In this episode of the DU 80208 Podcast, hosts Julie Tran and Teddy Green talk about cryptids that might be living with us in Colorado. A cryptid is an animal whose existence is not supported by scientific evidence.
The first cryptic that Tran and Green discussed was Bigfoot, also known as the Sasquatch. There have been multiple sitings in Colorado. Bigfoot is described as looking like a large ape that walks on two feet and is between six and nine feet tall. It is also said that Bigfoot’s odor is quite noticeable and not in the best way.
“You might smell him before you see him,” Green says.
It is very possible that some of these sitings could be hoaxes. There was one case in which the observer was actually seeing a diseased bear, but Green believes Bigfoot is out there somewhere.
Tran and Green also talk about trolls, which are creatures that originate from Scandinavian folklore. They can be described as little humanoid fellows, but it is also possible that they can be giant. Typically, trolls like to wreak havoc in the woods. They are said to be quite cranky and only come out at night.
If the trolls are caught in the sunlight then they will turn into stone. There could even be a bit of an explosion. There’s a 15 foot tall wooden statue of a troll at Trollstigen trail in Breckenridge. Maybe it was inspired by the real thing; maybe it was seen by sunlight.
Vampires were discussed next. There’s a Coloradan miner from Transylvania, which is the land of vampires, buried in Lafayette, Colorado. After he was buried, a tree grew in the ground, located just above where his heart would be. Blood red rose bushes would also grow by his grave during summer months. This leads Tran and Green to question if this is a factor of his vampire-ism.
However, there is also a question of why he is dead and buried if he is supposedly a vampire, which are immortal. Though there is no way to really know, Tran and Green speculate some teleportation could be involved here, and he’s just napping in his coffin.
Tommyknockers are another cryptid possibly in Colorado. These are small leprechaun-like creatures from folklore that supposedly came to Colorado with Cornish miners.
Tommyknockers stand at about two feet tall with a disproportionately large head, long arms, and wrinkled skin. They are also usually adorning some miner clothing, which they might have stolen along with some tools and food.
While they may steal every now and then, tommyknockers are also known to warn miners in impending danger by knocking on the walls. Hearing this is a sign to get out. However, miners have to be careful because it’s speculated that seeing a tommyknocker causes one to die.
The cause of death is unknown because there is nobody alive that has seen one. Even so, there was a case of miners who petitioned the state of Colorado to open up a closed mine, so the tommyknockers could be let out.
The last cryptid that Tran and Green talk about are land whales, also known as slide-rock bolters. This is the favorite of both Tran and Green.
It is said that slide-rock bolters lived deep in the Rocky Mountains in the 1800’s. Some people believe they are now dormant. They essentially look like a large whale-like creature with a big head, small eyes, a hooked-tail, and a big mouth.
If one wants to see a slide-rock bolter, they would have to find a mountain with a slope larger than 45˚. Finding one of these may be fun, but there are other consequences. They use their hooked-tail to sit on mountains and wait for tourists, hikers, or even small animals to eat.
If a slide-rock bolter sees one of these, then they unhook their tail and slide down the mountain, scooping up and eating the tourist as they go. While this is widely agreed on, there is some controversy about what happens next. Some believe they use their hooked-tail to climb back up the mountain while others believe they simply slide up the next mountain.
“Mountains are somewhat of a half-pipe for slide-rock bolters,” Green says.
Whichever method they choose, the slide-rock bolters are responsible for 10 missing tourists per year. Some lumberjacks like to blame rockslides, but Tran and Green don’t buy it.
There’s even a story about a slide-rock bolter destroying the town of Rico, Colorado. As the story goes, a ranger was baiting the slide-rock Bolter with gunpowder disguised in flannel and hiking jeans. He stood the bait up like people and even included a Colorado guide book, hoping this would work. Now, the town is nonexistent.
Out of all the cryptids, Tran and Green hope the slide-rock Bolter is real. There have even been cases where cryptids were proven to be real animals. A couple examples are the Komodo dragon and gorillas.
If you have any other cryptids you wanna hear about or a fun topic for another podcast, email thedupodcast@gmail.com.
