Cryptids

An all time favorite topic of discussion for schizophrenics and internet loner weirdos about creatures that may or may not exist in the real world that they avoid. While cryptids may now be more associated with internet horror stories or homeless people high on crack, they are actually older than you think. Included the likes of vampires, ghosts and manticores. Cryptids today are considered the modern equivalent of mythological creatures of centuries past.

Cryptids Then Versus Now

The monsters back then were less unknowable abomination and more mishmash of existing animals and things we know that can also breath fire or turn you to stone. Frequently combined creatures included: birds of prey, lions, livestock and snakes. They also included more humanoid ones which were typically corporeal undead or creatures of the night. All manner of demons were talked about too, with named ones being prominently featured in grimoires such as the Ars Goetia.

The ones people come up with now are so mysterious your brain will melt just thinking about them. They include popular creepypasta monsters such as Slenderman, but not edgy human ones like Jeff the Killer. The works of science fiction writers from the 1900s as well as those who specialize in Lovecraftian horror are also worth mentioning here.

Importance

A main reason for them existing back then was to keep your mind of the misery and tedium of ancient life by spicing it up with tales of man eating sea creatures and eagle-lion chimeras that can exhale poisonous fumes. They also served the purpose of fitting into the tales of their religious figures. Today they solely exist as something to scare you while browsing the internet at night either through shock images or engaging and thought-provoking internet stories.

An attempt at explaining how cryptids could exist

You might be asking yourself at various points in time, "Do they live Among Us?" They do its just that most of them are either extinct or are in such small numbers that its impossible to find them. If you really want to go out there with theories, is that they exist on separate layers of reality and that they only periodically cross over into ours and that explains why they never leave behind a trace or anything like that.

Cryptid Hotspots

Certain locations are known to be hotbeds for cryptid sightings and paranormal activity. General locations are obviously going to be "mysterious" natural locales as well as places where people typically aren't, especially you. Forest, swamps and mountain ranges are typically the most popular general locations. Some specific ones are: The Himalayan Mountains, West Virginia, the African Jungle, the Amazon rain forest, the American Southwest and your mother's basement.