Washington

1Batsquatch On the record

Winged · Road above Lake Kapowsin near Camp One, Pierce County (Mount Rainier foothills) · first reported Apr 16, 1994

Batsquatch is a winged ape reported in the foothills of Mount Rainier. On the night of April 16, 1994, Brian Canfield was driving a rural road above Lake Kapowsin when his truck's engine and lights died. He said a creature about nine feet tall landed in front of him. He described bluish fur, yellow eyes shaped like slices of pie, a wolf-like face with white teeth, tufted ears, a massive primate body, bird-like clawed feet and huge leathery bat wings. It stood in his headlights for several minutes, then spread its wings and flew off toward the mountain, after which his truck started again. Tacoma News Tribune columnist C.R. Roberts interviewed Canfield and his family and wrote that he believed him.

• Apr 16, 1994On the record Brian Canfield's truck stalled on a road near Camp One; he said a nine-foot winged creature with blue fur and yellow eyes stood before him, then flew toward Mount Rainier. Source: pugetsoundmonster.club
• Apr 24, 1994On the record The News Tribune ran C.R. Roberts' column on the encounter after he interviewed Canfield and his family. Source: pugetsoundmonster.club

2Stick Indians Told story

Humanoid · Puget Sound forests and Coast Salish lands · first reported traditional · also called Stick People, Seatco, Tsiatko

Stick Indians are forest beings in the oral traditions of Coast Salish and other Northwest peoples. Upper S'Klallam artist and storyteller Roger Fernandes describes them as small, wild, human-like beings living deep in the woods, tricksters who can make life hard for people if they choose. Other tellings describe whistling in the forest, people being led astray, and children taken. They sit alongside Sasquatch and other forest beings in Native storytelling, which Fernandes says works on several levels: real forest beings, the unknowable power of the woods, and lessons for children about facing challenges. In 2018 the White River Valley Museum near the Muckleshoot Reservation hosted an exhibit built around stories told by Native elders.

3Ape Canyon Attack On the record

Ape-like · Ape Canyon, east side of Mount St. Helens, Skamania County · first reported Summer 1924 · also called Ape Canyon

In the summer of 1924, gold prospectors working near Mount St. Helens said they were attacked by ape-like animals about seven feet tall. They reported that one of them shot at a creature, which fell into a canyon, and that more came that night and pelted their cabin with rocks. The story made newspapers and gave the gorge its name. Forest Service rangers J.H. Huffman and William Welch investigated, found the canyon easy to reach and showed the 14-inch tracks could easily be faked, concluding the miners made up the evidence. The Ape Canyon trail is now popular with hikers and mountain bikers. See the main Bigfoot dossier.

Full story: Bigfoot →

• Summer 1924On the record Prospectors reported a night-long rock attack on their cabin by large hairy creatures after one was shot at. Source: en.wikipedia.org

Visiting: Ape Canyon Trail, Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

4Skookum Cast Investigated report

Ape-like · Skookum Meadows, Gifford Pinchot National Forest, near Mount Adams · first reported Sep 22, 2000

On September 22, 2000, a BFRO expedition filming for the TV show Animal X left fruit as bait at Skookum Meadows. The next day they found a large body impression in the mud and made a plaster cast about 3.5 by 5 feet. Supporters, including Jeff Meldrum, Grover Krantz and John Bindernagel, argued it showed a reclining Bigfoot. Analysts later concluded it matched a reclining elk, and hair recovered from the site was identified as elk. See the main Bigfoot dossier.

Full story: Bigfoot →

5Cascades Dogman Told story

Beast · East slope of the Cascades; Okanogan Highlands; Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties · first reported recent decades · also called Dogman

A small set of reports from eastern Washington describe an upright dog-like creature called the Dogman. Witnesses describe something six or seven feet tall, heavy, with a long canine muzzle, pointed ears and backward-bending legs, switching between walking on two legs and four. It is mostly seen at night near roads and trailheads rather than deep in the wilderness. In one story it stood outside a farmhouse window. Accounts often stress a long stare rather than an attack. The Puget Sound Monster Club counts only five or six sightings in a decade and notes no known canine walks upright; bears seen standing are a likely source of some reports.

6Lake Chelan Monster Told story

Water monster · Lake Chelan and Stehekin, Chelan County · first reported 1892 · also called Lake Chelan Dragon

Lake Chelan is a narrow lake more than fifty miles long and close to 1,500 feet deep. Such a lake was bound to have a monster story. A newspaper report from 1892 told of a pale dragon or serpent rising from the deep water and attacking. The tale is told today as part of local lore around the lake and the remote village of Stehekin at its head. Details of the original report are hard to pin down.

• 1892Told story A newspaper story described a dragon-like creature rising from the lake in an attack. Source: folkbestiary.com

7Ediz Gigantus, the Port Angeles Sea Serpent Proven hoax

Water monster · Ediz Hook, Port Angeles, Clallam County · first reported 1934 · also called Ediz Gigantus

Ediz Gigantus was born as a fish story, and nobody pretended otherwise. In 1934 the Port Angeles Salmon Club held an Ananias Derby, a contest for the biggest fishing lie. Charles Lewis won with a tale of a giant green serpent that grabbed his hooked salmon and towed his boat around Ediz Hook into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, where it supposedly teamed up with a whale and six giant flying fish. Artist Thomas Guptill then painted the creature, and his paintings and postcards gave it a lasting look: dark green, serpentine, with a broad mouth, round humps along its back and glowing eyes. It became a beloved piece of local folklore.

• 1934Proven hoax Charles Lewis's prize-winning tall tale at the Ananias Derby describes the serpent stealing his salmon and towing his boat. Source: pugetsoundmonster.club

Visiting: Ediz Hook, Port Angeles.

8Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus Proven hoax

Other · Olympic Peninsula, near Hood Canal · first reported 1998 · also called tree octopus

The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus is an internet joke with a long life. In 1998 writer Lyle Zapato created a straight-faced website about an endangered octopus that lives in the trees of the Olympic Peninsula rainforest on the east side of the Olympics near Hood Canal, complete with a 'Save the Tree Octopus' campaign. It is entirely invented. It has become a well-known example in lessons on judging whether online sources can be trusted. It belongs here as a modern 'cryptid' that shows how easily a convincing page can create a creature.

• 1998Proven hoax Lyle Zapato launches the tree octopus website, presented as a real conservation page. Source: zapatopi.net

9Cadborosaurus (Washington sightings) On the record

Water monster · Strait of Juan de Fuca, San Juan Islands, Puget Sound · first reported 1880 (Cape Flattery) · also called Caddy

Caddy, the sea serpent named for Cadboro Bay near Victoria, B.C., has been reported throughout Washington waters, from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Puget Sound, Elliott Bay and Deception Pass. An 1880 report from Cape Flattery described a long body thrown 90 feet out of the water. See the main Cadborosaurus dossier.

Full story: Cadborosaurus →

10Bigfoot in Washington Investigated report

Ape-like · Cascades and Olympics; Skamania County · also called Sasquatch

Washington leads many tallies of Bigfoot reports, with about 725 in the BFRO database. In 1969 Skamania County passed an ordinance protecting Sasquatch. See the main Bigfoot dossier.

Full story: Bigfoot →

11Thunderbird Told story

Winged · Washington coast and Salish Sea · first reported traditional

The Thunderbird is a powerful being in Coast Salish and Northwest Coast traditions, linked in some stories to whaling, and shown in tribal art and museum collections such as the Burke Museum. See the main Thunderbird dossier.

Full story: Thunderbird →

Visiting: Burke Museum, Seattle.