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7 Bizarre Conspiracy Theories Spotted on Google Maps

Reports of mythical creatures have been around for centuries, but now they're being tracked.

By Chandra Steele
May 27, 2015
Cryptozoology on Google Maps

Maps generally help you navigate to places that exist, though there are maps for fictional worlds that are particularly vivid.

Take a tour of Middle-earth and see if everything is where you'd expect it to be. Or walk the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where you might come across some of the creatures from Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them.

These types of maps are not limited to fictional, fantasy worlds, though. Using My Maps, People have created custom Google Maps of things that fit best under the category of cryptozoology. Spottings of Thunderbirds, the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, and others of their ilk have been recorded on maps that span the globe. There's a map of cryptid areas that blocks off whole sections of chupacabra and death worm sightings. And if you want to, say, find out all the names Bigfoot goes by around the world, there's a map for that, too.

Check out the slideshow for a tour of the more intriguing (mythical?) spots on Google Maps.

1. Possible Dog Man Seen

Possible Dog Man Seen
Off Highway 119 in Bell County, Kentucky, where "the christmas store use to sit on 119 outside of calloway on right side of road in the field with all the white cows are," a few people witnessed something with a head like a man and a large, gray body. Unusually sized paw prints were found shortly after.

2. UFO Seen By State Rep

UFO Seen By State Rep
If you can't believe an elected official, who can you believe? Kentucky state treasurer Rick Nelson (at the time a state representative) is said by The Crypto Crew to have spotted and recorded "[s]trange lights in the Middlesboro sky, [s]ix of them." (Note: PCMag looked for Nelson's posting and could not find it.)

3. Bigfoot Crosses Road

Bigfoot Crosses Road
Why did the Bigfoot cross the road? We'll never know because the man and his girlfriend who witnessed it didn't talk to him.

4. 16 Year Old Has Strange Experience Walking Home

16 Year Old Has Strange Experience Walking Home
This kid's map entry starts out like a Salinger novel. "Right off the bat, I'll tell you I'm a 16 year old kid telling absolutely the truth, so god strike me dead. I hope you don't take my report as bogus because of that. Let me explain my situation to you." The Pacific Northwest is a particularly popular area for Bigfoot sightings.

5. Fishermen Take Photo of Large Bird

Fishermen Take Photo of Large Bird
"Is this a Thunderbird?" it says on the photo two men took while on a fishing trip in Ontario. No, it's probably not. It's probably an eagle. But Thunderbird believers describe an enormous creature that sounds like a pterodactyl.

6. Spot the Loch Ness Monster

Spot the Loch Ness Monster
You can get on the cryptozoology map from anywhere in the world. Google has made Loch Ness open to searchers by mapping out the entire lake.

7. Manbearpig Sighed in the ESL Room at McAnally School

Manbearpig Sighed in the ESL Room at McAnally School
There is no better cryptid map than the one for manbearpig sightings. As Al Gore described the creature on South Park, it is "half-man half-bear half-pig." In one report, the crazed critter showed up to a teacher's birthday party; in another it ate a vast penguin army.

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About Chandra Steele

Senior Features Writer

Chandra Steele

My title is Senior Features Writer, which is a license to write about absolutely anything if I can connect it to technology (I can). I’ve been at PCMag since 2011 and have covered the surveillance state, vaccination cards, ghost guns, voting, ISIS, art, fashion, film, design, gender bias, and more. You might have seen me on TV talking about these topics or heard me on your commute home on the radio or a podcast. Or maybe you’ve just seen my Bernie meme. 

I strive to explain topics that you might come across in the news but not fully understand, such as NFTs and meme stocks. I’ve had the pleasure of talking tech with Jeff Goldblum, Ang Lee, and other celebrities who have brought a different perspective to it. I put great care into writing gift guides and am always touched by the notes I get from people who’ve used them to choose presents that have been well-received. Though I love that I get to write about the tech industry every day, it’s touched by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality and I try to bring these topics to light. 

Outside of PCMag, I write fiction, poetry, humor, and essays on culture.

Read Chandra's full bio

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