The Squonk is a very unique and unusual cryptid that is found in the Hemlock Forests area of Pennsylvania. It is unique because it weeps and cries all the time because it believes it is so ugly!
| Cryptid Name: | Squonk |
| Location: | North America, particularly the Hemlock Forests area of Pennsylvania  |
| Category: | Lumberjack Folklore Cryptid |
| Description: | Creature with very loose, wrinkled skin, covered in warts. |
| Size: | Unknown, believed to be small. |
| Behavior/Characteristics: | Shy, reclusive, always weeping, easily captured. |
| Diet: | Unknown. |
| Habitat/Environment: | Forests and wooded areas. |
| Evidence: | No credible sightings or encounters on record. |
| Sightings and Encounters: | No credible sightings or encounters on record. |
| Skepticism/Explanations: | No credible sightings or encounters on record. |
What Does The Squonk Look Like?
The Squonk is said to have a pig-like appearance with very loose and wrinkled skin that is covered in warts and blemishes. One of the most notable things about it is that it is always weeping and crying because it is so self-conscious about the way it looks!
The Legend Of The Squonk
The Squonk story was first told in a book called, “Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods: With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts“, which was published in 1910 by William Thomas Cox. This is how he describes the Squonk:
The range of the squonk is very limited. Few people outside of Pennsylvania have ever heard of the quaint beast, which is said to be fairly common in the hemlock forests of that State. The squonk is of a very retiring disposition, generally traveling about at twilight and dusk.
Because of its misfitting skin, which is covered with warts and moles, it is always unhappy; in fact it is said, by people who are best able to judge, to be the most morbid of beasts. Hunters who are good at tracking are able to follow a squonk by its tear-stained trail, for the animal weeps constantly. When cornered and escape seems impossible, or when surprised and frightened, it may even dissolve itself in tears.
Squonk hunters are most successful on frosty moonlight nights, when tears are shed slowly and the animal dislikes moving about; it may then be heard weeping under the boughs of dark hemlock trees. Mr. J. P. Wentling, formerly of Pennsylvania, but now at St. Anthony Park, Minnesota, had a disappointing experience with a squonk near Mont Alto. He made a clever capture by mimicking the squonk and inducing it to hop into a sack, in which he was carrying it home, when suddenly the burden lightened and the weeping ceased. Wentling unslung the sack and looked in. There was nothing but tears and bubbles.
Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods
The Squonk Festival
Every year the story of the Squonk is celebrated in a festival called Squonkapalooza. The festival takes place in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and includes live music, storytelling, vendors, and cryptid-themed merchandise.
Squonkapalooza is an incredibly fun festival that is perfect for the whole family. It celebrates the cryptids and creatures found in the rich folklore and culture of the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania.
Similar Cryptids
- Hugag – Lake States Region
- The Hodag – Wisconsin
- Loveland frogman – Ohio
- Slide-Rock Bolter (Mountain Whale) – Colorado
