File this under things I didn't know about where I live.

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Legendary Cryptids

Before diving into the mysterious world of cryptids, it's important to know just exactly what cryptids are. Merriam-Webster defines cryptids as:

an animal (such as Sasquatch or the Loch Ness Monster) that has been claimed to exist but never proven to exist

Contrary to popular belief, cryptids don't have to be supernatural, mythical or even all that strange—though many popular creatures acquire these characteristics as their legends grow. Hayley Williams

We've all heard the legends of many different cryptids.  If you're from Indiana you probably know about the Beast of Busco, if you're in Kentucky you've probably heard the story of the Hopkinsville goblins, and no matter where you're from you have probably heard of North America's most notorious cryptid, Bigfoot.   However, there is one cryptid that Kentucky and Indiana are both pretty obsessed with.

Hoosiers and Kentuckians Are Obsessed With Werewolves

If you would have asked me what the most popular cryptid in Kentucky and Indiana was, I would have bet money that we were searching for Bigfoot more than any other urban legend so I was pretty surprised to see that our states are obsessed with werewolves.

Recently the team at Creelighting.com did a study into the most popular cryptids from every state.   Using internet articles, Google trends, and other methods they compiled a list of the most popular cryptids in the United States.   It turns out Indiana and Kentucky both share the same fascination with werewolves, as we are searching for werewolves more than any other cryptid.

What are Werewolves?

To better understand the fascination with werewolves, we should probably first dive into what exactly are werewolves.   When I think of werewolves, my mind instantly goes to the Michael Jackson 'Thriller' music video, 1941's The Wolf Man, and the 1985 movie, Teen Wolf.  Britannica defines a werewolf as:

werewolf, in European folklore, a man who turns into a wolf at night and devours animals, people, or corpses but returns to human form by day. Some werewolves change shape at will; others, in whom the condition is hereditary or acquired by having been bitten by a werewolf, change shape involuntarily, under the influence of a full moon.

 

The Legend of the Werewolf

History.com has a very interesting deep dive into the lore of werewolves, and they say that scholars are unsure of the origins of the werewolf legends, many believe the legend of werewolves began in The Epic of Gilgamesh.

History.com also goes on to say that the legend of people turning into raging beasts during a full moon may not be too far-fetched after all:

In many werewolf stories, a person only turns into a wolf when there’s a full moon—and that theory may not be far-fetched. According to a study conducted at Australia’s Calvary Mater Newcastle hospital, a full moon brings out the “beast” in many humans. The study found that of the 91 violent, acute behavior incidents at the hospital between August 2008 and July 2009, 23 percent happened during a full moon.

So what do you think?  Do you think werewolves are roaming around the Hoosier and Bluegrass states?