7 Places You're Most Likely to Spot Mythological Monsters

Remember the elves of Middle-earth in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings? Or the hippogriffs in Harry Potter? Popular books and movies are littered with references to such extraordinary creatures—from blood-sucking vampires and vicious werewolves to fire-breathing dragons and mysterious ape-men. But, you say, they are just a figment of the author’s imagination, right?

Or are they? 

Here’s a list of places you should travel to the though of a monster hunt excites you:

Scotland: The Loch Ness Monster

 

The Loch Ness Monster, or Nessie, as she’s affectionately called, is a creature that supposedly lives in the Loch Ness, a lake in the Scottish Highlands. Nessie was made popular when a photograph, known as the ‘Surgeon’s Photograph’, appeared in the Daily Mail in 1934, which showed the head and neck of a long reptilian creature. Although the photograph was later proved to be a hoax, it is believed that the monster still inhabits the depths of the Scottish lake.

Looking for Nessie: In the 1960s, the Loch Ness Phenomena  Investigation Bureau (LNPIB) was a real thing. Over the years, many organizations, including the BBC, have done depth-searches of the lake to find proof of Nessie’s existence but nothing has been substantiated so far.

Reality Check: The Loch Ness monster myth probably originated in the plesiosaur, a long-necked water-dwelling dinosaur, which (thankfully!) became extinct years ago.

Fun Fact: The Loch Ness Monster finds mention in J.K. Rowling’s book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
 

North America: Big Foot or The Sasquatch

 

The Big Foot is an ape-like figure that is said to roam the forests of the Pacific Northwest region of America. There have been several reported sightings of Big Foot, and it is said to have bulbous eyes and a low-set forehead, resembling a gorilla.

Looking for Big Foot: There are several organizations that research and investigate Big Foot sightings. The oldest of them is Big Foot Field Researchers Organization (BRFO).

Reality Check: The myth of the Big Foot probably originated from the reports of an ape that roamed areas like China, Vietnam and India till a thousand years ago. It was called Gigantopithecus (or “Giant Ape”).

Fun Fact: Annual Big Foot related conventions form a big part of Pacific Northwest tourism!

Romania: Vampires

 

Perhaps the most popular monster on this list, thanks to the Twilight series. But we’re not talking about sparkling vampires who exercise restraint, these are the real deal: the undead who subsist on feeding off the blood of the living. Vampiric lore has always been part of Romania’s culture (particularly the Transylvania region), but it became a part of popular legend after Bram Stoker’s iconic book, Dracula.

Looking for Vampires: ‘Vampire tourism’ is increasingly growing popular in Romania, where enthusiasts travel through hundred-year-old ruins of ancient castles and countryside, looking for the undead.

Reality Check: One of the popular theories about the origin of the vampire myth is the act of burying people alive, either accidentally or intentionally, that dates as far back as the 14^th century. This gave rise to the belief of walking ‘corpses’, whose hands and feet were bloody with attempts to escape the coffin.

Fun Fact: Besides centuries-old superstition, Bram Stoker’s Dracula was also based on a real person: Vlad, the Impaler, a bloodthirsty 15^th-century ruler who impaled his enemies on long spikes!

Puerto Rico: The Chupacabra

 

Similar to the vampire is the Chupacabra (‘goat-sucker’) a reptilian four-legged beast, with a scaly greyish skin, spines on its back and sharp fangs, who feeds on the blood of livestock, usually goats.

Looking for the Chupacabra: There have been innumerable sightings of the Chupacabra all across the US, even as recently as 2013, where people have had their goats attacked and killed by the blood-sucking beast. In 2014, a newspaper reported that a couple in Texas had reportedly caught a chupacabra as well!

Reality Check: Most scientists believe that Chupacabras are, in fact, coyotes, who suffer from an infectious skin disease, which makes them lose their hair and become incapabale of hunting, forcing them to hunt livestock.

Fun Fact: Marvel featured chupacabras as the villain, in a 2007 special issue of The Fantastic Four.

Iceland: Elves

 

If you’re thinking of Christmas elves, in their green pointy hat, or the elves from Lord of the Rings, forget them! These elves, also called the Huldufolk (or the hidden people) have been part of Norse legend for centuries. Icelanders believe that these elves live underground, or in hidden forested nooks and have the power to make themselves invisible.

Looking for Elves: The Icelandic Elf School (which actually exists) offers long educational tours for visitors to understand more about the ‘hidden folk’.

Reality Check: Elves probably became part of Norse lore as a means of explaining the mysterious ways of nature.

Fun Fact: Plans to build roads in Iceland have often run into trouble because people believed that the construction would disturb the elves living in its path. Yes, really!

One of the most famous elves in popular culture is, of course, Legolas from Lord of the Rings, played by Orlando Bloom on screen, although Tolkein’s elves are different from their Icelandic counterparts.

Norway: The Kraken

 

This giant sea monster is believed to live off the coasts of Greenland and Norway. With its fearsome tentacles and gigantic size, the kraken has quickly made its way into the popular imagination of people around the world.

Looking for the Kraken: Sightings of the Kraken have been reported for over 2000 years now, from reports of ancient sailors to more recent encounters, making it one of the oldest mythical creatures who have been consistently believed to be real.

Reality Check: Myths of the Kraken, as most sceptics believe, originated from ancient sailors’ encounters with the giant squid: a creature that is still elusive to marine scientists.  They have been known to grow to a size of up to sixteen feet and weigh up to 300 kilograms, so it’s no surprise that sailors often believed them to be giant beasts from another world.

Fun Fact: When Zeus declared ‘Release the Kraken!’ in The Clash of the Titans(1981), little did the writers know that this phrase would become an Internet sensation and would give rise to hundreds of memes. In 2010, it even became TIME Magazine’s Top 10 Buzzwords of the Year.

Tibet/Nepal: The Yeti or the Abominable Snowman

 

Much closer home, the Yeti  is an ape-like creature that roams the snowy slopes of the Himalayas around Nepal and Tibet. This creature is more humanoid than the others, and reportedly walks on two feet, while escaping the prying eyes of monster enthusiasts who have looked for the Yeti for years.

Looking for the Yeti:  Even Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reported seeing giant footprints on their climb up to Mount Everest in 1953, although they later denied this. In fact, till the 1960s, the Yeti was considered very real indeed, and the Bhutan government even made a stamp in its honour.

Reality Check: Most researchers believe that the Yeti myth was created because of a misidentification of other Himalayan wildlife. A recent research by a British scientist, though, suggests that the animal behind the Yeti myth is a relatively unknown species of bear: a cross between the polar bear and the brown bear.

Fun Fact: A kind and adorable Yeti is one of the central characters of Herge’s beloved Tintin in Tibet.

So what are you waiting for? Pack your bags and start your quest! Maybe you’ll find definitive proof that these creatures exist! And if you’re already a believer, let us know about your encounters in the comments below.