The North Maine Woods’ Folk Creatures

When lumberjacks made their way across the United States, they passed on stories and each camp had their own unique take on the lore. In the center of the tales were fearsome critters and fabulous beasts. I’ve been looking for fearsome creatures that were popular or unique to Maine, and here’s what I found:

- Will-am-alones were rodent-like creatures that would poison lumberjacks with lichens. People reported having headaches and hallucinating from the lichens that had supposedly been put over their eyes while they slept.

- Razorshins was a humanoid creature with sharp shins, said to be an immortal with a taste for Bangor Whisky. This creature gained popularity during prohibition. If new loggers left a jug of whisky outside their camp, the next morning Razorshins would cut down a tree for them – if the newcomers failed to leave an alcoholic offering, they would be scalped or mutilated. 

- Dingball was a ball tailed cat, with a human singing voice. It would use it’s songs to lure tired or lost people into the woods, where it would crush their skulls with his wrecking ball like tail. While Dingball himself is not native to Maine, his story was incredibly popular.

Daily Monster 254: The Black Bird of Chernobyl

Region of origin: Chernobyl, Ukraine

It’s said in the days leading up to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster there were sightings of a black creature, resembling a headless winged humanoid with two large red eyes, appearing throughout the city before finally appearing over the plant itself flying through the smoke after the explosion occurred. Additionally these were accompanied by locals reporting they had received strange phone calls and were having intense nightmares. In other words, basically an MO identical to that of the Mothman of West Virginia in the Sixties. And also like the Mothman, the Black Bird was never sighted again after the disaster, seemingly disappearing after delivering its vague prophecy.

Rosstrappe: The story of Princess Brunhilde

Rosstrappe: The story of Princess Brunhilde The Rosstrappe is a craggy hill in the Harz mountain range, central Germany. Those who make it to the very top can see a hoof print in the rock on cliff edge and legend has it that this is where princess Brunhilde escaped from a giant, Bodo, who wanted to marry her. He chased her to the cliff edge, where her white stallion jumped across and reached the other side, while Bodo jumped after her and plunged to his death. 

Creepy Urban Legends - Japan In Japanese folklore, Kuchisake-onna (“Slit-Mouthed Woman”) is a woman who is mutilated by a jealous husband and returns as a malicious spirit. When rumors of alleged sightings began spreading in 1979, it spread throughout Japan and caused panic in many towns. There are even reports of schools allowing children to go home only in groups escorted by teachers for safety, and of police increasing their patrols.

When the legend reappeared in the 1970s rumors of ways to escape also emerged. Some sources say she can also be confused by answering her question with, rather than yes or no, “You are average.” Unsure of what to do, she will give a person enough time to escape while she is lost in thought. Another escape route is to tell her one has a previous engagement; she will pardon her manners and excuse herself. In some variations of the tale, she can be distracted by throwing fruit or sweets at her which she will pick up, thus giving the victim a chance to run. Another way is for the child to ask her if the child is pretty; she will get confused and leave.  According to the legend, children walking alone at night may encounter a woman wearing a surgical mask, which is not an unusual sight in Japan as people wear them to protect others from their colds or sickness. The woman will stop the child and ask, “Am I beautiful?” If the child answers no, the child is killed with a pair of scissors which the woman carries. If the child answers yes, the woman pulls away the mask, revealing that her mouth is slit from ear to ear, and asks “How about now?”. If the child answers no, he/she will be cut in half. If the child answers yes, then she will slit his/her mouth like hers. It is impossible to run away from her, as she will simply reappear in front of the victim.