Introduction to Kansas Cryptids

Cryptids of Kansas

Dr. Linda Clarke

April, 2020

Kansas is generally thought of as a relatively flat, cattle and agricultural State, with lots of cattle and not very much interesting in the way of Cryptids, but that would be completely wrong. Kansas is home to legends and sightings of several Cryptids, including some of the more famous Cryptids that have been seen in movies and talked about around campfires in the middle of the night, especially with a few beers and there are odd sounds coming from the woods. Kansas is also home to large forested areas throughout the Eastern and South Eastern part of the State, and anyone driving up the beautiful 99 Highway from Emporia to Wamego or Manhattan, will certainly tell you that Kansas is not flat! In those woods, the expanses of prairie areas, down in the river valleys and lakes, it is possible that you might see or hear something that you weren’t expecting and might frighten you to your core.

First, let me explain what a Cryptid is since I have been knocking this word about without explanation. Cryptozoology is the study of unknown animals, or animals where there are legends or sightings, but their existence is unsubstantiated or not proven…yet. Yet is the operative word here. For years in Africa there were legends of huge man-ape like creatures in the mountains, until the Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), was discovered in 1902. More recently large legendary animals have been discovered all over the world, including the Giant Squid (Architeuthis dux), or better known as the legendary ship destroying Kraken, first photographed alive in 2004; the huge Grizzly-Polar Bear Hybrid, an ursid hybrid, found in 2006; or the Giant Peccary (Pecari maximus) of South America in 2007. There are plenty of large Cryptids, or an animal such as these, still out there hiding in the woods or in remote areas, generally seen by campers, hikers, hunters, or fishermen without cameras. Legendary animals have been shown time and time again to have been rooted in fact and reality, some against many peoples wishes. Some of the more popular Cryptids you may have heard of are the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Dogman, and the Chupracabra. So, have any of these Kansas legends and sightings been found, or Cryptids, been found in our woods and prairies? The answer is an absolute yes! I have been chasing them for years.

In the following posts, we will be exploring the various Cryptids that have been known to frequent the State of Kansas and have been sighted by individuals, again usually without cameras. Oddly, if you are interested in the “odd”, Kansas and the central States, seem to have a very rich paranormal history, mainly in hauntings and ghostly things, but don’t dismiss some of the odd critters that can be found here either. As you will see, Kansas also has been the home to many legends and sightings of a variety of unusual animals, or Cryptids. I hope you enjoy this trip through time and legend. As Frank Herbert wrote in Dune, “Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”; or Mark Twains quote, “Truth is stranger than fiction”, and the truth is that we don’t know very much, and the Cryptids of today may be documented animals of the future. We will start this journey with some odd reptiles sighted in Kansas in the next blog!