The Giant Penguin Hoax

H.P. Lovecraft's giant penguins help establish an atmospheric backdrop in his novella of Antarctic horror, "At the Mountains of Madness." Little known is a real hoax involving giant penguins, documented in this article.

In 1948, faux traces of the make-believe Florida cryptid resulted in a naturalist writing a whole book arguing for the big bird's existence. He called it "Florida Three-Toes." Its existence was not thoroughly debunked for decades, until the hoaxer who made the giant footprints stepped forward.

It's interesting to consider if Lovecraft's oversized penguins could have influenced this affair. There is no evidence that this is the case, but the timing leaves open a shred of possibility. The hoaxer later said he and his accomplice were trying to emulate dinosaur tracks when they made the enormous footprints with cast iron shoes. But why did researcher Ivan Sanderson conceive of a penguin? One might have drawn this conclusion from studying the tracks (though only by omitting the thought of what a penguin would be doing in a tropical climate like Florida), but it doesn't seem too far fetched that he could have encountered "At the Mountains of Madness" somewhere along the line.

-Grim Blogger