๐ฆถ CRYPTID SIGHTING ยท EXP. Nยบ0555
ACTIVE
Afanc
Afanc is a cryptid โ a creature whose existence is unconfirmed by science โ with reported sightings near Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, Wales, GB. This file collects the accounts and folklore surrounding it.
Where and when was Afanc sighted?
- Location
- Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, Wales, GB
- Date sighted
- Unknown
- Coordinates
- 53.084, -3.8
- Testimonies
- 0
- Last updated
LOCATION
What is Afanc?
Welsh tradition places the Afanc in the deep pools of the River Conwy, most famously the pool of Llyn yr Afanc near Betws-y-Coed, and in Llyn Barfog above Aberdyfi. Descriptions vary between crocodile-like reptile, giant beaver, and dwarf-crocodile hybrid, but all agree it dragged livestock and unwary farmers beneath the surface. The earliest surviving account appears in a 1789 collection of Welsh folk tales, though local memory claims the creature was finally hauled out and relocated to Llyn Cwm Llwch, high in the Brecon Beacons, using oxen and chains fastened by a young maiden who lured it ashore. A local saying still repeated in Conwy villages runs: "Where the pool runs still and black, the Afanc waits and does not come back empty." Naturalists have suggested the legend grew from genuine crocodilian fossils found in Welsh limestone, or from garbled memories of Ice Age beavers, whose dam-building could explain sudden, unexplained flooding of riverside pastures. No live Afanc has been documented, but the pool near Betws-y-Coed remains a minor pilgrimage stop for folklore enthusiasts touring North Wales.
๐ Source: Enigma Atlas
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