Bats Black Dogs and Bigfoot

Bats are often linked with Halloween myths. Often,
they are thought to be "vampires in disguise," using
flight to rapidly find that next victim. Other times,
bats are seen in many horror movies as a scary
witches companion, or a crazy mans pet.
Regardless, we fear bats. In our mind's eye, we see
them in dark, musty old houses of murder and
mayhem, just waiting to suck our blood. In reality,
however, none of this are true.

While the movies portray bats as blood-suckers,
most actually are not. Only Vampire Bats, which are
found in South America actually suck blood. There
are over 800 other species of bats, mostly tropical,
that are flying in the world today. Since most true
bat facts are unknown, here are a few to help you
out.

Bats are mammals.

They are covered with fur, and suckle their young.

They fly differently (if not better) than any other
mammal.

They form a well-defined division of the Order
Chiroptera, which means 'hand-wings.'

All bats are nocturnal.

Bats number about one-seventh of all mammals.

Bats belong to a primitive group of mammals called
the Unguiculata.

Bats are probably descended from the
insectivores, but it's not for sure since they left
few fossils.

The earliest known bats, from the Eocene period,
are similar to present day bats.

Some bats are referred to as Flying-Foxes because
of their dog-like faces.

The Megachiroptera are often called 'fruit bats'
but not all eat fruit.

The Microchiroptera are often called
'insectivorous bats' although their diets vary
tremendously.

The body form of bats is largely governed by the
exacting requirements of flight.

In general the skeleton is frail and light but the fore-
limbs are enormously developed.

The upper arm is fairly short and strong with a
powerful shoulder joint to bear the weight of the
body.

Bats are by far the most maneuverable of aerial
animals.

The whole of the forearm is webbed by a thin, double
layer of skin which forms the wing membrane.

When the bat lands the blood supply to the wings is
much reduced so that heat is then conserved.

The hips are unusual because the joints are twisted.

In general the bats are a tropical group and there
show their greatest diversity.

Any warm, forested region might have over 100
species of bats.

So if you see a bat on Halloween, chances are pretty
good that it's not a vampire, but then, you never can
be too sure.

For centuries, these beasts have been sighted
roaming throughout the United Kingdom, but mostly
in England. Every village has its own interpretation
of what the dog means.

The Black Dogs are sometimes considered to be
the guardians of the dead, since most sightings
take place on roadways between churches and
their respective cemeteries. Such roadways are
called spirit paths.

There are a few instances of Black Dogs
harming people, but for the most part, they are
only seen and heard. Piercing howls may erupt
from the beast if his path is blocked, and he may
viciously growl of angered.

It seems that the Black Dogs are wandering
spirits, that don't interfere (for the most part) with
humans unless provoked, and would rather travel
alone down their own spirit path.

Nobody knows if Bigfoot really exists or not, but
what monster page would be complete without a
mention of him?

As far back as human history can recall, reports of
human like hairy beasts have been recorded on
nearly every continent on the Earth. They go by
different names, are different colors and sizes, but
one thing remains constant: Hair. Lots of it! The
Bigfoot creature is covered head to toe in long,
thick hair.

In some reported modern sightings, Bigfoot may be
aggressive, but in most, he seems to keep to
himself, away from human's prying eyes.

The most sightings tend to come from the Pacific
North-West of the United States and in Canada.
Though human abductions by Bigfoot are rare,
reports of that are also recorded.

In the last 100 years, people have attempted to
capture the beast on camera with no great
success. Even if an alleged 'true' sighting occurs,
the sheer number of fakes lowers its credibility
considerably.

These phantom "Hounds
of Hell," that are sighted
most often in the United
Kingdom* are called by
many different names,
but are viewed in mostly
the same way. They are
large black dogs, which
may or may not be
transparent, and have
glowing red eyes. To
see such a beast is
supposedly an omen of
death or misfortune.

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