Because the body was never recovered for expert examination, these questions will never truly be answered. Likewise with our Canadian creature, which Cyptomundo, a Web site devoted to examining rare and unexplained animals, has dubbed “The Bald Beast of KI.” Cryptomundo, in a recap of a number of other beached beasts since 2008, clearly explains that this monster is another malformed mammal. That doesn’t stop speculation. It has been called another extraterrestrial arrival, a demon by the village elders and gargoyle-like by the Vancouver Sun.
First of all, the only gargoyles we should be talking about are from that short-lived cartoon series in the 90s. Second, why are we even talking about this? Why are we obsessed with the frivolous fringes of pop culture? Why am I writing this?
It’s because humanity is captivated by what Freud called “the uncanny.” It’s a unique fear and fascination that comes with seeing things that are just a little different, like the creeped-out feeling you get from watching the freakish children in “The Polar Express.”
So you can provide oodles of proof that the Montauk Monster is just a raccoon, the Bald Beast of KI is just a mink, and that The Elephant Man is just a man. But they’re not. They’re just uncanny enough to belong and our world and to be absolutely apart from it.
So while some people, like Nicky Papers at the site montauk-monster.com, exploit this human condition for their benefit, we have to admire that these “monsters” remind us that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy.
