North American history is riddled with strange animal and so-called monster encounters. The mysterious woods, plains, swamps, and mountains hid mysteries that preyed on people’s minds and fueled the legends and stories told around family hearths.

Monster sightings were as popular in the 1800 and early 1900s as they are today. However, instead of posting their sightings to social media accounts, the people of the past went to the newspapers, where their stories were published and immortalized. And, of course, that means they can still be read today.

10 Half-Man And Half-Frog

The idea of aquatic or amphibian men is nothing new. Since antiquity, people have been spotting these strange creatures across the world. However, a more recent sighting from 1902 happened in North America.

According to one newspaper report, a half-man, half-frog creature came out of Colonial Lake, a tidal pond in South Carolina. It was late at night, and witnesses said the curious creature crawled onto the bank and began making strange sounds. They may have been distress cries, according to some accounts, but after about 30 minutes, the creature returned to the water.

The event was witnessed by a truck driver, a carpenter, and numerous other people who were out late that night. According to a statement made by the carpenter:

It was too horrible looking to describe. The head resembled that of a huge frog, the wide, protruding eyes burning with a lurid light. It had arms and shoulders like a man, but the body tapered down like a serpent’s. It was covered with large, greenish scales, and I should say it was at least eight feet long from head to tail. Its mouth was filled with crooked fangs, which it snapped together with a vicious click.^[1]

9 Disappeared In Green Smoke

Wildcat sightings, as well as black panther sightings, have always been a popular topic in newspapers, but this particular sighting in Slick, Oklahoma, was a bit different from those other wildcat stories.

It was during the summer of 1921 when people began seeing an unusual wildcat. According to one report, “The monster was seen [ . . . ] by a woman and two children who were picking dewberries in a swamp at the top of a hill on the outskirts of the city. It spat fire, snarled fiercely and gave a weird howl when it beheld the trio, disappearing in a sudden burst of speed and green smoke.”^[2]

A local reporter and scientist headed to the swamp to find the spitfire cat. The scientist made impressions of the cat’s large, unfamiliar footprints and muttered, “Wildcat, but not still.” The reporter wanted to follow the tracks to find the cat, but the scientist was quite unwilling to go any further.

8 Georgia’s Hairy Man-Monster

Long before the creatures were called “Bigfoot,” there were strange sightings in the mountains of Georgia. An early account from the summer of 1812 tells how a party of hunters came across a 2.4-meter-tall (8 ft) man-creature. It was covered in bluish hair and had large ears, similar to the ears of a donkey.^[3]

Two years later, a group of adventurers from Virginia decided to try and find the mysterious man-monster. As they traveled across the undeveloped land, they spoke to numerous locals who either believed that the hairy man existed or had seen the creature themselves. Fortunately for the monster, the party of men were unable to locate its dwelling.

To this day, hikers and Bigfoot researchers claim to have seen or heard the mysterious monsters that live in Georgia.

7 Duchesne River Monster

A post trader visited the Ute people in Eastern Utah back in 1889 and began talking to them about their culture, raising children, and the local industries. Soon, the conversation moved onto local superstitions, and the trader, who was accompanied by a local newspaper reporter, was told about the Duchesne River monster.

According to the Ute, there is a spot near the head of the Duchesne that was inhabited by “a horrible monster, half man and half beast, with all the powers of an evil spirit.”^[4] The monster lived in the valley, and the locals all avoided venturing into the area, believing that the creature would kill them if it caught wind of them.

Of course, instead of believing the Ute, the reporter felt that perhaps the people were confusing the half-man monster with the Gila monsters of Arizona. However, this makes very little sense because Gila monsters were recognized as animals, not actual monsters, among Native American tribes.

6 The Red-Whiskered Devil

New York state had its own unique monster problems in 1891. Residents near Gravesend Beach claimed they saw a devil of sorts and described it as a “monster all covered with hair, with flailing red whiskers and a Satanic howl.”^[5] People were frightened out of their wits, and it was reported that women and men were staying indoors instead of venturing out at night.

Unionville was also being terrorized by the Red-Whiskered Devil. One night, a train dispatcher saw the strange creature, and, he said, it “gave a roar like thunder, grinned in a most ghastly manner and then started off.” The train dispatcher said that since he did not believe in ghosts, he decided to chase after it. Holding a monkey wrench, the man followed the creature for 3.2 kilometers (2 mi). Then it disappeared right in front of him so suddenly that the man gasped in fear.

Afterward, numerous people came forward to say they had seen the creature. While the witnesses were described as intelligent, one newspaper report ventured to say that the creature was more than likely a man dressed in a bear suit, scaring residents for his own personal thrill.

5 Half-Man And Half-Dog

There was something rather alarming running around Virginia. In 1882, it was reported that a large number of people had spotted a half-man, half-beast creature in the Petersburg area. People were so frightened that they were requesting police escorts whenever they had to travel the neighborhood at night.

Three years later and over 160 kilometers (100 mi) away, the people of Lynchburg, Virginia, had similar sightings. In this case, the monster was described as being half-man and half-dog. It was spotted chasing after children, who believed that the monster was out to eat them.^[6]

In both of these cases, newspaper reports touted that the stories of the dog-man were told by superstitious, uneducated people. No other theories were given as to what the creature or creatures could have been. However, dog-man sightings continue today in the state of Virginia.

4 Idaho’s Hair-Covered Man

It was a cold winter in Chesterfield, Idaho, in 1902. The young adults, eager to socialize and spend time outdoors, went to the local river and put on their skates.

As they skated across the river ice and gossiped, a strange figure appeared. It was 2.4 meters (8 ft) tall, covered in hair, and carrying a club. The man-like creature let out strange yells, and the young people made a mad scramble to their wagons. They escaped, unharmed.

After reaching their little town, they told their parents and neighbors what they had seen. It wasn’t long before the older adults returned to the scene. There, they discovered footprints that measured 56 centimeters (22 in) long and 18 centimeters (7 in) wide. The creature had only four toes on each foot.^[7]

As people began to talk among each other, they found out that similar prints had been discovered in the past, albeit further down the river.

Idaho Bigfoot sightings remain common to this very day.

3 It Turned Itself Inside Out

Something rather odd was plaguing the cattlemen of Bloody Basin, Arizona, back in 1913, and there were reports of men selling out, packing up, and leaving the area just to avoid whatever it was.

According to one witness, he and two other cowmen were crossing the hills when they saw a strange-looking creature ahead of them. The men were so frightened by it that they emptied their guns into the thing.

It was no use. According to the account, the beast was unharmed:

Quick as a flash it wriggled and one side actually went through the other. In other words, it turned wrong side out, reversed, revamped itself, reorganized, changed its general plan and specifications, so that the long legs moved over to the side just occupied by the short ones. Then, with a roar and a swish of the tail it fled back around the hill.^[8]

Arizona continues to offer up strange creature sightings, as well as UFO sightings and Bigfoot.

2 Pennsylvania Devil

A strange creature was seen in Springvale, Pennsylvania, back in 1910. Locals called it a devil, and it was likened to the Jersey Devil, which had been acting up in the Pine Barrens again.

William Smuck, a local of Springvale, saw the creature firsthand and said it sort of looked like a large dog, but it had hind legs shaped like those on a kangaroo. Other people who saw it likened its fur to porcupine quills, but no one was brave enough to stick around for a closer look whenever it showed itself.

After the creature had been accused of tearing apart a local dog, people were afraid to go out at night. When they had to venture out, they would do so in groups, and many people began carrying shotguns and rifles with them.

According to the locals, the devil creature was ferocious. It moved like a panther, was fast, and hunted among the local farms.^[9]

1 Dismal Swamp Monster

While people in other parts of the US dismissed Virginians as superstitious, the Virginians themselves were having a terrible beast problem back in 1902. This is not surprising, since 20 years prior to this latest incident, Virginians were having problems with a dog-man.

According to old newspaper reports, something came out of the Dismal Swamp area and began eating people’s dogs and livestock. The creature, said to have had eyes that glowed in the dark like phosphorous, was hunted down and supposedly killed.

Shortly afterward, however, another Dismal Swamp monster came out of the area to terrorize the neighborhood. A farmer witnessed the strange creature kill seven of his dogs, but when he went after it with a pistol, the creature attacked him and tore his clothing to shreds.^[10]

Another neighbor saw the creature. He described it as an animal that was larger than a wolf, “with shaggy, yellow hair, long head, and sunken eyes.” About two weeks later, it was reported that the creature had been killed again, but this time, it was described as being similar to a wolf but far larger.

Today, the Dismal Swamp area is often visited by thrill-seekers who want to catch sight of the ever-elusive Bigfoot that has been spotted in the area by numerous eyewitnesses.

Elizabeth is a full-time freelance writer and enjoys researching early American history. When she is not busy digging through newspaper archives, she is usually traveling to historical sites throughout the US.

Monster movies are pure fun, even if they hardly ever win awards and are usually last on the “best movies of all times” lists. The first giant monster movie is generally described as the 1933 King Kong film, while the first picture to include a creature is the 1915 silent film, The Golem.

Frankenstein first made his onscreen debut in 1910 in a 13-minute film directed by J. Searle Dawley and starring Charles Ogle. In 1941, Lon Chaney Jr. played The Wolf Man, and in 1954, The Creature from the Black Lagoon introduced audiences to an aquatic humanoid monster.

On this list are some more entertaining facts about some of the most beloved monster movies and their creatures that have stomped onto our screens over the years.

Related: Top 10 Ridiculous Movie Monsters

10 Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

David Carradine and Richard Roundtree star in the bonkers 1982 monster movie, Q: The Winged Serpent. There are decapitations, a flaying, and a whole lot more, courtesy of a winged Aztec monster that takes up residence in the spire of the Chrysler building.

Producer and director Larry Cohen was in New York to direct another film for which he had written a screenplay but was fired a mere week into production. Instead of leaving in defeat, he spent a few days in the city working on pre-production and then started shooting Q.

David Carradine, who had received a telegram from Cohen, arrived in New York without knowing that he was to play the role of a detective in a monster movie. Michael Moriarty, who plays a crook, was hired because Cohen happened to like him and ran into him in a New York café.

It took six attempts at convincing those in charge of the Chrysler Building—and continuous offers of more money—before Cohen was allowed to shoot scenes there. And even though the spire was unsteady and quite unsafe, Cohen simply said that the budget didn’t allow for a safer model to be built, and filming continued.^[1]

9 Leviathan (1989)

After its release in 1989, the science fiction horror film Leviathan was slated by critics for its similarities to Alien and The Thing. The movie centers around the crew of an underwater geological facility who are stalked and killed by a mutant monster—Leviathan.

The creepy-looking monster was inspired by a library of marine life images and medical reference books. This led to the filmmakers blending human body parts with elements of marine animals to create a beast sporting a fish head and sharp teeth.

Tom Woodruff brought the creature suit to life, and deep-dive suits were specifically designed for each lead actor. These suits were made of white fiberglass shells and had bellows at the bottom of the feet that squirted air whenever a character stepped down. This was to ensure the dust on the ground would “poof” out, making the underwater scenes more realistic.^[2]

8 An American Werewolf in London (1981)

As a teenager in 1969, director John Landis saw a man being wrapped in garlic and buried feet first out of fear that he would come back to life. This inspired him to write the script of the horror-comedy, An American Werewolf in London. However, no one was interested in producing the film until 1981, and by that time, five other werewolf movies had already seen the light.

David Naughton, who got the starring role after a 10-minute conversation with Landis, had to sit still for 10 hours every day to be transformed into a werewolf with the help of special makeup effects artist Rick Baker. Michael Jackson was a huge fan of Baker’s work and hired him to direct his “Thriller” music video, as well as do all the makeup effects.

Also, Landis had to bribe police officers to film in Piccadilly Circus: before Werewolf, filming here had been banned for around 15 years.^[3]

7 King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla marked the first time fans were able to see the two giants in color and in widescreen format. To date, this entry in the monster franchise remains the most attended Godzilla film in Japan.

Haruo Nakajima, who suited up as Godzilla, blended the moves of the original Godzilla with pro-wrestling moves for the big showdown with Kong, played by Shoichi Hirose. The movie also features a giant octopus that was mainly portrayed by a real cephalopod moving about on a miniature set. For the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, the computer animation director used the octopus footage as inspiration to make the movie’s Kraken look realistic.^[4]

6 Frankenstein (1931)

Mary Shelley was 20 years old when her novel, Frankenstein, was published anonymously in London in January of 1818. The story of Victor Frankenstein, who creates a monster from corpse pieces, eventually inspired a slew of movies, TV shows, and plays.

For the 1931 film, Bela Lugosi was offered the role of the monster, but he turned it down, which subsequently led to director Robert Florey also quitting. Boris Karloff ended up getting the role, but Lugosi eventually played the monster in the 1943 film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. James Whale took over for Florey two weeks before shooting began.

The film was the first to use the Castle Thunder sound effect and the monster makeup design will remain under copyright until 2026.^[5]

5 Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece, Pan’s Labyrinth, is full of monsters of a different kind. His film introduces creatures that are meant to haunt your dreams, such as the Mandrake Root, the Giant Toad, and of course, the Pale Man.

The movie was intended to be a thematic complement to del Toro’s 2001 film, The Devil’s Backbone, but the events of 9/11 changed his perspective and how he portrayed brutality and innocence. Del Toro also said that he had been seated next to horror novelist Stephen King during a screening of Pan’s Labyrinth in New England and that King squirmed during the Pale Man scene. Del Toro reflected on this moment, saying it was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

He also confirmed that the much-talked-about bottle attack scene was based on a real-life incident during which del Toro and a friend were involved in a brawl, and the friend was struck in the face with a bottle.^[6]

4 The Thing (1982)

Despite being a classic horror film, The Thing bombed at the box office and received mainly negative reviews. Today, however, sentiment has changed, and the movie is considered to be one of John Carpenter’s best efforts. Tobe Hooper was originally chosen as director for the film, but after Universal received his rough draft, they were unimpressed and eventually handed the job to Carpenter.

Special effects genius, Rob Bottin, was 21 years old when he got the gig to oversee the special effects for The Thing. He was dedicated to the extreme, working for a year straight without any leave. Unfortunately, this saw him landing in the hospital with double pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer. For his efforts, he received a special “thank you” in the end credits.

Kurt Russell, who plays R.J. MacReady, throws a stick of dynamite during one scene, and it’s been revealed that his shocked reaction after being knocked off his feet was authentic because he misjudged the strength of the blast during filming.^[7]

3 Tremors (1990)

This beloved monster horror-comedy film received great reviews after its release in 1990, with critics hailing the diverse cast and excellent humor. The movie gained a massive cult following after it became available on home video and TV and was one of the most rented films of 1990.

Co-writer S.S. Wilson once worked as an editor at a Naval air station in the Mojave Desert. On his days off, he went hiking, and one day, he had a strange thought as he climbed over some large boulders: “What if something was under the ground and I couldn’t get off this rock.” He made a mental note of this, and years later, the giant worm monsters were “born.”

The Alabama Hills in the California desert served as the backdrop for Tremors and later for a host of other movies, including Gladiator, Iron Man, and Man of Steel.

One of the stars of the film, Kevin Bacon, later revealed that being involved with Tremors seemed like a low point in his career, and it caused him to sleepwalk while having nightmares. One time he even picked up his pregnant wife and carried her out into the street, all while sleepwalking.^[8]

2 Pacific Rim (2013)

Pacific Rim was something of a gamble for Legendary Pictures because it didn’t have a pre-existing franchise to back it up. As a result, it didn’t do great in the U.S., but the gamble paid off in other parts of the world, where it became a huge hit.

Screenwriter Travis Beacham was walking along the Santa Monica pier in 2007 when he envisioned a sea monster looming over it. He then pictured a huge robot materializing and fighting the beast. The final screenplay for Pacific Rim, featuring robots and monstrous sea creatures, was eventually co-written by Beacham and Guillermo del Toro.

The Jaeger in the film, Gipsy Danger, had its gait based on John Wayne’s signature hip movements, and its design was influenced by the Chrysler and Empire State buildings.^[9]

1 Alien (1979)

It’s hard to imagine the 1979 classic science fiction horror film, Alien, being called anything else, but the script was actually titled Star Beast at one point. Realizing that it didn’t sound quite right, the team behind the film settled on Alien.

Alien went on to become one of the greatest films of all time and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. It launched Sigourney Weaver’s acting career and spawned many sequels. Weaver and Meryl Streep were both considered for the lead role, but because Streep was dealing with the loss of her boyfriend at the time, the producers offered it to Weaver.

The most memorable scene in the movie is the one in which a slimy creature bursts through Kane’s chest. The actors surrounding Kane (John Hurt) weren’t aware of just how much blood and intestines would be used during the scene because the director wanted authentic reactions. This is exactly what he got, especially from Veronica Cartwright, who looks downright horrified.

This scene, as well as the face-hugger scene and the one where Ash gets his head knocked off, didn’t go over well with test audiences. Viewers fled theaters and vomited in nearby restrooms while one man even broke his arm trying to flee the cinema.^[10]

There’s something about monsters that just won’t die. No matter how many times they’re debunked or disproven, these mythical creatures continue to capture our imaginations. Perhaps it’s because we all have a little bit of monster inside of us, just waiting to come out. Or maybe it’s because these stories have been passed down for generations, becoming a part of our collective consciousness.

Whatever the reason, there’s no denying that monsters are here to stay, and here is a list of the monsters who have lived in our collective consciousness for the longest time.

10 The Chupacabra

The chupacabra is a mythical creature that is said to live in Puerto Rico, South America, and Mexico, even venturing into the American southwest. It is often described as a dog-like creature with spikes down its back. The first sighting of the chupacabra was in 1995 when a farmer in Puerto Rico found some dead animals with puncture wounds in their necks. There has been a myriad of other supposed sightings, with the latest one being a video from 2019, making this one active monster.

The chupacabra may be scary, but it has not lived for too long compared to the other monsters on this list. Although its myth is certainly becoming an enduring one.^[1]

9 The Mokele-Mbembe

The mokele-mbembe is a mythical creature that is said to inhabit the Congo Basin in Africa. It is described as a large, elephant-like creature with a long neck and a long, snake-like tail. Some believe that the mokele-mbembe is a real animal.

The first recorded sighting of the mokele-mbembe was in 1909 when the famed hunter Carl Hagenbeck wrote of hearing it from others. They had heard about the creature from natives that it was “half elephant, half dragon” in his autobiography Beasts and Men.

In 2016, a travel documentary crew visited many villages in the area and heard one of two stories: either that it was still there or that it had died a decade ago. According to legend, the mokele-mbembe would have lived for around 100 years, and it is interesting to see a mythical creature die which doesn’t happen with most others.^[2]

8 Bigfoot

Bigfoot, also known as a sasquatch, is a creature said to inhabit forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It’s usually described as a large, hairy, ape-like creature.

The history of Bigfoot is shrouded in mystery, with many Native American groups having myths and legends surrounding the hairy creature for generations. A few sightings of it sprang up in the 19th century. Since the 1950s, though, there have been an exceptionally large number of sightings of the creature, but it has never been caught or killed.

Some believe that Bigfoot is a Yeti, a mythical creature from the Himalayas. Others believe it is a descendant of an ape-like creature that lived in North America millions of years ago. There are even those who believe that it is just a human wearing animal skin.

Whatever the truth might be, one thing is for sure: this Bigfoot fellow, if it is one entity, has got to be really old now.^[3]

7 The Yeti

The Yeti, also known as the Abominable Snowman, is a mythical creature that inhabits the Himalayan region of Nepal and Tibet. The Yeti is said to be a large, hairy, human-like creature that is sometimes described as ape-like or bear-like.

The first recorded sighting of the Yeti was in 1832 when a British explorer named B.H. Hodgson reported seeing a large, ape-like creature in the Himalayas. What is it with these 19th-century people and giant apes?! First Bigfoot, and now this?! The myth gained more momentum in the 20th century, with—supposed—photographic evidence of a Yeti print. And like Bigfoot, tales of the mythical beast actually existed for centuries ago in local folklore.

Whether the Yeti and Bigfoot are real or not, it is certainly interesting that both are close to having their 200th birthday.^[4]

4 The Megalodon

The megalodon, a shark of insane proportions, was a real creature millions of years ago that went extinct, but some people think it still exists, now making it a mythical creature. The first (more recent) sighting of this megalodon was in 1873 when supposedly “fresh” teeth were found by the HMS Challenger. This led many to believe and fantasize about the continued existence of the megalodon.

This means that the new megalodon myth has been alive for 150 years, which is pretty bad compared to the millions lived by its real counterpart.^[5]

5 The Kraken

The kraken, the giant sea monster of legend, has been terrorizing sailors since the 12th century. The first recorded reference to the kraken was by the Norwegian king, Sverre, in 1180. The kraken continued to inspire fear among sea goers until the latest mention, which seems to be during the early 19th century. This was when the ship Ville de Paris was swallowed up in the water, and the other ships coming to its aid disappeared the same way, leading some to believe this was the work of the kraken.

Octopuses actually have a very short lifespan of one to three years, depending on species, so maybe Sverre should have thought a thousand years ahead and made it a half-immortal jellyfish, half-octopus instead.^[6]

4 The Basilisk

The basilisk is a mythical creature with the body of a snake and the head of a rooster. It is said to be able to kill with a single glance.

The first written account of a basilisk was in the work The Natural History by Pliny the Elder, published in the first century AD. Pliny said that the basilisk was born from a cock’s egg that had been incubated by a toad or a serpent.

The legend of the basilisk continued to grow in the Middle Ages, written about in The Canterbury Tales and even by Leonardo da Vinci.

The final sighting of the basilisk is that one is said to have terrorized the inhabitants of Vilnius, Lithuania, during the reign of Grand Duke Sigismund August, which lasted until 1572. This means the basilisk legend lived for 1500 years.^[7]

3 The Loch Ness Monster

The Loch Ness monster, also affectionately known as Nessie, is a mysterious creature that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in Scotland. Some people believe that the Loch Ness monster is a plesiosaur, a type of prehistoric marine reptile. Others believe the Loch Ness monster is a tree, an eel, or an enormous catfish.

The crazy thing is that Nessie has been sighted a multitude of times across 1500 years of history, including our modern age! The first recorded sighting was in the 6th century when Saint Columba saw something in the water that disturbed him. In the 1930s, there was a spate of Nessie sightings, and the Loch Ness monster became world-famous.

Google even spotted something in the loch in 2006, but it turned out to be a log. To celebrate the Loch Ness monster, they even have underwater photos of the Loch on Google Earth.

That plesiosaur, log, or tree, whatever it is, must now know that loch like the back of its… hand… er, fin… er, whatever its appendage is called!^[8]

2 The Manticore

The manticore is a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. It is believed to be native to Ethiopia but has also been associated with ancient Persia and Egypt.

The manticore’s first appearance in literature was, again, in Pliny the Elder’s The Natural History. In this work, Pliny describes the manticore as follows: “There is another animal which is called the man-eater [manticorus]. It has a human face, with three rows of teeth in its mouth, and a voice like a trumpet.”

The manticore continued to appear throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In the 13th century, the Italian poet Dante Alighieri included the manticore in his epic poem The Divine Comedy.

Luckily the manticore seems to have died in the seventeenth century when Randle Holme was the last to write “nonfiction” about it. Well, 1600 years is a good run, I guess.^[9]

1 The Sphinx

The sphinx has been a part of human mythology for millennia. It is typically depicted as a lion with a human head and is often associated with wisdom and knowledge.

The earliest known reference to the sphinx comes from ancient Egyptian culture, where the creature was said to guard temples and treasure. The sphinx was also popular with ancient Greeks, who believed it guarded the city of Thebes by famously asking a riddle—about the creature that is four-footed then two-footed and then three-footed.

The sphinx myth lived from before 2500 BC, when the Great Sphinx was built, to the 9th century, when the last pagans of Greece lived. At more than 3300 years, this makes it by far the oldest monster myth on this list!^[10]