Urban Legends & Anomalies

["IRISH" RUFUS MURPHY]

Where I grew up in Ohio, there have been alot of strange stories of things that couldn't possibly be true or if they had, someone or maybe better to say someone(s) was stretching the truth more than just a tad.

I read of stories all over the world of animals being in places they shouldn't, like the Welsh/English sightings and tales of predatory animals such as lions/tigers/pumas running a muck throughout the countrysides, or even how people spotted kangaroos or wallabies being in Canada and the like.

Every once in a while, there will be bear or even wild boar sightings around where I live, even though brown bears and wild boar are generally seen on the borders of Kentucky and Ohio, some 200 miles away. Or maybe a fish was caught in a lake or pond that can only be found in other states or regions, like the walleye my uncle has on his wall when the only fish in that particular lake were bass, blue gill, crappies, and catfish.

But, for my money, the oddest creature I ever seen was when I was around 7 and on a hunting trip. We had been catching frogs and turtles for days along the banks of the Miami River, and on one of the lines had to have been the rare alligator snapping turtle that can weigh up to 220 pounds, as my father tried to raise the animal from the murky waters into the boat.

Without exaggeration the turtles head was the size of a cantalope and the shell had to have been 2.5 to 3 feet across. Then the hook broke and it fell back into the water. I never thought much of it then, but looking at animal records and the like, how was it that a turtle of that species, mostly found in Lousiana (some 2,000 miles away) made it's way up to Ohio?

These, though can be explained.

What cannot be explained is such creatures as sasquatch that were reported in Russell's Point, Ohio (some 10-15 miles from where I sit) back in 1980, or the sightings that were seen around the Quincy area, where I do live, earlier this year. Nor can it be explained of another 'mystery' monster known as the Loveland Frog/Lizard that was spotted in the 1950's and later in the 1970's around the Cincinnati area (some 150 miles away).

Every town, it seems, has some sort of spook, monster, story. I just told some of Ohio's more well known urban myth stories. What are some of yours? Maybe, in the interest of fun, we can debate to the certainty and possibility of these stories/encounters.

[Gabriel]

I don't think this is really a debate.

But anyway in Wisconsin black panthers used to be here but were made extinct... although occasionally someone might spot what they think to be one.

Kangaroos were also spotted here before... which scientists said was impossible.

Funny enough two were killed here in the last two years in the wild.

["IRISH" RUFUS MURPHY]

I think the debate rages from:

-How did these animals get in the places they were found?

-What can be an explaination for some of the more mythical sightings of UFO's, Bigfoot, and other 'monsters'?

-If indeed these creatures are real, what are they and how did they come about?

-In cases of 'ghostly' phenomenon, what is causing the disruptions?

[Cereal-Killa]

Only really one main one for me. The Loch Ness Monster. Most of the images captured have been proven as fakes but there are still a few that nobody can offer any explanation for. Personally, I think it's a load of bollocks.

[Princess of Thieves]

Around my area of England there has been reports of people seeing a Black Panther and even once two U.F.O's were reported to have passed low over a house before disapearing into the distance.

My mother is convinced that she once saw the black panther - she says it was far too large to be a normal house cat and it deffinatly wasnt a dog. My village is next to a heavily wooded area.

I was talking about this afew months ago with a friend, he was talking about the many sightings of this illusive black beast and apparently the big cats got here because of the high demand for them as pets many years ago. People had to get a licence for these animals and when they couldnt get them and the entire thing was put to a stop they found it far too much trouble to send the animals off to a proper place, so just let them out into the country side. What I don't understand is that if they have survived all this time and obviously to do so they would have to breed then why are there so few? Wouldnt they have muliplied many times, resulting in alot more sightings and findings. I find it hard to believe that nobody has ever found one after it's died or stumbled across a cub or two.

["IRISH" RUFUS MURPHY]

What I don't understand is that if they have survived all this time and obviously to do so they would have to breed then why are there so few? Wouldnt they have muliplied many times, resulting in alot more sightings and findings. I find it hard to believe that nobody has ever found one after it's died or stumbled across a cub or two.

I don't find the idea that because there is not alot of sightings, that the creatures no longer exist or never existed. I myself have only seen foxes twice in my life time, and in the region I live in there is supposedly scads of them all over the countryside. The same can be said of turkeys, I have yet to see a wild one in the area when people say they are in the region. During the hunting season, I find alot of deer tracks in the woods, but rarely see one venture out in day time or even near night.

Big cats like pumas, leopards, lions, tigers and the like are generally elusive creatures to begin with. They are masters of disguise, hiding in the bush, and arguably have the best sneak attack of any mammal. As for the rationale that a dead body hasn't been found, is simple actually: scavengers pick the meat dry and whatever is left is devoured or taken into use by birds and other animals; that and the elements of weather and natural decomposition.

What I would find to be a wild animal story would be if wolves were found again in Ireland or in other parts of the British Isles, as they were ultimately wiped out a few hundred years before by Irish Wolf Hounds and hunters.

[Gabriel]

Originally Posted by "IRISH" RUFUS MURPHY

I don't find the idea that because there is not alot of sightings, that the creatures no longer exist or never existed. I myself have only seen foxes twice in my life time, and in the region I live in there is supposedly scads of them all over the countryside. The same can be said of turkeys, I have yet to see a wild one in the area when people say they are in the region. During the hunting season, I find alot of deer tracks in the woods, but rarely see one venture out in day time or even near night.

Big cats like pumas, leopards, lions, tigers and the like are generally elusive creatures to begin with. They are masters of disguise, hiding in the bush, and arguably have the best sneak attack of any mammal. As for the rationale that a dead body hasn't been found, is simple actually: scavengers pick the meat dry and whatever is left is devoured or taken into use by birds and other animals; that and the elements of weather and natural decomposition.

What I would find to be a wild animal story would be if wolves were found again in Ireland or in other parts of the British Isles, as they were ultimately wiped out a few hundred years before by Irish Wolf Hounds and hunters.

The thing though about panthers that separates them from other big cats is that they, like domestic house cats, kill for sport. This is why they and not say, the mountain lion, were hunted down and made 'extinct'. They are man killers, and they aren't discreet about it. You would probably know if you had these animals in a more populated area.

["IRISH" RUFUS MURPHY]

But is it a panther, though?

There are alot of natural anomalies among various species of animals. Mostly it is that of albinism, where the creatures are white or partially white. It could be that whatever the beasts are, that it could just naturally be darker, and not outright be a panther. That could attribute to the beasts not maiming people...or maybe since most of these sightings are out in the brush, there never really has been the chance for it to happen.

Animal mutilations are common, maybe whatever the animals are that people are seeing, could be feasting off the live stock and wild game that is readily available to them.

[Issabee]

This aired on Today Tonight, a current affairs program that airs here in Australia. There have been sightings of big black cats that appear to be panthers for years now in various areas of Australia.

http://www.*******.com/watch?v=OHWhC9tO3dM

I'll just warn you, though, that Today Tonight does not have the best reputation. They are extremely well known for being one of the most sensationalised and misleading news programs in the country. So, knowing that, you can make up your own mind about this. This is probably one of the few legends that may have some truth to it.

We also have urban legends about bunyips, yowies and drop bears. Regardless of what people say, there probably isn't any truth to these legends.

Drop bears are a good way to scare tourists. They're supposed to be large, carnivorous rabid koalas that live in the outback. When an unsuspecting person walks under a tree, they drop down and attack the person's head. It's amazing how many tourists fall for this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_bears

A bunyip is supposedly a creature that lives in swamps and billabongs in the Australian outback. They're supposed to have really loud cries, and they attack anyone or anything that goes near their home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunyip

A yowie is supposed to be some kind of hominid similar to the yeti and bigfoot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yowie_%28cryptid%29

[ßäbý ®ü±h]

Well, not so much an animal.
There's a ghost at one of our restaurants.
Her name's the Blue Lady, and I think she steals things.
It was on Unsolved Mysteries, so that's pretty cool.