Running through some YouTube videos, I found a couple that may be of interest to cryptid-hunters regarding American werewolves / Dogmen. Since they are cryptids, the distinction may only be academic, but I've always thought of werewolves as shape-shifters, and Dogmen as pure critter cryptids. It never really dawned on me that the two may be the same critter, They were - and still are - firmly separated in my mind.
In this day and age of creepypasta, and the recent resurgence of Appalachian folklore being promoted on the internet, a strange phenomena is on display - every bit as strange as the cryptids themselves, I think. It's this: bits and pieces of folklore from far-flung realms, and across a range of times from the distant past to this morning, are being conflated and repackaged for consumption on the internet., creating what one author has dubbed "fakelore".
Examples may be found in these videos. Some speculate that these critters may be "skin walkers". They are not, nor can they be. This is the eastern US forest. It's not the Arizona or New Mexico deserts where the Navajo roam, and "skin walkers" are a firmly Navajo thing. There are no "skin walkers" in the Appalachians, for example, no matter how many YouTubers try to convince you otherwise. The closest thing here would be things like the "owl witches" of some local native american tribes - "Medicine Men" or "witches" that transform into owls. Creepy maybe, but definitely not your average Navajo skin walker.
Others claim they may be "wendigos". No cigar there, either. The Wendigo is a mostly Canadian - Cree I think - legend, although some of those legends may be found as far south as the Great Lakes... but NOT this far south. Furthermore, the wendigo is a spirit-being, and can't be seen with the eye. They made themselves known by "posessing" Native Americans, who then proceeded to kill and eat other folks. In other words, the wendigo is an explanation for just plain old cannibal behavior.
As an added bonus, we now have reports of "the rake" or "pale crawlers" in the Appalachians. No such critters here. Never have been, and there ain't now. That, as with most of the above, is a pure fantasy product of the internet, and a desire to make a buck by getting clicks. What folks are doing, really, is combining and ultimately diluting legitimate folklore, turning it into "fakelore" by doing so. They are destroying our legitimate folklore.
There ARE strange things here. I myself have seen things in these hills that I can't quite explain, some fairly recently, at this very location, in this last snow storm. But the creepypasta versions of cryptids cannot hold a candle for the "real" things that may be encountered here, if you thrash around in the forests long enough. Even my Dear Old Dad, who feared nothing and believed in nothing that he couldn't shoot or pop a knife into... or just grab hold of and give a good shaking, has seen things he couldn't quite explain. His take on it was to shrug and say that SOMEONE could explain it, just not him. In other words, just because he didn't know what it was didn't mean that no one knew what it was, or just because HE couldn't explain it, that didn't mean it had no explanation. Pap was smart like that. He had a measured IQ of 194 as I recall, but he was the first to admit that didn't mean there wasn't anything he didn't know. Being smart isn't the same thing as being educated, or knowing everything there is to know... the ability to learn something is not the same thing as already knowing it.
So, without further ado, I present to you the videos of the American Werewolf / Dogman, most centered around the Ohio Valley, in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky - and keep in mind the woods surrounding my humble home here are directly connected in an unbroken line to all of the woods in those places as well... so what may be found there may also be found HERE. I live a few hundred yards from the top of the ridge that divides the Ohio Valley from the Tennessee Valley, and there are unbroken woods for a couple of hundred miles in all directions from where I sit. I could almost walk under continuous tree canopy from here to Michigan Swamp Buck's place, if it weren't for some farmland and prairie in western Ohio and eastern Indiana.
First up is a relatively short, 13 minute video of "werewolves caught on camera". This particular video is not limited to the Ohio Valley. It includes the Beast of Cannock Chase and "Old Stinker" in Yorkshire, both UK legends, as well as a Brazilian werewolf:
Next up is an hour and 20 minute documentary on "The American Werewolf", concentrating on the Ohio Valley:
And, last in this post, another hour and 20 minute documentary, "Werewolves Unearthed", dealing mostly with Kentucky:
Enjoy... and make sure your doors and windows are locked at night, and your curtains drawn. I do.
.
In this day and age of creepypasta, and the recent resurgence of Appalachian folklore being promoted on the internet, a strange phenomena is on display - every bit as strange as the cryptids themselves, I think. It's this: bits and pieces of folklore from far-flung realms, and across a range of times from the distant past to this morning, are being conflated and repackaged for consumption on the internet., creating what one author has dubbed "fakelore".
Examples may be found in these videos. Some speculate that these critters may be "skin walkers". They are not, nor can they be. This is the eastern US forest. It's not the Arizona or New Mexico deserts where the Navajo roam, and "skin walkers" are a firmly Navajo thing. There are no "skin walkers" in the Appalachians, for example, no matter how many YouTubers try to convince you otherwise. The closest thing here would be things like the "owl witches" of some local native american tribes - "Medicine Men" or "witches" that transform into owls. Creepy maybe, but definitely not your average Navajo skin walker.
Others claim they may be "wendigos". No cigar there, either. The Wendigo is a mostly Canadian - Cree I think - legend, although some of those legends may be found as far south as the Great Lakes... but NOT this far south. Furthermore, the wendigo is a spirit-being, and can't be seen with the eye. They made themselves known by "posessing" Native Americans, who then proceeded to kill and eat other folks. In other words, the wendigo is an explanation for just plain old cannibal behavior.
As an added bonus, we now have reports of "the rake" or "pale crawlers" in the Appalachians. No such critters here. Never have been, and there ain't now. That, as with most of the above, is a pure fantasy product of the internet, and a desire to make a buck by getting clicks. What folks are doing, really, is combining and ultimately diluting legitimate folklore, turning it into "fakelore" by doing so. They are destroying our legitimate folklore.
There ARE strange things here. I myself have seen things in these hills that I can't quite explain, some fairly recently, at this very location, in this last snow storm. But the creepypasta versions of cryptids cannot hold a candle for the "real" things that may be encountered here, if you thrash around in the forests long enough. Even my Dear Old Dad, who feared nothing and believed in nothing that he couldn't shoot or pop a knife into... or just grab hold of and give a good shaking, has seen things he couldn't quite explain. His take on it was to shrug and say that SOMEONE could explain it, just not him. In other words, just because he didn't know what it was didn't mean that no one knew what it was, or just because HE couldn't explain it, that didn't mean it had no explanation. Pap was smart like that. He had a measured IQ of 194 as I recall, but he was the first to admit that didn't mean there wasn't anything he didn't know. Being smart isn't the same thing as being educated, or knowing everything there is to know... the ability to learn something is not the same thing as already knowing it.
So, without further ado, I present to you the videos of the American Werewolf / Dogman, most centered around the Ohio Valley, in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky - and keep in mind the woods surrounding my humble home here are directly connected in an unbroken line to all of the woods in those places as well... so what may be found there may also be found HERE. I live a few hundred yards from the top of the ridge that divides the Ohio Valley from the Tennessee Valley, and there are unbroken woods for a couple of hundred miles in all directions from where I sit. I could almost walk under continuous tree canopy from here to Michigan Swamp Buck's place, if it weren't for some farmland and prairie in western Ohio and eastern Indiana.
First up is a relatively short, 13 minute video of "werewolves caught on camera". This particular video is not limited to the Ohio Valley. It includes the Beast of Cannock Chase and "Old Stinker" in Yorkshire, both UK legends, as well as a Brazilian werewolf:
Next up is an hour and 20 minute documentary on "The American Werewolf", concentrating on the Ohio Valley:
And, last in this post, another hour and 20 minute documentary, "Werewolves Unearthed", dealing mostly with Kentucky:
Enjoy... and make sure your doors and windows are locked at night, and your curtains drawn. I do.
.
![[Image: m6Lj0Pf.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/m6Lj0Pf.jpg)
