The Snallygaster is a mythical creature said to inhabit the region of Maryland, particularly in the Frederick County area of the United States. Described as a dragon-like beast with a metallic beak, it is said to swoop down from the sky to capture and carry off its victims.
Believed to be a dragon/bird chimera, the Snallygaster is said to have one eye, a beak, a dragon like body, and strangely, tentacles coming from its mouth.
The legend of the Snallygaster has its roots in German folklore and was brought to the United States by early German immigrants. Accounts of the Snallygaster date back to the 18th century, with the first reported sightings occurring in the 1730s. The creature was said to have a distinctive appearance, with large bat-like wings, a long tail, and a beak lined with sharp teeth. According to folklore, the Snallygaster would suck the blood of its victims, similar to the mythical Chupacabra. The legend gained widespread attention in 1909 when a series of articles about the Snallygaster were published in the Middletown Valley Register,
a local newspaper in Frederick County, Maryland. According to these articles, the Snallygaster was terrorizing the region, and local residents were living in fear. The reports described the creature as a monstrous and grotesque being that could emit a screeching sound. During this period, a man named Bill Myers claimed to have encountered the Snallygaster and provided a detailed description of the creature. There was a claim that it drained a Middletown man of blood and tossed his body off of a cliff.
It’s thought that the snallygaster lives for 20 years and then has a 20 year incubation period before another snallygaster hatches and another generation emerges. The next snallygaster life cycle, she said, is thought to start in 2024.
He reported that it had tentacles and was capable of making a hissing noise. The Snallygaster scare reached such a level that even President Theodore Roosevelt considered postponing a planned African Safari to hunt the monster. In response to the reports, the Smithsonian Institution offered a reward for the capture or verification of the Snallygaster’s existence.
According to local newspapers and several enthusiastic eyewitnesses, the murderous monster undertook a series of colorful adventures: laying an egg the size of a barrel, picking a railway worker up by his suspenders, and even speaking to one man, mysteriously declaring, “My I’m dry, I haven’t had a good drink since I was killed in the battle of Chickamauga!”
However, the creature seemed to vanish as quickly as it had appeared, and no concrete evidence was ever found. While the 1909 accounts are the most well-known, reports of the Snallygaster persisted in the years that followed, with sporadic sightings and anecdotes continuing into the 20th century. However, it’s essential to note that the Snallygaster is considered a mythical creature, and there is no scientific evidence to support its existence.
I visited a lot of paranormal and cryptid museums like for the Flatwoods Monster Museum and I’ve been to their festivals and I’ve seen how much tourism business they bring to those communities. I think we really need to get some of that going on in Maryland. We have such a cool cryptid with such a cool story that is so tied into American history, we should be celebrating it and our businesses should be benefiting from it.
Sarah Cooper – Founder and owner of the American Snallygaster Museum
Further Reading
Sources
- “Mountain Monster: The Snallygaster” https://blueridgecountry.com/archive/favorites/snallygaster-monster/
- “Sarah Cooper from the American Snallygaster Museum” https://www.audible.com/pd/Sarah-Cooper-from-the-American-Snallygaster-Museum-Podcast/B08W56FG4D
- “Cryptid Fan Hopes Her Museum Brings Attention to a Forgotten Cryptid” https://dailyyonder.com/cryptid-fan-hopes-her-museum-brings-attention-to-a-forgotten-cryptid/2021/11/19/
- “I saw the Snallygaster” https://www.snallygastermuseum.com/
- “Snallygaster” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snallygaster
