Aloha Tide Riders, and sorry for the delay. For our second installment in the Native American Nightmares saga, we’re lifting off from the earth and heading into storm-tossed skies—territory claimed by colossal winged beings who’ve loomed over Indigenous legends for centuries. This time, we’re talking about the Thunderbird, the Piasa Bird, and the Tlanuwa—three very different sky titans who ruled the air with power, mystery, and just enough menace to keep generations of storytellers looking over their shoulders.

The Thunderbird is perhaps the most famous of them all, a sky-spanning guardian known from the Plains to the Great Lakes. Said to beat thunder from its wings and hurl lightning from its eyes, the Thunderbird wasn’t just a symbol of storms—it was the storm, a living embodiment of raw power and protection that watched over the people and punished those who broke sacred laws.

Meanwhile, painted high on the limestone cliffs along the Mississippi River, the Piasa Bird is something else entirely—a creature part bird, part reptile, part nightmare. Early explorers described its image as a warning etched into stone, a local legend of a man-eating sky-beast that once terrorized the region. Was it pure myth, or did those haunting cliffside eyes once belong to something real?

And then there’s the Tlanuwa of Cherokee tradition—vast, eagle-like predators said to live in mountain caves, who patrolled the skies to keep the serpent population in check. Stories tell of them clashing with giant snakes, stealing people away, and vanishing into the clouds like living thunderbolts.

In this episode, we’ll trace the roots of these legends through the cultures that carried them, explore their symbolism and spiritual roles, and dig into eerie accounts from modern witnesses who swear these beasts haven’t gone extinct—or weren’t animals to begin with. As always, we’ll end by pulling out all the stops in the Tinfoil Teepee and ask the big questions: Were they myths, misidentified megafauna… or something else entirely?

So keep your feet planted, your eyes skyward, and your raincoats handy—because tonight, Strange Tides sails into storm country, where the shadows have wings.

Links:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-mythic-child-stealing-thunderbirds-of-illinois

https://occult-world.com/lawndale-incident/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscarora_Mountain

https://www.reddit.com/r/ForteanResearch/comments/1bwplh9/huge_cryptid_bird_observed_flying_over_tuscarora/

https://a-z-animals.com/blog/pennsylvania-cryptids/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1mkrWCesMU

https://www.stangordon.info/2002.htm

https://www.liveabout.com/the-giant-thunderbird-returns-3862215

https://cryptomundo.com/eyewitness-accounts/alaska-thunderbird-sighted/

https://www.livingpterosaur.com/blog/category/united-states-sighting/

https://www.thecryptocrew.com/2024/05/modern-pterodactyl-sightings.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/mysterious-thunderbird-sightings-pennsylvania/

https://www.stangordon.info/wp/news-events/page/2/