Cryptid Creation

Description:
- looks kind of like a young boy, about 6-8 years old – however, he is very clearly not human
- Large round white eyes, no pupils or iris. He has tear stains down his face, except the trail is in blood
- His mouth hangs open at all times, as if there is a shout or scream he is about to make but he is like this even when he is not making any noise. Often drooling due to this
- Sharp teeth like that of a dog and his bottom jaw juts out slightly
- When he walks or runs, he is on all fours, but when still he stands on his hind legs. He can also move slowly while standing, but if he is trying to move quickly, he needs to be on all fours
- His back is hunched over – while on all fours it makes his back still out in such a way that you can see his spine through his skin. When he is standing, he has a hunchback posture

Facts:
- Lives in the Glacier Mountain area in Montana, USA
- His big sharp teeth are for tearing open the flesh of animals. Due to his small boy-like figure he often hunts small animals like bunnies and squirrels, but he sometimes eats deer. On the full moon, he must eat one adult woman to stay alive until the next full moon
- All sightings of him are only by women during a full moon. Coincidently, every sighting of him has been from a woman who has lost a child.
- Since his mouth is wide open, he is often wailing or crying and before he is sighted there are often reports of hearing a child crying
- He draws women in by trying to get close enough to them that they look directly into his big white eyes – once he has locked glances with his prey, his eyes transform into an image that paralyzes them in place so that he can run up on them and eat them.

Encounter:

        I can’t believe I let my husband and his friends talk me into going camping with them this week. I had always said no, but I gave in when Greg mentioned it’s the only wish he has for his birthday this year. He goes on this camping trip in the Glacier area with our mutual friends, Mitch and Abby, every year and I have never tagged along. I am just not a fan of what creatures could possibly be out there.

“Hannah, you are so tense. Could you please relax? We are going to have a great time!” Greg said as he started putting our tent together.

“You know how much this terrifies me. I hate camping, I hate wildlife, I wish we had some kind of like cabin instead of this.” I said as I sat down around the fire pit.

“We don’t do glamping, Hannah. Don’t worry, I’m sure we won’t have any encounters with many wildlife or anything. Not sure about the moon boy though.” Mitch said as he threw some firewood onto a pile he was making.

“Please, do you even know the lore of the moon boy, Mitch? None of us will see him!” Abby called out from inside their tent as she was getting it put together.

“What’s the moon boy?” I asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s just some stupid folktale bullshit about some monster that is around here. It’s really dumb.” Greg quickly tried to brush it aside.

“I mean, there is often missing people reports from this area and it always happens to be about once a month around the full moon!” Mitch said as he finished putting all of the firewood in the pile and sat down on the bench opposite from me. The sun was beginning to set.

“Can someone just explain to me what the hell the moon boy is?” I said, getting frustrated.

“Well, it’s-” Abby started to explain but stopped once Greg shouted at her for her to stop.

“I don’t want to scare her, please. She hates camping already, I don’t want her to be terrified of some stupid monster that doesn’t even exist. Can we please just drop it?” His voice was stern. I felt a little bit humiliated, as if I was being babied but I also liked that he was being protective of me.

“Fine, we will drop it, Greg. It’s nothing, anyway.” Mitch said, getting up and giving Greg a pat on the back.

“Anyway, you wanna come with me to collect some more firewood or go get some water from the main campgrounds?” Abby asked while nudging my shoulder. We told the boys we would be right back as we ventured out to the woods.

“Be back quick, it’s going to be dark soon!” Greg called out. It’s sweet how much he’s trying to look out for me. Abby and I walked in silence as we searched for little pieces of wood for fire. Mitch and Abby are my friends too, but they’re more Greg’s friends than mine. They all went to high school together, and Mitch and I have only been married for 2 years. I didn’t mind being out here with her in the silence though, I was just happy not to be in the woods alone.

My arms were full of wood and I was about to suggest heading back when I started to hear it. The faint sound of a child crying in the distance.

“Abby, do you hear that? It sounds like a child crying?” I asked, concerned that there is a lost child out there.

“No? Maybe the moon boy really is nearby.” She said softly.

“Okay, what are you talking about?” I’ve had enough of hearing about this moon boy but not knowing what anyone is talking about.

“Alright, I know Greg didn’t want us to tell you but what the hell. So, the moon by is this creature that roams this area. He’s called the moon boy for many different reasons, but it’s not because he comes from the moon. Any sighting of him is reported during a full moon, but also he has these giant blank white eyes that are kind of like the moon. He is small, like a little boy, but he doesn’t look like a boy. If anything he looks like that stupid Gollum character on Lord of the Rings but his eyes are blank and he walks and runs on all fours like a dog. They say his mouth hangs open and he has these giant sharp teeth and he can’t speak but the sounds he makes sounds like a child crying.” Abby told me the story in a whisper as we headed back to the campfire due to it getting dark. The sounds of a child crying only got louder to me even though I thought we were walking in the opposite direction of where I originally thought the sounds were coming from.

“That all sounds ridiculous. Are you suggesting that’s what the crying sounds are?” I asked.

“I mean, I would be, but the lore also says that the only people who can hear the cries are women who have lost a child. He tries to lure them in with the sound of a child crying and then he does something to paralyze them in place and eats them.”

“EATS THEM? Why would he eat them?” I was starting to actually get creeped out by this story.

“I’m not sure why, it’s just what the story says. But anyway, even if these little stories were true, it doesn’t matter! As I said, it only attracts women who have lost a child, so you and I are in the clear!” She said cheerfully as she put her wood down and went over to Mitch. Of course she thinks that. I wouldn’t expect Abby or Mitch to know about my life before Greg or to know about things that I haven’t even told him myself.

I tried to ignore he sounds of the crying for the rest of the evening. We all sat around the fire, told stories, and roasted marshmallows but I couldn’t stop thinking about what Abby had told me and my mind was consumed with my own secrets.

“Hannah, are you okay? You seem really distracted.” Greg whispered to me as Mitch and Anna started to get ready to go into their own tent.

“Do you hear that sound? It sounds like a child crying or something.” I asked him, hoping he agrees so that I don’t feel crazy.

“Uh no, I don’t hear anything. Maybe it’s like the wind or something?” He seemed genuinely concerned about me.

“Maybe…Abby told me about the moon boy.” I admitted, hoping he would calm me down from my worries.

“Oh please, I told them to drop it! It’s just stupid stories, Hannah. Besides, due to its own lore it doesn’t even make sense for you to be someone it would be after, didn’t she tell you the part where it only attracts mothers that have lost a child?” I suppose that is something I should have told him before now. It would be silly of me to finally mention it because of some silly monster story.

“Yea, she told me. You’re right, it’s dumb. I’m going to go find a way to go pee and then I’ll come to bed.” I kissed him before heading off into the woods. I was terrified to go toward the sound of the crying on my own, but I felt like I had to. It made me feel like I was ignoring a child calling out for help and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I needed to check and make sure that nothing was going on.

       “Is anyone out here?” I asked kind of quietly as I wandered toward where I believed the sound was coming from. I heard rustling of leaves behind me and turned around, but nothing was there. I turned on the flashlight I brought with me, hoping it would help me see. I could tell there was something in the woods with me, but I couldn’t see it. I looked toward the ground since it could hear rustling of the twigs and leaves on the ground.

        Then my flashlight hit it. It was a creature on all fours, his back arched up like a cat but you could see each bone in its spine. I was startled by it’s terrifying face; skinny with his mouth hanging wide open and all of his sharp teeth on display. His cheeks were stained with tear trails of blood underneath his giant white eyes. It slowly raised to its hind legs as it glared at, looking me right in the eyes. It wasn’t that tall at all, about the size of a 6-year-old boy.

        I couldn’t take my eyes away from his. It was like something about them that I can’t explain was pulling me in and gradually, an image appeared in his eyes, and it was something I couldn’t turn away from no matter how much I wanted to. I saw my daughter smiling back at me. My 3-year-old daughter that I haven’t seen in 5 years. I have wished to see that smile for such a long time and now here it is in front of me. It looked so real, I almost started to move toward the creature, forgetting that it is not actually her in his eyes.
I didn’t even realize the creature was inching towards me, closer and closer, until the image of my baby girl was right in front of me and suddenly the smiling image of her was replaced with the one that is already seared into my brain. The image of her in the hospital bed, bruised and beaten, after the car accident that took her life. I opened my mouth to scream, but he opened his mouth wider and everything went black.