On The Track Of Unknown Animals

[Stooge]

Hey Guys!

I just saw that the seminal cryptozoology books has a revised 3rd edition out. Has anyone got their hands on it yet?

For anyone who doesn't know, "On The Track Of Unknown Animals" by Bernard Heuvelmans, was originally published back in the late 50s. He gives a very convincing argument for why there are still creatures in the dark corners of this world that we haven't found yet, citing specific ones like the Yeti and Mokele-mbembe.

We do need a new cryptid thread, so feel free to put any thoughts or maybe your favorite one here.

[Katat0nik]

Well, you know where I stand, Stooge. I will always hope Nessie is real. You'll never get me to believe in Bigfoot.
I can't remember the results of the Jersey Devil argument- did we decide it was a Dark Passenger or a cryptid?

[Fly_Mulder]

I've got a singed copy of John Keel’s book "The Mothman Prophecies" sitting right here. Its a bit dated now, but i find his theories that "ultraterrestrials" use some form of psychic power to create hallucinations such as Mothman and UFOs really interesting!

[WiltedRoses]

the story that always creeps me out is the black eyed children , i think they could be real, I hope nessy is that's just cool . i agree though big foot feels like some dude in a suit .

[PenOfDamocles]

I loved Tremors and recently re-read Dune so I'm going to have to throw the Mongolian Death Worm into the mix, even if I'm not sure whether it actually exists. I think perhaps I just like the name.

Nessie I'm just not sure about. I can't help but think something would have been found by now. If anything ever was there, I don't believe it is any longer.

[Fly_Mulder]

That's the thing about Cryptids. You'd think that by now we'd have found any solid proof of them. Assuming they're real (why else are we on this board ) What could be masking them from detection? How do we have decades and sometimes centuries of tales and sightings, and yet no more physical proof other than a plaster foot mold or grainy camcorder video / blurry pictures. Sorting fact from fantasy is the Cryptozoology way!

[MajoNoTakkyubin]

I've actually had this conversation with friends after playing a session of that new Changeling: The Dreaming game! I can't say I'm really sure what the answer is, but a couple ideas we had...

1. What if they're simply unable to exist in combination with technology or civilization? Like too much humanity or too much scientific thought is just hostile to their ability to exist? The further we spread, the more the cryptids retreated, changing from being super commonplace, to barely ever being found. That's why legends are always so full of these fantasy creatures across wide-ranging cultures (like DRAGONS! Literally everyone has dragons in their mythology!), but as time's gone on, we've slowly "technologied" them into extinction?

2. This one was literally just ripped from Changeling, but it's pretty rad, so I'm putting it here: Imagination, belief, and wonder are maybe necessary for them to either survive, or for them to exist on our plane of existence. Back when everyone was explaining natural occurrences with things like "There's a giant serpent in that whirlpool!" or "Zeus is tossing lightning bolts!", these things actually existed and could be interacted with. However, as science slowly took over, and people started explaining things as "That whirlpool's caused by ocean currents", or "Lightning is because of electrical discharge", the lack of belief caused all of these things to slowly die out or stop interacting with our world.
That's why you can never find these things if you're specifically trying to scientifically prove they exist, because it means you're trying to reason it into existence. But if you genuinely believe that something is real and just want an encounter with it, you might just catch that glimpse of the Ogopogo cresting above the waves, or of that Sasquatch scurrying between the trees?

The second option would probably also explain why something weird always happens a bunch of times, but if you try to show someone else, suddenly it stops...I hate that, haha.