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The horse-headed visage of La Siguanaba may just be your last sight.
cryptozoology

Beware La Siguanaba, Latin America's Murderous, Horse-Headed Beauty

Do not follow the woman in white.
April White April 30, 2024
A dingonek has seemingly impenetrable, armadillo-like scales, a powerful tail, and very sharp teeth.
cryptozoology

The Man-Eating Dingonek Lurks Beneath East Africa’s Rivers

The 18-foot-long, dog-headed beast-fish didn't seem so unbelievable to Africa's early white colonizers.
April White April 29, 2024
Keystone, South Dakota

World's Largest Bigfoot

This towering wooden Sasquatch was carved with a chainsaw.
List

13 Places to Find Little Legends and Compact Cryptids

From grumpy water goblins to tiny trolls.
Jonathan Carey January 26, 2024
The mysterious Bigfoot
mythology

10 Places to Visit If You Want to Believe in Bigfoot

Even if you’re not convinced cryptids exist, these spots will offer a fascinating look into the minds of those who are.
Atlas Obscura January 18, 2024
A 1912 postcard depicts a Lake Erie at night.
cryptozoology

Toward a Unifying Theory of Lake Monsters

From Champ to Bessie to lake sturgeon, these cryptids represent what lies beneath the surface of the familiar.
Colin Dickey January 17, 2024
Every night across the U.S., local horror hosts, such as Cleveland's Janet Decay (left) and Grimm Gorri (right), introduce classic horror films with humor and kitsch.
horror

The Year in Movies, TV, and Gremlins

Exploring Patricia Arquette's desert obsession, how Elvira became the queen of late night horror, and other behind-the-screen stories.
Sarah Durn December 26, 2023
The Yule Cat (or Jólakötturinn) serves as a warning for children to not misbehave, much like the threat of coal for naughty children on Christmas.
vikings

Beware the Yule Cat, Iceland’s Child-Eating Christmas Monster

But if you’re wearing new clothes, you have nothing to fear from Jólakötturinn.
Suzie Dundas December 22, 2023
Costumes and cheap beer are staples of most weird sports, says photographer Sol Neelman, but no one takes dressing up quite as seriously as contestants in one of his all-time favorite sports events: Kaiju Live Monster Wrestling (formally known as the Kaiju Big Battel) in Queens, New York.
space exploration

The Year in Weird and Wonderful Sports

From carriage racing to winter surfing to mashed potato wrestling, these competitions captured our imaginations in 2023.
Roxanne Hoorn December 21, 2023
There’s a gruesome twist to these St. Nicholas Day celebrations.
cannibals

Beware the Christmas Cannibal of France

How a whip-wielding butcher became St. Nick's sidekick.
Anna Richards December 6, 2023
Shirley, Massachusetts

Head of the Egopantis

The head of a legendary creature allegedly killed during colonial times is now on display at a local restaurant.
Incheon, South Korea

Gentle Monster

A pair of oily black spiders lurk inside South Korea's largest airport.
The legend of the Snallygaster appears to have been an invention of local newspapers, but one that carried a dark threat.
mythology

The Unsettling Legend of Maryland's Native Cryptid, the Snallygaster

A strange, scary farce that brought together Old World legends and racist scare tactics.
Colin Dickey October 27, 2023
The 1984 film <em>Gremlins</em> was inspired in some ways by wartime gremlin stories (Roald Dahl's in particular), but put another modern spin on the older tradition.
military history

How Gremlins Went From Fairy Stories to Warplanes to Hollywood Legend

Meet these slippery, mischievous reflections of our anxieties about technology.
Hadley Meares October 24, 2023
Yamanashi, Japan

Kanibōzu Claw Marks

A giant man-eating crab monster allegedly left its claw marks on this unassuming boulder.
All illustrations: John Mata for Atlas Obscura
monsters

The Atlas Obscura Crossword: Monster Mashup

AO Puzzles October 16, 2023
Boulder City, Nevada

Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum

A professional special effects makeup artist’s collection of horror creatures and one-of-a-kind recreations on display in downtown Boulder City.
The 2012 film <em>The Possession</em>, starring Natasha Calis, was based on the legend of the "Dybbuk Box."
horror

The Modern Resurrection of the Dybbuk, Demon of Jewish Folklore

How a superstition goes from the Talmud to TikTok.
Anya Gruber October 10, 2023