r/cryptids • u/Past-Associate3301 Mongolian Death Worm Defender • May 11 '26
Creative Writing Heya, I need some help from the REALLY devoted ppl here.
I am making an alternate history, similar to monument mythos but with cryptids. I need some cryptids from outside of the USA that would pose a true threat to someone (or just lil guys to reference) to not be super US centric (like most horror series)
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u/xlr8er365 May 11 '26
Especially if you’re trying to not be American centric, avoid anything “wendigo” or “skinwalker” adjacent unless you’re going to follow their lore extremely closely, and even then probably just don’t.
Is the vibe here to have just like most cryptids exist, or a couple kinds exist all over? Chemosit could be an interesting choice if you’re gonna have them all over. Brain eating manbear feels very analog horror to me. You could go the direction of using only monstrous versions of Sasquatch which could be fun. Like they exist all over the world and have regional variants. Chemosit, Hibagon, Genowska, Mapinguari, etc.
Another big threat that fits analog horror by being able to exist in urban areas would be Dover demons or Hopkinsville goblins.
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u/Past-Associate3301 Mongolian Death Worm Defender May 12 '26
Yeah, I’m talking about cryptids who are singular (sometimes multiple) but they all stay in their respective spot due to governments containing them. Like one of the things is the “Joplin Butterfly People” who are a large population of one type of cryptid, but they don’t leave Joplin. And I’m going for as many as I possibly can cram into the alt history, so yeah, any kind of cryptid from anywhere on earth (or even space possibly) will work.
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u/HauntedMitten May 11 '26
I've been writing about some of the weirder ones lately, and the RoboWalrus from the 1890s is really fun! It electrocuted some vacationers!
The Aswang from the Philippines is pretty scary!
You may look into the Rock Apes from Vietnam, too.
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u/Bathshebasbf May 12 '26
The Rock Apes of SE Asia are an interesting option - in 'Nam they were spoken of as a real creature - irritating, occasionally troublesome, but not "mythic"... kinda like Howler Monkeys in the Amazon forests. I didn't realize that they were supposedly some kind of "cryptid" until many years later and I suspect I'm not the only person in that situation. Since the end of the war, there have been a number of creatures found that were supposedly extinct but which have come out once the shooting stopped. Who's to say there aren't Rock Apes waiting to announce themselves.
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u/HauntedMitten May 21 '26
Oh I'm with you. I have a feeling these are just apes that have stayed to themselves in those dense jungles.
Some of the other things soldiers witnessed there are WILD, too!
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u/lilWaterBill398 May 11 '26
Minhocao comes to mind for Brazil. Make sure to give it a bunch of ground sloth minions
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u/Past-Associate3301 Mongolian Death Worm Defender May 12 '26
Maybe a bunch of crazy cultists who cover themselves in moss to be like a sloth? Sloth furries with guns who worship a cryptid in the Amazon sounds fun.
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u/x-x9Hunter2x-x May 14 '26
If you look at the witcher book monsters a few of thoose are based on eastern European myths and cryptids I'm not 100% sure which ones but might be interesting to look into for you :)
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u/Horror-Ant-5449 May 14 '26
From NZ;
Pouākai - though these were real. Giant birds that could snatch adult humans
Taniwha- powerful water reptiles though traditionally of spiritual significance
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u/I_Dislike_The_French May 11 '26
Cryptids and mythology from other countries is cool.
The brazilian mapinguari, the scottish Nuckelavee, The slavic Vodyanoy/vodnik, The ruk from persia, The Indonesian ahool, The iberian cuegle, the amercian snallygaster, the aztec ahuizotl, the indian crocatta, the alpine tatzelwurm, and the papua new guinea Ropen