cryptidcurrency

A dramatic artistic recreation of the legendary 1924 Trunko sighting. Author and cryptid researcher Kevin Wikse watches from the South African shoreline as the mysterious elephant-like sea creature defends itself against two attacking killer whales. "Trunko looks like it might be Snuffleupagus's salty seafaring cousin." -Kevin Wikse There is a plethora of mysteries that make us wonder what is still hiding in the world’s forests, lurking in the depths, or skittering through dark caverns. However, the cryptid known as Trunko makes me wonder what we may have already lost. Long before underwater cameras, the marine expeditions of Jacques Cousteau, and satellite tracking, the oceans swallowed countless stories that can never be retold with certainty. Every now and then, however, the sea gives one back. Usually weathered. Usually incomplete. Sometimes in the form of a carcass washed onto a lonely beach, carrying with it more questions than answers. One such story came ashore on...

At 3:03 A.M., Kevin Wikse shares a moment with the Loveland Frogman along the Little Miami River. The wand, reported in the original 1955 encounter, activates. After a few beers, the Loveland Frogman reveals just how much your mom loves his sparky rod. Most cryptids earn their place in American folklore through violence. Bigfoot is accused of throwing rocks. Dogman allegedly stalks lonely roads. The Jersey Devil has frightened generations of Pine Barrens travelers. The Loveland Frogman is different. It doesn't chase anyone. It doesn't attack. It doesn't leave bodies behind. Instead, it appears briefly, almost quietly—maybe too quietly—before disappearing back into the darkness surrounding the Little Miami River. That alone makes the case unusual. Then there's the wand. One witness described a frog-like humanoid raising a metallic rod that emitted visible sparks into the night sky. Seventeen years later, two police officers would report encounters with a remarkably...