Mothman, Sasquatch and Champ are about to travel across the country on envelopes. The United States Postal Service has announced a five-stamp set of American mythical creatures, the usps mythical creatures stamps, released in 2027.
The set, called “Mythical Creatures,” comes from Austin tattoo artist Nat Power. It is her first stamp project for the USPS, and the stamps come 20 to a pane.
Where folklore meets cryptozoology
A hazy line separates regional folklore from cryptozoology, the study and pursuit of unverified species. Local tales passed down for generations sit on one side. The usps mythical creatures stamps draw from both, and the term mythical creatures covers them together.
Many more beings populate the nation’s mythology. The five on these usps mythical creatures stamps were chosen to show how each one reflects the lore and landscape of its home region.
Sightings of Sasquatch have long fueled debate, and newly found 1966 footage exposes the Bigfoot film hoax for anyone curious about how the legend was staged.
The five creatures on the usps mythical creatures stamps
Mothman is the most recent arrival of the five. This flying, red-eyed, man-sized being was first reported in West Virginia in 1966. Newspapers gave it the name, and today festivalgoers there often wear “spooky-cute” costumes in its honor.
The Jackalope is the only one many Americans say they have seen, at least in gift shops. Two young brothers studying taxidermy by mail created the hoax after a hunting trip, and it first appeared in Douglas, Wyoming, in the 1930s. A hotel owner later displayed the mount, and the legend spread across the Great Plains and the West.
The Squonk lives in the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania. This piglike creature is so unhappy with its wrinkled, blemished appearance that it weeps constantly. Lumberjack folklore first described it in print in 1910, in a book titled Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods. The USPS describes it today as a beloved symbol of anxiety.
Sasquatch, also called Bigfoot, is the best known of the group. No one has captured one or produced a confirmed hair sample. Its strongest mark is on American popular culture, and the USPS says it leaves an outsized impression far beyond its Pacific Northwest home.
Champ is the Lake Champlain monster, said to live in a glacial lake that runs along more than 100 miles of the New York-Vermont border. The lake reaches 400 feet deep and 12 miles wide. Hundreds of people have claimed to see the serpentine creature over the last few centuries. The region now treats Champ as its mascot.
Who made the artwork
Power grew up in Cedar Hill, Texas, and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art from the University of Texas in 2016. Her training in printmaking and serigraphy shapes her tattoo work, and she began her apprenticeship at Royal Legion Tattoo in 2019.
For the usps mythical creatures stamps, she digitally illustrated the creatures and the icons of their environments. She used bold black linework and vivid color, the same approach she uses for her tattoo flash. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for the USPS, designed the stamps.
“America’s many folkloric animals reflect our love of the unknown and odd,” the USPS said in its announcement.
Unicorns and other fantastical stamps
The USPS is also releasing “Unicorns” stamps with artwork by Kendra Binney. The designs show dreamlike scenes of an enchanted, gentle forest, where unicorns offer magic to the rare people who see them.
The Postal Service has gone fantastical before. Foil-embossed dragon designs appeared in 2018, and Year of the Dragon stamps were issued in 2000, 2012 and 2024. Dungeons & Dragons stamps followed in 2024.
If the Postal Service’s fantastical side appeals to you, Ed Perkins’ fairytale landscapes and mythical beings offer another imaginative take on creatures that live just beyond the edge of the known world.
Not everyone is satisfied with the lineup.
These cryptid stamps give five creatures that live at the edge of what science can confirm a place on the envelope. For a stamp meant to travel, that is a fitting home for the stories people still tell about the unknown.
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Frequently asked questions
Who designed the USPS Mythical Creatures stamps?
Austin tattoo artist Nat Power digitally illustrated the creatures and their environments for the set. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for the USPS, designed the stamps.
How many stamps are in the Mythical Creatures set?
The set has five stamps and is released in 2027. The stamps come 20 to a pane.
Which mythical creatures are featured on the 2027 USPS stamps?
The five creatures are Mothman, the Jackalope, the Squonk, Sasquatch, and Champ, the Lake Champlain monster. Each was chosen to reflect the lore and landscape of its home region.
Where does the Squonk live in folklore?
The Squonk lives in the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania. It is a piglike creature that weeps constantly because it is unhappy with its wrinkled, blemished appearance.
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