Four Creatures of the Unknown That May Actually Exist

BigFoot
What
A legendary ape-man with incredible strength that lives deep in the forest; also known as the Sasquatch or Yeti.
Where
Deep in the woods and remote mountainous regions; usually reported along the Pacific Northwest of America, with sightings reported along the coast, from Northern California to Alaska.
History of Human Interaction
Rumored sightings, grainy photographs, unexplainable footprints; casts have been made of unusual footprints; hair and stool samples have been tested, without conclusive or widely-published results.
Close Relatives
Pongos and Orang Pendecks.
Features
Six to nine-feet tall, heavily built and muscular, with large feet and a sagittal crest on top of the head, giving the head a somewhat pointed, elongated look. The forehead itself is generally sloping. The entire body is covered with thick, shaggy fur. Footprints usually measure 15-inches long, with five toes.
Special Powers or Characteristics
Powerfully psychic, shy and super strong.
Dragons
What
Flying reptilian-like creature capable of breathing fire.
Where
All over the world, particularly Asia, Africa and the Americas.
History of Human Interaction
Marco Polo described huge dragon-like serpents in the late 1200s. Explorer Frank Mellard also noted the presence of dragon-like creatures while on expedition in Rhodesia in the early 1900s. Dragons are also found in mythology in many indigenous cultures on the planet; they are revered and celebrated in China.
Close Relatives
Snakes, Komodo dragons and pterodactyls.
Features
Flying reptilian creature with a beak or elongated jaw with razor-sharp teeth, two small feet with three claws each, wings, serpentine skin or scales, and glaring eyes.
Special Powers or Characteristics
Known to fly, have super strength and harness or create fire at will.
Loch Ness Monster
What
Large snake-like creature found in lakes.
Where
Loch Ness, in the Scottish Highlands, which is one of the largest and deepest bodies of water in the UK; similar creatures have been sighted in Vermont and Canada.
History of Human Interaction
Sightings are recorded in the early 1900s but lore and legends depict Nessie much earlier. Jules Verne cites a similar creature in Journey to the Center of the Earth.
Close Relatives
Plesiosaur, a Mesozoic marine reptile believed to have been extinct for 65 million years.
Features
Long and thin with a serpent-like neck; sometimes the head is described as turtle or horse-like; the creature is greenish with black humps.
Special Powers or Characteristics
Shy, with impressive strength.
Giant Squid or Kraken
What
The giant squid or Kraken is a creature of the oceans and may be anywhere from 60-feet to 1.5 miles in diameter.
Where
The giant quid is a creature of the oceans, often retreating to the deepest, unknown canyons of the seas.
History of Human Interaction
Giant squid are found in Scandinavian legends. Also called Architeuthis, the first sightings of the creature were recorded in Denmark in the 1500s; Jules Verne features the Kraken in the novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; the largest scientifically documented squid was 43-feet long and weighed roughly one ton.
Close Relatives
Other sea creatures, notably, the common sea squid.
Features
Long (25-feet or more) and massive; in legends, it takes the shape of a squid or octopus, with eyes the size of saucers; eight or more tentacles; head has a beak with rows of sharp teeth; known to lay eggs, squirt ink and move through the water by jet-propulsion; there may be more than one species of giant squid.
Special Powers or Characteristics
Enormous size and strength; when it descends into the sea, it creates a huge suction vortex, pulling anything within its reach down with it.
The Ningen; Japanese Mermaid or Arctic Cryptid?

Cryptozoologists have been on the hunt for prehistoric maritime creatures like Nessie, Champy, and Tessie for decades, if not centuries. And a recent discovery of an 80 million-year-old shark species has likely fueled the interest of seekers still hoping to make a discovery. But there is one creature that has recently joined the ranks of these elusive cryptids, that remains unbeknownst to many: the Ningen.
The Ningen, A Japanese Mermaid?
What started off as an anecdote posted in a popular Japanese online forum, has now led to a multitude of sightings and alleged video evidence of an aquatic, humanoid fish, said to be roughly the size of a whale. The Ningen, which translates literally to ‘human,’ is a 20-30 meter-long, bulbous creature that was originally spotted by a Japanese research vessel, off the coast of Antarctica.
The creature is described as having a pale white, human-like figure with a torso, appendages, and fingers like ours, but with a mermaid-esque tail. It is also described as having minimal facial features with a small slitted mouth and two vacuous eyes.
The Ningen sea creature has been spotted primarily at night and in colder waters, leading some to believe that it has been hiding in the Arctic, beneath the ice. Some say that it may be a previously undiscovered species of albino ray, though the description of those who have encountered it is distinctly different.
There are several lackluster videos and questionable photos circulating the internet that purport to show the Ningen sea creature in its natural environment, but like most cryptids, none provide definitive proof. Though that hasn’t warranted an abandonment of the search for this amphibious wraith. Why would it? Scientists continue to discover multitudes of new marine species in the depths of the ocean on a regular basis.
Over the past decade, a number of hydrothermal vents have been discovered in the arctic depths. In these frigid waters, new and bizarre lifeforms, like the Yeti crab, have been discovered clustering around these vents. Some scientists have theorized that hydrothermal vents are where life originated on Earth in its nascent phases some 4.6 billion years ago.
While the Ningen sea creature remains an anecdotal tale among Japanese sailors and fisherman, there is rumor that the Japanese government is taking reports of the Ningen seriously, amassing a trove of putative accounts. It has also been rumored that photographic evidence of the Ningen was captured by the sailors of the original story, but the Japanese government destroyed the evidence so as not to draw attention and controversy.
Some have speculated that the Japanese government may be involved in a cover-up of the Ningen, due to a rare chemical compound it may produce that is either medicinal or highly venomous and able to be weaponized. Stories have been told of men in black threatening anyone who purports to have seen the Ningen sea creature or anyone attempting to expose its existence; though this is all unconfirmed hearsay. And while the story of the Ningen didn’t necessarily attract significant international attention, Mu Magazine,a Japanese publication specializing in the paranormal, created a serious buzz in Japan. Soon a plethora of stories, sightings, and alleged photographic evidence was made public
The original sighting by Japanese fishermen notes that the crew saw what they at first believed to be a foreign submarine, but upon further examination was clearly a living, breathing entity.
It’s unclear whether there are any cryptozoologists currently pursuing the Ningen, as its location would require a well-funded expedition with crew members knowledgeable of arctic territory. And though the Ningen cryptid might seem like another contrived hoax, told amongst sailors with too much free time, one mustn’t forget the maritime tale of the Kraken, that turned out to be based on a real creature: the giant squid.