The Whirling Whimpus is a strange cryptid that is found in the lumberjack folklore of the Appalachian Mountains. It is said to be a fearsome predator that becomes invisible when it hunts.
| Cryptid Name: | Whirling Whimpus |
| Location: | Southern United States, particularly Tennessee and the Appalachian Mountains |
| Category: | Lumberjack Folklore Cryptid |
| Description: | A large, ape-like creature with a gorilla-shaped head and body and long arms. |
| Size: | 7 Foot / 2 Meters Tall |
| Behavior/Characteristics: | Fearsome predator, spins rapidly on its single hoof, using its long, powerful arms to flail at anything within reach. |
| Diet: | Carnivorous. |
| Habitat/Environment: | Forests, mountains. |
| Evidence: | None. |
| Sightings and Encounters: | Unverified sightings. |
| Skepticism/Explanations: | Widely regarded as a legend of lumberjack folklore with no scientific basis. |
What Does The Whirling Whimpus Look Like?
The Whirling Whimpus is described as being 7 feet / 2 meters tall with rough fur and a gorilla-like body. Its front legs are disproportionately long and they end with bony paddles where its hands should be. It has small hind legs that join together to form a single broad hoof when it hunts.
The Whirling Whimpus hunts by spinning around on its single hoof reaching incredible speeds that make it practically invisible. Its whirling is accompanied by a low droning sound and it uses its arms to knock over its prey which legend says turns into a syrupy liquid!
The Legend of the Whirling Whimpus
The legend of the Whirling Whimpus can be found in a book called, “Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods: With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts” by William Thomas Cox which details the lumberjack cryptid folklore of the United States.
Occasionally it happens that inexperienced hunters and others wandering in the woods disappear completely. Guides are unable to locate them, and all kinds of theories are offered to explain the disappearances.
From the hardwood forests of the Cumberland Mountains, Tennessee, comes the rumor of an animal called the whirling whimpus, the existence of which may throw some light upon the fate of those who fail to come back to camp.
According to woodsmen who have been ‘looking” timber in eastern Tennessee, the whimpus is a blood-thirsty creature of no mean proportions. It has a gorilla-shaped head and body and enormous front feet. Its unique method of obtaining food is to station itself upon a trail, generally at a bend in the trail, where it stands on its diminutive hind legs and whirls. The speed is increased until the animal is invisible, and the motion produces a strange droning sound, seeming to come from the trees overhead.
Any creature coming along the trail and not recognizing the sound is almost certain to walk into the danger zone and become instantly deposited in the form of syrup or varnish upon the huge paws of the whimpus.
Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods
Source: Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods
Another description of the Whirling Whimpus can be found in a book called, “Fearsome Critters” written by Henry H. Tryon.
[The Whirling Whimpus] Lives along the hardwood ridges of the Southern Appalachians, and is doubtless responsible for the occasional complete disappearance of hikers in that area.
Fearsome Critters
A chunky beast, some seven feet tall, with a body about the size of a coal-oil drum and roughly furred. The equine hind legs unite at the fetlock, terminating in one broad hoof. The front legs, disproportionately long, sinewy and powerful, end in broad, bony paddles.
When standing at ease, the Whimpus usually rests these on the ground.
The Whimpus is wholly carnivorous. Deer, bear, oxen, turkeys, humans-they’re all grist to his mill. About sundown time he will take a stand by a bend in the trail and begin to whirl on his single hoof. The maximum speed (2150 r.p.m.) is quickly reached and is accompanied by a peculiar droning sound. At top speed the Whimpus is practically invisible, a little dust or a few leaves eddying about being the only indications of his presence. He’s often mistaken for a small twister.
The unwary, home-bound hiker, on hearing the odd droning, usually starts to investigate it. The instant he steps within the circle of those flying, flailing bony paddles he is deposited thereon in the form of an unctuous treacle. The Whimpus then promptly cuts his throttle, slows down, and crawls under a nearby patch of rhododendron to lick off his syrupy supper.
A Whimpus was recently reported from Nebraska by a chap whose name, age, and previous condition of veracitude are unknown to us. He swears that he saw one at precisely 11:32 P.M., on June 23, 1935, just as he was emerging from a roadside ginmill. We are dilligently seeking confirmation of this report.
Is The Whirling Whimpus Real?
No, the Whirling Whimpus is a lumberjack cryptid that has never been proven to be real. Some people do however believe that stories about it could have originated from real animals such as bears or even sasquatch. That said, there are no known animals that match the Whirling Whimpus’s physical description or behavior.
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
