🌲 I made a little forest in which some of my mini cryptids could frolick and/or menace as desired. 🌲

#diorama #cryptids #BigFoot #JerseyDevil #FlatwoodsMonster

Bruce facendo o diablillo.

#JerseyDevil
#ANightWithAJerseyDevil
#Samain

https://youtu.be/l6leNRGhOqA?si=eoKDZ4nfYp3fAs9z

[RETRO V.G. ADS] (US) Jersey Devil (1997) (PS1)

#advertising #JerseyDevil #PS1 #videogame #retrogaming #adstv #ads #cm #games #gaming #MegatoonStudios #OceanSoftware #SCEA #Konami #us #1997

YT : https://www.youtube.com/@johnnygameover/shorts

Pop Cryptid Spectator 18

Hi, everyone.

The Pop Cryptid Spectator is about the proliferation of depictions of cryptids in popular culture. In particular, these depictions are outside the context of the original, and serious, concept of cryptozoology as a specialized branch of zoology.

I realize this is a very niche topic. First, you have to know about cryptozoology. Then, you have to have some concept about how it was framed in its early inception. Finally, you have to be aware of, and interested in, the modern cryptid landscape, which exploded with new and imaginative ideas. Cryptids are EVERYWHERE today. And their presence in popular culture rarely has anything to do with a scientific endeavor to find a mystery animal unknown to science.

That calculation results in a tiny population of people that is going to get the gist of this specific newsletter. If you are one of them, thanks for coming along with me on this journey.

There are self-styled cryptozoologists and even scholars writing about these topics that don’t see the subject through the lens of pop cryptids. Even they aren’t catching this vibe. It’s still important for me to document the pop cryptid concept, since it helps me understand what’s happening in real time and tease out the reasons why cryptids are so popular these days, both commercially and socially. As always, I’m here to deliver examples of this popularity with each edition.

Through the pop cryptid lens, the creatures called “cryptids”, as defined and redefined continually through products of our society, transcend the idea of a “hidden animal” to be identified by zoological science. This is no longer the primary goal. Instead, the pop cryptid model shines a light on the many other purposes and goals. It’s important to document these cultural ideas because they can affect how we identify with the places we live or visit and our beliefs and our immediate environment. Cryptids are used in the stories we tell to convey important messages about ourselves and how we see the world. They reflect our fears and our relationship with the nature or the beyond-nature. The stories also play a huge role in tourism and media products. Let me illustrate…

In this edition:

• Jersey Devil is a Cryptid of the Moment
• Cryptid AI vlogs
• SpiracyCon goes heavy on cryptids and Christian commentators
• What’s with the “archiness” of water monsters?
• Monster Festivals Season – Thank the Mothman
• In Research Of… The Mothman Prophecies deep dive
• Pop Cryptid trivia

Jersey Devil is a Cryptid of the Moment

One can reasonably argue that the Jersey Devil (JD) is not a cryptid because it was viewed as a folklore creature, a mass panic event, or, in reality, a political smear campaign, instead of an animal to be discovered. However, JD clearly ranks as a top pop cryptid. It’s a fantastic creature and I love it. Reactor magazine has a lovely article about how a current book of poetry, a play, and a comic about the Jersey Devil have arrived to show it is still beloved. The three very different ways of utilizing the same subject show how versatile JD is. The writer remarks that it is “a combination of the Jersey Devil’s unique qualities and vague history that make it so appealing to writers and storytellers right now.”

Cryptid AI vlogs

I wrote a new piece for Modern Cryptozoology about the sudden proliferation of cryptid vlogs on visual social media platforms.

Starting in June 2025, video blog shorts have been materializing daily featuring cryptids rendered with amazing realism. They are meant to be humorous, with the cryptids pointing the phone cam at themselves and their friends, making jokes, and showing the viewer what it’s like to be their best selves. They talk, sing, demonstrate life skills, discover cool things, and even interact with people. Check out the piece here.

SpiracyCon goes heavy on cryptids and Christian commentators

I just want everyone to take a look at the header for SpiracyCon. This is really something!

This conspiracy conference promises “a world of intrigue and revelation!” “With a wide variety of speakers—bold investigators, daring theorists, and passionate truth-tellers… this event promises to challenge everything you think you know.” You wouldn’t expect cryptids to feature so prevalently – maybe UFOs and JFK. But, the dogman/werewolf, Bigfoot, and Mothman imagery is concerning when the content is advertised as “a thrilling mix of talks and discussions that dive deep into topics like government cover-ups, unexplained phenomena, and forbidden knowledge.” The term “truth seekers” is mentioned several times.

Of the content creators on the speakers list of 19 so far, 16 have “Christian” or Biblical studies in their bio. The other 3 might just not say it out loud, but clearly know this is an event with a seriously militant Christian vibe. Four mention Bigfoot research or cryptids in general. More than a few bios are downright terrifying in an evident personality disorder kind of way. If you know anything about the insane conspiracy ideas such as aliens as demons, Bigfoot as Nephilim, and Satanic allegations against one’s political enemies, you can bet what will be mentioned here will be even worse.

I would not be the least bit comfortable in such a crowd. However, it is not new that ideas about cryptids are popularly blending with the supernatural and occult, government coverups, and End Times Biblical stuff. Some people go hard core. Take this as a wake-up call – not all cryptid fans are in it for the fun.

What’s with the “archiness” of water monsters?

Charles Paxton and Adrian Shine have a new journal article out examining the “sticky” cultural image of water monsters depicted with “arches” of their long, serpentine bodies out of water. The conclusion of the article is that only very few eyewitness reports describe these “arches” in contrast to the very many media, art, and consumer imagery that does.

The more common description of “humps” (showing no space between the flesh and the water), while not examined in this article, is treated in Shine’s book A Natural History of Sea Serpents where he argues that the appearance of humps are frequently the result of natural wakes or waves on calm water. There is no related trend of eyewitnesses reporting “arches” even though the common pop-cultural depiction of, say, Nessie, shows these. This conclusion contrasts with other evidence that clearly suggests that pop-cultural depictions of cryptids influence eyewitness reports of seeing them. So, this is an intriguing finding.

It’s important to emphasize that NO vertebrate animal can move in a way that creates vertical “arches”, not even snakes. The best nature can do is a series of surface breaches just on the surface, such as when dolphins or porpoises travel in a line. Therefore, if a witness reports “arches” instead of humps, they can fairly be deemed to be mistaken to some degree.

A closing note on this, the BBC had a write-up where they got things confused regarding arches vs humps. People definitely see humps, but not arches.

Monster Festivals Season – Thank the Mothman

Town monster festival season continues: The Grafton monster festival, in its second year as one of several cryptid festivals located in West Virginia, was a huge success, and Port Henry, New York will hold its 40th Champ Day at Lake Champlain in early August.

Several other events coming in later summer and fall are ramping up to attract more visitors than ever as previous visitors tell their friends and families and word spreads via social media. Typically, these festival feature vendors, bands, and speakers. The speakers are frequently content creators, or associated with a TV show, what we colloquially call “para-celebs”. It used to be ghost hunters who got all the attention; but this social cachet is now rubbing off on cryptid investigators. If you visit one in your area, let me know how it was by emailing me!

Why do we have cryptid town festivals multiplying and growing every year? Mothman. Several new festivals, such as for Ol’ Green Eyes, Albatwitch, Grafton, Van Meter, and more, are spun from the template of Point Pleasant’s Mothman Festival.

In Research Of… The Mothman Prophecies deep dive

Here is a fantastic two-parter podcast that you must check out. Jeb Card and Blake Smith of In Research Of… go step by step through The Mothman Prophecies (2002) film. They compare the book to the movie and discuss aspects of the film and the phenomenon that you will certainly not have heard before. Instead of the usual Wikipedia-referencing shallow cryptid podcast, indulge with two extremely well-versed commentators sharing their thoughts on Mothman, movies, John Keel, and pop cryptids.
Part 1 https://inresearchof.libsyn.com/s04-bonus-the-mothman-prophecies-part-1
Part 2 https://inresearchof.libsyn.com/s4-bonus-the-mothman-prophecies-part-2

The Mothman festival, one of the most popular cryptid town festivals in the world, was almost certainly a result of this movie. And, remember, without the Mothman festival, there would probably not be the plethora of other monster festivals worldwide that we have today.

Pop Cryptid trivia

See if you can answer this movie trivia question.

What actress has appeared in TWO movies as a cancer-stricken wife of a man who embarks on a personal journey involving a cryptid?

Debra Messing. She played Mary Klein in The Mothman Prophecies (2002) and Thea Linnea Pyle in The Dark Divide, a 2020 movie based on the memoir Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide by Robert Pyle. While neither movie was primarily about the cryptid aspect, I thought this was an interesting commonality.

Thanks for reading.

Please continue to send me links to interesting news and content. I really appreciate that. Email sharon(at)sharonahill.com.

For more, click on Pop goes the Cryptid landing page. Make sure you subscribe to all the posts – it’s always free and I don’t send annoying spam. 

Pop Cryptid Spectator is also available on Substack. Please share this with cryptid fans you know!

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#BigfootMuseum #cryptid #ElCuero #FresnoNightcrawler #GeorgiaBigfootHoax #hoax #lakeMonsters #Nahuelito #PuebloMysteryCreature

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9756

Fifth of the #cryptid #prideart series! #Asexual pride #JerseyDevil!

Haunting the Pine Barrens of South Jersey (and that REALLY scary X-Files episode), the Jersey Devil is here to remind everyone that asexuality is a spectrum...so be kind, or ELSE! #art #pride

The mythical world of Safari Ltd cryptids

Listen, I am not a toy collector, I don’t buy toys. But these Jersey Devil and Mothman cryptid models from Safari, Ltd, Mythical Realms creatures line are wicked and delightful. Let me show you.

Firstly, and importantly for my Pop Cryptid framework, the Mythical Realms line has four of the world’s most popular cryptids (Bigfoot, Yeti, Mothman, and the Jersey Devil) in a collection with unicorns/pegasus, armored dinosaurs, gnomes, mermaids and even a “Halfling”. It is perfectly and culturally acceptable to lump these entities together as “mythical”.

I’m not going to talk about the Bigfoot model because it’s straight-up dull. Bigfoot’s aim is to blend into the woods. And so does the monster model. If you drop it in the dirt, you will not find it again. The Yeti is better because it looks like a video game Yeti, all blue-white and ripped. But I’m not much of a fan of this look because it is so entirely off the mark from the origin stories, which, in my view, tell of a rare bear.

The Mothman, however, was born wildly scary. Eyewitness accounts don’t include reliable specific details. The original accounts, however, aren’t actually moth-like, but the idea of a “mothman” is what really counts. It’s not thought of as a zoological creature (though it could have been a case of mistaken ID, as with most cryptids). It carries significant fantastical baggage thanks to John Keel. Therefore, extreme versions of Mothman are fair game. Safari has a black version and a bizarre but fascinating glow-in-the dark version. I like them both. Safari’s take on Mothman includes book-like abs, which make no biological sense, the characteristic red eyes, and moth-y antennae (used for catching scents in the air). Two-toed feet and three-fingered “hands” plus the fantasy-based ribbed wings (dragon- or demon-like, with no analog in nature as they are not formed from phalanges, flaps, or feathers) give it a totally “mythical” quality.

Let’s be clear: when people still say they see “mothman” anywhere from West Virginia to Chicago, they aren’t seeing a creature as depicted here. This Mothman is concocted to be ultimately and sensationally spooky.

The Safari, Ltd. object that really caught me and reeled me in, however, was the Jersey Devil. Everything I said about Mothman doubly applies to this creature. It’s depicted with a hairy but ripped human torso, and similar dragon wings unconnected to human arms with three clawed fingers and an opposable clawed thumb. The ridiculously implausible legs begin with a human thigh, knee, and calf, that then develop into horse ankles, extra long pastern bones, and ends in cloven hooves. The back is ridged, extending into a scaly tail, ending in a tuft of fur. Crazy! The head is the best part, however – extra thick and horse-like with ribbed curved goat horns, and horse nose/lips, but straight blunt, perfectly occluded teeth revealed by a masterful snarl (my favorite detail). It’s an entirely unnatural devilish mashup of, like, four different animals plus our idea of a stylized dragon. It’s glorious. Someone buy this for my birthday!

The Jersey Devil is probably my favorite cryptid. I’m not sure why, but I think the monstrous and incredible mixture of features along with its sheer unreality have much to do with it. The JD is so fun; the traditional origin story of the monstrous birth and subsequent forest haunting lacks grounding in reality. Without any restrictions on biology, the tall tale aspect allowed creativity to run wild. Perhaps that’s why I love this toy’s depiction so much, too – it’s absurd. And who would argue!? There is no question that this not a real animal; it’s a supernatural story. There is no zoology involved. The “mystery” will remain forever. We shall never see one IRL, so it gleefully lives on in our imagination.

Thanks to the Monster Toy Blog who reviewed the JD model. Check it out here.

#collectables #cryptid #JerseyDevil #Mothman #popCryptid #toys #Yeti

https://sharonahill.com/?p=9852

Jersey Devil (Mythical Realms by Safari Ltd.)

First reported in the late 18th century, the Jersey Devil (Diablus leedsi) is a rare and dangerous predatory mammal that inhabits the vast Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Its secretive and savage nature combined with its frightening appearance has led to many tall tales being told about its origin, including even one about how it began as the demonic spawn of a human mother.

Here is the 2025 […]

Read more... https://monstertoyblog.com/jersey-devil-mythical-realms-by-safari-ltd/

#JerseyDevil#SafariLtd_