Episode 96: Mr. Hardy & The Unexplained

"It turns out it was some sort of, like, creature/and I have no idea what it was/it really blew my mind."

                 -AWOLNATION, "Some Sort of Creature"

   For years now, I've been fascinated by the concept of cryptids. To define, a cryptid is basically any creature that is claimed and believed by some to exist on the basis of reported sightings/folklore/urban legend, but is not a scientifically documented or proven existing creature. Cryptids range anywhere from a pretty normal fish that just isn't properly identified, to, like, a goat-man that lives under a bridge. Think of the big ones like Bigfoot, Mothman, the Loch Ness Monster, etc..

   Do I think they're real? That's a hard question for me. I certainly believe that there is more to this world and existence than we know of. I firmly believe there are creatures out there we don't properly know about. For example, it's confirmed fact that a bunch of the ocean remains as yet unexplored, so I think it's pretty fair to believe there might be some freaky creatures down there we have no idea about (see way back in episode 11). Also, being a Christian I believe in angels and demons, and I think both of these beings interact on earth to at least some extent and may account for a lot of claimed ghost/cryptid sightings.

    In some sense, I'd like to think a lot of these cryptids are real, at least the ones that aren't explicitly evil. I know it's very easy to fake "sightings" and just lie, and it's easy to say a big owl that scared you was Mothman if you live in West Virginia, but I've seen and read some kinda convincing stuff. Plus, they're just cool to think about.

    It's easy to go down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos with titles like "Ten Creepy Paranormal Sightings That Will Disturb You", even though I know that a majority or maybe even all of the sightings they show are fake. 

   Cryptids are such a popular phenomenon that there is a whole study around them, cryptozoology. Books, shows, and movies have spawned from the topic, like Finding Bigfoot and The Mothman Prophecies. 

  But don't forget the lesser talked about cryptids - the Jersey Devil, the Chupacabra, Jackalopes, yetis, skinwalkers, skunk apes, wendigos, the Flatwoods Monster, Indrid Cold - what have you.

   Maybe I have too much faith in humanity, but surely not ALL these sightings are fake. In my mind, some of them HAVE to be true. Make fun of me if you want, but I believe some cryptids are real. 

   I've been saying, partly jokingly, for a long time that I wanna see a cryptid. I wanna be one of those guys who sees some kind of peculiar, unexplained creature, and I tell everyone and no one believes me. Maybe I even get a blurry picture or video of the thing and just get more and more frustrated as people call me a liar and my evidence fake. Okay, I know in reality it would probably suck to have no one believe you when you say you saw something like that, but it's funny to joke about it. And the part about me wanting to see a cryptid isn't a joke. As long as it doesn't wanna hurt me or follow me home, I really do wanna see a cryptid.

Anyway, see you next week!