The Funeral Mountain Terrashot is a lumberjack cryptid that is said to live in the Funeral Mountain of California. It was first reported in the mid-19th century by Mormon emigrants who spotted the creature trying to cross the desert.
| Cryptid Name: | Funeral Mountain Terrashot |
| Location: | Funeral Mountains, California |
| Category: | Lumberjack Folklore Cryptid |
| Description: | Strange casket-like body with four legs. It is protected by a shell that runs the length of its body. |
| Size: | 6 to 8 Feet / 1.8 to 2.4 meters long. |
| Behavior/Characteristics: | Harmless to humans. |
| Diet: | Unknown. |
| Habitat/Environment: | Caves and crevices in the Funeral Mountains. |
| Evidence: | None. |
| Sightings and Encounters: | Sightings by Mormon emigrants in the mid-19th century. |
| Skepticism/Explanations: | Widely regarded as a legend of lumberjack folklore with no scientific basis. |
What Does The Funeral Mountain Terrashot Look Like?
The Funeral Mountain Terrashot is described as a creature with a very unusual box-like body that is about 6 to 8 feet / 1.8 to 2.4 meters long.
Its body is protected by a shell that runs the length of its back and it has four long legs that are quite wobbly and unsteady.
The Funeral Mountain Terrashot Legend
The legend of the Funeral Mountain Terrashot can be found in a book that is a collection of lumberjack folklore called, “Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods: With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts” by William Thomas Cox.
This animal explains the origin of the name of the Funeral Range, California. The creature has a casket-like body, six to eight feet long, with a shell running the whole length of its back. Its four legs are long and wobbly, causing the terrashot to sway uncertainly from side to side and forward and backward as it travels along.
Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods
The strange beast was first reported by some Mormon emigrants, who observed a peculiar procession entering the desert from a certain mountain range, afterward named the Funeral Mountains.
They also witnessed the tragic fate of the creatures. One of the Mormons, aroused by his curiosity, made an investigation which resulted in finding out about all that is known of the terrashot. It seems that the animal lives in the little meadows and parks in the higher portions of the range, where it gradually increases in numbers, until by a strange impulse it is seized by a desire to emigrate.
They then form long processions and march down into the desert, with the evident intention of crossing to other ranges that can be seen in the distance, but none of them ever gets across. As they encounter the hot sands they rapidly distend with the heat, and one after another they blow up with resounding reports, leaving deep, grave-shaped holes in the sand.
Source: Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods
Similar Cryptids
- Cactus Cat – Southwestern United States
- Slide-Rock Bolter (Mountain Whale)- Colorado
- The Hodag – Wisconsin
- Hugag – Lake States Region
- The Squonk – Pennsylvania
- The Splinter Cat – Oregon
