Behold the fearsome Bunyip. This mythological creature was much feared among the Aboriginal people of Australia. Until recently I had never heard of this beast, but it intrigues me because it seems to be so far from even the mainstream creepy folk creature as to be unrecognizable.
As you can see from the various artists’ renderings, no one can agree on what this monster was supposed to have looked like, and therefore one can only speculate as to what animal the Ancient Aboriginal Peoples could have seen that appears to have scared them silly. I think a combination of that country’s vastness and isolation and the fact that it’s already a land that is inhabited by some of the strangest animals on the planet all played a part in creating this extremely bizarre imagery.
It seems as though every culture has its bunyip. The boogeyman. The thing hiding under your bed or in your closet. Apparently all humans have a need to conjure up creatures out of their free-floating anxieties.
Below are just a few of the many.
The Chupacabra of Latin America
The Mothman of the Appalachians
The Ebu Gogo of Flores
The Aswang of the Philippines
The Brosno Dragon of Russia
The Canvey Island Monster of England
The Taniwha of New Zealand
The Grootslang of South Africa
The Yeren of China
The Jersey Devil of New Jersey
The Peluda of France
The Mongolian Death Worm of the Gobi Desert
The Ropen of Papua New Guinea
It’s a very big world that we live in, full of isolated and uncharted places. It’s also full of people with wild imaginations. But if even one of these creatures were to exist? That’s the reason they are so disturbing to us. We can never be quite sure. Shudder.
Happy Halloween.
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