6 Terrifying Cryptids From California, Usa

California is the third largest state in the USA and contains a plethora of different terrains, from deserts to beaches to forests to mountains and yes, strange cryptids too.

It’s also the most populous state in the country, containing a whopping 39 million people, which is more than the 21 least populous states combined.

Naturally, there are bound to be stories about unidentified creatures existing in some of The Golden State’s vast landscapes. Some of them have been proven to be hoaxes but others remain more mysterious. So here are 6 of California’s creepiest cryptids which are popular in the entire USA.

6. Moores Beach Sea Monster

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In the summer of 1925, a bizarre carcass washed up on Moore’s Beach in Santa Cruz, CA, USA. It was about 30 to 50 ft long with a large duck-billed head. Its neck was long and slender and its body tapered off into a fin-like appendage.

The carcass was examined by a scientist named E.L. Wallace who proclaimed it was likely related to a plesiosaur, a type of marine reptile that thrived during the Jurassic period.

A scientific analysis by the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco revealed that the creature was a Baird’s beaked whale, which is a type of whale found in the Northern Pacific.

The animal’s long neck was actually just a twisted strand of blubber still attached to its neck. Further investigation reveals that there aren’t any records of a scientist named E.L. Wallace ever existing and that his involvement was likely a complete fabrication.

5. Dark Watchers of Santa Lucia Mountains

The Santa Lucia Mountains stretch for 105 miles and form the eastern boundary of the Big Sur region on California’s central coast.

Offering some of the most scenic views in the state, the mountains are also home to legends about mysterious cryptids known as Dark Watchers in the USA.

These watchers are seen standing on the hills, ridges, and peaks of the mountains and staring at those who wander into their territory. Sometimes they are also spotted looking up at the sky.

They have no discernible facial features and appear as silhouettes, resembling shadow people, but can sometimes be seen wearing a cloak and hat.

Stories of these beings have been said to have originated with the Chumash Native Americans, however, no written accounts of such creatures exist from them so it’s possible that this isn’t true.

Either way, eyewitness accounts of these watchers go back for decades. They were even mentioned in a short story by John Steinbeck in 1938.

4. Billiwhack Monster

In 1922, August Rubel moved to Santa Paula in Ventura County and in two years he’d built his very own dairy farm. According to legend, he was involved with the OSS, the Office of Strategic Services, which was a precursor to the CIA.

The dairy farm was a cover for a secret facility that was involved in all kinds of experiments, including genetic experiments on humans.

The dairy farm eventually closed and was abandoned but rumors about what was inside abounded. There was talk that beneath the farm there’s an extensive network of tunnels and secret rooms.

Starting in the 1950s, people in the area have reported sightings of an 8 ft. tall humanoid covered in fur with the head of a goat and the horns of a ram. Dubbed the Billiwhack Monster, it’s mostly been spotted by high school students and children.

Some people theorize it could be the result of the alleged human experiments that took place at the farm, but it’s probably just a local urban legend, repeated generation after generation by kids in the area.

3. Fresno Nightcrawlers

In November 2007 in USA, surveillance footage outside of the home of a Fresno resident made headlines when it appeared to show two bizarre cryptids walking across a lawn. They appeared to have no arms or torso, and walked unusually, unlike any known animal.

The video is extremely grainy and blurry so it’s impossible to make out any distinct features but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating that it could be an alien or even a Native American spirit.

4 years after the initial sighting, another video surfaced, this one was purported to have been filmed by a surveillance camera in Yosemite National Park, near Fresno.

It’s a lot clearer than the first video and depicts two of the creatures making their way across a path. They appear to be wearing or made of some kind of white fabric and once again their leg motions are extremely unusual.

So what are these strange beings? Are they some kind of unknown lifeform or just puppets on a string? To me, it looks like something that could easily be created with CGI but neither of the two videos contains enough information to know for sure.

Whatever the case may be, it’s not something I’d ever want to see walking around my backyard.

2. Yucca Man

The Yucca Man is a Bigfoot-like cryptid said to live in the Mojave Desert. The first sighting occurred in 1971 in the 29 Palms area, when a guard at a Marine base claimed that a large hairy humanoid approached him and knocked him unconscious.

When he woke up, the large creature was gone but the officer’s gun had been folded nearly in half. That same night, there were other reports in the area of people spotting something similar.

One report claimed the humanoid was 12 ft. tall and was accompanied by a smaller creature. Sightings of the Yucca Man, who was named after the tree of the same name, have continued for years.

It’s become a popular campfire story for people camping out in Joshua Tree National Park. After all, it’s not hard to imagine something living in secret in the vast, unwelcoming desert terrain.

There’s no physical evidence to support any of the stories but it’s interesting to me how different parts of the country, and different parts of the world for that matter, have stories about giant ape-like creatures.

Is it possible that these huge, lumbering animals could go undiscovered for so long, or are stories of the Yucca Man and Bigfoot just ancestral memories of giant prehistoric apes, passed down over thousands of years? One of the creepiest cryptids in the USA.

1. Riverside Bridge Monster

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Wetzel of Riverside was driving home on the night of November 8, 1958. His car was headed down Main St. and as he approached that part of the street that crosses the Santa Ana River, he noticed that the river was overflowing onto the street, so he slowed his car down.

His radio started to malfunction until eventually, he could only hear static. Out of nowhere a strange creature leapt out in front of his car. He described it as having a head like a scarecrow, scaly skin, legs that stuck out sideways from its body, and very long arms.

The monster began clawing at Wetzel’s windshield and screeching loudly. Wetzel grabbed the .22 caliber pistol that he kept under the car seat and thought about shooting the creature but decided against it.

After all, if he broke the glass, the monster could easily reach inside. So instead he stepped on the gas and began to drive away, running the monster over in the process.

He contacted the Riverside Police and they noticed scratch marks on his car but they were unable to find anything when they went back and searched the area. The next night, another motorist reported a similar sighting.

I was unable to find any newspaper articles that corroborated this story, however, I did find the obituary of a man named Charles Wetzel from Riverside who died in 2008 at the age of 53.

The Charles Wetzel in the story was 24 when the encounter happened in 1958, so they are probably the same person. Unfortunately, there’s just not enough information to say anything definitive about this case but it’s pretty creepy nonetheless.

So which cryptids in the USA you find interesting? Comment below.