Cryptids & Strange Animals
Cryptids and creepy animal stories range from the mountains of West Virginia to the swamps of Florida and even into the sewers of NYC.Â
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Cryptid: a creature that is found in stories and that some people believe exists or say they have seen, but that has never been proven to exist- Cambridge Dictionary
Down the Drain (New York, NY)
One of the most well known of the legends of NYC is that of the sewer gator. Starts innocently enough, some kids bought an alligator or two (babies of course) to keep as pets but when they realize they’re going to be taken away they flush them down the toilet instead. Unlike many urban legends, this one at least has some evidence of alligators indeed being in the city. The book  The World Beneath the City  gives an account of Teddy May, a retired sewer superintendent who claimed to have killed a family of gators in the 1950’s with rat poison.Â
"Misty of the Chincoteague" (Chincoteague, VA)
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You like horses? Of course you do. You like ponies? Even better. You want to see a dead one that’s stuffed and standing guard of a museum that was the star of a series of children’s literature stories? No? That’s weird you don’t want to, but a lot of people do. So in case you’re in the yay to dead ponies team- meet Misty.
As mentioned, Misty of Chincoteague is a local celebrity. Not only did the book and movie attract a new audience to the shore in the 1950’s and 60’s, but Misty also promoted the wild pony population and events surrounding them. One such event was called the “Saltwater Cowboys” which was an inspiration to the author, Marguerite Henry. Misty actually spent a lot of her life in Illinois, where Henry took her on tours and public appearances. Misty returned to Chincoteague where she was bred and had several foals including Stormy. Stormy was the key character in some of Henry’s follow up tales. (Ha, tales…get it…).Â
Ghost Crabs
These ghosts are not the misty apparitions that leave windows open and creep around the attic. Instead, these ghosts leave little holes in the sand at night. Ghost crabs, known locally as Sand Crabs, inhabit most of the Eastern Shore and there have been fossils of them discovered dating back to 2 million years ago. Even with their impression heritage, they are endangered thanks to people invading the shores with real estate, ATV’s, and little kids trying to dig them up and scare their little sister with one in their hand.Â
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