Some people already have ophidiophobia (the fear of snakes) with the creatures only being able to slither at a fairly set speed. Image how many more people would be scared of snakes if they looped up and rolled at you high-speed.
The hoop snake is a less fantastical cryptid than most. It doesn’t foretell of doom like Mothman. It isn’t a chimeric amalgamation of creatures like the Jersey Devil.
No, hoop snake’s claim to fame is simple: it’s a snake that reportedly bites its own tail and speedily chases prey by rolling its body like a wheel.
Stories of this creature circulated around the United States and Canada, as well as Australia (but with the amount of terrifying creatures there, it’s almost expected).
Supposedly the hoop snake is highly venomous and leaves only a small chance for its victims to survive. This coupled with the speed boost it gets from rolling makes this cryptid into a fearsome hunter.
The hoop snake bears close resemblance to the mythological Ouroboros. Originally from ancient Egypt, Ouroboros found its way to Greek mythos where it became popularized to the Western world.
Could it be that the creature isn’t mythical at all? Maybe the ancient Egyptians and Greeks were actually sighting ancient hoop snakes.
While major sightings were reported around the 1700s, there are still the occasional hoop snake seen.
Anecdotally, locals of the area claim to have seen some (or have seen them in their youth). Yet, the hoop snake has never been fully classified as an existing animal: thus making its way to cryptid-hood.
Skeptics believe it to be simply a misidentified side-winder or mud snake. It’s possible to even be an embellished tale of how snakes will sometimes mistake their own tails as prey and attempt to eat it.
If you ever do catch a hoop snake, be sure to let the public know! Naturalist Raymond Ditmars put $10,000 in trust to a New York bank for the first person to provide evidence of the hoop snake being real.
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