The Squonk

Trinity Schwind

**The Squonk**

**Summary**

The Squonk is a cryptid identified as being a fakelore or fearsome creature, a category of cryptid used to describe falsified tales that are modeled to appear as traditional. He is sometimes described as a pig or other creature that is “grotesque” and covered in warts and fluids that constantly leak from his eyes, mainly tears. He hides inside and avoids any source of water so he does not have to see his own appearance. The Squonk has few adaptations and even fewer encounters marked down. The lack of encounters is reasonable due to have started as a fictional tale. The Squonk is still spotted in its home state of Pennsylvania, although the creature is losing its native habitat. The hemlock woods that the Squonk has lived in for over a century are being logged and minimized, forcing the Squonk to move homes and may have to leave the environment altogether.

**A Brief History**

Squonk is a cryptid that originated in 19th century northern Pennsylvania. The Squonk is described as a small, grotesque creature that spends most of its time crying over his hatred of his appearance. The most likely time to spot one is on cold, moonlit nights. He can occasionally be tracked by his trail of tears. It’s even been rumoured that the creature can literally dissolve itself in tears when cornered or threatened.  Squonk is a quiet creature, barring the sobbing. The first written account of the Squonk is in Henry H Tryon’s 1939 book “Fearsome Creatures”, but the creature was first spotted in 1910. He detailed that the Squonk is a very contained creature. It spends most of its time in the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania. Most people not from the area have never heard of the beast. Sightings of the Squonk still occur, but they are few and far between, most likely due to the creature’s fear of being seen or seeing itself.

**Legends and Encounters**

Probably the most infamous encounter with the squonk comes from squonk hunter, Mr. J.P. Wentling. Wentling claims that he once caught a squonk near Mount Alto in Pennsylvania. He says he waited outside of the creature’s home one night and managed to trap and catch it. He wanted to show the creature to his friends in the village and started the trek back, but the bag started to become lighter and wet. When his suspicion made him open the bag, all that remained were tears and bubbles. It’s suggested that the creature literally dissolved itself in tears in order to escape. So, he was forced to return to his village with no real evidence except what he saw and a wet bag.  Other than Wentling’s tale, there seems to be no other encounters with the creature documented. Neither Cox or Tryon gave a hint towards their source of the creature’s legend.

**Adaptations**

The band Genesis released an album in 1976, titled *A Trick of the Tail.* One of the songs on the album is titled “Squonk”. The song itself is a retelling of Mr. Wentling’s tale. As mentioned above, Mr. J.P. Wentling is a “squonk hunter” and claims to have caught a squonk near Mount Alto in Pennsylvania, before the creature dissolved in order to escape, leaving him with an empty bag and an interesting tale.

Steely Dan also refers to the creature in his song “Any Major Dude Will Tell You”, released in 1974. It’s a brief reference about how his tears are worse than a squonk’s.

In 2015, author Hal Johnson published his book “Fearsome Creatures”, an adaptation of the William T Cox’s 1910 book of the same name. Johnson changed the details of the squonk’s appearance, describing the creature as a pig, both biologically and psychologically. The creature is typically detailed as having either 4 limbs or 3 and a half. According to Johnson, the worst feature of the Squonk is the infectious sadness.

**Analysis of Adaptations**

The Squonk has managed to avoid being adapted throughout the past century. Many of the creatures described alongside the Squonk in William Cox’s and Henry Tryon’s books have become infamous within the cryptid community, such as the hoopsnake and the jackelope. Other than the two songs and one niche children’s book, the creature is still incredibly unknown.

Steely Dan’s “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” inspired Genesis’s album *A Trick of the Tail* released just two years afterwards. The song is named after the Squonk and quickly became infamous. Fans of the band speculate the song was written due to the member’s feelings of sympathy for the creature. The Squonk is isolated due to his appearance, which makes his loneliness worse. His life is full of melancholy and tears, feelings of not knowing what he is around for. Many people, not just the band, identify and sympathize with the Squonk.

**Sources**

https://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2015/06/pennsylvanias\_squonk\_ends\_the.html

http://www.lib.lumberwoods.org/fclw/squonk.html

https://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2014/04/squonk-worlds-ugliest-animal.html

https://otakukart.com/453430/squonk-the-mysterious-varmint-of-pennsylvania/