FIVE MYTHICAL CREATURES FROM AMERICAN FOLKLORE

A few years back Balladeer’s Blog examined some of the folklore surrounding some very menacing cryptids from tall tales around the nation. This time around, the creatures being covered are much milder. 

THE BILLDAD

Habitat: Boundary Lake in Maine

Lore: The Billdad is said to be roughly the size of a badger, beaver or wolverine. It has hind legs and a torso like a kangaroo, a flat, wide tail like a beaver, a head like a bird of prey, and webbed paws. Their tail slapping the water is often compared to the sound of canoe paddles striking the water.

Billdads feed on fish who venture too near the surface of Boundary Lake. Their powerful hind legs propel them from the shore to the spot of their prey, which they strike dead with their flat tail. They devour the fish then use their webbed paws to swim back to shore. Reproducing asexually, these creatures replenish their numbers from humans or animals foolish enough to kill and eat a Billdad, causing them to morph into another Billdad. 

TIGER-CHIPMUNK

Habitat: Wisconsin

Lore: The legends of these cryptids are rooted in Paul Bunyan lore. Chipmunks near the logging camp of Bunyan and his giant blue ox Babe grew as large as tigers by eating leftover food from the massive meals of the gargantuan pair.

Ever since then, Tiger-Chipmunks have been preying on bears, wildcats, beavers and similar animals. Thus far, they are not known to feed on humans, but the reason why is disputed. 

HUGAG

Habitat: Minnesota and Wisconsin

Lore: Now extinct, the fictional Hugags were said to be the product of crossbreeding between moose and the prehistoric animals called paraceratherium. Their jointless legs prevented them from being able to stoop down to eat, so they fed on tree bark and slender, low-lying branches.

Hugags had to sleep standing up, leaning against trees or sometimes the cabins of 1800s Americans in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The animals could run swiftly thanks to their odd leg sockets but if they ever fell down, they were as good as dead due to helplessness before any predator that came along. This accelerated their extinction. 

CACTUS CAT

Habitat: The deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada

Lore: The Cactus Cat is a seeming hybrid of wildcats and porcupines but with many unique features of its own. These nocturnal animals have green fur adorned with sharp, thin protrusions similar to cactus needles and porcupine quills.

Cactus Cats are vegetarians, using their strong claws to tear into cacti and feed on the “meat” of the plant as well as the sap inside. This is also how Cactus Cats get water, by sucking it out of cacti innards. These cryptids sometimes consume hallucinogens in the cacti and while “tripping” can pose a danger to others.   

ROPERITE

Habitat: California and part of Nevada

Lore: Roperites are part lizard, part snake and part roadrunner, but with a long, ropey beak which culminates in a lasso that this cryptid uses to catch its prey. The creature has thick, leathery skin and legs which can propel it at speeds over forty miles per hour.

A Roperite’s tail is similar to that of a rattlesnake and it “rattles” when the animal is in pursuit. Roperites reproduce through egg-laying. 

FOR FIVE OTHER MONSTER LEGENDS OF AMERICA CLICK HERE.