Draft:Fresno nightcrawler

{{AFC comment|1=This has been resubmitted post-draftification with no changes. Rusalkii (talk) 19:25, 25 April 2025 (UTC)}}

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{{Infobox mythical creature

|name = Fresno nightcrawler

|AKA =

|image =

|image_size =

|caption =

|Folklore = Cryptid

|Grouping =

|Country = United States

|Region = Fresno, California

|Details =

|First_Attested = 2007

|Similar_entities = }}

The Fresno nightcrawler is a cryptid first documented in Fresno, California.{{Cite web|title=Bigfoot, Chupacabra, and … Fresno Nightcrawler? Walking pants bring Fresno freaky fame|url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article219755195.html|access-date=5 April 2025|website=The Fresno Bee|language=en}} It is semi-humanoid, white in color, long-legged, and typically spotted in pairs. They have been compared to "walking pairs of pants".{{Cite web|title=Fresno Nightcrawlers Are Terrorizing The Dark, And They're Spreading Far From California|url=https://www.ranker.com/list/fresno-nightcrawler-facts/laura-allan|access-date=5 February 2022|website=Ranker|language=en}}{{Skeptoid | id=4826 | number=826 | date=5 April 2022 | title=Why the Fresno Nightcrawler Is So Popular | access-date=14 May 2022}}

History

The Fresno nightcrawler was first documented in CCTV footage shot in 2007 by a man in south Fresno, who then shared the footage with with television network Univision.{{Cite web|title=Cryptid fans are in love with this 'funky little dude.' What is the Fresno Nightcrawler?|url=https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article293048864.html|access-date=5 April 2025|website=The Fresno Bee|language=en}} The video shows a white figure like a pair of legs without a torso walking from the top left to the bottom right of the screen, followed by a second figure walking in the same direction. The Fresno nightcrawler was featured on the History Channel program The Proof Is Out There.{{Cite web|title=The Nightcrawler and the Beast in the Tree|url=https://www.history.com/shows/the-proof-is-out-there/season-2/episode-26|access-date=5 April 2025|website=The History Channel|language=en}}

Subsequent footage of similar creatures was shot in Yosemite Lakes Park in 2011,{{Cite web|title=More than Fresno famous: How the Nightcrawler captured the world's imagination|url=https://thebusinessjournal.com/more-than-fresno-famous-how-the-nightcrawler-captured-the-worlds-imagination/|access-date=5 April 2025|website=The Business Journal|date=15 September 2022 |language=en}} and there have reportedly been sightings as far away as Poland. The SyFy program Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files coined the name "nightcrawlers", and its attempts to investigate if the footage was a hoax proved inconclusive.{{Cite web|title=Where Are The Nightcrawlers?|url=http://twocrowsparanormal.blogspot.com/2012/07/where-are-nightcrawlers.html|access-date=5 April 2025|website=David Weatherly|date=14 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312023531/http://twocrowsparanormal.blogspot.com/2012/07/where-are-nightcrawlers.html |archive-date=12 March 2019 |language=en}} Claims to relate the Fresno nightcrawler to Native American legends have been debunked.

Popularity

The Fresno nightcrawler has become an icon of Fresno, and has spawned merchandise and fans around the world. Unlike many cryptids, which can be frightening, the nightcrawler is "super simple, uncomplicated, just a pair of pants out for a walk", which may account for the popularity of the creature.

References

External links

[https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Fresno_Nightcrawler Cryptid wiki page]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_cjmy_ehiI Paranormal conference video on the original video]

:Category:American folklore

:Category:California folklore

:Category:American legendary creatures

:Category:Cryptids

:Category:Urban legends

:Category:Fresno, California