A Fresno Nightcrawler plush, left, is now sold out online at Build-A-Bear Workshop, which lets customers make their own stuffed animals at stores like this one. Photos courtesy of Build-A-Bear

The internationally known Central Valley cryptid has sold out online as artists and fans keep the legend growing.

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The Central Valley’s internationally known cryptid, the Fresno Nightcrawler, is getting its own plushie from Build-A-Bear Workshop, the national retail chain where customers make their own stuffed animals.

An employee at the Build-A-Bear Workshop in Fashion Fair Shopping Center said the company has already sold out of the Fresno Nightcrawler online, where it is sold exclusively as part of a seasonal line of Halloween plushes.

A spokesperson for the company said they are once again available online to order and can also be ordered at any Build-A-Bear Workshop store. 

Pants for the plush doll can be purchased separately.

According to the company’s website, the item had been viewed nearly 40,000 times within the last 24 hours.

The Fresno Nightcrawler is a cryptid — an animal claimed but not proven to exist in the wild — that has gained so much popularity online in recent years it has joined the ranks of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and the Mothman.

History of a mystery

The cryptid’s origins go back to 2007, when a Fresnan who identified himself only as Jose brought surveillance footage of his front lawn first to the Univision television station and then to paranormal investigator Victor Camacho.

Another video from 2011 captured two white figures with long legs walking across Yosemite Lakes Park. These two videos sparked the rise of speculation over the cryptid, inspiring even more creators on YouTube to discuss and feature the internet-age legend.

More sightings have been claimed, but these days there is more activity with the Fresno Nightcrawler in merchandising and the art world.

Laura Splotch is a local artist and lover of all things cryptid, creepy and weird. She features various cryptids in her artwork, with a soft spot for the Fresno Nightcrawler because of its local connection.

“These really intrigued me because they’re from Fresno,” Splotch said. “They look unique and different. It’s a weird thing to fake, but if they’re real, that’s even weirder.”

In May 2022, Splotch attended a Fresno ArtHop event celebrating the local cryptid, where she bought Nightcrawler earrings and stickers.

Splotch likens the Fresno Nightcrawler to the Chupacabra, a creature of Mexican folklore known for killing and feeding on the blood of goats. She thinks the Fresno cryptid could possibly be some type of animal, with the legend growing from there.

Worldwide appeal

Artists across the world have taken their own creative liberties with the Fresno Nightcrawler, depicting it in all sorts of ways — from serious and terrifying to cute and lighthearted.

Eduardo Valdés-Hevia, a digital artist from Spain, has been passionate about myths and folklore since he was a child. He creates images and stories about cryptids and other mythical creatures, including the Fresno Nightcrawler.

He said the Fresno Nightcrawler is unique in the world of cryptid folklore because you can trace the origins to a certain time and place, as opposed to the myths of Europe, which are hundreds or thousands of years old and harder to trace.

“In this case, you can clearly see it started in this certain year, with this certain person, telling this story, and then it grows from that,” Valdés-Hevia said. “It’s very different from the myths I’m used to.”

A big appeal of the Fresno Nightcrawler, Valdés-Hevia said, is that it is cute, which scores a lot of internet points and lends itself to being made into stickers and plush dolls. When it comes to cryptids, he can’t think of a more recent one that has reached the popularity of the Nightcrawler.

Valdés-Hevia believes the Fresno Nightcrawler is more famous outside of the Fresno area.