasn't been sighted since 1977, it's probably safe to visit the area. But you never know...