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Monday, February 28, 2022

The Lone Pine Mountain Devil

 Anyone who knows me knows I love local cryptid stories (the Fresno Nightcrawlers being the best example) and love how each state seems to have it's own folklore surrounding a cryptid of some sorts. Some can argue that Bigfoot is California's "official" cryptid and I'm not here to disagree with that completely, but want to introduce a lesser known cryptid native to California, and one not too far from Central California.


Lone Pine Peak

I'd like to present to you the Lone Pine Mountain Devil.


The Lone Pine Mountain Devil is said to be a winged creature that is a distant cousin of the Jersey Devil. Early accounts from priests who were traveling in the area describe small "winged demons sent from the depths of hell"


Lone Pine itself is a small town about 100 miles due east of Fresno with the population of roughly 2000 or so people. But here's the kicker, it's a four hour drive. Why you ask? Because the quickest way to drive there is to head south to Bakersfield then head east to Tehachapi and then back up to Lone Pine itself. Scenic route indeed.

 

For whatever reason the creature seems to inhabit this area and witnesses have described it as a large furry creature with several wings. It has razor like talons and numerous venomous fangs. The cryptid is said to attack it's prey by first hitting the chest and then the head of it's target. Most predators eat the meat of its prey whereas the Mountain Devils are said to prefer only the soft cartilage of the face and sometimes torso and completely ignore the rest of the carcass and leave it to scavengers.


Could this be an actual creature or nothing more than another folk tale? It's description lacks classification as my first thought was perhaps some sort of reptile but the fur and multiple wings rule that out. Could it be the descendant of some sort of undiscovered dinosaur? Or is there a small pack of some unknown creature roaming the southern Sierra Nevadas preying on those that wander to close it where it lives?


All I know is I think a road trip is in order. I'm curious what the town's folk have to say about this local legend.