Daily Deity #255 Tatzelwurm

In mythology and folklore travelers always seem to get the short end of the stick. They either are eaten by some crazed monster, kidnapped by a random god, or are forced to turn around because of some riddle-wielding hybrid creature. In the case of today's subject, we are dealing more in the first option of traveler monsters. 

The tatzelwurm is a creature that resides namely in the Swiss Alps, but has reports that come in from all of Europe. The vast amount of sightings from all across the continent is what allows it to have such a wide array of names like Praatzelwurm, Arassas, Stollenwurm, Springwurm, Bergstulzen, and Daazelwurm.  The suffix "wurm" is just used to describe a creature that has the snake-like body. The likely reason that this creature is most attributed to the Alps is due to the most famous sighting of the tatzelwurm occurred in the Austrian section of the mountain range where in 1779 a man by the names of Hans Fuch saw the creature. He raced home to tell his family what he saw and died shortly thereafter of a heart attack, presumably caused by the terror he felt at the sight of the tatzelwurm. 

According to Hans Fuch, and a great other number of sightings throughout the region, the tatzelwurm is essentially made up of two animals: a cat and a snake (give or take a lizard, as well.) The front half of the tatzelwurm is the feline part, meaning the head, arms, and up until the middle torso is that of a cat. However, the rest of the cryptid is said to be that of snake. The actual size of the tatzelwurm differs depending on the source, but considering that it has a tendency to attack pigs the creature has to be of a decent size to actually bring down this prey. If this description reminds you of another mythological beast, than you might be thinking of lindwurms, a type of dragon that is said to have the front half of your average dragon, while the back half is long and serpentine. The only issue with these two being the same creature is that there is a massive size discrepancy.

This is not a creature that you'd want to find yourself crossing paths with. The tatzelwurm is best known for its very aggressive behavior and is well known for its attacks against humans. Pretty much every encounter with them results in a story where the victim is either attack or receives a violent method to get the human away. So... the tatzelwurm that should be regarded in the "Avoid At All Costs" category of mythological/folklore creatures. 

As well, the tatzelwurm is one of those creatures that ranks as a cryptid. That's because sightings still pop around today, so they can't exactly be consigned to oblivion, like in the way of Bigfoot and the Chupacabra. There were even some pictures that were published a ways back, but most have regarded that these are fakes. Still, when people still report that they're seeing these creatures, people have a hard time of just completely dismissing them. As well, the label of cryptid tends to allow further research into the alleged creature. 

So, if you happen to be hiking the Swiss Alps anytime soon be careful. That snake might not just be a snake.