North America · Winged
Snallygaster
also called Schnell Geist
A metal-beaked dragon-bird of the Maryland hills.
The Account
German-Pennsylvanian settlers named it schnell geist — quick spirit. It swooped on livestock and lone travellers in the Blue Ridge foothills. Horseshoes with seven-pointed stars warded it off.
Origin
Pennsylvania Dutch folklore
First Sighting
18th century
From the Public Record
In American folklore, the snallygaster is a bird-reptile chimera originating in the superstitions of early German immigrants later combined with sensationalistic newspaper reports of the monster. Early sightings associate the snallygaster with Frederick County, Maryland, especially the areas of South Mountain, Braddock Heights and the Middletown Valley. Later reports would expand on sightings encompassing an area to include Central Maryland; Berkeley County, West Virginia; and the Washington, DC, metro area.
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