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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
Serr.Kai • A Quill & Ink 