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Fearsome Critters of American Folklore: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Hodag Photo 1409.jpg|frame|The terrible Hodag, captured on film (allegedly) by Eugene Shepard, 1893.]]
The '''Fearsome Critters''' are a group of mythical beings from [[Tall Tales Teller|the stories told by European colonists to North America]], mainly in New England (naturally) in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but there are stories of Fearsome Critters spread all across the country, including several notable "species" specific to the southwest. Fearsome Critters are notable for being described primarily by their behavior, not by their appearance, and for often having names that reflect that (Hide-Behind, Come-at-a-Body, ''et cetera''), meaning that what they actually ''look'' like fluctuates wildly from tale to tale in the style of [[Paul Bunyan]]—whose loyal friend and partner, Babe the Big Blue Ox, might well be a Critter himself.▼
Genuine belief in the Fearsome Critters was never widespread; even in most of modern America they're relatively obscure, and almost completely unheard-of in other parts of the world. They originated, variously, as exaggerated accounts of native fauna unfamiliar to the European travelers who described them and as a humorous means of describing the strange goings-on in the woods by lumberjacks, carnies, and other outdoorsy types. Fearsome critters are not cryptids, nor are they associated with Native American faiths; the [[Jersey Devil]], the [[Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti|sasquatch]] and the [[Wendigo]] are ''not'' Fearsome Critters.▼
▲The Fearsome Critters are a group of mythical beings from [[Tall Tales Teller|the stories told by European colonists to North America]], mainly in New England (naturally) in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but there are stories of Fearsome Critters spread all across the country, including several notable "species" specific to the southwest. Fearsome Critters are notable for being described primarily by their behavior, not by their appearance, and for often having names that reflect that (Hide-Behind, Come-at-a-Body, ''et cetera''), meaning that what they actually ''look'' like fluctuates wildly from tale to tale in the style of [[Paul Bunyan]]—whose loyal friend and partner, Babe the Big Blue Ox, might well be a Critter himself.
{{See also|Yowies and Bunyips and Drop Bears, Oh My!}}▼
▲Genuine belief in the Fearsome Critters was never widespread; even in most of modern America they're relatively obscure, and almost completely unheard-of in other parts of the world. They originated, variously, as exaggerated accounts of native fauna unfamiliar to the European travelers who described them and as a humorous means of describing the strange goings-on in the woods by lumberjacks, carnies, and other outdoorsy types. Fearsome critters are not cryptids, nor are they associated with Native American faiths; the [[Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti|sasquatch]] and the [[Wendigo]] are ''not'' Fearsome Critters.
Some of the notable Critters are:
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[[File:Sidehill Gouger 4864.jpg|frame]]
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The most famous legend of the Guyascutus involves an old carnival grift. A traveling carnival show rolls into town, claiming to have wild animals from all around the world on display—including, incredibly, a live Guyascutus. The people paid their fees and flocked to see the alleged beastie, at which point the leader of the plan would run before the crowds, looking desperate and beat-up, claiming that the creature had escaped. The people, terrified, would immediately run to their homes, leaving the carnival troupe to ride away with their "earnings".
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[[File:squonk 2985.jpg|frame]]
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The Squonk also has a legend surrounding it. This one tells of a man named J.P. Wentling, who wanted to capture a live Squonk and prove its existence to the world. One night he succeeded, trapping the creature in a bag; but when he took it home and opened the bag to show his friends and family, he found nothing but water inside. The Squonk, more miserable than ever, had dissolved into a pool of its own tears.
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[[File:Jackalope 5138.jpg|frame]]
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Sadly, any reported Jackalope sighting is much more likely to be a regular rabbit [[wikipedia:Shope papilloma virus|afflicted with the shope papilloma virus.]]
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Still quite popular in Wisconsin, where it makes its home (and particularly in the city of Rhinelander), the Hodag is a fierce beastie with "the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end". Several hoaxes regarding the animal, from the way it terrorized the lumber community to its eventual capture (using chloroform and ''dynamite'', no less!) were perpetrated in the late 19th century by the prankster Eugene Shepard. Today, the creature is more or less a fondly-regarded local curiosity; it's even become [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Rhsflag.jpg the mascot of Rhinelander High School.]
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Lesser-known (but no less Fearsome) Critters:
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* The '''Wunk''' is a retiring critter that hides by digging a hole, jumping in, and then pulling the hole in after it.
▲{{See also|Yowies and Bunyips and Drop Bears, Oh My!}}
{{examples|Examples in fiction:}}
== Film ==
* ''[[Brotherhood of the Wolf]]'' has the lead character show the Fur Bearing Trout to french aristocrats until one catches onto the forgery. It allows him to talk about his theory on the nature of the Wolf.
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