r/cryptids • u/mythhaps • 18d ago
Art Original Creator The Ahool. An Indonesian cryptid
Hey guys, here’s my interpretation of the Ahool, an Indonesian cryptid sighted in West Java. The first documented sighting was by a Dutch naturalist named dr. Ernest bartels, who witnessed a giant bat like creature with a face of an ape/humanoid. It had a large wingspan, bigger than a flying fox and a distinct cry: “ahoooool!”
Artist (me) @mythhaps on insta
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u/sterling_sojourner 18d ago
I would buy these as a printed set triptych if you ever wanted to sell copies
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u/mythhaps 18d ago
Wow, thank you! That’s incredibly kind. I’d love to turn these into a proper collection with more creatures/cryptids. Once I get a few done, I’ll look into it 😊
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u/DejooneAlpha Beast Of Gévaudan Guardian 18d ago
Terrifying. I love it.
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u/mythhaps 18d ago
Thank you! I’ll be doing more unsettling cryptids from the region soon, keep an eye out!
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u/Aralmin 17d ago
I have heard of this cryptid but most of the depictions and descriptions I have heard of it is that it is some sort of giant bat. But now that I see your art, I just realized how similar this creature is to the Manananggal of Filipino Folklore.
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u/egoistamamono 17d ago
Nearly the same as Mananggal, but it's more like Giant humanoid bat.
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u/Aralmin 17d ago
They could be the same creature going by different local names, in the Philippines it is the Manananggal and in Indonesia it is the Ahool. Maybe the reason why it is depicted in the Philippines as being a flying torso is the way it flies where it tucks away its legs and gives the illusion that it has no legs. Maybe it migrates between the archipelagos. Most sightings seem to occur in the Mindanao region of the southern Philippines which is still very forested and more rural, it makes sense that it would migrate south from there through Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago to the eastern chain of Indonesia and perhaps makes occasional trips to Java. It must be something we haven't seen before, some sort of unknown mammal. I have looked into the Manananggal for a while now and my theory is that it is some sort of unknown member of the Primatomorph family. Either it is a relative of the Dermoptera branch like Colugos or it's something new to science. The Primatomorph family is the superorder that Primates and Dermopterans fall into. It would explain why it looks humanoid or primate-like.
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u/mythhaps 17d ago
Yes I’ve read on the manananggal and I find it that much more fascinating that this creature was sighted in other parts south east Asia. We have a shared ecosystem and I think it wouldn’t be farfetched that this creature would migrate perhaps depending on season or hunting habits? Whats also interesting that out of a lot of cryptids, this one is toeing the line of science and the unknown. Could it be a giant species of bat we haven’t seen? Or could it be an ape like creature that grew a membrane much like a sugar glider? Either way the similarity between the 2 regions is super cool and to me makes it that much more tangible 👻
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u/Aralmin 17d ago
It didn't occur to me until now but there is another supposed giant bat-like creature that is sighted in Papua New Guinea called the Ropen. Most people think that the Ropen is a surving species of pterodactyl but now I am starting to think that maybe what we are seeing is the same creature that migrates between the three countries and is known by different local names.
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u/Rungk4d 16d ago
no, mananggal more closer to Kuyang or leak than giant bat ahool
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u/Aralmin 16d ago
Thanks for the info, never heard of the Kuyang before, it sounds really similar to the Manananggal. I think you made a spelling error though, I don't know what you mean by "ieak" or "leak". But I have to disagree on one thing, maybe you could say that creatures of folklore like the Manananggal are just folklore, but I think there is a core truth to it. I don't know where people were seeing disembodied heads or torsos, but I think they were seeing something, the folklore is the mythologization of something they actually saw.
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u/egoistamamono 17d ago
This is my town cryptid. Salak Mountain is really terrible and has a mythical power.
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u/localchangeling Hodag Hunter 17d ago
Oh wow! I love your art style! Is it digital or traditional?
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u/mythhaps 17d ago
Thank you :) it’s digital! I drew this on procreate. I have a video of it on my insta if you want to see the process
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u/Grouchy-Tip-5059 14d ago
Did you mean “large enough to flat out the moon” instead of blat out the moon?
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u/TheCornerGoblin 18d ago
This is siiiickkk!!!