1889 book shows creatures Victorians feared

[Still Waters]

Those Victorians, they certainly had overactive imaginations - and much of it macabre.

These intricate engravings, taken from J.W. Buel's 1889 book Sea and Land, show just a few of the ways that humans can meet a grisly end at the hands of Earth's flora and fauna.

The murderous creatures - whether historical, contemporary, real or fabled - are all depicted with a liberal dose of sensationalist exaggeration.

http://www.dailymail...unexplored.html

[Oniomancer]

I actually have a copy of that book. It's every bit as awesome as they make it out to be. Even has a section on sea monsters.

[Yowie]

Great photos. You have to love these dramatic depictions. No wonder these creatures were feared!

Here are some Australian examples from the 1800's. Stories of these crypids were well known since settlement from both Aboriginal accounts and early settler stories of encounters.

The first is the fabled "Bunyip" from 1890 followed by the "Wood Devil" from 1895.

[Kryso]

The author had amazing imagination.

Crab lifting a goat.

lol

[None of the above]

The author had amazing imagination.

lol

Can you imagine how big that coconut crab would have to be?

[Yowie]

Can you imagine how big that coconut crab would have to be?

Or how small that goat was!

[None of the above]

Or how small that goat was!

LOL, normal sized coconut crab grabs tiny pygmy goat!

AWWWWWW thats even sader!!!