Jackalope: The Shocking True Story Behind America’s Cutest Cryptid?

Jackalope, the antlered jackrabbit of American folklore, stands as one of the most endearing and puzzling creatures in the cryptozoological pantheon, a whimsical figure that seems to leap straight from a frontier tall tale. Often depicted as a cute, furry rabbit sporting a majestic rack of deer antlers, it represents a seemingly harmless myth, a piece of Americana. But behind this charming facade lies a shocking true story, a narrative far stranger and more complex than most imagine. At iheartcryptids.com, we delve beyond the surface of legend to uncover the astonishing realities that give these stories their power.

Prepare to have your perception of this furry trickster completely transformed. We will journey into the heart of its creation, uncovering a deliberate hoax, a bizarre medical reality, and the powerful cultural forces that turned a joke into an icon. This is the definitive guide to the horned hare, revealing the unexpected truth behind its antlers.

Attention: Unveiling the Hoax That Birthed an Icon

The shocking truth about the Jackalope begins not in the mists of ancient time, but in the stark reality of 20th-century America. Unlike legends that are passed down through unrecorded generations, the birth of this cryptid can be traced to a specific time, a specific place, and two specific individuals. The story isn’t one of a mysterious sighting in the wilderness; it’s a tale of youthful ingenuity and taxidermy skills, born during the Great Depression in Douglas, Wyoming. This revelation is the first layer of the “shocking true story”: America’s cutest cryptid was, from its very inception, a deliberate and masterfully executed hoax.

The year was 1932. Two teenage brothers, Douglas Herrick and Ralph Herrick, were the creative minds behind the creature. After a day of hunting, they returned to their family’s taxidermy shop and casually tossed a jackrabbit carcass onto a workbench. The carcass slid and came to rest against a pair of deer antlers. The accidental juxtaposition sparked an idea. In a moment of creative inspiration that would unknowingly shape American folklore, the brothers decided to mount the antlers onto the rabbit’s head. Using the skills they had learned, they carefully crafted the very first physical Jackalope. It was a prank, a clever piece of folk art intended to amuse and perhaps fool a few people. They had no idea that their creation would become a cultural phenomenon, a symbol of the American West that would endure for nearly a century. This single, clever act of fabrication is the true genesis of the legend.

The brothers sold their first creation for ten dollars to a local hotel owner, and the legend began to spread. The mounted creature was so bizarre yet professionally done that it planted a seed of doubt in the minds of viewers. Could such an animal actually exist? The Herrick brothers capitalized on the growing interest, producing and selling more of their creations. Soon, the image of the Jackalope began appearing on postcards, which became wildly popular souvenirs for travelers passing through the West. These postcards were the vehicle that carried the hoax across the nation, transforming a local joke into a national curiosity. The “true story” of the Jackalope is therefore not about a mysterious animal, but about the astonishing power of a single, well-crafted lie to capture the public imagination and take on a life of its own.

Vintage Jackalope postcards collection on a map photo.

Interest: The Even Stranger Truth Hiding in Plain Sight

While the taxidermy hoax is a fascinating story in itself, the truly shocking part of the Jackalope legend lies in a completely different realm: hard science. As the myth of the antlered rabbit grew, a parallel discovery was being made in the world of biology that would provide an eerie, unintentional validation for the legend. It turns out that horned rabbits are, in a sense, real. They are not a distinct species or a mythical beast, but rather the unfortunate victims of a grotesque and fascinating viral disease. This is the second, and arguably more profound, shock behind the myth: nature had already created its own version of the Jackalope, and the reality is far more unsettling than the cute folktale.

The culprit is a virus known as the Shope papilloma virus (SPV). This virus specifically infects rabbits, causing the growth of dense, keratinous tumors called papillomas. These tumors often appear on the rabbit’s head, neck, and face, and they can grow into long, horn-like protrusions that branch out, uncannily resembling a set of antlers. A wild rabbit suffering from a severe infection of SPV would look, to any casual observer, exactly like a real-life Jackalope. These are not bones, but they are hard, dark, and horn-shaped, creating a terrifyingly convincing silhouette.

This phenomenon was scientifically documented in the 1930s by American virologist Dr. Richard E. Shope, who was conducting pioneering research into tumor-causing viruses. His work proved for the first time that a virus could be responsible for causing cancer in mammals, a landmark discovery. It’s a remarkable coincidence that his research was happening at the very same time the Herrick brothers were popularizing their taxidermy creations.

Many folklorists and biologists now believe that sightings of these virus-afflicted rabbits likely occurred for centuries, long before the Herrick brothers’ joke. These sightings could easily have been the original seed for tales of horned rabbits, a genuine mystery of the natural world. A frontiersman or a Native American storyteller who saw such an animal would have been witnessing something truly inexplicable. Therefore, while the name and popularity of the Jackalope come from the 1930s hoax, the idea of a horned rabbit is rooted in a shocking biological reality. The cutest cryptid in America, it turns out, has its origins in a cancerous virus.

The Fictional Life of a Real Hoax

Once the image of the Jackalope was established, an elaborate folklore was built around it, almost as a way to flesh out the joke. Storytellers across the West contributed to the mythos, inventing a personality and a set of fantastic abilities for the creature. These stories are a crucial part of the Jackalope’s identity, transforming it from a static object into a dynamic character in the theater of American tall tales.

The most enchanting of these legends is the Jackalope’s ability to sing. According to the tales, the horned rabbit can mimic human sounds with incredible accuracy. Cowboys sitting around their campfires at night would supposedly hear their own songs sung back to them from the darkness in a high-pitched, reedy voice. This element of the myth elevates the Jackalope from a simple animal to a clever and elusive trickster, capable of engaging with humans on its own terms.

Digital painting of a cowboy hearing a Jackalope sing by a campfire

The tales also speak of its incredible ferocity and speed. While it appears cute, a cornered Jackalope is said to be a “warrior rabbit,” using its antlers to viciously defend itself. This adds a hint of danger to the otherwise whimsical creature. Furthermore, it is said to be lightning-fast, capable of dodging bullets and outrunning any predator, which conveniently explains why one has never been captured alive. These fabricated details were essential in making the hoax feel more like a genuine legend. They provided answers to the obvious questions and added layers of story that people could enjoy and pass on, making everyone who told the tale a co-conspirator in the grand, charming deception.

Desire: How a Lie Became a Beloved American Icon

The most fascinating part of the Jackalope story is not that it was a hoax, but that people fell in love with the hoax. The desire to believe in something whimsical, clever, and uniquely American turned the horned rabbit from a taxidermy novelty into a genuine cultural icon. This desire is most powerfully expressed in the town where it all began, Douglas, Wyoming, which has fully embraced its identity as the “Jackalope Capital of the World,” and in the creature’s adoption as a potent symbol in modern art and self-expression.

A trip to Douglas is a pilgrimage for any fan of the legend. The town is a living monument to the Jackalope. The streets feature Jackalope crossing signs, and a massive statue of the creature provides the centerpiece for the town square. For a small fee, the local Chamber of Commerce will still issue you an official Jackalope Hunting License. These licenses are a masterclass in tongue-in-cheek humor, valid only on the 31st of June and requiring the hunter to have a certified low IQ. Owning one of these licenses is a way for a visitor to participate in the joke, to become part of the ongoing story. The town’s celebration of the Jackalope creates a powerful desire to visit and experience this unique piece of American culture, where a community has built a cherished identity around a clever tall tale.

Beyond the town limits of Douglas, the Jackalope has hopped into the wider cultural landscape as a symbol rich with meaning. In a world that often feels mundane, the Jackalope represents a delightful defiance of reality. It is a symbol of the creative spirit, the power of a good story, and the trickster archetype. For this reason, it has become an incredibly popular subject for tattoos. A Jackalope tattoo is more than just an image of a cute cryptid; it can symbolize a person’s cleverness, their connection to the wild spirit of the West, or their appreciation for the blend of the tough and the gentle. It is a statement that one doesn’t always have to take the world so seriously.

The desire for what the Jackalope represents—resilience (a rabbit that can defend itself), creativity (a beautiful lie), and a touch of wild magic—has cemented its place as a permanent fixture in American iconography. It has proven that a story doesn’t have to be true to be meaningful.

Jackalope: The Truth Behind The World’s Scariest Rabbit

Action: Own a Piece of the Shocking, True Story

We’ve journeyed from a taxidermy shop in the 1930s, through the strange world of viral oncology, and into the heart of modern American culture. The shocking true story behind America’s cutest cryptid is a tangled web of deliberate hoaxes and bizarre scientific fact. The Jackalope is a testament to the fact that sometimes the truth behind a legend is far more fascinating and unexpected than the myth itself. It is a symbol of creativity, humor, and the strange magic that exists at the intersection of fact and fiction.

Now that you know the full, astonishing story, you can appreciate the Jackalope on a whole new level. It’s your turn to celebrate this incredible piece of Americana and carry the legend forward. At IHeartCryptids, we’ve captured the trickster spirit and iconic look of this creature in our exclusive collection.

• Explore our dedicated Jackalope Collection: From t-shirts that spark conversation to art that brings the spirit of the West into your home, find the perfect way to honor the horned rabbit. Discover the collection here: https://iheartcryptids.com/product-category/cryptids/jackalope/
• Discover Other Cryptids: The world is full of strange and wonderful stories. Continue your adventure by exploring our full range of cryptid merchandise, celebrating legends from every corner of the globe: https://iheartcryptids.com/product-category/cryptids/
• Become an Expert: Deepen your knowledge with our comprehensive guide to over 50 legendary creatures. Read our acclaimed A Cryptozoologist’s Field Guide: The A-Z of 50+ Legendary Cryptids and become the authority in your circle: https://iheartcryptids.com/a-cryptozoologists-field-guide-the-a-z-of-50-legendary-cryptids/

Join the IHeartCryptids community. Embrace the mystery, celebrate the story, and keep the legend alive.