Beyond Bigfoot: Cryptids - Stranger Than Fiction Theme - Halloween

Join another eerie episode in our Stranger Than Fiction theme for Halloween! This time, Quizmaster Andi went "Beyond Bigfoot" to bring out four cryptid creatures from around the world. But be on the lookout: one of the four actually lives in a fictional world! Think you can find the fake cryptozoological beast? Listen in with hosts Tanner and Sups as they sasqu-watch their step and figure out which creepy cryptid is stranger than fiction! 

Transcript

Sups 0:01

You guys are very good at believing non, existing things. like all of these sightings have been very recent sightings, right? It's not being like, okay, the last sighting was like a hundred years ago or whatever.

Tanner 0:14

You found one? You have evidence? Why can't we just test it? I mean, people say that they found Bigfoot, like, prints,

Andi 0:20

it's,

Tanner 0:22

Hercules has Pegasus, okay, so who does like Jack the Ripper? Or someone like Ride, you know,

Sups 0:29

Ha Okay!

Andi 0:31

Hello and welcome to this episode of I Should Have Known, the trivia game show that can't be trusted. Each week one of our Quizmasters will present you with four facts about a topic, but one of them is a lie. We're doing Stranger Than Fiction as our theme to celebrate Halloween this month, so we're kind of playing with the idea of like fiction versus reality. And I will be your quiz master today. I'm Andy. And I'm doing a Find the Fake episode, I'm calling Beyond Bigfoot because we're going to be talking about cryptids. So I will present you with four of these cryptid creatures from around the world. Except one of them is actually a creature from fiction. So join our other hosts, Supes and Tanner, in figuring out which cryptid is stranger than fiction. Three of them are real, if you believe, in the sense that I did not invent them. And then the fourth one is a creature from fiction. Fictional universe, which you are certain to be familiar with, though maybe not the creature. so we have to talk a little bit about what are cryptids.

Tanner 1:37

What the heck is a cryptid?

Sups 1:38

Yeah,

Andi 1:39

Yeah, so kind of to maybe Get into it, we can do the PQQ.

Tanner 1:42

what you're looking to do. Sure. Okay.

Andi 1:43

So our pub quiz question is, what is the name of the large, hairy, human like creature said to inhabit the Himalayas?

Tanner 1:51

Oh, Is it the Yeti? Yes,

Andi 1:54

so the Yeti. Right, yeah, so you thought I was gonna

Sups 1:57

Oh, I thought it was real. It's not real?

Tanner 1:59

big click. I thought it

Andi 2:01

who you ask. so that's the idea of cryptids. It comes from this pseudoscience called cryptozoology. cryptids are animals or creatures that are sometimes kind of monstrous that are believed to live in the world, but cannot be verified using modern science. The idea is if someone claims that they saw one and they have evidence of one, that would be a cryptid in that way. So, I have four creatures from all over the world. Pretty much no part of the world doesn't have cryptids,

Sups 2:32

Okay.

Tanner 2:33

Nessie. Nessie

Andi 2:36

Bigfoot. Yes. Bigfoot, Yeti, Loch Ness Monster. These are probably some of the most

Sups 2:40

most famous Famous. Yeah.

Tanner 2:41

do cryptid

Andi 2:42

Yeah, yeah, no. It's not going to be Nessie. Okay? So let's do cryptid number one. The melon heads of the eastern United States.

Tanner 2:51

Melonheads?

Andi 2:52

Yeah. So we have to start with the US because I feel like There are so many cryptids in the U. S. Yeah,

Sups 2:58

You guys are very good at believing non, existing things. I think

Andi 3:01

like, this whole concept is pretty American. Yeah. Yeah, so the melonheads, primarily stories come from either Michigan, Connecticut, or Ohio. They are a humanoid cryptid with large, round, bald heads. Just like the name suggests. Sure. They're melonheads. Yeah. So, origins vary. But they're considered to be a race or a group, a tribe of feral children who live in the forest. They typically practice cannibalism and will attack anyone who wanders into the

Tanner 3:35

who

Andi 3:36

typically they're said to be either the product of mad scientists experiment or often it's their abused inmates at asylums. So the story comes from the era in the early 20th century of insane asylums in the U. S., which were real and were horrific and, They basically tortured people with mental illness and even people who didn't have mental illness, but just were not socially

Tanner 4:02

Mm hmm.

Andi 4:03

some people even say scientifically they just have hydrocephalus one of the origins is that they were sent to the asylum for having

Tanner 4:10

Uh, it's just a medical condition where fluid builds up in your head.

Andi 4:14

Yeah. but some say It was developed from their cannibalism

Sups 4:18

they

Andi 4:18

And that they and their descendants live in the forest and Attack people and are seen on like the sides of the roads

Tanner 4:26

okay, this is interesting because to me it sounds like a mixture between like the grays, like the. Alien stories where they have the big smooth head and then like the hills have eyes where like people are like irradiated or like incestual and then they look like weird and they all live together and they eat people and like Sounds like the middle ground between that

Sups 4:47

Yeah,

Tanner 4:47

right off the bat, I think this sounds believable in that like people tell this story You know, I think it sounds like a real cryptid. It doesn't sound like a fictional book

Sups 4:58

That's interesting, because based off the description, this sounds very comic book y to me. I understand a lot of these elements did exist, and I can understand where the creativity or the experience comes don't know. It sounds very uh, yeah, like, like fiction. Yeah. Like, not like a real cryptic, like the opposite of what you're thinking basically. like experiments, scientists, prisoners escaping. and especially like the name. I would imagine like the name.

Tanner 5:25

It's not even scary. Melonheads.

Sups 5:27

know. Right. It has to be slightly more creative than that. Like, you know, melon heads. I'm not scared. Like imagine he got killed by a melon head. Like, um,

Tanner 5:36

be scared of the melon heads. They're gonna eat you Like, are you kidding me?

Sups 5:40

but yeah, but I guess we have like more cryptids to make up our minds.

Andi 5:44

Okay, joke. we have cryptid number two,

Sups 5:47

Mm hmm.

Andi 5:48

the Nandi bear of Kenya. or Nandi bear. Also known as a chemo sit. This comes from the Western highlands of Kenya and some other parts of some other East African countries, It is a shaggy, hunched back carnivore, similar to a hyena, and it is nocturnal, Sometimes, it's seen on its hind legs, so it's kind of bipedal sometimes. this particular Nandi or Nandi is from, a group of people who live in the

Tanner 6:17

it's, a

Andi 6:18

It has many, many other names depending on who you are or where exactly you are in Kenya or in East Africa. So, this is just the most common name sightings by Europeans were very common in the 20th century. Though it has not been seen since the 1990s some people think that deforestation in its native habitat has contributed to its potential extinction, It is sometimes said to kill people, but it does not hunt them, so it's not a monster. It mostly lives in the forest. But most scientists say that it's just mistaken sightings of the spotted hyena or honey badgers. Or, in an alternate cryptid theory, it is a, living calicothere? Which were a prehistoric herbivore. it was like stocky, had longer front legs and back legs, and kind of a giraffe like neck. this was an actual creature, but they're all thought to be extinct. But some people have proposed that the Nandi bear is one of these,

Sups 7:24

Hmm. Yeah. I think this one... the name is convincing.

Tanner 7:27

Yeah, okay,

Sups 7:28

with compared to number one. The name's convincing.

Andi 7:32

It sounds creepy

Sups 7:32

It

Tanner 7:33

More than melonheads, yeah.

Sups 7:36

It had elements of Africa. Okay. That's cool. Okay. I understand the nightlife, nocturnal sightings haven't happened. Deforestation. I mean, it has potential. It has legs to

Tanner 7:47

step on. Yeah,

Andi 7:48

Two of them, to be exact.

Tanner 7:50

Sometimes four, sometimes two.

Andi 7:51

Usually four.

Sups 7:52

So this is believable, but at the same time, because I'm trying to think because one of them is like fictional, right? So

Tanner 7:59

where the heck could this come from? Yes.

Sups 8:00

yes. Just trying to, you know, think if I know of any fiction where there's like somewhat of a

Tanner 8:06

right. Fiction, Yeah. I'm trying to think too. Like a movie or like a, a book series or like a world where it could be from I'm drawing a blank there, but like, does it sound like an Ewok or something from Star Wars? You know,

Sups 8:21

Yeah. I mean,

Tanner 8:22

or like a, like a wooki. a wooki. A mixture between a Wooki and an Ewok.

Sups 8:26

was very interesting to me is that you mentioned that this cryptid has like many names, right? that to me is quite interesting.

Tanner 8:34

it's like Bigfoot and Sasquatch, different name. For the same thing. Yeah.

Sups 8:37

so this that element, um, but I mean, now that you Wookiee in my head, It's

Tanner 8:44

maybe it's real

Sups 8:46

also the word Nandi. Like, I think I'll be also thinking in those terms. Like, is this a Kenyan word? You lived in Kenya.

Tanner 8:52

Yeah, I Mean we stay there for like a month. I didn't encounter any

Sups 8:56

you did come

Tanner 8:56

cryptids when I was there

Sups 8:59

All right.

Tanner 9:00

Yeah, I think it's probably real.

Sups 9:01

like real cryptid. Yes.

Andi 9:04

Right. Do you believe in its existence is a different question.

Sups 9:08

Yeah.

Andi 9:09

So cryptid number three. The flying deathmare of the British Isles.

Tanner 9:14

a very unpronounceable

Andi 9:15

So this is a skeletal winged horse with black bat like wings Yeah, it has a very impronounceable Celtic theme that I'm not gonna try so we're just gonna call it the flying deathmare yeah, so it's Ireland, The sightings go back to the late 19th century, and the latest sightings actually was in 1996,

Tanner 9:41

Wow.

Andi 9:41

So it's a flying horse that is like skeletal and has wings. It's said to be carnivorous.

Tanner 9:50

Oh, God. He's dead. He's

Sups 9:53

to

Andi 9:53

So it eats livestock. it's said to be harmless to humans.

Sups 9:58

Okay.

Andi 9:59

There isn't really a good explanation of what this might be. some people have claimed a connection but there isn't a known myth like this in Celtic tradition. they're said to pretend death or visit the grieving. Or just attack livestock. They kind of don't really have like a clear understanding.

Sups 10:21

have a mission statement.

Andi 10:22

Yeah, I mean, I don't know. They haven't all, all these people haven't like collectively decided what this creature is doing. though. Some scientists have suggested that it's based off of birds, particularly kestrels, which are carnivorous. Birds that live in this region and are symbolic and Celtic myth

Tanner 10:42

do they have black leathery

Andi 10:43

No. the bat like wings. I don't know. The timing also kind of coincides with airplanes. So some people suggest that these rural Irish or British farmers. They see airplanes, they don't know what they are, and they're flying horses.

Sups 10:59

I mean,

Tanner 11:00

flying

Sups 11:01

Yeah, I know, right? Yeah, yeah, what is that? Yeah, okay,

Tanner 11:06

horses. flying. They're, they're, they're, Well, they're almost always flying unless

Andi 11:09

they're almost always seen flying.

Tanner 11:12

or something. For some people, definitely. So, I wish we I could do

Sups 11:15

definitely sounds so Irish to me.

Tanner 11:17

The flying death mare, that's awesome. I'm leaning towards it being from fiction, I think. Yeah. I think it sounds like what I would come up with for a comic book or like some, Hercules has Pegasus, okay, so who does like Jack the Ripper? Or someone like Ride, you know,

Sups 11:36

Ha Okay!

Andi 11:37

So

Tanner 11:37

you know, like, so I think this. This is like prime for some

Sups 11:43

Okay.

Andi 11:43

some fiction. Jack the Ripper's evil deathmare horse?

Tanner 11:46

Yeah.

Sups 11:47

Okay.

Andi 11:48

Okay,

Sups 11:48

I have to respectfully disagree. That's fine. It's believable to me because It's not that weird of a thought, like, you know, in terms of like, ideas in mind or what human beings can actually cook up thoughts, right? sure, maybe they're just mistaken, with planes. But the fact that I think this is realistic enough for people to Believe it.

Tanner 12:13

it is simple. It's just a horse with wings. Also, it's like black and skeletal and whatever Okay. Very believable.

Sups 12:19

Yes,

Tanner 12:20

it's

Sups 12:20

not at, yeah, it's the rest. That, yeah, And... Ireland. Like, do you know any more myths about Ireland?

Tanner 12:27

you know some, but There's, like, a water horse,

Sups 12:31

Okay. No, this

Tanner 12:32

definitely a myth, you know, it's not like, I saw a water horse yesterday. Like, this is reported in like the 90s?

Sups 12:38

like all of these sightings have been very recent sightings, right? It's not being like, okay, the last sighting was like a hundred years ago or whatever. very interesting.

Andi 12:47

Alright, so cryptid number four. The Yemish of Patagonia. So, Patagonia is in South America, particularly we're talking about Argentina.

Tanner 12:57

It is sometimes

Andi 12:58

It is sometimes called a water tiger. It is an aquatic fox or jaguar like body with a serpent or otter like tail.

Tanner 13:07

described as feline. It's a

Andi 13:08

It's a little bit bigger than a puma. It lives in mountain lakes. It moves just as quickly on land as in water, and it is said to have a soul wrenching scream.

Tanner 13:20

Oh!

Andi 13:21

It is also impenetrable to arrows. And samples of skin show thick bone like plates First sightings are from the 19th century. And the first European who reported seeing this animal said it was a neomyelodon. And the myelodons are again, a prehistoric animal. Creature. It's the South American ground sloth. So these were real animals that actually existed, but went extinct before humans arrived or humans drove them to extinction. but this was saying that it's a new one that is still alive in the remote mountains of other proposals are giant otters

Tanner 14:02

Yeah. It sounds like an otter to

Andi 14:03

being mistaken and otters have like a waterproof fur,

Tanner 14:08

which

Andi 14:09

I guess could seem like being impenetrable to arrows. But to add a little extra there are no local myths of any of the, local indigenous people of this creature or similar creatures. And the word Yamish comes from German. It's got the S C H at the end, so there is no similar or related word in any of the local languages, so it's

Tanner 14:33

or word in any the local languages. No, indigenous people

Andi 14:39

Though indigenous people and local people have reported seeing it since the first sighting, which was by a European descended person. So...

Sups 14:50

first of all, with the name, it's definitely not a local name, right? In any of the languages. There's merit in that.

Tanner 14:57

hmm.

Sups 14:58

But it's the aquatic part. That's kind of, um, yeah, it is. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Tanner 15:10

mountains, like, You found one? You have evidence? Why can't we just test it? I mean, people say that they found Bigfoot, like, prints,

Andi 15:18

it's, yeah, it's not agreed that the skin, they haven't been tested. It's not agreed that they're from

Sups 15:24

Right.

Andi 15:24

this creature.

Sups 15:26

But also if it were from fiction ish, his name is very peculiar

Tanner 15:31

Yeah. Why is it... German name in Patagonia. A It's pretty weird.

Sups 15:36

This name puts me off like mish. It's not a, it sounds like a crypted name. Yeah. I don't know what kind of fiction, like, if you're trying to think of popular fiction or, or unless it's some, like, vague fiction that we can't do, but she did mention that we would know of the

Tanner 15:52

fiction, right? Right. It's gonna be like Star Wars, lower the Rings, game of Thrones, like something big.

Sups 15:57

so that, which means that these are, let's say, common universe, right? Yemish. Mm. that's why I think it's a real one.

Tanner 16:06

I think that too. I was really hoping that it would obviously be fictional because the other three I'm so on the fence about. Yeah. But, yeah, I'm leaning towards that one being

Sups 16:16

but it's also not scary.

Tanner 16:18

Cryptids don't have to be

Sups 16:18

They don't have to be scary. Okay. They don't have to be scary. Okay,

Tanner 16:21

All right. Well, before we pick which cryptid is actually a work of fiction, could you please repeat the four creatures for us?

Andi 16:29

us? Of course. Cryptid number one, the melon heads of the eastern United States. Cryptid number two, the Nandi bear of Kenya. Cryptid number three, the flying death mare of the British Isles. And cryptid number four, the Yamish of Patagonia. One of those is actually a creature from a fictional

Tanner 17:01

Okay. I thought it was number two, the Nandi bear from Kenya. I thought it was like this, like tree dwelling, Wookiee sort of thing. But now that I think of like universes and stories of Cryptids. I'm leaning towards number three. I think the Flying Death Mayor is not an actual crypted. I think it's from like the Witcher.

Sups 17:25

Ooh, well played. That's a good one.

Tanner 17:28

I know they have creatures sort of like that, like creepy style.

Sups 17:32

That's a good one. I would totally believe you, but like my belief in what you just

Tanner 17:37

said Mm-hmm.

Sups 17:38

is less than my personal belief of number two being from a fiction. Number two, I cannot pick which universe. I mean, definitely there's the Wookiee relevance, but I don't think this is like a Star Wars. But for me, why this comes from a fiction is because there's too many things happening in this description. Okay. So I'm just basing off of that and a little bit of hunch and uh, 20 percent feelings. So I'll stay with number two.

Tanner 18:07

tell you which Let's see.

Andi 18:08

Okay. I can't believe neither of you mentioned Pokemon.

Tanner 18:11

Well I thought maybe number 4 would be Pokemon, but I would have heard of a water

Andi 18:14

that was gonna be where I took the crypto from, but I thought it would be too obvious. Yeah. It is from the Harry Potter universe. Do you know what? Thestrals are?

Tanner 18:23

they're flying death horses. Oh

Andi 18:26

Yes. So,

Tanner 18:27

I know that one.

Andi 18:30

are the skeletal winged horse from the Harry Potter universe. they are carnivorous. And the latest sighting was from 1996 because that's, that's the year that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix takes place, so the Thestrals are used to pull the carts to Hogwarts, but to most people, it looks like the carts are invisible because, Thestrals are invisible unless you have witnessed a death and come to terms with it if you're really nerdy. So, after Harry witnesses... Spoiler alert Cedric Diggory's death in The Goblet of Fire. He can see them the next year pulling the wagon, so it is from Harry Potter.

Sups 19:10

And

Tanner 19:11

And it is from the British Isles. Oh, it's so

Sups 19:14

yeah,

Andi 19:15

in the Mythology, they are native to the British isles but sightings are also found in Northern France and Iberia, which to me is like a Celtic connection. I don't know. some people claim this comes from myth, but like I could find no myth basically. It's just, you take a winged horse, you make it a death metal version, and that's where the creature comes

Tanner 19:37

and that's where it's from. And you almost said the name, because you said it's related to Kestrel,

Andi 19:41

like, aww. That was in there, that, I didn't, I didn't want to say Thestral, I thought it'd be too obvious, because again, Harry Potter is a very, very popular, universe, but that you made it cute, though, it's just

Sups 19:51

But I like that you made it cute, that it just only did livestock and not humans. Yeah.

Andi 19:56

Well, they, in the universe, Thestrals are considered dangerous. but they're not known to hunt and prey upon humans and you can actually ride them. Mm-hmm. he

Sups 20:05

them. Yeah.

Andi 20:05

in that book. Yeah.

Sups 20:06

Okay.

Tanner 20:07

Wow. Harry Potter. That is definitely popular enough.

Andi 20:10

Yeah,

Tanner 20:11

I should have known.

Andi 20:13

Thanks for listening to this episode of I Should have Known. We are going to finish up our Stranger Than Fiction theme next week with our special Halloween episode where your quiz master will be Tanner, and he's going to be telling us spooky stories from weird fiction. So get excited for that. And as always, EXCUSE ME! Is

Tanner 20:36

it Bigfoots or Big Feet?