Alaska, as many know it, is icy, serene, and wild— but what many do not know is that Alaska is also a place of folklore. Here are the five most interesting urban legends of Alaska.
The Ircenrraat people also known as “Ddhaw Dana” or the “little people” of Alaska are said to live deep within the mountains of Yup’ik territories in underground caves. They are small humanlike creatures that enjoy causing mischief, known for luring hunters and trespassers on their land away from trails with strange sounds until they are completely lost. Then they make their appearance clear to the trespassers by offering them help, and if you accept their help they are believed to lead you deeper into the forest and trap you inside their caves or tie you up and leave you for the wildlife. But they are known to only be malevolent and lure people who are considered inherently bad.
The Qalupalik are an Inuit legend who lurk in the waters of their land in Northern Alaska. The creatures have long greasy hair, long fingernails, green scaly skin, webbed hands and feet, and wear amauti’s. They are known to entice naughty or unsuspecting children to come near the water with their humming, and when the children come they snatch them and place them into the amautiks and travel deep into the freezing water. Inuit mothers warn their children to keep away from the water and remain obedient to their elders, because the Qalupalik feed on children and will take them away.
The Alaskan triangle is an area between Utqiagvik, Anchorage, and Jeuno. It’s a Taiga full of tundra and icy peaks, and within the past 40 years, rumor has it that over 20,000 people have gone missing within this forests’ region. With an average of about 2,250 missing people a year, there have been many search and rescue operations to try to help find these lost civilians but somehow the majority of the missions fall through the cracks and are deemed unsuccessful. The Alaska Triangle is one of the nation’s largest disappearance sights because not only do people go missing, but aircraft and military personnel seem to get lost just as easily.
The Alaska Bushman, AKA “the Tornit” is another Inuit legend. In mythology, these creatures are known for their giant, hairy, and strong, humanoid figures. They live deep in the arctic and are also known to easily be able to lift boulders and trees. The Tornit are believed to have lived in neighboring villages with the Inuit tribes, and one day a Tornit borrowed an Inuit kayak without permission and ended up damaging it. The Inuit became very angry with the Tornit, so when the Tornit went to sleep that night, the young Inuit stabbed him, killing him in his sleep. In fear of also being killed, all the other Tornit fled, never to be seen again.
The Tizheruk is a sea snake-like creature with the head of a wolf, and they are about 15 feet long, with their tails ending in flippers. They live in only the iciest of waters in Alaska. These creatures are very powerful, so powerful in fact that they are capable of sinking dories (fishing boats), dragging the fishermen into the water, and snatching people off of nearby docks in complete silence.
Alaska’s icy terrain leaves space for plenty of mysteries to arise and legends to be born, creating a captivating mosaic of folklore, adding story, depth, and allure to the last frontier.
