Informant: Meagan is a 23-year-old screenwriter, born and raised in San Diego. She is an active member of various ghosthunting and cryptid-related groups, although she admits that she is not sure if she fully believes in them.

Main Piece:
Informant: “There are certain types of cryptids that are known as ‘old-worldly’. They’re creatures that should be extinct but aren’t. Apparently, in the mountains of California, there’s a pterosaur-like creature with like…the head of a T-Rex.”

Interviewer: Is the head the same size as a T-Rex’s?

Informant: “No, no…here, let me draw it for you. It’s hard to explain.” See below for drawing. Some people say it has feathers, some say it doesn’t. But one thing’s for certain, and that’s that it’s carnivorous. It leaves very distinct bite marks on its prey. And sometimes it…sort of turns its prey inside out, but mostly it’s known for the bite marks.”

Background Information about the Performance: The informant learned of this piece through various online communities of cryptozoologists. The informant noted that she was interested in hiking around the area where the cryptid has been sighted.

Context of Performance: Often, stories of this cryptid are told as personal experiences on online forums or cryptid-related books.

Thoughts: Upon further research, I learned that the Lone Pine Mountain Devil was created by a team of Youtubers for a video in 2010. However, it is important to note that it is still very widely believed by the crytozoologist community, showing how an authored work can become folklore. The informant also noted that the Lone Pine Mountain Devil and the Jersey Devil were often considered related in some way, showing how two separate elements of folklore can become tied together.