Cryptids
Moehau: New Zealand’s Bigfoot
![](https://conspirazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/moehau-newspaper-articles-j47RbU.jpeg)
Tony Lucas’s depiction of a Moehau. Photo:Cryptidz.Fandom
The Moehau is a legendary monster in Maori mythology, originating from the central plateau region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is said to be a large, hairy, man-like creature that inhabits the dense forests of the region and is known for its fearsome roar and aggressive behavior.
Description of the Moehau
The Moehau is described in Maori legend as a large, hairy, human-like creature with a fierce appearance. It is said to have long arms that reach down to its knees, and sharp claws on its hands and feet. Its hair is described as dark and shaggy, covering its entire body, and its face is said to be savage and frightening.
The Moehau is typically depicted as being six-seven feet tall, with a powerful build and an intimidating presence. Some legends describe the creature as having a mane of hair around its neck and glowing eyes that can be seen from a distance in the darkness of the forest.
Moehau Sightings
Reports of sightings of the Moehau are rare and mainly come from the central plateau region of the North Island of New Zealand, where the creature is said to inhabit. However, these reports are largely anecdotal and lack concrete evidence.
The sightings are often described as fleeting and difficult to verify, with people claiming to have seen a large, hairy, human-like creature moving quickly through the forest or hearing its distinctive roar echoing through the trees.
The most common evidence of the Moehau is found in the form of footprints.
Rex Gilroy holds up plaster casts of possible Moehau footprints. Photo: Haunted Auckland
In 1903 some very large footprints were found in the Karangahake Gorge in the Coromandel.
In 1971 a trail of huge footprints was discovered on snow-covered ground by a park ranger in the Karangahake Gorge.
In 1983 a man hunting a deer came across fresh footprints near the Heaphy River that appeared to be far larger then a normal human’s.
In 1991 in the Cameron Mountains of the South Island some campers hastily abandoned their camp after finding some unsettlingly large footprints near their site.
Newspaper articles about the Moehau. Photo: Haunted Auckland
Several witnesses report having been attacked or chased by a Moehau. In 1970 some campers in the Coromandel abandoned their camp after a 6ft tall hairy man beast continued to screamed loudly and threw rocks at them.
Just two years later in the same area a hunter watched as a 6ft tall, ape-like creature worked its way through the bush on the other side of the gully. The hunter went to investigate and found large footprints left behind.
An undated report in New Zealand’s Sunday News told of the owner of the Lake Mahinapua Pub on the South Island’s West Coast regularly having his garden raided by a huge man-beast. The Moehau was particularly fond of his silver beet.
Killed by Moehau?
A few early account existed where people were reportedly killed by Moehau. The headless body of a prospector was found in the Martha Mine in 1882 and was blamed on a Moehau. A few years later, not far from the Martha Mine, a woman was dragged from her shack and found dead with a snapped neck a few hundred meters away.
Was the Moehau an Escaped Gorilla?
The theory that the Moehau is an escaped gorilla is a relatively recent and controversial one. It suggests that the creature may have escaped from a zoo or animal park in New Zealand and survived in the wild, leading to reports of sightings and encounters. This theory is based on the idea that the description of the Moehau as a large, hairy, man-like creature with sharp claws and a fearsome appearance is consistent with the physical characteristics of gorillas.
However, this theory is largely speculative and lacks concrete evidence. Gorillas are native to Africa and are not found in the wild in New Zealand, so it is unlikely that one could have escaped and survived in the wild there. Additionally, the forested regions of the central plateau are remote and inhospitable, making it unlikely that an escaped gorilla would be able to thrive there. The majority of experts in the field reject the idea that the Moehau is an escaped gorilla, and it remains a creature of legend and myth in Maori culture.
A video describing the Moehau, Maori Bigfoot
Have you ever seen a Moehau or something similar in your neck of the woods? Let us know in the comments!
If you enjoyed this article you may be interested in the Moehau’s cousins: Bigfoot and Batutut.
Cryptids
Mothman SIghted Before 2007 Bridge Collapse in Minnesota
![](https://conspirazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/I-35w-bridge-collapse-2007-mothman-njSZQo.png)
The aftermath of the I-35w Bridge Collapse in 2007. Image: Wikipedia
Just like the infamous Silver Bridge Mothman sightings, witnesses claim seeing a strange, 7ft tall flying humanoid in the weeks before the collapse of the I-35W bridge in 2007.
The Collapse of the I-35W Bridge
The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (also known as Bridge 9340) was a large bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that carried Interstate 35W over the river. It was built in 1967 and was one of the busiest bridges in Minnesota, with thousands of cars using it every day.
Sadly, on August 1, 2007, during the evening rush hour when hundreds of people were driving home from work, something terrible happened. The bridge suddenly collapsed, causing a lot of damage. Sadly, 13 people died, and 145 were injured.
Investigators later found out that a part of the bridge, called the gusset plate, had failed. The gusset plate was worn and the stress of the extra cars on the bridge caused it to break apart.
Right after the collapse, people and emergency workers from nearby areas rushed to help. They worked hard to rescue anyone who was trapped and to take care of the injured.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation quickly made plans to build a new bridge called the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge. They finished building it just over a year later, and it opened in September 2008.
Connections to the Silver Bridge Collapse
The Silver Bridge Collapse
For many cryptid enthusiasts, hearing of a bridge collapse immediately brings Mothman to mind. The Silver Bridge was a suspension bridge spanning the Ohio River, connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio. On December 15, 1967, during rush hour, the bridge suddenly collapsed, sending cars and people plunging into the icy waters below. The disaster claimed the lives of 46 individuals, making it one of the deadliest bridge collapses in American history.
In the months leading up to the tragedy, residents of Point Pleasant reported sightings of a mysterious creature dubbed the “Mothman.” Described as a large, winged humanoid with glowing red eyes, the Mothman sightings fueled speculation and fear in the community.
Following the Silver Bridge collapse, some people began to link the sightings of the Mothman to the disaster, suggesting that the creature was a harbinger of impending doom. This connection led to the Mothman becoming a legendary figure in cryptozoology and popular culture.
Both the Silver Bridge collapse and the I-35w collapse were caused by structural failures in the bridges. In the case of the Silver Bridge, the collapse was attributed to a single eyebar in the suspension chain that failed due to metal fatigue. In the I-35W collapse, a design flaw in the bridge’s gusset plates, combined with increased weight from construction materials and traffic, led to the catastrophic failure.
Mothman Sightings Connected to the I-35W Bridge Collapse
Dark Reocrds covers the I-35w brdge collapse
The I-35w collapse Mothman sightings differ from the Silver Bridge Mothman sightings in their frequency. Dozens of people around Pleasant Point reported strange sightings and unexplained paranormal or extraterrestrial activity in the months leading up to the Silver Bridge collapse. The sightings surrounding the I-35w collapse were mush less common.
On August 10, 2007, George Noory hosted the “Coast to Coast AM” program, where he spoke to several callers sharing their encounters with cryptids. Among these calls was one reporting a sighting on June 27th near Stewartville, Minnesota. The caller described seeing a 7-foot-tall, winged humanoid creature with a massive wingspan, roughly the width of her Ford vehicle. The sighting occurred approximately 90 miles from the I-35w bridge, just over a month before the bridge collapse.
There are references to multiple other sightings online but they seem to have been removed from the internet. A WIRED article from the time talks of numerous blog posts on the topic but the link no longer works. This article by Singular Fortean also alludes to their being multiple sightings but doesn’t provide references.
Skepticism
So it seems we just have the one account to work with here. It’s possible that the George Noory’s caller was just someone making up a story and looking for a bit of attention. The fact that the account didn’t come out until after the collapse of the I-35w bridge does take from its credibility.
It is also possible that the caller simple saw a large crane or other bird and misidentified their memory as the mothman following the bridge collapse.
What if it was Mothman?
If it was Mothman that was seen before the collapse of the I-35w bridge it leads us to more questions than answers. Is this Mothman the same creature that was seen before the Silver Bridge collapse? Could Mothman actually be a species of creature that is drawn to human disasters, particularly bridge collapses?
Tell us your theories in the comments.
If you enjoyed reading about Mothman and the I-35w bridge collapse you might be interested in our article on the original Mothman story or the blackbird of Chernobyl.
Cryptids
The Awful
![](https://conspirazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-Awful-Cryptid-Creature-Cq3jPO.png)
The Awful cryptid as described by Vermont residents in 1925
In 1923, several residents of Berkshire and Richford, Vermont reported seeing a creature resembling a griffin, with a 20 foot wingspan and a serpentine tail.
“The Awful” Cryptid Sightings of 1925
Berkshire and Richford, Vermont are peaceful countryside towns located between Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog, near the Canadian Province of Quebec.
In 1925 several residents of these towns reported encounters with an unusual flying creature.
The creature was described as being similar to the mythical Griffin, with a grayish color, a 20-foot wingspan, a snake-like tail, and big claws capable of holding a medium sized dog. These strange sightings caused panic among the locals who came to dub the creature “the Awful”.
The first sightings of the mysterious creature were reported by two sawmill workers in Richford. As they crossed the main street bridge, they saw a very large beast on the nearby rooftop of the Boright building, glaring at them. According to the tale, one of the men was so scared that he had a heart attack out of fear. He had to be carried home but eventually recovered. However, for weeks afterward, he had nightmares about the creature, waking up his family with screams during the night.
In the following months, locals kept reporting sightings of this mysterious creature, causing fear and panic among residents. Farmers shared stories of it flying over their fields, and others saw it landing on their house rooftops. One resident, Oella Hopkins, experienced this when she was hanging laundry outside. The family dog got upset and started barking, and when Oella looked, she saw the creature, known as The Awful, perched on her farmhouse roof, staring at her. Terrified, Oella ran inside and hid under her bed for hours.
Later Sightings of “The Awful”
By the end of 1925, sightings of the creature became less frequent and almost stopped completely by 1928. Even though people thought it had disappeared, some locals claimed to see it every now and then since the 1920s. One such person was Lisa Maskell from Montgomery, who said she spotted the creature near Trout River when she was a child. When she saw a drawing of a pterodactyl later on, she thought it looked like the creature she saw and believed it resembled The Awful.
In 2006, there were a few new reports suggesting that The Awful might have returned to Northern Vermont. In October 2006, a person wrote in the County Courier about a respected person in Richford who saw the creature suddenly appear and grab a big black crow from a pine tree. The witness was surprised and said the creature flew around his house three times.
After this article, more people shared sightings. A woman remembered seeing the monster when she was about ten. It was in a tree near the Trout River, watching them with its strange beak, reminding her of a pterodactyl.
A dowser named Edith Green said people in Richford have been nervous about the creature for a long time.
An older man mentioned that the creature has been seen often in the Gibou area for the past 25 years, even recently. Locals usually leave it alone, and it leaves them alone, with a few exceptions.
A resident of East Richford said the creature has been spotted recently around the Slide Road area. He mentioned you can often hear it before seeing it, making a strange, low screaming sound and the flapping of its large wings when it’s close.
Despite its scary appearance, the creature was never known to attack people; it seemed more like it was just watching. There’s one account mentioning it flying over Berkshire Field near Lost Nation Road and appearing to hold a baby or a small animal, although it’s more likely to have been an animal.
William DeFalco covers the story of The Awful
Possible Explanations for the Awful
Assuming the reports of the Awful are not just a hoax or an old wives tale what else could be going on here? It’s possible that soe type of rare, large bird is lurking in the wilds of Vermont and is only seen very rarely due to a lack of numbers. The Awful could simple have been a particularly large owl or Eagle.
If paranormal in origin, the Awful does bear a small resemblence to the Mothman of West Virginia. Perhaps it continues to lurk in the shadows, waiting to come our and warn residents of impending doom.
What do you think about the Awful? Tell us your theories in the comments.
If you enjoyed learning about the Awful you might also be interested in the Lechuza, a strange owl-like creature or the Prime Hook Swamp Monster.
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