How Cryptid Myths Are Created and Reinforced

To understand cryptid myths, one must understand how a myth (any myth) is created. Any myth is a figment of human imagination (product of human creativity) – conscious or unconscious.

Consciously-created myth is essentially the equivalent of a fairy tale in a form of a short story (sometimes very short). There are essentially six basic ways to create a cryptid myth (they can be combined, of course).

1. Place existing animal far outside its natural habitat. A perfect example are ABCs – Alien Big Cats. Large felids which allegedly appear in regions far outside their indigenous range (mostly in the UK).

2. Radically increase the size of an existing animal. Giant birds, giant bats, sea serpents and lake serpents are the most common examples of such myths.

3. Bring extinct animal back to life. Either long-extinct from natural causes (e.g., Megalodon) or recently exterminated by humans (Tasmanian tiger).

4. Create animal/animal hybrid. A perfect example is a flying dragon (snake with wings and feet), but there are many other. Tatzelwurm (worm with legs), monkey with bat-like wings, crocodile with horse head, etc.

5. Create animal/human hybrid. A perfect example is a mermaid (of course) but also Bigfoot (a cross between a human and a giant ape).

6. Provide existing animal with supernatural powers. A fox in Chinese mythology is a perfect example. Mythical animal can be enhanced this way as well.

Cryptid myth is created unconsciously when an individual sees an animal when it is not there (his/her imagination plays tricks on him/her). A most common mistake is looking at the log or a school of fish and seeing a lake serpent (or another monster). Or radically overestimating the size of a flying bat or a bird (or a fish).

However, unconsciously myths are much more often reinforced rather than created. If an individual believes in a myth of a giant bat, lake serpent, etc., he or she develops a form of cognitive bias.

Which leads to perceptual distortion – making the individual see a cryptid where there is only a log or a floating net (or a much smaller well-known animal).