Mantis Gigante is a famous cryptid that has been sighted many times since as far back as 1933, making it one of the older cryptids.
Appearance[]
The Mantis Gigante is a giant praying mantis, with the basic body structure of a mantis. It is mostly brown or green-colored, and ranges from the size of a Labrador Retriever to around 4 to 5 feet tall. People estimate it ranges from around 100-150 pounds. Some sightings describe that is has armor plating. Most of the time people say it has wings.
Sightings[]
The first ever recorded sighting of a Mantis Gigante was in 1933, when an anonymous woman reported to a police that she had seen a giant creature. She said it was green in color, with large wings, and she estimated it was about the size of her Golden Retriever dog. She said it looked like a praying mantis. When under hypnosis, she said it landed down in her backyard. She estimated she had watched it for a minute in her yard before calling the police. Promptly the creature flew off. She provided a more detailed description too; saying it had no antenna and had small, red eyes right above its mantis-like mouthparts.
The next sighting came shortly after that night, when a man claimed to have seen a similar beast. 2 Sightings including the man's happened that night.
It wasn't seen again until 1940, when a boy named Steven Spencer saw the beast. He was playing with his friend (who chose to stay anonymous), tossing a ball around, when he heard an echoing "trill" from the woods behind his friend's house. An ugly creature, about 3-4 feet tall, stepped out of the woods. Says Steven: "It was a thin, sickly creature. It was skinny, with long 'quills' on its back. It looked like the praying mantis I kept in a cage once. It was brown, with long antenna." Steven says it advanced towards him, and the boys soon ran into the house and told his friend's dad. The man grabbed his sidearm and shot at it, but it took off with thick, transparent wings. Another sighting happened in 1955, where a group of teenagers claimed to see the beast in the woods. The sightings pretty much stopped until 2000, when a woman named Becki saw a large, green creature with armor plating on its back, wings, and spiked arms. She claimed it butchered her corn stalks in her farm. When she saw it, the beast and her made eye contact, and the creature flew slowly away towards the woods of Becki's property. "It was like nothing I had ever seen," She said. "It was like a devil from hell." More sightings plagued Arizona, even spreading towards Texas. The last sighting happened in 2010.
Possible Explanations[]
- A mutation or government experiment are rumored to be an explanation.
- An ongoing hoax, though this is unlikely.