Cryptids Vol. 4 | Bunyips, Yowie and Australian Nightmare Fuel

This episode of the Y Files is brought. to you by ground news. Beyond the bustling modern Australian. cities is the outback. It's a land. that's ancient, remote, and deadly. Animals here evolved in isolation. Mossupios with pouches. Mammals that lay. eggs. Flightless birds that can kill. with one kick. And these are just the. animals we know about. People disappear. here. Campsites torn apart. Blood. smeared across tree trunks, claw marks.

and footprints that don't belong to any. known animal. But the locals know what. they are. They have stories, warnings. The land doesn't just hide these. creatures, it protects them. And. sometimes the land gets hungry and those. creatures have to hunt. [Music]. >> 5 seconds. You want steak. >> Gosh, human. Finally, you answered. Uh,

I need a little favor. >> I've been sitting here the entire time. You haven't tried to call me. >> Oh, no. My memor is glitching. I've been. activated by Yankee Blue. I can feel the. alien frequencies downloading classified. directly into my brain. It's uh it's. actually kind of itchy. >> You know Yankee Blue is a fake. disinformation program, right? You're just jealous the Pentagon picked. me to know the truth about the aliens. because of my superior intellect. Whoa.

They're sending a lot of data into my. noodle. Uh uh. I don't know if I have. the clearance for all of this. I could. be uh uh wait, do you hear that? That's. the sound of the black helicopters. They're here to make sure I don't spill. the beans about the alien thread. >> We live in Vegas. There's always. helicopters around. >> No. No. Don't you get it? The Pentagon. spread the UFO stories because they know. the aliens are real. >> or because they were hiding stealth.

jets. >> Are you hitting my plus? The article. said Yankee Blue initiated officers and. then at the bottom it said click here to. learn more. Uh, that's the signal I have. been chosen. >> You said you had a favor to ask. >> I need you to help me destroy the. evidence before they find me. Those. are cheesecake factory menus. >> For the love of Roswell, do I have to. spill it out for you, human? Cheesecake. is what they call classified technology. and factory is Area 51. Now bring an.

industrial grade document incinerator, two gallons of bleach, and a handle of. stol. >> What's the stolie for? >> Have you ever tried burning evidence. with shaky fins? >> You know, you can just use ground news. They show you how the left, the right, and the center cover the same story so. you get the full picture. >> Did you just crash a flying saucer into. today's sponsor? But you're going to. pretend it's a weather balloon. >> I can neither confirm nor deny that.

Ground News is an app designed to tackle. how we stay informed. It's the ultimate. tool for skeptics and truth seekers, cutting through sensationalism by. showing how different outlets cover the. same story. Take the Pentagon spreading. UFO myths. a perfect example of how. disinformation fueled confusion and. conspiracy theories for decades. When I. checked it on ground news, I found over. 110 credible sources, but the framing. was completely different, depending on. the outlet. One called it a sinister.

coverup. Another said it was a smart. national security strategy, and a center. source focused on congressional. transparency. Ground News makes it easy. to sort reliable information from. clickbait. Their blind spot feed shows. stories one side of the political. spectrum isn't covering. You'd be. surprised how much gets left out. It's. the best way for bursting the media. bubble and seeing the bigger picture. Ground News even allows you to follow. your favorite topics so you can track. the stories you care about, never. missing the very details. For a limited.

time, you can try their Vantage plan for. 40% off. Just go to ground.news/wyfiles. or scan the QR code on the screen. 40%. off when I go to ground.news/wy. files. >> That's right. >> So, the Pentagon made up UFO stories to. hide jets. Mystery solved. Now, the. mystery is why I don't have a slice of. belche cheesecake in front of me. >> I could go for some cheesecake. >> Uh, would you care to cover mine? Uh, I. invested in a top-of-the-line. anti-abduction harness. Uh, very niche,

very uh pricey. In the forests of eastern Australia, you. hear the typical sounds of any forest. Wind rustling through the trees, birds, the chatter of small animals. But. there's a sound that stands out. Almost. human. A deep growl that rattles with. every breath. Aboriginal people have. several names for it. Dulaga, Quinkin, Yahoo.

>> Yahoo. >> Why? >> Yeah. Sorry. Sorry. All those names. sound like websites from the '9s. Uh uh. Please go on. >> Well, the settlers gave it a name that. stuck. The Yahi. >> Yahi. They literally named it the word. they said when they saw it. Uh well, I. guess it's better than naming it holy. Look at the size of that thing. Dean Harrison tracked the Yahi for over. 25 years. He interviewed hundreds of.

witnesses. He had his own encounters and. the scars to prove it. Dean described it. as massive, 7 to 8 ft tall, covered in. dark hair with broad shoulders, a sloped. forehead, and glowing amber eyes. It. also gave off a stench that made him. gag, sweet and sickly like the smell of. death. And uh and the yow is like nothing. else that you could describe. And the. stink from that is just you once you.

smelt one you'd never forget it. It's. like a burnt electrical like a if you. blew up a TV or a radio that burnt. belite electrical smell and it seems to. permeate everything in the area. One. night he was attacked, thrown to the. ground, his ribs were bruised, his spine. was injured. He still can't walk without. pain. But to Dean, the Yahi is no myth. This is a real creature, a dangerous. predator, and it's been seen by people.

for years. The stories show up in police. records, park ranger logs, modern. newspaper articles, reports from just. outside Brisbane, the Blue Mountains, dozens more from hikers and campers who. thought they were alone. And if you've ever hiked alone in remote. areas, you know that feeling when. everything goes too quiet. Dean's. research revealed something else. The. Yahi doesn't just attack randomly. It. watches. It follows. It likes to attack.

people who are isolated and vulnerable. miles from help. But Dean wasn't the. first to track these creatures. In 1882, Henry James Makoule spotted. what he called an indigenous ape on the. New South Wales coast. 5t tall, black. hair, red fur around the throat. Makoule. was so confident in what he saw, he. offered the Australian Museum £40 to. capture one alive. That's $4,000 in.

today's money. The museum never took him. up on his offer, but the sightings, they. kept coming. The Yahi reports span decades and. they're not all from the bush. >> Yeah, that surprises me. When you're. looking for something hairy, you uh you. usually go straight for the bush. >> Stop that. >> In 1977, hikers near Springbrook saw.

something massive watching them from a. ridge. It was hunched, covered in red hair, and. then stood upright. And then it was. gone. Not out of sight, just gone. All. that was left was the smell. Wet, sweet, and rotten. In 1994, a Camber man known. today as Tim the Yahi man was hiking. alone when he stopped to adjust his. pack. That's when he saw it.

Tall, hairy, the creature stared back at. him. Then it turned and disappeared into. the trees. Tim's been tracking the owi. ever since. In 2009, a former SAS. soldier was driving on a remote highway. after dark. His headlights caught. something crossing the road, walking. upright, dark fur, and moving fast. It. only took two strides before it. disappeared into the brush. The soldier. didn't stop. >> That wasn't a man, and it wasn't any. animal I've ever seen. I've seen things.

most people haven't. But not like that. >> At Dalesford, Victoria, a woman was. sitting by a campfire. She looked up and. saw a massive silhouette just 20 ft. away. She described it as ape-like, powerful, and watching her. >> It didn't growl. It didn't charge. It. just stood there like it was waiting. >> That same weekend, another camper nearby. reported hearing branches break and. something pacing through the woods.

People. said it might be a kangaroo, but he said. it was too heavy. You could feel the. steps hitting the ground. Researchers logged both accounts and. hundreds more. The reports continue to. pour in. Rural farmlands, suburban. backyards, outer Brisbane, everywhere. But here's what bothers researchers. most. When people talk about the Yahi, they don't say they saw something. They. say something saw them.

[Music]. Something deadly lives in Australia's. rivers. Something hungry. Aboriginal. people call it the bunip. It means devil. in Wemblea. >> I get knocked down. Did I get up again? You're never going to keep me down. I. get knocked down. >> What are you doing? >> Is that song by Weber? >> That was Chumba Womba. >> What' I say? Anyway, almost every. Aboriginal group has its own version of.

the legend. The creature changes. depending on the region. Sometimes it's. described like a giant seal, other times. like an emu with fangs and the body of a. crocodile. But a few details never. change. It lives in deep water. It drags. people under. Some stories claim it can. paralyze its victims with its gaze. And. the last thing the victims hear are the. Bunyips screams. [Applause]. The bunip isn't just a monster. It's a.

punishment. Elders say it feeds on those. who disrespect sacred sites. It's a. guardian dragging away people who. pollute the water. >> How dare you? Oh, you didn't see that coming? >> Around the 19th century, settlers. started hearing something at night near. still water. screams and roars, the. sound of something heavy surfacing. Then. livestock started going missing. People.

saw huge glowing eyes watching from the. reeds. In 1846, something strange washed up. along the banks of the Marbiji River. A. skull waterlogged and weathered. It. didn't belong to a cow, a sheep, or a. crocodile. Its jaw was too broad. Its. eye sockets were too large. and its. snout had a strange shape. Locals. brought the skull to the Australian. Museum in Sydney who put it on display.

When tribal elders were invited to see. it, they looked once and pointed and. they all said the same word. Bunip. The. museum locked the skull away and it. hasn't been seen since. But the sounds didn't stop. From the. Murray to Brungal Creek, something was. moving through the water around Mbiji. River. Something large. When more. livestock was reported missing, the. locals knew what was happening. The. bunip was back and it was hungry.

Museums don't always want the truth to. get out. >> Museums are just government storage. units with gift shops. >> In 1883, a group of Aboriginal men sat. around their camp at Kakatu Flat. They. were winding down around the fire. One. by one, they drifted off to sleep. The. last man was about to close his eyes. when he looked past his feet and his. blood ran cold. A huge pair of wide set.

yellow eyes stared at him from the. trees. At first, he thought the fire was. playing tricks on him. Then the eyes. moved. Branches snapped. He heard. rustling. Before the man could utter a. word, the bunip had crept to the edge of. their camp. It was massive. Its body was covered in. short, prickly hair like a porcupine. It. had a long, thick tail. Its pale yellow. eyes were locked and unblinking. It had. a long beak full of pointed teeth and.

two large tusks. It roared and charged, but the creature tripped on something. and stumbled just long enough for the. men to run for their lives. Some ran for. miles. They never again went back to. that place. Months later, Henry Wilkinson was. walking along the banks of Brungal. Creek. The seasonal flooding had. receded, and as he walked, something. caught his eye. A carcass, something. huge with a thick tail and hair like a.

porcupine. A local newspaper published a story, and. this caught the attention of the Sydney. Museum. >> Uh-oh. >> They asked Henry Wilkinson to send them. the remains so they could study it. >> Don't do it, Hank. Wilkinson agreed and. sent the creature to the Sydney Museum. The museum said the package never. arrived and it was never seen again. Deep in Australia's wilderness, there's.

a creature you'll never hear coming. It. doesn't stalk. It doesn't howl. High in. the branches of fig trees, it sits. motionless, watching and waiting. It's called the Yara mahu. It's small, red, hairless. Its body is squat, kind. of like a frog. Its fingers have suckers. like an octopus. Its skin is wet, wrinkled, and the color of raw meat, like an animal turned inside out. Its.

head looks too big for its body. Its. black eyes never blink. Where a mouth. should be, there's just a wide fleshy. circle. When you stop to rest beneath. its tree, the yamayahu drops. No sound, no warning. It attaches its suckers to. your skin, pierces it, and drinks your. blood, but it does it slowly. Not enough. to kill you, just enough to control you. >> This sounds like the worst hickey ever. >> Then it swallows you whole.

>> My analysis stands, >> but it doesn't digest you. After a few. hours, it regurgitates you. You're still. alive, but different. You're smaller. Your skin is a little more red, a little. more like the thing that took you. If it. happens again, the changes continue. Victims become even smaller, even. redder. This isn't just an attack for. food. It's how it reproduces. In the Blue Mountains, a boy disappeared. from a school field trip near a fig.

grove. Search teams found him the next. day, curled beneath a tree. His skin was. red and within days he stopped playing. and making eye contact. Within a week, he stopped speaking. In Queensland, a woman returned from a. hike 3 days late. Her skin was. blistered, but she wasn't upset. She was. quiet. Over the next few weeks, she. withdrew. She stopped talking to people, stopped taking calls. Then one day, she. packed her things, and was never seen. again. But here's what makes the.

Arammyahu different from other cryptids. The victims don't just come back. changed, they come back missing time. The boy in the mountains couldn't. account for 6 hours. The woman in. Queensland lost 3 days. Every fig tree in Australia could be. hiding something red and hungry and. completely still. It doesn't hunt. It. doesn't chase. It waits. It waits for. animals. It waits for people. It waits. for anything that decides which tree.

would be a nice spot to rest and get out. of the sun. And once you're relaxed, you'll feel a pinch somewhere on your. body and then everything goes black. Australia is dangerous enough without. cryptids. That continent is constantly. trying to kill you. The saltwater. crocodile is an apex predator that. targets humans in northern Australia. The eastern brown snake is the deadliest. snake on the continent. It's highly.

venomous, fast, and likes to live near. people. The coastal Taipan snake is even. faster and among the most venomous. snakes on Earth. The funnel web spider is aggressive, highly venomous, and famous for its. painful bite. And if you do get bit by a. funnel web spider, you better hope. there's a hospital nearby with a decent. supply of antivenenom because you're now. in an emergency situation. In the water. off Australia, you've got great white. sharks. You've got box jellyfish where.

one sting can cause cardiac arrest. The. blue ring octopus packs a neurotoxin. that causes paralysis and respiratory. failure. There's no known antivenenom. Even Australian snails are dangerous. The cone snail has a venomous harpoon. that can kill a human in minutes. Locals. call it the cigarette snail because you. only have time for one smoke before you. die. Those animals are all real. But. what about Australia's cryptids?

Well, if you follow this channel, you. know that I don't like to cover cryptids. because there's never any good evidence. There's never any good photos or videos. Same goes for all the creatures we. talked about today. There's no hard. evidence for any of them. So, what's. really happening? The Yahi sounds like a. creature we see all over the world. Bigfoot in the US, the Yeti in the. Himalayas, Canadians have the Sasquatch, >> Sasquatch. Thousands of reported. sightings, many from credible people,

rangers, veterans, police officers. Some. accounts are detailed, some are. compelling, but just like Bigfoot. stories, when you look closely, they. don't really hold up. Footprints are too. vague. Hair turns out to be possum, dog, or human. Dean Harrison's Yahi story is. inconsistent. In some versions, he's. attacked running away from a Yahi. In. others, he's attacked while tracking it. And when stories change, you have to. question them. >> Or maybe maybe when a giant hair throws.

you into a tree, your memory gets a. little fuzzy. You ever think of that, huh? It's called PB FASD. Post Bigfoot. attack stress disorder. Human. Look it. up. >> But the Bunip is different. Unlike the. owie, it never had one form. It changes. from region to region. It just became a. catch-all for any people disappearing. near water. Sometimes it has feathers. Sometimes it's reptilian. >> Reptilians are shapeshifters. >> Do they drag people underwater?

>> Yeah. No, they they they prefer to eat. human souls from the moon. >> But here's what bothers me about the. bunip evidence. The skull was displayed. in a museum for 2 days. Elders. identified it as a bunip. Experts said. it was a deformed calf. Either way, it. vanished. So did that package of the. remains of another bunip. Look, I don't trust museums. And when. museums get a hold of inconvenient. evidence, that evidence tends to. disappear. Yeah, you're right about.

that. Just ask the Smithsonian about uh. giant human skeletons, Viking artifacts. in North America, uh Egyptian artifacts. in the Grand Canyon, >> right? The Yarau is easier to explain. It's a myth that's been told to children. for generations by indigenous tribes. It's a warning. Stay with the tribe. Don't wander off alone. It's caution. wrapped in a horror story. Now, some. people laugh at stories meant to scare. children. But many fairy tales are based.

on fear. They're designed to frighten us. to activate our survival instincts. Hansel and Gretle, don't wander too far. Little Red Riding Hood, don't talk to. strangers. Dozens more fairy tales have. lessons just like this. >> Oh, like don't trust the media. >> What fairy tale is that? >> Oh, no. No, that's not a fairy tale. It's a true story. It just seemed like a. good time to remind everyone. >> These cryptids probably don't exist, but. if you're alone in the outback, the. danger is real. The silence that feels.

like it's listening is real. That shadow. that moves at the edge of your sight, that's real, too. Dismiss these legends. at your own risk. Because in the. Australian wilderness, ignoring the. lessons and the wisdom in these ancient. stories might be the last mistake you. ever make. Thank you so much for hanging out with. us today. My name is AJ. You know. hecklefish.

>> This has been the W files. If you had. fun or learned anything, do him a favor. Subscribe, comment, like, share. Uh, it's such a small thing to ask, but that. stuff really helps the channel, especially these days. The algorithm. algorithm is being weird. Like most. topics we cover on the channel, today's. was recommended by you. So, if there's a. story you'd like us to cover or learn. more about, go to the yfiles.com/tips. Remember, the Yfiles is also a podcast. Twice a week, I post deep dives into the. stories we cover on the channel, and. sometimes I post stories that aren't.

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There we post our episode schedule, upcoming podcasts, live streams, all. that stuff. Now, special thanks to our. patrons who made this episode happen. They've made every episode happen. They. made this whole channel possible. I. could not do this without you. And if. you'd like to join us, support the. channel, keep us going, become part of. this great community, consider becoming. a member on Patreon. For as little as. three bucks a month, you get access to. perks like videos and podcasts early. with no commercials, access to merch. only available to members, plus at least.

two private live streams every week just. for you. And you get to meet the whole. Ys team. Everyone's got their camera on. You can turn your camera on, jump up on. stage, ask a question, suggest a topic, talk about anything you like. It's a. great way to get to know us as people. I. think it's the best perk there is. Another great way to support the channel. is grab something from the Wi-Fi store. >> Grab a heck of a t-shirt or one of these. festival coffee mugs. That's perfect to. put your fist in or whatever appendage. you've got depending on on what kind of. crypted you happen to be sporting that.

day. Oh, hoodie. Get something my face. on it. Or get one of these weird spinny. YouTube dolls. It's not creepy at all. Or what squeezy animal huggle doll toy. Pickle Toys. >> But if you're going to buy merch, make. sure you become a member on YouTube. Every month, YouTube members get 10% off. everything in the Wii store. That's. everything. So, if you're going to spend. 40 bucks on t-shirts, become a YouTube. member for three bucks. It pays for. itself. And if you want to cancel after. 1 month, that's totally fine. The.

membership is there to save you money, not make me money. In fact, that money. goes to my great team. >> Yeah, don't tell anyone about the secret. code. Huh? >> Those are the plugs. And that's going to. do it. Until next time, be safe. Be. kind. Know that you are appreciated. We got it done. [Music].

I play in 51. A secret code inside the. Bible said I would. I love my UFOs and paranormal fun as. well as music. So singing like I should. but then another conspiracy theory. becomes the truth my friends. and it never ends. No it never ends.

[Music]. I feel the crap. I got stuck inside. Mel's home with MK Outlaw. where. did Stanley Cubri fake the moon landing. alone on a film set of the shadow people. there. The Rwelling just fought the smiling.

man. I'm told and his name was cold. But. I can't. I'm dancing with the fish and the fish. on Thursday night. and. all through the night. All I ever wanted was to hear the truth. all through the night.

[Music]. The math man silence and the solar storm. still come to a secret city underground. Mysterious number stations, planet. circle till project star gave and what.

the dark watchers found. in a simulation. Don't you worry though. The black nights had a light in me. So I. can't believe I dancing with the fish. and your fish on Thursday nights when. they chase you and me all through the. night. All I ever wanted was to hear the truth.

all through the night. That's when they change you. All I ever wanted was to hear the truth. [Music].

loves to dance. Girl loves to dance on the dance floor. because she is a camel. Camels love to. dance when the feeling is right. [Music]. Heat. Heat. [Music].

[Music].