AC— Atlas of Cryptids

Archive protocol

How we classify

The Atlas does not claim these creatures exist, nor does it mock those who believe. It documents: the narratives, the witnesses, the claimed traces, the zoological hypotheses and the exposed hoaxes. The only position defended here is a method — organised doubt.

Every file carries an evidence class from 1 to 5. It measures neither a creature's fame nor the witnesses' sincerity: it describes the state of the evidence, and every file justifies its class in its status note.

+ The evidence scale

  1. Class 1 — Isolated folk narrative

    A narrative exists — folk tale, oral tradition, single testimony — and nothing else: no material trace, no body of independent witnesses.

  2. Class 2 — Testimony without physical evidence

    Multiple independent witnesses describe the same thing, sometimes across decades. But no physical evidence has ever been produced.

  3. Class 3 — Disputed physical traces

    The file holds material traces — footprints, photographs, recordings — whose authenticity or interpretation remains disputed.

  4. Class 4 — Plausible zoological explanation

    A serious zoological explanation accounts for most sightings: a misidentified known animal, an escaped species, a natural phenomenon.

  5. Class 5 — Proven hoax or misidentification

    The case is closed: admitted or proven hoax, demonstrated misidentification, or documented invention. A class of resolution, not contempt.

+ Frequently asked questions

Does this site believe in cryptids?
No — and it doesn't mock those who do. The Atlas documents a real cultural phenomenon: narratives, testimony, hoaxes and investigations. Every file gives the known rational explanations, never sustaining mystery by omission.
Where do the texts come from?
Every file is an original piece of writing, in both French and English. Wikipedia is cited as an external reference on each file, never copied: its texts are CC BY-SA licensed, and the Atlas honours that licence by referring to them without reproducing them.
Why a “proven hoax” class?
Because honest classification is the heart of the project. When a case is solved — confession, analysis, proof — saying so clearly protects the genuinely open cases. A closed file is an investigative success, not a folkloric failure.
Are the images evidence?
Never. No visual on this site is presented as an authentic document: they are declared illustrations, marked as reconstructions based on testimony. The only exhibits in each file are the texts and the sources.
How are Indigenous traditions handled?
By naming them. Many famous “cryptids” (Sasquatch, Yowie, Bunyip…) are first of all figures of living traditions. The files distinguish the original tradition from the media creature derived from it, and avoid reducing one to the other.