The Frightening Stories of Maine’s Creepiest Cryptids

For better or worse, Maine has become known as a mysterious -- even a creepy -- place.

Perhaps it's because we're so remote -- tucked all the way up in the coldest corner of the country. Perhaps it's because so many Stephen King novels -- frightening in their own right --  are set here in the Pine Tree State. But many creatures date back to well before Bangor's own King of Horror penned his most terrifying tales.

Even back in the early 20th century, weird-fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft wrote of werewolves (and witches) living deep in the Maine woods -- although it appears Lovecraft only visited the state once -- and briefly at that.

The list below includes some legendary creatures, accounts of which were first reported centuries before Maine became a state in 1820 -- or even before the state was first settled in 1607.

You'll recognize some for sure. I mean, who hasn't heard of a werewolf? (One family in Palmyra sure has.) But, there are others, like the elusive "White Monkey" -- that isn't even a monkey at all -- whose origins and tenure on this planet have not been explained.

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Some -- including the Wild Man of Waldoboro -- were subjects of some local newspaper accounts.

Other cryptids, like the garbage-eating Tote-Road Shagamaw and the ghostly Specter Moose of Lobster Lake, were the subjects of local logging lore.

Maine's Native American tribes have passed down legends about Pamola -- who lives atop Katahdin -- and the Monster of Pocomoonshine Lake, a 40-foot serpent in remote Washington County.

Maine's history with cryptids -- creatures whose existence has more to do with folklore than science -- is rich and varied -- and kind of scary.

The study of such creatures -- known as cryptozoology -- is the specialty of the International Cryptozoology Museum, which currently has locations in Portland and Bangor.

The list below just scratches the surface of the terrifying tales told throughout Maine's history of the mysterious creatures that some say still reside among us.

Enjoy the list, brave reader, and let us know if there are more we should add.

Now, if you're more interested in beings who reside off the planet, look to see where Maine falls on the list of states with the most UFO sightings.

Or perhaps you'd like to take a drive?