The Ultimate Guide to the Squonk of Pennsylvania

PDF download Download Article
Follow the puddle of tears to learn all about this crying cryptid
PDF download Download Article

Squonks are folkloric, mythical creatures that are reported to live in the hemlock forests of Pennsylvania, near the Pocono Mountains. Squonks are shy, warty creatures that cry constantly over their ugly appearance. Legend says you can find them by following their trail of tears. The first reports of squonks appeared in the early 1900s, and since then, they’ve become Pennsylvanian cultural icons that have been celebrated in books, songs, video games, and more. Let’s dive in!

Things You Should Know

  • The squonk is a mythical creature that lives in the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania in the United States.
  • Squonks are unusual-looking beasts with saggy skin, warts, moles, and webbed feet. They constantly cry because they look so hideous.
  • People all over the U.S. have turned the squonk into a cultural icon—not only are there books and songs about them, but they have a festival called Squonkapalooza.
Section 1 of 4:

Squonk Origins

PDF download Download Article
  1. Squonks first appear in William Thomas Cox’s 1910 book, Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods . [1] Squonks are thought to have appeared in the hemlock forests of Pennsylvania during this time because it was the height of the state’s timber and hunting industry.
    • In 1939, Henry D. Tryon published the book Fearsome Critters which hypothesized that squonks once lived in the high plains, but migrated to the swampy countryside. [2]
    • The squonk’s scientific name, Lacrimacorpus dissolvens , comes from the Latin words for tear, body, and dissolve.
    2. Advertisement
Section 2 of 4:

Squonk Appearance and Behavior

PDF download Download Article
  1. Cox says that the squonk is a very unhappy creature with a low mental ability that always weeps over his ugly appearance. Tryon later described the squonk as having webbing between the toes on its left foot, causing it to swim in circles forever. [3]
    • Tryon also says that fossil bones dredged from those lake bottoms reveal that thousands of squonks died of starvation because they couldn’t get back to shore.
    • In the 2015 retelling of Tryon’s book by Hal Johnson, the squonk is a kind of pig with warts, cauliflower ears covered in wax and hair, and yellow crooked tusks.
  2. On clear moonlit nights, the squonk moves slowly or lies still in its den to avoid catching a glimpse of its ugly appearance in illuminated bodies of water. It’s said that you can sometimes hear one weeping softly to itself through the night. [4]
    • Some people believe that the squonk reproduces through binary fission, meaning its body splits into two new bodies.
    3. Advertisement
Section 3 of 4:

Catching a Squonk

PDF download Download Article
  1. Not many people have been able to catch the mythical squonk—one hunter named J. P. Wentling was reported to have mimicked the weeping of the squonk and captured it in a bag. When he carried it home, the bag grew light, and when he looked inside, all that was left was a pool of tears and bubbles. [5]
    • Other hunters who have tried to catch them have found out that these creatures dissolve completely into a pool of tears when they’re cornered.
  2. If you’re an aspiring cryptid hunter, legend says that you can follow a squonk’s tear-stained trail to its hemlock home. [6] Since squonks dissolve when surprised or frightened, you may want to only attempt to capture the creature on film.
    • You can also listen for its low-toned weeping under the boughs of the dark hemlock trees. [7]
    • Some sources also say that hunters might be even more successful on cold nights when tears are shed slowly and squonks don’t like moving around. [8]
    3. Advertisement
Section 4 of 4:

Squonks in Pop Culture and Media

PDF download Download Article
  1. Squonkapalooza is an all-ages festival that celebrates its home state cryptid, the squonk, along with other creatures of Appalachian folklore and cryptozoology. [9]
    • The festival’s mission is to turn frowns upside down—who knows? Spreading a love of the squonk might cheer them up.
    • There’s also a performing artist group from Pennsylvania called Squonk Opera. [10]
  2. Artists and musicians from Pennsylvania have embraced the legend of the squonk. “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” by Steely Dan contains the line, “Have you seen a squonk’s tears? Well look at mine,” and Genesis has an entire song called “Squonk.”
    • Genesis’ song seems to follow J. P. Wentling as he tries to catch the squonk.
    • The squonk also appears in video games like Final Fantasy XIV and in a cryptozoology-themed collectible card game called Metazoo.
  3. In this 1964 book by Wallace Wadsworth, one of the loggers hears wailing in the woods, mimics its cry, and catches a squonk in his bag. However, when he opened the bag, there was nothing inside except salt water and bubbles. [11]
    • In this account, the squonk is described as having red eyes, a long comical nose, and ill-fitting warty skin.
    4. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

      Other wikiHows

      How to
      Get Effects on Snapchat
      How to
      Relieve & Prevent Headaches & Migraines Fast
      How to
      Quickly and Easily Unclog a Toilet
      How to
      Use Uber for the First Time: Complete Beginner's Guide
      How to
      Take a Screenshot on a Windows PC: 8 Simple Tricks
      A Complete Guide to French Braiding Hair
      How to
      Play Poker
      How to
      Take Care of Potted Orchids
      How to
      Make a Piñata
      How to
      Make Guacamole
      How to
      Meditate
      How to
      Surf
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=nebraskianapubs
      2. ↑ http://www.lib.lumberwoods.org/fc/title.html
      3. ↑ http://www.lib.lumberwoods.org/fc/title.html
      4. ↑ https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=nebraskianapubs
      5. ↑ https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=nebraskianapubs
      6. ↑ https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=nebraskianapubs
      7. ↑ http://www.lib.lumberwoods.org/fc/title.html
      8. ↑ https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=nebraskianapubs
      9. ↑ https://squonkapalooza.com/
      1. ↑ https://squonk.org/
      2. ↑ https://books.google.com/books/about/Paul_Bunyan_and_His_Great_Blue_Ox.html?id=-WjhAAAAMAAJ

      About This Article

      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 11,974 times.

      Did this article help you?

      Advertisement