Carl Sup Shares Piasa Bird Legend and Cryptid Research

If you're into cryptids beyond just Sasquatch, there's a fascinating interview floating around YouTube that's worth carving out some time for. The crew over at Bigfoot Michigan Rob & Beyond recently had Carl Sup back on their show for what turned into a wide-ranging conversation touching on everything from portal theories to one of the Midwest's most mysterious winged legends. Carl Sup is a researcher who travels extensively for his day job, which has actually worked in his favor when it comes to investigating reports across multiple states. He's developed research areas in Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, and Texas, and he mentioned he's still working on pinpointing exactly where to focus his efforts in the Dallas metro area. The traveling lifestyle gives him access to hotspots he might not otherwise reach, though he joked about the difficulty of squeezing in investigations after 10-hour workdays. One of the most interesting segments of the interview dove deep into the legend of the Piasa Bird, the ancient creature depicted on the limestone bluffs near Alton, Illinois. Carl shared some genuinely remarkable family history here. His cousin's ancestor was John Russell, who wrote the original legend of the Piasa back in 1840. Even cooler, Russell actually commissioned people to rappel down the bluff with ropes to preserve the original artwork before the limestone was quarried away for new construction. Carl mentioned he was fortunate enough to hold the original pencil drawing made from that effort at a farmhouse near Eldred, Illinois. The Piasa itself is often described as a winged, dragon-like creature with horns, and Carl pointed out that the original drawings clearly show wings. He also dropped an intriguing comparison between the Piasa and the Jersey Devil, noting that some of the old reward handbills published to capture the Jersey Devil bear a striking resemblance to the Piasa depictions. That's the kind of cross-cryptid connection that gets researchers buzzing. Carl also mentioned that in 2013, he unexpectedly connected with someone who claimed to have had a live Piasa sighting. That encounter prompted him to start drawing correlations between different regional cryptid legends, something he clearly plans to expand on in future appearances. The host mentioned that Carl sent over so much material they couldn't possibly unpack it all in one 90-minute session, so expect Carl Sup to be a recurring guest on the channel every four months or so. If you're curious about how different cryptid traditions might be connected, or you just want to hear someone talk passionately about preserving historical artwork tied to a winged legend, this one's worth checking out. Head over to YouTube and search for Bigfoot Michigan Rob & Beyond to catch the full conversation.