Fall Colors and Mythological Creatures? Oh My!
“Dare we even dip our toes in this debate? Here goes…”
So began one of our recent social media posts, as we finally weighed in on a hotly contested debate: which are the five best national parks for fall colors?
Here’s what we came up with:
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- New River Gorge National Park
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Shenandoah National Park
- Acadia National Park
Yes, these places are the best national parks for fall colors (at least in our humble opinion).
But beautiful fall leaves aren’t all you might see in these parks...
We’ve also documented extensively the mythical beings, mystical creatures, and mythological legends, ghosts, monsters, spirits, haunting presences, and spooky apparitions said to reside within the parks.
And for each of the five best national parks for fall leaves, there is a mythical creature or legend said to live there.
Read on for our descriptions and original artist renderings of these mythological creatures.
When you’re out leaf peeping, also see if you can peep these mythical legends!
Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Spearfinger
Those who would walk in the woods of Great Smoky Mountains National Park should take care, for Spearfinger may be nearby! Spearfinger is an ancient Cherokee legend, a monster who takes the form of an old woman. Some say she is a witch, while others insist she is an ancient spirit as old as the world itself.
Despite differing accounts of how Spearfinger came to be, all agree she is evil. As the legend goes, Spearfinger has stone-like skin and only somewhat resembles a human being. She is cruel and deceptive, and she likes to shape-shift into a seemingly harmless old woman, all the better to trick her victims. According to the Cherokee tales, Spearfinger hunts for livers, using the sharpened tip on her right finger to attack children and pluck their livers from them.
Thankfully, Cherokee stories also say that Spearfinger was finally brought to an end. Though her skin was made of stone and the Cherokee arrows were useless against it, a wise Chickadee bird flew to the Cherokees and told them of Spearfinger’s weakness, her right hand. Cherokee warriors captured Spearfinger, attacked her right hand, and defeated her.
Or was she truly defeated? Her body was never recovered from the battle, so it may be true that Spearfinger lives on in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, waiting for the right moment to resume her hunt.
New River Gorge National Park: Mothman
A local legend for West Virginia residents, Mothman is a strange creature, part man, part moth-like animal. Reported sightings of Mothman first occurred in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, in November 1966. After those initial sightings, residents of the Point Pleasant community and others throughout West Virginia began reporting sightings of the creature.
While Mothman never appeared particularly aggressive to eyewitnesses, some said the creature was involved in the collapse of the Silver Bridge in Point Pleasant in December 1967. Oddly, sightings of Mothman abruptly stopped shortly after the bridge’s collapse, and some have said that the creature fled into hiding in what is now New River Gorge National Park.
Mothman is the size of a large human, very tall, and with huge, bird-like wings and a moth-like head with red eyes. The creature is said to only come out at night and has been seen flying through the sky and walking upright (somewhat clumsily). Eye witness reports indicate that the creature tries to avoid bright light and can fly at speeds up to 100 mph.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Grassman
Some believe that Bigfoot is just a creature of the Pacific Northwest, and that may be true. But what about his cousin, Grassman? Standing somewhere between 7ft and 9ft tall and weighing over 300lbs, Grassman is an Ohio legend, a creature that wanders the fields and forests of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
More human-looking than Bigfoot but no less wild and mysterious, Grassman is said to eat mainly grass and wheat, sometimes spotted on the edge of farmers’ fields, sampling the season’s crop. Grassman is also said to build small huts out of grass, where he spends a few nights before moving on to the next place.
Despite numerous sightings throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, no one has ever captured a clear photograph or video clip of Grassman. And who would even try? While most stories portray the creature as harmless, some accounts say that Grassman can let out a ferocious, eerily human roar when confronted or harassed.
Shenandoah National Park: Snallygaster
Shenandoah National Park is often called the Gem of the Old Dominion State, one of the most frequently visited nature preserves in Virginia. But the park has a mystery, too, the possibility of a fearsome Snallygaster monster living there!
The Snallygaster is a huge winged beast, part-reptile, part-bird, quite ferocious and scary. The bird-beast is said to have serrated teeth, hooked talons, and a tail more than 20ft long. The creature resembles a dragon, but it does not breathe fire. However, the Snallygaster can put forth a piercing cry, louder than a locomotive and capable of stunning nearby prey.
A newspaper clip from 1909 reported the direct words of a resident in Frederick County, Maryland, someone who saw the Snallygaster and lived to tell the tale! This resident said that the beast had “Enormous wings, a long pointed bill, claws like steel hooks, and an eye in the center of its forehead.” Other reports suggest the creature had octopus-like tentacles protruding from its mouth, perhaps to suck the blood of its victims?
Acadia National Park: White Walker
An ancient Indigenous Penobscot, Micmac, and Passamaquoddy legend harkening back to a time when wigwams and teepees dotted the Maine landscape rather than buildings and roads, the White Walker is said to be a tall, lumbering, feral beast, similar in size and appearance to the Bigfoot of the Pacific Northwest. However, the White Walker is said to be covered in white fur, not brown or black fur as in the case of Bigfoot.
Indigenous Americans had many names for what we now call White Walkers. One, “Kiwakwa,” translates to “walks about the woods.” Other Indigenous names for the creature include “Chenoo” and “Apotamkin.” As the legend goes, this creature was once a man, but was possessed by dark magic and turned into a horrible beast after he committed awful crimes against his tribespeople.
The Indigenous legends say that, once turned into a White Walker, the creature wanders northern forests at night, hunting humans, shrieking its shrill, piercing cry, and preying on lonely travelers who journey through the woods alone. While some stories say that the White Walker’s heart is made of ice and can be purified with certain Native American herbal medicines (curing the White Walker and returning him to a human state), there are few accounts of this being done successfully.
National Park Art and Mythological Creature Art Made by Humans, Not AI
Our original art (made by humans, not AI!) depicts the beautiful national park landscapes in fall color. We’ve also rendered our best possible interpretations of what the mythical creatures of the national parks might look like, paying particular attention to what Indigenous peoples have said about these mythological monsters.
If you like fall colors and cryptids, we have the art for your walls. Pick up your favorite park design as a poster, print, metal sign, canvas, or as a set of notecards or postcards. These original illustrations resemble vintage poster art, but they are all original designs created by 21st-century artists right here in Nashville, Tennessee.
We also wrote a book about the mythological creatures of the national parks, titled: Legends of the National Parks. The book features 32 mythical cryptids said to live in the national parks, plus 19 mythical creatures from around the world.
Last but not least, we also have 2026 wall calendars that feature our most popular mythical creatures of the national park designs and our best-selling illustrations of mythical creatures around the world. Check them out at our 2026 Wall Calendars page.
If you’re planning a hiking or backpacking trip to catch the last glimpses of fall color before winter hits, keep your eyes peeled for mythical creatures! They may be out there waiting just for you…
Until next time,
-Ren Brabenec
Anderson Design Group Staff Writer
← Older Post Newer Post →