Category: Myth/Folklore

6 Colorado Cryptids

I am sharing this post from my other site, TheVeilLife.com! You can visit there for more post about the mysterious!

The state of Colorado is most known for it’s beautiful colors and ski opportunities. But there are a few creatures that reside in the great Rocky Mountains that you may encounter while visiting.

Here is a list of the most well known Colorado Cryptids as well as where Colorado.com says you can visit for a cryptid experience!

.1 Tommyknockers

Tommyknockers are leprechaun looking creatures that are said to reside within the gold and silver mines of the Colorado mountains. As Colorado used to be a major mining state, there are stories and legends about creatures that reside in the mines and would warn miners of danger by knocking on the walls within. These creatures came to be called Tommyknockers.

Colorado.com says that if you visit the  Capital Prize Gold Mine Tours in Georgetown and venture 1,000 feet underground into a working mine that’s been operating for more than a century, you can relive the legend yourself. 

.2 Slide-Rock Bolter

The Slide-Rock Bolter (Macrostoma saxiperrumptus.) is said to be a whale in the Colorado mountains with sharp teeth and tiny eyes that is believed to cause landslides. It was first reported in the 19th & 20th centuries by the lumberjacks that worked and spent their days cutting trees in the Rockies of Colorado. It holds onto the mountain with its strong hooked tail and faces down the mountainside. When hikers and explorers are spotted in the area, the Slide-Rock Bolter will release its grip on the mountain and slide down, mouth open, ready to scoop up anyone or anything in its path.

William Thomas Cox writes about the Slide-Rock Bolter in his book Fearsome Critters of the Lumberwoods.

.3 Vampires

There is a legend in Lafayette, where it is believed that they have their own Vampire.

According to many sources and local legends, Theodor Glava was a Transylvanian immigrant in the 1900’s that lived in Lafayette and worked in the coal mines. He was tall, pale, and thin, a strange appearance to the locals. He died during the flu epidemic in 1918 and was shortly dug up from his grave and was found to have blood in his mouth and his fingernails were long and continued to grow. Fearing he had been waking and feeding on the town’s people, they drove a wooden stake through his heart before covering him back up with dirt. The legends continue to grow as a tree grew from the grave of Theodore, right where the wooden stake would’ve been. Some sources also state that red roses grow near his grave as well which has been seen as a sign of his blood drinking nature. You can visit Theodore’s grave, in Lafayette, to this day.

.4 Bigfoot

Bigfoot is one of the most well known cryptids in the world, said to reside in most places with mountain ranges, and claimed to have been seen by many in the Colorado Rockies. Bigfoot, also known as Sasquach, is a tall humanoid-apelike creature that can stand up to 10 feet tall. They are covered in long brown hair or fur and leave giant footprints where ever they go.

They are solitary creatures and when possible sighting occur, they are always traveling alone, but are immense in size and often disappear into the trees. Sightings have included videos of a large ape-like creature as well as giant footprints along trails and wooded areas.

.5 Thunderbird

The Thunderbird comes from Native American Cultures. Described similarly throughout many tribes and legends, these creatures all share the appearance of a bird so large it could carry a whale, it could create thunder when it flaps its wings, and lighting would come from its glare.

There are totems often depicting their image and they are seen as sacred, strong, protective creatures that guarded the tribes people from evil spirits. Thunderbirds are said to build their nests on the mountain tops of the Rocky Mountains.

The Thunderbird has been speculated to be the bird known as the Argentavis Magnificens, a vulture type bird whose fossils were discovered in Argentina in the 1980’s. This bird had a wingspan of roughly 23 feet and stood at roughly 5 feet, making it the worlds largest known bird.

According to a article on the website https://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2020/04/thunderbird-pterodactyl-sightings.html there is a report of a large bird chasing a turkey vulture over Table Mountain in Golden, Colorado. This bird was three times that of the turkey vulture and was flying on the edge of a thunderstorm. According to the witness, he reported it to the Colorado Division of Wildlife but the officer, according to Kirk, “downplayed the possibility of a Thunderbird”.

.6 Skinwalker

The Skinwalker legends originate with Navajo Native American Tribes and they speak of shamans who used their spiritual abilities for evil, which may include ending the life of a family member. In doing so they became Skinwalkers that look human during the day and change into a large predatory animal at night. Many reports say that these shapeshifters are often seen in their animal form on ranches throughout the U.S. and when they are in the area there are livestock mutilations and animals that disappear. The Skinwalker animals most often seen are wolves, coyotes, fox, and bears and when seen they appear many times larger than that of a normal size animal.

Skinwalkers have been reported in areas that are now famous for their sightings, such as Skinwalker Ranch in Utah, but have supposedly been spotted in other states and on other ranches, including Colorado. A ranch owner in Elbert County reported these same types of occurrences in the 1970s.

-The Veil • Serr.Kai • A Quill & Ink

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The Kelpie

By Celtic Botan https://www.deviantart.com/celticbotan/art/Care-of-Magical-Creatures-Assignment-Kelpie-585630225

The Kelpie is a water spirit that inhabits the Lochs of Scotland, or so the legend is told. This creature shapeshifts between the form of a horse and a human, often times a woman. Its name may derive from the Scottish Gaelic words ‘cailpeach’ or ‘colpach’, meaning heifer or colt.

While Kelpies may seem like innocent and beautiful horses beside the water, they are known best for their malevolent behavior of luring people into the water to then drown and consume them. Children tend to be more attracted to these beautiful creatures than adults. Once the Kelpie lures someone onto their back, they become trapped and will soon find themselves underwater.

The Kelpie has also been known to cause the sound of thunder as its tail touches water. While this creature can be a dangerous one to encounter, it can be controlled if you hold their bridle. When one has the bridle, they can control any Kelpie. A captive Kelpie can have the strength and speed of more than 10 horses.

There is a rumor that the MacGregor clan has a Kelpies bridle that has been passed down through the generations that were obtained from an ancestor that took it from a Kelpie in Loch Slochd.

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By Alan Lee http://annwfyn.tumblr.com/post/85929472823/aurumnorthwood-the-kelpie-alan-lee

The kelpie is mentioned in Robert Burns’ poem, ‘Address to the Deil’:

“…When thowes dissolve the snawy hoord
An’ float the jinglin’ icy boord
Then, water-kelpies haunt the foord
By your direction
And ‘nighted trav’llers are allur’d
To their destruction…”

The common Scottish folk tale called The Kelpie and The Ten Children is another story about this beautiful yet malevolent creature. In this tale, the Kelpie lured nine children onto its back. As it chased the tenth child, the child stroked the Kelpie’s nose only to get his finger stuck. The child managed to cut off their own finger and escape. The other nine children were then dragged under the water and never seen again.

the_kelpie_of_loch_by_blackbanshee80
The Kelpie of Lock by BlackBanshee80 https://www.deviantart.com/…/a…/The-Kelpie-of-Loch-227598582

The Scottish Laird and The Water Kelpie

Shared by Museum of The Horse

It has always been said that there dwelt in the deep lochs in Scotland terrible spirits known as Water Kelpies. One should take care when walking by these peaceful waters never to be tempted to catch or ride any horse seen wandering along the edge of the loch.

These horses are often of a bright chestnut color and have wonderful silver bridles and saddles embellished with precious stones. It is said that if you try to catch a Water Kelpie and you jump on its back it will carry into the depths of the loch never to be seen again. It has also been said that this evil spirit can be caught if you can get its bridle off its head. It will do anything to get its bridle back.

And so the story goes that a Scottish Laird wished to build for himself a great castle on top of a hill. He was to mean to pay for laborers to carry the stones. He did not like to part with his money, and so he looked around for ways to get his castle built for nothing.

It was one evening when dining with his wife he struck on an idea. He would capture a Water Kelpie and use the horse to carry all his stones up the hill. His wife shook in her shoes at the very thought of it. She begged him not to temp such a terrible spirit out of the loch. She said that ill would be born on all of them if such a thing was to be done.

“The Kelpie will cast a spell on us.” She howled.

But the mean old Laird was having none of it. He got a hazel frond and fashioned a cross that he nailed to the front door. Then he battened up all the windows leaving one at the rear of the house open enough for him to climb through. His wife ran up to her room and hid under the bed in terror.

Off the laird went with a large knife in his belt to the edge of the loch and there he sat and waited until the dusk. Suddenly he saw a ripple reach the shoreline, the water parted, and through the descending mist out of the loch rose a splendid chestnut horse, gleaming copper and gold with a handsome bridle of silver and a saddle encrusted with jewels. The Laird whistled under his breath for this was a truly magnificent creature, tall and strong, handsome and elegant. Anyone would desire to ride this creature.

He waited the horse sniffed the air and began to walk gracefully towards some luscious grass. As the horse put his head down to crop the verdant turf the Laird leaped forward from behind a great rock and cut the bridle off the horse’s head. It fell to the ground and deftly the laird picked it up and ran home. The horse neighed, pawing with its foot. Without its bridle, it could not return to the loch so it followed the Laird. The chase was on the Laird knew that he had to get back to the house climb in the back window and run upstairs. The Water Kelpie rushed to the front door and screamed to see the hazel cross and the door barred. The laird just made it through the open window before the horse lashed at him with its teeth in fury. The Laird shuttered the window and ran upstairs.

The beautiful chestnut horse ran round and round the house calling for its bridle to be returned.

“I will give you back your bridle if you carry all my stones up the hill on your back.”

The Water Kelpie had no choice but to capitulate. He became the slave of the Laird. Over the months it took to carry all the stones up the hill the horse grew thin and weak, its coat grew dull; its eyes lost their gleam. The once-proud horse was skin and bones. It tottered with the last of the stones up the hill for the last time. The Laird, satisfied that his castle would be the finest in the kingdom took the silver bridle and gave it back to the Water Kelpie. He placed it on the Kelpie’s and head and kicked the chestnut horse and told it to go back to its watery home.

With all the strength the Water Kelpie could muster, it laid a curse on the Laird. Screaming out across the land for all to hear, he cursed and laird and his family forever.

Then the Water Kelpie turned and with its last strength, it reached the edge of the loch and plunged into the black depths. And you know the curse held true. The laird grew old and senile, but his son died in a terrible accident. His wife died not long after the castle was finished and his daughter gave birth to deformed children one after another. Soon the line of the laird died out, but the story didn’t.

If you want to live and thrive let the Kelpie stay alive.

The Scottish Laird and The Water Kelpie

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By https://imgur.com/gallery/iIzFC

-Author K.Orion

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Five Bits of Folklore & Cultural Beliefs About Cats

Cats have been a creature within myth, folklore, and legend as far back as the beginning of time. Cats are often portrayed in cultures as good, bad, protectors, witch’s familiars, servants of Satan, and more.  They are creatures of mystery and will likely remain this way. Today, I am going to discuss five stories about cats that have appeared throughout history and the world. There are many stories about cats that we will eventually cover as there are many more than what we will discuss today. This is a very small peek into the world and mystery of cats.

Number One – Cat’s Can Steal Your Breath
One of the more popular beliefs about cats is that they can steal your breath. This perception began in the 1700s when a coroner declared the death of an infant as suffocation and the culprit was the family’s cat. Cats have been seen throughout history to often sit on the chest or face of their human keepers. While there are few accounts of cats causing death, the stories about stealing your breath have a large focus on infants. Cats can be attracted to infants for a few different reasons one of those being the smell of milk. As cats love milk, they may be attracted to the breath of infants because of the leftover smell of milk. Another possible reason is that some people say cats become jealous once a baby is born because they may lose the attention of their human keepers. It is also said that cats lay on our chests and faces because of the warmth we emit. But because cats are often associated with death, the published story in the 1700s might have been enough to convince the world that they can and will steal the breath of humans.

Number Two – Cats Will Eat You For Christmas Dinner
This story comes to us from Iceland of the cat who eats humans during Christmas time. This story was said to have originated hundreds of years ago but became popularized in the 19th century. The Yule Cat or Jólakötturinn in Icelandic is a monstrous cat that roams the countryside on the eve and night of Christmas. It is said that this creature will devour those who did not receive new clothes for the holidays. This was often used by farmers to incite motivation in their workers to create as many articles of clothing as possible so that everyone in the village could receive new clothes for the holidays. If they worked hard, they too would receive new clothes from the farmer and in turn, they would not be eaten by the Yule Cat. This was also told to children so that they would be good during the year. As long as they did their chores and were well behaved, they would earn their new clothes and the Yule Cat would not have them for supper.

Number Three – Cats Caused The Black Death
Because cats are often seen as the witch’s familiar or servant of Satan, they are often also associated with death and disease. During the Bubonic Plague or Black Death outbreak in the 14th century, due to their association with the Devil, cats were seen as responsible for bringing and spreading the black death. They were said to have been responsible for the death of up to almost 60% of the population in some regions. In truth, the real culprit behind the spread of this sickness were fleas and lice. Though cats could have helped to spread the fleas from area to area, they were not the direct cause of the outbreak.

Number Four – Cats are women who feast on newborn babies
Now, this might be a little outlandish, but this one comes from the bible. Those who are familiar with Adam & Eve may also know that Adam had a wife before Eve and her name was Lilith. Lilith is portrayed as a woman of evil, who works in dark sorcery and can transform herself into other forms. In one instance, the bible states that after Lilith was no longer the wife of Adam and was cast out of the Garden of Eden, she became a demon who transformed into a large black cat and then devoured newborn babies.

Number Five – Cats Are Good Luck
So far we have covered lots of dark stories and folklore about the cat so I want to end this episode on a positive note. The cat does not only have a dark history, it also has one of positivity and protection. Cats are often seen as protectors of the home, of creating joy, and of guiding those who pass to the other side. There are many stories out there that show the positivity of the cat which we will cover in a future episode. But I don’t want you leaving today thinking that cats are evil beings because they aren’t. The stories we share today are only those of beliefs and stories passed down throughout the ages. It is often easier to cast negativity onto a creature that is often misunderstood. So as we bring this episode to a close, I want to discuss the many reasons that cats are seen as lucky within many cultures around the world.

To the Japanese, cats are seen as lucky in many different instances. The Maneki-Neko or beckoning cat is an iconic Japanese Talisman that is believed to bring good fortune to its owner, usually in the form of cash. One legend explains that there once was a cat who waved its paw to beckon a lord into the house which saved him from being struck by lightning and so the cat who beckons with her paw is considered to be a lucky totem.

In Buddhism, there is a belief that says a cat with a dark coat brings the promise of gold and a white or light-colored cat brings silver. In Russia, the Russian blue cat brings luck.

In many cultures, they believe that polydactyl cats (cats with extra toes) are also a good luck charm and it is said that sailors who routinely sailed to America, brought these many toed cats with them to ensure safe travels.

In Egypt, the Goddess Bastet resembles a cat and is the goddess of love, joy, protection, dance, music, the home, and of course, cats. They have been and are still seen as sacred animals in Egypt.

In Yorkshire Britain, they believe that if you keep a black cat in the home it will bring good luck and ensure the safe return of fishermen.

It is considered good luck to see a black cat or sneezing cat on your wedding day.

Freyja, a Norse Goddess, is the goddess of fertility, love, battle, and death. She drives a chariot drawn by cats and farmers and villagers often leave out offerings for the cats to ensure a good harvest.

In Scotland, there is a belief that a black cat on your porch brings prosperity.

An Italian superstition believes that a sneezing cat is a positive omen for anyone who hears it.

A Chinese proverb says that cats assure their owners of good luck. They also have a saying “Black cat or white cat, if it can catch mice, it is a good cat.”

There is an American superstition that says that dreaming of a white cat means good luck.


There are many other cultural beliefs surrounding the cat which we will continue to bring to you in future episodes. They are sure creatures of mystery but don’t let the dark stories scare you away. Whether you are a cat person or not, cats are wonderful creatures to have in the home, in your life, and to keep within our cultural stories and histories.

-Author K.Orion

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Soulmates

Have you ever felt that there was another person who completed your mind, body, soul? That you and this person were meant to be together? That being with this person made you feel whole? That maybe you had been together for much longer than it seemed? For Valentine’s Day I am sharing a little article that I wrote three years ago, all about soulmates!

Soul mates have a place in myth and folklore. The idea of a soulmate is that there is another person which ‘completes’ you. This person makes you feel whole, you have deep emotional feelings for them, and you long to connect with this other person.

Throughout time, if you believe in multiple lives, you began life with your soul mate. Each life you start over but you return to each other in one way or another. The saying “love at first sight” is based off of the unwavering feeling of knowing and having feelings for someone when you meet them. When you meet someone from a past life you may have “feelings” about this person whether they be affection, happiness, or negative. If those initial feelings lead to a sense of pure happiness, completeness, and love, this person could be your soulmate.

Have you ever met someone and knew right away you liked/loved or even disliked them? Never disregard these feelings, you could be reading their energy but often times, these feelings stem from past experiences, as in past lives.

Have you ever introduced your significant other to someone else and called them your “other half”?

In Greek Mythology there is a quote,

“According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces.

Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate beings forcing them to spend their lives in search for their other halves.”

~Plato

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Found at https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-theory-of-soul-mates-according-to-Greek-mythology

So next time you have a longing for that other someone, remember that you are searching and longing for your other half.

-A Quill & Ink

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