History Main / OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious

* The United Kingdom has a history of mysterious big cats of various sorts (known as "[=ABCs=]"[[note]]Anomalous, or Alien, Big Cats[[/note]]), for example the Beast of Bodmin Moor, the Beast of Exmoor, the Cotswolds Big Cat and the Galloway Puma. Although some of the stories are centuries-old and may derive from phantom dog legends [[note]] such as the Yeth Hound of Dartmoor (which inspired ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'') and the Black Shuck of Suffolk (which inspired a song by Music/TheDarkness)[[/note]], a lot of the more recent (ie. late twentieth century onwards) ones are usually attributed to pet big cats being released in the 1970s after the laws were changed to stop people owning big cats, or animals that had been held illegally that escaped or were released when they became too difficult to manage. Some sightings might possibly be explained as domestic cats (or, in Scotland, wildcat-domestic cat hybrids) seen near to a viewer [[DepthDeception being misinterpreted]] as larger animals seen farther away. They got a fair bit of media coverage in the 1980s and 1990s, especially in [[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers the tabloids]] which exaggerated the stories and may have even made some of them up. In 1995, for example, a large cat skull was found in Cornwall [[ContrivedCoincidence shortly after]] a government report had disproved the existence of the Beast of Bodmin Moor; the Natural History Museum examined it and found it to be the skull of a leopard that had died in Africa several decades previously and had likely come to Britain as part of a leopard-skin rug. Although there have been less of these stories in the last few years, they do occasionally still crop up.

* The United Kingdom has a history of mysterious big cats of various sorts (known as "[=ABCs=]"[[note]]Anomalous, or Alien, Big Cats[[/note]]), for example the Beast of Bodmin Moor, the Beast of Exmoor and the Galloway Puma. Although some of the stories are centuries-old and may derive from phantom dog legends [[note]] such as the Yeth Hound of Dartmoor (which inspired ''Literature/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles'') and the Black Shuck of Suffolk (which inspired a song by Music/TheDarkness)[[/note]], a lot of the more recent (ie. late twentieth century onwards) ones are usually attributed to pet big cats being released in the 1970s after the laws were changed to stop people owning big cats, or animals that had been held illegally that escaped or were released when they became too difficult to manage. Some sightings might possibly be explained as domestic cats (or, in Scotland, wildcat-domestic cat hybrids) seen near to a viewer [[DepthDeception being misinterpreted]] as larger animals seen farther away. They were mentioned a fair bit in [[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers the tabloids]], which likely exaggerated the stories and may have even made some of them up in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1995, for example, a large cat skull was found in Cornwall, [[ContrivedCoincidence shortly after]] a government report had disproved the existence of the Beast of Bodmin Moor; the Natural History Museum examined it and found it to be the skull of a leopard that had died in Africa several decades previously and had likely come to Britain as part of a leopard-skin rug. Although the stories have sort of faded in the last few years, they do occasionally still crop up.

* One episode of ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey'' saw Damien going down to UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}} in order to try and fake a sighting of the Beast of Bodmin Moor. TruthInTelevision, as a number of big cat sightings in Britain at the time were exaggerated (and in some cases quite possibly faked [[note]]in 1995, a large cat skull was found in Cornwall, [[ContrivedCoincidence shortly after]] a government report had disproved the existence of the Beast of Bodmin Moor; the Natural History Museum examined it and found it to be the skull of a leopard that had died in Africa and come to Britain as part of a leopard-skin rug[[/note]]) by the media.

* The United Kingdom has a history of mysterious big cats of various sorts (known as "[=ABCs=]"[[note]]Anomalous, or Alien, Big Cats[[/note]]), for example the Beast of Bodmin Moor, the Beast of Exmoor and the Galloway Puma. Although some of the stories are centuries-old, a lot of the more recent (ie. late twentieth century onwards) ones are usually attributed to pet big cats being released in the 1970s after the laws were changed to stop people owning big cats, or animals that had been held illegally that escaped or were released when they became too difficult to manage. Some sightings might possibly be explained as domestic cats (or, in Scotland, wildcat-domestic cat hybrids) seen near to a viewer [[DepthDeception being misinterpreted]] as larger animals seen farther away. They were mentioned a fair bit in [[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers the tabloids]] in the 1980s and 1990s; although the stories have sort of faded in the last few years, they do occasionally still crop up.

* One episode of ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey'' saw Damien going down to UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}} in order to try and fake a sighting of the Beast of Bodmin Moor. TruthInTelevision, as a number of big cat sightings at the time were exaggerated (and in some cases quite possibly faked [[note]]in 1995, a large cat skull was found in Cornwall, [[ContrivedCoincidence shortly after]] a government report had disproved the existence of the Beast of Bodmin Moor; the Natural History Museum examined it and found it to be the skull of a leopard that had died in Africa and come to Britain as part of a leopard-skin rug[[/note]]) by the media.

* One episode of ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey'' saw Damien going down to UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}} in order to try and fake a sighting of the Beast of Bodmin Moor.

* The United Kingdom has a history of mysterious big cats of various sorts (known as "[=ABCs=]"[[note]]Anomalous, or Alien, Big Cats[[/note]]), for example the Beast of Bodmin Moor, the Beast of Exmoor and the Galloway Puma. Although some of the stories are centuries-old, a lot of the more recent (ie. late twentieth century onwards) ones are usually attributed to pet big cats being released in the 1970s after the laws were changed to stop people owning big cats, or animals that had been held illegally that escaped or were released when they became too difficult to manage. Some sightings might possibly be explained as domestic cats (or, in Scotland, wildcat-domestic cat hybrids) seen near to a viewer [[DepthDeception being misinterpreted]] as larger animals seen farther away. They were mentioned a fair bit in the news in the 1980s and 1990s; although the stories have sort of faded in the last few years, they do occasionally still crop up.

* The United Kingdom has a history of mysterious big cats of various sorts, for example the Beast of Bodmin Moor, the Beast of Exmoor and the Galloway Puma. These are usually attributed to pet big cats being released in the 1960s and 1970s after the laws were changed to stop people owning big cats and keeping them in their own homes. However, a lot of the stories pre-date that by quite some period of time (in some cases, centuries). They were mentioned a fair bit in the news in the 1980s and 1990s, but the stories have sort of faded in the last few years. They still crop up from time to time, though.

* The United Kingdom has a history of mysterious big cats of various sorts, usually attributed to pet big cats being released in the 1960s and 1970s after the laws were changed to stop people owning big cats and keeping them in their own homes. However, a lot of the stories pre-date that by quite some period of time (in some cases, centuries). They were mentioned a fair bit in the news in the 1980s and 1990s (to the point where one of the reporters from ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey'' went down to UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}} to try and fake a sighting of the Beast of Bodmin Moor), but the stories have sort of faded in the last few years. They still crop up from time to time, though.

* The United Kingdom has a history of mysterious big cats of various sorts, usually attributed to pet big cats being released in the 1960s and 1970s after the laws were changed to stop people owning big cats and keeping them in their own homes. However, a lot of the stories pre-date that by quite some period of time (in some cases, centuries). They were mentioned a fair bit in the news in the 1980s and 1990s, but the stories have sort of faded in the last few years. They still crop up from time to time, though.

** Descriptions for these two animals are as follows:

-->'''Platypus:''' [[spoiler: Like a beaver with a duck bill, except it also lays eggs and the males have venomous feet.]] Initially assumed to be just the work of a rogue taxidermist.

* ''Franchise/Ben10'' features an alien called Big Chill whose appearance is based off TheMothman.

* ''Film/BabySecretOfTheLostLegend'' is about the Mkele-Mbembe, an alleged surviving Dinosaur Lake Monster living in Africa.

%%The examples on this page have been sorted alphabetically. Please help keep this page tidy by adding new examples in order. Thank you!

-->'''Platypus:''' [[spoiler: Like a beaver with a duck bill, except it also lays eggs and the males have poisonous feet.]] Initially assumed to be just the work of a rogue taxidermist.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': The whole premise of the show finding and dealing with cryptids. Creator Jay Stephens deliberately refused to use any of the more commonly-known creatures in the show, with the more popular cryptids only ever referenced as being past encounters at best. [[spoiler: The exception is the Yeti, which is the true identity of series villain V. V. Argost]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': The whole premise of the show finding and dealing with cryptids. Creator Jay Stephens deliberately refused to use any of the more commonly-known creatures in the show, with the more popular cryptids only ever referenced as being past encounters at best. [[Spoiler: The exception is the Yeti, which is the true identity of series villain V. V. Argost]].

* ''Film/KingKong'' is the story of a group of filmmakers in search of the eponymous creature based on rumours, so Kong himself could be considered a cryptid. It's worth noting that King Kong itself was inspired by the discovery of a cryptid-turned-real -- the Komodo dragon.
* ''Film/TheMothmanProphecies'' centers on the lives of people who have had encounters with [[TheMothman the legendary creature]], and are experiencing odd occurrences.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': The whole premise of the show finding and dealing with cryptids. Creator Jay Stephens deliberately refused to use any of the more commonly-known creatures in the show, with the more popular cryptids only ever referenced as being past encounters at best.

The biological equivalent of [=UFO=] sightings, cryptids are creatures rumored to exist in RealLife, in isolation or in hiding, yet unrecognized and regarded as implausible by mainstream science. Some may be [[StockNessMonster relict survivors of species believed to be extinct]], or known organisms [[MisplacedWildlife displaced into inappropriate habitats]]; others are unlike any known species, with characteristics that [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane border upon the supernatural]]. Folk legends tied to specific cultural traditions (Algonquian {{wendigo}}s, Navajo {{skinwalker}}s, Japanese ''{{youkai}}'', Irish ''[[TheFairFolk aes sídhe]]'', etc.) aren't usually considered cryptids, nor are other overtly supernatural entities like ghosts. Aliens usually aren't either, unless they've been on Earth long enough to "go native" and be sighted in the wilderness.

Whatever their theoretical origin, all cryptids are mysterious by definition. Some of them are, however, sufficiently well-known from legend as to merit their own tropes:

* FearsomeCrittersOfAmericanFolklore are tongue-in-cheek variants.

* LivingDinosaurs
* Some varieties of LizardFolk

* SeaMonster

* {{Tsuchinoko}}

Those cryptids that haven't received heavy media attention, so cannot be classified under the subtropes above, may have works of fiction in which they're featured listed here. Works that feature a wide variety of cryptid types, or follow cryptozoologists' attempts to investigate them, also fall under this trope. Series that only have a CryptidEpisode usually leave their existence open to question, whereas cryptid-themed works generally ''do'' reveal their creatures to the audience (if not the characters), sooner or later.

Subtrope of AllTheoriesAreTrue. Compare OurMonstersAreWeird, which is for creatures that are too bizarre for even cryptozoology (the study of cryptids) to claim they're for real.

!!Examples:

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'', the members of Mission Control are all really into "[=UMAs=]" (Unidentified Mysterious Animals, the Japanese term for "cryptid", which is therefore apparently the normal term in English in the ''Metal Gear'' universe as well) and frequently talk about them to Snake. There is also a Tsuchinoko in the game which you can capture (or eat), and bringing it back alive is a much easier way of netting the Stealth Camouflage than completing a perfect Stealth Run. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' also has a cryptid Otaku used to justify the CrossOver with ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter''.

* ''TabletopGame/DemonTheDescent'' uses cryptid as a catch-all term for animals exposed to the energies of the God-Machine, used as agents by both the angels of the God-Machine and the demons that rebel against it. Example cryptids include mothmen and Reptoids.

* ''Series/MonsterQuest'' and ''Series/DestinationTruth'' are cryptozoology-themed programs in the style of ghost-hunter shows.

* ''Film/TheMothmanProphecies'' centers on the lives of people who have had encounters with the legendary creature, and are experiencing odd occurrences.
* The Film/{{MonsterVerse}} predominantly centres around the secret international cryptozoological organization Monarch, whose task is to keep up the {{Masquerade}} against cryptid organisms (up [[Film/Godzilla2014 until 2014]], when it became TheUnmasquedWorld). In this universe however, cryptids are {{Kaiju}} such as Franchise/KingKong and Franchise/{{Godzilla}}.

* [[{{Youkai}} Tsuchinoko]]

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid 3'', the members of Mission Control are all really into "[=UMAs=]" (Unidentified Mysterious Animals, the Japanese term for "cryptid", which is therefore apparently the normal term in English in the ''Metal Gear'' universe as well) and frequently talk about them to Snake. There is also a Tsuchinoko in the game which you can capture (or eat), and bringing it back alive is a much easier way of netting the Stealth Camouflage than completing a perfect Stealth Run. ''Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker'' also has a cryptid Otaku used to justify the Cross Over with ''Monster Hunter''.