It’s time for a cryptid here on we
are if and this time it is a creature with a fantastic name. An animal said to
be combination of many other creatures making for something that is very
unique.
This creature has a history with
presidents has been said to be nothing more than a hoax while others make claim
of real frightening encounters.
So what’s the name of this
mysterious beast?
The Snallygaster!!
So what is a Snallygaster?
For those that have not heard of the
strange beastie, the term was first used as bit of a catch all for any type of
bizarre monster.
The great word has an old dictionary
definition which reads: “mythical, nocturnal creature, half bird and half
reptile, chiefly reported in rural Maryland which preys on children and
poultry.”
Tracing the stories back we find
ourselves with the first European immigrants arriving in the United States.
These people introduced tales of the monster from their home countries and the
legend of the Snallygaster quickly spread in the Middletown.
People began to see the monster with
these sightings reaching a peak during the 20s it got to such a frenzy that
parents were keeping children home fearing an attack.
The story tells that the Snallygaster
appears on a twenty year cycle. They lay eggs which are kept incubated for two
decades this has led to the idea that the cryptids the Dwayyo, and
Sykesville Monster, were the Snallygaster’s hatchlings.
So what is it that people have
reported seeing?
The Snallygaster is an enormous avian
said to attack people and animals in and around the state of Maryland, USA. This
dragon-like beast is said to dive silently, swooping from the air on to unsuspecting
animals and even children.
The appearance of the beast is said
to be that of a reptilian like bird with a huge metallic beak filled with large
sharp teeth and tentacles which shoot from the beak when the cryptid attacks,
these may possibly me some strange tongue like appendages.
With a single eye in the middle of
its forehead, the creature also, for added effect, emitted a screech like “a
locomotive whistle.”
This odd description for a creature
is common in that part of the world we see similarities with other cryptids
like the “Piasa bird” which I covered way back in the video linked above.
The Piasa is a story native to the
Americas the Snallygaster was originally a German tale.
Back then the monstrous bird like
beast was called a Schneller Geist, meaning “quick spirit”.
It was also thought to be a vampire
like creature, it would suck the blood of those it swooped upon. They could
protect themselves not with a cross as is the case with vampire lore but a
Heptagram, a seven pointed star.
If you feared an attack from the “Schneller
Geist” painting this symbol on your home would ward the cryptid away.
So we our left with an animal that
has a real description and could be considered an actual unidentified species
to characteristics that would make it seem a little more on the paranormal
side.
So What Was Really Behind The
Snallygaster Sightings?
Let jump back to 1900, a time when
Marylanders started to tell of sightings of a shape-shifting, monstrous winged
creature near to the Southern Mountain.
The stories that were being told
were seized upon by journalist of the day, the stories made for a good read and
with each retelling they grew ever more fantastical. This carried on into the
1950s the legend of the animal growing year on year.
This when a real life living legend
stepped into the story.
President Theodore Roosevelt, the
swashbuckling 26th president of the United States partnered with the
Smithsonian Institution they began to pursue their interest in the sightings of
the Snallygaster.
Scientists from the museum and the president
began a hunt for evidence of the Snallygaster. This in an attempt to support
the various scientific theories they had about the mysterious creature.
Teddy Roosevelt who had hunted some
exotic game before, was up for the challenge the illusive crytpid provided.
A local newspaper even posted a
story that said President Roosevelt was seriously thinking about canceling his
much published African safari to track the mysterious specimen down. This
decision coming out of the idea that there was a wild and dangerous animal on
the loose.
A 1909 article claimed that a man
had been captured by the winged cryptid, and that the snallygaster had bitten
into the jugular of the unfortunate victim, draining his body completely of blood
then casually tossing the remains over the edge of the cliff where it had eaten
its bloody meal.
Local newspapers jumped at the story
and continued to hype the dangers of the snallygaster they even published the
reports of and several claimed eyewitnesses.
The stories recanted to the writers
of various newspapers range from the weird to the ridiculous one claimed to
have seen an egg the size of a barrel allegedly laid by the monster bird, another
told of how a railway worker was lifted up by his suspenders, and there was even
one account of the crytpid speaking to a man, mysteriously declaring, “My I’m
dry, I haven’t had a good drink since I was killed in the battle of
Chickamauga!”
These stories had many crying fraud
and fake, people out to make a quick buck with a made up story that newspapers
were quick to publish.
Later investigations uncovered
evidence that the newspaper used motifs of German folklore, including
dragon-like creatures who snatched children and livestock to fabricated stories
about the Snallygaster.
This creation of stories and old-country
horrors, was a vale for the real and perceived threats locals saw in outsiders
and the startling changes of the new century brought with it, this making the emergence
of a beast like the Snallygaster was inevitable.
This bringing the story to a close
with the snallygaster meeting its end in a vat of moonshine.
Was the creature real? Where was it
hiding? Why had only some people seen it?
Let me know what you think in the comments
below.