Hoop snake

Hoop snake

The hoop snake is a legendary creature of the United States and Australia. The hoop snake is referred to in the Pecos Bill stories and although it is his description of hoop snakes that most people are familiar with, stories of the creature predate those fictional tales considerably. Several sightings of the hoop snake have been alleged along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border in the St. Croix River valley. (See fearsome critters.)

According to folklore the distinguishing feature of a hoop snake is that it can grasp its tail in its jaws and roll after its prey like a wheel, [cite web|url=http://www.americanfolklore.net/folktales/pa.html|title=Hoop snake|publisher=American Folklore|author=S. E. Schlosser|date=2006-08-07|accessdate=14 September|accessyear=2006] thus looking somewhat like the ouroboros of Greek mythology, or Tsuchinoko (a legendary fat snake that can roll like a wheel) in Japan. In one version of the myth, the snake straightens out at the last second, skewering its victim with its venomous tail. The only escape is to hide behind a tree which receives the deadly blow instead and promptly dies from the poison.cite web|url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/faranciaaabacura.htm|title= Eastern Mud Snake|publisher=Florida Museum of Natural History|accessdate=14 September|accessyear=2006]

The hoop snake is mentioned in a letter from 1784 ( published in "Tour in the U. S. A.", Vol. I, p. 263-65. London) [ cite web|url=http://www.naturalhistorymag.com/editors_pick/1925_01-02_pick.html|title=The Hoop Snake Story|author=Karl Patterson Schmidt|accessdate=14 September|accessyear=2006] :quote|As other serpents crawl upon their bellies, so can this; but he has another method of moving peculiar to his own species, which he always adopts when he is in eager pursuit of his prey; he throws himself into a circle, running rapidly around, advancing like a hoop, with his tail arising and pointed forward in the circle, by which he is always in the ready position of striking.It is observed that they only make use of this method in attacking; for when they fly from their enemy they go upon their bellies, like other serpents.From the above circumstance, peculiar to themselves, they have also derived the appellation of hoop snakes.

Sightings are still occasionally reported, even though the existence of the hoop snake has never been accepted by the scientific community. Naturalist Raymond Ditmars placed $10,000 in trust at a New York bank for the first person to provide evidence of a hoop snake. [Ford, Joe, "Haunts to Hookers.", from the chapter "Snakes: Fact or Fable", pgs. 80-84.] Some cryptozoologists feel that is a distorted description of the sidewinder of the American southwest, or of mud snakes which will occasionally lie in a loose hoop shape. [ cite web|url=http://www.bio.davidson.edu/projects/herpcons/Myths/Modern_Myths.html|title=Modern Myths About Snakes|publisher=The Biology Department at Davidson|accessdate=14 September|accessyear=2006]

References

ee also

*Serpent (symbolism)
*Amphisbaena
*Joint snake
*Tsuchinoko


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  • Hoop snake — Hoop Hoop, n. [OE. hope; akin to D. hoep, hoepel.] 1. A pliant strip of wood or metal bent in a circular form, and united at the ends, for holding together the staves of casks, tubs, etc. [1913 Webster] 2. A ring; a circular band; anything… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hoop-snake — hoopˈ snake noun Any of several harmless snakes, once erroneously believed to be capable of forming themselves into a hoop and rolling over the ground • • • Main Entry: ↑hoop …   Useful english dictionary

  • hoop snake — ☆ hoop snake n. any of several American snakes alleged in folklore to take the tail in the mouth and roll along like a hoop …   English World dictionary

  • hoop snake — noun any of various harmless North American snakes that were formerly believed to take tail in mouth and roll along like a hoop (Freq. 2) • Hypernyms: ↑colubrid snake, ↑colubrid * * * noun 1. chiefly South and Midland : a fabled snake of… …   Useful english dictionary

  • hoop snake — any of several harmless snakes, as the mud snake and rainbow snake, fabled to take its tail in its mouth and roll along like a hoop. [1775 85, Amer.] * * * …   Universalium

  • hoop snake — /ˈhup sneɪk/ (say hoohp snayk) noun Colloquial (humorous) an imaginary snake thought of as being aggressive and venomous, which is supposedly able to chase people by holding its tail in its mouth and rolling along swiftly like a hoop. See drop… …  

  • hoop snake — noun A mythical creature of the United States and Australia, a snake that grasps its tail in its jaws and thereby rolls after its prey like a wheel …   Wiktionary

  • Hoop — Hoop, n. [OE. hope; akin to D. hoep, hoepel.] 1. A pliant strip of wood or metal bent in a circular form, and united at the ends, for holding together the staves of casks, tubs, etc. [1913 Webster] 2. A ring; a circular band; anything resembling… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hoop iron — Hoop Hoop, n. [OE. hope; akin to D. hoep, hoepel.] 1. A pliant strip of wood or metal bent in a circular form, and united at the ends, for holding together the staves of casks, tubs, etc. [1913 Webster] 2. A ring; a circular band; anything… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hoop lock — Hoop Hoop, n. [OE. hope; akin to D. hoep, hoepel.] 1. A pliant strip of wood or metal bent in a circular form, and united at the ends, for holding together the staves of casks, tubs, etc. [1913 Webster] 2. A ring; a circular band; anything… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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