The Fearsome Critters were a group of bizarre and absurd animals thought up by lumberjack societies in America in the 19th-century. They served as explanations for weird noises or happenings and everyday annoyances.
Such would include, but not be limited to:-

• Axehandle Hound - A dog with a head shaped like an axe head. It was said to eat axe handles that were left unattended.
• Cactus Cat - A feline with hairlike thorns that consumed the juice of the cactus, allowing it to become intoxicated and make weird noises at night.
• Jackalope - A hare with the antlers of a deer. It was said to mimic voices at night.
  
• Sidehill Gouger - A creature with a similar concept to the Wild Haggis and the Dahu. Either its left legs or its right legs are longer than the other pair allowing it to run around the side of hills with ease, but not go up or down them.
• Squonk - A creature covering in warts, blemishes and the like. It believes itself to be so unbearably ugly that it will not allow itself to be seen. If one is captured it will cry itself into tears and wash away.

Sources:
Lumberwoods.com
The History of the Jackalope